#hank starting to cry just from seeing simon again.... talking about how he feels better... just being around him....

[outislovescomics]

HOMOEROTIC MANHANDLING SAVES THE DAY

[crhinge]

Breaking Down The Classic Rom-Com

I feel like I haven’t written a fun post in a hot sec so lets talk about one of my favorite subjects: Rom Coms

According to wikipedia, a Rom Com, also known as Romantic Comedy, is “a subgenre of comedy and slice-of-life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles.” In the past, Romantic Comedies have also been called “Chick Flicks” but I think this is devaluing of both women and  the romantic comedy genre. 

The other day, I woke up to find that the most wholesome rom-com couple of all time reunited: Matty & Jenna (Aka Mark Ruffalo & Jennifer Garner). This got me thinking about the beauty of the Rom-Com and how unappreciated they can be. It has been years since we have seen a rom-com with the cultural impact of 13 Going on 30, and I would like to petition for more of them after a sad and painful year. 

I can already hear the millions (in my head this blog is extremely popular) of comments “What about To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before?!?” “What about The Kissing Booth?!?” And too that I say, "Good Riddance!” If you’re rating your rom coms on a TATBILB scale, or even WORSE The Kissing booth, I feel sorry for you. Truly I do. So let's dive into the best Rom Coms of all time, but first... 

What makes a Rom-Com good? Well let's start with a relatable as hell main character. I am talking a girl (sometimes guy), who has many flaws, but the audience can see themselves within her/him. Let's use Jenna Rink from 13 Going On 30 as an example. Well, she's literally a 13 year old in a 30 year olds body, but don’t we all still have a preteen hiding inside of all of us? She is 100% willing to be herself at every step, even if that means dancing thriller all alone. She touches on all of our insecurities, while teaching us how to break down our walls. 

Rom-Coms also need characters to make realistic choices. This does not mean that the movie itself is realistic, but rather than you can understand the choices the characters make. Again, 13 going on 30 does a fabulous job of this. Obviously, Jenna traveling in time because of wishing powder is not realistic, but the choices that her and her past self make are. Due to the insecurities of her childhood and a need to feel included, relevant, and powerful Jenna pushes important people out of her life, which happens to so many people in the real world. These decisions force her to miss out on the love of her life, and ultimately, the story ends sadly: the love of her life marries someone else and she is left with tears, wishing powder, and an old doll house. That is until she is able to travel back in time and change the course of her life. 

Lastly, Every classic Rom-Com couple needs to have chemistry. There. I said it. Hollywood loves just casting random famous actors without giving them a proper chemistry read. One great example of this is Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel in Safe Haven. Both fun, famous, Hollywood actors who have zero chemistry. Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner had more chemistry throwing back Razzles than those two did during an intimate sex scene. 

Alright, now that we have broken down the requirements of a Romantic Comedy, let's jump into the best and worst of all time.

Best: When Harry Met Sally. 9/10. A classic. A tale as old as time. Both Sally & Harry are very flawed, yet relatable characters. Sally is too picky and particular, while Harry is a player. They both suck at relationships, but make rational decisions based on their motivations. We all have friends like these two and their chemistry is on point, both on a friendship and romantic level. They bounce off of one another splendidly. 

Worst: Sleepless in Seattle. 1/10 I know, this is a strong take, but this is a terrible movie about a stalker. Meg Ryan (I don’t even remember her character's name) is the stupidest most unrelatable character I have seen in a long time. She is extremely unlovable, cheats on her SO emotionally, and flies across the country to stalk a man that she has never met before. And then you’re telling me that Tom hanks FALLS FOR HER? Nope. No. I refuse to except this. Plus, their chemistry in this is pretty mediocre (You’ve Got Mail is Way Better) and we only get to see them together once. 

Best: 10 Things I Hate About You. 8/10. I was tempted to leave all high School Rom-Coms off this list, but Heath Ledger is my exception. Talk about likability. Kat is a strong, powerful, independent woman who learns how to be more vulnerable while still being a feminist badass. We all wanted to be Kat growing up. Meanwhile Heath Ledger is the classic bad boy with a soft side, and who wasn’’t into that? Both characters grow into new people throughout the movie making them relatable, complex, and realistic. Not to mention the angel that is Joseph Gordon Levitt, who keeps the audience up beat and smiling throughout the course of this Shakespeare tale

Best: My Big fat Greek Wedding. 10/10.  Have you seen this film recently? Because it is an absolute DELIGHT and so relatable. It dives into the difficulty of family expectation and cultures merging. It also has the cutest proposal of all time with a realistic couple that fights for one another on a daily basis. You laugh. You cry. You get a dynamic cast with wonderful chemistry. You feel invested in the family and the relationship. Just a joyful wonderful film.

Worst: Something Borrowed. 0/10. If you’ve never seen this movie, don’t. Ginnifer Goodwin sleeps with her best friends fiancé and we’re supposed to be okay with it because she liked him first. Hard pass. And she ignores John Krazinski who is right in front of her. She is unlikable, unreliable, and makes dumb decisions that no one else would. 

Best: He’s just not that into you. 9/10  I will go to bat for this movie. It follows several realistic storylines in a Love Actually manor, except they actual seem legit. A woman realizing her boyfriend is never going to marry her. A girl facing the fact that maybe some guys just aren’t that into her, and she isn’t an exception to the rule. A man slowly making the decision to cheat on his wife as they are growing apart. A woman realizing that she is worth way more than her bastard husband. A woman realizing that the person she’s sleeping with will never leave his wife for her. It's compelling, has realistic characters that we can relate to, and still warms your heart in the end. 

Best: The Big Sick. 8/10. Okay to be fair, this is based on a true story so it automatically has realistic characters and decisions. Maybe I should leave this off of the list, but I wish this film got the recognition it deserves. Two lovable main characters who make mistakes that are understandable. Wonderful chemistry between Kumail and his girlfriend as well as her family. 

Best: About Time. 11/10 This is hands down the best Rom-Com of all time and Potentially the best film of all time as well. If you don’t cry in this movie you do not have a heart or soul. The characters are SO insanely likable and adorable.It touches on the importance of family and valuing time and how little of it we have. The chemistry within the whole cast is palpable, and we can all relate to at least one character, whether it is the protagonist Tim, his wife Mary, his sister Kit-Kat, or his father. 

Well it is important to point out the obvious here: this list is lacking diversity in a huge way. All but one of these movies follow a cis, straight, white couple, and that is extremely concerning. People have attempted to make more diverse rom-coms over the past few years, but they all seem to be lacking one of the three core components of what makes a rom-com great: Relatable, realistic, and great chemistry. For example. Crazy Rich Asians was a fantastic film, but the high level of wealth that Nick Young comes from, made his character difficult to relate to, and I’m sorry but the chemistry just wasn’t there for me. Always Be My Maybe’s characters fell flat and it’s not a film I would want to watch more than once. Love Simon made some huge waves for LGBTQ representation in the media, but that ending kiss was unrealistic along with his friends reaction to fining out he was lying, which left the movie anti-climactic by the end. 

Now, the most recent film on this list was made in 2017. And before that 2013. So where have all the Rom Coms gone? Why don’t we see more of them. There are a few Rom Coms that could be contenders on the “Best” list from the last couple of years that include a small amount of diversity: 

Yesterday 7/10. The big question here is does this count as a romantic comedy? The love story isn’t the main plot, but is definitely a large sub-plot. This movie features an interracial couple and is highly re-watchable. The main characters are entertaining, relatable, and have pretty good chemistry. We will see if it stands the test of time. 

The Broken Hearts Gallery 7/10. This movie has gotten NO recognition. The main character, Lucy, is an extremely likable 20 something, not unlike our Ginnifer Goodwin in He’s Just not that Into You. The plot is fun and predictable but keeps you watching. I don’t know if this one will stay on my list long, but it’s definitely up there. 

But here is my challenge to Hollywood: create some new, beautiful Rom Coms that celebrate diversity but that don’t throw away the relatable, realistic, and high chemistry characters that we are just waiting to fall in love with. It’s got like 16 ideas up my sleeve, so just give me a call Hollywood. 

[rjhpandapaws]

Guess who's in desperate need of serotonin bb and an ask event is the perfect vessel.

Soooo HCH Connor. He tends to work nonstop. But WHAT IF. He's at work. He's at least most of the way through a shift... and they run out of literal spoons. And even the THOUGHT of the necessary restocking/washing/however they do things takes away his last metaphorical spoon.

How do we cope? Does he try to power through and give up? Does he just sit down behind the counter? Who's taking care of this beautiful mess- Tough-love North? Gentle giant Josh? Sweet baby Simon? Is it to busy to take care of The Boy, so they call in reinforcements????? Do tell

//I smell a ficlet!!!!

Connor had the habit of ignoring the small things until they stacked up too much to be ignored, in the figurative sense most of the time, but in the literal sense on occasion too. Like today for instance, they were short staffed, Simon was with him because North was sick and Josh was taking his exams to start teaching. Echo had classes so she couldn’t come in until the afternoon shift. All of that would have been fine, he’d worked doubles by himself before. The problem was that neither Echo or Ripple did dishes before closing yesterday so they were out of spoons and he had just gotten another breakfast order. Perks of morning shift he supposed. He apologized and gave the customer a to go set of silverware then made his way to the back. He could feel the panic rising in his chest and he didn’t know why, it was just a spoon. “Hey Simon?” He called into the kitchen, “Do you mind working the counter for bit?” “You hate working kitchen Connor why would you-” He stopped when he finally caught a look at Connor, apparently he wasn’t hiding his emotions well, “Yeah I can cover the front of the house. Let me know if you need to head home, and please don’t forget to take your break.” Connor gave a nod as Simon passed him because it was the best he could do, the sharp uneasy feeling had locked his hands to his side and cut off his voice. Social interaction was too much right now, and thankfully the blonde seemed to understand that. Once he had left he shut the service door to the kitchen and opened the order window instead to minimize their interactions. He was glad Simon hadn’t taken it personally.

It would pass, they always did. He just needed to keep busy, you couldn’t panic if you were too busy to think about it. There were no more food orders for now so he made his way to the sink to work on the dishes and get things restocked for the lunch rush and any other breakfast orders they might get in the mean time. He had a system, he washed the dishes first but in a particular order. Mugs were first because they were used the most often, then the plates and bowls, and lastly the silverware. He gave them scrubbing before he put them in the machine, to get the loose stuff off first and left the worst of it to the machine. It was cathartic most days. He was fine for a while, he even found the energy to turn the radio on for a while. He thought he was good, then he got to the silverware. Again, not normally that big of an issue, but today was an off day and the panic attack he had manage to shove into the recesses of his mind decided to come back with a vengeance. He managed to text Simon before he rushed out the back door.

RunawayArkait: Going to combine my fifteen and my lunch I need to take a breather, sorry.

The cafe was mostly quiet so Simon jumped when his phone chirped at him from its place beneath the cash register. He wasn’t usually in the habit of checking his phone at work, but since the place was as good as empty he checked it. He had a message from Connor, which was also unusual since Connor wasn’t in the habit of being on his phone unless he was on his break. Simon made his way back to the kitchen to see if he had missed Connor and found the brunette’s phone on the counter, apparently he had just messaged Simon and then took off. He was going to need help. Most of their coworkers were unavailable. That left his brothers and Hank. He didn’t know what Silas was up to, but Richard had come in earlier which meant he had classes. He wasn’t even sure if Connor wanted help to begin with, he was pretty closed off when it came to these kinds of things. He tapped at his chin and settled for messaging Richard.

SimonSays: Where does Connor go when he’s having a bad time? UnluckyNine: Back to his apartment usually, why? SimonSays: I think he’s having a panic attack but he left here pretty quickly. UnluckyNine: Okay, use his phone to text Hank, send the message Spoons. He’ll know what’s up. UnluckyNine: He’ll be in good hands don’t worry.

Simon wasn’t so sure about using Connor’s phone, it felt a bit like he was butting in, but he wanted to help Connor and this seemed like the best way to do it. He picked up the phone and swiped the lock pattern from memory. It turned out that Hank was the last person Connor had messaged. Simon let out a breath and opened the messages taking care not to read them and typed out two messages to Hank.

Connor: Spoons Connor: This is Simon Hank <3: Is he at the cafe with you? Connor: No. Richard said he might be at his apartment. Connor: I need to get back to work, sorry to message and run Hank <3: You’re good kid, I’ll bring him back once he calms down.

Simon set the phone back down on the counter and headed back to the front of the cafe. There wasn’t anyone waiting to order so he go to work tidying things up just in case someone came in. Connor had all but run to his apartment, it got him a few weird looks but he needed to get out. He needed to talk to Hank. He still had his work apron on and checked the pockets for his phone, it wasn’t there. He checked his pants pockets next and came away with nothing. He used the spare key to get into his apartment and made it as far as the couch. He fell back onto it and let the flood gates open. He hoped crying would be enough, it probably wouldn’t do anything to the guilt he felt for abandoning Simon at work when they were already short staffed, but he could bury that once he was feeling better. He was caught up enough he didn’t hear the door to his apartment open, but he snapped out of it when he felt the couch dip beside him. He didn’t get a chance to stand, he was pulled against a familiar broad chest. He relaxed and let out a wet sigh. Of course someone would have messaged Hank, their friendship wasn’t much of a secret anymore. “Hey Con, let it out. You’re not alone, I’ve got you.” Hearing the familiar rumble of Hank’s voice was soothing. He’d only been planning to call Hank but this was better. He turned his head and pressed his face into Hank’s sternum. He smeared tears an some less pleasant things onto the professor’s shirt, but he could be sorry about that later, “I’m sorry.”

Hank laughed, “Why?” “I’m crying over spoons. Its so dumb.” He admitted, not looking up at Hank. “You ran out of spoons, it happens sometimes. That’s the whole point of that message.” Hank replied rubbing a hand down Connor’s back, “That’s nothing to be sorry for Connor.” “No I mean like actual spoons. We ran out at work.” Connor corrected. Hank was quiet for a long moment, and Connor was relatively sure that he was trying not to laugh. He picked up his head to risk a look and he found Hank looking down at him with his eyes steeped in concern. “I’m sure its more than that. If you would like to talk about it of course.” Hank continued rubbing his back and Connor sighed. “The nursing program is harder than I thought it would be and I’ve had to cut back on my work hours so I don’t fall behind.” Connor started, unable to stop himself now that he had started, “I feel guilty for that because Josh has put in his notice to take his exams and start student teaching and North is sick so we’re already down two people. Then either Echo or Ripple forgot to do dishes before closing last night so we ran out of actual spoons during the morning rush, which caused me to run out of metaphorical spoons. And here we are.” “It sounds like you could use a day to yourse-” “I can’t take one.” Connor cut him off, “That would leave Simon on his own. We are the only two available to work mornings.” Hank sighed, “I have a forty-five minute timer set on my phone, we aren’t talking about work until it goes off okay.” Hank said in a way that left no room for argument, “Take a breather then I’ll take you back to the cafe.” “Okay.” Connor relented. Leave it to Simon to send for the damn cavalry.

@irrelevantbutfabulous

(Prompt from this list)

[connorandersons-blog]

Let’s Give them Something to Talk About

Rating: Explicit Word count: 7039   Ship: RK1000 (Connor/Markus) Chapter: 1/5

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!

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

Markus paced back and forth, rubbing his hands against his forearms. Connor couldn't blame him, he was stressed too. North had punched a very important man (rightly so, but still) and now public opinion was going down. 

The thing was, everyone still thought Markus and North were together. So, they had to find a way to draw attention away from North and the possibility that Markus condoned it because of their supposed dating. 

There were a few options, but none seemed to be dramatic enough. Since androids could now legally marry, the population had been asking when Markus was going to propose to North. 

Connor hated it. It was putting pressure on Markus where there shouldn't be. He shouldn't have to worry about breaking the news to the public now and have it backfire. Or have people assume it was because of the punch. 

Then the door slammed open and North, Josh, and Simon came in. North was stomping her way in while Simon and Josh moved much more silently. 

"Those fuckers are saying I punched him ‘cause he was flirting with you! Ugh!" North said, throwing her hands into the air. "I may have kissed you that one time but like, ew! I literally have a girlfriend now." 

Right, Connor had introduced Tina and North together after he overhead Tina commenting about how amazing North was one too many times. 

They hit it off incredibly well and it didn't take long for the two to kiss and get together. Connor felt like a proud parent whenever the two were around each other. 

"I know, we need a distraction. Something to make them forget about that. Just coming out with the full story won't do any good," Markus sighed, finally sitting down next to Connor. 

It had taken Connor awhile, but he now felt comfortable enough to place a soothing hand on Markus's back.

Markus was the type to seek out physical contact while Connor generally shied away. It wasn't like he had the best history with being touched. After all, it was generally someone punching him or Hank's rare hugs. 

He did his best to at least pat people on the shoulder, but even then it was a bit awkward. The only two people he felt even remotely comfortable touching without explicit permission was Hank and Markus. 

Markus sighed and leaned into the touch, smiling slightly at Connor. It's hard not to smile back when someone like Markus is smiling at you. 

"You two could say you're dating," Simon said, making Connor practically jump out of his synthetic skin. 

He pulled his hand back like he had been shocked (which is entirely possible actually) and sat up straight. 

North made a small sound, nodding her head. "That's not drastic enough, but I think this could work." 

"North," Markus said, squinting at her. She waved him off, still clearly thinking. 

"You need to get married." 

"What?!" Connor and Markus said this at the same time. 

It made North snort and glance at the other two. "It makes sense. You announce that you're engaged to Connor, and explain that we split up right after the revolution. People will eat this up. Deviant Hunter fell for the Deviant Leader himself." 

Connor hated to admit it, but this might actually work. He was sure he could make it believable but this would end three ways. 

The first was that they staged a breakup before or after they actually got married. The second was they let it slowly die out until no one even cares anymore. And the last was that they actually stayed married. He highly doubted the last would happen, but statistically speaking, there's always a chance for unlikely events to take place. 

"I don't want to do that to Connor, it's unfair. If it just affects me that would be fine, but I don't need to drag anyone into this," Markus said, shaking his head. 

That was sweet, but Connor would do anything to help them. He fucking stormed the Cyberlife tower single-handedly for crying out loud! "I'm in if you are." 

Markus snapped his head around to stare at Connor, who could only shrug. "No, we can think of something else." 

"If it's me that's the problem, then I'm sure Simon wouldn't mind," Connor said, trying to play it off as chill. Admittedly it did hurt somewhat. He didn't have feelings for Markus in that way but he wasn't opposed to the idea either. 

Was Connor really that unlovable? 

It must have shown on his face because Markus was quick to put his hand on Connor's knee. "It's not that. I don't want to make you uncomfortable and lose you as a friend." 

