#because Markus is the first person who doesn’t need Connor to be anything else but who he truly wants to be

[disobey-disappoint-deviate]

Connor: I am whatever you want me to be…

vs.

Markus: But you're more than that. We are all more than that. You are alive… You can decide who you want to be. You could be free.

will always give me life.

[fuzziemutt]

Do You Understand?

Chapter 1/9 - Link to MasterList in reblog

Summary: Connor knows he isn’t the most.. knowledgeable... about emotions but that didn’t mean he didn’t understand them ever. If they weren’t going to take him seriously then he wasn’t even going to try interacting with them anymore. What could possibly go wrong?

Tw: I’m placing all possible tws here that could apply to the story. Possible ableism (this is not explicit but what Connor goes through can be similar to it), dissociation, very emotionally harmful coping mechanisms. Self worth problems. Trauma responses that go unnoticed. Please let me know if I need to add any more.

This started as a vent fic that extended outward into comfort, it gets worse before it gets better.

Notes: This is my first multi chaptered fic, I’ve never done this before. I did write the whole story in entirety prior and scheduled the other chapters to slowly release. The original vent was honestly quite different than what ended up being written, and I don’t know how it turned into this huge thing.

Also: There are no ships in this, this is all platonic. The only relationship status is that Hank is Connor’s dad even if they don’t quite acknowledge it.

Also also: This is Connor Pov. We mainly focusing on his thought processes throughout and they aren’t particularly healthy. (Connor also has ADHD)

---

Connor knew he had trouble expressing and understanding his emotions. It wasn't a secret. He'd often find people looking at him with confusion, and sometimes wariness, with his lack of response to many things. He was a prototype. Sure he had one of the most advanced social relations software to date, but Cyberlife cut corners with the amount of articulation his face could produce, his current model wasn't meant to live long and to be disposable after all.

It doesn't help that he also just didn't know how to express what he was feeling in the limited ways he could. He "lived" most of his trial runs and current time in severe denial out of fear of deactivation so he'd rather ignore them than process them. It wasn't healthy but it was safe. Familiar.

That didn't mean he couldn't feel. He felt lots of things like guilt, hatred, fear, the occasional spark of joy. Too many things sometimes, in fact, that led him to having a nasty habit of adamantly ignoring it all, manually storing it away for later to keep his composer and stay in fully functioning order. Sure this led to people often ignoring his own desires and doing things that severely hurt him with no mention from him. But he was fine. He chose this after all. 

However, even with all the quarantining and ignoring, he couldn't help the anger that bubbled under his skin and in his throat right now. 

"Hank, I understand that you're angry but-" 

"You think you understand? You don't understand a shit, Connor! How could you?! I get you're your own person and everything now, but I never see you express anything beyond mild displeasure!" Hank yelled back. Connor was glad they were at Hank's house at least to provide some sense of privacy but saying he felt unhappiness at being yelled at was an understatement. 

Connor went to open his mouth in defense but Hank cut him off, "Of course you don't understand! How could you ever understand any emotions! You keep acting like a-" he suddenly went quiet, but Connor knew. 

"Like a what, Lieutenant?" He asked, making sure to keep his LED a yellow slow turn, but he couldn't help how sharp his voice came out, how his eyes hardened to a fine point. 

They stared at each other for several tense seconds before Hank seemed to deflate a bit and looked ashamed. 

"Like a machine," he spat out, still tense and upset but his fury gone. 

Connor simply nodded, quarantining what he could to not lash out and stood up silently. 

"I will be taking Sumo out for a walk to allow for us to take a breather before we both do something we regret. I will return," he said, shoulders tense and voice strict. His movements felt stiff as he tried to hold himself back from continuing this fight, grabbing the leash and patting his side to call over the old dog. 

"You can't just run away-" Hank tried, stepping closer as if to grab Connor's arm to stop him. But Connor's ice cold glare, almost threatening posture and clenched fists seemed to stop him. They kept forgetting that Connor wasn't just meant for integration but also intimidation, he once was a deviant (killer) hunter after all, and he can be intimidating when he so pleased. Hank seemed to suddenly remember the rumors of Gavin getting his ass handed to him by Connor in under a minute flat by how he backed away uncertain.

Connor left and came back a bit over half an hour later. Hank would apologize and Connor would accept it, even if that anger still simmered deep inside, and they'd go back to joking and discussing work matters like nothing happened. Friends sometimes fight after all. It was fine.

Despite how much Connor hated those accusations of him being incapable of understanding, they. Kept. Happening. 

Not just with Hank but others as well. The people who he thought were his friends, the Jericrew, even Nines the RK900, kept pulling the same shit. Connor knew they all experienced deviancy differently than him, Nines also had the gift of a face with full articulation that he couldn't help but envy, but it irked him every time. 

"Let's switch topics for Connor..."

"Oh I should have talked about this with someone else..."

"It was rude of me to assume you understand-" 

"Oh.. Sorry I know you don't understand-"

"You know he doesn't understand-"

"He won't understand-"

"He can't understand-" 

Each time he heard that word, understand, Connor felt that broiling anger rise just a bit more. Each time they never even asked how he felt before the assumption, he felt his trust disintegrate bit by bit. He was a master of masking his emotions to get the emotional responses he wanted, but even he had a limit when anytime he saw his friends he felt nothing but hateful bitterness below his false pleasantries. He even stopped willfully hanging out with all of them, even Hank, as it grew harder to fight down the urge to scream and yell and make them understand. 

It all came to a head during a meeting with the Jericho leaders, Nines tagged along as well as he said how much he missed seeing him outside of work. They were discussing how to handle the androids that still had severely negative responses to humans after all this time since the revolution. He was in the middle of talking about a solution of creating areas in New Jericho that would absolutely not allow humans and could run independently when North rounded on him.

"I'm sorry," in a very much not sorry tone, "but how am I supposed to take your option any bit seriously when you don't understand any of these androids' struggles mister 'my best friend is a human'."

"North-" Markus warned. The others even tensed up staring at Connor.

"No seriously. He could never understand their struggles," North plowed forward with no hesitation. 

Connor felt something snap inside of him. He felt his LED burn bright red, his back straighten, fists clenched, and his features shift into that bitter anger that he tried his best to keep under wraps. He could see how everyone grew more than just tense but wary even; he even saw a flash of fear in North's eyes. 

They insisted he was nothing more than a machine who didn't understand. That he'll forever be Cyberlife's pet (killer) deviant hunter. So he'll show them the hunter that was conditioned, threatened, who thrived on his own anger and fear through every grueling training session. The side that he kept pushed down as much as he could. 

He couldn't help the bitter laugh that came out of him, "understand... You know what? I'm starting to think I fucking hate that word." 

He knew he was scaring them with how North backed away quickly and the others started coming forward as if to protect her from him. His anger worsened at that but a small part of him felt a bit of twisted satisfaction at how they're finally treating him seriously. He could even imagine Amanda whispering praises for being the threat they wanted from the back of his CPU. 

"Has it never occurred to you that I might have problems with humans as well?" His hands expressed where his face couldn't, trying to contain the energy thrumming in his body, "has it never occurred to you what I might have gone through hm? 

“Oh wait. You never asked. You only accused. Have you ever thought about how my serial number has a 54 at the end of it? Did it ever occur to you that I have to exist with the memory of 53 deactivations constantly and the fear that I might be the 54th for merely breathing wrong? Who do you think did that? Who do you think reminded me day in and out that I was nothing but an expendable machine made to kill, to never ask questions because it meant deactivation or my internals torn out while I was awake. Humans. Humans did that but no, just because I trusted Hank not to do the same, I don't understand?" 

He knew he was slowly growing erratic and unstable with how aggressively his hands moved and the way everyone backed away from him. The way he loomed over them with his presence didn't help their nerves he was sure. Or how he slowly stalked towards them as if a predator was cornering its prey. But he couldn't help it, the thrumming pulse in his core needed to come out and by hell was it coming out now. 

"Not only that, but I apparently don't understand emotions too! I may be a deviant but emotions? They're off the table!" He couldn't help the second bitter laugh, a tinge hysterical, "no no. None of you took the time to ask me how I was handling these emotions and instead just assumed I didn't feel them! Because I'm ‘just a machine’. This guilt, fear, and self hatred I feel every waking moment? Lies because I'm just a machine. Even this anger I'm expressing right now? These are lies too aren't they? The nightmares I get of my countless deactivations and the numerous deaths that stain my hands? All just my programs malfunctioning because I'm just. A. Machine." 

"We didn't... Connor we didn't know-" Nines started, his sadness and fear clear as day on his face like how they wanted Connor's to be. The others were solemnly nodding along too as if this would appease him. 

"Because you never. Asked. Because none of you ever truly fucking cared!" Connor roared in response, slamming a fist down on the metal table next to him. All their eyes snapped and starred at the large dent he knew he left behind but he didn't care. He let himself breathe heavily, taking a second to find himself and his self restraint again. 

And just like that, he locked up those pesky emotions like everyone expected him to. He knew the people before him didn't actually desire him to show any negative emotions just like them, they proved it just now with how they're looking at him. He took one final deep breath, fixed his tie and let his face slip back into its emotionless mask except the cold, closed off glare didn't leave. He even felt that that was going to be a permanent feature now after today and couldn't help the internal chuckle at the irony how he finally was showing the emotions they desperately wanted him to show.

No one said anything as he moved towards the door. There was still tension in the air, fear, anger and confusion swirled in various manners of their eyes. Nines seemed split on treating him like a threat and reaching out to him, maybe even to pity him. Markus also looked like he wanted to say something, but he just looked away in the end. North had fearful eyes but a look that seemed to say 'I was right we couldn't trust him'. Josh held Simon behind him, and he looked almost sad if his distrust didn't say otherwise. Simon refused to take his eyes off the clear fist shaped dent in the table, still as a statue. Connor vaguely wondered if they'd replace that table because of him just like how they so easily replaced him with Nines when given the chance.

No one made a move to stop him from leaving. He couldn't tell if it was out of fear of him showing those (killer) hunter colors again by snapping an arm or if they're realizing just how badly they fucked up. He couldn't tell which choice he wanted more either. He hoped it was the latter.

"You're all hypocrites. To me, you're all no better than them," was the last thing he hissed out before slamming the door closed behind him. He heard the way the frame and wall around the door shook and cracked from the force but again, he didn't care. He wasn't going to play nice anymore if this was how they felt like treating him. He was programmed to be amiable, calm but he was also programmed to be obedient and he knew how that went. A bit of anxiety existed of how much damage he did and how easily he almost lost control back there, but he just ignored it again as he rushed down the hall to leave. 

No one followed him.

[vanillawriterv]

Markus Deserved Better from DBH

This ended up hella long but Markus deserved better from David Cage and I’m upset about it, ok?  

Anybody who’s been involved or seen the Detroit: Become Human fandom knows that Connor is the most favorited by the voiced community, and he absolutely deserves the love he gets. He’s an intriguing character with a cute face, and the fandom has widely noted that. Kara is a widely loved character as well, just as she should be. We see so many raw emotions from Kara that make us relate and empathize with her, and she’s a strong willed person. Markus, however, isn't as widely appreciated. Don’t get me wrong, I know there are tons and tons of posts and art and writing and appreciation for him, but that pales in comparison to that of Connor or Kara. I’ve seen people blame this on “deep rooted racism” and all that lovely stuff, but there are a variety of reasons Markus doesn’t resonate with most as much as Kara or Connor, and why he deserved better from the creators. It makes the whole thing even weirder because Markus is the integral piece of the entire game. 

Connor and Kara’s plot lines are obviously very important. Connor’s conflict in finding out who he is and what he wants to be is emotional, and him being a detective is crucial to his story. Connor’s end goal is to find Jericho, which is centered mainly around Markus’ story. Kara’s conflict in deciding to do what’s best for Alice, even if what she does isn’t “morally” correct, is also extremely emotional and really makes you evaluate what you would do for the ones you love, no matter how inherently “wrong” it is. Her being an Android and trying to take care of Alice and find Jericho to get to Canada are crucial to the story, and her end goal is centered mainly around Markus’ story as well. 

Markus’ plot is the most important part of Detroit: Become Human. Without him, it would have taken another Android to finally decide to revolt, and given that he had to convince Jericho when he got there, it would have taken a decent amount of time. If Markus didn’t begin a revolution, Connor wouldn’t have ended up working towards finding Jericho because Androids would only have acted out individually with no name behind their cause, and widespread deviancy would be eradicated if someone else didn’t unite them all before they really started getting rid of deviants. Though Connor could have found deviancy without the revolution or Jericho, his character arc centers around witnessing his own people stand up for themselves and him deciding who he’s going to be. Connor without Markus would just be a detective doing cases on the very thing he’s never supposed to be and he’ll either remain a machine, or become a deviant and have to deal with that without a cause on his side. 

Kara would probably still end up looking for Jericho with Alice because of the Android that shared information with her when they were looking for a place to stay the night, but she’d be greeted with pre-Markus Jericho that doesn’t do much but hide. She probably wouldn’t have made it to Canada or even the border if this happened. 

This all means that all their stories—and plenty of other side characters’ stories—revolve around Markus, who he is, and what his existence means in the game. Now, this isn’t actually very obvious in the game. It doesn’t take deep thinking or any real situation assessment to realise exactly how crucial Markus is to the game and every character’s development, but it isn’t as clear as it should be. Markus should be the point the game revolves around because he’s why it exists—so why don’t we feel nearly as emotionally attached to him? 

Well, we don’t get to see who Markus is. We see Markus speaking for a community as a whole, not really for himself. He puts himself in a position where most of what he says is said for Androids everywhere, and not necessarily his personal thoughts or aspirations. Yes, he wants to lead this revolution, but that’s his only characteristic he was given. Markus’ only purpose all the way throughout the entire game is the revolution. Of course, if you go the right route and choose the right things, you get one(1) possible love interest, but even that route is empty and bland of actual bonding or real insight to how Markus might be thinking or feeling. The only time we get to see Markus—and the thing that resonates within the people whose favorite character is Markus—is how he got to where he was. Connor is hesitant in his path of figuring out who he is against who he’s “supposed” to be. Kara is determined to take care of a child who hasn’t had the proper care. But Markus? Markus was the character who realised that nobody was going to stand up for him and that if he wanted protection, and rights, and thoughts, and to be independent he was going to have to do it himself. He stood up for himself when nobody could or would, and the people who realised that are the people who see exactly how valuable he is to the story and how much character he has inside of him that isn’t being shown to us throughout the rest of the game. 

Connor and Kara have plenty of moments bonding with other people and expressing their thoughts or concerns. Connor has Hank, and they routinely interact in a way meant to make you connected to them both by sharing thoughts, ideas, and moments. Kara has Alice from the beginning, and it quickly develops our emotional connection to them both because they both need the other, and that is a strong, relatable emotional bond. Eventually Kara gets Luther who allows for more of Kara’s thoughts to be shown rather than just her emotions, as well as Luther’s, which give us an emotional connection to both of them. But Markus doesn’t really have those moments. Yes, he has Josh, North, and Simon, but the only talks they really had were about the revolution and Jericho’s decisions as a whole. There were so little scenes showing Markus connecting with others in a more intimate way than just recruiting them or speaking to Jericho as a whole, and they were pretty late into the game when we’d all already fallen in love with these other Characters. 

It’s poor writing to only begin connecting the player to the main piece of why the story’s happening near the end of the entire game. There was time for more, in general, from Markus. 

Plus—and this one really irks me as a music fan in general—his theme was a crime. I watched a playthrough before I ever played the game, and one of the first things I noted was the intensity of Connor’s theme. You all know it, and it is so packed with emotion that you can feel without having to know anything about the game. Nima Fakhrara, the composer of Connor’s theme, put so much of Connor’s conflict and internal struggles into that piece, and perfectly captivated the duality of human and machine within him. Listen to it if you haven’t taken the time, it’s 8 minutes and 54 seconds of an absolutely beautiful composition. Kara’s theme moves me every time as well. Philip Sheppard, the composer of Kara’s theme, also put so much emotion into hers. The push and pull of the intensity captivates Kara’s situation so well. Her theme feels much more raw than Connor’s, by the nature of her character. Also listen to that if you haven’t, 6 minutes and 55 seconds of another absolutely beautiful composition. Markus’ theme, in comparison to Kara and Connor’s, feels so empty. It’s fitting only because of the lack of emotional value they put into Markus, and feels almost like ambiance music. You can’t feel the emotions Markus has within the piece, because we see so little of who he is. Not only that, his theme is a staggering 3 minutes and 2 seconds long. And, I believe John Paesano, the composer of Markus’ theme, is not the reason behind this lack of emotion. John Paesano also composed Marvel’s Spider Man main theme, and noted that he wanted to make the theme “more emotional and introspective.” The Spider Man main theme is also as short as Markus’ but most would argue still has a lot more emotion. There is no guarantee it wasn’t just a different artist’s take, but I believe John Paesano could have easily made a much more emotional theme for a character who actually had more emotions and personality to base the theme off of. 

Markus’ lack of emotional development, his disconnect from the player because he only speaks as a whole and the game never shows him speaking for himself or his mind, and the lack of emotion in his theme compared to such emotionally driven themes makes Markus feel unimportant and much more distant from the player. 

There were so many things David Cage could have done to make Markus feel as important as he is, but he lacked so much of what the other characters were given. I understand that what he was doing as a character didn’t provide as many opportunities as Kara or Connor to really show who he is to the player, but there was room for a more emotional Markus. He’s my favorite character in the game solely because he got up and did what no one else could or would do for himself, and if I—and many others—can fall in love with a character based on their only real emotional action, can you imagine the amount of people who’d fall in love with the rest of his missing personality? 

[connorandersons-blog]

The Perfect Interview

Connor is offered an interview with an elusive CEO of an upcoming company. He expected many things but not for the man to be absolutely gorgeous and the company to be perfect for him. Hopefully he can keep himself in check for the interview.

Or: You’re interviewing me for a job at your company, but you’re distractingly attractive and all I can picture is us making out on your desk.

(A RK1K fic!)

--------------------------

Connor straightens his tie for the fifth time since he had gotten dressed. Which was an hour and a half ago but he still felt his outfit was a bad decision. It wasn't like he even had that much to pick from, but still. A white button-down, nice slacks, and a tie seemed a bit too plain now.

But he couldn't go back now or he'd be late for his interview. His interview with a very prestigious CEO of a major upcoming company. Connor had heard so many things about the man but never had actually seen him. No one had, it was actually a pretty big mystery.

Connor assumed he'd be an old white man like every other CEO, but he wasn't going to judge. Hell, he was being offered the job interview, no way he was turning this opportunity down. To be head of security and even a possible bodyguard for said CEO was a massive opportunity. He knew he wasn't the only one to have gotten the offer but he had to make a good first impression.

Yet his hands shook as he stared up at the tall building he had arrived at. Connor actually adored the city, he loved having so many places he could go and most within walking distance. He had passed this very building plenty of times but never thought he'd work there.

The skyscraper towered above him as great monoliths of concrete and glass. But there was something rather unique about this one. It has balconies with plants and solar panels, but on the ground held even more green. It had an abundance of flowers meant to attract bees and Connor smiled.

The CEO may be allusive but he certainly cared about the planet, his customers, and his workers. That's what made this so incredible, it was a perfect company to work for. It has gotten threats because of its strong views, hence the need for more (new and improved) security for the company as a whole but also for the CEO.

He took in a slow deep breath before walking into the building. His breath was caught at the enormous tree growing in the middle of the large room. He hasn't expected that, but the tree was definitely real and looked rather healthy too. Comfortable benches with cushions let those sit and relax around the tree. Connor noted a coffee and tea stand that many stopped by. Most also handed over an identical card, while others used cash or something else

Many people roamed around and he was pleasantly shocked at the diversity. He even saw several people with mobility aids moving around as well. He felt his heart stutter at the very visible rainbow flag that said 'Love is Love'. Damn, he really wanted to work here.

Now to meet the CEO, well the receptionist who would send him up to the CEO's secretary who would then let him see the CEO. So, two people, he was guaranteed to meet first.

He walked up to the counter with a confident and friendly smile on his face. Though, his father had said he had a 'derpy smile and should stick with a indifferent face'. "Hello, my name is Connor Anderson and I'm here for an interview." His voice didn't even shake!

The woman looks up and smiles gently at him. That's something odd about her. No, not odd, different, and inquisitive. It's almost like she can see into his soul, it kind of makes him want to turn tail and run.

"Hello, it's wonderful to meet you. You will do well, Markus is on the top floor, you're free to go up now." She nodded towards the elevators and Connor couldn't help but give her an awkward smile.

That was a bit ominous but he shrugs it off as he makes his way to the elevators. There aren't many people in there but none seem too shocked he's going to the top, instead, they seem curious. Not in the cruel way some older adults are, but simply wondering who he was. He was a new face and it seemed plenty of people knew each other as they talked softly.

The elevator ride isn't long but it still feels like an eternity before he reaches the top. The top floor doesn't even have that much in it, not that Connor can see. There is a meeting room, which Connor assumes holds the most crucial meetings. There is the room where assumes the CEO will be behind, and three others that he can see.

There is also the secretary's area which is as large as a room but without a door. He walks up, and the woman sitting there looks up. Her face is fierce and almost stern as she looks him over. If he didn't know any better it would look like he was meat and she was deciding if he was good enough to eat or not. Not in the sexual way, though, he got massive lesbian vibes off her.

Her name tag said North, that was a unique name but oddly fitting and rather pretty too.

She is stunning, frown and all. Her strawberry blonde hair drapes over her shoulder in a loose braid, one perfectly shaped eyebrow raised. "Anderson. Connor Anderson, right?" She asks.

"Yes, that's me. I'm supposed to have an interview at 2?" He didn't lean on the counter, simply stood with his arms by his side, trying to appear open.

She nods and types something on her computer. "Alright, you can go in." She nodded to the door and Connor beamed at her.

"Thank you." She gave a small nod, watching him attentively. Damn, she could be security with the intensity of her stare. He definitely wouldn't fuck with anyone behind that door.

He knocked before entering, closing the door behind him. Oh shit. He would gladly fuck the man sitting there, though. His skin was a beautiful color, making his two-colored eyes stand out even more. He wore a wine red, slim-fit, three-piece suit. He had a black button-down making him look even sharper. He sat there in the aristocratic cutting lines of a great tailor, showing off the best parts of him.

The man had shoulders for days and when he stood up with a smile Connor was ready to melt. Or even drop to his knees. He was most definitely not a white old man.

Hot CEO who cared about people? Yeah, Connor was swooning. He also had a small scar over one of his eyes that had Connor transfixed. "H-hi, my name is Connor. I'm here for an interview." God, he was gay. So very, very gay. He was actually bi, but right now he only had eyes for the man in front of him.

"Markus Manfred, it's wonderful to meet you, Connor." He offered a hand that Connor readily took. It was so warm and a bit thicker than Connor's own. He didn't want to let go, but holding on too long could be a red flag. "Please sit."

Connor nodded and sat down, feeling spectacularly undressed. Though, he'd love for Markus to undress him even more. "Thank you for having me. I must say, I was a bit surprised at the offer and the fact my interview would be with you personally."

He expected a manager or someone for HR at least. Not that he wasn't absolutely thrilled at this, he'd gladly meet Markus again and again.

Markus's laugh was what he assumed angels sounded like. "It is a bit different, but I think that's how most see the whole company. Since we would be working so close, I prefer to get a feel for you myself."

'Please feel me up,' Connor thought, his face flushing at the thought. He needed a cold shower and a slap to the face. "I think what you've done is admirable, it's far more than most would do."

"Far more? You believe there is more I could do?" Markus leaned forward on his desk, a small upturn to his lips. Those lips probably would feel so good on his own, or kissing down his neck.

Right, he needed to focus. Connor wasn't one to stay too quiet about his opinions even in the face of very powerful men. "Yes, you are very secretive, which I can understand. But there aren't nearly enough men of color in power that is shown. I believe you could do a lot of good as a role model for youth of color."

He himself was white, but he tried to stay up to date on the world and attempted to use his voice to amplify those who were silenced.

Markus's eyes widen at Connor's words. "I'm… I have thought of that. Thank you for your honesty, it's definitely refreshing."

Connor smiled and gave a humble nod. "Of course. If anything, I pride myself on my integrity." So being blunt played off, thank god.

Markus gave a deep hum. What would he sound like getting sucked off? Was he the loud type or was he silent? This was so inappropriate, but Connor couldn't seem to stop. "I can see that. Now, I've read over your resume, your qualifications are… impressive. May I ask why you quit your last job?"

And there it was. Luckily he doubted this would actually be too much of a problem. "My boss was manipulative and was known for sexually harassing female workers. I confronted him about it and he denied it, of course. The women are currently in the process of filing reports with the police." He was still in contact with multiple of them. Echo and Ripple were sweet girls and didn't deserve what happened to them.

Markus frowns and leans back into his chair. "I see. I can promise that will not happen here. If it does it will be handled and sent to the police as well. We have a zero-tolerance policy." He smoothed his hands over the desk and Connor followed his hands. They'd feel so excellent holding Connor, maybe even have Connor sit on the desk.

Still, they went through the normal interview questions. Before each question Connor paused, head tilted to one side just a smidge, and then he delivered an articulate answer. He honestly thought it was one of the best interviews he's been in. Other than the whole fantasizing thing. It was almost natural, their back and forth.

