#nonverbal reed900

[rjhpandapaws]

Maybe some cottage/farm living between mutually nonverbal Nines and Gavin? (Meaning they're both nonverbal). Congrats on 160 followers! You totally deserve it! ^^

//Ooh! I love this! Also thank you <33 //Best read when listening to Marbles by the Amazing Devil

Life was easy like this, they lived quietly in a literal sense as much as the metaphorical; and looking back after all these years it was still a warm feeling for Gavin. It hadn’t always been that way of course. What they had was a combination of patience from Richard, and Gavin being too stubborn for his own good a majority of the time, paired of course with the years that had passed them by. When Gavin had moved to Lovelock he hadn’t been used to quiet, Detroit was always alive and loud. There was always something happening. Gavin resembled that well, he was raucous and persistent. Lovelock was the opposite, there was a McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Library, public school with a high school to match, a public pool, and a single stoplight. It was quiet, and so was his neighbor Richard. If you could consider someone who lived six miles away from you as your neighbor anyway. They didn’t get along at first. Which again, was mostly on Gavin. Richard was friendly and didn’t seem to want anything in return, which in Detroit meant trouble. So reasonably, in his own opinion, Gavin pushed back. He was harsher than was probably needed, and at times when so far as to actively ignore Richard’s advice. Which turned out was not a good idea when you knew fuck all about running a farm.

Richard didn’t talk to him. It was infuriating for a reason that Gavin couldn’t place. All this effort to be neighborly, but never a word, and Gavin talked a lot. There were a lot of things to talk about, Lovelock was wildly different from Detroit. Largely because usually the biggest thing going on at all was football season in the fall and going to church on Sundays. Nothing ever happened here and it was driving Gavin up a wall. Every time he had said this to Richard he would smile and roll his eyes. There were things of course that he liked about Lovelock, like how he could see the stars at night, that people minded their own business, and in the morning he was almost guaranteed a hand written note from Richard explaining how to fix something Gavin had complained about, or talking about something that had reminded him of Gavin. While Richard’s lack of conversation skills annoyed Gavin to no end, his constant presence was nice. Knowing that if he ever needed anything, there was someone down the road that could help him. He never would have thought that the tables would turn. That there would be a time when Richard needed him. The thing about quiet neighbors was there was no indicator of something being wrong, not that Gavin would have been able to tell from six miles away anyhow. It took three days for him to notice something was up, well wasn’t actually; for three days the red flag on his mailbox had been down. Richard hadn’t sent him anything in three days. The letters had been the one near constant thing since Gavin had moved to this town in the middle of who fucking knew where. So on day three he got in his car and made his way to Richard’s house to investigate.

His neighbor wasn’t outside, which was unusual. Richard was always working on something, it was the one thing that ever made noise. So like an absolute creep Gavin checked the windows of the farm house. It was empty for the most part until he got to the bedroom, there was a person shaped lump under the blankets. Under a lot of blankets, which was concerning considering as it was hot as all fuck out. He had his answer, Richard was sick, he could leave. Instead he walked back around to the front of the house. It was cliché, but while he was looking for the spare key he did look under the welcome mat. It wasn’t there, Richard had cleverly hidden it in a realistic looking beehive. Which Gavin only learned was the home of the key as well as fake by accidentally knocking it over. While he was waiting to get viscously mauled by bees he realized that the hive had jingled on its way down, beehives didn’t do that. So like the genius he was known to be, he picked up the hive and shook it just to be safe. It was plastic and there was definitely something in it. He reached inside and came away with a key. He set the beehive back where he had knocked it over from and made his way inside. The house was still and quiet in a way that he had come to associate with Richard. His Australian Shepard Micky left the room to investigate and her tail started wagging at the sight of Gavin. Normally she would have been outside running around, so Gavin let her outside before he continued on his way to Richard. 

He made his way back to the room Micky had come out of assuming that if she had been in there than Richard probably was as well. Sure enough, his guess lead him to the person shaped lump on the bed. He peeked in from the doorway trying to gage if Richard was awake or asleep. He didn’t want to intrude if Richard was asleep, that was where he drew the line. Which was probably a few steps too far considering as he had more or less just broken into Richard’s house, well he used the spare key but still, it wasn’t exactly like he had permission to be there. “Richard?” He called into the room because apparently he felt like being all kinds of asshole today, “Are you okay?” He got either a groan or a hum in response and the lump on the bed moved. It took a long moment before blue eyes stared at him from the cocoon of blankets. He was awake at the very least so Gavin stepped into the room. “I haven’t heard from you in a while and I was getting worried.” He explained. Blue eyes narrowed and the cocoon shuffled around a bit more until Richards hands were visible and he started signing, ‘Only Sick. You Not Have Worry.’ “Do you need help around here? While you recover?” He pressed. Richard paused for a moment before he replied, ‘If It Not Trouble.’ “I wouldn’t be here if it was.” He said with a smile.

After that week things between them were different. With the knowledge that Gavin at the very least understood Sign Language Richard became more talkative. They became friends and when he told Tina she and Chris put money down on how long it would last. She didn’t believe Richard would keep him around for long, he was loud and different after all. The thing was he wasn’t as loud anymore, he was signing a lot more now. It allowed for easier conversations with Richard which was nice. Three years went by until Gavin gathered enough courage to be honest with himself, and another six months for him to be honest with Richard. They became an item after that, which wasn’t as much of an issue as he thought it would be in such a small town. It was two years before Gavin sold his property and moved in with Richard. Time rolled by after that, and somewhere in the years Gavin stopped talking all together. There was no need for it when everything that needed to be expressed could be said in a look or a gesture. It was easy, natural by now. Even when enough time had rolled by that the deep brown of Richard’s hair that Gavin had loved had gone white and neither of them could do the hard work they once had, Gavin found he loved Richard just as much still. Even now, when neither of them had much of a mind left and it was like meeting him all over again everyday. With everything still unspoken, by the end of the day they were in love all over again.

@rk-frog

(Prompt from this list)

[mpmwrites]

“stop making empty promises!” or “maybe in another world.” for Hankvin || or || “i love you.” and “well, it’s the thought that counts.” for reed900

Hey I did them all! They’re already up on AO3, but here they are together! Partners, Hurt, Lesson, and Enough

Partners

“Oh, you dick!” Gavin seethed with mock annoyance. “It’s afuckin’ partner game, you just intentionally knocked me out!” He complained,straightening before slumping back into the couch at Hank’s side. Hank chuckedat his frustration and sat back too as the chime of coins being awarded to themblipped on the screen.

“It’s just fucking Mario Party, Gav. We both get coinseither way.” He sported a genuine smile at Gavin, both from the company and therare time they got to just have fun together.

“Yeah, but we’re still losing! I refuse to fucking letDaisy beat me.” Gavin explained as he leaned forward to take his turn.

“Us, beat us. Partner game.” Hank goaded, smilingto himself.

“Fuck off.” Gavin scowled as the mini-game screenappeared.

“Oh I’m good at this one.” Hank smirked, Gavinglared sideways at him.

“You’re only good at it because I’m not.”

“That might be true, but it’s kind of funny how shityou are at the timing games.” Hank said as the game started with arhythmic whistle. A cheerful song played and they began trying to punctuate thenotes with shakes of their controllers. Gavin missed the first, and the second,and didn’t fail to notice how Hank got each of them perfectly. On the thirdone, he elbowed Hank quickly. “Hey, asshole. That’s cheating.”

“Maybe.” He leaned against Hank on the fourthpass, harsher, but grinning. “You the Mario Party Police?”

“Gavin, you can fuck with me all you want, but you’restill gonna lose this one.” Hank chuckled, shrugging the smaller man awayfrom him forcefully. Gavin fell to the cushions in an overly dramatic reaction,laughing with mirth as he stretched his sock-covered feet into Hank’s lap and accidentally made Hank drop thecontroller.

“Doesn’t mean you’re gonna win.” he shrugged when Hankswung an incredulous look on him. The shit-eating grin he held barely abatedhis laughter at Hank’s shock.

“I’m gonna kick your ass next time we playversus.” Hank promised, giving a weak punch to Gavin’s thigh beforepushing his feet back onto the floor. Gavin took the hint and sat back up,their shoulders pressed together comfortably.

“Stop making empty promises.” Gavin teased as Hankstarted his next dice roll and he let his head drop to Hank’s shoulder.

Hurt

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Gavin laughed,rolling his eyes, though he felt like shaking apart from a different emotionentirely. Hank didn’t answer immediately, and Gavin was yelling again,“This whole time, this whole fuckingtime you’ve been planning this, haven’t you?!” Shirtless, he flicked ahand through his hair,  his other fisttensing and digging short nails into the heel of his palm. “Just leadingme on until you thought you didn’t have a goddamn choice!”