"You won't lose me. From my calculations, it'll only take over a month until this dies down. We announce our engagement and jump right to a wedding if you really want to distract people." Though, the whole world was focused on them and everything they did. 

"It's not a bad idea, Markus. If you're both willing then I don't see the problem." Josh finally spoke up. 

That seemed to do it for Markus as he nodded. "Alright, but he can't just rush into this. We have to plan this out in a way that feels natural and not like a purposeful distraction." 

"Yeah. Maybe let the news 'catch' the two of you on a date, holding hands. Make it look like you're hiding it," North suggested. 

Hold hands, Connor could do that. Maybe even a small kiss on the cheek, nothing too crazy. 

"Then maybe they can catch you making out. Oh! Maybe against a wall. Not sure who'd be the top but you guys can figure that out." North said, flapping her hand like it was no big deal. 

In reality, it was a really big fucking deal. But he didn't have to think about it too much right now. It wasn't like they were going to be caught doing that anytime soon. 

Markus's eyes went wide and he started rubbing his forearms again. A nervous tic, Connor noted, but didn't think too hard on it. He was nervous too, so it didn't mean anything. "Are you sure? Maybe they can just catch us on a few dates then we announce our engagement." 

North quickly shook her head. "No, you have to work up to it. Small dates first, make the media think they are catching something secret. Then start getting bolder. If someone full-on interrupts you then you can try to play it off or convince them not to tell anyone." 

"When the media really starts pushing and asking we wait just a bit longer before you two do your little engagement. You don't have to actually purpose out in public, but I can get you into a talk show to do it if you want." Josh said. 

Once again Connor hated how much sense it made. "We'll have to come up with the backstory. The fewer lies involved the better for believability. We can discuss who will do what later. It would be better if all of you knew the backstory too as you probably would have been there for most of it."

He still had his job as a detective but he was often working as Markus's bodyguard (even though he didn't want one) when cases were slow and he wasn't fully needed. 

"Alright, so North and I broke up after the revolution. You and I slowly got closer and closer." Markus says, glancing at Connor. "Oh, maybe we got together after that one conference." 

That made sense. Connor had been working as the bodyguard but a man still managed to get a shot at Markus. He thankfully didn't hit anything important but Connor couldn't stop blaming himself for weeks. It was totally reasonable that that's when they would have gotten together.  

"Alright, sounds good to me. How about how we told the others and PDA in front of them?" Connor asked, making mental notes. He didn't want to screw this up, it was too important. 

Markus thought for a second, eyes glazing over just slightly. "North would have caught us kissing. I probably would have been worried about hurting her feelings, but-" he easily got cut off. 

"But I don't give a shit as long as you're happy. Of course, I wouldn't tell anyone without your permission but you'd probably tell Simon and Josh that day." North shrugged. 

Oh, he'd need to inform Hank on the situation. Hank would be the first person he'd tell, and probably the only one if they were keeping it secret. "I'll let the Lieutenant know." 

Josh nodded along before speaking. "We can feed the media anonymous tips saying something like Markus is on a date but we don't know with who. Just enough that it gets them out there and looking." 

Alright, he could do this. North wouldn't get in trouble and the public opinion would go back up. Who didn't love a good secret romance? Well, a fake secret romance but no one else had to know about that. 

"We should start tonight. I can get you guys a reservation at that new restaurant, apparently, it's great for androids." Simon said. 

Tonight?! He thought he'd have more time to prepare. It wasn't like he's dated anyone before so he wanted to do some research. He didn't care if it was completely fake, he still wanted Markus to have a good time and not feel too awkward. 

Now, he was being told he only had until dinner time and he was kind of freaking out. He'd have to pick out a good outfit and maybe change his hair. 

Ok, maybe he was taking this a bit too far, but he wanted to be a good fake boyfriend. Markus deserved someone sweet and kind who loved him. Fake it till you make it right?

No, no that's not right. He was not making it anywhere. This would all die down and everyone would forget about the whole thing. They'd have their little 'break-up' and then they'd go back to just being friends. 

"Alright, Connor do you want to get ready and meet me back here? We can talk over boundaries before our… date." Markus said, flushing a slight blue. Connor was instantly so glad androids could blush after deviation. 

Markus was too cute for his own good. It's no wonder they won the revolution peacefully with Markus's charisma. Not to say that was the only thing, but it definitely helped. 

Fuck, now he was just staring at Markus. In a purely platonic way, of course, Markus was attractive, anyone could see that. "Right, I'll see you soon then." 

Markus gave a slight nod and smile before Connor stood up. North gave him a thumbs-up, and Josh and Simon tried to give him encouraging smiles. 

The ride back to Hank's was incredibly slow but that did give him time to do some research. He looked up tips to be a good boyfriend, what type of clothes to wear on a date, and small talk ideas. It wasn't much, but it was definitely a start. 

He no longer felt the need to knock on the door, so he just walked right in. At least he wasn't going through windows anymore, which Hank loved to bring up every chance he got. 

Sumo slowly got up to greet him, and Connor took that chance to compose his thoughts. He had no doubt that Hank would go along with this, but that didn't mean he wouldn't tease him relentlessly. 

"Didn't think you'd be back till later," Hank said, sitting on the couch and reading a book. It was one of his older ones that Hank had suggested (well, more demanded) he read after the revolution. 

Right, he could do this. "I've got a date tonight." Fuck. 

Hank's head instantly whipped around and the book almost fell from his hands. Ok, that was a little bit of a dramatic reaction, it wasn't like he was undateable. 

He just never found anyone he really wanted to be with, and no one ever fully understood him, android or otherwise. 

A few androids feared him while others put him so high on a pedestal that it was odd to even talk to them. The only androids he felt truly comfortable around were the leaders of Jericho. Because of that and his part, most people thought of him as a leader as well. 

"Alright, come sit. I need to hear everything and need to know if I need to kill someone." Hank said, putting his book down. 

The image of Hank threatening Markus was amusing but he had no doubt that he wouldn't do it. 

He did as Hank said and slowly sat down next to him. "Ok, well it's not exactly a date, but it is." 

Hank stared at him for a few seconds before waving him on to continue. 

"So you remember North punched that guy?" He asked and Hank gave him the 'bitch please' look that made him snort. "Well, we decided that there needs to be a distraction and they decided Markus and I would 'date' and get 'engaged'."

Hank sat there for a few seconds before facepalming. "Of course. Fuck, that might actually work though. So you have a fake date with Markus tonight?" 

Connor nodded and fiddled with his coin. "I do. I'm to get ready and meet him back at New Jericho so we can talk about boundaries." 

"Well, at least that's good. Just don't go falling in love or anything," Hank said, patting his shoulder. 

Connor huffed and rolled his eyes. "I won't, don't worry. We're just doing this to help out North and then we can break up or just let it die out." 

Hank sighed and shook his head. "Sure you won't. Alright, you better go get ready then for your date." 

"It's not actually a date, but I do need to get ready. If anyone asks, Markus and I got together after the conference where Markus was shot," Connor said, standing up. 

Hank gave him a hum and waved him off. Connor grinned in return and went to his room, closing the door behind him. 

He went through his closet, pulling out outfits and trying them on before huffing and pulling it all off. Nothing felt right for this. Markus had seen him in almost every form of dressing, from his work clothes to his pajamas. How could he make a bold impression? 

Oh, this might do. He pulled out a pair of men's black skirt pants, black lita high heel, and a men's solid black lace cut out patchwork button-up shirt. 

He put it all on and stepped in front of the mirror. He had to admit, he looked good, but something was still missing. 

He grinned at himself before running over to his desk and pulling out the eyeliner Hank got him after he expressed interest in it. He hadn't worn it out before, but he very much enjoyed putting it on. 

Once he was done he ran a hand through his hair, making it go back to its natural curly state. 

There, now he was ready. If nothing else then he looked good and everyone would be shocked. He loved experimenting with clothing and found that he loved dressing in all ways. 

Sometimes he'd dress more feminine, while others he tried to be more androgynous or masculine. He normally didn't dress too femininely when leaving the house, so only Hank really got to see him wear a skirt. 

He thought this look was more androgynous and he really hoped Markus was ok with this. He honestly didn't know why he liked dressing in different ways, but part of him was scared Markus would find it odd. Though, Markus is one of the most open-minded men he knew. 

Alright, he could do this. Just a fun night out with Markus. Maybe a little hand-holding and possibly even a kiss on the cheek. He had nothing to be nervous about, it wasn’t like it was real. 

He looked in the mirror one more time before leaving the room. In all, getting ready had taken an hour, which wasn't too odd for him. He preferred looking well dressed no matter what he was doing. 

He walked over to Hank and did a small twirl, showing off his outfit. "What do you think? Is it too much?" 

Hank's eyes went wide and he gave him a slight nod. "Not bad son. The makeup was a good choice. Markus is not gonna know what to do with himself when he sees you." 

Connor flushed blue but didn't hold back the grin. Hank may tease him but he was also incredibly encouraging and supported almost everything he did. (He did not support Connor licking evidence but whatever)

"Thank you! Alright, I should probably get going. I'll be back tonight but don't feel the need to wait up for me." Connor said, giving a few scratches to Sumo before going to the door. 

"Yeah, yeah. Have fun on your fake date kid," Hank said, giving him a thumbs-up before going back to reading. 

He did a bit more research on his way back to New Jericho and now felt confident enough to actually go on this date. If it was actually real, that is. 

He got a few stares on his way to where Markus stayed at New Jericho, but he took it in stride. He knew he looked good, so it didn't matter if other people thought he was weird. 

Markus's door was already slightly open (he'd have to go over safety protocols again) so he gave a slight knock before walking in. 

Markus was sitting on his couch looking just as stunning as always. He had his long jacket on with the black suit underneath. 

When Connor walked in his head snapped up and his mouth hung open just slightly. "Connor! Oh, wow you look… you look really good. Are you wearing makeup?" 

Connor shifted from foot to foot, nodding. "I am. I can change if my outfit isn't appropriate." He really didn't want to, but he would if need be. 

Markus quickly stood, shaking his head. "No! No, you're fine. I was just surprised is all. You look stunning." 

Connor blushed and his eyes darted around the room, trying to find something other than Markus to stare at. "Thank you. You look good too." 

There was a long awkward silence before Markus cleared his throat. "Right, we should talk about boundaries. I know we are doing this for North, but I don't want you to do anything you're uncomfortable with." 

Markus slowly sat back down and patted the cushion beside him. Connor gladly sat, turning to face Markus. "I'll let you know if I am, but that goes for you too."

Markus grinned at him before staring down at his lap. "So I guess we should get the big one out of the way. How do you feel about kissing?" 

Connor's heart skipped a beat and he wished he had pockets so he could have had his coin with him. "I've never actually been kissed before, but I'm a quick learner." He hated admitting it like that. 

Sure he was interested in kissing people but work and helping his people always came first. 

It seemed Markus was beyond shocked because he just sat that silently for what felt like hours. "We don't… your first should be with someone you care about. I don't want to take that away from you." 

Oh, so that's what he was worried about. Could this man get any more perfect? "I don't mind, but I just didn't want to kiss you and it be horrible. I've tried to look it up but most say that practice with an actual living being is the key to success."

Plus it wasn't like he had anyone to practice on beforehand. There was no way in hell he was kissing Hank and he didn't really care about it too much anyway. It was just lips touching, he didn't see the significance to it. 

"Oh, well… do you want to? Like, can I? I don't want your first to just be out in public, I think it would be better to do it here. Or I can get Simon, Josh, or North for your first. I'm sure they'd all be willing." Markus said, looking between Connor and the couch. 

Connor huffed and reached over, pulling Markus to him and softly pressing their lips together. 

Markus didn't instantly pull away, instead, he brought a hand up to cup Connor's cheek. 

But then Connor pulled back, his heart beating a bit too quickly for his liking. For a first kiss, it wasn't the worst, but it wasn't the best either. 

His lips tingled slightly and he couldn't help but lick them. Markus's lips were soft but that was to be expected, they were made to be so after all. There was still something so… shocking about it but he couldn't place why. 

"Connor," Markus sighed out, still gently holding his head. Connor leaned into it and stared at Markus. "I, um, wow. Hopefully, that was good?" 

He nodded and grinned. "It was. So, kissing is alright with me if you're fine with it too." It was a nice feeling, and he'd actually like to do it again, but there was no one around that they'd have to fool. So he pulled back completely and Markus brought his hand back to his lap. 

"It's definitely fine with me. How do you feel about PDA? We'll have to do some but I won't do it too much if it makes you uncomfortable," Markus said. Honestly, Markus would make an exceptional boyfriend if this was real. 

"I'm fine with it as far as I know. I'll let you know if it does make me uncomfortable or I don't like something." He's only ever had platonic PDA but even then it was incredibly limited. 

Markus made a small pained sound. "Once this is over, are you still ok with PDA? If you don't want to be touched normally I won't, but if you do then you don't have to ask. You can just hold my hand or anything you want." 

Oh, that was an incredible offer. He had had the want to hold hands or ask for a hug but he always pulled back. He didn't know what was appropriate or wanted. "Thank you… can I hold your hand right now?" 

He offered his hand and Markus instantly took it, giving it a slight squeeze. Markus's hands were warmer than Connor's and slightly bigger too. They were incredibly soft but he also had a few calluses from painting and playing the piano. 

Part of him wanted to deactivate his skin so he could feel even more, but he decided against it. Holding hands was one thing, possibly interfacing while doing so was another. It was a bit too intimate for his liking. 

"Is this ok?" Markus asked, lacing their fingers together. Connor quickly nodded and lets out a soft sigh. 

This was definitely ok. It felt more grounding then he expected it to. "Yeah, it is." 

They sat there for a bit, Connor looking between Markus's face and their hands. 

"Oh, I do think this is important to say," Markus broke the silence. "When we do get-have to make out, it's totally fine if your body reacts a certain way. It's not odd and I'll do my best not to make it awkward if it does happen." 

Oh. Huh, it's a good thing Markus thought of that. He'd probably react and then everything would be awkward. It's good he got this out of the way now. "The same goes for you too. You don't need to feel embarrassed if it happens." 

Markus gave a slight nod. "Thank you. I am serious when I say that if anything, anything makes you uncomfortable you let me know. I won't hold it against you and you won't upset me at all." 

"Again, the same goes for you too. I'm planning on being the best fake boyfriend you've ever had." He said this with a wink. 

It got Markus to snort and shake his head fondly. "I'm sure you'd make an amazing boyfriend, and you'll make a great fake one too." 

Connor grinned and gave his hand a slight squeeze. This was going to be his easiest mission ever by the looks of it. Plus he'd get practice in dating so when he actually dates someone he won't be completely new too. It's a win-win situation. 

"Alright, if there's nothing else then we should get going to the restaurant. Josh said he sent a message to a news station. We need to be somewhat subtle, but only enough that they don't outright approach us." Markus said, moving his fingers around, making Connor giggle slightly. 

He wondered what his hands felt like. He probably had a few calluses himself from holding a gun. Were his hands as soft as Markus's? Did he actually like holding his hand? Was he making this weird by staring at their hands? He hadn't held hands before so he didn't know what was normal for it or not. 

"Connor?" Oh, right, he still hadn't replied yet. He blinked rapidly then looked up at Markus. 

"Alright, sounds good to me. Do you want to get a cab? I doubt you wanna ride my motorcycle." Connor said, standing up and using their connected hands to pull Markus up with him. 

He'd only gotten the motorcycle recently, but he absolutely adored it. He loved the feeling of the air on his skin, and taking turns a bit too fast. It was beyond exhilarating. 

"Actually, I'd love to if you'd be willing. I haven't ridden on one and I've wanted to since you got one." Markus replied, pulling Connor out and to the elevator. 

Connor swung their arms just slightly, smiling as he did. "Yes! I'd let you drive but I think it's best if you don't have to worry about that for your first time." 

Markus gave a nod and when they got to the parking deck, put the offered helmet on. Connor may drive a bit roughly but he always made sure he was safe.

Connor climbed on first and made sure Markus was steady as he got on behind him. "Alright, you're going to want to hold onto me at first. Once you're used to it you can just hang on slightly, but for now, don't be afraid to squeeze me." 

Funny enough Gavin was the one that made him truly interested in getting a motorcycle. Plus when he got one Gavin actually offered to show him how to drive it. That seemed to be their bonding moment and now they actually got along somewhat. 

Markus leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Connor, but didn't squeeze too hard. At least not until Connor started the motorcycle and revved it. Ok, so he may be showing off, but he was just proud of his bike. 

Markus clung to him as he drove, but other than that he didn't seem scared at all. From his breathless laughter, he seemed to be enjoying it quite a lot. 

Connor took them the long way and down streets, he knew he could get away with going a bit over the speed limit. He didn't want to push it too far, but he couldn't help it, this was just too fun. 

He parked the bike and got off, offering his hand to Markus who gladly took it. He seemed a bit uneasy on his feet but otherwise fine. 

Connor pulled his helmet off, running a hand through his hair to try to tame it somewhat. Markus was lucky he didn't have enough hair for a helmet to mess up. 

Once the helmets were off, Markus offered his hand to Connor who gladly took it. Then they walked into the restaurant and up to the hostess. 

"Welcome to La Récolte, do you have a reservation?" She asked before looking up. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Markus but she soon looked over at Connor and her jaw dropped. Quickly, she pulled herself together. 

"Table for two, for Markus Manfred and Connor Anderson," Markus said, leaning closer to Connor. 

 She tapped a few things into the computer before nodding. "Of course, Mr. Manfred, please come with me." 

 The two followed after her, not letting go of the other's hand even when they had to walk single-file. 

They sat down near the back so they wouldn't draw too much attention, but they still had a good view from the windows. 

Markus pulled out his chair for him without hesitation before sitting down across from him. 

"Can I start you off with a bottle of wine? We currently have a Meiomi Pinot Noir from California that I would suggest," she said while placing a menu in front of each of them. 

Connor didn’t want to let Markus go, but he did to look at the menu. "If it's alright with Markus," he said, looking up and locking eyes. 

Markus kept his eyes on him while he nodded. "That sounds amazing, we'll take a bottle of that. Feel free to bring out whatever appetizers goes best with it." 

The woman nodded before leaving almost silently. The two stayed still before Connor broke it by looking back down at the menu. 

"So, um what’s the best thing that has happened to you this month?" He couldn't stop himself from cringing at his own words. 

Markus snorted and leaned forward, batting his eyes. "Oh, definitely this. I've been wanting to finally take you on a real date since we got together." 

Connor had to hold back his laughter as he leaned in too. "You're too sweet. I'm glad we waited though, I was a bit nervous about possibly having too much attention on us." 

