#anyways old internet fandom was truly the Wild West

[kegisaroused]

Sometimes I’m like “my time in internet fandom hasn’t been THAT crazy” and then I remember that someone I’ve never met IRL wrote RPF about me once.

[fandom-necromancer]

Old-school surprises

First of all I’m sorry this is so late anon, I hope you see this somehow XD Also you made two mistakes: indtroducing me to new music I now love and not giving me an upper level for the sappyness. Enjoy!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900

‘So… Is this your biological father? You never talked a lot about your family’, Nines broke the comfortable silence in their car. Gavin was driving at a relaxed pace from their long journey and Nines had spent most of it looking out of the window. In all of his life he had never really left Detroit and as soon as they had driven through foreign streets and past unknown territories, he had realised just how much was out there. The overwhelming feeling got even worse as they left the area the android network of Detroit covered. Nines was truly left to himself and just his normal internet connection. As Gavin next to him started singing along to the songs from the radio every now and again, it made it all a bit better, though. As always, the human surprised him knowing exactly when he felt down.

Gavin showed him a sorry smile and coughed. ‘Yeah, you’re right, we never really talked about that shit-show. I won’t go too much into detail for you, don’t wanna spoil the good mood. And you know I get riled up pretty easily about this.’ He turned down the volume of the radio and smiled. ‘Elijah an me, we have the same dad. We’re from different mothers. My biological mom apparently was a huge asshole, my dad had to fight her for custody of me. I don’t know, I only ever remember staying with my dad. But it makes sense’, he laughed and took one hand from the wheel to point himself up and down. ‘I mean, this asshole attitude has to come from somewhere, right?’ ‘That’s not how genetics work’, Nines commented more from hating Gavin talking about himself like that and less to really correct him over a joke. ‘Sure it does.’ ‘Hm.’

‘He moved and met my mom at his new job. They got Elijah a year later. We grew up in this small town, you know? We later moved again up to Detroit, but dad never liked it there. So, when he retired, he moved back there, even managed to find a house in the same neighbourhood we lived in back then. He is the only part of the family I still have any connection to. He never did anything to us both and I think he is the only one I love, too. He also never gave me shit for being gay. I mean, mom didn’t either, at least not openly. But she always favoured Elijah afterwards. I guess she really just longed for that classic belief of settling down, getting kids, you know? Anyways, ever since I told dad I had a boyfriend, he wanted to meet you. I think it was about time. Besides, there is something I want to show you there.’ ‘Something you want to show me?’, Nines inquired, frowning. ‘Yeah. It’s a surprise. I hope you like it. Though it is a bit… old-school? Ah, we’ll see.’ Nines nodded, smiling contently and maybe a bit excited. Old school? He knew Gavin liked old tech, maybe something like that? He loved his old-timer motorbike. Maybe he had one he had left with his father? ‘Just… one question, Gavin.’ ‘Shoot!’ ‘Your father, is he… you know.’ Nines sighed. ‘Is he anti-android?’ ‘What? No. Not that I know of. He knows you are an android. He never spoke of it. Don’t worry. Even if he is, he will have the courtesy not to show it. Believe me. He’s an honest, nice guy.’ ‘That is good to hear’, Nines said, relaxing into his seat. ‘Cheer up Nines. Once we’re there, you’ll be back online. You’ll feel better then. We’ll just meet my old man and spent some days there. It will be fun, believe me.’ ‘Does he have cats?’ Gavin laughed loudly at that and nodded. ‘Yeah, he has two, tin-can.’

-

A few hours later, they parked their car in front of a little house surrounded by garden. It was neat and even from outside looked cosy and welcoming. Gavin exited the car and waited for Nines to meet him, before he hugged the anxious robot and stole a kiss. ‘Relax Nines’, he whispered in his ear. ‘Just be yourself, it will be fine.’ Nines nodded, Gavin’s smile at least a bit contagious. They walked up to the door and rang the bell. Time stretched as they waited, but it couldn’t have been more than a minute, until the door opened and an old man with grey but full hear dressed in a comfortable sweater, corduroys and slippers appeared. As soon as his eyes met the pair, he smiled a big, open grin and opened is arms to encase Gavin in a strong hug. ‘Gavin!’ Gavin winced at the pressure but grinned too. ‘Hi, dad.’ They got some space in between them again and the older man turned to the android. ‘And you must be Nines! Gavin told me a lot about you!’ Nines held out his hand, wanting to offer a formal “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kamski”, but only got to the ‘It’s a pleasu-‘, as the man pulled him into a hug, too.