“I never fucking lied to you, Gav.” Hank’s voice,though he wasn’t yelling, was obviously straining to keep his tone even andrestrained. “You knew about Nat before we even started this shit.” Heavoided eye contact, knowing that it would only make this whole thing worse. Justlooking at Gavin in just those navy sweatpants that he liked to put on, withnothing underneath, when he knew Hank was coming over was enough to shootanother bolt of guilt through him. He felt too warm, but knew taking off hisjacket would be some kind of concession, one he couldn’t allow himself.

“Yeah I fuckin’ knew! Fuck, I’m so fuckingstupid.” Gavin seethed, beginning to pace on the sealed concrete floors ofhis reclaimed apartment. Hank watched the way his shoulders flexed with pent upanger and had to forcibly ignore the pang of lust that the sight ignited.

“Don’t say that. It’s my damn fault.” Hankadmitted. “I shouldn’t have let this go so fucking far.” Because,that was really the truth of it. He was dating Natalie for only two weeksbefore Gavin had transferred into central, and had been precariously balancingthe two of them for two months before he caved and let Gavin blow him after adinner date with Nat. He knew then, that Nat was maybe who he could settle downwith, but he wasn’t gonna be able to just walk away from Gavin.

He told Gavin a week after he proposed that they should stopall of it. Gavin answered by dragging him to his bedroom and keeping him up allnight. Part of Hank wanted this argument to end the same way. A big part of him.

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have.” Gavin wasn’t yellinganymore, but he breathed spite. “Takes two to fucking tango.”

“Yeah, and when there’s three you start tripping overeach other’s feet.” Hank bit back. “I tried this months ago, Gavin.I’m fucking sorry that you wouldn’tlet me, and that I couldn’t make myself actually do it.” He sighed. Gavinstopped moving, looking at his feet with his arms wrapped around his chest.Hank recognized the same look from that night exactly eight and a half monthsago, because Gavin looked so small and hurt and that was exactly why Hank wasdoing it all over again. Gavin was trying to hide all of it from Hank, and Hankwas pretty sure the worst part of it was the fact the he could see Gavin falling apart from theinside.  "She doesn’t deserve this,Gavin, you have to know that.“

"Yeah, and I fucking do.” The final word came out as a sob and Gavin flinched atthe restraint that failed him. He raised a furious palm to his face to rub hiseyes. “Fuck.” He cursed at himself, turning away from Hank. Hankmoved closer anyway, standing just behind Gavin and feeling like an ass. Which,he knew, he definitely was.

“You don’t.” Was all Hank could think to say.Gavin spun on him, all wet cheeks and fury as he shoved Hank as hard as hecould.

“If you really fucking believed that, this wouldn’t behappening. I don’t know what the fuck you thought was going to happen tonight, Anderson.” That solidified thetruth for Hank, and he knew enough just to keep his mouth shut. “Did youthink that you were gonna show up and tell me this and I was just gonna smileand nod?! Maybe in another world, Hank! I don’t give a fuck about her feelings!I don’t fucking care if this is the right thing to do! I’m selfish and I’msaying that this isn’t fucking okay! You can’t make it be okay! She doesn’t even have a goddamn clue about any ofthis and I’m the one that has to just fucking sit here and be the one leftbehind while you get your shitty white fucking fence!” His voice grewhoarse as he ranted, a deep red flush traveling down his neck.

Hank wanted to yell back. He wanted to tell Gavin that thisdidn’t feel good for him either. He needed Gavin to know that he was right, andthis wasn’t fair. He wanted Gavin to hurtthe way he was; to tell him that Gavin wasn’t capable of committing the waythat she was, and that’s what Hank had been waiting to see in Gavin over thepast two years.

He didn’t say anything as Gavin panted, waiting for aretort.

He stepped closer, and planted a kiss on Gavin’s cheek, andsaid goodbye.

Lesson

Gavin smiled as RK manipulated the fingers on his righthand. Sitting across from the android at Starbucks, they’d taken their lunchbreak as another lesson in communication. Learning sign was easy enough, butGavin struggled with matching his expressions properly to the motion of hishands. True, there were times when he had to ask RK to fingerspell a sign hehadn’t learned yet, or encourage him to slow down, please, but they weregetting there.

Pointer, pinky, and thumb extended, RK released his hand, satisfiedwith its arrangement.

“What’s that mean?” Gavin spoke.

‘I, L, Y’ the successive letters came in quick response. Ifall letters were presented at the same time, it formed the sign that Gavin hadbeen shown. Gavin waited for further explanation.

RK pointed to himself, crossed his arms, and then pointed toGavin.

Gavin started back at his honest expression, not surewhether or not this was all a genuine confession or simply a lesson he waslooking to closely at. After a beat, RK was signing frantically, his eyesshifting way nervously and Gavin caught less than half of what he was saying.

“Slow down, I can't…” Gavin protested, shaking hishead. “RK.” He tried again, his voice louder. The android froze,looking stunned. “You serious?” He implored carefully.

‘Gavin, I love you.’ RK repeated, frowning slightly. 'I’msorry.’

“You don’t have to be sorry.” Gavin sighed,“I love you too.”

Enough

Gavin swung opened his front door as he took off his jacket,tossing it on the recliner nearby and toeing off his shoes quickly.“Hey,” He greeted the android currently seated on his couch,engrossed in something on Gavin’s portable. Rafe didn’t move in the slightest,offing no greeting. Gavin moved over to the couch, leaning over the back of itto look over Rafe’s shoulder “I said Hey.What’re you so interested in?” Before Rafe switched over to the whiteboardapp, Gavin caught a look at a website he’d seen before. The site wasn’tsomething Gavin used personally, but had seen Rafe use to find techs that couldperform repairs or software changes if he needed them. He had told Gavin thatsince Cyberlife had done little for his well being, he had no interest infurther interference form the company, reclaimed or not.

'Nothing of importance. Welcome home.’ Rafe doodled on theblank screen, offering a smile that Gavin had seen him practicing in the mirrorbefore. The whiteboard app wasn’t as efficient as simply offering Gavin aninstant text readout of Rafe’s thoughts, but Rafe preferred the personal aspectof writing them himself.

“Don’t say it’s fuckin’ nothing.” Gavin frowned,reaching for the device. Rafe held it out of his reach and fitted Gavin with anannoyed look.

'You have no concept of privacy.’

“Yeah, you’re using myportable. I don’t know if it counts as invading your privacy.” Gavinsmiled, hopping over the back of the sectional and landing half in Rafe’s lap.“Just fucking tell me.” Gavin frowned, leaning heavily on theandroid.

'I unintentionally insulted you this morning.’

“Shit happens.” Gavin shrugged, though he felt a pangof hurt at the memory of the argument.

'It would not have happened if I was fully functioning.’ Theexplanation was written smaller, the letters formed slowly and withapprehension. Gavin’s eyes twitched over the words and he straightened.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? You never saidyou were hurt.” Again, that same feeling rang through his chest, tintedwith guilt at having not noticed.

'You misunderstand. I am not hurt.’ Rafe offered quickly. Heerased it again almost as quickly as Gavin could read it. 'I am trying to findsomeone who can install an auditory output function.’ The admission came with afrown, his eyes downcast.

“You want to talk.”

'Yes.’

“Why?” Gavin frowned harder, his eyebrows creasingtogether, “I mean, you never said so before and now all of a sudden?Because of this morning? Did I fucking make you feel like you need it?”Gavin stood, tension keeping him from staying still.

'No. I want to communicate with you.’ The writinggrew slightly less precise as Rafe rushed what he wanted to say. Gavin crossedhis arms.

“You don’t get to fucking say that when you won’t evenexplain to me what the fuck is going on.” He watched as Rafe blinkedslowly, his face remaining impassive. He shook his head briefly as his handwent white where it held the portable up in front of him. Words began fillingthe screen, almost faster than Gavin could read them. His lips parted as hiseyes flickered back and forth to take in what Rafe had to say.

'Like this morning and just now, I can only show you text. Icannot give you inflection or emphasis or feelingin what I wish to say to you. It’s become challenging for you and I to enjoyeach other’s company because of this. You misunderstand what I say because Icannot express it properly, and it frustrates me to see you upset. The logicalanswer seemed to repair my faults so that when I tell you I Love You, you canunderstand how I feel.’

He watched as Gavin read, tension bleeding off of him in thesilence and the ease visibly showing in his posture. When the text stoppedscrolling, he watched Gavin’s eyes pass between his face and the screen severaltimes. He watched as Gavin hung his head for a moment, rubbing his eyes andbiting his lip, exactly the way he usually did when he was fighting over whichthoughts were anxiety and unnecessary irritation. He waited as Gavin foughtagainst himself for what he really wanted to say.

“You know, I’m not that great at this either.”There was still a rough, defensive edge to his words “And my voice worksjust fuckin’ fine.” he sighed, dropping back to the couch with one legfolded under him. He ran a hand through his hair briskly.

'I know.’