Markus reached out and gently brushed a curl out of Connor's face. Connor went completely still and his eyes widened slightly. 

Markus was staring at him so intensely that it made him want to squirm in his seat, but he kept still. "You have beautiful eyes." 

Connor's breath caught and he had to break eye contact. He knew it was fake but he didn't get complimented all that much. He'd get told he did a good job or that he was one of the best detectives, but this was different. It made his whole face flush and he bit his lip. "Thank you." 

Markus slowly pulled his hand back, but Connor missed the flashes of emotion that went across Markus's face. "Of course." 

He always thought Markus's eyes were beautiful but he never brought it up. He knew some of Markus's story and he knew he had to replace a few biocompents. It was probably traumatic so he avoided it altogether. 

"What do you like to do in your free time?" Connor blurted out when the silence got to be too much. 

Markus leaned back in his chair with a small grin. "You looked up conversation starters too, didn't you?"

Connor sighed out and nodded. "I did. I didn't want this to be awkward since this isn't re-uh since it's our first date out in public." He's glad he caught himself, but that was a little too close for his liking. 

"Don't worry, I did the same. As for your questions, you already know baby. If you aren't at work then you're with me." Markus said with a small shrug. 

Connor made a small sound before he could stop himself. But it seemed Markus took that the wrong way as he instantly lowered his voice so only Connor could hear. "I'm sorry, is that too far?"

Connor quickly shook his head. "No, no it's fine. I just wasn't expecting it. As I said, I've never actually done this before."

 Markus sighed in relief and reached out to hold Connor's hand again. Just then a waitress comes over with the wine and appetizers which was a shrimp cocktail. 

The waitress poured their wine out before smiling at them slightly. "Do you know what you would like for the entree?"

Oh, he hadn't actually been reading the menu when he was looking at it. 

"We'll both have the Filet De Boeuf with Potatoes Au Gratin," Markus said, easily pronouncing each word perfectly. The waitress nodded, and when Markus didn’t add on, silently left. 

The two kept their hands intertwined on the table while using the other hand to sip at the wine and eat. It's definitely some of the best food he'd ever had. 

He moaned softly before slapping his hand over his mouth. "I'm so sorry. My processors are much more sensitive on my tongue and it just tastes really good." Wow, he was fucking up a date that wasn't even real! 

"It's fine! I'm glad you're enjoying the meal. I wouldn't be a good boyfriend if I let you eat something disgusting." Markus said, taking a slow sip of his wine. 

Connor couldn't help but notice a few people glancing their way. It was almost definitely Markus. It would be like the Queen of Britain going into a restaurant, everyone would notice at some point. He was just too recognizable. 

Connor did notice someone bringing out their phone and he quickly snatched his hand back and put it under the table. They were being a bit too obvious with the hand holding. 

Markus frowned but quickly looked around and saw what Connor did. Right, they weren't here just to have fun. They both had a mission to accomplish. 

The two went about their dinner and thankfully avoided any more awkward silences and bad conversation starters. 

They already had so much to talk about and even if there was a lull in the conversation it never put Connor on edge. 

It was also quite fun to fake flirt with Markus in the silliest ways. They'd make jokes that others wouldn't understand and then use those to throw in some flirting. 

The entrees were just as good as the appetizers and before they knew it they had finished their meal. They both decided to skip dessert and Markus paid for the meal. Connor had tried. but Markus had reached out first when it was offered. 

The two left the restaurant full and happy, smiling wider than they had in awhile. 

Connor felt something odd and discreetly looked around before finding what made his skin itch. They were being followed. Probably by a journalist, so that was good. This is what they wanted. 

Connor laced his fingers through Markus's and walked closer to him to whisper in his ear. "We're being followed. Don't do anything too dramatic." 

Markus gave a slight nod and turned his head to grin at Connor but also to look to where someone was indeed following them. 

The two kept walking to Connor's bike and Connor offered the helmet again. "I'll drop you back off at New Jericho?" 

Markus nodded and easily slid into the bike behind Connor, wrapping his arms around him again. This time one held him by his lower stomach and the other crept up to his chest. Markus rested his head on Connor's shoulder and gave him a slight squeeze. "It's too bad you can't stay the night. I was hoping to spend more time with you." 

Connor shivered slightly and subconsciously leaned back into Markus's warm embrace. He didn't know if the reporter could hear them, but even if he couldn't, whoever it was would probably be able to guess what was said. "I've got work tomorrow, you know that. I'll make sure to get some more free time soon." 

Markus sighed and Connor arched his back just slightly. Probably not enough to be noticeable by Markus, but that didn't mean it wasn't slightly embarrassing. He knew Markus said he shouldn't be embarrassed but it was hard not to be. 

He probably just reacted so easily because this was all new. If this wasn't then he'd probably be more cool and collected. 

"That's alright, as long as you give me a goodnight kiss." Markus chuckled and Connor started the engine. 

"I make no promises," Connor said before pulling out and getting into the street. There was plenty there to work with and he had no doubts that it would be all over the place by the morning. 

As promised he did drop Markus off at New Jericho but both seemed to be stalling a bit. Connor stayed on the bike, but Markus had gotten off and handed his helmet to Connor. 

"I really had a fun time tonight. We should spend more time together, just me and you." Markus says, rocking back and forth on his heels. 

Connor runs a hand through his fluffy hair with a chuckle. "Well, we're definitely going to be doing that more often now." 

 "Yeah, but real. As friends, you know? You're one of my closest friends but I sometimes feel like you keep part of yourself hidden around us, and me." Markus says, looking between Connor and the ground. 

Connor couldn't help but pause. "I… I sometimes feel like I don't know who I really am. I know what I was meant to be, but I'm not sure what that makes me now."

It was hard to get that out but when he did it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn't know who he really was, but maybe that was normal. 

"You can be anything and anyone you want to be. The only requirement is that it makes you happy. If being a detective makes you happy, then do it. If not? Well, maybe you should find something that does?" Markus suggested, reaching out to take his hand again. 

"How do I know when I'm happy? There's just so many emotions and I can't always tell the difference. I know I feel something when I complete a case but what if that's just my programming? What if I'm more machine than alive?" He said, breath coming out in short puffs.

Then Markus pulled him into a hug, and, honestly, it was a bit awkward because of the bike. That didn't stop it from being one of the best hugs he's ever received. 

Markus hugged him like his life depended on it. It was like if he let go then they'd both drown, and Markus would never let that happen. He'd stay here forever if that's what Connor needed. 

"Connor, you can't get rid of your programming. It is part of you and that's ok. You don't have to embrace every part of it, but maybe there are small pieces you still like. Just because we are machines doesn't mean we can't also be alive." Markus said, slowly rubbing his back. 

Connor shook slightly in his hold. Markus was amazing and literally led a revolution, but that didn't make what he said exceptional. What got to him was that he knew Markus cared about him as a friend and he really meant it. He wasn't just saying it to make him happy, he was saying it because it was true. 

After a few minutes, Connor slowly pulled back slightly, no longer shaking. "Thank you, and I'm sorry I ruined our fake date with this." He said, trying to laugh it off. 

Markus took his face in his hands and looked at him dead on. "You didn't ruin anything, Connor. I'm so glad you opened up, and I'm always here for you. If anything you made the night even better." 

It was hard to argue with that when Markus was staring him down like he did while leading the revolution. It was so intense that it sent a small shock down his spine. "I… thank you." 

Markus smiled and gently brushed his thumb against Connor's cheekbones. It was so tender that it almost hurt and Connor didn't know why. 

Why it hurt and why Markus was holding him like he was the most precious thing on Earth. 

Why did this make his heart flutter and his stomach twist? He didn't even have a stomach! It frustrated him because he didn't know the cause. He didn't know why he wanted to run away but also get closer at the same time. 

Then Markus brushed his thumb against Connor's lip and he jumped slightly. "Sorry, you still owe me a goodnight kiss." 

"Markus!" Connor laughed, gently pushing at the other's chest. 

Markus grinned back and moved his hands down to rest on Connor's shoulders. "Alright, how about on the cheek then? Come on, you know you want to." Markus said, turning his head. 

Connor rolled his eyes but leaned in. Before his lips could touch Markus's cheek he had turned his head so his lips landed partly on his lips. 

"Markus!" Connor shouted again, not holding back his laugh. If anyone was looking out then they'd probably think this was real. Not that it wasn't, but it wasn't the way they'd think it was. 

"Sorry, it was just too easy. Everyone needs a little bit of Connor every now and then. I'm just lucky that you're comfortable enough to," Markus said, smirking at him. 

Connor flushed and broke eye contact, accidentally looking down to Markus's lips before snapping back up. "Yeah, yeah. I really should be getting home though. Hank won't go to sleep until I'm home safe no matter how much I try to tell him I'll be fine." 

He adored Hank but the man could be a little overprotective. He knew why and it was heartwarming but also sad. He really wished he'd gotten to meet Cole. 

Markus sighed and stepped back, arms falling to his sides. "Alright. I'll let you know when the next date is, alright? Please drive safe."

"You know I always do," he said with a wink before pulling his helmet on. 

Markus steps back and Connor revves the engine before glancing at Markus. 

"Goodnight babe," Markus called out with a wide grin. Connor snorts but he can't stop thinking about that grin for the rest of the night. 

[xopheliasunflowerx]

Aftermath (Connor RK800 Imagine)

Summary: The battle is over, you won. You defeated the monster after so long of fighting. The gang decides to celebrate with you.

A/N: I'm sorry I haven't written ANYTHING in ages but hey I'm slowly coming back. I still have a lot of issues to deal with basically but I'm better than I was before.

~*~*~

Looking back at it all, you wouldn't believe that you survived all through that pain. There has been so many close attempts at ending it all but, you surrounded yourself with people who loved you and cared for you. You began to let go of all the toxic negative people that kept holding you back, it was hard and it hurt so much.

But you couldn't bare to continue poisoning yourself with the empty promises. They were like the thorns on a beautiful rose that you'd continuously pick only to be hurt over and over, but you loved the way it looked that's why you continued to get hurt.

Once you began to avoid the thorn roses you looked else where. The sunflowers, tall and bright they guided you to where you needed to be. They lead you to where the sun shines bright. And you've started to get healthier and better. You are improving.

You had help of course. Hank Anderson, he was there when you needed help at work. He saw you struggling and decided to talk and convince you to get the help you need. He was there when you needed someone to be. And to get the advice you wanted to hear even if it hurt. He's willing to fight for you, help you and defend you. And most importantly he's happy where you are now.

Kara, your best friend. Oh how much you fucked your relationship up with her. She saw the toxic people in the first place but you were too blind to see that. And with not seeing her and pushing her away made you forget who she was to you, it was like you didn't even know her. Then you made a mistake which lead to a argument to end your friendship causing you to fall deeper into the darkness. But you found hope, you both apologise for the silly misunderstanding and now you're stronger than ever with her.

North, even though she came near the end but she did the powerful thing and helped you through the most difficult thing. She gave you advice on how to get what you want and to stay calm, and she's always there when you need her. But without her you wouldn't be as happy as you are, she put your bad guy away. She's strong and helps you out and gives you her own advice. You miss her since you lost contact with her but you know she'll always be there when you need her.

Simon. He was there at the beginning just silently, too scared to tell you the truth. Once he did he finally became brave with the influence of North and helped her to put the bad guy away. Since he left it was hard but you got over it and became stronger.

The main person who impacted you was Connor. Sure he wasn't there long enough to help you out but for those two months since you dated him he's helped you gain so much confidence in yourself. You feel safe in his grasp, warm from his touch, and happy with his presence. When you first starting talking properly you felt intimidated and worried it could end up like last time, but fuck over the past week you definitely fell hard for him. How could you not? He was sweet, caring, loveable, handsome, great at his job and had eyes for justice. Once you confessed to what happened he felt bad and wanted to help you, he wanted to be the one to help you and be there for you. But you couldn't let him in so easy, not after them. But day by day you learnt to trust him and finally one night you got hurt he was there to help you. After hours of staying up you both confessed your love for each other. You loved him and wanted to be with him, and god what a fucking great decision you made. After a year of torture and so close to death Connor found you struggling with the thorn roses and guided you towards the sunflowers.

You are starting to bloom and be yourself again. God you're even fucking glowing and it looks beautiful on you, even with your battle scars it shows you won and you're proud. You wouldn't have done it without them and fuck you're lucky to have them.

Connor has especially noticed you're getting so much better, everyday he sees. The way you smile, you speak just everything seems brighter. He loves it, he's so happy you're back.

You close your eyes as you show a small smile on your lips. Laying on the soft couch as the noises of the TV echoes through the house and your ears.

You feel relax and for once safe.

Connor walks out silently as he sees you, his eyes lit up with a warm grin on his face. He watches you silently just absorbing your beauty and light, making him feel warmer.

He remembers the struggles you went through the past year, it was hard but you did it. He remembers the battle you won, the panic attacks you controlled, the harms you stopped doing to yourself. He's proud of you.

Connor turns to face the kitchen. A small smile enters his lips as his eyes locks onto a small box, excitement enters his body.

Suddenly the doorbell rings to your small home. Connor smiles widely as you look up at him confused.

"Who's here at this hour?" You asked with a wide eye, earning Connor to giggle. You stare at the android as he opens the door, in your delight it was your friends. Your eyes widen as did your smile.

North, Kara, Simon, Hank and Markus had come to yours with gifts and smiles. You immediately get up in surprise as you walk over towards the group.

"What's this all about?" You question.

"You." Simply answers North.

"We're proud of you getting better, so we're throwing you a little party." Markus replies as he smiles gracefully at you making you laugh.

"Now where's the alcohol and food at." Hank ask as he moves out of everyone's way and into the kitchen. You roll your eyes as North groans.

Kara gives you a hug as she hands you a small gift. You look up at her confused.

"After everything we've been through, I think you deserve this. It may not be much but I think it'll help you recover yourself, Y/N." She smiles as she enters the kitchen making you look at the gift. You open the wrapping paper to see a photo frame, you smile as tears warm up in your E/C orbs. It's a photo, a photo of everyone.

Connor comes up behind you, snaking his arms around your waist. He snuggles into your neck to see you sniffling.

"Y/N, your emotion levels read happiness and love." You turn to face him as warm tears fall down your face. "Y/N, hey don't cry." He says as he wipes his fingers on your cheek.

"Y/N, are you okay?!" Simon ask as everyone turns to face you in worry.

You look up with a wide smile as you continue to cry. "Guys, fuck. I'm so lucky to have you all. Like, I wouldn't know where I'd be without you all. But I do know that I am glad that you're all here. And I'm finally happy, I found my true friends and lover through my battle. You guys stayed with me the whole time yet I pushed you away but you still were there for me. I'm sorry for being such a bitch, but I'm glad my eyes were open. You guys make me feel loved and wanted, and I have a purpose to be here. Even in the darkest nights there's still light beyond. You know, even if you're androids you're still more real than any humans, and Hank you're still an amazing old man with a heart of pure gold and love. Thank you guys."

Everyone was crying, sniffling and came up to hug you. Connor kisses your cheek as you smile at him with pure love. Kara and North hug you tightly as you giggle. Simon and Markus smile at you feeling warm about your words. Hank tried his hardest not to cry, he bites his lip as he sniffles.

"What's wrong Hank?" Ask Connor. "Are you cry-"

"Shut up Connor!"

You all had a beautiful night, full of cake and laughs. Told silly stories and dreams, played games and sung. It was one of the best nights you had in a long time. Yet you're just happy that you won the battle with the help of your friends and lover. Now you know you'll never be alone again.

[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!

[lady-dimitrescus-loving-wife]

Connor x Markus || Apologies

Top! Connor x Bottom! Markus

Warning: Serious talk of Simon's death (freaking Sean..). Possessiveness. Suicidal thoughts. Also Connor is always bottom? Why is that? Let's switch it up! ~

~~

The caramel skinned male sat on the edge of the long metal plank that had been connected to the building that he climbed onto. Those mix matched eyes looked up to the sky letting the sunset show the sparkle in them. He'd been up here many times after Simon's death. It just gave him time to think of his old lover. He wanted to say he didn't hate Connor for killing him but it was hard to do so.

First it was Carl, his father he liked to call him, the man nearly died.. he was still dying but the android was scared to visit. Scared that the man would be upset seeing the face of the being that killed his son. After Carl it was North. He wouldn't lie, they had always been on Rocky terms. Everything that he seemed to do and everything he thought was right would always upset her. She wanted blood and hatred and that was something that he didn't want himself nor his people to give. She had stolen his heart and even though he couldn't get hers he couldn't manage to steal it back.

After the two had gotten into a fight she walked out on him. She never liked to hear other peoples opinions so he knew she didn't care for his.

He sat placed himself back in his chair, rubbing the temples of his head when the glass door opened again. He glanced up with tired eyes and Simon gave him a cute warm smile that he couldn't help but smile back to a little.

"Yes Simon?"

"Let's talk Markus."

Eventually they ended up in a relationship one that he thought would last forever considering androids didn't die by old age. They did everything together. The accident still shook him up. Simon never came back after the Cyber life tower incident. North eventually told him that it was likely that he was just late coming back even when she knew better... Josh said and promised that he would even though he doubted it. He left in the darkness of night and made up back up to the roof top only to find his lover dead. Cold blue blood splattered against the wall and his lifeless body laid on the ground.

Markus wasn't sure what he did after. He wasn't sure if he yelled or cried but he did remember picking up the one he loved before the doors came open again as Connor, hank, and some other guards came through. His eyes looked at the other Android and Connor froze at the action.

He suddenly felt stiff and felt as though he couldn't move upon seeing the Robo Jesus holding his Robo Mary (I'm sorry I had to..). Even though he didn't necessarily need air he felt like he couldn't breathe watching as heavy tears soaked Markus' face. The android ran for it and the guards put up their guns to shoot.

Markus leaped off the roof after Connor let out a loud command. Markus wasn't sure what it was but he couldn't allow himself to think about it. His mix matched eyes looked down at the dead love and for a second he had to struggle with pulling the cord and gliding to freedom. They had decided to bury Simon. They didn't mind.

Markus jumped lightly hearing his name before slowly looking back. His eyes widening as he stared at Connor who stared back before sighing.

"Markus..You're crying.."

The detective android spoke and Markus blinked lightly only then feeling the droplets fall down his cheeks. He hadn't even noticed he was doing it. Carefully he looked to the side using his coat sleeve to wipe his face.

Even though Connor had once been a tame machine he was now a deviant. At the time Simon has died he didn't know better..well more like he couldn't help it. He was a slave to humanity... He remembered it as clearly as the dark skin male did. He remembered being on that roof and watching the scene. How Markus carried Simon with the greatest or cares he had ever seen.