‘Now, come, let’s go inside! Put your things somewhere in the hallway and join me in the living room! I made cake and coffee. Oh, and it was difficult to find here, but I got some Thirium and Thirium-pastries, too. I hope that’s okay? You err… I hope this isn’t something inappropriate?’ Gavin giggled and looked at Nines as if to say: see? Your worries are ridiculous. Nines relaxed more, nodding to himself. He really had been overthinking the whole affair.

The day had been really nice. Gavin’s dad had been happy to see his son again, had asked about work and how they met, although he most likely had known that from Gavin already. Still, he wanted to hear it from Nines and overall was really curious about everything. They had made quick work of the cake and the pastries, Nines had to confirm multiple times tasted wonderful, as the man himself couldn’t try them first. Later they had played some games and watched TV together, Nines again proving that no matter what, cats always loved him.

Before Gavin fell asleep on the couch, resting against Nines, his dad snapped his fingers in front of him. ‘Hey, Gav, no drooling on my cushions. You two go upstairs and get some real sleep! You wanted to go to the festival tomorrow, right?’ ‘Dad!’ ‘A damn, surprise, right? Sorry. I’ll prepare something for breakfast then!’

‘A festival?’, Nines asked as Gavin led him upstairs. ‘Aw come on. It should have been a surprise’, Gavin whined. ‘It still is. I don’t know what it is about.’ ‘It’s for country music?’, Gavin said, looking up to him as if expecting divine judgement. ‘I mean it is a fair that is supposed to resemble theses typical old wild west type town festivals, but there is something nice to eat and in the evening there is live music and a dance and I thought it would be fun to show you around town a bit? I always went with Eli as we were younger. But over time his tastes changed, and he didn’t like country music anymore. Also, it’s a long way from Detroit and with his whole oh-let-me-create-life-real-quick-thing, it was difficult to find time. I thought, now that we’re here… We don’t have to go if you don’t want to!’ Nines laid a hand on his human’s shoulder and shot him a reassuring smile. ‘Oh, no, I would like to. It sounds fun. And I would like to see what you enjoyed as a child. It is a very… human experience.’ ‘Heh, yeah, I guess. Then let’s go to bed, tomorrow will be a busy day!’

-

Gavin didn’t lie about it getting busy. They had woken up early in the morning – a taboo to Gavin normally when he didn’t have to work. His father had prepared breakfast as promised and they ate together, talking about the fair. ‘Ah, well, don’t be too disappointed, son. It is getting smaller and smaller each year. Remember how you got lost once? Wouldn’t happen now, the whole street isn’t used for it anymore.’ ‘But they still do the dance, right? And the music?’, Gavin asked. ‘Yeah. They still got that. But less vendors and more foodstuffs.’ ‘Hmm. That’s okay I guess.’

Afterwards they got dressed and were about to head out, Gavin’s dad hurried over with two cowboy-hats. He handed one to Gavin but hesitated with Nines. ‘Listen, err… This town didn’t see many androids here. Not many able to afford them and more old fucks like me who saw no reason to. This is not meant to hide your identity, okay? Just… I don’t know, maybe you can avoid some curious people asking questions all the time. You don’t have to wear it, just an offer.’ Nines took the hat and put it on, grinning toward Gavin. ‘Thank you, Mr. Reed. I don’t think I can let Gavin make a fool of himself alone.’ The man laughed at that and patted his arm. ‘I see why he loves you. Now go have some fun!’