“Yeah, well, you should know then, that having or nothaving a damn voice isn’t what makes you a shitty communicator.” Hefinally looked up to meet Rafe’s eyes, then looked away again. “I like youjust fine the way you are.” He admitted quietly. “It’s the thoughtthat counts, but I don’t need you to change for me.” he nodded, staringdown the cat, who was listening intently to his every word. He shifted slightlyand looked to Rafe again, holding his gaze. “But it’s important to you,and I’m going to try to be a better listener.” He made an attempt at anapologetic smile, “Can’t that be enough?” He begged.

Rafe lurched toward him, dropping the tablet to the cushionbetween them and enveloping Gavin in a grateful embrace.

[msquarmby]

*cough* Nines for the character ask?

I’m already laughing at the second ask you sent right after that one. It’s really hard to concentrate lmao

first impression

That really depends on which "first impression" you're asking me about… in the game? I truly just remember him as "the gutpunch moment for machine!Connor", not even as an independent character. I wasn't in the fandom back then, so I was entirely unaware of what the fandom had turned him into - until I randomly found Michelle's movie.

So, yeah, that is my "second first impression" of Nines: Detroit Awakening/Evolution. And what's not to love there.

impression now

It also depends a little. He's just characterised so differently in all the fanworks. But I like him in all forms: crazy, psychopath killing machine; queen of sass and bickering; autistic, nonverbal android who can't deviate; cold, steel-eyed dom who likes to step on Gavin's throat… 

favorite moment

I'm going to Detroit Evolution here (because in the game there is literally only one (1) moment): the way you can see the 200+ error messages pop up right in front of his face when Gavin says about himself that he's got "wisdom".

idea for a story

^a.k.a. how much do I want to spoil of the longfic I'm currently working on that will probably not be posted for months 🤫😏

I like to think, and somehow that thought evolved into a very elaborate plotline, that while Nines forces himself to be thinks of himself as being in control of everything (especially regarding himself), he may not be. He may just be very convinced that he is. Which, for one part, is down to his own superiority complex, but could also have a much more sinister root… 🤐

unpopular opinion

I'm not into the idea of him having a black chassis… like, I enjoy looking at fanart of it, but it’s probably not something I’d write myself.

favorite relationship

Reed900, duh. (Although I am starting to develop a soft spot for RK1700 and Reed1700 as well.)

favorite headcanon

Tina is Nines’ source for office gossip, and Nines always helps Tina to confirm which of the rumours of affairs and all other kinds of scandals are actually true by secretly scanning people. (Which drives Tina out of her goddamn mind when it takes Nines literal months to realise that Gavin is into him, because how the fuck did he, of all people, not notice that!?)

~ character ask ~

[rjhpandapaws]

When He Speaks

Chapter 4: Professional Distance, Personal Resentment Tw: Mentioned Anti-android sentiments, Nines's bias against humans

Despite being for less entertaining, for lack of a better word, leaving Gavin alone allowed his human partner to be more productive. So reluctantly, Nines let him be. It wasn’t a choice he made out of kindness toward Gavin. It was an act of self preservation. In the few months he had been working with the DPD he had been going through Gavin’s file. He had a track record for being rather combative. Not just with androids, but with anyone who actively disagreed with him. Gavin had been tolerant of him so far, not exactly kind, but nowhere as cruel as he had been with Connor. Nines didn’t trust that it would last, humans were plenty fickle as it was. Gavin had a particularly short fuse on top of that. His distrust of Gavin didn’t change much about their relationship. Nines refrained from getting him anymore coffee, and if he noticed, Detective Reed didn’t say anything about it. Though, given his previous displays of situational awareness Nines was willing to wager that he hadn’t noticed. They remained one of the more productive teams in the department. Second only to Hank and Connor, but Nines was certain it would had been different if he had been allowed to work on his own or have an android partner. 

Nines still planned on working on his own as soon as he was able to. As long as he was partnered with a human he would always have to choose between his partner’s safety or completing his directives when things got dicey. He had the strength and the knowledge of a complete SWAT team that he couldn’t use, because if something were to happen to Gavin it would be blamed on him. The though made quiet resentment bubble beneath his synthskin. Detective Reed didn’t seem to notice this change either. Not for a while at least. There wasn’t much to notice before they had to actively pursue a suspect and didn’t slow down to accommodate his human companion. He was careful enough with their human suspect as to not do any damage that couldn’t be attributed to apprehending her. He wasn’t going to become the sort of officer that abused their power. Detective Reed was understandably annoyed when he arrived to find their suspect already in handcuffs. Since the suspect was human Gavin took the lead on reading her rights. Nines dutifully translated the sharp and irritated signing.

‘What Was That About?’ Gavin signed at him sharply when they got back to the station. “What was what Detective?” He replied as he worked on processing the arrest, “You’re going to have to be a little more specific than that.” He delighted privately in the rage that tightened Gavin’s features, ‘You Ran Away From Me Earlier!’ “Ah. You mean when a pursued our suspect.” He said, If we had gone at your pace she would have gotten away and the case would have drawn out even longer.” Gavin huffed out an angry sigh, ‘She Human. You Have Wait For Me At End Anyway!’ “I know, but that was so you could Mirandize her.” He countered. ‘Whatever.’ Gavin dismissed. “If you say so Detective.” He said. They fell back into their usual silence and Nines felt like he had made his point for now. Gavin seemed to understand that as soon as Nines was able to work on his own that things would begin to change around the station. He didn’t feel the need to keep humans comfortable in his presence the way that Connor did. Just because he and Gavin were partners didn’t mean they were going to be friends.

He was going to do as much as he could on his own for now on. As fun as messing with Gavin had been, it was time to settle in and work for real. The sooner he would investigate on his own the better.

[rjhpandapaws]

When He Speaks

Chapter 3: Not Quite a Truce

These headaches were going to kill him. That was operating under the assumption Nines didn’t get to him first; either through the coffees, or some workplace “accident”. He learned that the coffee thing was largely Connor’s fault. If Gavin had to guess that after and Connor had finished fighting he had gone to talk to Nines about it. The salted coffee he received from Nines became noticeably less frequent. It wasn’t because Gavin had decided to stay late any less frequently, he refused to honestly. This station had been his sanctuary first. Instead it seemed Nines was content to make him paranoid when it came to foam coffee cups. Some nights the coffee was perfectly normal, other nights it was salted, decaf, or salted decaf if he was feeling particularly cruel. He could have easily just stopped accepting the coffees from Nines, but some part of him was too stubborn to let go of the idea that one might eventually be a peace offering. He wanted to come to trust Nines; not quite in the way Hank trusted Connor; but at the very least enough that he didn’t have to be afraid of turning his back on him. Nines on the other hand, didn’t seem to want that. He did anything he could to keep Gavin, and every other human officer at the station, at a calculated distance. Gavin was sure he had his reasons, but at least in his opinion that didn’t warrant sabotaging someone’s coffee.

Gavin took Connor’s suggestion to get things that might keep Nines busy. He settled on fidget toys because they helped him focus and had a slight change to keep Nines occupied for at least a little while. It didn’t take long to find them crushed to bits in the trash. Gavin was a little annoyed by that for a while; up until the day he heard a distinct plastic crunch. He looked up to see Nines looking down in disappointment. Relief crashed over Gavin, though he didn’t understand why. Nines hadn’t been deliberately breaking them then. The small toys just couldn’t hold up to his strength. Nines dumped the small pieces of what had once been a fidget toy into the trash bin. “This is why I stopped getting them.” He said in his usual flat tone of voice. These were the first words he had said to Gavin that weren’t field commands or otherwise work related, “They always break.” It didn’t seem much like he wanted a response, so Gavin didn’t give him one. The rest of the day passed in what could be considered an amicable silence. There was nothing going on that required him staying late so none of his coffees were messed with.

Gavin was hesitant to call what they reached after that day a truce; but the salted and decaf coffees became fewer and farther between. They still didn’t talk often outside of the field, but the air between them was slightly less hostile. Gavin could work with that. He tried to find stronger fidget toys, but he didn’t have any luck, but Nines didn’t seem to mind. He brought up at the idea of getting him slime, but the mere mention of it seemed to grab Connor’s attention. The look he gave Gavin took slime immediately off the table. He didn’t know what had happened with the slime to make Connor look that angry and Nines the android facsimile of embarrassed. Well as close to it an android as stoic as Nines could. Asking about it felt a little too much like prying and he didn’t want to be the one to break the feeble almost truce they had established. Even if he was certain was a particularly interesting story. Nines wasn’t exactly well versed in the way of human trinkets worked. Despite having a mind that was directly linked to the internet, he never seemed all that inclined to look it up. Gavin never asked about that either. He didn’t have to play foam cup roulette for the time being, and he was content with that.