Markus was more human than a lot of humans were.

And that once thought was something that snapped something inside him. He wanted to speak, to apologize but the man had ran to jump off the roof and Connor's eyes had widened. Not to the fact he had jumped, he was sure the male would survive especially with the parachute, no, not for that but for the fact that even with thousands of bullets chasing him... to kill him.. he didn't stop clinging to his dead partner.

Connor at the time didn't understand the vibrating and drumming in his usually cold chest, didn't understand why he breath had felt as though it had been taken away, or why he himself had tears filling his eyes. Only deviants felt such thing and he wasn't that! Or so he claimed..

But here he is now, standing with the "enemy", or some still called them. Even though most or society came to accept them there were still people who wanted them dead. However, that was just life.

"Sorry-.."

The simple word made him jump, his thoughts vanishing for a bit as he looked down at the male who had still been sitting at the edge of the plank, legs dangling as he turned to look at the other with a small smile. Connor didn't understand why the male apologized. He didn't do anything wrong.

Markus was a good man.

"Sorry for what?" Connor asked lightly as his heartbeat started to beat once more. He took light steps to the edge of the building looking down at the sturdy base of the plank just to make sure. He didn't want Markus to fall even if there was a low chance of dying.

"I don't know.. I'm just sorry." Markus spoke once more and Connor frowned slowly at how broken the other had felt. Markus was too good of a man, society had taken so much from him and even now he was still pushing. Just barely though. Connor didn't notice he had brought his hand up to clutching the fabric over his heart but it still happened. He hated the world sometimes for what it had done to not only Markus but his kind in general. It just happened that Markus was the one that affected him the most.

He loved him. With all of his being.

He didn't want the other to apologize for something that wasn't his fault.

Connor believed that sometimes he himself was the one to blame.

Markus stood up swaying a little making Connor focus once more, becoming anxious rather quickly but calmed down when the man turned and started walking back over.

Markus gave a small smile and stuck his arms out at his sides as he lowered his head, the snow and sunlight matching him quite perfectly and Connor gently bit his lip. Markus could have been born an angel.. and that was something Connor refused to doubt.

Markus carefully walked over before letting his arms fall. He gave a small smile once more as he stood on the end of the plank in front of the detective.

Connor spoke without thinking, his lips forming movements before he could stop them.

"Don't apologize Markus, you did nothing wrong. Please don't cry anymore... I-I love you too much to see you like this."

In Connor's mind he had only thought those words not realizing they actually came out until he looked up at the other who's beautiful eyes had been blown wide. Slowly realization dawned down on his face and he felt his eyes grow wider as well. Suddenly he turned away, the hand clutching the fabric of his gray hoodie tightened and he believed he started to panic. His breath picking up as he covered his mouth.

How could he say such a thing to him. How could he confess when the man was still mourning. He guessed he didn't understand himself enough to understand when to not say something..

Markus jumped down, trench coat flowing in a breeze of wind that surrounded them. The stood of his boots hitting the metal roof of the building made Connor flinch just a little. Markus' voice made him jump. While the hand on his shoulder made him warm...

"C-Connor...what?"

Markus spoke softly, he was confused and it clearly showed. He never knew Connor felt anything for him but he guessed he would have saw it if it wasn't for how depressed he had been. He would have noticed the long stares, or the light touches, or even the cute but small blushes.

Connor sighed forcing himself to turn around again and look Markus in the eyes, it was out now and even if the other hated him he had to let it out. He couldn't keep holding it in. In times like this he'd have to ask Kara or Luther for guidance because he himself.. wasn't used to all of this. He sighed once more looking away from the man that let him go to wipe at his eyes once more.

"I-I know Simon meant a lot to you.."

"You do?... When did you learn his name.."

Markus spoke back rather quickly and Connor looked at his hand for a second. He heard enough stories.

"Josh and North told me... Don't be upset with them please. I..I just wanted to make sure."

"I'm not upset, they had known him longer than I had..I'm just confused... Connor, I don't think you should fall in love with me. Everyone gets hurts when they love someone and I-"

Suddenly Connor grabbed the male's hands trapping them between his very own. Markus jumped at the shock he felt but before he could speak Connor did. He bit the inside of his cheek before stepping closer to the point were their bodies had maybe about three inches between them. He didn't expect for Markus to love him instantly but that didn't mean he wouldn't try.

He looked deep into those beautiful eyes as their breath started the mingle. Puffs of smoke filling each other's face as Conner spoke softly, rubbing his thumbs over the male's darker hands who literally seemed shocked.

"I-I know that Simon meant a lot to you and after his death you were shattered. I see it everyday and it's been almost two years.. p-please Markus, I want to make you happy. I want to see a real smile on your precious face. If your heart is shattered let me be the one to build it back together."

He spoke before kissing his hands before letting them go to kiss the male's forehead, holding his face now. Markus didn't want to cry but it really did hurt him, he wanted to be happy again as well.

He could feel the promise and warmth coming off of Connor and he hummed. He moved his head making the other sadly let him go, assuming he had been rejected not ready for when the leader lightly kissed his lips.

Connor was shocked but so happy he felt like he would combust. He couldn't help how he kissed back placing his hands on the other's sides pulling him closer until they were pressed flush together. His heart drumming as well as Markus'. He began to move walking the other to the wall before picking him up and kissing his harder putting all his yearning into it as he went between the other's legs causing them both to blush deeply.

Markus slapped his shoulder lightly a couple times but managed to get Connor to calm down once again. The detective quickly pulled away, hands cupping Markus' bottoms to hold him up as Markus held his shoulders light pants coming from him.

"S-Sorry..."

He spoke lightly before carefully placing the male down who shook his head. Markus didn't want that right now but he assumed it was understandable considering Connor had been pining for him for almost two years but he saw that the detective understood his reason for pushing him away.

"It's ok Connor, I except your feelings and trust your words. Please take care of me."

He spoke and there it was, a genuine smile even if it was small it still shined brightly and Connor nodded looking away.

Markus, you're so beautiful and bright.. sometimes I must look away. I promise to take cases of you.

-A

[tristinai]

Spare Parts

Rating: E Genre: Fluff, Smut Fandom: Detroit: Become Human Pairing: Simkus (Markus/Simon) Word Count: 3700 Tags: asexual!Markus, Simkus, first time, handjob, blowjob, rutting, domestic bliss, synthetic genitalia,  post Battle of Detroit, pacifist!Markus, everyone lives ending, established relationship Summary: When Markus learns Simon had been upgraded with parts most PL600 units don't have, he makes it his mission to find new ways to please his boyfriend.

Author's Notes: This idea came to me when I started thinking about how sex could work between two androids, especially when there is no canon evidence to suggest that androids outside of the Traci bots have working genitalia. I'm never as confident about writing fluffy, lighter fics but it has @cap-sweet-and-salty-sadness 's seal of approval so I’ll just leave this here for anyone else who wants to read it. Not beta-read. 

The first time Markus notices Simon's erection is when they are kissing on his sofa.

It starts as a lazy afternoon, Simon sitting on the couch, nose deep in a book, while Markus goes on about the newest legislation about to pass in congress, allowing for androids to own property. He's animated since it means that Carl can legally declare Markus his beneficiary and Simon nods along, pitches in a remark every now and then, and smiles when Markus accuses his boyfriend of not paying attention.

Eventually, he begins to feel neglected and slides on the sofa next to the blond, uttering absolute nonsense to see how long it takes for Simon to catch on.

“—and this is just the beginning. There's also talk of giving artificial wildlife the right to vote,” Markus says, smirk on his face. “You know how vocal those polar bears have been getting about the fish stocks.”

“Yes, they have,” Simon mumbles, turning the page in his book.

Markus glances at the title, wondering what has his boyfriend so engrossed: Much Ado About Nothing. Huh.

“And domestic dogs, can't forget about them. Sumo's been fighting that by-law that keeps him from mauling the mail service droids.”

In truth, the only mauling that Lieutenant Anderson's dog would do is slobbering all over the poor droid's face.

“Congress should do something about that,” Simon continues absently, eyes scanning across the pages.

Markus struggles to hold back his laugh, makes a weird half-snort as he only just manages to keep a straight face. “North's also lobbying for federal funding to adopt all the nation's cats. She calls it the Catastrophe Proposal.”

North still has little love for most humans (she did concede, to Connor the other night, that Hank's 'Alright'), but she's developed a soft spot for stray cats, something Markus and Josh have teased her endlessly about.

“Fascinating...”

Lifting the book from his hands, Markus keeps it just out of reach, his lips lifting in a grin. “Have you listened to anything I've said in the past hour?”

Simon smirks coyly. “I never knew you were also an animal activist. Are you going to give me back that book before you liberate Sumo from the bonds of not being allowed to jump on people?”

“Let me think...” he answers, pretending to consider it. “No.”

He drops the book on the floor behind him.

Simon attempts to bend down and reach for it but Markus is already pushing him back, straddling him, and keeping him from moving. “Hey, your book can wait. Don't tell me it's more interesting than me.”

“I'll let you know after I finish it.”

Markus feigns offense. “Now that's just cold.”

Simon smiles, gently thumbs at Markus' jaw. The gesture has thirium rushing to Markus' cheeks, his gaze dropping from those blue eyes that seem to always read into him—as if Simon knows everything that's going through his head without needing to connect. It never fails to make the confident demeanor of the leader of the android's rights movement feel like a bashful adolescent on the verge of puberty.

“Do I need to tell you what you mean to me?” Simon asks.

His other hand grasps Markus', entwining their fingers, the skin pulling back to reveal the silver layer beneath. Markus instinctively responds and through their connection, feels it all.

Love. Affection. Devotion.

He grins, ready to make some snide quip but the way Simon is gazing up at him, expression soft, sends Markus' pump thrumming with vigor, his insides fluttering. He bends down, kisses the blond gently, positioning his hips to settle comfortably on his boyfriend's lap. His free hand slides up behind Simon's neck, soft, short strands of hair at the edge of his fingertips.

Mine.

He's not sure whose thought that is but it makes him want to experiment, kiss and see the parts of Simon he has yet to touch. They've only had a handful of moments like this—of being able to be lost in each other, enjoy long, drawn out kisses—and there's so much more he wants to learn, wants to feel.

His lips leave Simon's, kissing down the other's jaw, gently teasing synthetic flesh as he nibbles at a spot on the blond's neck. There's a gasp and he knows he's onto something, feels it through their connection, something Simon has never communicated before.

Desire.

So Markus keeps going, laves the spot with his tongue, and then presses his mouth to it to suckle on the pale skin.

Want.

And that's when he feels it, a bulge that grows, presses at his groin the more attention he gives to Simon's neck. He shifts experimentally and it's when he pushes down that a guttural, low moan spills off Simon's lips.

More.

“M-Markus,” Simon groans, hips thrusting up to meet his.

The urgency in which his name tumbles from the blond's parted mouth has Markus grinding down, moving his hips until he finds the right angle, has Simon crying out. The blond's cheeks are tinged blue, unsteady breaths making any words he tries to speak crack with desperate need, and Markus can only answer by kissing him breathlessly, tongue delving into those parted lips, caressing, tasting.

Simon doesn't last much longer. It's with his face buried into Markus' shoulder, cries muffled, and fingers gripping the other android's thighs in a vice, that he succumbs to a sensation that has him weakly riding it out to the friction Markus provides.

It's in the aftermath, with Simon hugging Markus tightly, shaking in his arms, that Markus decides that he likes whatever it was that had just happened.

*

“You're a PL600 model,” Markus says one day.

It's another afternoon in the late winter and the two are lounging around, once again, in Markus' apartment. Though he's now been named Carl's heir, Markus is still reluctant to make the move into Carl's house, not wanting to burden his adoptive father. However, he spoke recently with Carl, who's very eager to meet Simon, and has even suggested that both of them move into the spare room.

It's a lot to think about. Markus is still getting used to the idea of being part of a pair and his fear, which, in retrospect, is most likely irrational, of Carl disapproving of Simon, or the two not getting along, is the only thing preventing him from moving forward.

So he tries not to think about it, tries to enjoy yet another quiet moment from the chaos of demonstrations and flying out to Washington to speak on behalf of the androids in Detroit. He tries to enjoy these stolen moments with Simon, as few and far between as the are.

But ever since their last afternoon together—two weeks ago, before Markus was whisked off to the capital—he's been thinking about the one piece of Simon's anatomy he had not expected the other android to have.

“I am,” Simon confirms, bemused smile on his lips.

“But your model doesn't come with...”

Markus has been spending way too much time with humans. If Carl was here, he would be teasing him about stumbling over the word 'cock'.

“It...was an upgrade,” Simon answers, looking a bit uncomfortable. He fidgets with the book in his hand. Another Shakespeare play. “It was added after my—after the human who owned me decided she wanted an intimate relationship with me.”

He gets that same look on his face that North gets when asked about her past so Markus doesn't press. He knows that Simon will tell him about what happened when he's ready.

But it does little to diminish his curiosity.

“Can I see it?”

“What? Right now?”

Simon's face fills with thirium and it has Markus chuckling.

“Not right now. But...sometime, yeah.”

There's surprise on Simon's face and Markus can't really understand why.

“You don't think it's...odd?”

And then, he gets it: the fact that Simon has the programming to experience orgasms, and be stimulated in the same way one would stimulate a human, makes him feel different from the rest of them. It doesn't help that even among the android community, Markus has noticed that sex bots are sometimes treated with a certain level of mistrust, most likely due to the nature of the services they provide. Sex was something natural to organics but something decidedly non-synthetic and carried with it a stigma that would make androids with working genitalia, like Simon, want to hide that.

“I love everything about you, Simon, even the parts that make you different,” Markus answers, taking Simon's hand and squeezing it reassuringly. They connect and he sees the hesitation leave Simon's face, eyes gazing at his lover with warmth.

With a smirk, Markus adds, “Especially the parts that make you different.”

He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, as Carl had taught him, and Simon smacks the top of his head with his book.

*

As Markus thought, his fears of Carl and Simon not getting along were completely unfounded. What began as a lunch date at Carl's mansion quickly turned to dinner and before long, Carl's caretaker was reminding all three of them that Carl needed his rest. Carl tried to wave it off but even Markus, who remembers the artist's schedule better than his own coding, gave the elderly man a stern look.

“Carl...”

And Carl threw up his hands in defeat. “Fine, fine. I'll finish off this brandy and get my ass up to bed before the two of you start sounding like my doctor.”

“I'm pretty sure your doctor would be telling you not to have that brandy,” Markus sasses him.

“What does he know? Old quack.”

Carl downs the rest of it, to which Markus shakes his head, failing to hide a smile. Before his caretaker can wheel him out of the lounge, Carl insists that they stay the night, offering the spare bedroom he's been saving for Markus. It's as he's shaking Simon's hand that he surprises both his guests by saying, “You're gonna move in too, right? With Markus? It'd be nice to have another face around here.”

Simon's startled by the offer, cheeks tinging blue. If he still had his LED, Markus can imagine it flickering a nice shade of yellow. “I—Markus and I haven't talked a lot about the future.”

Carl chuckles and pats Simon's hand. “If you're waiting around for him to bring it up, it'll be well into the next century. He's too damn shy. Makes me wonder how he does those speeches of his.”

Markus is also blushing and groans aloud to stave off some of his embarrassment. “Really, Carl?”

“This is what happens when you bring your bring your boyfriends home so you better get used to it,” Carl says, smirking. “Once you're both living here, Simon will get to hear all those fun stories from before you led a revolution.”

Markus makes a show of acting affronted but he still hugs Carl tightly, promises that they will have breakfast together before him and Simon head off to city hall in the morning.

It's not until after Carl's been put to bed and Markus brings Simon to the guest room that he can bring himself to address the topic Carl had broached. Absently, he notes that the bed has since been replaced—not that he had ever used it for more than the occasional rest to keep his system up-to-date and functioning—with a larger one that could accommodate two of them. There is also an easel in the corner and new books filling what was once a mostly empty bookshelf.

It seems Carl really took Markus' comments on Simon liking books to heart.

“You don't have to do it, if you don't want to,” Markus says, feeling a bit awkward. He paces towards the bed, attempts to sit on it but stands back up. He can't seem to figure out what his hands should be doing so he leaves them at his sides. “Carl likes to get ahead of himself, assumes things instead of asking. I can make up an excuse, let him down easy. He'll be happy enough if it's just me moving in.”

It's not lost on Markus that throughout all of their discussion, Simon hasn't said yes.

He glances over at the other android but Simon seems fixated on the floor in front of him. There's a somberness to his posture and it makes Markus feel as if he's done something wrong. But whatever it is, he can't quite piece it together.

After a moment that stretches so long, it's almost suffocating, Simon says, quietly, “You don't want me to move in, do you?”

He hears the rejection in the blond's voice, is so shocked that he can't think of the right words. The long pause seems to only affirm Simon's fears, who looks a bit lost when he can bring himself to meet Markus' gaze.

But seeing that sadness is enough to drive Markus to action, have him cross the distance and take both of Simon's hands in his.

“I want you here, Simon. Trust me, there's nothing I want more,” Markus assures him. “If this is because I didn't ask, well...I was worried. That you and Carl wouldn't like each other. And I didn't want to make you think you have to come live with me just to make me happy.”

He pulls Simon into his arms, holds him tightly. This close, he can feel the thrum of their pump regulators through the layers of clothes, humming in sync. There's a sigh against the crook of his neck and soon, Simon is holding him just as tightly.

“You two mean more to me than everyone else,” Markus admits, his words weighted heavily with emotion. “And I want the three of us to spend the rest of Carl's days together. As a family.”

Simon lifts his head, the smile on his lips saying everything. There's a glassiness to his gaze and Markus is quickly losing himself to the warmth he sees shining in those bright, blue eyes. “I want that, too.”

Somehow, hearing it gives it more meaning. He feels an overwhelming wave of affection for his lover, leans in to kiss him softly. Simon's lips are smooth, receptive, welcoming the familiarity of Markus' tongue as he deepens the kiss. It takes only a gentle push before he has Simon sitting on the edge of their bed, Markus sidling onto the blond's lap with ease. His hands waste no time in grasping the back of Simon's head, fingers weaving through the straw-colored locks, thighs trapping his lover beneath him.

It's as he's kissing down the blond's neck, lips seeking that spot he now knows will elicit sweet moans from Simon, that Markus feels it, the same as before—a growing bulge in his lover's trousers—and he pushes down to brush it teasingly.

“M-Markus,” Simon groans, his hands gripping his boyfriend's shoulders.

Markus' fingers pop open the first three buttons of Simon's shirt. At the sight of collarbone, he licks a stripe across it, his hand snaking beneath the material to caress at soft, pale skin. The action has Simon responding with a bucking of his hips but Markus, ever the tease, lifts up just out of reach, denying his lover the friction he so craves.