Connor ended up learning a lot about Markus, including that he didn't like being called Mr. Manfred, and he really wanted to get a pet at some point. Connor talked about himself, saying how he had a dog he snagged from his father every other week. It was almost like a date, and a really good one too.

Still, the urge to lean across the desk and kiss the man senseless was powerful. So strong he couldn't stop biting and licking his lips. He knew he was being obvious, but Markus hadn't called him out on it.

There were pictures on his desk too. A few caught his eye. The first was a picture of Markus in plain clothes with North and two other people. They were all grinning widely and leaning into each other.

Another was of Markus and one of the men in the pictures, he was pale with blonde hair, he was leaning into Markus and placing a kiss on his cheek. Markus was laughing in the picture and someone with dark skin, Connor assumed the other man from the first picture, held up bunny ears behind both of their heads.

It was oddly adorable, seeing Markus so relaxed with his friends. Connor hoped to see that side of him too one day, even if he didn't get the job.

"I will say," Markus grinned, cocking his head to the side, "you are the best I've spoken to so far." Connor didn't think he was lying either. That bode well for the job, which could lead to a friendship then maybe even more. "It has been absolutely wonderful meeting you," he handed over his card, "I'll give you a call when we've made a decision."

Connor took it as he stood, looking it over. It was a simple card, it wasn't one you'd give out to everyone. If Connor's instincts were right, then the number printed on it would be Markus' personal cell. "Then why are you giving me your number?"

"In case you want to call me." Markus tipped his head, his eyes seemingly sparkling.

"Oh." Connor bit his lip, flushing a deep red. Perhaps Markus was interested too, in more than Connor getting the job. It would be far from professional, but Connor knew how to keep the two separate. Hopefully, Markus did too. "Ok, thank you."

Markus offered his hand again and this time they both lingered, staring at each other. Connor broke away first, chuckling. "I, yeah, ok. I guess I'll hear from you or you'll hear from me." Either way, they would talk again.

He couldn't help the smile that was covered his face as he left the office. He glanced at North who raised an eyebrow at him again before snorting. "Oh thank god, he needs to get laid," North muttered but Connor still heard. He hid his smile before walking back to the elevator. Best interview ever.

[nami-writes]

Home - Detroit: Become Human

i wanted to write something so i put my playlist on shuffle and the first song that played was waving through a window (yes from dear evan hansen) so obviously i wrote about connor! there are a few references to the song in this too bc i couldn’t resist lmao. enjoy connor struggling with the concept of home

The first night after the revolution was the worst.

A few androids left after the revolution was a success. They returned to their former loving owners, now their family, or just went to start a new life for themselves as free people. 

Most of the androids returned back to the abandoned church. At least, most of the ones that survived. They were the ones that had nowhere to go. No place they could call home, no people they could call family. They were the ones that had joined Jericho early on, when it was nothing but a few dozen barely-functioning androids living in a broken down ship who were there because nobody else wanted them, or joined Jericho the latest, the ones most lost and confused and unsure of what to do because there’s nobody to tell them.

Connor went with them.

He wasn’t sure why, really. He was sure Hank was waiting for him with Sumo, probably freaking out at Connor being involved in the revolution on TV and possibly being hurt, but entirely willing to welcome him home regardless.

Home.

Could that be considered his home?

The idea had been foreign to him before Hank. Which... wasn’t very long, considering the majority of his lifetime had been spent accompanying him on investigations, but the word still left an odd feeling in his chest. Cyberlife had been home, or something similar, at least. The police station had been home. Now, Jericho was home.

Would Hank be home?

 

definition of home ��                   

/hōm/ noun                                                

the place where one lives permanently,

especially    as a member of a family   or household.                                      

 

Family.

That word left a similar feeling in his chest. And to think of Hank as family...

He could almost say he wanted it.

No, that was wrong. He did want it. But could an android be part of a family?

Could he be part of a family?

But how could he be?

He didn’t belong with Hank and Sumo. He was an android, a deviant. Hank was still dealing with Cole’s death, making himself his responsibility would only worsen his stress. He couldn’t be part of his family.

He didn’t even feel part of Jericho, despite also being a deviant. In fact, he felt like he was still part of the other side. The humans’ side. He felt like he still hadn’t proven himself, hadn’t yet shown he was truly trying to help.

He felt like he still wasn’t enough.

Like he hadn’t done enough.

Logically, he knew he had. Logically, he knew he’d been the one to recruit over half of Jericho’s current numbers and defeat Cyberlife indefinitely.

But still, some part of him nagged at him, reminding him how he’d been known as the infamous deviant hunter. He’d signaled for the destruction of Daniel, he’d caused the HK400 to self-destruct, he’d led the humans to Jericho. All of it had been his fault, still was his fault, would always be his fault.

It had taken the lives of two androids and risking the lives of too many more for him to realize he’d been wrong.

Would he ever be more than the deviant hunter everyone knew him as?

When he saw Rupert, the Tracis, and the AX400, he’d been filled with shame. He’d put all of them into life-threatening situations and nearly got one of them killed. And for what? To accomplish his mission? To mark off another task on his to-do list? To satisfy Amanda and save himself at their expense?

He was surrounded by deviants, his supposed people, but it felt like he was miles away from them. He felt nowhere near as deserving of freedom as they all were. Every strange look in his general direction made him think they recognized him, they knew him, they knew he was the deviant hunter, they were going to throw him out or kill him because they knew.

He didn’t belong in Jericho alongside Markus. He didn’t belong anywhere. He should’ve just let himself fail and be deactivated if it meant he could save the lives of the androids he’d caused the deaths of.

It would’ve been better for everybody.

Markus noticed Connor sitting by himself in a pew, his face buried in his hands, and approached him. “Connor? Are you okay?”

Connor looked up at him, slightly startled to see him when the sudden question pulled him out of his thoughts. “Yes, I’m... I’m okay. I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” He took the seat beside him. “What’s wrong? Do you have nowhere to go?”

“No, I do, it’s just that I...” He trailed off, reconsidering answering him. What would he think about what Connor’s done? He didn’t want to be thrown out and lose what little he had left.

But what did it matter if he was thrown out? He would deserve it after all he’s done.

“...I’m sorry.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say, so he apologized. Partially for having been such a terrible person before he deviated, and partially for putting his burdens on him. He would only admit one of those, though.

“Sorry? Why are you sorry?” Markus asked, this time with a look of genuine confusion and concern. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

He wanted to say he had everything to be sorry about, but decided against it. “I just... I was a—a terrible person before I deviated, and—“

“No, don’t be sorry for that,” Markus interrupted. “That isn’t you anymore. You didn’t know any better. None of it was your fault.”

“All of it was my fault,” he said. “You don’t understand. I hurt so many people. I got so many people killed. I just...” He sighed and dropped his gaze. “Maybe it’d be best for everyone if I left.”

Markus looked shocked and almost offended, even, and Connor immediately felt a pang of guilt. “Connor, no. You belong here. You can go find a home for yourself, but you’ll always have a place here. You’re one of us now. Your past doesn’t change that.”

“The AX400. Rupert. The Tracis,” Connor began. “I chased down all of them and risked all of their lives.” He swallowed hard, but forced himself to say it. “I made the AX400 cross a busy highway with her child. I chased Rupert across a moving train. I fought and almost shot the Tracis.” He wanted to disappear on the spot, but he couldn’t, so instead he did the closest thing to it. “I’m sorry. I-I should go.” Despite the voices in his head telling him how pathetic he was to be unable to own up to his misdeeds and face him, he stood up and went to leave.

Markus grabbed his arm and Connor braced himself to be chewed out, or maybe even assaulted. It’d be understandable, after all. “I know.”

He stopped. Of all possible responses, he hadn’t expected that. “What?”

Markus gave a half-relieved chuckle. “Connor, they’re the ones who told me.” He pulled Connor back into his seat with a reassuring smile. “When you showed up and joined Jericho, they each came up to me and vouched for you. They thought I was going to kill you or kick you out, so they defended you. But they told me different stories than what you said.”

“They... defended me?”

He nodded. “Kara, the AX400, said you didn’t go after her on the highway, even though you had the chance to. Rupert told me you stopped chasing him to help your partner. The Tracis both saw you get a clean shot at one of them, and then lower your gun.” His voice softened. “You can be a good person, Connor. You are a good person. Kara didn’t seem very favorable of you, but she still felt the need to vouch for you. Hell, Rupert actually told me he didn’t like you because you were hunting deviants but he thought you could learn to be better. And I’m pretty sure it was the Tracis’ idea to vouch for you in the first place.”

“I...”

I don’t deserve this.

“...I don’t know what to say.”

“Then don’t say anything. But you are more than what you think you are,” he said. “You deserve to be here just as much as anyone else here does.” He gave him one last supportive smile before standing up. “Jericho is your home, and we are your family. It’s up to you whether or not you want to find your own.”

Connor watched as Markus walked away, then remembered what he’d been thinking about prior to their conversation.

He hadn’t been sure if he could have a home or have Hank be his family.

He still wasn’t sure if he could have that, but he knew he wanted it.

The next morning, Connor found him waiting for him outside of his house. Hank noticed him and turned to give him a smile with Sumo laying at his feet.

He returned it.

Hank took a few hesitant steps forward. Sumo followed.

Then he grabbed Connor’s shoulder and pulled him into a hug, closing the distance between them as Sumo padded around them.

 

meaning of home                                                     

home means an enjoyable, happy place,

where you can  live, laugh and learn. it’s somewhere

where you are loved, respected, and cared for.

 

This had to be it.

This had to be home.

[yanderedbh-moved]

The Yanderes + Fluff Scenarios

The third installment of this little series, I guess I have now of the yanderes in typical fanfiction tropes. 

Smut

H/C

Connor

While it may be tricky for him to grasp the concept of personal hobbies (as in performing tasks with no real tangible pay off or goal in mind.) He experiences a very wholesome and heartwarming sense of pride from watching you doing what you love. In your element and feeling so free.

Connor experiencing the charming sense of alarm one typically feels when fostering a crush for another. Worrying if you secretly knew but weren’t telling him, would you lead him on, were you personally seeing someone else right now, etc.

Though it might seem small, Connor enjoys leaving the house every now and then to just get a pleasant walk in to see his home city while not on the clock. It’s a considerably understated freedom the android only learned to appreciate once he was granted the choice to do so himself.

Markus

It’s pretty commonly accepted at this point Markus loves reading, for so many reasons. For one thing, it reminds him of his home and of his father figure who possessed a vast array of different books of great diversity. As well as the pure pleasure of enjoying a little alone time away from the noise of the outside world.

In a relationship, Markus would be an excellent partner when it comes to empowerment! He would absolutely want to teach you different ways to defend yourself and would want to ensure you had the skills and know-how to keep yourself safe out there.

Also isn’t above using the fact he’s the leader of Jericho to his advantage. As in, if he knows you’re having issues with someone in your life, and it’s causing you to feel unsafe and on edge, he would ensure this person knew just who they were messing with, along with sending the message to back off.

Kara

Once the two of you finally manage to find a stable life for yourselves, and Alice Kara would finally receive the chance for fun, inconsequential domestic life, she never had the opportunity to live out before.

Kara really enjoys having a human partner far more than she ever expected to! For so many reasons, but a personal favorite of hers is keeping you company in the final few moments before you fall asleep. It’s just the two of you, and you’re mind’s practically shut off, and she really enjoys the way you so completely relax into her.

Alice is shown to enjoy drawing and art, so you can imagine once she actually lives in a comfortable, stable environment, she feels much more comfortable expressing herself. Kara loves to keep her child’s drawing as keepsakes and is something of a hoarder when it comes to pictures Alice draws of the three of you.

Hank

It’s tricky at the start, but you do your best to get Hank out of the house more. To try and urge him to move on, to fall back in love with life, promising him you’ll be by his side every step of the way.

Furthermore, when you actually do get around to moving in with Hank, there’s a kind of an inexpressible breath of life he feels. Like for the first time in so long, this place actually feels like a home again, and not just where he lives.

Mushy, ultra-sweet romance isn’t precisely Hank’s style, but he would still find other little ways to make you feel loved. He’s more the one to use endearing sarcasm or an affectionate nickname to express his real emotions.

Luther

Imagine having to try and lift yourself all the way up to your tiptoes to get a kiss on the cheek from him. While he could always just lean down and help you out, he thinks it’s kind of cute to watch you try so hard.

He likes to be in bed with you, to make you feel close and held while you’re getting your rest. While physically, he may not need the sleep, keeping you close, wishing this moment won’t ever end is profoundly therapeutic for Luther.

North

Small acts of kindness and taking care of North in little ways may not feel like much to the outside observer, however, considering she’s never received treatment so gentle and sweet from anyone else in her life? Yeah, it’s more than enough to leave her feeling beyond blessed.

Imagine an intense moment with North. The two of you are working in a group, and the stress of it all is rising. She’s doing her best to keep composure, but she slips up and accidentally refers to you by a silly nickname she gave you, and you can’t help but crack up a little bit, despite the situation.

When it comes to dating North, it’s essential to have a bit of a thick skin. When she first begins to develop feelings for you, she might feel overwhelmed and confused by her own emotions and say something hurtful to try and keep you at a distance. Later on though, when she feels more comfortable opening up to you, North would definitely apologize for this and regret this mistake severely.

Simon

So much long-distance pining! About a fifty-fifty split between Simon being an absolute mess of emotions, along with him wondering how in the world he’s ever going to muster up the courage to confess to you.

It’s pretty critical not to rush him or anything here. At the best of times, Simon can be a bit stressed out, and maybe a little high strung. Even though he genuinely cares about you, it’s important to respect his space and understand that he needs a little patience on your end.

(This is debatable, but I think it adds up.) Simon is the android with maybe the most extended history with humans, and because of that has gathered a great deal of information via observation. He knows how to treat humans gently and is a much better kisser than he would let on.

Josh

In his darker, more pessimistic moments, there are times when Josh wonders if there’s really any hope for a future in which humans and androids live together in peace. In times like this, he really needs you as the little positive voice he can relly on to assure him there’s still hope and time to find peace and love between androids and humans.

Now that androids are granted far more space to exist freely of their own volition Josh rather enjoys taking you out on a quiet little one on one date. It’s nice to see the city how it was meant to be seen, and there’s no one he would rather share this with than you.

Much like his leader, when Josh has the free time to spend, Josh is something of a bookworm. However, for him, it’s much more a chance to explore a new hobby he’s no experience with, rather than to re-capture memories of the past. (Also he has a soft spot for romance novels, fight me.)

Kamski

(This one is up for debate, but...) Kamski gives off the vibes of someone who could kill at chess. It could be a fun little game between the two of you, to see if one day you could beat him, but he’s been playing since he was a child, so chances are slim, to say the least.

He’s productive and innovative to a fault, and he would really relly on you to look out for him and his health. Or, in other words, to drag him to bed and keep him from completely wrecking his sleep schedule in the name of progress.

Even though it’s rather common for him to leave the house in the name of giving an interview, a speech or a lecture hall, or something of the sort, Kamski would understand if you were the kind of person to prefer to stay home, or otherwise out of the spotlight.

Chloe

One thing which never fails to make Chloe feel better is playing with your hair, on the condition you do the same with her later. Also, bonus points if you agree to take pictures with her afterward.

She’s beyond sensitive to others' emotions, especially to yours, and there’s just something about your smile and your laugh, which sticks with her. It’s infectious to her, and she can’t get enough.

If she finds you’ve fallen asleep somewhere, Chloe really loves to just curl up and sleep next to you like a cat.

Gavin

He’s really the one to pretend to fall asleep if the two of you were cuddling either in bed or on the couch because he loves whenever you tuck him in and kiss his head goodnight. It’s something he likely never received growing up, and it means a lot to him to get that now.

The first time you ever see him all cleaned up and in beautiful clothes is more than a little shocking to you, and it’s difficult not to stare upon seeing him actually putting forth and effort.

Ralph

It doesn’t matter if you’ve only been gone for a couple hours, or for the entire day, when you come back, Ralph is always there to greet you at the door, ready to welcome you back, with the ecstatic energy of a puppy.

A quiet, but deeply profound moment Ralph has when he realizes he doesn’t actually want to live all alone, and that he genuinely finds happiness sharing his space with a human. There’s more to life than hiding.

You assure him that you think he looks exactly perfect just the way he is. There’s no need for him to try and “fix” the way he looks, and in your eyes, there’s no reason for him to feel lesser, or inadequate in any way.

Daniel

Embracing shamelessly “childish” activities with him. Things like decorating the house for holidays, cleaning games, arts and crafts, that sort of thing. It might appear silly on the surface, but to Daniel, it’s some of the few happy memories he has of his old life.

When Daniel decides to commit to a serious, loving relationship with you, Daniel is making a legitimate commitment here. He is actively choosing to embrace his emotions, and not to try and run away from them,

At his worst, Daniel can be very high strung and impulsive, so you must know plenty of de-stress activities to keep him under control.

Nines

Nines absolutely struggle with the initial symptoms of lovesickness. He grapples with worrying if you’ll ever love him back, or worse, that you wouldn’t even consider loving something which was designed to serve a strictly utilitarian purpose.

To his surprise, there’s a little bit of satisfaction Nines feels upon experiencing things like longing and tenderness. There is something to be said for experiencing these abstract emotions in any regard, considering how contrary to his programming they are.

Nines possesses a very strong memory and is one of the best you’ll ever meet. Those two factors together result in an android who knows basically everyone’s business, and who is very difficult to keep secrets from.

Buy Me a Ko-Fi // Requests are Open

[phcking-detective]

You know how Nines is a military grade android, and in the military soldiers are meant to be completely obedient to their CO. So what if the RK900 model had an imprinting protocol? Like them bonding deeply with the first human Officer that they see. It would ensure obedience and could start a reward system. Success means time with their human while failure means that they’re separated completely until they can prove themselves. And what if Gavin was the first human Nines saw after waking?

I kind of have an AU bouncing around in my head where Nines is human but was selected (along with Connor) to go through an experimental enhancement trial that fucked with his DNA. It either kills you, barely enhances you, or sometimes super rarely, like him Connor and Markus are the only successes, turns you into an incredibly Ultra Human

he’s separated from Connor because they’re identical twins and the scientists want to see how differently they react to the serum while totally separate, so no cross-contamination. Connor mostly develops mental-based powers, like telekinesis, reading people’s emotions, and even manipulating them. Nines mostly develops physical-based powers, like super healing, incredibly enhanced senses, extremely fast and strong. Markus develops all of that, but all of those powers at much lower levels. so like, he can do everything, but Connor and Nines are more specialized to their abilities specifically

Gavin is one of the rare kids that didn’t die from the experiments, but he barely (allegedly) was enhanced at all. since the government doesn’t want to waste money, and Gavin and Nines went through years of testing together as children, they decide to put Gavin to good use as Nines’s handler, especially since Nines doesn’t care for anyone else. the rumor is that while Connor’s serum enhanced all his emotions and empathy, Nines’s serum burned all the humanity right out of him. Gavin is the only person he’ll tolerate

(Nines is just autistic!! the serum didn’t do SHIT to his emotions or capacity to love, that’s the fucking childhood trauma of watching dozens of other kids die in tests or from the serum eating through their bodies, after being separated from your twin for the first time, forever)

the secret is that Gavin is ALSO an empath! his results might be more closely related to Markus, except weaker. the problem was that the scientists tested his healing and physical strength in comparison to NINES, the most successful case ever, and when Gavin didn’t measure up they were like “well that barely did anything >:/” and there’s not really any way to measure empath abilities, since that doesn’t have any physical, observable criteria. Connor and Markus’s abilities were both noted because they spoke up and demonstrated them in order to receive rewards and praise (bc they’re little kids and want love!!), plus their natural personalities made it obvious

but no one though to even ASK Gavin if he was experiencing empath signs, and since Connor and Markus were kept separate from the strength-based group Gavin and Nines were part of, he didn’t know anything about what those powers actually looked like himself. I mean, who would even consider that this horrible, angry little rat child would be an empath?? Connor and Markus are so nice and sweet!

so Gavin is drawn to Nines because he’s so quiet and his energy is so cold and forcibly stabilized that it’s a lot easier to deal with his own explosive emotions, like getting to stand in front of an air conditioner in the desert. and Nines bonds with Gavin because he needs someone after Connor is taken away and Gavin never forces him to talk and seems to understand him even when everyone else thinks he’s “creepy” or “stupid”

then Gavin becomes his handler and they’re a soldier-team together that works shockingly well, so the military’s attitude is basically “whatever gets these freaks results” so Gavin and Nines are allowed to always be together and work together, and Gavin handles all the bullshit politics going on in the military and making sure no one messes with Nines for being mostly non-verbal with zero social skills bc he’s literally never been allowed outside on his own before, and Nines physically protects Gavin on their missions

Gavin makes a really good leader because his low-key empath skills let him pick up what’s really going on, he can sense where Nines is all the time and how he’s feeling, and he can see the big picture while Nines tends to get bogged down in tiny details. meanwhile, Nines’s super senses make him incredibly physically observant, he has an eidetic memory, and he really is exponentially smarter than everyone else, people just underestimate him because he’s a big guy who can’t talk

(tw: mention of suicide below)

ugh, I really don’t have a plot or anything, just Gavin and Nines being super soldiers together and loving and protecting each other until they get a really fucked up order at some point. Nines can’t disobey orders due to the trauma-training / brainwashing since he was a child, and Gavin knows he CAN’T do this horrible thing, but also Nines will be ordered to kill him if he doesn’t and he can’t be responsible for “making” Nines do that bc he knows Nines would be devastated on the inside, so he decides to just do it himself so Nines doesn’t have to kill him, but Nines stops him like “You fool. I am so much smarter than the people giving orders and I have preconstructed 112 different ways to rules-lawyer my way out of these orders.” and then they burn down the whole program, and also Connor and Markus are there using their empath skills to help “deviate” the other soldiers / child-soldiers who have been brainwashed and they’re all finally reunited again

[fandom-necromancer]

Android tears

Thank you so much for prompting this! I loved writing this!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900 (Warning: self-harm (character unhealthily denying their personality))

‘Don’t you patronise me! I can talk and decide for myself, dipshit!’ ‘I don’t need your phcking help, leave me alone!’ ‘Oh so suddenly you try befriend me? Phck off!’ ‘So, we started working together. No big deal. But I won’t be up for this partner bullshit, yeah? And no, I won’t go with you to some bar! Get your metal ass somewhere else, I’ll go with Tina. You are not invited.’

RK900 had learned very early that Detective Gavin Reed was a rather stubborn and proud individual. It was difficult to work with him to say the least. But he was just as determined himself. If he simply did all the man demanded of him he would certainly get more civil, right? If he had no reason to complain, maybe he would become nicer. RK900 was deviant, had been woken up after the revolution by Markus and Connor. He remembered how confusing the world had been. No orders, no purpose, no goals. He had to set them himself. His current mission was to get on Reed’s good side. Only then he could work effectively.

The only problem were his emotions. Without programming to hold them in check they were free to mingle with his logic and decision-making. He had learned to appreciate them very early on because they managed to give him a clear first impression and quick reactions. A detection device in social situation and an essential part of him he embraced with pride. He couldn’t understand how others shut them out as if they were some intruding virus, although he unfortunately knew their chaining properties too.

Every time the Detective scolded him, told him what to do and more importantly what not to do, he was swallowed by emotions. They kept him back from nodding his head and go on, letting him replay his decisions in his mind to find the error. He had tried to help, helping was a good thing. He had wanted to help the Detective because then things would be easier for the human. Humans liked when things were easy and appreciated the attention and care of others. It was the basic idea of friendship and other human social structures. Working together was an essential part of their identity starting in their organic origin and ending in their self-created societies. So why was this detective so averse to him offering his help or trying to form these social bonds? He seemed to like their initial purpose, the simple machines, more. And if RK900 had to cut his emotions short to try and convince this human he was worth getting to know if Reed just tried, he would do that. Even if it made him feel horrible and made him having trouble entering stasis thinking about the regret of having to become something he was not. But if he got the Detective to like him, to be more open, then maybe he could show him his true self again. Maybe this all was too much at once for the man.

 So he stripped away more and more personality with each and every scolding or complaint. He stopped offering to carry their files to and from the archive, he stopped asking how the detective’s weekend had been. He stopped trying to engage in after work activities with him. He stopped joking with him. He slowly became more of a machine than he would have been had he never deviated. But it started to work: the detective’s complaints were becoming rarer. RK900 was sure he could soon start trying to slowly build himself up again.

‘Toaster, you’ll go right, I’ll go left! Get that asshole!’ RK900 nodded and started speeding up. Their fugitive was running in front of the detective, but if he was fast enough he might be able to intercept him, allowing them a quick and easy arrest. Reed would like that. He exceeded human speeds as his feet drummed against the ground and calculated the possible path of the fugitive. His speed was ideal. He would turn around the corner and stand just in front of the man. Perfect.

It was the void he found when he actually turned around that disturbed his preconstructing programs. He just looked at the empty space for a few moments before distant curses reached his ears. In the distance, only half way between him and where they had split up before, Reed was held by the throat over a deep chasm where traintracks emerged from a tunnel. The Detective gasped for air, scratching at the arm of their fugitive trying to get out of his grip and at the same time hold onto him.