[rjhpandapaws]

When He Speaks

Chapter 1: Coffee, Hold the Salt

Gavin didn’t like Nines. It was based in his being an android, it was a bias that Gavin still wasn’t over. He was no longer staunchly anti-android anymore, but he was still hesitant to trust them. Part of it was unlike other androids, Nines didn’t take any steps to seem more life like. He kept his hair and synthskin, but didn’t take any other steps outside of that. He didn’t have his respiratory system running; he would exhale every few hours if he was stressing his system. He didn’t blink which resulted in him just constantly staring at Gavin or some other unlucky officer and that was creepy as all fuck. Though he supposed the one thing about Nines he liked that others that others tended to find unsettling was that he didn’t like to make conversation outside of what was needed for work, and even then he typically just messaged Gavin. It was easiest that way. For the record, Gavin was relatively certain that Nines didn’t like him either; or nay humans for that matter. It made their job easier surprisingly. Gavin would deal with the humans and Nines would handle the androids. They would compare notes when they got back to the station. While they didn’t work well together in a companionable sense, they were an efficient team. Not so much partners as the station was used to seeing, but more like separate detectives sharing a case.

For whatever reason their odd truce only existed during the day shift. On the frequent nights they both stayed at the station all bets were off and Gavin didn’t know why. Within Nines’s first week at the station Gavin had developed a fear of unattended coffee cups on or near his desk. Even if he had been the one in the breakroom to make the coffee. Once the cup had been left unattended for any period of time it was no longer to be trusted. This, of course, was Nines’s fault. Though, looking back Gavin probably should have known the cup of coffee he received at two in the morning was anything but the olive branch it appeared to be. Nines wasn’t kind by nature, and Gavin really should have been smarter. He was a detective after all, he should have been aware that something was amiss. Then again, it was two in the morning and Gavin was only human. Instincts be damned if there was free coffee involved. Until of course, he took a drink only to be slapped in the face by the overwhelming flavor of salt. And Nines? There was almost a smile on his lips which seemed dangerous. Gavin would have liked to say that he had only made that mistake once, but that would have been a lie. Nearly every time Nines would offer him coffee he would accept it, and every fucking time it was salted.

The salt in his coffee wouldn’t have been that much of an issue, but neither of them seemed to know what a night off was. So they were both at the station almost every night. Granted, Nines didn’t need to sleep so he usually got more done than Gavin did. He would have liked to get revenge, but he tried adding different things to the thirium he gave Nines, but he either didn’t drink it or if he did he wouldn’t react. Which was unfair because the salted coffee got him every fucking time. He had even resorted to Rick Rolling him a few times and that hadn’t fucking worked either. Nines didn’t react to anything, and that made getting revenge difficult. Nothing rattled him and that was starting to get on Gavin’s nerves. He was supposed to be Deviant, that meant there had to be something that got under his skin. At least once a week Gavin fell victim to salted coffee, and nothing he did got the same or really any kind of response at all from Nines. It was infuriating. Tonight it seemed was going to be another night that the both of them would be at the station all night. Gavin was catching up on paperwork and Nines was archiving evidence from recent cases. Gavin was wary. If he left his desk would there be coffee waiting for him when he got back? If he left his coffee on his desk would it be salted when he got back? It was official, Gavin was worried about working nights. Something that had been his way of relaxing before Nines came to the station. This was a problem.

As it stood, Gavin was only human and eventually he had to get up. His back hurt, mostly because his posture was trash, and he needed to stretch and walk around. Unsurprisingly there was a cup of coffee on his desk waiting for him when he got back. It was just after midnight which was earlier than usual for Nines deciding to torment him. Maybe this one was actually a peace offering. He took a seat at his desk, picked up the coffee and took a small drink from it. There was no salt, it was just normal coffee with his usual amounts of cream and sugar. It was strange, suspicious almost, but he was glad for the break in coffee warfare. The night of unsalted coffee probably meant that there was something worse waiting in the wings, but free coffee was free coffee and he wasn’t about to complain. Gavin became aware that something was up around four in the morning when he started to nod off. Which he shouldn’t have been because he’d had coffee only a few hours ago. But the coffee had been normal which meant something was up. He picked up the cup and took a closer look at it. It was marked as decaf. The reason why the coffee had been normal was because Nines had decided to fuck with his coffee instead of him. This was fucking personal. You didn’t mess with a guy’s coffee, that meant war.

[rjhpandapaws]

When He Speaks

Chapter 2: Environmental Enrichment

It didn’t take him long to decide that while he was good at it, detective work was incredibly boring. When it came down to it it was always the same thing that happened; a human or an android was pushed to their breaking point and snapped. They had to figure out the how and why of it. While it could be tragic, homicide was boring. Detective Reed found it exhilarating, but he was only human, these sorts of things were complex to him. It took him days or weeks to unravel clues and evidence Nines had the answers to in hours at most. He brought this up to Connor, and thankfully he seemed to understand. He looked at Nines like this conversation was something he had been expecting for a while now. “Yeah. It get’s pretty boring after a while.” He had said, “Have you tried doing anything while you wait on Gavin’s conclusions?” “No.” He replied, “There’s nothing else that needs to be done. The cases can’t move forward until we discuss our results.” “I wasn’t talking about the case Nine-Hundred.” He clarified, “I was talking about you.” “I don’t understand.” He echoed, “What does this have to do with me? I haven’t done anything to further Gavin’s incompetence.”

Connor actually laughed at that, “He’s not incompetent Nines; he’s human. There is a difference.” He ignored Nines’s disbelieving expression and moved on, “We’re both advanced investigative models. We were meant to always be doing something and taking in information, not waiting. You’re bored because you don’t have any sensory input going on.” “So what am I supposed to do about that, run the tests again? The results won’t be any different.” He remarked. In a very human gesture that he probably picked up from Hank, Connor sighed. “No.” He said flatly, “Do something.” He gestured back toward his own desk, “I have fidget toys and slime that you’re welcome to borrow.” “So I’m supposed to play?” He asked. “No.” Connor sounded exasperated now, “You aren’t being ordered to do anything Nines. I’m trying to help you with environmental enrichment. So you can be rid of this restless feeling.” He still didn’t understand but nodded anyway. He could give this environmental enrichment thing a try. At the very least it couldn’t make things any worse. Connor smiled and that seemed to be the end of it.

As it turned out the ‘Do not eat!’ warning on the play slime Connor kept in his desk applied to androids too. Connor seemed annoyed as he helped to clean out his systems. Nines wasn’t sure if it came from a place of concern or because he was no down a container of slime. Either way, Nines decided slime was not the way he wanted to enrich his environment. It was time to look for something else. His search didn’t go well. Fidget toys, while interesting, didn’t hold up against his grip strength. Computer games were predictable and the holes in their code were not that interesting to exploit or try to patch. Puzzle cubes were too easily solved. There was nothing that didn’t involve disrupting the station in some way what could keep him occupied. He was bored once again and it was staring to get frustrating. He spent a lot of time observing Connor and how he kept busy. It came from efforts to seem more human, in making conversation and using his breaks even though he didn’t need to. Nines wasn’t about to do that, he wasn’t human and there were no benefits to pretending that he was. The boredom was just going to stick around then. He would adjust for it like he did with everything else. It would be fine, just another part of his existence.

The solution to his ever-present boredom presented itself during a particularly drawn out case. They were on the trail of a serial killer and Gavin was starting to spend more of his nights at the station. The time Nines once had to himself was gone. Boredom changed to annoyance and from that annoyance came a plan. Gavin was human and humans needed sleep, but he couldn’t sleep if he was working nights. So he drank coffee in it’s place. Coffee that was nearly black with an unsettling amount of sugar added to it. Coffee seemed to be Gavin’s way to decompress, the way being alone had been for Nines. The station after hours was the only place he was able to be entirely alone. Something that was now being tampered with by Gavin’s constant presence. A fair course of action seemed to be to mess with Gavin’s coffee. It was just a matter of finding his moment. Gavin went through cups of coffee pretty quickly so it came down to either making a cup for him, or waiting for the case to pull him in and tampering with a cup he had made himself.

That problem solved itself when Gavin got up to do something. Nines was quick to seize the opportunity. He took the unguarded coffee cup and headed for the breakroom. He didn’t know how long Gavin would be gone for so he had to be fast. Nines didn’t account for the possibility of the salt lid being loose. It came off in his rush and more salt than he planned wound up in the coffee, but that was fine. He stirred it until he was certain all of it had dissolved, fixed the salt container, and made for Gavin’s desk. He put the cup back in it’s place and the liquid had settled by the time Gavin got back to his desk. To human eyes it looked like an unassuming cup of coffee. A normal cup of coffee had probably been what Gavin was expecting from the size of the drink he took. His reaction was immediate and Nines was elated. Surprise, fear, disgust, and then frustration rolled across Gavin’s face in rapid succession. Then he locked eyes with Nines and finished the entire cup in one go. This was going to be fun. On top of that, Connor had been right. Environmental enrichment was a good thing once he found something that worked.