He finishes opening the shirt, takes his time kissing and nipping his way down Simon's chest. It's mostly flawless; a pale, pristine canvas for his tongue to paint lines and circles across. Yet he counts three freckles—one on his pectoral, two on his abdomen—and spends extra time marking the spots with his lips, committing them to his eidetic memory.

It's when his hand grazes over the bulge in Simon's pants, thumb flicking open the button on the blond's jeans, that his lover stops him with a firm grip on his wrist.

“M-Markus, what are you doing?”

Markus looks at his boyfriend, sees the concern in his eyes.

“I've watched some videos, thought maybe we can try a few things.”

Not having genitalia or experiencing sexual stimulation as organics and sex bots do, Markus had found it hard to understand what was so appealing about watching two strangers perform sexual acts on each other. But he was more invested in learning the mechanics of it, figuring out what he can do to make Simon feel good. And just thinking about that first time, with Simon shuddering underneath him, Markus' name spilling like a prayer off his lips, shaking as he reached climax—filled Markus with a kind of warmth that made him eager to watch anything—to learn how to do whatever it takes—to bring Simon that kind of pleasure once more.

“You...really?”

Simon looks both shocked and embarrassed and it only makes Markus chuckle, has him press a teasing kiss to the tip of the blond's nose. “It was very educational.”

“I don't think 'educational' is what they were going for.”

“Well, I learned a few things. Why don't I show you?”

Simon's grip loosens on Markus' wrist but he still sees the uncertainty in Simon's eyes. He waits, needing the blond's consent before he puts his non experience to the test. It's once the android nods his head that Markus pulls the zipper down on his jeans, reaches inside to free his lover's bulging, firm cock.

That first moment of contact makes something akin to a whimper spill off Simon's tongue. From what Markus learned of synthetic cocks, they differed from organic ones in that, like most parts of an android, they don't register pain. However, their pleasure receptors tended to be heightened, making the sensation of 'climax' easier to achieve. They also did not release any bodily fluids during an orgasm.

With this in mind, he's careful as he wraps his fingers around Simon's cock, leans up to kiss his lover softly. When he moves his thumb over the head of his erection, Simon answers with a gasp that dies against his boyfriend's lips. It has Markus grinning knowing that there's another way he can touch Simon and have him come undone.

He fists his hand, moves it up the shaft in an experimental pump. When Simon answers by bucking up into Markus' hand, he does it again and again, until he finds the best grip and rhythm that has a cacophony of pleased sounds ripping from his lover's throat.

“Is this good?” he asks, though everything about the way Simon is moving is all the answer he needs.

“Y-yes, it's...oh, Markus,” he gasps, thrusting up to chase the friction.

Markus kisses him deeply, moving his hand over Simon's cock. He alternates between pumping the shaft—now more confident in that technique—and rubbing circles around the head. Simon's quickly becoming a wreck, groans filling the air each time Markus takes his lips off of his, and he can tell from the erratic thrumming of Simon's regulator that the other android won't last much longer.

Falling to his knees, Markus places himself between Simon's spread thighs, feeling a bit nervous since he's not quite sure he's doing this right. But he's plunged headfirst into the unknown, parachuted from the Detroit skyline, and walked with his hands raised into a stream of bullets. Giving head, in comparison, seems easy (and with significantly less probability of ending up offline).

He starts with his tongue, laving it over the tip. The response he gets from Simon leaves a pleased humming in his chest, gives him the confidence to round his lips and suckle on the head. Still pumping the shaft, he brings more of Simon's cock into his mouth until his lips meet his fist and he begins bobbing in tune with his hand.

Simon's voice is hoarse, cracking with need, splitting in the air until Markus' own name is all he can hear, hugging every corner of the room. He doesn't need his retinal scanner to detect Simon's 'pulse' because Simon's gripping his free hand, connecting to him, and that's when he feels it:

Heat. Love. Want. Need. More. More. More—

The explosion of pleasure felt through their connection leaves Markus reeling, has him nearly passing out as he takes his mouth off Simon's cock, groans aloud, and drops his head to Simon's thigh. He's shuddering as a wave of euphoria that passes through Simon bursts from inside of him and for a long minute, there seems to be no end or beginning to it, it just is.

“Markus?”

He's trembling as he feels Simon's hand slide through his short hair, concern heavy in his hoarse voice. Markus mumbles something, lifts his head groggily to stare up at his lover. His CPU feels overworked and yet, he's done nothing, ran no functions, to warrant the need to rest.

“So that's why people like those videos,” he says, corner of his lips lifting in a small grin.

Dork.

“Hey,” Markus says, hearing the insult through their connection.

Simon lets go and Markus almost regrets sassing him, the loss of being connected the closest he can think of to feeling cold and empty. But then, Simon's tugging Markus up, wrapping his arms around him, dragging his lover down with him to lie back on the bed.

They stay together like that for some time, staring into each other's eyes, Simon's thumb brushing along the line of Markus' jaw.

“I love you,” Simon whispers.

It's hard to believe that only a few short months ago, Markus thought he had lost everything. And now, here he was: back at the only place he has ever called home, in the arms of the one who has become part of his everything, his family.

“I love you, too,” Markus says.

[alhecksanderlightwood]

a prompt for a fellow writer friend: sure, it was an unspoken truth amongst jericho that markus and connor were a Thing, but it was just a rumour for the rest of the human world, cause they tried to keep it under wraps for politics. what makes them break their cover in public?

Thanks for the prompt ! I got carried away again I shall find a way to stop doing that at one point.

Joshcame in Simon’s office at 5pm sharp, the sky was already darkenedand the light emanating from the small lamp on the desk wasflickering. They really needed to do something about the electricitybut the humans kept pushing back against their requests for somerepairs, saying that the electricity was a problem all throughoutDetroit and androids didn’t need it as much as humans did. Whichwas… Infuriating to say the least.

“Simon,did you hear back from the Mayor about the details for the ceremonytonight ?”

Theandroid looked up from his tablet (why he insisted on carrying thataround when he was basically a computer was still lost on Josh) andmade a dismissive gesture with his hand.

“Hesaid we need to be there at 7, the ceremony won’t start for anotherhour but the press needs to see us mingling with humans.”

“Yeah,wouldn’t want them to start thinking we suddenly want to overthrowthem, right ?”

“Pleasedon’t say that in front of North, she might actually get some ideasand we finally managed to make her settle down a little.”

Asif North would ever settle down, she was still as fiery as ever andwhile she kept a perfectly neutral and polite face talking topoliticians, they all heard what she really thought of them throughtheir internal communication network.

Someoneknocked on the door and they turned to find a Jerry standing on thethreshold

“Guys,North asked for your help finding Markus, he was supposed to be backthirty minutes ago”

Normallyany androids could go to these kind of ceremony, but this night was abig night so the Mayor himself requested the leaders of Jericho to bethere,  which might be a problem if Robot Jesus himself was stillunaccounted for.

Simonsighed while standing up:

“10bucks he’s somewhere kissing Connor”

……………………

Markuswasn’t actually somewhere kissing Connor.

Hewas in his bed, cuddling Connor.

Hisboyfriend got into the habit of coming to him whenever he was dealingwith too much stress. Something that delighted the Rk200 who alwayswanted to be there for the people he cared about. And a few hoursago, Markus opened his door to find a rather panicked Connor on hisdoorstep, led alternating between yellow and red almost too fast tocatch it.

Therewas a case, a guy killing androids and Connor spent his last weektracking him down. Markus knew about it, of course, but apparentlysomething new happened. The darker skinned android opened the doorfor the other to come in and sat on his bed, patting the place nextto him.

“Wegot him”

Connor’svoice had cracked when he said that and Markus knew better than toactually congratulate him now so he just waited patiently for theother to continue, his fingers slowly finding their way to the otherman’s hands, rubbing gently on his knuckles.

“Wegot him but not before so many androids died and I know we couldn’thave been faster but maybe we still should and” Connor took a shakybreath and Markus wanted nothing more than to hug him and never lethim go. He settled on moving his hand to run through disheveled curlyhair.

“Oneo-, one of the bodies there, it was a kid model” Connor finallylooks over at the deviant leader, clearing his throat “It lookedjust like Alice”.

Connoris crying now and Markus can’t hold back anymore, he opens his armsand let Connor curls into him. The second he’s in his arms he hugshim close and whispers reassurances.

Heknows the detective is blaming himself, not only for those androidshe couldn’t save but also for all the ones he hunted before hedeviated, he interfaced with him enough to know how the other androidworked. He also knows convincing him to let go of that guilt willtake a long time so he settle on being there, comforting him andtracing shapeless figures on Connor’s back with his fingers. Simplylistening to the other’s breathing slowing down from erraticbreaths to sleepy ones.

Connoris sleeping peacefully on Markus’ chest now, arms tucked close tohis chest and Markus arms wrapped around him protectively.  

Thedeviant leader tries to enjoy this for as long as he can, blinkingaway the notifications telling him about his friends searching forhim. He’d rather focus on the bundle of warmth in his arms. Connorlooks so peaceful like this and it makes Markus heart squeeze almostpainfully.

TheRk800 shifts a little, starting to wake up and nuzzling closer toMarkus, as if trying to burrow himself in him.

Whenhe opens his eyes, there’s no trace of distress anymore, only pureadoration and Markus doesn’t feel worthy of such a look but damn ifhe’s not going to try everyday for the rest of his life to actuallybe.

Theadoration quickly turns to something way less innocent as Markusfeels a hand moving along his thigh and Connor’s smile turnscheeky. And to think that Simon is so adamant that Connor looks justlike a puppy.

Theywaste no time kissing each other, nipping at the other’s lips untilConnor trails kisses along Markus jaw-And then the door opens.

Joshis behind it and he’s closing his eyes, a hand thrown over them forgood measure (and to add more drama, if he was being totally honest)

“IKNEW YOU WOULD BE KISSING GODDAMNIT MARKUS WE HAVE TO GET READY,LEAVE YOUR BOYFRIEND ALONE”

Hisscreams alert North and Simon and soon enough, two new heads arepeeking from behind Josh now.

Godsometimes Markus hated his friends. He felt more than heard Connorchuckles. His mouth was still so close to his neck and god, he wantedto hear that sound again but if he could hear him scream in pleasurebefore that it would be perfect.

Althoughhe didn’t get time to think more about it because North wasforcefully dragging him out of bed and towards his dressing whileConnor was just smiling, sitting cross-legged in his bed. It wasn’teven any kind of smile, it was the small secretive one, Markus lovedthat one.

Thedetective tilted his head to the side, trying to keep up with Northfire like movements as she tried to get Markus out of his clothes andinto more fitting ones and Markus wanted nothing more than to turnaround and go back to bed because Holy shit, he actually did looklike a puppy.

Butno sooner had he thought that that Connor was out of bed and talkingwith Josh and Simon, probably apologizing for jeopardizing thedeviant leader.

Markusfocused on North for the next few minutes and when he looked up,Connor was gone.

“Calmdown lover boy, you’ll see him tonight so just focus on North,she’s actually being useful right now.”

Markussmiled and did just that.

…..

Theparty was boring, everyone was drunk in a few hours and the androidswere left trying to navigate a sea of intoxicated humans. A bad idea,really. While some were embarrassing, otherwere just plain offensive or seemed to had forgotten all concepts ofpersonal space.

Likethis woman, trying to grope his boyfriend in front of him.

Granted,the only humans knowing Connor was his boyfriend were Hank and Carland maybe some people from the police station. But still.

Markuswaited for a lull in the conversation (which was just an excuse toactually grope his fucking boyfriend) so he could squeeze himselfbetween Connor and the lady, whisking him away.

Theysoon found themselves watching everybody from a dark corner of theroom, laughing like the teenagers they never had the chance to be.Their network connection to the other androids meant that they gotinto their new favourite game “What are these old fucks reallysaying”, basically they chose some humans and created the worstkind of discussion they could be having.

Afterone particularly good and funny rendering of what conversation thetwo old men who alternated between trying to fight each other andthen seemingly being best friends all over again might be having,Connor turned his head and looked at Markus.

Hewas laughing, his hands were covering his mouth and he was hunchedover, trying to stiffle his laughs while keeping his balance and Ra9,this man was so pretty.

Beforehe could even think about it Connor had taken Markus hands away fromhis face so he could kiss him, an innocent peck, in a dark corner ofthe room, nothing to worry about, really.

Exceptit was the exact moment the electrician apparently chose to actuallyfix the power in the human’s part of the city. And the already litroom apparently had a few more lights that weren’t turned onbecause of the electricity problem. Of course one of them would bejust on top of them, which means that when the power came back on,they were in plain view. And of course, everyone turned to look atthe lights turning on.

Great.

BeforeConnor could panic, not liking to be the centre of attentionMarkusalready had their fingers interlaced and they interfaced withoutthinking.

Itwasn’t like either one of them was ashamed of the other or afraidof everyone knowing they were together, it just never came up. Butit sure did now.

Thesilence stretched on for a few more seconds, beginning to feel reallyuncomfortable when Josh planted himself between them and the sea ofhumans gaping at them.

“So,now that the humans apparently have their power back on at fulllevel, can we talk about fixing the electricity in the android’sneighbourhoods ?”Please guys send me more prompts, I’m craving them, my babies are crying asking me to feed them prompts, if I don’t they might actually start trying to eat me and I always skipped PE so I’m in no shope to actually defend myself from babies, please, I beg of you kind sirs, I will be forever in debt of you

[bob-giovanni]

A Casual Affair - Part 24

Characters: Simon X OFC

Summary: Violet has difficult discussions with her son and Simon.

Warnings: Cursing, Angst, Talk of Bullying

Notes: Ya know, I’m going to stop apologizing for taking so long to get these chapters posted. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m having trouble writing this story. It’s not that I don’t want to, not at all. I had an ending in mind for this story before I even began writing it. But I was unemployed when I first started writing it so my time is more limited. But I promise that I will not abandon this story. It will get finished! Thank you to all of those who have stuck with it so far.

Song for this Chapter: “Cats in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin (Playlist Here!)

Violet was sitting on the front porch of her condo enjoying a cold beer while Dodger played with his friend Jeremy from across the street. While she sat there, her mind raced. Just two days ago her life was so wildly different. She’d mostly moved on from her feelings for Simon. But seeing him again brought back everything she’d felt before. She obviously couldn’t completely forget Simon. She was reminded of him every time she looked at Dodger. She had always taught her son that lying was wrong yet she had been lying to him every time he asked her about his father. Violet set her beer down on the small table next to her and pulled out her phone. She opened her messages and looked at the last few messages from Simon. It was weird seeing his name in her phone again.

Simon: Can I see him?

Violet: What?

Simon: Dodger. Can I see him? Meet him?

Violet: I don’t know, Simon. I’m afraid this will be too much for him.

Simon: I know, Vi. But he is my son. I would like to meet him and be in his life.

Violet: I need to talk to him first. Give me a couple of days.

Violet sighed. That conversation had happened Friday night. It was now Sunday and Violet still hadn’t talked to Dodger. She needed to stop putting it off. Even though she was worried that he wouldn’t understand everything completely, she also knew that he was a very smart boy and that having his father in his life would be good for him. Violet quickly finished her beer before standing from her chair. “Alright, munchkin. It’s time to come inside. Say goodnight to Jeremy.” Dodger complained but said goodnight to his friend and walked up the front steps. Violet watched to make sure Jeremy got home ok. Once the other boy was inside his house, Violet took Dodger inside and shut and locked the front door. She took a deep breath before taking him to the living room and sitting down on the couch. “Alright, dude. We need to have a talk. Come here.” She said as she patted the cushion next to her. Dodger climbed onto the sofa. “An adult talk?” He asked. Violet nodded.

“Do you remember a few months ago when some of your classmates had their daddies come in to talk about their jobs and that mean boy in your class made fun of you when you said you didn’t have a daddy?” Dodger nodded slowly. “And do you remember what you asked me when you got home from school that day?” Dodger nodded again. “I asked you if I had a daddy and you told me that everyone has a daddy but that you didn’t know who my daddy was.” Violet nodded. “That’s right. Well when I said that I didn’t know who your daddy was…well…mommy was lying.” Dodger looked up at her. “But you said that lying is bad.” “I know, baby. I know I did. And it is. You should always tell the truth and mommy is so sorry that she lied to you.” “It’s ok, mommy. I forgive you.” Dodger moved so he could hug Violet. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head.

Violet smiled as she held her son close. She pulled him into her lap and leaned back a bit. “I lied to you because I was scared that you wouldn’t understand. But you’re so smart, munchkin. So much smarter than I could ever imagine. The truth is I do know who your daddy is. He didn’t know about you until recently.” Dodger had a confused look on his face. “How did he not know about me? I’m his son.” Dodger sounded so hurt and it broke Violet’s heart that she did this to him. “He didn’t know about you because I didn’t tell him. But he knows about you now and he wants to meet you.” Dodger looked up at her with hopeful eyes. “He does?” Violet smiled and nodded. “But it’s up to you. This is a very adult decision. And I know that it might seem scary so I want you to take some time and think about it, ok?” Dodger nodded. “Ok, I will. Can I go up to my room now?” Violet kissed Dodger’s cheek and nodded. “Of course, baby. Go get ready for bed.”

Dodger jumped down off of Violet’s lap and ran upstairs. That had gone much better than she expected. She thought for sure Dodger would have so many questions. But she knows how smart he is. After a few minutes Violet made her way upstairs and into Dodger’s room. He was wearing his PJs and was sitting on the floor playing with some of his toys. “Alright, little man. Bed time. You have school tomorrow.” Dodger put his toys away before climbing into bed. Violet tucked him in and leaned down to kiss his forehead. “Mommy?” “Yes, baby?” “I wanna meet my dad.” Violet smiled softly. “Are you sure?” Dodger nodded. “Ok. Well I have to have an adult conversation with him too before you meet him, ok?” Dodger nodded and yawned. “Ok, mommy. Goodnight. I love you.” “I love you too, munchkin.” Violet dimmed the light in Dodger’s room and shut his bedroom door a bit before heading to her room. She flopped down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes before grabbing her cell phone and texting Simon.

Violet: Come to my house tomorrow at 3PM.

She put her phone on her nightstand before changing into her PJs and climbing into bed. She wanted to talk to Simon before he officially met Dodger for the first time and she wanted to do it without Dodger there. Violet reached for her phone and texted her mom to see if she could pick Dodger up from school tomorrow and watch him for a couple of hours. She didn’t even hesitate. Grandmom loved spending time with her little love bug. Once Violet had that sorted out she did her best to get some sleep. The next morning after she got Dodger dressed and made him breakfast, she told him that Grandmom would be picking him up from school. “Really?!” Dodger was excited. He loved his Grandmom and Grandpa but also knew it meant he would get to play with their dog, a Bulldog named Hank who loved Dodger too. After putting their breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, Violet grabbed Dodger’s backpack and got him on the bus. She waved goodbye to him and headed to work.