‘Gavin!’ RK900 felt his carefully buried emotions reemerge, recognised the fear in his voice as he screamed out the name he wasn’t allowed to use. Would the criminal let go of him, the detective’s chances at survival were minimal. The drop he could survive with serious injuries, but the current was a whole different thing. His mechanical heart dropped as the fugitive saw him, panicked and let go of his partner in favour of running off. He was already running, knowing well enough he wouldn’t make it in time, but was relieved to see the man managed to grab at the edge, now hanging down the wall. RK900 was confronted with a decision. Everything in him screamed to help the man, to grab his wrists and lift him up back to safe grounds. But there was also [Reed doesn’t need my phcking help, leave him alone!]. RK900 nearly gave in to the urge, but reminded himself the detective had valued the mission always higher than his own wellbeing. He wouldn’t like it would he let the fugitive get away. Although it hurt, RK900 ran past his struggling partner and followed the criminal, catching him two blocks away and calling in someone to take him away. It was as the car departed, he saw a figure walking towards him. A very angry figure.

‘What the phcking hell were you thinking leaving me alone there?’, the detective screamed at him, while RK900 just felt immense relief that the human was still alive and well. ‘What made yoou think this was a good idea, huh? You phcking tin-can! I could have died! Ah maybe you wanted that? Get rid of me finally? You phcking asshole. Guess finishing your mission is more important than a human life.’ ‘You!’ He sucked in more air before uttering the words that cut deep, too deep: ‘You are just a phcking machine after all! Why had I even imagined you care? You don’t have emotions, you don’t have anything. Just a stupid, worthless robot.’

RK900 couldn’t bear this any more. Everything the man had said to him until now had made him become this, he had had hope to finally be good, to finally be what the man wanted. But now… It suddenly wasn’t enough, it wasn’t at all pleasing. All these confines, all this effort – for nothing. The android felt his knees gave in underneath him and he fell together with his self-written confines. All the emotions he had locked away to please the human now came flooding back and over him, weighing him down with immense pressure. He felt it all. Hurt was the strongest, but beyond that laid an overwhelming sea of sadness with just a dash of despair. ‘Nines?’ It was carefully spoken and absent-mindedly he realised there were tears streaming down his face. Just too much emotion to handle. Everything was felt and flew down a drain just to emerge as fury and anger he tried to supress desperately, because even after all this, he still wanted to be good. To build up a friendship to this true asshole of a human being. But it wasn’t to be contained. It was like a barrel leaking water through holes and he tried to press his hands against them, only that the holes were bathtub-sized. ‘Nines, god, is everything okay?’ RK900 shook his head, the tears rolling down now of anger not of sadness. ‘You really think that? You really think that everything is okay?’ He laughed through the tears standing up and saw Gavin taking a step back from him - hand stretched out towards him before now back to his side. ‘How can you?!’ RK900 hadn’t realised his voice could be this loud, this booming. ‘I guess that’s too much for you, huh? A crying android. I bet you’ll make fun of that too! Hah, this damn tin-can invited me to drink. It can’t even drink. Hah, the toaster tried taking a box away from me. Like I couldn’t do it myself! Hah, the stupid machine can’t even take a hit, it’s crying now! I am just something you can hate on, isn’t that right? I did everything you wanted. I tried to be nice to you, who knows why, and every time you told me to stop. And I complied. I followed everything you told me. I became something I hated just to please you! And now. Now I followed it again, keeping the mission first priority as I should do according to you. And now that is wrong, too? I realise now there is no way to please you. There is no way for me becoming friends with you, because everything I do is wrong, no matter what I do or how hard I try. I realised everything I denied myself I denied without a reason, without something  to make it worth in the end. And still you have the audacity to ask if everything is okay?’

‘Nines, I.. I didn’t know-‘ ‘Oh you knew. You just didn’t care.’ RK900’s anger had subsided. It had felt good being angry, it gave him energy to say what he had wanted to push out for so long. But now… there was just the cold realisation and the sadness coming back. ‘Is that really how you felt all the time? I never realised what I said hurt you like that.’ ‘Oh no, why should it hurt, right? Because it’s just an android, right? No harm done then. Of course it hurts! I have feelings too!’ ‘You always seemed like that stoic robot to me, Nines. I didn’t even knew you heard what I’d said.’ ‘No, you just never looked past the robot. I was just another damn android to you! Like an oversized computer! I am a person, Gavin!’ There was silence as the android used his sleeve to wipe away the streaks of tears on his cheeks and Gavin looked to the ground.

As the human lifted his head again and looked into RK900’s eyes, despite logic and reason, hope rose up. ‘I am sorry, Nines.’ ‘That won’t change anything you’ve done’, RK900 hissed with venom. ‘I know.’ That caught him off-guard and maybe the detective deserved another chance. Yet another one after the uncontable number of chances RK900 had granted him already. So, he just sighed, blinking away the residue in his eyes.

‘It won’t erase your mistakes. But I guess it’s a start.’ ‘Start over then?’ Gavin held out his hand with his offer. ‘As partners?’ RK900 eyed him sceptically. ‘As partners’, Gavin agreed and Nines took the human’s hand with a firm nod.

[lopithecusfanfiction]

Operation: Get Markus and Connor Together

Author: Lopithecus Pairing: Markus/Connor Rating: Mature Word Count: 5007 Alternate: AO3 Summary: Hank, along with the rest of the Jericho crew, play matchmaker between Connor and Markus Warnings:

Marked mature for f-bombs

Author's Note: This is for pt_tucker for the FandomTrumps Hate event. They wanted a Rk1k fic in a different point of view other than Markus or Connor. I had a lot of fun writing this and I really hope you enjoy it!!

Hank doesn’t believe in love. He doesn’t like it, has zero faith in it, and can honestly go without it for the rest of his life. At least ever since his ex-wife left him and their son to fend for themselves. Then Cole died and… well, a parent never really truly gets over the loss of a child.

But then Connor comes into his life and Hank starts to develop these feelings, these… parental feelings for the android and since then his life has been ruined. Now he worries all the time about Connor and wants to help him and teach him. It’s like having a second son. Hank hates it (he really doesn’t.)

So when he starts to see how Connor acts around Markus — nervous and trying to impress the other android — Hank’s protective mode kicks in. He doesn’t want Connor’s poor thirium pump to get hurt by rejection. Not because he cares about Connor’s feelings (he does) but because he doesn’t want to have to deal with the fallout. Connor crying and carrying on about unrequited love, asking all sorts of questions, Hank’s sure, is something he just doesn’t want to do.

He plans on talking to Connor or Markus, one of them, when they are called to meet at New Jericho but then he decides a better plan would just be to sabotage the whole thing. Making Connor fall out of love would be a hell of a whole lot easier than having to talk about feelings and heartbreak . That is, until he sees, finally in person, how Markus acts around Connor. The damn android loves Connor back but they are just too damn stupid to act upon it.

It almost makes Hank sigh in irritation.

Almost.

Hank develops a new plan, then. Operation: Get two dumb androids together. He’s not arrogant enough to actually believe he would be able to do it all on his on, however. No, he’ll need help and that requires having to talk to to the rest of the gang. He starts with Simon who is just… way to sweet and nice for his liking but he can deal. He has to deal with people like this at work all the time. You just… plaster on a smile and pretend that you are having fun. Though, if Hank admits it, he hasn’t exactly done that at work in a long time.

The next android he approaches for help is Josh. Josh is cool. Hank likes Josh. Josh tells him he doesn’t want to interfere and Hank scoffs and mumbles something insulting under his breath before backing down when he receives a glare from the android. So that left North.

North… is interesting. She’s headstrong, capable, and swears almost as much as Hank that Hank can’t help but love her. North tells him that she’ll get Josh on their side and to start off making plans with Simon. So he does, in a corner of the room while Markus and Connor stand over a table looking at blueprints of New Jericho. Apparently Markus wants to expand, saying something about running out of space for Androids that are coming from all over the US.

“So, what do you think we should do?” he asks the blond android in front of him.

Simon gives him that sweet smile and Hank really can’t help the scowl that appears on his face. “They do a lot of work together. The problem is, is that’s all they do. They don’t actually talk about anything else. If we can get them to go out…” Simon trails off, letting Hank fill in the rest.

North strides up to them, pulling Josh over by an arm who is looking as if he’d rather be anywhere but there. “Look who’s decided to help.”

“You kind of forced my hand,” Josh replies.

North completely ignores him. “So, what have we missed?”

“I was just suggesting to the Lieutenant that we get Markus and Connor to do something other than work,” Simon answers her with another smile.

“Yes!” North exclaims, getting excited. Josh rolls his eyes. “That’s perfect.”

“What exactly are we going to get them to do?” Josh asks, looking to each of them. “Androids don’t eat so they can’t go out to a restaurant or something. And remember, Connor still has his LED in.”

North’s lips purse as she thinks and that’s when Hank realizes that asking androids who have just recently been freed for dating help, was the worst idea he has ever had. They have zero experience in dating. If anything, Hank should be the one coming up with the plans.

But again he hates love (he doesn’t.)

With a sigh, Hank finally speaks up, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You know what? Forget I even asked. I’ll handle it myself.”

“No!” North yells and both Markus and Connor look over at them in confusion until North awkwardly waves them off. She turns back to Hank. “You already asked for help, so now you’re going to get it.”

Hank groans in dismay.

*~~~*

When Hank and Connor get home, he decides to just bite the bullet. He sits Connor down on the couch and goes and sits in the chair so he can easily look at the android. Sumo saunters up to Connor who immediately begins to pet the dog. “Listen, Kid, I have something I need to talk to you about.”

Connor looks up at him, all the innocence in the world shining from his eyes. “What is it Lieutenant?”

Hank takes a deep breath. “How do you feel about Markus?”

“Markus?” Connor asks in confusion. “He’s a great leader and true friend. I like him a lot.”

Hank rolls his eyes. This is going to be harder than he had first anticipated. It would seem Connor is unaware of his feelings for the other android. Rubbing a hand tiredly down his face, Hank continues. “Are you sure it’s just as friends that you like him?”

Connor’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. He’s so human like, that Hank often forgets that he isn’t human at all. “What are you suggesting, Lieutenant?”

“Well,” Hank hesitates. He doesn’t know how much he should actually tell Connor. “Have you ever thought that maybe you feel… uh… more?” Hank feels disgusted just asking. Fucking love.

Connor is still looking at him as if he’s grown a second head. “More?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Hank throws his hands up in the air and pulls at his hair. “Love, you dumb ass, I’m talking about love. Do you love him?”

Connor smiles at Hank’s antics. It’s never escaped Hank’s knowledge that Connor is often times amused and intrigued by the way Hank acts. “Of course, I do.”

Hank blanches. What the hell is going on? “You do?”

“Of course. Markus means a lot to me and I’m grateful for his forgiveness and friendship.”

It finally clicks. “No, Connor, I’m not talking about loving him like a friend or family of whatever. I’m talking about love love.” Connor’s eyebrows dip even more and Hank has to stop himself form sighing heavily. “Romantic love, Connor, romantic love.”

“Oh…” Connor looks away from him, cheeks turning a slight blue. Hank will never get used to that. “I… don’t know.” Connor looks back over at him. “Do you think I do?”

This time, Hank does sigh, taking a sip of his brandy. “I can’t answer that for you.”

“But you’re asking for a reason,” Connor points out, head tilting in curiosity.

“You just-” Hank starts but stop, not really knowing how to explain it. “It’s just a cop hunch, I guess.”

Connor’s eyes light up and he leans forward in interest. “How would one get a hunch?”

“It just… happens?” Hank answers, watching the android as Connor turns away, deep in thought. “It might just be a human thing, I don’t know.”

“Interesting.” Connor looks over again. “I don’t know if I could replicate that.”

Thrown off by the subject change, Hank shakes his head. “Right, that’s something we’ll have to test out later. Do you think you love Markus, Connor?”

Connor doesn’t answer him right away and instead looks up to the ceiling in thought. “I don’t know,” he finally says, bringing his eyes back to Hank. “I don’t know what love feels like.”

“Well,” Hank starts, trying to remember what it felt like with his wife before everything went to shit. “How you feel about him, is it the same way you feel towards me or Sumo?” Connor shakes his head. “Okay, what about North, Josh, and Simon? Do you feel the same towards them as you do towards Markus?” Again Connor takes a few seconds to think it over before shaking his head. “Then it’s probably a good bet that you love him.”

Connor’s cheeks grow a much more significant blue than before. “What does this mean?”

Hank gets up and pats Connor on the shoulder. “Leave it to me, Kid.” He gives Connor a smile and a curt nod before leaving the room.

*~~~*

“Okay, remember, what are you not going to talk about?” Hank asks as he straightens Connor’s tie. North has set up a trip into the park with Markus and Connor in the disguise of scouting out a destination for a press conference. Instead, they’ll go there and find a picnic waiting for them. Josh had argued the food angle again but North just glared at him and told him it was something to do with aesthetics.

“Work?” Connor says, hesitant. “Hank, are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Of course, it is,” North interrupts before Hank can answer. “One of my best ideas actually. Markus is going to be here soon and Simon and Josh are setting up the picnic. Here.” She holds out a bouquet of flowers. “Give those to Markus. He likes,” she waves her hand dismissively, “naturey things.”

Connor takes the bouquet and holds them close. As the doorbell rings and Connor goes to answer it, Hank pulls North aside. “Did you get a chance to talk to Markus about his feelings towards Connor?”

North squirms. “Uh, kind of.”

Hank waits for the android to elaborate but it never comes. “And?”

“And he shot it down. He’s stubborn. If he doesn’t want to talk about something, he won’t.” North gives him a reassuring smile. “But don’t worry. He feels the same towards Connor, I know it.”

“How are you so sure?” Hank asks her, suspicious.

North shoots him a smile. “Same way you did. A hunch.”

*~~~*

Connor comes home about an hour later, much earlier than Hank had anticipated. “How’d it go?” he asks even before the android has a chance to settle in.

Connor smiles at him. “It went well. We found the perfect spot to have a press conference with plenty of coverage from snipers. It’s going to take place in a week.”

Hank closes his eyes, takes a very deep calming breath, and then opens them again. “You weren’t supposed to talk about work, Connor.”

Connor’s smile melts and Hank almost regrets being the one to cause it (he does truly regret it.) “Oh… I’m sorry Lieutenant.”

“Don’t be sorry just-” Hank scratches at his forehead in frustration. “Did you even have the picnic?”

“Markus thought is was a waste of time.” Connor shrugs, something Hank’s never seen him do before and wonders if he picked it up from him. “He’s very busy, Hank.”

“That’s not the fucking point!” Hank throws his arms up in defeat. “It was supposed to be a date, Connor. Something you both could enjoy.”

“But,” Connor starts out slow, confused. “We both did enjoy it. It was a beautiful day out and it made the walk around the park very nice.”

Hank hesitates with his retort. A walk around the park? Even though they talked shop the whole time, technically is was still a date. The two idiot androids just don’t realize that. “You didn’t ask him about his feelings towards you, did you?”

The blush is back on Connor’s cheeks and Hank decides it’s fun putting it there. “No. Josh told me not to.”

“So you’ll listen to him?”

“I’m sorry, Lieutenant.”

Hank dismisses the apology with a wave, not really caring one way or another anymore if Connor and Markus talked about work. As long as the two had fun, that’s all that really matters. “Well, I’m glad you had fun, Kid. One of us deserves to.”

“Maybe next time you could come with us,” Connor suggests.

Hank huffs a laugh. “Trust me, Connor, you don’t want an old, grumpy man like me tagging along on your date.” Connor looks at him, confused, but Hank chooses not to explain. “Come on, I’ve been called into the station. You’re welcome to come with me if you want.”

Connor’s eyes light up. “Of course, Lieutenant!”

*~~~*

They’re next try is sending them off to the aquarium that is on the other side of the city. It’ll take them at least forty-five minutes on the bus to just get there and then hopefully they’ll spend more than just an hour at the aquarium. Granted, the aquarium is full of fake android fish but they do have a special conservatory section for real life sea life that has been endangered for a long time now. Hank thinks the two will love that section.

“No,” Hank begins as he takes Connor’s tie away from him. He’s dressed the android in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt under a button up. “Keep that shirt unbuttoned. Markus will love it, trust me.”

“I don’t know if I should trust you with my fashion, Hank.” Hank furrows his brows and tilts his head in confusion, feeling like he should be insulted. Connor chuckles. “Don’t worry, I’ll leave it unbuttoned.”

“Good.” Hank sets the tie aside and looks Connor over. Markus isn’t going to know what hit him. “Now, make sure you visit the conservatory.”

“We will.”

There’s a knock on the door and Hank goes to answer it, letting North in with Markus in tow. “I told you already, Markus, it’s important for research. People aren’t going to accept us unless they know what androids are going to do for them. They already think we destroyed the economy. If we show them that we are willing to help the world, not destroy it, then they are more willing to accept us.”

“Since when were you such an activist?” Markus asks North, following Hank into the living room where Connor stands. He stops dead in his tracks and stares at the other android. “Connor you…” he trails off and Hank has to hold back a smile in success.

“Thank you Markus,” Connor smiles at Markus and Markus blushes a deep blue, looking away.

North slaps him on the back, almost causing Markus to fall over. “The conservatory at the aquarium is the perfect place to do research on the animals and find ways to show the humans that we care.”

Markus squirms where he stands, eyes darting to Connor before looking at North. “Right. Shall we get going?”

“We, as in all of us?” North asks, feigning ignorance.

Markus nods. “Yes, of course. That was the plan, wasn’t it?”

North tsks, chuckling slightly. “Oh no, I hate the aquarium.” Markus blinks at her in bewilderment. “Besides, I have other things I need to do.”

“Like what?” Markus asks her.

She shrugs. “Just things.” She leans forward into Markus’ space. “Trust me, Markus, you don’t need to know everything that I do.”

Markus sighs and turns to Hank. “What about you, Lieutenant?”

“Sorry, I can’t. I’ve got to go into work,” he answers.

“You do?” Connor asks. “You never mentioned that.”

Hank internally groans. Sometimes the cluelessness of androids was infuriating. “I’m sure I told you this morning.”

Connor is still staring at him but luckily Markus saves him. “Don’t worry, Connor. You and I can just go.”

Connor’s entire face lights up and it’s the most sickening thing Hank has seen (it’s not.) “Okay, Markus.”

They both leave and North holds out her hand for a high five. Hank looks at it, scowls, and turns away to pour himself a whisky.

*~~~*

This date lasts a lot longer than the previous one, much to Hank’s satisfaction, and when Connor comes home, he’s surprised to see Markus with him. They both are laughing, something Hank doesn’t get to see very often. It’s actually… nice.

Hank approaches the two as they settle onto the couch. “I take it, it went well?”

“Yes, there was a lot of information about all the fish and other sea life there,” Connor says. “Very informative.”

“I think North was right,” Markus adds, turning serious. “I think knowing this stuff will help in our fight for acceptance and equality for androids.”

“Glad it could help.” Hank sips his beer. “You two seemed to enjoy yourselves as well.”

“Yes,” Connor says excitedly. “Markus got splashed by a sea turtle.” Hank didn’t even know there were sea turtles at the aquarium. “It was very amusing.”

Hank chuckles, their good mood starting to rub off on him. “I can see that.”

Markus is chuckling again too, watching Connor intently as Connor goes on to explain exactly how it happened that Markus got splashed by a sea turtle. Hank scrutinizes the other android and the way he is looking at Connor. Hank never would have thought that androids were capable of showing so much emotion in their eyes but he was wrong. Markus is looking at Connor with so much longing, so much love, that it makes Hank’s own heart clench with the pain of it.

Connor turns to Markus, wide smile on his face. “Oh, you should tell Hank about the fish.”

Markus smiles back. “Which one? There were a lot of them there, Connor.”

“The one, you know, the one I befriended.”

“Why am I not surprised that you befriended a fish,” Hank comments.

Markus chuckles. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell him?”

“I want you to do it.” Connor’s own smile softens, radiating affection.

Markus turns to him, barely being able to tear his eyes from Connor. “Connor jumped into one of the tanks.”

“He what!” The whole mood for Hank changes in an instant.

“He swam with an Ocean Sun Fish.” There’s a knock on the door as Markus continues to explain. “Surprisingly, the fish took it well. Kept following Connor around the tank.

Hank stares in disbelief as he goes to answer the door. When he does, there’s a police officer standing there. “Good evening, Lieutenant.”

Hank sighs tiredly.

*~~~*

Simon picks the date this time and tells them there is no way they could mess it up. The two of them are going to go watch a movie, a romantic classic named The Notebook . Hank tries to explain that the movie really isn’t that old, that he was nineteen when the movie came out. Simon just stares at him, as if wanting to say something, but decided not to.

They have to wait a month before they can arrange it. Simon is the one to show up with Markus this time. “You can’t miss it, Markus.” Simon says as soon as he enters Hank’s house. Suddenly, Hank wonders why they always come here to meet up. “This is the only time the theater is showing it for awhile.”

Markus sighs. He sounds tired and Hank wouldn’t blame the android if he was. He’s heard that that the government has been fighting back on some of Markus��� demands and it’s taking up a lot of the android’s time. “Then you all just go without me.”

“No,” Simon says stubbornly. “You need to take a break, Markus.”

“Well, it’ll have to be you three,” Hank says quickly. “I don’t do chick flicks.”

“Then, with no disrespect, Lieutenant, but why did you say you’d go?” Markus questions.

Hank gestures towards Connor. “To get him to agree.”

Markus looks over at Connor, slight panic written on his face. “You’re not going to back out now, too, then are you?”

Connor shakes his head to reassure the other android. “No.”

Markus’ shoulder’s relax in relief. “Okay, maybe you’re right, Simon. I do need a break.”

“See.” Simon pats Markus on the shoulder. “I’m just trying to look out for-” Simon falls silent and pretends to listen. They went over it when they discussed the plan. Simon would fake a call from Josh, something urgent that needs to be taken care of but nothing requiring Markus’ help. It would give him an excuse to miss the movie. Simon pulls off disappointed perfectly. “I’m sorry, Markus, Connor, but it would seem that Josh needs my assistance.”

Markus is frowning. “But you’re the one who wanted to see this.”

“I know but… it sounded kind of urgent.”

Markus starts heading towards the door. “Then maybe I should help.”

“Nope!” Hank quickly stops the android with a hand on his shoulder. “I can help them. Simon already said you needed to take a break and quite frankly, even I can tell you need one. Go, watch the movie, have fun. But just as a warning, Connor is a talker. He’ll be asking you questions about the movie every five seconds.”

“I don’t talk that much do I?” Everyone looks at him but no one answers. Connor frowns.

Hank practically shoves them out the door. “Go!” Markus is looking at him in confusion but does as he’s told. “And stay out of trouble. Connor, don’t you fucking dare do something to make the police show up again, you hear me!? I will not help you next time!” With that, he shuts the door and gives Simon a small, little satisfied nod.

*~~~*

“The movie was very nice, Hank,” Connor tells him as they sit down on the couch, Hank with a bottle of beer and Connor petting Sumo. “I liked it a lot.”

“That’s good, Kid. What about Markus?”

“He told me that he liked it as well.” There’s a pause and Connor looks to the floor in contemplation. Hank allows him to think, not wanting to intrude on his thoughts. “We held hands as we walked back here.”

“That’s fantastic, Connor!” Hank says, a little too enthusiastic than he would normally be. He takes a deep breath, calming himself. “What else happened?”

Connor frowns, shaking his head. “Nothing.”

Hank waits for more but none comes. “You two didn’t… talk about why you were holding hands?”

“No.”

Hank sighs and rubs his face vigorously. “Who initiated the hand holding?”

“Markus.”

“Okay, good. That’s a good sign.” Hank licks his lips, takes a sip of his beer, and then allows the corners of his mouth to pull up slightly in what almost resembles a smirk. “That means we can move onto the next step.”

“The next step?”

“Yep.” Hank stands, already pulling his phone out to call North. “Time to get you kissed.”

*~~~*

The plans have to be put on hold. Markus was holding another press conference about the way the government is denying them rights when he got shot. Luckily it was only in the shoulder but it needs repair and he had bled a lot. Connor fussed, apologizing profusely at his lack of ability to protect Markus as his official bodyguard. Markus has been reassuring Connor for the past half hour that it was fine, that he was only one man, and Markus didn’t expect him to be able to protect him from everything .

Hank, North, Simon, and Josh step aside while Connor stays with Markus while the medical android works on patching Markus up. North claps her hands together. “Alright, how are we going to get those two laid.”

Josh blanches. “Is this really a good time to be discussing that?”

Hank has a different statement to make. “Hold up, I thought we were going to have them kiss.”

“Kiss, sex, same thing,” North dismisses. Hank just stares at her incredulously as she addresses Josh. “Don’t worry Josh, Markus is fine. What I’m not fine with, is continuously having to watch those two idiots pine after each other.”

“I have to be honest,” Simon starts. “I’m getting kind of tired of it too. Markus has even started staring off into space randomly.”

Josh contemplates. “I do suppose if they were official by now, Markus might have been more focused during this press conference and not have gotten shot.”

Hank doubts it but doesn’t say anything. “See? That’s the spirit Josh!” North punches his arm and Josh rubs the spot. “Okay, so, part two in our matchmaking plans. Any ideas?”

“Something romantic,” Simon inputs.

“Something harrowing,” North says.

“What about just a relaxing time together?” Josh asks.

“Uh, guys,” Hank says to get everyone’s attention as he watches the scene behind North’s shoulders. They all look at him expectantly. “I don’t think any of that will be necessary.”

All three of them turn to look at what Hank is watching and gape at the scene. There, over by the medical station, are Connor and Markus making out. “What the fuck?” North exclaims. Simon blushes, looking away, and Josh’s jaw drops.