He had only planned to do it once, but Gavin made it so easy. He was a decent detective, by human standards, but his situational awareness could use some work. When he was in a place he deemed safe, Gavin would have all of his guards down. He did try to get back at Nines, which was something he was ready for. Gavin altered his thirium, sent him a link to a song; which he later learned was called Rick Rolling. None of it phased him, if anything it was amusing. When revenge didn’t work, Gavin resorted to hypervigilance. Any cup he left unattended around Nines was thrown away and replaced once he got back. Gavin threw away a lot of untampered coffee because he assumed Nines altered it, but he would still accept the coffee Nines gave him. Those ones were always salted and Gavin reacted with genuine surprise every time. As entertaining as it had originally been, even this became boring. He would get Gavin coffee from the breakroom, he would be surprised to learn it was salted, and they would move on. His one source of entertainment had become routine, it was just another part of his day.

Gavin’s hypervigilance had changed too, now he wouldn’t accept coffee from anyone. Which combined with Nines’s boredom made things even more difficult. Gavin didn’t bury himself in work to the point of oblivion anymore. Nines at the very least had made him wary of otherwise comfortable surroundings. He knew to be better aware of himself. While that at large was a good thing, it didn’t bode well for Nines’s environmental enrichment. Things picked up again. Like they always did around the anniversary of the Revolution, and Gavin began to stay late once again. He was just as wary of Nines, and would stay at his desk until he was out of coffee and had to make more or risk falling asleep. This week though, Nines had a little luck. Gavin had gone and mouthed off to the wrong kind of android and had a few new bruises to show for it. He was sore and that meant every once in a while he would get up to stretch or do a lap around the station. That left his desk, and in turn his coffee, unattended. It took a few nights for Nines to nail down a pattern and now he had a plan. It was only a matter of waiting.

Midnight was the next time Gavin got up to do a lap around the station. Assuming that he wouldn’t stop for a break, Nines had ten minutes to get this done. Once Gavin was far enough away Nines took his half full coffee cup and headed for the breakroom. He poured the coffee out, rinsed the cup, added cream and the questionable amount of sugar in the bottom, then poured the waiting decaf over the top until it reached the halfway point. Once it was stirred and settled it looked exactly the same as the previous cup. He placed it back on the desk and waited. If Gavin suspected anything when he got back, he didn’t voice it. When four am rolled around he was beginning to nod off. At four-thirty he checked the cup and then looked at Nines like he had done something to declare war. By five he was asleep and by five-thirty he had been asleep long enough that Nines deemed it safe to draw on his face. All that was left to do was wait for Gavin to wake up and take notice. It wasn’t a solid solution to his constant boredom, but this environmental enrichment thing was making him a more creative problem solver. That had to count for something.

[rjhpandapaws]

Can we get some canon verse (or even AHM, I dont mind either) with Gavin trying to teach Nines about tumblr memes? Like, he starts talking about how it's Out of Touch Thursday and Nines is like '?????????'

//yes. //This fits both canon and AHM Nines so well XD. I went with AHM just because that is a little easier for me.

“I know you already post your art to Instagram and stuff but have you ever considered posting it to tumblr?” Gavin asked, not quite out of the blue since they were on Gavin’s balcony and  Richard was working on yet another sketch of the skyline, “There’s a lot of people on that sight that I think would like it. Its more anonymous than Instagram too and you might like that.” ‘What T-U-M-B-L-E-R?’ Richard signed after he put his pencil down so he could pay attention to Gavin. His ocean green eyes lit up and Richard felt like he might come to regret this. “T-u-m-b-l-r there’s no ‘e’. Anyway,” He waved his hand in a circular motion like he was rolling through topics and then dug in his pocket for his phone, “Its a site that is mostly anonymous and people use it for stories and art and stuff. I use it to keep track of the games I play and what’s happening in those communities. The interaction is minimal you can post what you want and then leave. Its great.” He stood and walked over to Richard showing his phone as he scrolled through the app. Richard caught on Gavin’s user name and smiled. “This site can be a little crazy if you get in the right circles. Like half the time I only know what day of the week it is by what shows up here. One you might have heard of because it’s really popular is Out of Touch Thursday. Which is today.” He took a break to look at Richard, and his confusion must of shown on his face because Gavin frowned, “The number of times I have sent you messages for Out of Touch Thursday, and you don’t even know what it is.” The offense in his tone was fake and Richard smiled slightly.

‘I Try Being Supportive Friend.’ He signed before shoving at Gavin’s shoulder. ‘What Out of Touch Thursday?’ “So there’s this song called Out of Touch and you play a clip to a video of people dancing, the more surreal the better, then on Thursdays you post it.” He showed Richard a clip of four anime girls dancing to the song ha had mentioned and he quirked a brow, “It dumb, I know, but it’s fun and there is a lot of great artists on this site.” ‘They Would Like Me?’ He signed. “Definitely.” Gavin reassured. 

That evening he decided there would be no harm in making a Tumblr, he had made an Out of Touch Thursday animatic that needed a home anyway. He made his profile UnluckyNine-9s with his profile picture one of his complete drawings of the Detroit skyline. His first post was of a chibi Gavin dancing to Out of Touch. He made sure to tag him. @ a-phcking-cat-dad did i do this right?

+ a-phcking-cat-dad started following you

a-phcking-cat-dad: I gave you too much power

@six-video-game-peaches

[rjhpandapaws]

Song: Phoenix by Fall Out Boy. Gavin and Nines signing it for a project or something and just having a laugh at Gavin's interpretation of Young Blood

//yes. A different version of this may wind up in AHM just because this idea is so fun.

It was supposed to be a project for one of Gavin’s classes. A unique interpretation of a popular song. Gavin had chosen Phoenix by Fall Out Boy, and Richard was going to be signing it with him. They would be doing as a duet, a way of keeping Gavin from having to sign more of the complex songs, and to get the audio layering toward the end right. It was a sound plan, and went relatively well until they got to the refrain and Richard had to pause the song. He was laughing and Gavin looked confused.

‘Again.’ Richard signed trying his best to keep his hands steady as laughter rolled through the rest of him. ‘Sign Young Blood Again.’

He made a point to use the signs for ‘Youth’ and ‘Blood’ to make a point and watched as Gavin signed ‘Blood Child’ with as much enthusiasm as he had done it with the song. He watched as realization dawned on Gavin slowly.

“I’m not signing that right am I?” He asked after a few moments.

‘Different Signs Maybe Work Better.’ Richard amended, ‘You Also Correct.’

Gavin smiled slightly, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh before. Let get through the song once with this just for fun, then I’ll let you help me fix my signs. This one can be our copy.”

Gavin wound up getting an A on his assignment, which was great, but the song Phoenix wasn’t the same for either of them. They would laugh when they heard it and when the time came they would lock eyes and sign ‘Blood Child.’ at one another, just to break down laughing again.

Gavin made a habit of learning to sign songs and picking the  signs that would get a reaction out of Richard. 

(Prompt from this list)

[rjhpandapaws]

D:BH human Au

//Reed900 nonverbal Nines. Also vaguely college ish. Nines is studying psych and forensic linguistics and Gavin is studying criminology

Gavin watched with curious eyes as the man at the counter ordered his drink, the movements of his hands was fluid and distinct. Gavin didn't know much ASL but he recognized the sign for 'coffee' and the non personal sign for 'black'. Gavin liked this particular cafe because it was out of the way and relatively quiet, it was in the college side of town and catered more toward the deaf and encouraged hearing patrons to order using signs. The names of the drinks were in a typed script and below was the sequence of signs for them. It was unique and Gavin liked the idea, though he usually spoke his order out as it was quicker.

The stranger moved to the other counter to wait out his drink. He seemed to notice eyes on him and turned his head looking the Cafe over looking for whoever was staring at his back. His blue eyes met Gavin's and Gavin turned away at being caught. He turned back to the counter when his drink was called. He took it with a nod at the barista and made his way out of the Cafe heading out into the city.

Gavin finished his drink a while later, heading back toward the university. There was about a day until the new semester started and Gavin wasn't exactly looking forward to his course load. His profiling class he didnt mind, the professor was nice enough, but psych and math were going to be problems for him. He didn't like the ambiguity of psychology, and frankly he and numbers didn't get along well.

He sighed heading for his apartment. He'd relax for the day, get a good night's rest and deal with the beast that was a full college workload in the morning.

Gavin woke to the alarm on his phone, a song from a game that he enjoyed. Hitting snooze he laid in bed for a moment debating staying in bed and getting coffee from the school or forging sleeping in and stopping at the Cafe. Familiar routine won out and he got out of bed.

Dressing was a boring affair, his usual loose hoodie and a pair of jeans. He grabbed his bag and his keys and made his way to the cafe. The line this time of morning was relatively short. He stood behind a tall brunette in a white faux leather jacket and dark jeans with a messenger bag over one shoulder.

The stranger ordered his drink and moved to the other counter signing rather than speaking. Gavin stepped up to the counter. Scanner the menu more for show than anything else before ordering his usual.

"Carmel Machiatto with a shot of espresso." He spoke aloud rather than signing and after he paid headed for the end counter to wait.