She hated having to go into work so early in but it meant she got to leave early too. She was in by 7:30AM and left at 2:30PM everyday. She was home in less than 15 minutes which would give her time to get ready for Simon’s arrival at 3PM. The entire day Violet had a hard time concentrating. All she could think about was her meeting with Simon. She was nervous about seeing him again. But she somehow made it through the day and headed home. Traffic was lighter than usual so she made it home in only ten minutes. Violet entered her home and immediately changed out of her work clothes and into a pair of jeans and an oversized t-shirt. She paced back and forth in the dining room while she waited for Simon to arrive, trying to go over in her head everything she wanted to say to him. Violet was torn from her thoughts by the doorbell ringing. She looked at the time on her phone. 3PM on the dot. Simon was still punctual it turns out. Violet walked to the front door and put her hand on the knob, taking a deep breath before opening the door.

Simon stood there with a nervous look on his face. Violet smiled softly and stepped to the side. “Come in.” She said. Simon nodded and stepped inside, standing to the side while Violet shut the door. She lead him into the living room and motioned for him to sit on the couch. “Do you want anything to drink?” Simon shook his head as he sat down. “No, I’m good. Thank you.” Violet sat on the couch opposite Simon. She took a moment to look him over. She hadn’t really gotten the chance to do that before. She was so in shock seeing him that she didn’t really take the time to look at him. His hair was in the same style as she remembered. He had a full beard now instead of just a mustache. He had a few more wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, but he was still as handsome as she remembered.

Simon blushed a bit when he noticed that Violet was looking him up and down. But he’d taken his chance to admire her as well. Before her hair had been a deep red and just past her shoulders. Now it was a lightish brown, what he assumed was her natural color, and it was down past her elbows. There were a few stray gray hairs but it suited her. Her face was a bit rounder and her body was a bit softer, but she was still drop dead gorgeous. Violet noticed Simon staring at her and she grabbed a pillow, hugging it over the front of her body. “What?” She asked softly. Simon smiled a bit and shook his head. “Motherhood looks good on you.” Violet rolled her eyes. “Wow how long have you been waiting to use that one?” Simon laughed a bit. “Oh come on. It does. I bet you were one of those women who looked great through their entire pregnancy.” Violet smiled a bit and tucked some hair behind her ear as she looked down. “I wish I could’ve been there to see it.” He continued.

Violet sighed softly. “Simon, can we not, with that, right now?” Simon nodded and leaned back against the couch. “Sorry.” Violet cleared her throat. “Dodger was in pre k last year. And towards the end of the year they asked some of the kids to invite their parents to come in and talk about their jobs. When the teacher asked Dodger if he would have his mom or dad come in he said that he would ask his mom but that he didn’t have a dad. One of the kids in his class made fun of him and told him it was weird that he didn’t have a dad. Dodger came home that day crying and told me what happened and he asked me why he didn’t have a dad like all the other kids in his class. I lied and told him it was because I didn’t know who his dad was. The truth is I was scared to tell him. Not because I thought he wouldn’t understand but because I knew there was a lot of shit I still hadn’t dealt with and I had been lying to myself even that I was ok. That everything was fine. My whole life for the past six years has been about Dodger and I truly believe that I’ve been the best mom that I possibly can be. But I would be lying if I said it’s been easy being a single mom. It’s been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. And I don’t regret leaving when I did because at the time I thought it was the best option for me. But I do regret not being honest with you. It wasn’t fair of me to keep my pregnancy a secret from you and for that I’m sorry and I hope you can forgive me. And even if you can’t, which I would completely understand, I hope you can at least look past it for Dodger’s sake because he really wants to meet you.”

Simon took a moment to absorb everything Violet said before speaking. “I’m so sorry that Dodger had to go through that. And that you had to deal with it alone. And of course I forgive you for leaving. I was hurt, definitely, but I understand now. You were scared and you wanted to be with your family. I wasn’t your family. I did a shitty thing and I pushed you away and I’m sorry for that. I know that it’s probably gonna be a little strange but I definitely want to move it past because I really want to meet Dodger and be a part of his life.” Violet smiled softly and wiped away a few tears. “Good. That’s very good.” Simon smiled as well. “I do have one question though. When you left, was it…I mean were you just scared in general or were you scared that I wasn’t gonna be a good dad?” Violet furrowed her eyebrows. “What? Oh my god, no, of course not. I knew, and I still think this, that you’d be an excellent father. And it wasn’t so much that I was scared. I felt…lonely. I knew that at least if I was here I’d have my parents and my brothers and sisters-in-law. They’ve all been such a big help. But I still have days where I still feel really, really lonely.”

Simon could relate to what Violet was saying about being lonely. Even when he and Charlotte were still together he felt so alone. He’d thought about Violet all the time, wishing that she was there, or even that he could just talk to her. He’d thought about just calling her cell a few times over the years. But he’d felt so guilty about pushing her away. He figured she wouldn’t want anything to do with him. And he completely understood that. Simon cleared his throat and leaned up a bit. “Is Dodger here?” He asked softly. Violet shook her head. “He’s with my parents. I wanted us to have time to talk and get out everything we need to get out without having to worry about him overhearing things he maybe shouldn’t hear.” Violet explained. “And to be honest, even though he seems excited to meet you, I’m still a little hesitant.” Simon nodded. “I can understand that. I mean, is there something in particular that is causing you to be hesitant?”

Violet chewed her bottom lip. “I haven’t told him that you live on the other side of the country. I’m afraid that he’ll get too attached too quickly.” She sighed softly and ran a hand through her hair. “When Dodger was around 3, I started seeing this guy. I hadn’t been with anyone since Dodger was born so when he started showing me some affection I just lapped it up like a school girl. I rushed into a relationship with a man I barely knew and we wound up moving in together just a few months after we started dating. Dodger got really attached to him. When things inevitably went south and we broke up, Dodger didn’t understand. He was so upset, crying, screaming, throwing tantrums all the time. It was the first time Dodger had someone besides me around all the time. I know he’s gonna love you and he’s gonna get attached and then when you have to go back to New York it’s gonna crush him.” Simon nodded. That was something he’d thought about. But he thought he had a solution. “Well I have someone else looking after things back in New York right now. So I can stay here for a while. And you two can always come to New York whenever you want. Yellow House owns a plane now so I can send it to come pick you guys up. Just say the word and before you know it you two will be headed to New York in style.”

Violet smiled softly. “That’s a very generous offer, Simon.” Simon scratched his beard. “Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming?” Violet chewed her bottom lip. “No ‘but.’ It is a generous offer.” Simon smiled and nodded. “So when can I meet him?” “Maybe this weekend? I just think that this is going to be a lot for him. I want him to be able to concentrate in school. Why don’t we do this. Come over for dinner on Friday, let’s say around 6PM? And then after you and Dodger can hang out here.” Simon nodded. “Ok, sounds like a plan.” Violet checked the time on her phone. “I have to go pick up Dodger from my parent’s house before it gets too late.” Simon nodded and stood. Violet slipped her shoes on and walked with him to the front door. They stepped onto the porch and Violet locked the front door before Simon walked her to her car. “So I guess I’ll see you Friday then.” He said softly. Violet nodded and smiled softly. “Yeah. I know that Dodger is gonna be really excited.” Simon slipped his hands into his pockets. “It’s been really good seeing you again, Violet.” He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Violet’s cheek. She was clearly taken by surprise. “Good night, Simon.” She said before getting into her car. She watched as Simon crossed the street and got into his car and drove away. Violet groaned and leaned forward, gently banging her forehead against the steering wheel a few times. She knew she had to go through with this for Dodger’s sake, but deep down she knew that this was not going to end well for her and Simon.

Tags: @collette04 @66psychotic99 @simons-thirst-squad@mwesterfeld1985 @negans-castle@neganismyobsession@laymetorest77 @brittlw @faith-lynn9@mytreasures4eternity47

[yukaigenohogosha]

The Bullet and The Blade... Prt 2

A Detroit Become Human Mafia AU FanFic: This one maybe a little longer than the the first one. And I want to keep it that way...

Excuse the Grammatical and factual errors and miss conceptions. It’s just for fun. Also NSFW and very gay with a hint of gore, angst, and foul language. Viewer discretion is advised.

Prev Prts : Prt 1 Next Prt: Prt 3

They’re going to take the bull by the horns. But is that a good Idea?

Gavin’s Charger hums as he reaches Ferndale pass the subways and buildings. Gavin taps his steering wheel to the beat of Ariana Grande on the radio. Lucky no one’s there to watch him lip-sync and bop to Greedy. He’d rather shoot himself than let anyone know that. Tina does and it is torture.

But at least this is able to calm him. Going to Jericho wasn’t exactly on his top priority. In fact, being in someone else’s territory is unsettling enough. But like Hank said, Jericho might give proper backup. Even though we have no idea who they’re dealing with, we’re not taking any chances.

Gavin turns a bend and reaches a ship. As he got out after of the charger, Gavin approached the old clunk of rusted metal that still held Cargo on it’s deck. It stood completely still in the midday and yet Gavin kept getting chills. He looks around and see’s Hank’s Sedan driving through.

Hank got out with Tina following suite. Gavin felt slightly relieved. At least he’s not doing this alone. 

“What?” Tina smirked calling out to Gavin as she walked closer. “Too chicken to do it alone?”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “You wish. As I would recall, I had to drag a certain Someone to the edge cuz that certain Someone wouldn’t stop crying.”

“It was one time and I had no idea that there was a net!”

Before Gavin can muster a comeback, Hank clipped both of them at the back of their heads. “Knock it off and move. Believe it or not, I got other shit to do!”

Gavin rubbed the back of his head and sticks his tongue out at him. Tina just shook her head and followed orders.

All three walk toward the edge of the rusty catwalk that seems to be used as a connection from the docks to the decks but now stood a rusty broken bridge that halfway to the ship.

But none of them minded it. They weren’t gonna using it to cross anyway. As the trio looked over the edge, Gavin’s having second thoughts.

Tina leaned in to Gavin “Bwaaak bwak bwak. Bacawk!” mimicking the flapping of the bird with her arms.

“Fuck you” Gavin adds before he see Hank disappear.

Seeing Hank go first, makes the whole thought trying to follow suite a lot easier.

Tina beats Gavin to it and moves in to enter Jericho.

Gavin watches Tina do a mid air back flip before disappearing in to the darkness.

“Show off...”

Gavin takes a deep breath and pockets his shades in to his inner pocket before finally taking the initiative.

He jumps.

***

“I don’t understand why they can’t just install a door like a normal person.”

Hank scoots out of the net. His suit wrinkled and his hair messed up. the net bounces around as Tina and Gavin reach the net. Tina was giggling like a child and Gavin was struggling to get his footing.

“Total rush!��� Tina shouts as she looks back at Gavin before she rolls out of the net.

Gavin, after failing to find balance, gives up and mimics Tina by rolling off the net and hitting the ground in unceremonious thud.

Gavin groan and stood up to brush off dust from his jacket. shoved his hands in his pocket. three walked on as they climb the flight of stairs upwards into the cabin. Tina and Gavin softly wheeze after stair number 9 while Hank seems to be doing just fine.

“You move fast for an old man.” Gavin mustered through his paved breaths.

Hank smirked as he leaned on a the railing. “You guys just gotta work on you Cardio.” And continued with more stride. 53 and feeling fine.

Tina and Gavin grunt through 12 more flight before reaching the Hull. Despite what the outside of ship looks like, the interior looks modern and recently upgraded. With open windows, soft redwood coloured walls and  men and women in white suits.

Walking behind Hank, Gavin can see that he’s looking for someone. Hank then smiles as he sees a senior in wheelchair who seems to be strapped to machine that lifts him 6 feet off the floor. Hank starts walking towards him who’s occupied with painting a gigantic mural, a dynamic revision of the the Detroit River in the sunset. 

“Got too much free time on your hands, old man?” Hank spoke up. The said “Old man” turned and smiled “Hank Motherfuckin Anderson!”. The machine descended until he reached ground and he wheeled himself out of it towards Hank. “Hows it been, old timer?” Hank bent down to give him a strong hug.

The man return the hug before pulling away. “Well, retirement’s been nice but having nothing to do is getting old.” He cracked before looking at his master piece. “still, it’s nice.” He turned back round to the three. “But I know you didn’t come here to see me. Especially knowing that you hate falling into that net.”

“Speaking of which, Get a door.”

“Not my call anymore”

“Oh right, You know where Markus is, Carl?”

“Check the captain’s cabin. That’s where he usually is these days. Being the new leader of Jericho get’s busy as it is.”

“Thanks. Anyway, nice work on the wall.”

“Shut up, you can’t tell red from fucking purple.”

Hank give a low warm chuckle before turning around waving the Carl from behind. Carl just shakes his head and get’s back to his mural.

Gavin’s head is solely straight on on the task at hand. That is, until Tina elbowed him and signaled him with her eyes. Gavin turn to the direction she was insinuating and saw him. Through the rush of people in white suits, a man stood out. In Gavin’s eyes at least.

“Hey, Um... I’m going for a piss. Catch up with you later.”

Before Hank could even respond, He was off. tailing a man in white suit and blond hair. His eyes fixated to this person like a he was prey. Keeping safe distance making sure his remains undetected.

All the way up to the forecastle. He watches this man look out into the distance. Breathing in the fresh air and feeling the calming breeze and sun. Gavin marvels at the man, smiling behind a container.

“I know you’re there.”

Gave froze. He sees the man looking straight at him with a knowing smile. Gavin smiled back and shows himself.

“Hey, Si.”

“Hey Reed.”

Gavin raises an eyebrow “You still using my mom’s name?”

“I thought you like that.”

He approaches the Simon. The soft baby blue eyes staring back at him makes Gavin smile ever so pleasantly.

“Yeah, I do. You look well”

“Yup, got to be right hand man. Now that Markus is leader.”

Gavin let’s out small chuckle.

“It’s yeah, not yup. Stop sounding like a T-ball preschooler. You’re in the big leagues now.”

Simon pulls out an earnest smile that melts Gavin heart.

“Oh, right!” Simon turns to his left side and pulls out a double edged dagger.

Gavin’s face drops “Don’t make me say it...”

Simon then pouts and looks at Gavin in expectation. Gavin could only sigh.

“Let me see what you have...”

Simon bolts away pass Gavin. “A KNIFE!”

“NO!”

And they’re off. Two grown adults playing cat and mouse chase, recalling fond childhood memories. Till they’re age caught up with them and their legs gave out. They start panting and laughing like two idiots with nothing better to do.

“So, what brings you to Jericho?” Simon finally catching his breath and stood up straight before fixing his suit.

Gavin completely forgot as he too stood up. “Now that you mentioned it, We got to head off to see Markus now.” start walking over to the Captain’s cabin

Simon tilts his head but follows suite. He then give Gavin a pat on the back. 

“It’s good to see you again, Reed.”

Gavin’s heart made a slight lurched between happy and hurt. 

“It’s good to see you too, Si.”

***

As the two walk leisurely to the cabin reminiscing about old times, a woman slams open the door startling them both. She looks up and furrows her brows at Simon.

“Good, I was about to get you. Made my job easier.” Her tone serious and hard, but this was North we’re talking about. Never not an angry moment. “Get in.” She moved aside to grant them entry.

Simon and Gavin looked at each other before entering. Hank and Tina sitting opposite to the desk and a man with tanned skin and two different coloured eyes. As Gavin observed, he can see that this calm yet determined figure of Markus is the reason why Carl handed Jericho to him. If anything, he’s impressed.

“Everyone’s here then?” Markus looks around before continuing. “Good. Josh, If you please.” He looks over to another man African american man in white no older than 25.

Josh pulled out some files and looked over to the rest. “I have a bit of information on about the cut signature on John. It’s not much and some look doubtful but comparing them with Elijah’s notes, I’m able to certain some of the facts.”

“Well?” Gavin getting somewhat impatent. 

Josh hesitated before proceeding. “A katana blade.”

The room became silent before Gavin, like a complete moron, started laughing hysterically. 

For a good 5 minutes. 

Eventually it died down slowly as he looked at everyone else. Catching Hank face palming and Tina cringing on the spot. He realized something.

“Oh shit, you’re serious.”

Josh huffed lightly. “The brand of the blade is still illusive, but through the others we found-”

“Others?” Tina sat up. Shocked.

Josh looked back at Tina. “It seems John wasn’t the only victim.” Pulls other files to Tina and Hank. He offered Gavin but he promptly refused.

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Hank looks into one of the files. “Hold on, some of these people were shot.”

Gavin looks over at the file in Hank’s hand and as if he read his mind, Hank held out the file to Gavin. Gavin peered into the files and Winced.

A number of individual portraits of corpses splayed out on the floor. This time, their neck and forehead shot. leaving two bullet holes and a gruesome dead stare. He closed the file. Even if it’s less gory than the first, it doesn’t make it easier to look at.

“Do we have an address to these signatures?”

“With the intel I’ve sent to Elijah, he has located a location worth noting. An establishment known as Zen Garden Towers.”

Hank now sits up “Wait a sec, you mean that hotel? On Belle Isle, Detroit River?”

They all look at Hank like he’s grown a second head. Markus tilts his head curiously. “You know something?”

Hank stand up, ready to leave. “I think I’ve got a good clue of who’s behind this.” 

***

They all make it to the Zen Garden Towers. To say it was big hotel was an understatement. It had more than 40 storey and the area was bigger than the seem to make up most of the isle. It’s a little sad, Gavin thought. Remembering the Belle as a conversed isle park only to be turned into a luxurious bed and breakfast.

They walked in to the futuristic interior of blue and white with Hank and Markus up front and the rest following behind. At the receptionist, Hank spoke up.

“I’m here to see Madam Stern.”

The receptionist calm as ever “Do you have an appointment?”

“Call her up and say “Anderson” is here.” He said grimly

As the Receptionist did as so, Gavin leaned over to Hank.

“How many fucking people do you know in Detroit?!”

“If you’ve lived long enough to make as many connections as I have, some names will stick.”

The Receptionist then nods and hangs up the phone. She stands up and leave a will return soon notice on the counter. “This way please” She walks out to guide them to the elevator.

As they got into the uncomfortably spacious elevator, three men can be seen entering the lobby. “Hold the elevator!” One of them yelled out as they walk towards it. 