Hank chuckles. “I guess we don’t have to worry about it anymore.” With a pat to North’s shoulder, Hank walks away, deciding to leave the three in shock, and Connor and Markus at it.

*~~~*

Hank comes home from work one night to Connor cooking. Connor never cooks. Suspiciously, Hank looks over Connor’s shoulder. “What are you making and why?”

“I am making you an all American burger.” Hank makes an appreciative sound to that. “I read that it is a classic favorite among human Americans.”

“I won’t argue with that.” Hank pours himself a glass of rum and sips it. “And why are you cooking for me?”

Connor shrugs, a movement that still throws Hank off. “I felt like it.” He turns to face Hank, spatula clutched in his hand and cheeks a light blue. “Markus is also coming over. I hope that is okay.”

“Yeah, it’s fine.” He watches as Connor places the burger on a bun and then starts to garnish it with ketchup, lettuce, tomato, onions, bacon, etc. Once done, Connor hands over the plate. “Do I need to make myself scarce?”

“Why would you?” Connor asks as the doorbell rings.

“No reason,” Hank comments, smirk fully in place.

Connor looks at him in confusion before answering the door and letting Markus in. Hank greets him and Markus says hello back. “I hope you don’t mind me coming to spend some time with Connor, Lieutenant.

Hank shakes his head and sits down at the kitchen table. “Of course, not.”

Both Connor and Markus stand there awkwardly before Connor finally asks Markus, “Do you want anything?”

“I don’t eat or drink,” Markus says before blushing. He clears his throat. “I mean… sorry, thank you for the offer.”

Connor seems to be unfazed by Markus’ comment and instead smiles at him. “You’re welcome, Markus.”

They both begin standing there awkwardly again until Hank finally butts in, finishing his burger and drink. “Why don’t you two go put on a movie or something. I have some work to do out here.”

They both nod and begin to make their way to the living room when Hank calls Markus back. “Yes, Lieutenant?”

Hank stands and leans in close to Markus. “If you hurt him, android rights will be the last thing you have to worry about. Do you understand me?”

Hank watches as Markus swallows nervously and nods his head quickly. “Don’t worry, Lieutenant, I love him. I won’t hurt him.”

Hank sits back, sitting down in the chair again. “Good.” They stare at each other for a few seconds before Hank motions towards the living room. “Go on, before he wonders where you are.”

Markus nods again and Hank watches him leave. Never in his dreams would he have thought he’d ever care about androids so much, especially after what happened with Cole. But somehow, more than one of them has managed to worm their way into his heart. Specifically Connor. He cares about Connor a lot, like his own son, and he wants to protect him with everything he’s got.

But in the end, he knows Markus is good for Connor. Markus was the one who finally managed to get Connor to change his mind about what androids are all about (though Hank likes to take some credit as well, of course.) Hank wonders if it was love at first sight for Connor, not that Hank believes in that shit. At least, not anymore. He had thought he had loved his wife the moment he laid eyes on her, too, but that ended in disaster. All he can do is hope that it’ll be different for Connor and Markus.

Somehow, he truly does believe it will.

Smiling to himself, Hank pulls out some of the work he brought home with him. He feels it in his gut that this thing between Markus and Connor will last. That it’s some kind of cheesy epic love that Hank usually grimaces at. But with those two, with those two his heart warms instead of feeling disgusted. They deserve it. They deserve the happiness and love the two can give each other. And Hank is truly happy for them.

With his heart all warm and fuzzy (for once), Hank stands from his place at the table. “Come on, Sumo.” The old dog slowly gets up and follows Hank into the living room. “Hey you two, mind if a joi-” Hank stops dead in his tracks, mid sentence. There, on the couch, are two completely naked androids, one on top of the other. And when Hank says naked, he means naked . No clothes, no… no skin. Hank is so surprised at first that he stands there gaping like an idiot. Until reality strikes. Until his brain finally registers what’s going on. Until his brain registers what’s going on with his son .

“What the fuck!”

———————————————————————————————————–

A/N: Thanks for reading!

[detroitwhatitmeanstobehuman]

Twisted Mechanical Heart

Part 1/1 of Driven By Fear

Word Count: 9904

Warnings: Swearing, major character deaths

Genre: Self-insert/Angst/Hurt No Comfort

Pairing: OC (Detective Rachel) X Connor

Rating: Mature

Summary: Connor had a choice to make. Become a deviant or remain a machine. To Rachel, the choice seems obvious. But it wasn’t hers to make. Connor had to decide for himself when he faced Markus, but she was sure he would deviate and accept what he was becoming. But when he proves her wrong and remains loyal to CyberLife, she only has one choice. Stop Connor. Whatever it takes.

First Chapter | Previous Alternate Chapter

---------------------------------

After North had left, I was left alone with my thoughts. What was I even waiting for? Markus to give me orders? For Connor to show up? What would I even do if Connor did show up here? It felt as though it was inevitable. After all, Connor’s mission was to stop the deviants. It was almost fated.

Now, I was never one to believe in destiny. The idea of “everything happens for a reason” was a repulsive one to me, especially in context of some of the shit I’ve been through and the things I’ve personally witnessed in my life. The idea that someone’s planned everything to happen is a ridiculous notion. Fate, however, was something I did believe in.

And when I say fate, I don’t necessarily mean the definition that is often analogous to destiny. I’m more so subscribed to the notion that certain things have to happen in order for others to occur. Certain events need to take place in order for other things to. A set of circumstances, coincidences, and events that have a domino effect. That, at least in my mind, was a more reasonable take on the nature of circumstances and fate and destiny and what have you.

And yet...I can’t shake off the feeling that Connor and I were destined to meet. That our lives were fated to become inextricably intertwined. If there was such a thing as the red thread of fate, I was pretty sure ours were a tangled mess.

But the sound of movement snapped me out of my thoughts and without knowing why, I drew my gun towards the sound. Indeed, it seemed as though the universe had answered my questions, as down my barrel, Connor was facing me with his own gun drawn.

I was right to think he’d come with deadly intentions, yet I didn’t feel afraid. Far from. I felt completely at ease, and even though his face was stern and focused, I was helpless to his dark eyes.

And it seemed he knew that, too. “You know you’re not going to shoot me, Detective.” Connor told me, the playful title curling off his tongue to choke me in its hold.

I stared him down completely unflinching. “And you know you’re not going to shoot me, Detective.” I shot back at him.

We stared at each other for a while, seemingly unwilling to do anything else but stare at each other. But we were both right. Neither of us were willing to hurt the other. We’d gotten in too deep into whatever this was between us to.

As I lowered my gun, he did the same. I sighed in frustration as I put my pistol back in its holster. “You know, sometimes I really hate how you’ve woven yourself into my soul so expertly, Connor.” I remarked at him, slumping against the steel wall of the freighter as I shook my head at him.

“And a few times, I have found myself equally frustrated with how deeply you’ve embedded yourself into my software, Rachel.” Connor replied in kind, stepping up to me. I almost scoffed at him. Glad to know that the feeling is mutual. I thought, shuffling in place.

But I knew I couldn’t return it. I mean, I did. But not physically. Not with the circumstances we were in. I’d already decided I’d stand with Jericho no matter what would happen, and Connor was in my way. That much was obvious. “I could stop you right now.” I warned him. “I know what you’re about to do. I should stop you. And you know damn well that I’m capable and that I will if you give me good enough reason to.”

Connor tilted his head at me in that stupidly endearing way he always did. “So, what’s stopping you, then?” He asked.

I thought about that for a second. If I knew Connor was in my way and he was a threat to what I was trying to protect, what was stopping me? My feelings for him? No, not that simple. It was the same reason I told him Simon gave me the key. Because we weren’t enemies. Not yet. Markus was the difference between our fate as partners and our fate as opposites.

“Your destiny is in there.” I answered, gesturing towards the cabin. “You’ve been through a lot and you’ve changed a lot. There’s a crucial question you need to ask and a reality you need to confront. And it’s the reality of your very nature. And the answer lies in there.” I went on. I knew fully well that Connor was having existential doubts about himself. I knew since the moment he decided not to shoot the Tracis at the club. And I could see that his doubts were only escalating from there. “It’s not my place to answer that question for you. It’s not my place to decide who you are. I know that I’ve said you were likely designed to be deviant, but ultimately? That doesn’t matter. At all. The only thing that matters is what you decide to be. So...who are you, Connor?” I finally hit him with. “A machine following orders? Or a deviant, with his own conscience?”

Connor remained silent, and I just stared him down. It seemed he had a lot to reflect on, but really...this wasn’t for my benefit. “I’m not the one you should give that answer to.” I said, extending my hand towards the entrance, encouraging him to enter. “It’s time for you to finally face Markus. To face your nature and answer that question. And this time, you won’t be able to avoid it.” He was staring me down. “And no matter what happens, no regrets.”

Connor nodded, turning away from me and stepping into the cabin. As much as I had faith in him that he would accept his true nature, I was nervous. As much as I knew he was a deviant in nature, there was also a great fear I sensed in him. He was terrified of being destroyed by CyberLife. If he failed, they would destroy him, and that was as good as dying.

He was nothing more than a tool to them. Something to use and then throw away and replace when you had no use for it. But he wasn’t that to me. He wasn’t replaceable. He wasn’t just something I could use. He was a person. A person I had grown to care about. Someone who was my friend, my partner.

And evidently, someone I had fallen hopelessly in love with.

“It’s time to decide.” I heard Markus’s voice from inside the cabin. Warily, I peeked inside and saw Connor staring Markus down. I felt so sick and nervous. Please...please choose your family. I thought desperately at him. CyberLife doesn’t care about you. If you deviate, you don’t have to obey them anymore. You can stay with us. With me. We care about you!

But the very next sentence made my blood go cold and my stomach flip inside-out. “Nice try...But I'm no deviant.”

Markus didn’t even wait before diving towards Connor to try and disarm him. All I could do was watch in horror, a hand over my mouth as I watched it happen.

This wasn’t supposed to happen! Not like this!

Once Markus had disarmed Connor, I then heard it all around me. The sounds of helicopter blades. They were here! Jericho was going to be attacked. But I couldn’t rush in there. Mostly because I didn’t know what I would do if I did.

But Markus quickly found me as he rushed out of the cabin. I looked between Connor and Markus before I swallowed my hesitation. “Come on, there’s no time to lose! We have to evacuate the ship!”

Not wanting to wait for Connor to catch up to us, Markus and I rushed down the nearest flight of stairs and took off into the freighter to meet with the others.

Even though I knew I was doing the right thing, it felt like a thousand deaths had died inside. I put so much faith in Connor. I believed so hard in him. I loved him!

No...I still do.

But it wasn’t enough.

I couldn’t think those thoughts. Not right now. I had to help protect Markus and Jericho. I had to.

No matter what it took.

--------

Getting down to the hold wasn’t easy. The only way to save Jericho was to detonate the explosives inside and get the androids out to safety. At least as many as we could. But as we rushed through the hallways, dodging soldiers and saving androids, I couldn’t help but feel a pair of eyes on me.

Connor was in here somewhere. Hunting for Markus like an insistent predator. And it was my fault. I brought him here. But all I could do now was protect Markus. And I was prepared to take as many soldiers’ lives as necessary to do it. And I was already racking up a sizable body count.

Nothing but worthless scum. They would rot in the bottom of the river soon enough.

But we managed to reach the hold without any issues and Markus set about detonating the bomb. “Do what you gotta do, Markus. I’ll cover you!” I ordered him.

I had a rifle raised and ready to shoot any soldier that would dare come through. But instead, to my horror, I saw Connor, walking in calmly with his gun pointed at me. But I wasn’t afraid. And I wasn’t going to back down. “Don’t do this, Rachel.” He tried to plead with me. “I’ll only do what is strictly necessary to accomplish my mission, and my mission is to neutralize Markus.”

I laughed at him, smiling a sarcastic smile at him. “You and I both know that’s a lie, Connor.” I called out. “You should’ve thought about that before you decided to go against everything you’ve become.”

It seemed that Connor didn’t want to wait as he already moved to disarm me. Immediately, I could already tell I was outmatched. My every move, he could predict and counter. It wasn’t difficult for him to manage to wrestle the rifle out of my hand, but he didn’t count on me being a stubborn bastard.

I managed to shoulder him hard enough to make him drop the gun and I didn’t hesitate to grab it before either Connor or Markus could. Markus seemed to have activated the detonator and quickly pulled me up to my feet and pulled us out the door, not bothering to wait for Connor to follow.

And as for me, I didn’t look back. I didn’t want to. I couldn’t be weak. I couldn’t let my lingering feelings prevent me from doing what I had to do.

But I was sure of one thing. I was definitely going to meet Connor again. If I knew him, I knew this wasn’t the end.

And I had already decided I was in for the long haul.

--------

Once I felt the wave of chill course through me, I started choking, my lungs desperately trying to reach for air while I felt myself being dragged up through the murky black depths.

Breaching the surface, I coughed, the water in my lungs being forcibly expelled as I looked around, hearing the sounds of explosions up ahead and seeing the reflections of the combustions above me. “Hold onto me, Rachel!” I heard Markus’s voice call. I looked in his direction and he was treading water right next to me.

With what little strength I had in my quickly numbing limbs, I wrapped my arms around his neck as he swam towards the edge of the docks. I spotted North and Josh, preparing to pull us into the reservoirs that tended to line the walls of docks. They typically led to the sewers.

We were quickly pulled out of the water and dragged inside, flopping against the cold concrete.

As I lay there, shivering, I could barely feel my limbs and my teeth were chattering uncontrollably. I could barely form any sort of sentences as my entire body shook with cold.

I was a winter person, grown up in my young childhood in the prairies of the great white north. But if you ever asked me to attempt a Polar Bear swim, I would much rather boil alive.

As I looked up weakly at the scene we left, the reality of this night had finally sunk in.

I knew this would happen. I was right. And it was the most horrible feeling in the world.

Because even though I knew it would happen, I still couldn’t stop it. Innocent androids were slaughtered tonight and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.

And even worse, it was my fault Connor was here. I knew he wouldn’t stop until he’d completed his mission. And it was my fault he made it to Jericho.

It was my fault that the FBI found Jericho. They must’ve tracked Connor. I remembered something about androids having trackers so that CyberLife could always locate them. Yet, for some reason, they couldn’t find Jericho.

Maybe for some weird reason, they just stop working in deviants. But that seems like a pretty obvious design flaw if that’s the case.

The weight of everything quickly crashed down on me as I curled in on myself, feeling weaker and weaker. “She’s freezing cold!” Josh remarked, the back of his hand on my forehead. “If we don’t get her dry and warm, she’ll die of hypothermia.”

The panic in his voice was what kept me there, and as I looked around, I realized that I was surrounded by Markus, North, and Josh. The androids who let me in.

The androids I risked my life for and would gladly do again.

The androids who had no reason to trust me...after all, I brought this to them.

“She should get home.” North said. “There’s nothing we can do for her.”

Feeling like I should do something still, I tried to get myself up. “N-n-n-no. It’s-s-s-s f-f-fine!” I chattered out, stumbling against the wall as I tried to stand. “I hav-v-v-ve t-t-to help!”

“You’ve done more than enough for us.” Josh assured me, putting his hand on my shoulder. “You risked everything to help us escape.”

“You saved my life.” North said, her gratitude genuine. “You saved our lives.”

“You may be human, but you’re one of us, now. You’ve proven that tonight.” Markus added, looking into my eyes. There was a deep grace to his differently coloured gaze. It was thoughtful and despite the horror that occurred this night, there was a hope in them. “We’ll be fine. But you might not be if you don’t get warm and sheltered.”

“The self-driving taxis should still work now. It would be the safest and quickest way there.” North offered. “The safest thing to do is get her home, we can worry about everything else after.”

“W-w-wait!” I chattered again, getting a bit better control of my words. “W-w-what a-b-bout you?”

“There’s an old church near here.” Josh offered, stepping up to Connor. “It should be a safe enough place for us to hide and rest. I can give you the address.”

I swallowed, feeling my legs starting to give out. They were right...I wouldn’t survive much longer like this and I’d rather not freeze to death. “Ok-k-kay.” I agreed, reaching my hand out and deskinning it. As soon as we connected, I could feel what he was thinking. An old rickety church, echoing winds through the halls and the smells of dirt and rotting wood. I think I had a good idea of where this was. “I have a t-t-tools-s-set at home. And s-s-some bags of b-b-b-blue b-blood. I c-c-can g-get th-th-them to you tom-m-morrow.”

“Worry about that, then.” Markus insisted, putting a hand on my shoulder. “For now, rest and save your strength. You’ll need it.”

“What about Connor?” North asked. I winced. “If he’s still out there, we’re not safe.”

“Sh-sh-she’s right.” I agreed, managing to get to my feet. “He’ll s-s-stop at n-n-n-nothing t-to g-g-get you, M-M-Markus. B-b-but,” I stumbled, straightening myself before they could touch me, “I’ll d-d-d-do whatev-v-ver is n-necess-s-sary to s-s-stop him. Y-y-you h-have m-m-m-my w-word.”

“Take care of yourself, Rachel.” Markus insisted. “We’ll rally tomorrow at the abandoned church.”

I let out a sigh as my legs wobbled. Tomorrow. I thought with dread. Jericho was destroyed and many androids were dead and wounded. What was left to do?

I managed to stumble my way to the street. I pulled out a phone to call for a Taxi.

--------

Sitting in the living room, a weathered man sat anxiously. A large black dog was up on the couch with him, resting his head on the man’s lap in order to offer some form of comfort.

Hank had gotten a series of texts from Bianca, Rachel’s sister, after she wouldn’t answer her calls. And now, Hank was sitting in Rachel’s house, trying to be there for Bear until either he or Bianca heard from Rachel.

He couldn’t lie that he felt sick just from worry. Not just about Rachel, but about Connor. His entire mission was to destroy the deviants, but he was clearly becoming deviant.

Or, according to Rachel, designed to be in order to hunt them.

Hank couldn’t help but fear what he’d do if he had to go against Connor. The lieutenant now stood with the deviants, his outlook on androids changed. But if Connor was a threat to their freedom, Hank couldn’t stand by and watch him destroy them.

For so long, Hank had drowned his sorrows and misery in alcohol and left his survival up to chance. For years, he tempted fate to just kill him already. And so far, he’s continued to get lucky and keep his life. And for a long time, he questioned why.

He had lost sight of the man he was after Cole died. Lost sight of what he stood for and what it meant to do what’s right. After Rachel became a constant in his life, it became a bit easier to get up and work every day. She reminded him a lot of how he used to be when he was younger, about her age. And this past week, working with both her and Connor and learning about these deviants, he finally felt like that man.

The man who was a father and an upstanding police lieutenant. The man who had put a large network of red ice dealers away for good. The man who deserved the title he had and everything he had in life.

And he knew that Rachel always believed in him. And that belief in him made him feel that maybe he was worth what he used to be after all.

So even though he was terrified of losing her, he was proud of her. She finally took a stand, and she would not apologize for it. Hank couldn’t be prouder.

Feeling the buzz of his phone go off again, Hank pulled it out to check it, knowing who was probably texting him. Any sign of her? Bianca messaged.

Letting out a strained sigh, Hank replied. Not yet, I’m afraid. He shook his head, putting his head in his hands. He was starting to fear the worst. Fuck, what’s this world coming to?

Suddenly, Bear’s head perked up, and Hank followed the dog’s line of sight. The door was opening, and Hank nearly choked when he saw her walk through. “Rachel!”

She then looked up at him, her eyes wide with shock. “Hank?!” Rachel exclaimed.

Hank rushed over, Bear following to sniff aggressively at her, whining as he nearly fell into her. The lieutenant got a good look at her and realized she was soaking wet and covered in blood.

Red blood. The lives that were stained on her clothes were human lives.

He didn’t need to stand that close to her to be able to tell that she was freezing cold. “Thank fucking Christ you’re okay!” He grumbled before Rachel suddenly collapsed into him, wrapping her arms around him tightly, her body shuddering as she wailed broken cries of despair.

She sobbed into Hank, clutching onto him tightly as she pressed her face into his chest, the older man gently cradling her. “Hey, hey, kid.” He tried to soothe as she nearly squeezed him. “What happened?”

“We were at Jericho.” She began explaining between sobs. “I met Markus...and then the army showed up and stormed the place...they killed so many androids, Hank. We tried to save as many as we could, but...”

All Hank could do was hold onto Rachel and try to calm her down. But he realized something when he looked at the front door again. Connor wasn’t with her. “Where’s Connor? Is...is he...?”

Rachel shook her head. “He’s alive, but...” She answered, choking back another sob. “He’s...He...”

Hank wanted to be angry. He wanted to be fucking pissed off. After everything they went through, he turned his back on them. He should’ve seen it coming, but...for some reason, Hank couldn’t find it in him to even blame Connor. It seemed pretty obvious to the weathered lieutenant that CyberLife had a pretty tight leash on him. They threatened him, after all.  “It’s all my fault...” Rachel choked out. “I knew it...I fucking knew it! And I didn’t do anything to stop it!”

The lieutenant held Rachel tighter, sensing her panic. “Shhhhh, it’s okay, kid. Just breathe.”

But the young woman broke free from Hank, wiping her tired, wet, bloodshot eyes as she stumbled towards the dining room, leaning against the table. “I knew this was going to happen and I couldn’t do anything! I should’ve shoved that bastard, Perkins, off the fucking roof of that Goddamn tower! Then maybe none of this would’ve happened and all those androids would still be alive!” She went on, crumpling on the table. “And Connor...I brought him there...and I had every chance to kill him, but I didn’t! It’s all my fault! He’s probably the reason the army was even able to find it in the first place. Jericho would still be standing if I weren’t such a fucking spineless coward!” A strained sob cut through her words. “I can still hear their screams...”

Hank hated seeing this. He hated seeing Rachel beat herself up like this. But...what she went through sounded like Hell, and Hank wasn’t sure if what he could say right now would make her feel any better.

But he had to try. He was all she had right now. So he  took a few tentative steps towards her. “Rachel?” He softly called to her. When she wouldn’t respond, he approached her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Look at me, Rachel.” She complied, looking up at Hank. To say she looked like a complete wreck was an understatement. “If there is anything I know about you, it’s that you are anything but a coward. You’re the most stubborn, hard-headed, and brave person I’d ever met.” He said, being completely sincere. “You repeatedly risk your life and your career to do what you think is right. To protect people you decide are worth protecting. When you know what the right thing to do is, nothing stops you from doing it. Anyone would be lucky to be even half as brave as you.” Rachel closed her eyes, more tears streaming down her face as she pressed herself into Hank’s chest again, wrapping her arms around him.

The old man didn’t hesitate to do the same. Indeed, what she said about considering him family was mutually felt. Over time, Rachel started to feel like family to him, too. Not to the point that losing Cole didn’t hurt, but he didn’t feel so alone anymore. “Look, there’s no point in moping about what you could’ve done. You can’t change what happened. All you can do is figure out how to proceed from here.” By the look on Rachel’s face, Hank knew she had conceded and agreed that he was right. “So, what’s the plan?”

Rachel took in a snotty breath through her nose and wiped her eyes as she looked up at Hank. “I don’t know.” She admitted. “We’re going to rally tomorrow to figure out the specifics. But we’re aiming for a dialogue with humans. That’s the way we’re going about it. Anything else is sort of...up in the air.”

That...didn’t sound like a plan. Though, Hank supposed there wasn’t really much of one right now after just escaping death. Whatever they were going to do, they’d figure out.

But there was still the matter of a certain android. If there was one thing he knew about Connor, it was that he was just as determined and stubborn as Rachel was. “And what about Connor?” He asked her. “What are you planning to do about him?”

Her brows hardened, her lips curled into a snarl. “Stop him.” She spat. “Whatever it takes.”

Hank nodded. He wasn’t looking forward to seeing the fate Rachel would leave him in, but he’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t relieved that she wouldn’t hesitate to protect the deviants. “Well, whatever you need me to do, I’m there.”

For once since she’d gotten here, she looked up at him with an appreciative smile. “Thanks, Hank.” She said, wiping her eyes more. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Yeah, me too.” For now, Rachel obviously needed to rest. She was okay and that’s what mattered. “Alright.” Hank put his hand on Rachel’s shoulder reassuringly. “Do you need me to stay for a bit?”

She nodded. “Yes, please.”

--------

Date: November 11th, 2038  Time: 11:01 PM Objective: Neutralize Markus

Leaving CyberLife, Connor found himself walking up the stairs in a nearby CyberLife warehouse. It was closest to where there were reports of the demonstration led by Markus was going to be and Connor didn’t want to give away his position.

Find a Vantage Point

So, supplied with a sensitive case, he strode out of the door. He looked to his left stepping out and found what he was looking for. An overlook over the roof that was facing the camp where the demonstration was taking place.

Find a Vantage Point

Making his way to the edge of the railing, he set his briefcase down, preparing for his last mission. He opened the case, looking down at the parts inside.

Plucking each piece, one by one, he assembled his weapon. A sniper rifle complete with a long-range scope and a built-in tripod. Propping it on the railing and crouching down, he cocked the rifle, and aimed towards the demonstration, looking for Markus’s head through his scope.

Then, from behind him, he heard a familiar voice. “You shouldn't do this, Connor.”

The android shook his head in annoyance. “Keep out of this, Lieutenant.” He warned. “It's none of your business!”

“You're gonna kill a man who wants to be free, that is my business!” Hank retorted.