The taller stranger gave him an amicable smile, more out of social decency than anything else, and Gavin gave something of a courteous nod. The stranger lifted his hands and signed, something, Gavin didn't know what and stared for a moment.

"Sorry." He said a bit awkwardly "I dont know sign language."

"He said good morning." The barista behind the counter said as he handed the taller stranger his drink. And well, Gavin did a double take. The barista was the stranger's doppelganger, a few inches shorter and with brown eyes. His name tag read 'Connor' in neat script.

"Ah, good morning then..." Gavin replied looking between the two, unsure if Connor would need to interpret for the stranger.

The taller one signed again, or rather spelled something out, Gavin recognized the letter 'A' and that was it. And looked to Connor for direction.

"He said his name is Richard. And that it was nice meeting you." Connor once again interjected saving the otherwise stiff conversation.

"Gavin, its nice to meet you as well." This gained him another quiet nod then with a slight wave Richard excused himself. Gavin's drink came up a short time later and he followed suit.

He went through his morning classes in a bit of a daze, thinking about the man from the Cafe. He signed but clearly wasn't Deaf, and despite it being none of Gavin's business, he found himself curious. He had a break between classes, about an hour. He headed to the library and pulled out his phone and earbuds. He passed the time watching videos on ASL, the basics. How to introduce himself, and the alphabet so he could spell his name.

When it came time to he made his way to his psych class picking a seat near the wall, close enough to see what was going on but far enough to hopefully keep from getting called on. Other students filed into the class, tending to sit in clusters. Finding people they knew, and grouping up that way. Gavin wasn't paying much attention until a familiar white jacket entered his field of vision.

Richard began signing, slower than at the Cafe and Gavin felt a swell of pride at recognizing the set of letters that made up his name. Richard waited on a response, but Gavin didn't known the question and expressed as much. Richard sighed and tapped the empty chair beside Gavin and then gestured to himself, then back to the chair.

It dawned on Gavin a little late "Uh yeah, you can sit there i guess."

Taking it for the invitation he needed Richard sat down and got out a notebook and a pen. He wrote something down quick and seeming rather sure of himself and said the notebook toward Gavin.

'What are you here to study?'

"My degree is criminology. What about you?"

He was met with more pen on paper and the return slide of the notebook, 'Psychology and forensic linguistics.'

"But you don't talk, how does that work? Shrinks have to be able to talk to their patients and if you go into linguistics you'll have to discuss your findings."

That earned him a look, sharp blue eyes narrowing some. A-S-L was signed in short sharp snaps. And then he was writing again, 'American Sign Language is a language. Secondly what about deaf patients they can't exactly be listened to. I plan to go into law enforcement as it is so speech won't be too much of an issue.'

Gavin put his hand up in a placating type of way. "Sorry. So you plan to go into law enforcement too? That's pretty cool. Think you could help me through this class?"

Richard smiled slightly, and Gavin wasn't sure if he liked it or not. It softened his otherwise sharp features, but something about it was reminisce of a predator going for its prey. 'Learn to sign and we'll /talk/ about it.'

Gavin decided then he might be in over his head, but he found he didnt mind.

@yayen-chan

[rjhpandapaws]

A Hand in the Matter

Ch4: Something to Think About

//warning for comparison and self worth issues.

Gavin was an outlier for Richard, an oddity if sorts, that had come into his life. He didn't have friends, coworkers and classmates, yes, but not friends. No one had stuck around before, not until Gavin. Richard didn't branch out easily, and well, most of the people he had met weren't all that inclined to learn to communicate with him. Silas and Connor both had friends in spades and Richard had never envied them. Having the two of them had been enough. Then, along came Gavin, who stuck, and Richard wanted to know why.

Unlike Connor, he wasn't overly kind, friendly, or compassionate. He wasn't good for conversation for one blatantly obvious reason. He wasn't known to go out of his way for others. Where Connor was a warm comfort; Richard was cold and unsettling. Or so he had been told. Personally, he believed himself to be carefully neutral, not expressing anything unless it was needed. Connor's easily gifted smiles were not something Richard understood. He was neither compassion or kindness, and yet, Gavin stayed.

Perhaps then, it was to use him. Gavin wouldn't be the first if that was the case. The thought left guilt sitting bitter on the back of his tongue. Outside of class Gavin still interacted with him. Sent him pictures of his cat, of things he thought Richard would like. The interactions were simple and seemed to come easy to Gavin. It didn't seem to bother him that Richard wouldn't always respond to them. It was, strange. If not out of ill means, why stick to someone who didn't indulge your antics.

He was different from Silas as well. Silas could take command of a room just by entering it, he was bright and vibrant, full of life in ways Richard just wasn't. Standing beside Silas Richard was as good as invisible. Silas was not genuinely kind in the way that Connor was, but made up for it by being captivating and out going, wrapping people around his finger left and right. Things that never did and never would apply to Richard. He held none of the qualities that drew people to his brothers, and yet Gavin stayed.

Perhaps then, his motive was pity. Maybe through Gavin's eyes he was a creature to be ogled at, observed, something for him to decipher for the sheer purpose of saying he'd been able to. A trophy friend of sorts. Someone Gavin could show to his other friends as a token of his good nature. That thought hurt, badly, and didn't quite sit well in Richard's chest. Gavin was doing things that no one aside from his brothers had done. He was learning Sign Language, doing abysmally, but trying.

It had only been a week. Six days technically, but no one was asking. Gavin would try and initiate conversations in sign, mostly finger-spelling before resorting to speech or text. It was the most effort anyone outside of his family had put into learning him. Richard was moved by it.

If Richard was honest, he didnt exactly understand his own attachment to Gavin all that well either. He was loud, combative, and overly stubborn most days. To top it off he had a penchant for starting fights, and losing them. One instance getting so bad Richard had to step in, removing Gavin from the situation. Under normal circumstances, Richard would have avoided a person like Gavin as though they were death itself, but with Gavin he didn't. Couldn't, and he didn't know why. It was eating at him and he hated it. Why did Gavin stay? What was it about Richard he liked?

He was startled out of his spiral by his phone going off several times in rapid succession. A string of messages that usually indicated that Gavin was reaching out to him again.

Gavin Reed: Hey dipshit

Gavin Reed: We still getting coffee

Gavin Reed: I'm outside the cafe where are you

Gavin Reed: Did you forget?

Gavin Reed: You forgot

Gavin Reed: You bribed me into studying with fucking coffee and you aren't even fucking here. What the fuck.

Richard read through the texts and gave a weak smile, the dark cloud over his mind relenting some as he typed his response.

Me: I didn't forget. I'm just running late. I will be there soon.

Gavin Reed: See you soon

Gavin Reed: Asshole

Richard rolled his eyes, choosing to leave Gavin on read as he grabbed what he needed before heading out. They would be studying at Hand Brewed Hope, for easy to caffeine while they studied and so Gavin could learn a few more signs. Ones that were used in day to day conversation. They had a test coming up in Psychology that Gavin was less than ideally prepared for, and Richard was going to help him.

He met Gavin outside the cafe feeling his mood lighten a little more. For the sake of having a bit of fun sent Gavin a challenge and a bribe.

Me: Bet you won't sign your drink order. I'll buy the coffees tomorrow if you do.

Richard figured it would be easy. The words at least, were something he said everyday. Learning to sign it seemed like the reasonable next step. Not according to Gavin if the gesture that was sent Richard's way as he grabbed the door was anything to go by.

"If I fuck this up I'm blaming you." Gavin groused as he fell in line behind Richard, "But hey, free coffee is free coffee."

Richard rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. There was atill someone between him and the counter so he could text without being an asshole.

Me: The signs are up on the menu. If you fuck up its because you're dumb.

"Well that was rude." Gavin spouted off, but as Richard ordered his drink he was distinctly aware of the lack of argument from his counterpart, "Just because I'm not some kind of genius like you doesn't make me dumb."

He paid for his drink and headed to the receiving counter to wait it out. He looked over at Gavin raising an eyebrow in an unspoken dare. The best way he had found to get Gavin to do something was to imply that he couldn't. In this case, it worked. Gavin's signing was shaky and childlike but he got his point across well enough. Richard was proud of him.

"Well? How did I do?" It was asked in a tone that implied 'see? I told you' and it made Richard smile.

Me: Looks like I'm buying drinks tomorrow.

Gavin lit up as they headed for a table to settle in and start studying. Richard's phone went off three times and he turned to look back at Connor. His brother was staring back at him in abject confusion. Once he was sat down he looked at his phone.

Connor: So Machiatto Guy knows sign language apparently??

Connor: You two are friends??? You are a raccoon tamer???

Connor: Explaination please??

Richard looked at his brother again and shook his head. This would be his secret a while longer. At least he now knew who Machiatto Guy was.