-

The fair was filled with people. Nines looked around trying to take everything in, as Gavin took his hand and led him through the entrance. The streets sported rows of little huts built to resemble wooden wild-west buildings, most just going for the aesthetic and selling cowboy-clothes, all sorts of leather-goods, knifes and - as Gavin’s father had told them: a lot of food stalls. They ambled from shop to shop, stopping here and there for a further look or something to eat. Nines enjoyed it more than expected. It was something he had never experienced, and he liked to just drown in all these new experiences. Gavin next to him all excited hurrying from one shop to the next and sharing stories about him and his brother. ‘You know, we could never leave the fair without Elijah getting a hotdog from this particular vendor’, he just told him between two bites. ‘Apparently it is the best one he’s ever eaten and well, it’s not bad.’ ‘He was always pouting when I beat him in that’, he laughed as they passed a shooting booth. ‘But he also always knew when I was bad on purpose to let him win. Guess he has the last laugh now with you having perfect aim.’ ‘Oh, he used to hate these things!’, Gavin told him, pointing at one of these picture-displays you could put your head through. ‘Funny how it all turned. He hated people and I was more open back then, now it’s the opposite way. ‘Do you want to take a picture?’, Nines asked. ‘Hell no! That changed. I mean, unless you want to?’ ‘Not really.’

They ended up at the “town square” in the late afternoon. There were bigger huts, a makeshift Sherriff office, a jail and a saloon. People dressed up in clothing of the time wandered to and fro and taking pictures with the visitors. But what had Gavin pulled in was the sound of music getting louder. They followed the sounds and ended up in front of a band playing life music on a stage behind a dancefloor. They stood there for a while, just listening until Nines detected movement next to him. Gavin was tapping his foot to the beat and humming along. ‘You never told me you liked this music’, he simply stated, and Gavin stopped. ‘Yeah, well, I don’t know. I don’t listen to it all the time and god forbid I ever told someone at work. But hell, I don’t only like it, I love it. Just gives you good vibes? I think it is really uplifting.’ ‘It is.’ Nines watched the people on the dancefloor laughing and grinning and swirling around. It really seemed to make people happy.

‘So, you wanna dance?’ ‘What? I don’t think this would be a good-‘ ‘Come on, Nines, what do you have to lose?’ ‘I don’t think I know how to dance to this and-‘ ‘No one here knows either of us and most likely will never see us again. Come on, let’s be silly!’ He didn’t wait for an answer this time and pulled Nines up the stairs, who stumbled behind. If he really didn’t want to, he could have stopped and tell Gavin, but with that smile on his human’s face, he couldn’t really bring himself to it. Besides, he was right: Whatever happened here would never reach Detroit.

Gavin stopped in midst the other people dancing around them and Nines quickly scanned their movements for patterns. It wouldn’t be so difficult, especially with Gavin guiding him. In the end he was proved wrong: Gavin had a much faster pace and didn’t always use the same steps the others did. It was a fast change from circling each other to one spinning the other around and then just stepping close and back again. It was quite the workout for the human who was sweating the second song in already, but he didn’t slow down or gave indication to stop pulling Nines around, who mostly tried to keep up with any semblance of order and failed, stumbling after Gavin. ‘Loosen up, Nines. Don’t worry for doing the right technique. Feel the music, use the beat and follow me.’ The android nodded, mirroring Gavin for a while and it helped him learn. Still, it was confusing. This was just movement, what did it mean? It didn’t follow any rules and maybe, he thought, that was what made it fun. Gavin seemed to relax then too, laughing and singing along, dancing time away until the sun was setting, and chains of little lights illuminated the platform. They took little breaks to drink something, but Gavin always pulled him back up on the platform soon afterwards.

It was then, that Nines focussed solely on Gavin. In that soft glow from above and velvet darkness all around, he didn’t see the other guests. He just had eyes for his human, spinning him around and grinning and singing along. He had smiled more today than in a month back in Detroit and Nines treasured every second of it. As the last, fast-paced song slowly came to an end, Nines had an idea and smirked, before taking initiative. He closed in on Gavin guiding him to lean into his arm as he bowed down to kiss him in this hold. ‘I love you’, he whispered, audible only for them, as the crowd cheered the musicians and dispersed to go home. He helped the man back up and pretended not to see the mad blush on his face. ‘I love you too, tin-can.’ ‘Come on, let’s go home.’

-

Gavin laid in bed after complaining how sore he would be tomorrow morning from dancing all night. Nines had chuckled and went to bring him a glass of water. Gavin could hear his voice from downstairs now, a soft, perfect tune, as he sang to himself:

I swear, by the moon and the stars in the sky, I’ll be there

I swear, Like the shadow that’s by your side I’ll be there

Maybe he wasn’t the only one liking country music now.