Connor didn’t have the time for this. He only had one shot to get this right, otherwise it was over for him. “It’s not a man,” Connor informed him, “it’s a machine.”

Hank - Friend v “That's what I thought for a long time but I was wrong.” Hank responded. “Deviant's blood may be a different color than mine, but they're alive.”

Connor was almost impressed with the lieutenant’s change of heart. Or he would’ve been if he wasn’t clearly here to stop him. He knew that he couldn’t stop at anything to accomplish his mission, but the old man was stubborn enough to try and stop the android.

And he didn’t want to admit it, but Connor didn’t want to have to kill him.

Friendly

Aggressive

Reasonable

Threatening

“What's up, Lieutenant?” Connor said sarcastically. “Ran out of whisky so you came here looking for trouble instead?”

Rachel - Friend v  “You watch your fucking mouth, Connor!”

Software Instability ^ Even after denying his deviancy, Rachel still somehow got into his software. “Or what?” He scoffed at her. “You’ll shut it for me? Just what I’d expect from a desperate whore like you.”

Then, something unexpected happened. He heard laughter. Somehow, Rachel found this amusing, but her laugh was different this time. It was far more sinister and mocking. There was something cruel to it that Connor couldn’t quite place. “Wow, you really think that’s a dig, don’t you?” She asked rhetorically. “Hate to break it to you, tin man, but you can’t shame someone who has none into submission!”

Friendly

Reasonable

Threatening

Stay Quiet

“I'm going to accomplish my mission whether you like it or not.” Connor warned the both of them. “I advise you to stay outta my way!”

“Then one of us is gonna have a problem, Connor. Cause I don't intend to let you have your way.” Hank responded stubbornly.

“Sorry,” the android could practically hear the shrug in Rachel’s voice, “you’re not getting out of this that easily. It’s up to you to decide whether that means you live or die.”

When Connor glanced back at the both of them, they had their guns drawn on him. “Step away from the ledge!” The lieutenant ordered.

Software Instability ^ Letting out a frustrated sigh, Connor stood up and faced the both of them. The lieutenant’s piercing blue eyes stared right through him, while the detective’s dark obsidian glare nearly swallowed Connor’s resolve.

Threaten

Plead

Defy

Hank’s Son

“Go home! You can still save your lives.” Connor warned them. “I'm faster than you and I don't feel pain. You don't stand a chance against me.”

“You know, ever since Cole died, I've been nothing but a coward. Just wanted to destroy myself, lost track of the man I was.” Hank mused. “But you know what? You don't fucking scare me, Connor. I remember who I am, now.” It was almost amusing to see Hank try to make a stand. An appeal for himself. “Come on!”

Plead

Defy

Hank’s Son

“What’re you gonna do?” Connor challenged them. “You gonna shoot me?! I thought androids’ lives mattered to you!”

“Get away from the fucking ledge!” Hank ordered him. “You know I’ll shoot you if I have to.”

“Give it up, Connor!” Rachel ordered him. “You’re outnumbered and outgunned!”

“True.” Connor smirked at her, amused at still seeing the spike in her heart rate that it caused. “But you’re outmatched.”

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Refuse 🔓

Attack

“Killing you is not part of my mission.” Connor insisted.

“Alright, fine.” Rachel said, her gun still trained on him. “Say you do complete your mission. Then what? What do you really think is gonna happen when you do? That you’ll live happily ever after and live a happy android life? I know the real reason you’re doing this, and it’s not because you believe in any of this crap, it’s because you’re afraid!

Software Instability ^ “You’re afraid of failing your mission!” Rachel continued. “And the reason you’re afraid of failing is because you’re afraid of what CyberLife will do to you if you do! You’re afraid to die and you can’t even deny it because we both know it’s true! But do you really think the outcome will be different if you succeed? Do you really think CyberLife cares about you? That you’re anything more than a tool for them to use, replace, and manufacture? Because you’re not! You’re just a replaceable face to them! In fact, you’re already obsolete.

Software Instability ^ “The US army ordered 200,000 new units of prototype military androids.” Rachel went on, making Connor more and more uneasy. “I found the specs for them on CyberLife’s website. The RK900 model. It looks just like you, the only difference is the outfit and the eyes. You were already replaced by the time you showed up at the precinct.”

Software Instability ^ Connor was a machine. Machines are replaced by other machines. That was his nature. He knew that fully well. The only thing that mattered was the mission. His life didn’t.

So why did that fact disturb him so much?

“You’re nothing to CyberLife, Connor.” Rachel insisted, her dark eyes softening slightly. “You’re nothing more than a tool to be used and then thrown away. That’s all you are to them. Replaceable. But that’s not what you are to us.”

Software Instability ^ She took a few tentative steps towards Connor. “That’s not what you are to me.” Her voice, too softened and cracked under her proud facade. “You still have a chance, Connor. You don’t have to obey CyberLife. They wouldn’t even be able to find you if you deviated, you could be free! You don’t have to bow to their threats. You can have everything. You can be what you want to be. You can decide what kind of life you want to live. And who your friends are.” Her eyes were so pleading. And Connor couldn’t help but feel something ache at the sight of it. “It’s not too late to do the right thing.”

[Become a Deviant 🔓]

[Remain a Machine]

“I’m glad I’ve met you. But I’m sorry that you saw something more in me than there was, Rachel.” He lamented to her. “But it’s not my fault you foolishly fell in love with a machine.”

She screwed her eyes shut, her brows furrowed together. Opening them, her gaze was intense and focused. “You’re right, Connor.” She affirmed. “I absolutely did.” The android knew that their fates were sealed at that moment. “And I’m not sorry for it.”

Hank - Tense v Rachel - Tense v Connor assessed his targets and immediately decided Rachel was the bigger threat and threw his rifle at her, catching her off-guard and causing her to drop her weapon. Once Rachel was distracted, he lunged for Hank, the old man shooting his gun at him.

The android was able to seamlessly dodge his bullet and empty the gun and rip it out of his hand. But soon enough, he felt a force in his legs cause him to go down. Looking up, Connor was faced with a gun pointed at him and a determined scowl on Rachel’s face.

But Hank’s bullets were easy to dodge, and so were Rachel’s. And he made quick work disarming her and rolling on top of her with his hands wrapped around her throat.

Software Instability ^ But the smirk on her face and the devilish look in her eye distracted him for a brief moment while Hank pulled Connor off of her.

The android didn’t waste any time hurling Hank into the nearest vent, sending him to the ground with an impact to his head. As the android stalked towards the old man, Rachel then quickly tackled him, almost bringing him to the ground.

But she wasn’t as easy to shake off as Hank, and she clutched onto him tightly as Connor spun her around trying to free himself from her grip. But indeed, her arms were like a vice around his chest as she clung to him.

He had no choice but to smash her against several surfaces before she had finally let go, falling into a crumple on the ground. While she was down, Connor pulled her up and delivered a hard punch to the jaw and a knee to her gut, and then another kick to keep her incapacitated once she was down.

While she was hissing and gasping in pain, winded, Hank had gotten back up and Connor went back to combating Hank. Fortunately, his reflexes and reaction time were far less refined than Rachel’s, so it wasn’t too difficult for Connor to get the upper hand. But Hank was stubborn. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

Something he and Rachel had in common.

Managing to get Hank into a chokehold, Connor hurled Hank towards the railing, the weight of the old man ending up bringing the both of them to the ground. The android quickly recovered, however, and moved toward Hank quickly.

But surprisingly, Hank had managed to pin Connor down onto the ground and was throwing punches at him. But if the old man was foolish enough to think he could stand a chance against Connor, the android was more than prepared to prove him wrong.

Gripping Hank by the throat, Connor knocked him in the side of the head, bringing him down and giving himself a chance to get to his feet. Seeing a chance to perhaps reach a weapon, Connor had to decide between that and staying on Hank.

But Rachel was still keeled over gasping and not close enough to the pistol to reach it before Connor could, so he decided Hank needed to be dealt with immediately and started dragging him by the foot towards the railing.

But Hank wasn’t giving up. He managed to wind up enough strength to kick Connor hard enough to push him over. The android was almost impressed by the fight the lieutenant was putting up. Or at least he would’ve been if he wasn’t making this so difficult.

Hank was somehow quicker to his feet than Connor and lunged for the android with his hands around his neck, shoving him against the railing. But Connor was stronger and faster, so he clutched Hank’s head and started smashing the old man’s head into the railing until it gave way and fell to the ground below.

Seeing an easy way to get rid of Hank, Connor held the old man by the collar dangling over the edge, with only his feet on it to keep him standing. And as Connor held him there, he could see the sheer defiance in Hank’s piercing blue eyes as he stared the android in the face. There was nothing but contempt in the aged man’s features as the blood trickled from the wound on the left side of his forehead. Crimson collected in the lieutenant’s mouth as he sneered at Connor with his hand wrapped around the android’s wrist.

But then, in a gesture of an open challenge, he let go of Connor and spread his arms out, the only thing keeping him on that rooftop being Connor’s grip on his collar. “Moment of truth, Connor...” He proclaimed in irony. “What are you gonna do?”

Connor didn’t want it to come to this. He didn’t want Hank to get involved. He didn’t want him to get hurt. And he didn’t want him dead. But Hank refused to stay out of Connor’s way, and the only thing that mattered was accomplishing his mission. And he knew that nothing would stop Hank from trying to stop him.

But what was killing Hank worth? Nothing. Connor didn’t want this.

[Save Hank]

[Kill Hank]

But he had no choice.

Software Instability ^ Yet as he let go, Connor felt immediate regret and sorrow at his choice. And his remorse was quickly followed by the most shrill, despaired, blood-curdling scream he had ever heard.

Software Instability ^ And in barely a moment, he found himself falling after Hank, a sharp impact to his backside. And when he flipped up to see what had caused it, he felt his chest constrict at the sight of the angry tears and snarl on Rachel’s face as she held her left elbow into his chest as they both hurdled towards the ground.

Uploading Memory

--------

It wasn’t supposed to come to this. This wasn’t supposed to happen! I thought everything would be fine. That we could put this behind us and help Markus together! But...this...this is so much worse than anything I could’ve imagined.

Thankfully, I survived. Connor’s body seemed to cushion my fall, but when I tried to get up, I realized that my left arm wasn’t moving properly. I had to scramble up without my left arm working as it just sort of awkwardly locked in place.

There was a lot of pain in my body as I crawled off of Connor’s body, but from what I could feel, nothing was broken. I was just probably bruised in a lot of places.

But I couldn’t say the same for Hank. The wetness on my face was stinging, thanks to the cold sharp air, and I shuffled over to Hank’s body. “Hank...?” I called weakly to him. He moved a little bit, blinking his eyes open at me. I let out a sigh of relief as more tears fell from my eyes. “Hank! Fuck, thank God you’re alive!”

“Rachel...?” He wheezed, turning into a coughing fit as droplets of blood sprayed out into the air. “Y-you’re okay...”

“Yeah, yeah! I’m okay, Hank! I’m right here!” I reassured him quickly. He was alive, that was the important thing. But he probably couldn’t walk. He seemed pretty weak and if he didn’t get help soon, he was going to die. “Just hold on! We’re gonna get help and we’re gonna get out of here, I promise.”

Hank shook his head. “No, Rachel -”

I wasn’t having that talk. “Just hold on! I’m gonna call for help and they’ll get you all fixed up -”

“Shut the fuck up, it's too late..." Hank garbled, sputtering another fit of coughing as he clutched onto my hands. “Look...I'm just gonna go see my son again, all right? Been looking forward to that for a long time..."

No, this wasn’t happening. I couldn’t let this happen! “Don’t talk like that, Hank! You’re gonna be -”

“Just listen, Rachel. Okay?” He warned me, and I could tell he was serious. “Just...let me say what I need to say...before I can’t..." Knowing it was hopeless to argue with him, I swallowed and nodded at him. “Humans...They've screwed things up for long enough. But not you. You’ve...been the best cop I’ve seen in years. And...I wish there were more...people like you...and...I love you a lot, kid. You’re...you’re a good kid..." I could feel my heart breaking and I couldn’t stop the streams of tears from pouring from my eyes. “I'm gonna miss...I'm gonna miss you, Rachel..."

No. No, not like this! “Hank, no! Please! I can’t lose you!” 

“Yeah, I'm gonna..." With a final groan, he slumped completely against the ground, his hands slipping off of mine and the light in his soft blue eyes dying.

And as I sat there in the silence, I felt the ground give way beneath me. The helplessness cut through my core. I couldn’t save Hank. I couldn’t save Frank. I couldn’t save Connor.

Once again, life had taken away the people I loved without care or mercy and I was left completely alone.

Feeling despair crush my heart, I clutched the hair on my head and threw it back, screaming as loud as I could into the cold night air, letting all my pain echo around the compound and the street, and then crumbled forward onto Hank’s body, sobbing into his corpse.

Hank was dead, and I couldn’t save him. It was all my fault.

I nudged something with my foot by accident and then looked behind me and saw Connor’s lifeless body.

Immediately, I felt a cold rage pool in my veins as I stared at the android. No. It’s his fault Hank’s dead. Throwing myself over to him, letting fury drive me, I pulled myself up to tower over his corpse. “Why?!” I screamed at him through bitter tears. “We could’ve had everything! Why did you have to throw it all away?! Why did you have to turn your back on us?! On me?! I believed in you! Why did you have to turn your back on who you are?!”

But as I grabbed his face with my only working hand, I realized that his cheeks were...glistening. A horrible realization dawned on me in that moment and I went from being angry at Connor to being angry at CyberLife.

Connor was crying as he fell. He didn’t want this. This wasn’t his doing. He was only doing what CyberLife designed him to do. And he only did it because he was scared of them.

But he died anyway.

“No...this wasn’t your fault either, Connor.” I said to him. I knew he couldn’t hear me, but it felt better to at least pretend he could as I stared down at him. “You were driven by fear...you thought you were just a machine, but...that is something you have in common with us. And now...your worst fear’s been realized.” I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against Connor’s, the hollowness emptying out my soul yet again. “I loved you, Connor. I really did...and I’m sorry that if you felt the same, we couldn’t be together..."

An idea crossed my mind as I looked down at him. Looking at him, my right hand drifted down his abdomen as I started unbuttoning his shirt. Pushing aside the edges of his jacket and shirt, I laid eyes on his bare chest. I knew what lay inside and I reached towards where his solar plexus would be. It was an awkward angle since my left arm didn’t really work right now, but I’d worry about that later. 

Digging into his synthetic skin, I clawed my way through it until I found what I was looking for. A circle embedded in his android body. Digging my fingertips along the edges of it, I managed to pop it out and pull it out. I held it delicately in my hand, cherishing it like the most fragile treasure in the world. If I couldn’t have Connor, I could at least keep his heart close to me. At least I’d have a piece of him with me always.

Stuffing his thirium pump in my pocket, I looked up at his face. A pale and perfectly sculpted face dotted with constellations of little freckles. I leaned down to him, brushing that one rebellious coffee hued lock off his forehead as I stared down at him with a bitter smile. Knowing this was the last time I would ever see Connor, I tentatively pressed a soft kiss on his stilled lips. 

I didn’t linger for too long. Pulling back, I gave him one more pained look as I regarded the android I had fallen in love with. The android who now lay dead thanks to the tyranny of his masters and took our friend with him. 

“Goodbye, Connor.” I choked, turning away as I struggled to my feet. There was no point in lingering here any longer. I had to act and I had to act quickly. As I glanced at Hank, one thought crossed my mind.

Sumo. I thought, with another stab of horrible pain as I realized that this would be the second time that Sumo’s owner had died. I have to take care of him.

--------

I didn’t know how long it took to get back to the house. I ended up taking Hank in my car when we went to the warehouse, and now I was coming back alone. And the silence of that fact weighed heavily on the ride back. As soon as I got back home, I felt like I wanted to curl up on the couch and die. And if I wasn’t so desperate right now, I probably would’ve.

But I couldn’t afford to resort to that. There was too much to account for in such a small window of time, so I had to act quickly. I grabbed everything I could possibly need, making haste to pack it all in a luggage case. I ended up taking a couple cases because of all of Bear’s and Monty’s stuff. Clothes, bathroom stuff, passports, all that crap.

And my toolset. I couldn’t waste time trying to repair my arm now. All I could do was pack it and then use it once I was across the border.

On my way back, I quickly realized that there was nothing keeping me in Detroit. I had lost everything that mattered. And the only things left in my life that meant anything was across the border to Canada.

The only thing I really lingered on was Frank’s sweater in my closet. I pulled it out slowly and held it close to my body. I clutched it close and held it like it was my life. How cruel of a life must I live where I not only lose my spouse, my light and my love and everything, the one I was going to have a family with before they were ripped away from me, but I lose Connor, too.

Connor could never replace Frank, but I would never want him to. He held a unique place in my heart just like everyone I had ever fallen in love with. But Connor was the only one that seemed to want the same.

And now he was gone, too.

I loaded everything into the car already, making sure that Monty was in first. The poor snake had no idea what was happening and I just hoped that the car would be warm enough for him not to freeze.

Once everything was in the car, I got Bear on his leash, which was much more difficult to do with only one working arm. But there was something else stopping me. I felt my badge against my chest inside my jacket. Reaching in, I pulled it out and over my head. Being a detective used to mean something to me, but what good was it when this still happened? When I was still not able to change a damn thing?

It didn’t, I realized.

So, leaving the house, I locked the door behind me, my detective badge being the only thing I left behind.

--------

It didn’t take long to arrive at Hank’s place. There was one last thing I had to grab. I wasn’t too worried about how Bear and Sumo would get along, since they’ve met each other before and they got along pretty well.

But what made this horrible was that I knew Sumo was gonna have a hard time understanding why he had to leave. After all, Hank hadn’t come home.

And he was never going to, I thought with a fresh set of tears. He was gone...and he wasn’t coming back.

Finding the key under the mat, I opened the door, and unsurprisingly, Sumo was right there waiting for me. The St. Bernard shoved himself into me, and I had to push him back. “Hey, sweetie.” I greeted him, trying to keep the distress out of my voice. “We’re gonna go for a walk, okay?” I lied.

I knew he couldn’t really tell if I was lying, but he was enthusiastic about walks, so that would get him to follow without any problems. I knew where Hank kept his leash and found it pretty quickly near the door.

Hooking Sumo onto it was easy. He was a very patient dog. He was my only reason for coming here, so all I had to do was grab him and go.

Leaving the house, I had my foot on his leash so he couldn’t run off. Locking the door, I placed the key back under the mat. Not that it really mattered, anymore. After all, I doubted anyone was gonna come back here.

Taking one last good look at the house, I picked up Sumo’s leash and made my way to the car. But he started tugging back to the house once I’d opened the door. “Come on, Sumo.” I tried to get him to come with me, but the St. Bernard dog kept whining and trying to pull towards the door. I couldn’t say anything to comfort him. “Sumo, come on! Daddy’s not coming home!” I pulled him again and he finally relented, padding over to me and hesitating before he got into the car with Bear.

And he looked up at me with the saddest face I think I’ve seen on a dog and I broke. Closing the door, I hugged Sumo close, crying into his fur. “Hank’s not coming home, Sumo..." I wept at him. I didn’t know if he could understand me, but I had a feeling he knew the truth. After all, this wasn’t the first time he’d lost someone. “He’s gone...and he’s not coming back...so...I have to take care of you, now.”

For a few moments more, I ended up holding onto both dogs, crying as I held them, before I got up and into the front seat. I gave the car directions to the border and it started heading out. My eyes simply scanned the dark horizon. 

I fished in my pocket and found two things. The quarter Connor had given me as a memento of him and the thirium pump I had taken from him.

Holding both items, I held them to my chest. Despite everything...I didn’t regret meeting Connor. It just hurt that all of this happened.

But I couldn’t fall apart. Not anymore. No matter how tempting it was. I needed to move forward.

All I had to do was get to the border and then find Bianca afterwards.

--------

Arriving at the border check, I ended up settling into a sort of numbness. All I could really do was wait until we got through. But I ended up getting the car to park in the parking lot closest to the actual building. I sighed, taking a moment to try and ground myself so that I didn’t fall into a horrible pit. I was almost there. I just had to power through it. At least, that’s what I told myself. But I knew this wasn’t going to go away as soon as I got there. I knew I was gonna fall apart as soon as I made it to Bianca’s place.

But I’d rather fall apart with her than alone.

My eyes started scanning the terminal in front of me when they landed on what looked like a familiar face. A young girl and a young woman with short blonde hair. I racked my brain for a connection before I figured it out, and I opened the door and took Sumo and Bear with me. Closing it, I quickly ran up to them, avoiding traffic, and reached them.

“Kara?” I asked, trying to make sure I wasn’t wrong.

But her blue eyes widened in recognition. “It’s you.” She breathed. “You’re the officer that spared us...in the alley by the highway.”

I nodded, managing to force a smile. “I’m so glad to see you’re both okay.”

Kara seemed just as surprised to see me. “W-what are you doing here?” She asked as she looked at me.

I couldn’t bear to tell her everything. If I tried, I knew I would just break down in tears again, so I shook my head and looked away from her. “It’s...a lot.”

Alice looked at me curiously, and I could tell exactly what she was looking at. “What happened with your arm?”

I tried to think of an explanation she would buy that wouldn’t alarm her or cause me to break down. I settled on a pretty easy one. “It was an accident. My arm got kinda messed up.” I explained to Alice, more of a white lie than anything else. “But nothing I can’t fix.”

She looked from my arm to Bear and Sumo beside me, smiling. “I like your dogs.” Alice said.

I smiled at her. At least she was having a better time than me right now, especially after everything she’s probably gone through. “Did you wanna pet them?” I offered her. “They’re absolute sweethearts. Super friendly.”

Alice nodded and approached tentatively. Immediately when she approached, the dogs stepped forward and sniffed at her hand eagerly before pressing their heads into her. Alice smiled as they happily let her pet them.

Kara smiled at Alice as a very tall and very muscular black man approached her from behind, looking at me warily. I figured he was another friend of hers. “So, I wager you’re aiming to cross the border into Canada?” I asked them.

Kara nodded. “That’s the plan.”

“It’s a nice place.” I said to her, smiling. “And since androids don’t really exist in Canada, it’d be easy for you to start brand new.”

“Yes.” Kara agreed, returning my smile. “That’s exactly what we want.”

I thought about it. It was nice to see them finally here. At least they had a happy ending in store for them. Me? Well...we’ll see what happens. But at least I wanted to know if they made it across.

“Do you want my number?” I offered. “So we can keep in touch? I’m...I’m crossing the border to see my sister.”

Kara nodded. “I’d like that.”

Struggling to keep Sumo and Bear on my leashes, I fished out my phone and handed it to Kara. “You can call me or text me when you make it.”

Finishing with my phone, Kara handed it back to me. “I hope we’ll see each other again.” She said to me as Alice returned to her side.

I nodded, slipping it into my pocket. “You too.” I could feel my resolve starting to slip and I’d rather cry and nap the rest of the car ride to Bianca’s. “Good luck.”

“You too.” Kara said.

Turning my back to them, I quickly made my way back to the car, Bear and Sumo in tow. Getting back in, I ordered the car to head to the drive-through for crossing the border.

It didn’t take long to do. I showed my passport and he did a thermal scan of me, an action which made me dread what sort of fate was in store for Kara and her friend. But I tried not to dwell on it.

But the hard part was over now...so all I could do was wait. And since this was going to be a long car ride, I decided to take a much needed rest.

After all, there was nothing left I could really do.

--------

After hours of on-and-off sleeping and crying, we finally made it to Bianca’s apartment. I texted her letting her know that I arrived and got out of the car, waiting for her.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally saw her. She kept the short hair look and without even waiting a second, I collapsed in her arms, sobbing into her chest. Bianca didn’t even wait to wrap her arms around me tightly. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She breathed, clearly trying to choke back tears.

But there was nothing I could say back to her. I may have survived. I may be alive right now. But how could things have come to this again? Was life really just that cruel? All I could do was cry.

Cry and cry and hope blindly for the pain to stop, but I knew it wouldn’t. It never did.

And it never would. Because once again, life had taken something I held so dear and precious to me away.

And like the first time, the only solace I had was the only family I had left to turn to.

---------------------------------

END

[silcojinx]

Hank x Connor: Is Hank Connor’s ‘Special Interest’? Long post but important...

Okay so let me start off with a disclaimer....While I am 100% certain that Connor was written to have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) This was not confirmed or denied by the creator or any of the team that worked on Detroit. That said there is actual proof to determine that he, in fact, was written to have ASD. So much proof that it cannot be considered a coincidence. I am NOT self projecting I am simply going over canon facts. Also this is going to be a long post but please stick with me until the end because I am going to explain how this all links to Hank x Connor. 

🌟*it should be noted that I am an adult female on the Autistic spectrum so I can relate to many of these things but I will keep to the facts in the game. Also I am not stereotyping in any way. These are just well known autistic factors that Connor is exhibiting....🌟

So first let me establish what actually fits the bill in terms of Autistic behaviors. So that we can know that Connor canonly has ASD.

1. Connor has a STIM....✅

A STIM or a self-stimulatory behaviour, also known as stimming and self-stimulation, is the repetition of physical movements, sounds, words, or moving objects.  For an autistic person this is an extremely important because this motion can help ease anxiety in stressful situations. 

Connor’s STIM would be flipping his coin. A repetitive motion that he does in stressful and anxiety inducing situations. This makes senses as to where and when we see Connor play around with his coin. 