The Receptionist was holding down the open button, when Gavin out of pure idiotic mischief, decides to smack the hand away and close the doors. The trio seeing this, start sprinting across the lobby. The tall one of the group starts getting exceptionally closer, which makes Gavin press the button continuously. 

But in the end, the glass doors closes only for the man to slam his hand on surface, so hard the sound slightly resonates in the elevator. Delaying the ascend. Gavin pulls satisfied grin on the mans face as he looks into the cold Ice blue stare full of annoyance.

“Take the stairs...” He mouths as the elevator starts to leaves.

***

The low elevator hum puts Gavin in a better mood than he thought, he glances over to Simon who returns them before rolling his eyes and silently chuckles. Tina on the other hand is not amused. She leans over to him again and whispers silently.

“Seriously?! All that to impress Clueless Mc-Blondielocks?!”

Gavin jumps slightly. He eyes Simon, hoping he hadn’t heard anything. He didn’t

“Get off my tits, Ching ching!”

Tina huffed and left it at that. Surprised Hank didn’t sound his opinions.

the elevator dinged as they reached the top floor. the roof. What they saw was beyond words. An oriental garden filled with a built in lake and Asian influenced paths, bridges, and a lake island with a rose trellis. 

Standing on the lake island is an African woman in cyan and turquoise robes. She had an elegant air to her as she tends to the roses.

She turns and smile. But it seems somewhat malevolent than sincere. 

“Anderson...”

“Stern”

She turns around, focusing on the roses again.

“What brings you here?”

“You know what...”

Sterns stops. And turns again.

“I do...”

Gavin’s hands readied on his holster. But Hank signals him to stand down.

“Which one of your men did it?”

“One of my sons. Richard.”

“Why...”

The elevator dings again indicating someone is entering the floor.

“Speak of the devil. Why don’t you ask him yourself?” 

Everyone simultaneously turns around. The colour in Gavin’s face drained to pale.

The trio earlier, walked in. With the tall one in the looking straight at Gavin with his blue icy stare and his right hand gripped on to a katana pommel strapped to his belt.

“Oh, Fuck me...” Gavin thought.

Because “Richard” did not look amused.

End of Prt 2 ----> Prt 1 , Prt 3

[whenispeakicrossmyfingers]

Just finished another book so here’s the next installment of BOOKS I READ IN 2018! 

The book pictured is At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen, but I also recently read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (which I’m sure many of you already know), so this summary/recommendation will include both books! If you’re interested in my thoughts & ramblings (with minor spoilers), they’re under the cut.   

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

The premise: 16 year-old Simon Spier begins an email correspondence with Blue, the only other closeted gay kid at the school. When the emails fall into the wrong hands, Simon gets blackmailed into helping a terribly obnoxious kid so as to protect both his identity and that of Blue. 

My thoughts: This book is so fucking good!!!!!!!! I was a nervous about reading it because I had seen things about it, and seen the praise, but I was afraid I was a little too old for the age group. YA Lit is usually aimed at teens/high schoolers and I, being neither thought “oh great i’m gonna hate this and feel bad about hating it.” But BOY WAS I WRONG AND I’M SO GLAD I WAS. 

I had been in a slump of reading for another month or so. After my last books, I was caught up in teaching and then I was traveling and though I brought a book with me, I didn’t read any of it. And when I got home from traveling I was just feeling very depressed and tired of winter and France and everything. Caroline can attest to it, but I was just in a huge funk and I didn’t know how to get out of it. I was sad I couldn’t see Love, Simon in theaters and I was seeing so much hype and joy about it and I was just salty. So, in a moment of self-care, I decided to say ‘fuck it’ to saving money and I splurged for a kindle download of it (10 euros, I’m a real big spender guys). 

But anyway, I read it and it honestly cured my depression. I know we say that as a joke a lot of the time, but it well and truly did pull me out of my funk. 

Everything about this book was absolutely delightful. Getting thrown in the middle of Simon and Blue’s correspondence means that you have the power to put together how they really began it and what happened before we see it in the book. The tone was funny and Simon’s humor was very much like my own. He was a theatre nerd like I was, he loved his friends and did very normal things with them. His family was good and loving, but he was still afraid to come out to them (even though it probably wouldn’t be a big deal) and I can just relate. Also his love of Oreos surpasses even my own, and that’s something to be said. 

It deals with being outed, but it does it in a way that is still lighthearted and doesn’t drag you down completely, because Simon has so many good people on his side. It’s got tension between friends and the weird dynamics of high schoolers thinking they know things when really they have no idea what’s actually going on. 

My only pseudo-complaint is that Simon and Bram start being boyfriends very quickly. BUT, that fact is so fantastically high-school that i can’t even be mad about it. Especially because they do know each other in different ways. 

This book gave me so many fuzzy feelings, and I’m going to buy a copy as soon as I get back to the states (i have no more room in my suitcase for books). It also gave me the strength to come out to one of my sisters which was, coincidentally, right after she had seen Love, Simon. So, it’s great. Overall, read it. Please. Then talk to me about it. Thanks. 

At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen

The premise: Set in WWII, a woman (Maddie Hyde) is dragged to Scotland by her husband in attempt to find the Loch Ness Monster, find fame, and get back in his father’s good graces after he has been cut off. Tension arises between them and Maddie begins to realize that the life she thought she loved, is not quite what it appeared to be.

My thoughts: This book, I have fewer good things to say about than I did about Simon vs. This book has been on my TBR pile for over a year, and I brought it with me to France thinking I would read it, and only just now got around to it after a bout of sickness and lack of wifi. 

It’s by the author of Water for Elephants which I had read in high school and absolutely loved. So I was excited for this, particularly because it takes place in Scotland, and that’s an area of the world that I don’t know much about, but am eager to learn more. When I started it, I couldn’t get more than a few chapters into it without putting it down. It didn’t grab me right away like I was needing. But, I pushed on, and the story did get a bit better. 

The characters, first of all, are insufferable. Life in Scotland was drastically different from their high American society and they were very annoying with that sort of wake up call. I hated them all at the beginning, except for the Scots. This was no doubt the point of such characterization, so I let it slide and kept reading, hoping for some slight redemption from them. 

The main character, Maddie, whose perspective the story is told through, finally tires of her high society life of sitting by the fire reading while her husband and his best friend go off in search of the monster, and as such she starts helping out around the inn where they’re staying. This made me like her a lot better as she got to know the other women working at the inn, Meg and Anna, and also exploring the area. 

In several spots throughout the book, it seemed like she was piecing together a puzzle, but I couldn’t exactly guess what it was because the clues were very subtle, and she wasn’t particularly adept at sharing her thoughts, despite the readers being inside her head. 

Her marriage starts disintegrating, and during that time she has a growing fascination with the Innkeeper, which began after he hugged her once while she was crying. Eventually it blossomed into love, but it felt very forced. It seemed to me like a cheap way for the author to get Maddie out of her marriage while still giving her a “happy ending.” Perhaps it’s because it was set in 1945, where it was uncommon for women to be on their own, but I don’t entirely buy that. The way she realizes her love for the innkeeper (Angus) is after she word vomits all of her problems onto Meg. But up to this point it didn’t seem like anything more than an attraction--they didn’t really talk much throughout the book, until they declare their love, which I just didn’t like. 

Her husband, Ellis, however provides a very good villain. He and his best friend Hank are the definition of entitled rich boys and I wanted to give them each a good beating. Hank, at some points, sort of redeems himself, before sliding back down to being and entitled brat. Ellis however, gets much worse. There’s some vague queer coding of Ellis and Hank, but nothing is confirmed or denied. Again, probably because of the time period, but it was unsatisfying. 

I really liked the Scottish female characters, and I wish they had gotten a little more time on the page. But Maddie was very wrapped up in herself and her own problems. There were also elements of Scottish myth, particularly around the monster, that I would have liked to have explored more, because it left something wanting. 

Overall, it was okay. It was a quick read once I finally committed to it, and I’m not mad that I read it. But it’s a book that you could take or leave, in all honesty. If you want to read for yourself, go for it. Or, if you have read it, and would like to discuss some pros and cons with me, I’d love that.

Anyway, that’s the end of that. 

All my love 

[furederiko]

September 1st!!! And it's the first (of hopefully more) Random-News-Digest of the month...

Quick update before I start! Nope, my situation hasn't really improved since last time. Things are still going haywire and uncertain on my part. Which means I'm still not too sure if I will be able to post more frequently this month as well. But this is a NEW month, and I always want to start anything with a fresh and optimistic mind. So at the very least, I'm going to TRY to post more. Here's hoping... Also, expect this R-N-D to be more... 'Digest' than usual. After all, I actually decided to do this on a whimsy when I woke up this morning. You can expect things to be more shorter and compact this time around. So without further ado, let's start!!!

DC Films

The news in this category has been quite a shocker lately. Martin Scorsese wants to make a stand-alone "Joker" origin story without Jared Leto? And then there's that Leto and Margot Robbie's "Joker and Harley Quinn" movie, that is being fast-tracked to come following "Suicide Squad 2"? It's a new title that was first rumored to replace David Ayer's "Gotham City Sirens", though recent report suggests that all-female movie is STILL in development as well. To complicate matters, "Suicide Squad 2" already lost a potential director, and with Will Smith's busy schedule, it won't start production until late next year. Ouch!

Oh yeah, eventhough the movie won't arrive until April 5th, 2019, director David F. Sandberg teased that the most lighthearted DC Film movie "Shazam" will start production very soon. Yet we don't even know who's going to play Billy Batson, nor his grown-up version. While Matt Reeves is going back and forth his version of "The Batman", saying it's not part of the DCEU, and then it IS. Please make up your mind! Jon Spaihts was rumored to be re-writing "Justice League Dark", though said rumor has been cleared out by The Wrap. The irony in that, is because he was among the writer of "Doctor Strange" for Marvel Studios!!! First Joss Whedon took over Zack Snyder for "Justice League", and has officially been given a writer credit (his involvement is 33% of the movie!!!). And don't forget how Patty Jenkins used to be attached to the first Thor sequel. So Spaihts's name being thrown into the rumor zone didn't feel as 'strange'. What I'm trying to say is, I won't be surprised if more people related to Marvel Studios will end up doing DC movies for Warner Bros in the future.

Clearly, this proves that WB STILL doesn't have a plan nor idea of what they are going to do with their DC Films. A concerning truth, but is definitely far from being a surprise nowadays. I guess since the current DCEU doesn't really have a clear future (despite the success of "Wonder Woman"), WB is already thinking about creating another Universe to complement it. Perhaps, if this one works better, then they can simply erase the one that Snyder started. That's the point of "Flashpoint", right? We'll see. Yes, we'll see...

X-Men Universe

Can't believe it took this long for some people to realize that... as long as Simon Kinberg is still in charge (in ANY capacity), fans probably won't be getting the 'true' X-Men movie they have always wanted. People seems to forget that he was the writer of the disappointing "X-Men: The Last Stand", and supervised the dreaded "Fant4stic Four". Now his upcoming directorial debut, "X-Men: Dark Phoenix", which he also wrote... is already put into a giant question mark, thanks to Kinberg's recent comment.

I admit, I've grown to DESPISE the term 'grounded' in recent years, because it is (ab)used as an excuse to make shitty underwhelming products. But seriously, what good will a "Dark Phoenix" storyline get by making it... grounded? That arc is meant to be a galactic interstellar adventure, involving alien entities and otherworldly stuffs. "X3" was already its grounded version, and it did NOT work. So why bother going the same route? Is this movie 'doomed to fail' then? It's unclear. But I certainly won't be surprised if that turns out to be the case. Just remember how that grounded take on "X-Men: Apocalypse" performed...

Marvel Studios

Marvel is celebrating the late Jack Kirby's 100th birthday this week. Studio's president Kevin Feige revealed on Twitter that the upcoming "Thor: Ragnarok" is produced as a love-letter to Kirby's work. Not unlike last year's "Doctor Strange", that served as a clear tribute to Steve Ditko. Actress Evangeline Lilly also celebrated the occassion, by sharing the first official image of her character Hope van Dyne, wearing the updated Wasp suit from "Ant-Man and the Wasp".

About that last one... I totally DIG her hair-style, because Lilly always looks much better with a long hairdo instead of the one she had in the first "Ant-Man". The suit on the other hand? I'm a bit mixed. I don't know why. Perhaps because I was expecting more... yellow/gold in the color scheme? Then again, Peyton Reed and Marvel Studios might be going with Wasp's red-black scheme once again, because it's the one designed by Kirby. Especially with Janet van Dyne being in the movie (played by Michelle Pfeiffer), and the report that Michael Douglas' Hank Pym will be suiting up himself in the classic white-red costume.

The writers of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" are set to be back for the sequel! Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are also involved in "Ant-Man and the Wasp", so there's a possibility they might end up becoming the next Markus-McFeely of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Assuming all the stars are aligned, they will reunite with director Jon Watts (who was already in talks to return) to work on the first Marvel Studios after "Avengers 4" ends the current Phase 3. Here's hoping this team will keep deliver something better, without losing that irresistible youthful and innocent charm that the first movie exuded.

Marvel TV

When this post goes up, Marvel's "The Inhumans" should be arriving in IMAX theatres everywhere. Not sure if it will be available in my country, but it's surely a definite for the US region, because ABC will begin broadcasting the series on Friday, September 29th, 2017.

According to recent report, the response to its premiere was... much positive. In fact, it's a far cry to the supposed 'disaster' that occured at the Television Critics Association Panel. Is this surprising? Well... not quite. I mean, one man's trash can end up becoming another's treasure, right? So I predict that the overall review, when it officially hits, will be mixed at best. Remember, this is still Jeph Loeb's and Scott Buck's work. Each or both have ruined a show (or two, if we count that much-anticipated crossover that came out last month... or more if we put into account their past forays) before, so there's no assurance that they won't strike again. But I'm honestly glad to hear some people actually enjoying it. Hey, there's one for everyone, right?

As for me, as I said before, I personally won't be seeing this on the theatres. Based on the lackluster trailers and underwhelming clips released so far, I'll have to give it a hard pass. Beside, considering my current financial issue, wasting money for uncertain things can be considered 'suicide' anyway. I'll probably going to hold back on watching the series as well, until the reviews for all episodes are out. Thanks to my doozy experience with the recent Netflix 'crossover mini-series', I'm going to be extra cautious with Marvel TV now. Because really, spending 8 hours for a boring and/or disappointing show felt like a tremendous waste of time. Doing so isn't going to do me any good.

QUICK UPDATE: Embargo for the full reviews hasn't been lifted when I wrote and upped this essay into queue. Those reviews have been made available NOW on various sites, and well... turns out it's as BAD as many initially said. Since I'm too lazy to modify the entire category (although it's only 3 short paragraphs LOL), this note will do just fine as a follow up. My original writing sounded more 'positive' anyways. LOL.

Meanwhile, things are looking A LOT better for Marvel's "Runaways". It seems response for the first episodes was more than great. It is currently being praised as very faithful to the source material, despite its various 'tweaks' (for example, one character was a mutant in the comic, but the copyrights prevent that to exist in live action adaptation). Not that it should be a surprise anyway. When the writer of the comic is directly in charge as consultant, we know that at least things are going to be close to the comics. Might this be the Marvel show to wait for this year? Probably, but I digress. I'm still going to be approaching this one with extra caution. If recent Marvel TV shows are any indications, then we can't really expect it to be... evenly balanced. Some of them had okay to good run in the first half, only to falter into a massive dud in the later half. Yes, even "LEGION", and the 4th season of Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.". They started out strong, but ended rather... disappointingly. Considering the same people behind them are also supervising this, said similar treatment can also apply to "Runaways"...

Netflix

It's already September, and I haven't finished Marvel's "The Defenders" yet. How come? The mini-series surprisingly BORED the hell out of me! A full review for it was meant to go up as my first post of September (yes, this R-N-D is its last minute replacement). That's the initial plan anyway, because I still haven't seen the last two episodes. Seriously though, when you've already lost any single urge to do it, there's nothing else you can do right?

Thanks to that, the internet had already spoiled me about what's going to happen to Simone Missick's Misty Knight. I don't even need to READ the whole article to figure out what will become of her... right hand. Yes, the headline already gave it away, and my minor knowledge of the character in the comics was more than enough to lead me to said conclusion. And then the image spreading on social media solidified it. Mind you, I still don't know how or what caused her to lose that body part. My quick and easy guess? Likely by Bakuto, considering up to episode 6, Misty had only spoken with one particular supporting character from the other series: Jessica Henwick's Colleen Wing. And it's also about her... KATANA, as if it's not obvious enough. Expect Misty to be armed with a prosthetic arm in the 3rd Season Marvel's "Luke Cage".

Yep, if you're like me, hoping for a "Heroes for Hire" show that includes the Daughters of Dragon... then we might as well swallow that wishful thinking. Why? It probably won't happen until the 2nd Season of Marvel's "Iron Fist" is out. Going by math alone, that means we have to wait another 26 episodes, and at least another two years. New season for "Luke Cage" will likely arrive in 2018, while the one for "Iron Fist" might probably land in 2019. Yeah, two years indeed. This is why you can't really expect much when it comes to Marvel TV... *sigh*

"Stranger Things" released a set of character posters for its 2nd Season. They cover the returning cast, as well as the new additions. What's interesting about these posters, is the strong nod to Steven Spielberg! And being a series set in the 80s, that folded-magazine style is also pretty neat. I hope this 2nd season will be as great as the 1st, and unlike most other Netflix shows.

One more thing! It's a rather old news, but worth bringing up. Netflix is currently collaborating with TOEI Animation, to remake the popular shounen-series "Saint Seiya". Titled "Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya", the new series will be created in full CG style. If you're curious on how that might look, think of it like several parts of TOEI's "Precure Dream Star!" movie that was done completely in CG, or their recent "Sekaisuru KADO" series. The latter in particular, already has a character design that's looking VERY Saint Seiya-ish (could it be intended as the warm-up to this one, then? probably). First season will be 12 episodes of 30 minutes, and will cover the "Galaxy War" to the "Silver Saint" Arcs. Yoshiharu Ashino is directing the new series, Eugene Son is the story editor and head writer, Terumi Nishii will be handling the character design, while Takashi Okazaki is doing the armors.

This news is intriguing, because it can end up heading towards into two different territory: actually good, or downright Bad. The latest "Sailor Moon" reboot that immediately divide old and new fans, is a great example of said situation. "Saint Seiya" is among the beloved titles to those growing up in the late 80s, so you can imagine their negative reactions if this remake doesn't suit their taste. The series doesn't have a fixed release date for now, but I believe we can expect it to arrive on Spring 2018. My only hope is that it retains Shingo Araki's anime style compared to Masami Kurumada's manga ones, because it has been pretty much the 'signature' of the series for the fans.