[rjhpandapaws]

When He Speaks

Prologue 1: Does Not Work Well with Others

By the time he was an adult Gavin was used to playing second fiddle. Growing up in the shadow of Elijah Kamski would do that to someone. He had nothing against his older half brother, when he dropped the whole eccentric billionaire act, Eli wasn’t really all that bad, though he was still an acquired taste at best. He was just tired of the comparisons from family. The constant bombardment of ‘why can’t you be like your brother?’; like Gavin hadn’t participated in cleaning up the mess Elijah’s creations had caused. He learned at a young age that his anger wouldn’t change anything, they didn’t care enough to listen. He was Gavin Reed, the Kamski family secret; the ugly unaccomplished side to the shiny coin that was Elijah Kamski, creator of androids. He had come to terms with that as well. Elijah at least tried to treat Gavin like he was family. Not publicly of course; neither of them were ready to handle that media shit show; but privately. In video calls when he had the time, and text messages checking in when he didn’t. Little things, but they counted and Gavin appreciated them. Gavin couldn’t remember exactly when he had stopped talking; Eli could probably tell him if he cared enough to ask; but it was long enough ago that responding with Sign Language, notes, or messages seemed natural. He wasn’t fully nonverbal; there was a few people he was comfortable enough to speak to, but even then it wasn’t often. He had to trust them completely, and that list of people was remarkably short and had shrunk in recent years. The revolution had not helped that either.

The first to go had been Hank. Gavin hadn’t wanted to cut him off, they had been friends; but Gavin couldn’t stand to watch him kill himself. What had been an act of care had planted a seed of hostility between them, something that had only grown when Connor had been thrown into the mix. Part of it had been Gavin’s own stance on androids, the other half had simply been anger. He had worked for years, struggled, to get to where he was and some machine freshly dropped off the belt gets to work along side their Lieutenant. Gavin disliked androids largely because they didn’t have to earn anything. They were built for a purpose and got dropped into those jobs replacing the humans that had worked years to get there; all because they didn’t need rest and could legally work without being paid. Androids could replace anyone from domestic partners and kids to soldiers and just about everything in between. Gavin knew it was only a matter of time before they took complex jobs like his. Then, Connor had shown up. Connor had been assigned to Hank which had been as much as a relief for Gavin as it had been frustrating. It confirmed everything he had feared; Elijah’s old company now made investigative models. It wouldn’t be long now, maybe a matter of years, and everything Gavin had worked for would become obsolete. Done better and more efficiently by machines. There was more than just that about Connor that unsettled Gavin. He didn’t like how it always seemed to know what to say to Hank or anyone else to get them to bend. It set Gavin on edge.

Gavin didn’t get to see the change first hand, but in the months leading up to the revolution something in all of the station androids began to change. Some of them went missing and the ones that had stuck around seemed different in a way that he couldn’t place. Something was up, at the time Gavin hadn’t known what, but it hadn’t stopped him from feeling uneasy. He was tired of dealing with runaway androids. Tired of chasing Hank and Connor from crime scene to crime scene. Seeing just how many of their jobs that stupid android was going to make obsolete. His opinion was that they should simply round all of them up and melt them down and move on. It would save them a lot of trouble. Melted down plastic couldn’t murder anyone or steal any more jobs. Without androids in it, Gavin’s world would stabilize. The thing that had unnerved him the most was when he had reached out to Eli about it. Elijah had told him to sit back and let it play out. Elijah knew what was happening at the very least, assuming he didn’t actively have a hand in it. He was known to think several steps ahead, so Gavin wouldn’t be entirely surprised, but something about this made him uneasy. Elijah had to know how much damage they where doing, he had made them after all. He had to understand why Gavin couldn’t just sit back and let this all happen. His job would be next, Connor was proof enough of that. If this went through everything Gavin had worked for would have been for nothing.

The revolution had caught them all by surprise. Though what had caught Gavin the most off guard had been seeing Connor stand beside the revolution leaders shoulders back and head held high like his task hadn’t been hunting them down. Like he hadn’t spent the better part of a year hunting down and killing his own kind. The humanity of it struck Gavin a little too close to home. It was uncomfortable. This must have been what Eli had meant when he had said to sit back and watch. He had been pages ahead like usual. When his shock had finally fallen away Gavin settled again. They were people now, good for them. He didn’t care so long as he didn’t have to work with one. He didn’t want a partner at all if it could be avoided, he worked better on his own. If he had to have someone assigned to him, he would prefer a human. Someone else who understood how much work it took to get this far. How many sleepless nights, how much blood sweat and tears it took. Not some pile of spare parts built for it. Not something that could replace him if he slipped up or decided to make yet another finer point with his fists. His last partner had been Hank, back in his training days. Back when they could bond over their distrust of the machines. Back before grief had buried Hank and Connor had come along to change him. They hadn’t been all that great of a team, but at this point he would take working with Hank again over working with an android.

He was peacefully partner free for about six months. Chris and Tina both took their detective exams and were promoted within the same week. Gavin was assigned to Chris and Tina was assigned to Hank and Connor. Gavin was fine with that for the most part. He disliked having a partner, he worked fine on his own. Chis was a friend and needed someone to show him the ropes, and Gavin was capable of that. Even if he had other ways he would rather be spending his time, like working. Communication was a bit rough. Chris was talkative where Gavin was not. He did what he could to appease Chris’s need for conversation, they were friends after all, but there was only so much that could be conveyed over messages and notes without interfering with their work. Another six months found Chris and Tina trained well enough to work on their own, and Gavin was finally free. He got another six months of freedom before they hired on their second android detective. An RK900, yet another prototype. Something that could even replace Connor. That unsettled Gavin more than it relieved him. If Connor was obsolete then Gavin stood no chance. He had three days to soak in that news as the new android got oriented with the station. The fourth day he was called into Fowler’s office as soon as he got to work and he felt dread seep into his bones. He had the distinct feeling his bad day was about to get worse. The 900 model was already waiting in the office. This could only mean one thing. Gavin was getting assigned and android partner. Fucking fantastic.

[rjhpandapaws]

Reed900 in your AHM universe, Gavin is starting to pick up ASL so they make little side remarks during conversations with other people.

Do with that what you will. Thoughts post, analysis or a fic, anything works :)

//I like this idea because we all know Gavin Talks Shit (tm)

It started off slowly enough that Gavin didn’t really notice. A remark here and there signed only where Gavin could see it during lecture, or while Gavin was on the phone. It usually wasn’t anything major or inappropriate which is honestly probably why it took Gavin so long to catch on to what was happening. Or the fact that he had rubbed off on Richard at all. He knew it happened, there were things he had picked up from Tina and Chris as well as the things he had picked up from Richard. He just didn’t figure it would go the other way with Richard. He seemed polite enough that there wouldn’t be anything he thought of picking up from Gavin. Or to put it more bluntly, Gavin didn’t exactly think there was anything he had the Richard would want to imitate. He certainly hadn’t expected the one thing he chose to take from Gavin to be making dry remarks while another conversation was happening. Yet here they were. They were in Gavin’s apartment while he was on the phone with the college trying to make an appointment to see his guidance counselor to schedule the right classes for next semester. This was the third person he had talked to, and conversely the third time he was answering the same set of questions. His phone was on speaker because they were working on homework. What had pulled his attention was Richard sitting back, he had learned to follow movement because that usually meant that signing would follow soon after.

‘Maybe They Need More Proof. Are You Really Gavin?’ Richard signed grinning the entire time. Gavin chuckled and made a show of looking down at his hands and the rest of himself, ‘Good Point. Am I Gavin? What Is Gavin?’ ‘Annoying Mostly.’ Richard signed back without hesitation. “Damn.” Gavin scoffed, “Come right for a guy’s soul why don’t you. And here I was thinking you might have picked up some of my finger qualities.” ‘Like What?’ Richard teased. “I dunno, maybe knowing what the buttons on an Xbox controller do.” Gavin shot back. ‘Wow Rude.’ Richard placed a hand over his chest in mock offence, ‘I Thought You Love Me.’ “Most days, but apparently I’ve taught you how to shit talk and I was not ready for that kind of responsibility.” Gavin laughed.

@six-video-game-peaches

(Prompt from this list)

[rjhpandapaws]

A Hand in the Matter

This is is part 2. Its the last story but from Nines' perspective.

Richard let out a quiet sigh as he entered the cafe, he liked this place for two reasons, one being that one of his brothers worked here, and the second was that ot was designed with the Deaf and nonverbal community in mind. There was no pressure to speak unless one happened to be so inclined. Richard was not so inclined.

He stood in the short line scanning the menu, he still planned to order his usual of just black coffee, but he liked seeing how the menu changed from time to time. He felt eyes on his back but paid them no mind. He stepped to the counter and ordered his drink.

'Medium coffee, black.' His signs were smooth and fluid, precise in a way that came from years of use. He paid and headed for the end counter, he still felt eyes on his back.