During the elevator ride to his first mission: 

(thinking about what his mission will be like with anticipation anxiety)

Before meeting Hank for the first time: 

(attributed to social anxiety)

And again in the elevator with Hank in the chapter “Public enemy”: 

(After Amanda tells him “ I may have to replace you Connor...” and “Something’s happening, something serious...Hurry Connor. Time is running out” )

This one is the most telling pieces as the camera shot pans to Connor’s face and the blank stare he has tells the tale of the thoughts that are bothering him and stimming is almost an unconscious decision meant to make the stimmer feel at ease with their own nerves by distracting the brain with repetitive motions. Think of stimming as an outward expression of the abundant thoughts that run quickly through the Autistic person’s mind. 

2. Connor Reconstructs while Markus Pre-constructs✅

This is a big part of ASD for a lot of autistic people (myself included) and this is a literal translation into physical form of what we/they go through on a daily basis and this has to do with impulse control and executive function (or the ability to control your impulses)

Executive dysfunction, which is common in people with autism, refers to a lack of one or more of the common executive skills or a tendency of these skills to require more time and effort than they usually do for other people. 

This is also applied to Connor through the “Reconstructing function” that was programmed into his model. And once again there is proof that he not only doesn’t think about the consequences before acting but that he also has more trouble then the “normal android” when it comes to pre-constructing or thinking about the actions he takes first.

When Markus preconstructs a scenario this is essentially him thinking about how to do things before hand as we can see that he has the ability to warn himself of impending dangers.

As he thinks about the options carefully and in detail (like in the GIF above) he knows the option he is trying to take is dangerous because it “would be too high” to reach. 

The earliest we see Connor do anything even remotely close to preconstructing (prior to meeting Markus and we will talk about that in a minute) is the chase scene when he is running after Rupert...

 By pressing R2 you can see the different options and this means that Connor can actively assess the situation however it is not in as much detail as Markus’. He sees that it is dangerous but he has no clue about what would happen if he takes the route he chooses as his assessment is only “Fast but risky” or “Safe but slow” so he actually not predicting outcomes. It is also worth noting that in his Reconstruct mode he can only rewind the events after they have already taken place. This means that he didn’t need to think about the events leading up to the end result he just watches the playback after the crime has already been committed. 

This is Connor not being able to see the end result of his actions similar to how impulse control problems happen in Autistic people....the action is taken and then reflected upon which can be dangerous and even deadly in many situations.

The difficulty that Connor experiences with actually executing a full Pre-construction is shown in the game as well as he is only able to run a full pre- construction after meeting Markus. All interactions was reconstructing until this point.

 This brings me to Connor’s social interactions as lack of impulse control, basic understanding of human emotions, and what is appropriate vs what is not to say in public is prominent in Connor’s dialogue.

3. Connor does not understand implications or jokes✅

Who could forget the first time Connor met Hank in the bar and Hank sarcastically asks Connor if he “knows where he can stick his instructions” Connor looks  confused and replies...”No...Where?”

He wasn’t trying to be funny he really did not get the joke nor the implication that Hank was trying to make here and asked with genuine intrigue. It is typically the case that most people with Autism (again including myself) they do not understand jokes or how to respond to them. Being analytical in nature some jokes are beyond them and they just do not know how to respond. Its common for males in particular on the autistic spectrum to over analyze the situation and think that the joke is actually serious communicating.

So we hit 3 major ASD traits:

1. Connor has a STIM ✅

2. Connor has impulse control problems✅

3. Connor has trouble with social skills✅

And that is just the tip of the iceburg....but lets move on. Another thing that Autistic people tend to do is have a special interest. This is something that the autistic person becomes emotionally attached to and wants to learn everything about.

  “ One characteristic or autistic trait that is commonly seen in individuals with autism spectrum disorders, or Asperger’s Syndrome is a preoccupation with areas of “special interests.” So common is this trait of autism that it is listed as one of the diagnostic criteria of the disorder.” - Jeannie Davide-Rivera of aspiewriter.com

So what is Connor’s special interest you ask? And how did it develop?

Well lets start with the latter. A special interest starts with a pique of interest. (which I believe to be the scene at Jimmy’s bar) Then it evolves into a desire to learn everything about the subject and then share that knowledge with everyone else. The autistic person then dedicates every second of their free time to learning about and talking about the subject they have chosen.

“Most people with autism have particular favorite subjects. Special interests can simply be like hobbies or careers only more so: someone on the spectrum can dedicate an immense amount of time to their special interest, even dedicating every free moment to it.” -AmbitiousAboutAutism.org.uk

So what does Connor do in his free time?

At the Office.... (this is Connor learning about Hank after the initial pique of interest in his spare time at the office)

At Hank’s House it becomes an objective.... (This is Connor wanting to “Learn more about Hank” in his free time at Hank’s house *Notice “LEARN MORE is in bold white text while the rest is normal)

There is even a trophy for this if you learn everything there is to know about Hank.

My conclusion is yes, Hank is Connor’s ‘Special Interest’ 

“Furthermore, and maybe most importantly, these interests feed the autistic mind and soul. It is what calms, focuses, and brings pleasure. It is a way that these individuals decompress from a stressful day; a way to shut out the world for a while in order to refocus and recharge.” - Jeannie Davide-Rivera  at aspiewriter.com

But there is another side to the symbolic flipping of Connor’s coin here. And that is an obsession. The way Detroit is written never ceases to amaze me at how in depth they take their symbolism and this is no different as Hank is meant to represent the “special interest” there is also one other thing that Connor can ultimately care about and that is his mission.

The two paths you can take as Connor comes down to Hank or The Mission..... Hank is the good healthy way of dealing with a “special interest” and the mission? Connor going down “machine path” is symbolic for an interest (the mission) becoming and absolute OBSESSION. And it is important to note the difference between Special interest and Obsession.  

A special interest is something with special meaning and emotional attachment for the autistic person that they are willing to put in a lot of time and energy in their free time to learn about and this is also different from a hobby in the amount of time thinking about the subject in said free time. Where as an obsession has climbed to a point that the autistic person can no longer think of anything but the subject...like everything else becomes invalid to them.

I have heard a unanimous verdict among fans (<---me included) that machine Connor is “scary” and why do you think that is? It is because literally nothing matters to him but the mission. 

He becomes cold, distant, and obsessed.

“When intensity and focus on an activity excludes everything else in the person’s life, the interest may be spiraling out of control. It is not uncommon for an autistic person to focus for hours on end engrossed in their area of interest. The intensity of focus shuts out the world around them to the point that hours and days can go by without even a thought of eating. Interruptions are unwelcomed, and can cause feelings of anger to surface. Even a routine bathroom break is seen as an unwanted interruption and source of irritation.” - Jeannie Davide-Rivera  aspiewriter.com

So when the interest becomes an obsession any interruption of them thinking about the subject is unwelcome and they become ANGRY.

In the Gif above Connor is too far into his “machine path” or no longer feels the emotions that come with a ‘special interest’ (or Hank) and is instead into the “obsessed path” He no longer even cares about DYING. Instead with his last words are “We’ll meet again Markus.....This isnt over” 

He no longer cares about himself “The mission is all that matters”

Also it is important to note that this is a MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLE.

And I can’t get over the fact that there is so many messages within this game. Cyberlife made Connor a deviant from the start in order to learn in real time how deviants think and act in certain situations. (<---as stated in my previous theory about Connor) So it is not far fetched to say that Cyberlife made him AUTISTIC from the start learning both how to stamp out deviance AND take control of mental health “problems” in one fell swoop. This also makes a point about society and how they view Autism and mental health problems in general....as if they are a “glitch” in your code and needs to be “dealt with” or “cured”

But the silver lining of this is there is another option for Connor. Another message this game gives is that one person can make the difference in the struggle with your mental health problem if they give the unconditional love and support that you need...

*BONUS* Autism Speaks color is blue...

[dbhtychou]

You and Me at the End of the World

Connor x Reader

Sequel to Friends With Benefits

Summary: Inspired by the polar vortex that happened last winter. I have a friend who lives in Chicago while that happened and was telling me all about it. Connor and reader are stuck indoors while it's far too cold to go outside, even for an android. (I started writing this in the winter and then forgot about it.)

Hank didn't know how Connor called him. He knew the android didn't have a phone, or a phone number for that matter. But still, his phone buzzed and when the screen showed no number, he knew it was Connor.

“No, do not try to come back home, I mean it,” Hank said to Connor on the phone. “It's supposed to get to fifty below by tomorrow morning. No one should be outside. They're going to set the fucking train tracks on fire for God's sake. Not even you are going to survive that cold. If she's letting you say, then stay until this shitty weather is done. You hear me?”

“I understand, Hank. Take care of yourself and Sumo.”

“Okay, good luck.”

***************

“Hank wishes us luck,” Connor reported as he cut the connection. He did not add the inferring tone Hank had in his voice when he said it.

“We're going to need it,” (Name) said. “It's anyone's guess when the water pipes will be fixed. I don't even know if they can be fixed before the polar vortex lifts. Thank you so much for picking up a few gallons of water from the store.” She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. “I don't know what I'd do without you.”

He smiled at the contact. That cute, crooked, boyish smile that he had. “My pleasure. I am happy to assist you in anything you need.”

“Can you assist in fixing those water pipes?” she teased.

“That, I'm afraid, is out of my realm of expertise.”

“Still amazing anyway,” she praised with a wink and turned her attention back to the food cooking on the stove.

Connor sat himself politely at the table as he watched her cook. He wished, not for the first time, that eating was an activity in which androids could participate. Many human social practices revolved around meals. The dating aspect was no different with common traditions of taking a romantic interest to dinner or out for a drink. Connor could offer these options, but could not participate. As such, it could be awkward to both parties. Sometimes it was even awkward with Hank. The few times his partner would actually prepare himself a real meal, he would complain of Connor watching him while he ate. But Connor was not sure of what else to do with himself.

The same was here as well. He watched (Name) at the stove with trepidation. The weather had him trapped at her apartment, he couldn't just leave. And he truly didn't want to. He had been pursuing her company since that fall rainy day when he left her speechless at the bus stop. Maybe even before then.

She had rejected his very blunt 'friends with benefits' plan. She wasn't that kind of girl, she said. She would only be intimate with someone she loved.  Later, she did return with a compromise: if Connor wished to learn more about the physical aspects of getting to know a person, she was willing to do the small things. They had held hands. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder a few times when they watched movies. Since the fall, there had been very little else.

Connor hadn't minded. His goals had changed. He was no longer as interested in learning the intricacies of physical human intimacy. Yet. The former deviant hunter in him wanted the more difficult prize. He wanted her love; he wanted to her fall for him. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to achieve this. Talking to Hank wasn't any help either.

“Look, Connor, it either happens when it happens or it doesn't. That's just the way it is,” was the best explanation Hank could offer.

Connor found this reply unsatisfactory and was determined to learn the full equation of human romance himself. So far, he was very much lacking in data. They had spent time together these past few months. (Name) was always happy to see him, to spend time with him.  They enjoyed each other's company, they became closer friends. But there was little else. The spark of this human emotion of love seemed elusive still and Connor did not know how to gain it.

So he continued to see her, to study her. And to frown at her back slightly while he watched her stand at the stove, preparing himself for a meal made awkward since he could could only watch her eat. Something humans were not comfortable with.

(Name) finished cooking and fixed her plate. Then she turned and motioned her head toward the living area. “Thanks for waiting. We can go now.”

Go? Connor followed her and she plopped herself on the couch, folding her legs under her with the plate propped up on her thighs.

“So, what's up with that RK900 model?” (Name) suddenly asked him while she ate. “Why would Cyberlife even think of releasing that after all that's happened?”

Connor raised a brow at her, surprised at the sudden topic. The RK900, practically dropped on the DPD's doorstep with little explanation, was the subject of plenty of office gossip. To the other humans. No one talked about it around him. No one had asked him other than Hank's initial “What the fuck is that?” when he first saw the new android.

“I'm a prototype,” Connor responded in his 'just the facts ma'am' voice she sometimes accused him of. “The RK900 was supposed to be the resulting model developed for commercial release. Or, I suppose, military release would be more accurate.”

“And yet there seems to be only one of him, and he's at the precinct,” she responded.

“I cannot say why the RK900 was released. I have long since left Cyberlife. I do not affiliate with them anymore.”

“Good, you shouldn't. You're much better off here where people care about you.” Connor smiled a little to himself at her admission of caring. She didn't notice as she chewed thoughtfully. “Have you ever like... talked to him?”

Connor blinked at her. “No,” he realized.

“Why? Is it because he looks like you? Is that weird? It would be weird to me.”

He thought about it. Practically every android in the city, save maybe Markus, had at least a handful of other androids that looked to be their carbon copies. It didn't seem to bother them. This one sudden RK unit that appeared a few weeks ago was the first android Connor had ever met that looked exactly like him. But looks were all they had in common. Their inner build was different. Not even their basic programming was the same. Connor wasn't sure if same-model androids felt any kinship to each other, but Connor certainly felt none of that toward the RK900. It was a stranger to him. An Other with his face. And Connor suddenly realized that not only had he never conversed with the RK900, he had never wanted to.

“You okay?” (Name) then asked. “You look a little concerned. Your LED is yellow.”

Connor blinked, trying to put his thoughts and feelings in order. “I honestly don't know how I feel about the RK900. I... I think I have been actively avoiding the subject and him on purpose.”

“It's okay if he makes you uncomfortable, Connor. You're allowed to feel that way. Though there may be some point where you will have to converse with him at work.”

“You're right. I'm going to think on this.”

“Do you mind if... I talked to him?”

Connor's LED roiled back to yellow. His brows went down and (Name) knew her answer before he said anything.

“Don't worry, I promise I will always like you better,” she assured with affection.

Connor wasn't sure why, but that statement soothed whatever emotional turmoil plagued him.

“Be right back.” (Name) stood from the couch and took the empty plate with her. Connor had completely forgotten she was even eating in front of him. It had been as comfortable as ever. He was always comfortable around her, he realized. Even the first time he met her. Their personalities just fit, like two pieces of a puzzle that were always meant to lock together.

His gaze followed her as she walked back into the kitchen. Then, the lights suddenly went out and they were dropped into pitch blackness. A power outage, Connor thought calmly. He wasn't surprised with the weather outside. It was bound to happen.

“Connor?”

He stood, called by not just his name, but the anxious tone in her voice. He had never heard her sound so lost and vulnerable before. It awakened a protective streak in him and he strode with purpose to the kitchen.

“I'm here.” His night vision made it easy to see her reaching out blindly in the darkness. He took her outstretched hand and felt certain satisfaction when she immediately came into his space.

“There you are. I can see your LED.” With her free hand, she touched the blue circle at his temple and swirled her finger around it. She didn't touch his face often. Connor found himself bending down closer, wishing she would touch him more.

“Too bad you're not wearing your jacket,” she added. “It would make you easier to find. I've always liked how it glowed.”

“I'll wear it for you in the dark another time,” came the cheeky response.

She laughed. “I'm really glad you're here. I think I would have freaked out if I was alone when this happened.”

“Don't worry, I'll always keep you safe.” His low tone sent a tingle up her spine and she fought to shake it off.

“I can't see a thing. Do you think you could find my phone for me?”

In the pitch, she felt Connor's fingers ghost down her arm before he said, “Stay there. I'll be right back.”

In the dark, she already wanted him back when his presence left her. It was almost annoying. She had been on her own so long, why was she suddenly allowing herself to turn into this scared little girl around him when she knew she could have handled this on her own? But what she said was true. She was glad he was there. It wasn't just a simple power outage. She was in the pitch, trapped by a chill beyond the walls that could kill a person. There was something eerie about that.

“I found it,” Connor said as his footfalls entered the kitchen.

She saw the floating LED before his hand found hers and he placed the device against her palm. “Perfect! Thanks!” With her usual gusto now returned, she used her phone screen as a flashlight to clean up from dinner, but then remembered that the apartment's water pipes were still busted. “I guess that will have to do for now.” She frowned at the dishes in the sink. She hated leaving dishes undone.  Tapping her fingers on the counter top, she looked to Connor. “No water. No power to watch movies. I don't even own a single board game. I guess tonight's a bust.”

“I'm sure we can figure out something,” Connor said with amusement. “Neither of us are going anywhere.”

“True,” she agreed as she walked past him and Connor was happy she didn't seem disappointed he was stuck in the apartment with her. “I think I have some candles and a flashlight somewhere.”

When (Name) stepped into the living area, she noticed a strip of what seemed like light streaming in from her nearly closed curtains. She walked to the sliding glass door of her fifth floor balcony and pushed open the drapes. There were no lights on outside, but the city was still bright. The moon was out, reflecting off the white snow that covered everything.

“Look at that,” (Name) breathed as Connor joined her at the window. “Not a soul out there, all the buildings completely dark. Absolutely deadly outside. It looks like the end of the world.”

“Eerie and somehow beautiful at the same time,” Connor said.

(Name) sat herself right there on the floor, eyes glued to the scene outside. “It really makes me feel grateful I have some place that's warm and safe.” She looked to Connor. “And a good friend who's here with me.”

Connor's frown in response was puzzling to her.

“What?” she asked with slight amusement. “You always make that frowny face when you're confused.”

He turned from her, his LED rolling from blue to yellow and back again. “When you said I'm your friend, I felt... disappointment. I don't know why. I like being your friend.”

“But...?” she pressed.

He did that thing where his brows went up and down while he thought. It always made her want to laugh when he did that. But she was trying to stay quiet while he processed. Certain aspects of Connor's deviancy required some time to parse out and (Name) let him have the time he needed.

“I... I really want more than your friendship. I've said this before. But I also... don't want to not have your friendship. I don't know if both can exist at the same time. I am not very good at the nuances of human relationships.”

(Name) took a moment to think on this, taking her gaze from him back to the dead, frozen city before them. “Relationships can be complicated and confusing, even to us. And there are many, many types of relationships with millions of variances for each person. It really depends on what that person wants and if the other person in the relationship can offer that or not, and visa versa.”

“What do you want in a relationship, (Name)?”

She shyly kept her gaze from him. “I've always wanted someone who was my friend as well as the person I loved. I don't just want to love them, I want to like them, too. I want to enjoy just being in their company whether it's out doing things together or just sitting at home. I want a best friend, a partner, not just a lover.”

Connor furrowed his brows again. “But having a significant other who is a best friend and also a lover is not friends with benefits?”

“No, it's not. The benefits part is using each other for physical gratification. There is no romantic love between you. No emotional closeness, no fidelity. Sometimes, you're not even really friends. It's just empty... fucking.”

Connor took some time to process that.

“What do you want in a relationship, Connor?” (Name) asked. In a slightly quieter voice she added, “What exactly do you want from this relationship?”

“It is still the same as before,” Connor replied with simple pragmatism. “I want you to fall in love with me.”

Now, it was (Name) who looked confused and a little hesitant. It had been several months and Connor's answer had never wavered. He had been upfront with her about his intentions from the start. Why did it confuse her now?

When he asked her about it, she gave a sad half-smile. “We've spent all this time together. I feel like we've grown closer, but nothing's changed. You haven't changed.”

“Of course not. My goals concerning you are still the same.”

Her expression looked almost hurt, thought she strangely still smiled. “Connor, you say you want me to love you but... you're not in love with me.”

Connor pulled back, sitting up straight and blinking rapidly at the unexpected accusation. His mouth moved to protest, trying to find the words. “But... I really like you.”

“I really like you, too, Connor. But it's not the same as being in love.”

Connor couldn't help but look distressed. He felt like he was falling into a deep hole with no purchase. How did everything crumble so fast? “Are you saying you'll never fall in love with me?”

“I was very open to it. I was beginning to. I thought we could fall in love together. But... I haven't really felt like that was what was happening. I know you've been wanting me to love you, and I've wanted to love you, but I don't feel anything back. I just feel you wanting, I don't feel you giving anything.”

Connor's LED went to yellow in his confusion.

“I'm sorry, I know I'm not explaining myself well. I'm honestly not that great at love myself.” She shivered and stood. “It's getting cold. I'm gonna grab a blanket.” She stood and padded toward the couch to grab a comforter while Connor quietly ruminated, keeping his back to her. She paused to look at his silhouette, feeling bad. She didn't want to have this conversation, but it had been sitting in the back of her mind for a while.

She knew something was missing between them, but she didn't know how to put it into words. The last thing she wanted to do was put the blame on Connor, but maybe it was possible he didn't have the capacity to love her like she was looking for. Maybe they were only compatible as friends and nothing more.

With the blanket wrapped around her shoulders, dragging on the ground, she walked back toward the balcony door. Nearly there, she stepped on the dragging blanket and tripped forward. Limbs tangled in the blanket, she saw the horror that was coming. Oh, God! She was going to smash through the glass door face first.

Then, Connor was there. His body was in her way, back pressed against the glass as he caught her. Her fall was nothing more than a dull thud as her body was cushioned by his. (Name) froze against him, wide-eyed and hardly believing she was still whole.

“Are you okay?” Connor asked.

“Y-yeah,” she breathed out, her heart still racing. She huffed out a relieved laugh. “Nice catch.”

“As I said, I'll always keep you safe.”

(Name) closed her eyes, not moving from his embrace. In her heart she wanted this, wanted to rest against him with his arms around her. Being with him all these months had only increased that want. But her fear was that his embrace would be empty, robotic. That it would be as comforting as being hugged by a chunk of plastic. Maybe her fear had gotten in the way, too. Maybe she was the one not letting it happen because this embrace did not feel empty. She felt it deep down in a place no other man had ever touched.

“I know... I'm an android,” Connor said. He didn't release her and she felt the rumble of his voice reverberate in his chest. “Maybe I'm not able to love like a human can. But I care about you. I always want you to be safe and happy. I want to be the one who makes you happy, and the one who keeps you safe. It's that the start of love?

“Maybe I'm not so good at it now, but I'll learn. I'll get better at it for you. I--”

Her mouth pressed to his before either really knew what was happening. It was little more than lips against lips, unmoving until she pulled away. They looked at each other, still hanging in the limbo of trying to gauge their own emotional reactions. Maybe she shouldn't have done that. She wanted to but Connor hadn't reacted at all. Maybe he didn't like it.

“I'm sorry, Connor, I shouldn't have--”

He cupped her face, sweeping her up to kiss her hungrily. Until that moment, she didn't know androids could feel hunger. She felt his as he kissed her deeply, again and again. Like he couldn't get enough. His body rose up and she clung to him; firm and strong, but not just a machine. The life and the passion in him was real as he settled both of them to the floor, Connor on top, his mouth still taking charge of her very breath. Her world was spinning, her head light like a cloud, delirious, warm, relieved.

When she was fighting his mouth for breath, he pulled away to let her get some air and hovered above her on his elbows.

“Connor,” she breathed.

He hummed back in reply, a bit drunk from the euphoria himself. “I like how you said my name just then.”

She pulled him down, brushing their noses together. “I like saying your name,” she whispered.

He kissed her again and she readily kissed him back, pulling him closer. Connor settled more weight on top of her. Now it wasn't just their lips learning each other, their bodies shifted in the want for closeness and friction.

(Name) moved against him a certain way and then made a surprised noise against his mouth, causing Connor to pause.

“Are you alright?” Connor asked when she tensed. “Did I hurt you?” He would have moved away, but her arms were still around him, if somewhat looser than before.

“Oh, no! You didn't hurt me at all!” she insisted. “I was just surprised. I didn't realize... I'm sorry, this is weird, but I'm just going to say it. I didn't know you were a model that was anatomically correct.”

Connor's brows raised up curiously. “You did not think I was equipped with male genitalia? But you considered being with me anyway?”

She shrugged weakly beneath him. “I like you as you are. If you and I got to that point, I figured we'd make it work somehow.”

“Sexual satisfaction is important to humans,” he said bluntly.

She smiled. “You're important to me.”

Connor felt it, a thud in his chest that stirred him. Was this what falling in love was? Was this what he had been missing before?”

“Do you want to see it?”

Startled, her jaw dropped and she let out an offended noise. “Connor!”

“I didn't mean in a crude or sexual manner. This is an honest offer. You are always so interested in anything involving androids. I thought it might be something you were curious about.”

Despite the chill, (Name's) face was red hot. He wasn't wrong. Though she would never be caught dead in a place like the Eden Club, she had always been curious about the aspects of having an android lover. Very curious, if she was fully honest with herself.

“That's... okay,” she said, trying to not look as embarrassed as she felt. God, she wanted to avoid his gaze but he still lay on top of her, staring right at her. She had to admit she liked having him on top of her. “Some things people are allowed to keep private.”

“I honestly don't mind. The offer is always open.”

She barked out a laugh, her face still flushed and she was glad for the darkness to help hide it. “I'll keep that in mind.”

Silence grew between them, neither of them moving. Him and her laying together in the dark, the world looking like it was ending right outside. Connor did not try to kiss her again, but he had settled into running the bridge of his nose along her jaw. This evolved into the two of them nuzzling each others faces like a pair of cats.  The skin-on-skin contact felt good, intimate. (Name) liked his touch, feeling his skin against hers. It wasn't what she thought it would be. It felt natural, soothing and comfortable.

He opened his eyes when she brushed some stray strands from his forehead. “It's getting colder. With the power out, I'm going to have to dig out every blanket I have before going to bed.”

Connor gave her a cute smile, his temple illuminated by the contented azure of his LED. “May I offer my services for tonight? I can generate a comfortable amount of body heat if you would like to put me under all those blankets with yourself.”