Disney XD Series

I saw the one-hour premiere of the "DuckTales" reboot not long after it aired, and great goodness... I'm LOVING it. I used to have a minor issue with the voices of the nephews before, but that concern quickly faded away when the story started rolling. It's just so engaging and fun to watch! My only complaint, is that it takes too long for the next episodes to start airing. But we're now in September, so September 23rd is just around 20 days away. Shall we start counting down for more Scrooge McDuck's adventure, then? I wonder if Disney XD will debut the first episode of "Big Hero 6 the Series" in advance too? Hmmm....

Pocket Monsters

"Pokemon GO" has been greeted by Legendary Birds Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos, and Lugia last month. Starting yesterday, August 31st, 2017, Niantic has continued the streak with the Legendary Dogs Entei, Raikou, and Suicine. Unlike the Birds, these ones are going to show up as region-based for a particular duration. Entei will be in the Europe and Africa region, Raikou in the America, and Suicine in Asia-Pacific. They will then switch places on September 30th, 2017.

This is great news, right? NOT exactly. While I DID feel overjoyed when the Legendaries were first announced, what came next was nothing more than disappointments. The fact that Niantic is focusing too much on Raid Battles to debut these special Pokemon, had caused inconveniences to some (if not MANY) of its players. Sad to say, yours truly is included in this cluster.

Here's the deal. In order to capture ONE Legendary, it first needs to be defeated in a Raid Battle. Unlike normal Raids, it's a group effort that requires around 15-20 players to be on the spot at the same time, working together to take one down. So what happens when you're a player... living in an area, that does NOT have the privilege of having at least the minimum number of players? You can only bite your nails while grunting and sighing with disappointments, because there's really NOTHING you can do. I've lost count how many 'futile attempts' I've done, singlehandedly (seriously, because there's NOBODY around) trying to defeat one. I've now arrived to the point where I simply couldn't care less about any of them anymore. Which is sad, because I was sort of hoping "Pokemon GO" would be there to help me go through my current situation. I mean, when that role has been surprisingly taken over by a repetitive, kid-oriented game called "Magikarp, Jump!"... That's saying much, right?

Of course, this shouldn't be an issue if "Pokemon GO" is still enjoyable as a single-player experience. Players who can't capture a Legendary, could still focus on doing anything else. Problem is, there's NOTHING much to do beside that. Niantic is too focused on the multiplayer 'Team Gameplay' aspect of this game, that it neglects those who play individually (whether by choice, or who are simply forced by circumstances... like yours truly). The new 'Gym System' was nice, but lately I've noticed a concerning trend: the turnaround has gradually becoming very slow. Many Gyms in my area, have Pokemon with ZERO motivations. Worse, they are stranded there for days (I can personally attest to this, because mine are among them!). That means many players no longer visit the Gyms. To put it simply, this game is just not... FUN anymore for everyone. Only for the 'privileged'.

Niantic can actually fix this, by start releasing Generation III as soon as possible. Adding a horde of new Pokemon, even if not all of them (honestly, releasing 10 new species per month would be a fun options), will give these 'unfortunate players' a renewed 'purpose' to go out and play the game. Otherwise, it's really a dry boring-ish land. IMHO, Niantic could and should've tried another method with the Legendary Dogs by... I don't know... letting them in the wild, like what happened in the core "Pokemon Gold, Silver & Crystal" games. Then again, it's probably too much to ask for. I mean, Niantic doesn't even allow something as simple as having these Legendaries added as silhouettes to the Pokedex after encountering them. And that's the only thing I've been hoping for... *sigh*. For now, unless Niantic shakes things up big time, my days with the App is numbered. And I'm going to be just another entry to the long list of players who have already walked out due to disappointments...

One more thing for "Pokemon". A quick detour to the TV side! Kanto Gym Leaders and Satoshi's former travel companions Kasumi and Takeshi (or Misty and Brock in the US version)... are coming to Alola this month!!! Many fans are obviously pleased to hear this! After they have been unceremoniously snubbed in the 20th Anniversary movie "Eiga Pocket Monster, Kimi ni Kimeta!", they are set to show up in the series instead. Takeshi in particular, is the character I've been waiting for. After all, his VA Yuuji Ueda is still a crucial part in the series as the voice of Sonansu/Wobbuffet, so he could actually show up a lot more! This pair will be making their Alolan guest appearances on the September 14th and 21st episodes. Which got me thinking: How awesome will it be if Satoshi's other travel friends show up at the same time too, right?

Street Fighter

"Street Fighter V" has welcomed its 5th DLC character for Season 2. As speculated and rumored before, it's indeed Menat, the Eyes of the Future. She is also confirmed to be the apprentice of Rose, by the way. This makes her the first completely NEW character to the franchise, because Kolin, Ed, and Abigail have all showed up before in other games. Judging from her quick and... arguably pointless appearance in Ed's Story Mode, Menat has a fantastic Egyptian-themed design. The mummy queen alternate costume however? Yeeesh. You can check out her reveal trailer online, or you can just get her right away because she's already available since early this week.

Menat's arrival after Abigail, pretty much confirms the identity of the 6th and final DLC character: Guy's teacher, Zeku. His name was already leaked before by Event Hubs' Flowtron, and his report has been proven to be on point until now. So I guess all we need to wait is CAPCOM's official announcement, right? Seeing the release pattern (Ed on May 30th, Abigail on July 25th, Menat on August 29th), we can probably expect this last Season 2 character to arrive later this month, if not late October. So tell me, are you excited about Zeku?

[ilvsyzj]

Chapter Fifteen: Full of Surprises Part 1.

12/7/2020, Monday, History Class.

     We did our usual routine. Today’s class is going to be full of surprises because my father loves telling stories and it’s going to be a long day. The good news that my father opened all the windows to let some fresh air, because today my father is going to continue talking about the bloody wars. My desk there was a a bottle of sparkling water and some sour plums. There’s a note from my father, “Please eat them when you start to feel nauseous. Love, Dad.” My father had always been sweet. Even though, my father and I don’t talk very often his small gestures are noticed by me and my family. 

Mr. Tam: Okay, let’s continue with our History lesson from last week. The last bit of the wars are very bloody. Approximately, 1.5 million humans died in the wars. Why? Because the wars  through out the years are between Mythical Creatures and the Humans. This war has been going on for centuries. There has been multiple treaties that has been signed and broken throughout the centuries. Because there’s always someone who is unhappy with the treaty. Either it’s a mythical creature or human. Someone will always start trouble. Just last year we signed a treaty with Her Royal Highness Wendy Ang. She is the queen of the humans. This treaty is still on going but throughout the months that this treaty that was going on, there are protests. The humans are happy with the treaty but the mythical creatures are not. The treaty is for the mythical creatures. The mythical creatures aren’t allow to go to the Mortal Kingdom, because if any mythical creatures goes into the Mortal Kingdom, they would go into their primal state and they will start killing the humans. The humans are very happy that none of the mythical creatures can come to the Mortal Kingdom, but the mythical creatures aren’t happy. Because some mythical creatures are rogues. Such as rogue vampires, rogue werewolves, rogue fairies, and rogue witches. The King You is doing everything to keep the rogues under control. But sometime rogues don’t listen to the King. Those who doesn’t listen to the King will normally do whatever they want. That includes attacking mythical creatures and humans. The rogue werewolves and rogue vampires would bite their victims and turn humans into half breeds. Rogue fairies would hypnotize their victims to fall in love with them, and turn their victims into sex slaves. The most horrible thing about these rogue fairies is that if their victims don’t do what these rogue fairies wants them to do, the rogue fairies will eat their victims. 

Jazzy: -gags, take a sip of sparking water, and eat a sour plum- 

Mr. Tam: The worst is that rogue witches will turn their victims into toads, snails, and bats. Then the rogue witches will use these toads, sails, and bats in their potions. So the treaty states, that rogue werewolves, rogue vampires, rogue, fairies, and rogue witches can’t go into the Mortal Kingdom to get their next victims or meals. The humans can’t come to Mythical Kingdom and kill every single mythical creatures they come across. After the treaty was sign things has been peaceful. But peace doesn’t last long and the rogues are getting restless. So they decided to attack their own kind. This Peace Between Mythical Creatures and Humans was signed on 12/3/2019. It was signed on Mythical Kingdom. So, today I’m going to give you guys a project. I have in my hand are the Counsel reports of our A+ Rank Mission. I’m going to hand these reports out and you’re to read it. From what you read in these reports, I want you to come up with a blue print that you can use in the future. You can write down any problems that you see in our reports, and find better solutions to these problems. That’s the first part of your project. The second part of your project is to write a 5 page paper on how you will refine the peace treaty of mythical creatures and humans. You never know the King might like your ideas and he might use them in the future. Any questions?

R.M.C. Members: No Sir. 

Mr. Tam: Okay. That is all for today. You’re all dismissed. 

   We all return to the Common Room. Had lunch, cleaned up, and the Healers returned to their classes. The R.M.C. members went to our Work Study. We did our history project. The first thing we did was read the directions in our iPads. Then we read the report. What my father didn’t tell us is that this report was going to gruesome. The first idea that came to my head was when we write our reports, we don’t need to describe the attacks that gruesome. I wrote down my first idea. As we continue to read the reports we can see that there was a need of improvements. Such as how to protect our clients better. In the report all 30 members of the Royal Court was assembled and was escorting Her Royal Highness Wendy Ang to Mythical Kingdom. The problem is that the Royal Court made too easy for the enemy to attack. The better way to escort a client is to have smaller guards surround the client, while the other members would be on the look out. So, when there is an attack the main group would be warn ahead of time. The second problem was that the Royal Court took the same route that they started. A better way is to take a different route to get to their destination. That way the enemy can’t find their scents. We also found out that 10 of the Healers were killed. Those 10 Healers were the Royal Court’s soul mates. Those 10 Healers were killed by rogue werewolves. Since Healers only can heal and they can’t fight back, they didn’t stand the chance against the rogue werewolves. Rogue werewolves likes to seek out the weakest links in the Royal Court. And Healers are the weakest links. We came up a better plan and that is to have no Healers, but use the potions that we make ourselves to heal ourselves. 

    Phil, Simon, Chris, Kevin, Charlie, Vincent, John, Hank, Jeff, and Nick were crying. Because their mothers were Healers and they were on the mission last year. Their mother were all killed by the Rogue Werewolves. Those wounds has never been completely healed yet. So we stop our work. I told them if they want to talk about it, they can speak freely. But all of shook their heads. So, I let the subject drop. We continue our work. Our project is going to be due on at the end of week 6. So we have four weeks left to do it. But today we are just writing down our ideas. 

Sky: What are the ideas have you guys written down?

Jazzy: I wrote down three ideas. 1) Instead of having the entire group escort the client, it should be one group escorting the client and everyone else is spread out and those who are spread out are the look outs. 2) Healers stays behind and only use potions that we make to heal ourselves. 3) The road that we start out can’t be use again when we are coming back. We have to take an different route. 

R.M.C. Members: Mhm.

Sky: All of us have the same ideas. 

R.M.C. Members: Mhm. 

Phil: But three ideas aren’t going to be enough. I think there are more problems in the report we can do better. 

R.M.C. Members: Mhm. 

Sky: Based on the report, there’s an mistake that they made and that mistake is that they didn’t bring enough weapons. In the future we should bring enough weapons. 

R.M.C. Members: Mhm.

Phil: Another problem is that the Counsel with the elements did most of the work. Plus the Counsel with the elements are using their powers for short range. They were wore out by the time they are done killing the Rogue Werewolves. When we do these A+ Rank Missions the Element users will be in the back and Non-Element users are in the front. Because spell casting is better for long range than close range. 

R.M.C. Members: Mhm. 

William: I also found that they were using too many horses, and all of the Royal Court was transformed into their werewolves forms. In the future we should only have one carriage and two horses. The rest of us would not transform into our werewolves forms. We walk in our human forms because we can get into battle faster. It took the Royal Court a full 5 minutes to react. We need to react faster. 5 minutes is too slow. 

R.M.C. Members: Mhm. 

Sam: Okay, so lets do a draft blue print first then when we find more we’ll add more to the draft. If we find there’s no other problems then we’ll draw up the final blue print. Agree?

R.M.C. Members: Agree. 

    I was reading other stuff that was in the report and I found out that my father was an Element user. I never seen my father used his powers. So finding out that his powers was fire just like me. I was very surprised. The most surprising thing was my father didn’t use his powers during the attack. The reason in the report was that he was sick, so sick that he couldn’t use his powers. When I read that, my gut told me that the report was a lie. My mother was at the mission and she was a healer, but she wasn’t hurt. Which I’m thankful for. But there something else that was off, it said that my mother was the first to sense that there was danger. But in the report said that my mother couldn’t sense anything until danger was 5 feet upon them. I find that weird. 

Jazzy: Why would my parents have such poor response time? 

Rich: Maybe they were off that day.

Jazzy: It just doesn’t seem like them. As I was a child mom would always on time, and she can sense if I, or Jess, or dad was in trouble or not. As for dad, even though, I never saw my dad use his powers. But when we were camping, it will only take dad 2 seconds to light a fire. I just don’t get it. 

Rich: Oooo! -excited- We have a mystery on our hands. :)

Sky: No we don’t. If we seek out the truth then we have to report it to the King. Mr. and Mrs. Tam can get into a lot of trouble. They can be executed. 

Phil: Sky’s right. It’s best to keep things in the past. 

Jazzy: But what if my gut is telling me to seek out the truth?

    Before anyone can answer my father walked into the Common Room with my mother. 

Jazzy: Dad! Mom! What are you two doing here? 

Mrs. Tam: I sensed that you have questions for us. So we came to help you understand. What happened in the past. You all deserve to know the truth. 

Sky: What about my father? 

Mr. Tam: The King knew about the truth. Before you today. The King gave Mrs. Tam and I a second chance. We are here to tell you guys the truth so you guys can learn from our mistakes. Also, not to let happened in the future again. 

Sky: I don’t believe that my father knows. 

     Just the King showed up out of no where. 

Sky: Dad! What are you doing here?

King You: I’m here because you never believe what other people says that I know something. The only time you’ll believe people is when I’m sitting in front of you. 

Sky: I have a hard time believing people because they can make something up. I’m afraid that if Mr. and Mrs. Tam tell us what really happen and Sebastian hears about it. Then he’s going to have to report to you, and before anyone knows it Mr. and Mrs. Tam will be gone in a blink of eye. Having you in the same room while they talk, I feel better because I know you were here, and you witness it. Sebastian has the ability to spread rumors about other people. Plus he lives 20 minutes away from here. I also I don’t trust Sebastian. Once he spread rumors, Jazzy is going hear about it and everyone is going down her. I don’t want that. 

King You: I understand that. I was there last year. So the truth is Mr. and Mrs. Tam wasn’t locked up in the Mortal Kingdom. They didn’t even come home until 2 weeks later. Why? Because it was Sebastian’s idea to have them stay in the Mortal Kingdom for an extra 2 weeks. While the rest went home. Sebastian said that it was quicker to go back to the Mythical Kingdom the same way we came to Mortal Kingdom. But it was an trap that was set up by Sebastian. I knew that it was trap since we started our mission, because Sebastian is after the crown. Also, at the end of the report, it was signed by Sebastian. Your grandfather didn’t really read the reports. So, he didn’t know that Sebastian was scheming. Your grandfather believed everything that was written in the report. He didn’t even question why Jazzy’s parents didn’t return until 2 weeks later. Your grandfather just toss the report to the side, and just said, “Good job.” I had a gut feeling that Sebastian gave your grandfather some excuse. And your grandfather believed him. 

Jazzy: Why did Sebastian make my parents stay at Mortal Kingdom for an extra 2 weeks?

Mr. Tam: Because Sebastian thought the humans was going to riot after we left, and after the treaty was signed. Your mom and I didn’t want argue with Sebastian, because we didn’t want to anger him. He was our Lieutenant. So we listen to people who is a higher rank then we were. The truth was there wasn’t any riots after the Peace Treaty was signed. Your mom and I helped the humans rebuild their homes, schools, office building, and parks. When we left the humans was very happy. We wrote our reports that Sebastian nor the previous King read, they just toss it to the side. We went about our way. 

Jazzy: Where is the real report?

King You: Sebastian burned it. There’s no other copy. 

Sky: So, in the future when we take a A+ Rank Mission we have to choose carefully. 

King You: Not that. From now on make sure you screen people. I know you trust your teammates now, but you should be on your guard among friends because they will change over time, and they will eventually stab you in the back. So, when you assign them work, make sure you listen to each other and follow your gut. If something seems out of place act on it. Don’t just brush it off. 

R.M.C. Members: Understood. 

Mr.  Tam: Don’t make the same mistakes that we made. We made a lot of mistakes in the past. You’re only reading one report. The Royal Court Library has a lot of a lot of our reports, some of them are written by Sebastian but most of them are written by your father, myself, and the other Royal Court members. But please heed this warning, don’t look for trouble. Whatever Sebastian written in the reports leave them be, and do better in the future. Sky is right. Leave things in the past. If Sebastian finds out that you are looking for trouble, he would come after you. Understand?

R.M.C. Members: Understood. 

Jazzy: What is Sebastian?

King You: Sebastian is a very powerful Rogue Sorcerer. No one can beat him. So don’t piss him off. If you do he will make your life a living hell. If he tells you do something, just do it and don’t ask questions. 

R.M.C. Members: Understood. 

Rich: I guess that surprise test on Sunday was to see if we would define him. 

King You: Yes. Sebastian loves to give surprise tests. Just do them and pass them. Don’t talk back to him. Do as he says. Also, it helps you get better tracking skills. It will help you in the future. 

Mr. Tam: Mhm. 

Mrs. Tam: Sebastian is an evil dude, but the guy does have amazing tracking skills. You have to admit. 

Mr. Tam and King You: Mhm. 

Jazzy: I guess, I got mom’s powers. Because I read people like a book. 

Mr. Tam: No. You got that from your grandfather from your mom’s side. He can sense people like they were books with just one glance. Also, your grandfather from your mom side can read minds. You haven’t experienced that yet. But you will as your power grows. If you can’t control the mind reading power you’re going to get a very large headache. 

Mrs. Tam: My father can control it, but sometimes when he read’s too many minds he does get headaches. Don’t read too many minds at once. You will get those headaches as well. That will put you in bed for the rest of your life. 

Jazzy: Understood. 

King You: Mediation is good for you. Do more. 

R.M.C. Members: Mhm. 

   After getting all these information from the King and my parents. We had a better understanding about the situation. All three of them left and we ate dinner, than we cleaned up and went to bed. But after I showered I felt something was wrong with me. I began to have cramps and feeling feverish. I have know idea what was wrong with me. 

-To be Continue- 

[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.