He turned to scan the cafe looking for who it was that seemed to find him so interesting. It seemed most of the patrons were going about their usual business. Blue eyes met green and the owner of the green eyes looked away. Richard observed that he seemed tired. His hair was a mess and his clothes looked like they'd either been slept in or heaped on the floor. Richard returned his attention to the counter when his name was called. He took his drink and waved to his brother before leaving.

He had a busy day ahead of him, the new semester started tomorrow and, he had meetings with all of his professors today in regards to his being nonverbal. He wasnt looking forward to it. He drank from his coffee as he walked. Today was going to be long and likely annoying, but it was best to get it out of the way now, than drop it on his professors in a class full of students tomorrow.

He was a part time student, thankfully he only had four classes. Psych, Roots of Modern Historical Issues, Sociology, and a creative writing course to fill is credit requirement for electives. It reduced the number of conversations he needed to have and the amount of time he would have to spend on campus on his day off. If things went to plan this semester would go well.

For the record things did not go to plan. His creative writing professor was not too inclined to help him. There wasn't much in the way of verbal classes participation during the semester, but the final was the reading aloud of an original piece that they worked on during the semester. He had asked if he could have one if his brothers record themself reading the piece aloud and Richard would sign along to it as his final, and she had shot him down citing "his discomfort with speech as no excuse to not participate in her class." So as soon as he could he was dropping the class. His other professors had been much more understanding thankfully.

The next morning he woke at his usual time and took his time getting his things for his classes together. His books and notebooks, as well as the notebook he used to communicate with people who couldn't sign. With everything together he grabbed the full messenger bag and headed for the cafe. Facing his first day of university would definitely go better caffinated in his opinion.

The walk to the cafe was short and about as quiet as a morning in Detroit could be. The line when he arrived was thankfully short, he made the tail end of the morning rush if the chaos of the staff behind the counter was anything to go by. When it was his turn to order he changed it just slightly.

'Large coffee, black.' He signed giving his brother a tired smile, glad to see that Connor was at least enjoying his morning. Paying for his drink he headed for the end counter, the feeling of being watched from yesterday following him as he went.

He stood to the side of the counter since the cafe was more busy than the day before. After a moment Richard was joined by the stranger from the day before, he looked just as tired. Richard gave a slight nod. He received smile in return.

'Good Morning' Richard signed, deciding to greet the stranger maybe establish some kind of social standing with him.

The stranger frowned hiking his shoulders up a bit and looking at Richard with confusion lining his gaze, "Ah, um, sorry, but I don't know sign language." The man sounded almost ashamed of himself.

"He said good morning." Connor's voice pulled Richard's attention away from the stranger and he gave him an appreciative smile.

"Good morning then." The man replied with a tentative smile, seeming a little more sociable now that he had help.

'R-I-C-H-A-R-D. My Name Is. You Are?' He signed knowing Connor would pick it up if the man still needed help, though it looked as though he had recognized something. Time stretched without a reply and Connor came to the rescue again.

"He said his name is Richard." As he spoke he handed Richard his drink, which he took at this point just to keep his hands busy.

"Ah, I'm Gavin its nice to meet you." Gavin seemed more relaxed now, which was good. A check of the time showed that if he didnr get a move on he would be late. He nodded to Connor, gave a slight wave to Gavin and made his way to the university.

His first class was history, he had a half our between that and his creative writing class that he used to find a place to spend time that was close enough to his classes to keep from being late. After his creative writing class he had 10 minutes to get to sociology and 10 minutes to get from sociology to psych.

As he expected, the creative writing class wasn't much his cup of tea. Aside from his professor attempting to get him over his "fear" of speaking there just wasn't enough structure for him to enjoy the class. History, and sociology went well and he was looking forward to psychology. After all that was what one of his degrees was in.

He made his way to the class, with a coffee from the campus cafe and a bit of excitement thrummimg in his person. He looked over the classroom looking for somewhere to sit and spotted a familiar hoodie and made his way over. Gavin looked up at him in surprise.

'Hello G-A-V-I-N. I Can Sit With You?' He signed it slowly hoping whatever Gavin had recognized before was there. And it seemed to be, but he still didn't respond. Annoyed Richard let our a huff of air and tapped on the chair a little harder than needed, pointed to his chest, then back to the chair to make a point.

"Uh yeah, I guess you can sit there." Gavin said after a long moment. Deciding signing clearly wasn't going to work he pulled the notebook put after sitting down.

'What are you here to study?' He wrote sliding the notebook to Gavin, keeping a hand on it to pull it back after he got a response.

"Criminology. What about you?"

'Psychology and forensic linguistics.'

Gavin seemed conflicted for a moment, his face going to a trip of expressions setting on a mix of curious and baffled, "But you don't talk? How is that going to work. As a shrink you'd need to be able to speak with your patients. And lingual researchers need to discuss their findings."

Anger flashed through Richard as he signed A-S-L. The signs were a spittle harsher than he intended but he had hoped that his one professor would be the extent of this he would have to deal with. He didn't like that it came from Gavin too.

'American Sign Language is a language.' He underlined the word is to make a point. 'And what about deaf patients they can't exactly be listened to. But that aside I have plans to go into law enforcement.'

He shoved the notebook at Gavin with a little more force than was strictly needed. As Gavin read it his expression softened and he looked genuinely sorry.

He raised a hand in a pacifying sort of gesture, "Sorry." He brightened slightly as he continued, "You plan on going into law enforcement too? Think you could help me through this class?"

Richard couldn't help the smile that curled at his lips. What he had seen as ignorance had just been genuine confusion. The smile curled into a smirk as he wrote.

'Learn ASL then we'll /talk/ about it.' This semester was going to be interesting after all.

@yayen-chan

[rjhpandapaws]

A Hand in the Matter Master List

Prologue: 3 Racoons in a Trenchcoat

Chapter 1: The Silent Stranger

Chapter 2: Sleepless Green Eyes

Chapter 3: Back Down from a Challenge

Chapter 4: Something to Think About

//warning for comparison and poor self image

Chapter 5: I May Not Know You Well But...

//warning(s): implied obsessive-compulsive behaviors, graphic-ish description of a depressive episode, and poor self image

Chapter 6: ...I Wouldn't be Adverse to Trying

//Warning(s): all the same as chapter 5, self harm, suicidal ideation, rationalization of self harm, compulsive thought spiral, detachment from sense of self.

Chapter 7: Adventures in Interior Decorating

Chapter 8: Make a Home Here

Chapter 9: Little Moments with You

Chapter 10: How He Sees Me

Chapter 11: All Your Friends in One Place

Chapter 12: Adopted by Strays

Chapter 13: Time Flies when You're Distracted

Chapter 14: When Racing a Deadline Its Fine to Go Slow

[rjhpandapaws]

A Hand in the Matter

Ch3: Back Down from a Challenge

In the week or so that he had known Richard, Gavin had come to notice something; Richard could get him to do just about anything if he just asked. It wasnt something that Gavin was familiar with, he wasn't the easiest to get along with after all. He had his opinions and tended to stick with them, even if they were wrong. He had a tendency to get into fights. It goes to say that all of his edges were rough, he liked it that way, it forced people to keep their distance. Everyone, he found, except Richard.

Richard who had his own opinions on things. Who would go toe to toe with Gavin in an argument just because he could. Who had come to Gavin's rescue once when a fist fight he may or may not have started got a little out of hand. Richard who looked him dead in the eye outside of Hand Brewed Hope that morning and sent him a challenging text.

Tall Phcker from Psych: Bet you won't sign your drink order. I'll buy the coffees tomorrow if you do.

Bribed, he was being bribed. He flipped Richard the bird as they walked inside Gavin coming to stand behind his taller counter part in line, "If I fuck this up I'm blaming you. But hey, free coffee is free coffee."

Tall Phcker from Psych: The signs are on the menu. If you fuck it up its because you're dumb.

"Well that was rude." He didn't argue that Richard had a valid point, "Just because I'm not some kind of genius like you doesn't make me dumb."

Richard didn't bother to grace that with a response, instead he stepped up to the counter ordering his own drink with smooth signs. He paid and stepped to the receiving counter. He eyes Gavin and raised an eyebrow. An unspoken dare, and well, Gavin had never been on to back down from a challenge.

Gavin stepped up to the counter looking the menu over for his drink. Connor was behind the counter and probably already knew what he was going to order, but there was a free coffee riding on this. He found his drink on the menu and lifted his hands to sign.

'Medium Carmel Machiatto With One Espresso.' It was stilted and choppy, and he was pretty sure he signed the second half wrong, but he had at least tried. For all it was worth Connor at least looked impressed, or shocked, Gavin couldn't exactly tell.

He paid and met Richard at the receiving counter. Richard already had his drink and was standing out of the way, waiting for Gavin it seemed.

"Well?" He asked, "How did I do?"

Tall Phcker from Psych: It looks like I'm buying drinks tomorrow.

The text was accompanied by a small smile, Richard's equivalent of a shit eating grin, and Gavin's chest filled with pride. Some challenges were worth meeting head on.