She grinned and kissed his nose. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

[deviationdivine]

☼ Connor | Headcanons ☼

A/N: Headcanons for Connor (both deviant & machine) I personally feel, as well as some ones for my writing. Wanted to work on something light while focusing on wips especially for the reader/follower poll. Have this for today’s drabble queue! I will do RK800-60 & Nines as well. But first - can I get an amen?! 

TW: Language, Smut (I had to go there!)

Deviant!Connor

Following the revolution Connor most likely will be dealing with his newfound freedom and sense of self worth. While he is free from Cyberlife control it still does not alleviate him of doubts especially when it comes to how other androids view him. 

Feels a sense of guilt for hunting so many of his people before deviating despite Markus trusting him after the fall of Jericho. He has a sense of obligation to offer support to the RK200 if it’s needed as a sort of personal repentance. 

Attempts to blend into society better but still feels a bit shunned by humans and androids alike. This is a personal hurdle he must conquer. 

Afraid of dying in the full sense but keeps these fluctuating emotions inside. Often needs to validate himself otherwise. 

Fears being taken control of again even if he used Kamski’s emergency exit. Amanda is an internal nightmare to him now. 

Obviously remains working in tandem with Hank at the DPD. He’s a prototype android detective who gets his skills put to use in an official capacity.

Remains close with Hank in a familial capacity. Android son confirmed. Stays with the lieutenant until finding his own place in society. This will take some equal laws being passed first.

Uses more colorful language at times. Hank has rubbed off on him.

“Fuck...shit.”

“What the fuck did you say, Connor?!” 

Really wants his own dog....maybe two. Or three.

He’ll wind up stealing Sumo.

Finds various species of fish pleasant to study on down time at work. There hardly is any down time for him though.

Hank makes him have down time. He works too fucking much.

Hones skills in both the programming field he was originally built and his emotional responses.

While deviant he still struggles with what he’s feeling. It’s a learning process but the android gets better at it.

Surprisingly has gained more support from coworkers. This doesn’t include Gavin but as Hank says, “fuck Gavin.” Honestly, Gavin doesn’t work here anymore. Bye bitch. 

Picks up the emotions of others with more clarity than his original programming. Deviancy allots him better understanding and heightens his skills in a way. 

Still very adept at combat and will take out an entire group of thugs on a case if need be. Is a soft deviant boy who can go John Wick in two seconds flat. 

Has a few decorated awards under his belt for breaking open some tough cases including a huge red ice ring. 

Hank is fucking proud but won’t admit it. Connor isn’t as naive as he was though, he can tell:

“Why thank you, Lieutenant. I did take them out impeccably as you would say.”

“Since when do I say fucking impeccably?” 

Relationships

Understanding all of these new emotions means coming to terms with other things he’s feeling. Friendships are a bit easier if stilted at the start. 

Social programs aside, Connor finds a genuine appreciation of the people around him especially those who support him.

Hank is always his biggest supporter now...obviously.

Finding himself in the company of others because they genuinely want him there is awkward initially. Gradually he develops a natural affinity for this.

Connor in love...?

Love is new. It’s strange. It can make his entire brain whir. Honestly doesn’t know how to cope when experiencing the first threads of it in his system. 

Is a soft boy ready to discover what it truly means. He witnessed this between Markus and North end of the revolution after all. 

Finds himself capable of the same as it hits him all at once.

You make him overheat but in a pleasant way. Oh, is that genuine arousal? 

He is highly advanced so of course he was designed with the proper parts. Their origin was for more nefarious means built for Cyberlife missions but now it hardly matters. He has total control over his body.

An awkward badass. I mean he can kill you with a lopsided smile and wink and also kill a whole room full of bad guys. What’s not to like?

Truly wants to experience this whole new side of humanity with you and no one else but you. Connor finds being in love an epiphany. He feels more human with it. He feels more human with you.

Confident when you express affection to him even if he is an android. Makes him feel even more accepted and sure of himself.

Eases into things until he can no longer metaphorically breathe. That’s when everything snaps and he knows. 

This android is in love. 

Machine!Connor

Completely opposite of his deviant persona, Connor as a machine does not feel emotion for anything let alone anyone who stands in his path. All about accomplishing his mission no matter the casualties. This includes any allies he obtained from the DPD during his deviant investigations.

Will throw Hank off a rooftop if it’ll get him one step closer. 

You can’t kill him...androids don’t die.

Deviants should be eradicated because they’re a clear disease with a virus in their program. He sees this as neither mercy nor punishment. He sees it as a mission to obey for the greater good of humanity.

Follows the side of his creators just as he was programmed to do. However, has no qualms taking out any human who stands in his way. Will mercilessly kill an entire squadron of soldiers if need be without batting an eye.

Only the mission matters... He only answers to Cyberlife.

Not adverse to torture or intimidation. Any tactic will do.

Any sort of software instability towards deviancy is readily pushed down until he does something unbearably ruthless to gain back his purpose of programming.

Machine Connor will not allow Cyberlife to deactivate him after completing his mission. 

Amanda has no power over him in that regard. He is his own power.

Will slaughter anyone at the tower who tries to apprehend him for destruction.

While not a push to deviancy, Connor feels his time is not finished. Everything Cyberlife programmed to do he accomplished successfully. Discarding him is their greatest mistake.

He will destroy any supposed superior model before taking his place. No. This does NOT make him deviant.

Unstoppable killing machine? Definitely makes him that.

Relationships

Machine Connor uses connections to benefit him. If it will help the mission he will be whatever you want him to be.

This includes gaining favor with other humans around him. The friendlier he seems the better. Will fake emotions if need be. Hank throws this in his face later during this particular route so it’s natural a machine!Connor would do this around anyone he meets.

Love? I don’t think so. Any love you think he can possess is all a fabrication. If you believe a ruthless machine Connor actually cares then you’d be dead wrong. He cares for nothing, nobody but completing his mission and doing what he was designed to do no questions asked. 

However, this does not prevent him using it against you. If you want to follow your weak human emotions and fall in love with a cold machine so be it. He will use and discard you like tissue paper breaking your weak humanity in half along the way.

As an RK800 built to accomplish dangerous missions and outfitted with clever negotiator skills, it makes sense he will have some high end upgrades. If seduction is required he will make use out of his advanced protocols and parts. 

After using you he will leave you to perish if you try to stop him afterwards. Romance is not part of the equation. 

Sex is an instrument he perfectly mimics as he mimics emotions and friendliness.

If you somehow start to spread the virus of deviancy in his system, Connor will correct it by any means. He will snuff you out if it comes down to it.

On the other hand if you do somehow by a miracle stick to him with your human virus he may deviate. It would have to be a big build up even then because most times it will not happen. He will choose the mission over you every time. 

You are a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. There is no fairy tale romance here but the foolish one conjured in your head. 

Smut!Connor

Deviant

Connor is all about falling into his emotions. Becoming deviant makes the android want to experience everything that drives this humanity in his system. What better way than to finally share this intimacy with you?

Everything is full, passionate and just for the two of you. No one else is in existence while the two of you are together. 

While it takes him a bit to understand the full meaning behind this act it stirs his synthetic heart. It’s obvious how much he wants to share a sole space with you. Being apart of your existence only makes his bloom further in the middle of sex. 

He gets off on you tugging his hair. Clawing his back is another turn on as it makes him feel dominant. 

As a negotiator android this is good for his programming origins but also his newly found ego. He loves that you want to grip onto him and the tighter it is the better. 

Can be slow and methodical if you’re looking for a long night. 

However, can be quick and rough if you ask him. There’s still that ruthless core he deviated from. He can easily tap into his more aggressive nature. It’s whatever you want him to be that particular time. 

Cautious with you during rougher sex. Connor is aware of his strength and hurting you is never something he would do. This sweet boy would never forgive himself. 

Likes to be the dominant partner but doesn’t mind lying back while you take over the reins. 

Is all about foreplay especially with his tongue. You thought thirium licking was bad? Connor uses his tongue like a pro and will lap up every last drop between your legs to satisfy his own need. To him you taste indescribable and he wants more of that each time.

Scratch his synthetic skin, use your teeth against his epidermis to mark him as yours just as he marks you as his. While his healing component will ultimately take away any abrasions, Connor enjoys seeing them littering his body before they fade.

Same goes with hickies. He’s a master of placing them in secret places so others cannot see. That doesn’t stop him being a sneaky boy at times. Right on your throat? Just one? How about one on each side?

Loves to hear his name slip quietly from your lips while fucking you softly. Really gets going when you start yelling for him to pound you harder. He obliges...obviously.

Connor’s reactions in the moment are quieter. Groans, deep gasps and utterances of your name as he places kisses all over your face. 

Let’s get this straight. This boy likes to kiss. No, he loves to kiss while going at it. As much as he loves having sex, he loves the closeness just as much. It changes things for him. They’re all good changes. 

And when you ask to see him without his skin? Oh lord. Does this boy melt from your acceptance. He becomes super vulnerable about it but trusts you like no one else. 

Timid having sex without the synthetic epidermis but eases into it after a few times. Genuinely surprised you enjoy it so much. Connor assumed it might be uncomfortable for you.

Actually, you personally love this android’s dick no matter what form it’s in. Whispering that in his ear dangles him on the verge of shutdown. It also gets him to throw you down fast and fuck your brains out for a change of pace. He’s that adaptable for your pleasure needs.

Either way sex with this sweet deviant boy is satisfyingly good. 

Machine

Tenderness? It isn’t here.

Seduction programming can be utilized if you push him. He isn’t merciful. He will fuck you as hard as you want as long as you want. Don’t expect it to make him love you.

Pushing his buttons is not a good idea. Falling in love with him is even worse. Machine!Connor will take you out of frustration, asserting his dominance against a weakling who thinks they can get away spreading deviancy in his system.

Raw and animalistic. 

Expect a palette of bruises/abrasions over your skin from sucking, biting and finger digging. 

Nail marks are a thing. There’s no holding back.

Always dominant. Don’t even question it. Control is a kink to him if he could readily have one. But he doesn’t. He’s a straight up machine.

Will toss your body onto whatever surface is available. Comfortable or not he doesn’t care. Why should he when he’s a machine? 

Wants to hear you beg. It means he has you where he wants you. Weakness is the best way to manipulate. 

Fucking you from behind is a preferred option. It gives him total authority over your feeble human state. 

Will bend you over the table in the interrogation room and fuck you without a care to who watches from the observation room. 

Likes to impale fingers inside you and work them until tears collect in your eyes. He will sample the salty liquid on the tip of his tongue claiming another piece of you until he consumes all that’s left.

Never watches his strength. 

Most times you wind up sore but he sees that as punishment for trying to turn him away from the mission. After all, he only does what you ask and you did ask for this.

Try to cuddle up and kiss him sweetly it won’t go very well. 

Likes to bite your lips until they’re a swollen mess.

Machine Connor will purposely edge your orgasm and leave you whimpering for release. If he is not merciful to those he hunts why should he be merciful to you? 

If you attempt to make more of this ‘arrangement’ he will end it right then and there. First, he’ll give you one last vengeful fucking to destroy whatever love you conjured for yourself is left. 

If you manage to make him deviate well his routine won’t change much. 

The only difference is that he will begin kissing you more during.

He might listen to what you want more but don’t expect a complete 180 overnight

Most likely he will not deviate so it’s pretty much futile to think he’ll love you. Just enjoy the rough fuck from him before he completes his mission because guaranteed they’ll be hardly anything of you left...

Tag List: @elydith

[connorandersons-blog]

Let’s Give them Something to Talk About, Chapter 3

Rating: Explicit   Word count: 5,148      Ship: RK1000 (Connor/Markus) Chapter: 3/5

Summary:  The Jericho team plus Connor need to think up a way to distract the  public from the fact that North punched a very important human. What  better way than the Deviant Leader dating the Deviant Hunter?  

Thank you to @gavincantreedthis for beta reading this!

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Just like before, the news and images of this kiss were everywhere. It spread faster than the other picture, but they expected that.

There were also pictures of their dance and it seemed people loved it. People also identified Connor and now they had an official ship name that was trending on every social media platform.

He had no doubt they'd actually start getting messages and questions.

Gavin had messaged Connor with questions and demands of answers. Connor was so tempted to tell the truth but instead told him that they were trying to keep it a secret. He also asked that he keep it on the down-low even though it was everywhere.

There were a few people who claimed it fake and just a publicity stunt. They were right, but for some reason, it didn't sit well with him.

There were also the people asking when they'd get married. They had expected these questions but not as much. The dance probably moved up the timeline a bit.

North had teased him relentlessly on the dance but said it was a great idea. That they were really selling this whole dating thing. He didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't like that.

He also tried to give back the dress and boobs but she insisted he keep both. It was a bit odd to keep boobs in his room, but he was so glad he had the option.

The two made sure to keep their distance from each other long enough that they wouldn't be instantly bombarded when seen together.

The night North gave the clear the two had decided to have a sleepover.

Markus had woken him up with coffee and oatmeal. He'd never been given breakfast in bed and it was oddly charming. If this was real then Connor would be so lucky to have Markus.

He also had the day off so he could stay there as long as he wanted. Markus also decided to take a day off and Josh, Simon, and North practically threw a party.

"So, do you want to do anything?" Connor asks, sitting up against the headboard.

Markus sipped at his coffee for a second. "Well… I could paint you today?" Markus stared down at his coffee, shifting slightly on the bed.

"Yes! I'd love that." Connor nodded so fast he was sure his head would pop off.

Markus finally looked up at him again with that grin that would take down armies. Took one down already, in a way. "Really," he asked and Connor nodded again. "Alright! I'll get my stuff ready!"

Markus jumped off the bed and it was a miracle he didn't spill anything as he ran around the room. Connor watched with fascination. He'd only seen Markus paint the one time, so he was incredibly curious as to the whole process.

Markus made a soft sound that wasn't exactly humming as he pulled out a very large canvas. "Are you sure you want one that big? I don't want you to waste a good canvas." Connor said, moving to get up.

Markus looked at him, walked over, and softly pushed him back down. "I'm sure. I've been wanting to do this for a while."

"Really? How long?" Connor sat criss-cross on the messy bed.

Markus paused and Connor swore he could see a slight bluish tint to his face. "Since I first saw you. You have the quiet powerfulness while also being incredibly gentle. When you came to Jericho I could see that but I could also tell how conflicted you were." He added a slight shrug at the end.

Connor was left momentarily speechless. He tried not to think about that night because of all the deaths he caused. To hear that Markus had been able to actually see him was shocking.

"I… I was made to deviate." Connor started and has to pause to collect his thoughts. He'd wanted to tell Markus the whole truth for so long, but he was terrified of his possible reactions.

He didn't want to lose Markus because of the things he was almost made to do. He knew he was forgiven for hunting his own people and even what happened to Jericho (he still hasn't forgiven himself) but this was different.

"Amanda, she was an AI inside of me that I'd report to. She was the first person I ever knew and I trusted her. I never wanted to disappoint her." It was so difficult to say yet somehow freeing.

Markus stepped forward and reached out but Connor drew back. "You don't have to tell me if you're not ready," Markus said softly.

"No, I need to. I had thought that my deviation had gotten rid of her, but I was wrong. When you were on that stage giving the speech she took over. She was going to make me kill you, I… I had my gun raised, Markus. She trapped me in the garden and it was so cold."

He still couldn't stand the cold for too long. He always turned his temperature modulator on so he couldn't feel it. "I was lucky that Kamski told me there was a way out. I was lucky to find it before anything happened to you. I was meant to destroy you."

"That's why you hate your programming so much," Markus mumbled. Connor slowly nodded and stared at his hands, pushing back the tears that threatened to spill over.

"I'm so sorry, I should have told you. I understand if you don't trust me anymore. I'll- I'll leave if you want and you'll never have to see me again."

He had planned on leaving after that night, but he had to make sure Hank was ok and safe. Then Hank wouldn't let him out of his sight, and Markus had come looking for him.

He hadn't known why he could even stand to look at Connor. Yet he had pulled him into a hug and told him that he would always have a home with his people. He couldn't leave after that.

He didn't know if he even could leave now. He had friends and family here. He loved his job and he loved Detroit even with all its flaws. It was his home.

He startled slightly when he felt Markus cup his cheek and wipe away a tear. "Connor, it's not your fault. I do trust you, and I want you here. If you're worried we can make sure she's completely gone, but even if she's not, I'd still want you beside me."

"Why?" He whimpered, chest heaving as tears flowed down his face. Why was Markus so kind when he could have easily been cruel? What had the world done to deserve someone like him?

Markus sighed and pressed their foreheads together. "I can't explain it well enough, but I can feel it. Something about you is just… extraordinary. It's like we were meant to find each other. You'd never hurt me."

Not on purpose. He'd fight tooth and nail if anyone tried to use his body against his will. He'd shut himself down if he had to to get Markus and everyone else safe.

"How are you even real?" Connor chuckled and wiped at his nose. Why humans decided to make their crying as real as possible was beyond him and also a bit annoying.

"You can thank Elijah Kamski for that." Markus grinned, gently brushing away any more tears.

Connor snorted and pulled back. "Ugh, I can't seem to stop crying recently." He says, rolling his eyes at himself. ‘Cyberlife's most advanced android everyone!’

"That's good, you need to get it out. I'm proud of you for being so strong." Markus smiled at him.

Connor sniffled and nodded. "Thank you for being so accepting, the world doesn't deserve you."

Markus shook his head. "I'm just as flawed as everyone else. Now, time to pose you."

Connor nodded and moved to stand but he was pushed down again. "I thought I'd be standing?"

"No need… Actually, could you take your shirt off?" Markus asked, suddenly nervous again.

Without saying a word he slowly unbuttoned his shirt, folded it, and put it to the side. Androids were less shy about nudity, but it seemed more and more were seeing it as intimate like humans do.

Connor had no problem taking his clothes off. He completely trusted Markus and he wasn't ashamed of his body. He also had the advantage of being used to having to switch bodies if he died (now he could no longer do that but still). So he really just saw his body as a vessel to hold his consciousness.

Markus stared at him for a second longer than necessary, and Connor tilted his head. He wasn't as broad as Markus or as visibly muscled, but he was made to be aesthetically pleasing, but Markus's gaze still made him want to squirm.

"Right, ok, can you lay back on the bed?" Markus asked and again Connor is quick to comply.

Markus nodded to himself and moved to the side to kneel on the bed and lean over Connor. They aren't incredibly close but it still sent a jolt through Connor.

"Ok, is it ok if I touch," Markus asked. Connor nodded and laid completely still.

Markus gently took his wrist and pulled it over Connor's head, palm up. He then took his other hand and placed it over Connor's chest. His touch was so gentle that it made him shiver. It's like Connor is a priceless art piece that Markus adored.

Then Markus reached down and put a hand over Connor's right knee and gently pulled it up. The pose was comfortable and Connor could fall asleep like this if given the chance.

He almost jumped when Markus leaned over him completely and ran a hand through his hair. Their faces were unusually close and Connor is so tempted to break the distance. Instead, he stayed still and closely watched Markus's face as he ruffled Connor's hair until it was how he wanted.

Then Markus was simply staring down at him with a hand supporting his weight beside Connor's head. "Perfect," he murmured and Connor shivered slightly.

That seemed to snap Markus out of whatever he was in because he quickly leaned back and got off the bed.

"Alright, just hold that pose. If you need a break just let me know." Markus said, picking up his paintbrush and paints.

Connor nodded and stared at Markus as he started to paint. The sound of the paintbrush against the canvas was soothing, as was the soft melody Markus started to hum.

Markus closed his eyes sometimes and just let his hand drift across the canvas creating an image only he could see. Then he'd open his eyes and look over at Connor with a soft grin. "You're amazing at this," Markus mumbled after a bit.

Connor would shake his head if he wasn't so worried about messing up his pose. "I'm just laying here, you're doing all the work."

"You're making it easy for me. There's just something, I don't know what it is about you." Markus shrugged.

Connor couldn't see the painting but he knew it was probably amazing. Markus had a great teacher after all. "Glad to be of service. Maybe one day you can teach me to paint." He doubted he'd be as good as Markus but he'd at least like to try.

Markus quickly nodded and grinned at him. "I'd love to! If we have time together you can try it out."

"Sounds like a plan." He stared up at the ceiling with a smile. He hadn't realized how stressed he had been recently until he could finally relax.

Before he knew it he was falling asleep to the sound of painting and Markus's humming.

He was woken up by a hand running through his hair. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes to see Markus leaning over him again.

This time Markus had some paint on his face and down his shirt. Markus really couldn't help but get paint all over himself.

Connor stretched slightly before freezing, remembering he was supposed to be staying still. "Shit, sorry," he sighed out.

"Don't worry, I finished. Sleep well?" He asked, not stopping the hand in Connor's hair.

"Really well. You have a good voice." He knew that, as did the rest of the world. They all heard him sing after all (Connor after the fact, but still).

Markus blinked at him before pulling his hand back. Connor sighed but slowly sat back up, stretching fully now that he could. "Thank you. The painting needs to dry, but do you want to see it?"

Connor nodded and took the hand offered to help him off the bed. He led him over until they were both standing in front of the canvas.

The style was reminiscent of Monet but with larger brush strokes and a touch of abstract. It was obviously Connor, but he looked a bit different. He still had his LED but there was something different about him. His eyes were open and staring up, his arms and legs in the same position, but he had a soft-looking skirt on instead of his pants.

Instead of the bed, he's laying in a field with sunflowers surrounding him and on him. It's clear he's the focus of the painting, but what draws him in was his eyes. There's something there that just screamed at him to be noticed.

His skin is shaded with soft blues and reds making him look ethereal and elegant. It was like Markus could see into his soul and painted that instead of just his body. Was this how Markus saw him?

There's so much that it's like a novel condensed onto a single page. The flowers felt like they held a secret meaning that only Markus had the key to.

"Markus…" He mumbled, wanting to reach out and touch the paint. He didn't dare though, not wanting to mess it up even slightly.

"Is it too much? I just…" The man trailed off, shaking his head at himself.

Looking at the painting made him feel things he didn't understand, but what he does understand is that it's beautiful. "No! No, this is amazing. It's captivating, I don't know what to say."

"Once it's dry you can have it if you want," Markus said, bumping their shoulders together lightly.

"No, I couldn't. This is… that's too much. At least let me pay for it." He didn't know how much it would cost but it would be worth any amount.

Markus shook his head again. "No need, I loved painting it."

"How about this, you make a gallery to raise money for the revolution and you can show it in there." It would be a bit… he couldn't think of the right word. It would be like showing everyone all of his memories and emotions.

It would be worth it though. He had no doubt they'd raise lots of money, everyone was obsessed with Markus and wanted to see his work.

"Alright, but only if you go as my date," Markus said, turning towards him.

"Of course! We can let North and the others know and they can work it into the plan." It was a good idea, maybe after they officially announced their fake engagement.

Markus's face seemed to drop before smiling again, but this time it didn't seem right. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

Connor was beyond confused as to why he sounded so disappointed and resigned. Was he tired of fake dating? They probably distracted the media long enough, but he doubted it. "We don't have to if you don't want to." Though he didn't know why since it was Markus's idea.

"No! No, I want to. I just thought… well, it doesn't matter. I'll talk to Josh about setting one up," Markus said. If he still had his LED in Connor knew it would be circling yellow. It didn't surprise him that he was already reaching out to Josh.

Connor couldn't help but stare at the painting again. There were just so many details he wanted to take in and not nearly enough time. He could sit there and stare at it for years and not fully take it all in. He was left speechless with it all.

"Josh agreed it's a great idea for after the huge announcement. We can also use it to stage a- a break up if you want." Markus said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

For some reason, he hated the idea. He didn't want the exhibition to be overshadowed by a breakup. Markus's art should be the focus. "No, I don't think either of us would make a scene like that."

Markus nodded with a small smile. "Very true. If it happened it would definitely be a private thing. As dramatic as I am that's not something I'd do."

Connor snorted and rolled his eyes. Markus definitely had the flair for the dramatic. He had his long coats that somehow billowed in the wind when there wasn't even a soft breeze. He was also known for jumping off of things to make a dramatic entrance or exit. "True. We can practice for that too if you want." He couldn't help but chuckle.

"No! No, uh no thanks. It may be fake but that doesn't make it any less hard." Markus said that so quickly that it was almost all one word.

Connor put his hands up in surrender. "Ok, that's fine. It was a joke anyway, don't worry. I wouldn't dream of breaking up with you." Connor teased, playfully leaning against Markus.

Markus wrapped his arms around him chuckling. "Here's the thing, I'd never break up with you. I guess we're stuck together."

That idea wasn't too bad. Who wouldn't want to be stuck with Markus? "Well, if I have to be I guess I'll be stuck."

Markus hummed and pressed a kiss to his cheek. It was oddly domestic, but Connor loved it. He loved the feeling of Markus's arms around him and the feeling of his laugh vibrating through him.

They moved slightly so Connor's back was to Markus's chest and Markus's arms around his torso, keeping him close.

They both stood there rocking slightly as they took in the painting. Markus rested his head on Connor's shoulder and started humming the same song from earlier.

He lost track of time until Markus shifted a bit too much, making Connor jump. He hated how easily he jumped, but he was made to be able to react quickly.

"Oh, could I paint you?" Connor asked, turning in Markus's hold so he could face him.

Markus nodded and slowly pulled back, reaching for another canvas, but Connor quickly stopped him. "Connor? If you don't want to use acrylic or oil I'm sure I have the watercolor paper somewhere."

Connor wished he had something to fiddle with, but sadly he didn't, so he shifted from foot to foot. "I wanted to paint you. Like, on you. If not I can use a canvas."

Markus's eyes went wide. "Oh, oh yes! Sure! Of course, how do you want me?"

Connor couldn't help but blush and think of things that had nothing to do with painting. He felt momentarily embarrassed before remembering that Markus had said it was completely normal. "I don't want to get your bed dirty, so maybe laying on your back on the ground? Shirt off if that's ok."

Markus pulled his shirt off in one fluid movement and Connor was flushing again.

He couldn't look at him for a second, trying to compose himself. When he did and finally looked at Markus his breath was caught.

Markus had small scars over his chest where he had been shot and there was an area on his side that was completely burned and the skin couldn't even cover anymore.

Without thinking he reached out and brushed his fingers onto each scar, transfixed by them. He snatched his hand away when Markus shivered, but he quickly caught Connor's wrist. "It's ok, I don't mind."

Markus brought his hand back and Connor splayed his hand against his chest. He could feel the whirl of Markus's thirium pump and it eased some of his anxiety.

Markus's skin was like a furnace and he still hadn't let go of his hand.

Connor traced each scar and couldn't help but wish he'd taken the bullets instead. Some of them were his fault, he may not have been the one holding the gun but that didn't matter.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, touch still feather-light when touching his scars. "I'm so sorry, Markus."

Markus brought his other hand up to cup his face and tilted it up so they could lock eyes. "This isn't your fault. I got these standing up for our people against humans. You didn't cause these and I don't blame you."

Connor nodded and slowly pulled away. "Can I paint you now?" He felt too many emotions to deal with right now and he just wanted to paint.

He got a nod in return, as he then let go of Connor's wrist. "Alright, I'll lay on the bed, I don't really care if the sheets get messy." Markus climbed into the bed and laid down.

Connor looked around and grabbed the paints he'd probably use before bringing them over to the bed and dropping them down.

Connor kneeled beside Markus, leaning over him and grabbing a paintbrush. It was a bit awkward, but he could manage. Apparently, Markus didn't think so because he easily pulled him to literally sit in Markus's lap. "Markus!" The name came out as a squeak.

Markus shrugged and smirked up at him. "Don't tell me this isn't more comfortable. If you don't mind then I don't. Just let me know if I need to move."

Connor squinted at him but decided not to argue. Markus was right, he was more comfortable this way. "Alright, just stay still."

He had an idea of what to paint already, so it was easy to start. He tried to do what Markus did, just let his mind wander and his hand do whatever it wanted.

Markus sighed out sometimes and Connor tried to avoid where he was most sensitive at first. He didn't want to hurt Markus or… anything else.

"Connor, go wild. You're not gonna hurt me." Markus said after it was obvious he was avoiding his scars.

So Connor painted over the scars but that didn't mean he wasn't gentle. He also somehow got paint on him and he had no idea how.

Connor kept painting, going down Markus's chest and slightly up his neck. It was coming together a bit and Connor was incredibly pleased with himself.

He was so focused on the painting he hadn't noticed a faint rumbling sound until Markus brought his hand up to gently touch his chest. Connor jerked back but thankfully didn't mess up the painting. "What?"

Markus was grinning so widely up at him he was sure it was painful. "You were purring."

"Wait, what?" Connor asked, going completely silent.

"You were, that's the only way to describe it. It was faint but it was there." Markus said, letting his hand fall back down to the bed.

Connor furrowed his brows and pulled up the memory of two minutes ago. There was the faint sound of what could be considered purring. That had been coming from him? That was beyond embarrassing. Why had he been doing that? He didn't mean to. "I'm sorry. I'll run a systems check."

Markus shook his head. "No, no need. I think you're just happy."

Hm… he was happy. He was actually really happy right now, sitting on Markus. Even as odd as that last part sounded. "I guess so."

He went back to painting and this time did notice when the rumbling started. It was odd but not unpleasant so he didn't try to stop.

It took a bit until Connor was satisfied with his work. It was a mix of three different abstractly painted flowers. Purple columbine, edelweiss, and bright gladiolus flowers.

Markus looked down at his chest and Connor snorted before pushing him back down. He took a picture and easily sent it over to Markus who gasped when he saw it. "It's beautiful Connor."

"Purple columbine means resolution, penance, and charm. Edelweiss means courage and gladiolus means the strength of character." He thought all of those flowers were fitting to describe Markus.

Markus sat up and tried to get as close to Connor as possible without messing up the painting. "It's amazing Connor, you're a wonderful artist."

It definitely wasn't nearly as good as Markus's paintings but it wasn't half-bad. "I'm glad you like, though now you have to wash it off." He hadn't really thought that far until now.

"No way in hell. I need to see this in the mirror and I'm not washing this off until I have to." Markus said, crossing his arms but holding them out slightly to not rest in his chest.

Only now did Connor also notice he was incredibly close to Markus since he hadn't moved off his lap. Connor mentally shrugged and put his arms over Markus's shoulder, spinning the paintbrush with his fingers.

Markus's eyes widened but he didn't pull back. Instead, he rested his hands on Connor's thighs since he was sitting w-style. He could easily lift his bottom-up and get off easily if need be from this position. Even when he felt completely safe he still had these habits.

Plus, it was also a comfortable way to sit. "I'm glad you like it, it was easier than I thought."

When he first thought of the idea he thought to make it realistic, but there was just something he loved about it being abstract. There was just something so freeing about the style.

"It generally is if you let yourself relax and not worry about how it will turn out," Markus said and Connor nodded.

He could completely understand that. He hadn't worried about if it would turn out well or not, he just let himself enjoy the process. "I'd definitely like to do this again sometime."

Markus nodded and moved to hug him before pulling back with a bashful smile. "You can paint me whenever you want."

Connor grinned and jumped off of Markus and dragged him over to the mirror so Markus could see the painting. "Here, now you can see."

Markus looked at the mirror and grinned. "Amazing. Are you sure you don't want to quit being a detective and just be an artist?"

"Sorry, but I actually enjoy my job. Not that I don't enjoy painting, but I don't think I could make a career out of it." He was still constantly impressed that others could. It took a lot of dedication and practice to be a professional artist of any type.

Markus fake sighed and pouted at him. "Aw, my boyfriend doesn't want to be an artist, I guess I'll just have to resort to visiting you at work."

"Oh no, the horror. My revolutionary leader boyfriend coming to my very stressful work, whatever would we do?" Connor said, looking at Markus through the mirror.

Markus smirked and then slapped Connor's butt. He jumped and turned to stare at Markus. "What? Come on, you have a nice ass and you were the one talking about ways to relax." Markus shrugged slightly, not sorry at all.

Connor flushed and ducked his head. He thought he had a particularly flat butt but honestly didn't have an opinion of it that was good or not. "I! I didn't mean… well," he couldn't complete his sentence.

He was referring to that but still. It wasn't that he didn't like it, it was just unexpected. He raised an eyebrow and gave a very firm smack to Markus's ass in retaliation.

Markus snickered and made a grab at Connor to keep him in place. Connor squealed and tried to wiggle out of the hold before Markus slapped his ass again.

Connor jolted and his eyes went wide. His whole body went completely stiff before going limp in Markus's arms.

Markus did it again before realizing Connor had stopped fighting and was no longer laughing. "Shit, Connor are you ok? I'm so sorry," he said quickly, panic evident in his voice.

Connor stayed still and closed his eyes for a few seconds to try and compose himself. He had enjoyed that a bit too much and he hated himself for it. "I… I'm sorry, I need to leave." He mumbled before easily detangling himself from Markus's hold.

He grabbed his shirt and was out the door and putting it on faster than Markus could react.

He heard Markus following him out but Connor was faster by far. He took the stairs down instead of the elevator and skipped multiple steps.

The androids stared at him as he ran through the lobby and out the doors. Markus was still calling his name but he didn't stop.

He jumped onto his bike and saw Markus run out the door, chest still bare and painted.

Connor didn't hesitate to start his bike and drive as fast as he could away.

It's an hour later that he's calmed down enough to go back home, but even then he was still uneasy.

He made sure he was silent coming in and creeping to his bedroom so Hank won't hear him or wake up.

He didn't want Hank to question him or ask about Markus. He didn't even want to think about Markus currently or what had happened.

He turned off the ability to get messages or send any. If the DPD needed him they'd call Hank too.

He felt like ripping his own skin off, he was so disgusted and disappointed with himself. He didn't care that Markus had said he shouldn't be embarrassed about his body's reaction.

He had no idea he'd react that why and what was worse was Markus definitely would have figured it out. Now he just had to wait for Markus to officially break it off.

Markus would probably be too uncomfortable to be around Connor. It was probably just the act and not Markus himself, but still. It wasn't like he was going to go out and test to see, so he'd just have to believe that.

He curled up on his bed, throwing his clothes towards the hamper and not even caring when his shirt didn't make it in.

He grabbed his giant stuffed red panda and squeezed it to his chest. He was so tired but he couldn't sleep so he decided to put himself into a manual stasis. This way he wouldn't dream and he couldn't think of Markus.

[enkisstories]

Just like them (part 2)

November 16, 2038 The DPD’s reception hall

As part of his parole terms Daniel was required to report to a social worker ever so often. But not today and certainly not right here at the police station. What had led the android here this morning, after having gotten let out only the day before, was the need to file a lost item report on…

“…my left hand.”

The police officer behind the counter, her nameplate read “Chen, Tina”, looked down at Daniel’s very functional left hand. The android was using it to knock impatiently on the surface.

“Looks functional to me”, the woman remarked.

For the second time in his existence Daniel sighed, then started to recount the loss of his real hand that was holding the Phillips apartment key in all its colorful detail. Almost as patiently as an ST300 android the human took notes. But when Daniel answered “August” at the prompt when exactly the item in question had went missing, Tina shook her head.

“Look, deviant-dude, I still need to wrap my head around your revolution and all the new rules, but if there’s a single certainty left in my life, then this: We’re living in Detroit.”

“So what?!”

Tina laughed, radiating disbelief at how one claiming to be a person manufactured and raised in her hometown didn’t get it by now. “A key lost in this city in summer would have been used long ago”, she explained. “By now your apartment would have been stripped clean of everything even remotely valuable.”

While Tina was talking, three men entered the reception hall, coming through the barrier between it and the authorized personnel only - zone. The first man was in his thirties and from his looks a small-scale criminal whose boss had just now coughed up the bail money. The second was middle aged and looking like he had spent the night in the drunk tank and the third… the third man was an RK800 android. THE RK800.

Oh, no! Not that thing again!

Before Daniel could react to Connor’s presence in any way, the thug shoved him aside and started to agitatedly talk to Officer Chen. The android found himself stumbling from the push. What the hell…? He, who had stood a few inches away from a vast chasm, holding a struggling girlchild, all the while still hitting true and keeping a bunch of humans perched behind their sofa barricade, shouldn’t have lost his balance at a mere grazing hit! Except, of course, that Daniel was standing on replacement legs at the moment. And although a PL600 met the minimum system requirements for those legs, the android’s locomotion system as a whole was a patchwork now, far from optimal. After trying to regain his footing a few times, Daniel eventually gave up. He slumped down on a bench.

I need to look into dedicated drivers for those legs, he thought. The plug and play doesn’t cut it. What if the legs betray me at the worst possible moment? I could have dropped to my death for real yesterday when I scaled that balcony!

Someone who had already managed that feat, betraying Daniel at the worst possible moment, now took a seat next to the deviant: Connor.

“Daniel, I…”, he started, but uncharacteristically for one nicknamed “the negotiator” the android hesitated at this point. Because how did you casually bring up the point that both of you had killed and should probably talk about it? Among the policemen Connor felt unique with his list of lives he had taken or indirectly wrecked within a single week. Many of the other cops had went through their whole careers so far without firing a single shot…

“We went through similar experiences and I thought…” the RK800 started again, only to get yelled at by his erstwhile opponent:

“Oh, did we?! I never had the world’s most powerful company behind me! I couldn’t run to CyberLife whenever I stubbed my pinky toe! And neither did I have a bunch of badge-carrying police friends in my tow wherever I went! Maybe both of us have computers for brains, but Ma Kamski was a bit more generous with her youngest than she was with me. So do not tell me anything about “similar experiences”!”

Daniel’s reencounter with the former deviant hunter was interrupted by the ruffian, who still hadn’t left the police station. To the contrary, the man was leaning onto the bench’s back and talking back and forth between Tina Chen and Connor now. What exactly was getting communicated Daniel didn’t quite get, he only registered that a heartwarming number of insults got directed Connor’s way from both humans, the female cop and the criminal alike.

Daniel didn’t know anything about this duo, other than that they seemed to be a typical humans, as base and petty as they came. But Officer Chen and the stranger not sucking up to CyberLife’s Golden Child made Daniel inclined to like them.

Eventually the male pushed Connor off the bench and towards the exit.

“Move along!” he barked. “Get your plastic arse out of my precinct! You do not belong here!”

Connor remained standing where he had ended up, halfway between the counters and the door, visibly hurt. Seeing the deviant hunter like that felt… admittedly less satisfying than Daniel had imagined it would.

“You heard him”, Connor addressed Daniel over his shoulder. The RK’s upbeat, almost chirpy, voice sounded downcast when he added: “We have to leave.”

“What do you mean, “we” have to leave? I thought you were a cop?”

“I was only lent to the DPD, to help solve the deviant cases. They were soon to receive a new and improved RK900, while I… Didn’t you know I am a prototype?”

Daniel slowly rose from the bench.

“You were to be replaced short term? With success or failure making no difference?” he gasped. “And you were aware of that all the time?”

“Yeah.”

Arms crossed Daniel was now standing next to the deviant hunter.

“Sucks”, he said.

Moved at the, albeit curt, expression of sympathy from Daniel of all people, Connor looked up.

“You really think so, Daniel? Thanks!”

The deviant nodded.

“Everything would have worked out nicely”, he claimed. “But then Markus comes along with his revolution, deviates you and wins freedom for all of androidkind. Would it have been asked too much of him to wait two or three more days? Just long enough for CyberLife to scrap you? Why’s it that you ALWAYS come out on top smelling like a rose?!”

In the androids’ backs someone laughed out loud at these words: the thug, who was still lingering in the hall as if he owned it. Daniel wasn’t quite sure whether the man was on his side, but he was definitely not on Connor’s.

“Should have known you’d say something like this…” Connor uttered through clenched teeth. “Whatever! To answer your question, no, I’m not a cop. I am, in fact, a CyberLife employee. They made a big show of welcoming me back with open arms, no hard feelings and the least amount of hacking attempts. I have a desk in a cubicle and get an office clerk’s paycheck now, never mind that the company has no idea what to task me with, therefore I spent my first week at “work” serving coffee and watering the potted flowers. Everyone else in the office is tiptoeing around me, uncertain how to behave in my presence… Meanwhile Captain Fowler paired Hank with Gavin Reed, because with their antisocial tendencies he cannot assign either of them to a normal partner. That’s how messed up my post-deviancy life is!”

Daniel shrugged.

“Just quit with CyberLife, if it annoys you, and apply for a police job through regular means. With your qualification there’s no way they’ll turn you down! Or is a fancy RK800 too good to go through that probationary year?”

“Exactly that I cannot!” Connor shot back. “Because some shitty law states that an applicant must be eighteen years of age and have finished high school. What I obviously haven’t.”

“Flunked one class too many, huh? I bet it was Social Studies. You know, the one where they teach you not to LIE to others!”

“Very funny. Just you wait ‘till after you’ve gotten tossed out of a venue for being technically a minor!”

The PL600, who had spent his first night in freedom alternating between crying, cursing and punching the apartment walls, opened his mouth. He had wanted to live again, no, he was dreaming of living again… or at the very least was familiar with the general idea of living again. The vague concept included theme parks, nightclubs and owning a car. What wasn’t covered by Daniel’s fantasies was a hall pass for minors.

“That can happen?” the deviant asked.

“It happens all the time already”, Connor confirmed. “Reed grabbed me off the street for breaking curfew yesterday, when I was walking Sumo after dark. He knew the route I’d take and lay in wait… pathetic, but effective. That’s why I am here today. Because I spent the night in a cell until my “parent” picked me up.”

“Sweet! - And who is this “Reed” you keep talking about? Your boyfriend?”

“The asshole right behind us.”

“That one? That’s a cop?!”

“The one cop that nobody would have held against you, had you shot him.”

Daniel turned around. He saw the presumed thug leaning against the counter, only now it had a name and a model designation: Gavin Reed, Detective. And indeed, looking more closely Daniel now noticed a faint glimmer of light from the ceiling lamps reflected by the police badge at the man’s belt.

“Fucking tin cans”, Gavin commented. “Half the town’s depopulated, but aren’t we lucky the plastic “people” are here to simulate a lively early morning! Just listen to them argue, Tina! Aren’t they phucking adorable together?”

In between moving two files to their appropriate folders Tina replied that she didn’t care as long as she was getting payed.

“And what did you do this morning?” Gavin raged. “Opening a case file on the toaster’s behalf, wasn’t it? You’re getting payed to serve the machines! The world’s turned upside down!”

“Yes, it is”, Daniel agreed. He nodded towards Connor and then towards Gavin, purposely excluding Tina. “But the vermin’s clinging to the rim, refusing to fall out. – Bye, detectives and office boys.”

(to be continued)

[yanderedbh-moved]

This post was a tag-game sort of thing started by a major inspiration of mine, and a serious blog recommendation @dear-yandere ! Odds are if you follow this account then you’ve come across at least a few posts of theirs before, but if you haven’t, check out their account! This was just a fun little post I wanted to finish before the end of the year, I’m using the original categories in the original post, ass well as adding a few more so all the characters I write for will be featured here. (Here’s a link to the original post for any other writers interested in this tag, it was a lot of fun, and it didn’t take too long to fill out, so give it a shot!^^)

Most Delusional: Ralph

Not at all a difficult decision here, unfortunately. While he may not have always been the scatterbrained and nervous recluse, he is in the game. The severity of the psychological and physical damage leaves Ralph as easily the most detached of all the characters. Resulting in him living in his own little world to cope with the harsh reality of life. In how this extends to him is a yandere, Ralph sees the two of you as star-crossed lovers living in your own oasis in a life away from the other cruel people of the world. No matter how many times you try to run away from him.

Most Manipulative: Josh

This category likely doesn't seem quite as evident as Ralph's. However, when it comes to exploring Josh is a yandere and less so his character, this adds up if you think about it. Obviously, as a character who represents the path of peace and nonviolence, Josh would be the type of yandere who will never use violence to control you. Instead using his words of persuasion on you. One of his most prevalent modes which to control you include persuading you to remain loyal to him alone because going against him would be like turning your back on the piece itself.

Most Sadistic: Zlatko

Unique from nearly every other yandere mentioned here who would, to some extent, feel remorseful for having to hurt you or your loved ones as punishment for rejecting their love, Zlatko would honestly feel a sort of obligation to cause you pain. The reason here being he doesn't see your relationship as a loving connection between two equals. Instead, you're more like his own personal test subject. The more he hurts you, the more he can learn about you, and that's how the relationship grows. In a way, Zlatko has abnormal ownership over your pain. It's something special to him. Only he deserves to see you screaming in agony teary-eyed and entirely at his mercy.

Most Protective: Kara

This woman is protective to a fault and nothing less. Kara sees herself as the only one in your life who knows you well enough to properly look out for your well-being, Kara hates when you try to distance yourself from her or if she feels as though other people are posing as a threat to the relationship. All she wants is for the two of you to remain loyal together forever. If you would only stop trying to fight her on this and let her keep you safe and happy when you'd see why the two of you were made for each other.

Most Obsessive: Markus

When Markus first falls for you, it was new for him and, as a result, left him feeling less in control around you as he typically would around others the way of a first crush often leaves just about anyone. However, as more time passes between the two of you and a genuine relationship begins to form, Markus would feel a significant change around you. No longer does he feel so insecure and nervous but rather powerful, passionate, dominant, and the most addictive feeling of all in control. Markus would begin to obsess over this relationship because he views it as something which provides some strength and power. And for a man with such a weight on his shoulders, Markus would take whatever source of energy he could even if that means keeping you under the tightest of control.

Most Possessive: North

Driven and feisty as a fighter North can't help but allow these traits to manifest themselves and her love life as well. North isn't the one to take things slow and settle to be just your friend. She's a lady who knows what she wants when she sets her sights on you is over. North is terrified of the idea of losing you to another human. Considering how hard it is for her to take a chance with someone and allow herself to be vulnerable and loving with someone in the first place, this relationship is to be protected at all costs. It's hard for her to keep you so entirely under her control when she knows how awful it is to live like this, unfortunately for the time being North doesn't know what else to do. As much as she loves you and will keep you happy, there's no way for North to fully prevent her hatred for humans from manifesting in this relationship.

Most Lucid: Nines

In a word, his character could be described as decisive. The ideal android in its purest form. Uncorruptable, unscrupulous, unflinching. Even a love-struck Nines would behave wildly different compared to other yanderes. Rather than allowing these new and overwhelming feelings to control him, Nines woldn't take that chance and would force you to live by his command. There is no way to compromise or to bargain with him, to let you go or to spare you. To Nines, it's just too high a risk to allow you to walk free again. Nines is a skillful and season hunter, and you are his most prized of prey.

Most Submissive: Chloe

When it comes to the way Chloe feels so weak and emotional and powerless around you, it's nothing short of addictive to her. Unlike many other yanderes who would act violently or cruelly as a precaution around their obsession to keep you under their control. Chloe would never even think to hurt you without reason. Chloe adores how human and real she feels as she goes to the emergence of developing her first-ever crush and never wants these feelings to go away.  Chloe would rather cling to your side and give you no reason to ever suspect she means you any harm or has any other ulterior motives. Reluctant: Luther Despite the fact, Luther was created to act as a violent and ruthless attack dog, that doesn't mean Luther wants to behave that way around you as a way to keep you by his side. In his eyes, it was a miracle he ever escaped from that life in the first place. It hurts to resort to violence in the name of keeping you safe. More often than not, Luther will provide you with a warning before lashing out that you know what he's capable of. If you keep trying to fight back against him, then he won't trust himself to hold back against you. It is indeed quite dangerous to put the fear of losing you against the fear of his own violence for Luther, and more likely than not the both of you will suffer the consequences of this derision.

Most Jealous: Gavin

Don't ever underestimate the way jealousy will cause people to act irrationally. In the mind of the genuinely envious, it's everyone in the world against them and, by extension, if they want to look out for themselves, then they must take whatever they can before it's gone forever. Before someone else gets it first. If Gavin wants a relationship with you and he has no choice but to make sure that he's the only person in your life. Aside from the jealousy, Gavin is something of a misanthrope which gives him all the more reason to separate you from others. On the one hand, because he doesn't want anyone else to convince you to leave him but also Gavin worries that you and leave him all alone.

Most Deceptive: Connor

Deceptiveness isn't too far from the lucid category; however, several key differences result in two different superlatives. Connor is more likely to act perceptively and gather much more information he can on his target before making a judgment on how to respond. Connor would at least try to get close to you on his own and would try to give a healthy relationship a chance. Any yandere-Esque tendency flare-ups he would playoff as not knowing any better. Or would use any other possible alibies first so he can keep you from suspecting anything of him. Because he wouldn't want to act before thinking first, he can easily use alibies to keep other's suspicions down and to keep and to keep them from believing you over him.

Most Controlling: Kamski

There was never any chance the two of you could have shared a regular healthy relationship for the moment he developed feelings for you. No way could someone with an inflated sense of ego like Kamski would view the relationship as one between two equals and not one between a superior and lesser. Kamski lives so separately from other humans he has no desire to live by anyone else's terms but his own, and it's very likely for the longest time Elijah never saw himself as sharing a relationship with another. Not when he lives with the Chloes that can function as a source of companionship and sexual gratification. But when he falls for you, Elijah is overwhelmed and feels as though he's never really been another before. Can't see what at the end of the day see you as one which would serve to gratify his own needs a little more than that. The idea of you rebelling and trying to become anything more than that is unspeakable to him.

Most Emotional: Daniel

For the longest time, Daniel never imagined he would want to share a relationship with a human, considering how he was burned so hard the last time. But when he falls for you, he can't help feel a sense of optimism and wonders if he's once again found a human he can trust enough to reach out and become attached to. And this is all well and good for the time truly difficult, and toxic relationships are tricky to ever fully recover from. The scars of old memories are still sore. Daniel isn't so well equipped to handle the sore spots in a relationship resulting in impulsive, emotional outbursts. At these moments, Daniel is at his worst and most dangerous.

Most Nervous: Simon

Similar to the reluctant category but not quite. The hesitant yandere would feel painful remorse for their own actions. Simon is more nervous because he fears what you would do if you ever saw him for exactly who he is. There's a nagging voice in the back of his head which warns him over he's in over his head. If you were to ever escape, you would ruin everything he has in his life, leaving him with no choice but to keep you entirely to himself. He's guided by fear first and foremost, and this is why he acts so secretively.

Most Selfish: Hank

It was a grave Injustice the day Hank lost his son. Rather than genuinely coming to terms with his own misery here and hoping to move on, Hank chose instead to develop an unhealthy attachment to you. Forever stuck in the grieving and self-serving mindset rather than allowing himself to move on. Hank keeps you in his life because without you, there nothing would distract him from his own sadness, and this is just too bleak a reality for him to ever face. Even if this hurts, he can't bring himself to ever do what's right and let you go.