#so they’re trapping themselves in this limbo trying to squeeze everything out while they still can bc it��s obvious they think if they stop

[releaseholiday]

"#I have a lot of thoughts on how unhealthy their relationship with their job is" please share

[monchikyun]

XIII. give you everything

Connor can’t help but laugh when a palm lands on his cheek ever so softly. 

“You’re aware that I can’t feel physical pain, right?” 

“Shut up,” Gavin pretends that he’s bothered by that rhetorical question, but the hint of a smile trying to force its way in doesn’t go undetected. Ever since the morning, his face has been graced by the shade of red Connor can’t get enough of, which is the main reason for his good mood.  

Somehow they ended up playing rock-scissors-paper and Gavin insisted that the loser should receive some form of punishment, “to spice it up a little”. He thinks that the man just wants to test how advanced his programming is, to find out whether he’s even capable of losing. The truth is he could accurately estimate Gavin’s move if he concentrated enough, but then this would be no fun now, would it. 

Of course, he had to draw paper in their first round and the fact that Gavin immediately went for scissors was all but unexpected. The man himself can be sharp like a knife when you touch the wrong side of him. 

Connor has a hard time admitting to himself that he lost on purpose because he can’t quite figure out why. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Gavin mumbles and invites him for a rematch. 

He supposes there are better ways to spend their free time, but since no one is willing to talk about what is going on between them, childish games count as the next best thing. 

And Connor really enjoys the limbo they trapped themselves in. It’s just warm enough without the possibility of leaving burns. Luke-warm, if he’s being honest with himself. A bit bland. Still, he could live with that. He can ignore the longing in Gavin’s eyes if it keeps them safe like this. 

“Guess I win this time.” Gavin’s fist uncurls in disappointment, preventing Connor from enveloping it in his ‘paper’. 

“You sure you didn’t cheat with your robo mind-reading power?” There is nothing but playfulness seeping from his voice, still, Connor can’t believe he even has to ask. 

“You really do think highly of me, don’t you?”

“So that would be a ‘no’.” He squeezes his eyes shut and winces in anticipation. 

“I’ll be gentle, I promise.” 

And he is, imitating the slap he got just a couple of minutes ago. 

“Seriously? Well, that was kinda underwhelming.” He sounds almost dissatisfied. Connor never considered Gavin was into that kind of stuff but one never knows what the other person might be hiding. Not that he minds, it’s just a piece of information he needs to get used to. 

“So was yours.” He smirks at him, creating a petulant frown on his friend’s face. 

“Good point.” At least he doesn’t initiate a fight. It would be a shame if something ruined their so-far peaceful day. 

The snow has finally stopped falling, letting a ray of sunshine peek through the thick clouds. He would suggest taking a walk if Gavin hasn’t coughed three times in the past two hours. Connor has been monitoring his vitals, not noticing any significant change to his health, but that might have been only thanks to their current sufficiently heated location. At least according to his scans it is so, because the detective’s hands rub his arms up and down in an attempt to get rid of the cold only he can feel. 

“If only you had a perfectly comfortable sweater to wear.., what a pity,” Connor shakes his head in theatrical sorrow. 

“Oh, wait.” 

The darts coming from Gavin prick his skin without having to look at him at all. Now, this is fun. 

“You do!.” 

The man seems offended by his toothy grin, which makes it grow even wider. 

“For phck’s sake, Connor. I told you I’ll wear that over my dead body.” 

“Guess I’ll have to kill you then.” 

He means it as a stupid joke, but the air turns serious as soon as his mouth lets out those words. 

“Sorry.” 

He shouldn’t be the one letting himself be carried away by the moment, no matter how carefree it might have been. 

But Gavin doesn’t react to his feeble apology, busy making himself smaller to contain some of his bodily heat. His temperature is still within the norm, but that doesn’t tell him anything about what might happen in the next several hours. Days. 

He repeats his actions from the night before, placing his blanket around the man’s shoulder, letting his hands linger a little longer than they should. 

They spend the rest of the day wasting their time by playing all the games from Gavin’s childhood that Connor would never have the opportunity to experience otherwise. It’s a nice gesture, if that indeed is the intention behind it. Could be that this is the detective’s idea of dealing with boredom. And since they’ve decided to forget all about their work while they’re here, there weren’t many options left if they wanted to avoid all communication that could direct them to the forsaken grounds, also known as a personal dialogue. 

Connor almost had to force-feed Gavin the lunch he ordered for him, fighting against his endless excuses of not being hungry. He needs the strength if his condition is to worsen, and he’d make sure he gets it, even if it ended up in him having to shove a spoon inside his human mouth and nearly choking him to death. The man does sometimes act like a misbehaving toddler, but he figures that’s just a part of his charm. Besides, he likes taking care of him, it makes him fulfilled, for more reasons than one. It reminds him that he’s capable of so much more than just police work. 

It’s late in the afternoon now, the sky has gone dark and their carefully structured conversation quieted down into a pleasant silence. The only light source in their room is provided by the muted television which no one pays any attention to. 

Gavin is sitting on the ground, backed propped by the side of his bed. He’s still snuggled in Connor’s blanket, cradling a cup of tea the android has made for him. 

He has packed plenty of supplies with him, thinking they might come in handy. It’s better to be over-prepared than the opposite, an opinion that this trip has confirmed to him. 

Connor has just got off the phone with Tina, assuring himself that Sumo is being adequately spoiled. He really misses that oversized lump of fur, but the dog is doing just fine without him, so he has nothing to complain about.  

Checking up on Gavin he notices his temperature has risen above what’s deemed healthy. He sits next to him and retracts the skin on his hand, pressing it on the man’s forehead to extract the precise reading, just to be certain.  

“Yeah, I know,” Gavin says, clearly defeated. He shifts a bit and looks at him like he’s seeing the most beautiful being in the world, setting the now half-empty cup aside. 

“C’me here.” 

Maybe it’s the medicine he took twenty minutes ago finally kicking in, making his brain all mushy and body too clingy, but Gavin magically pulls him in his lap and holds him like he’s the last of his kind. He rests his head on the android’s chest, and Connor is too weak to deny him this show of vulnerability. Even if it’s likely drug-induced. They stay like this for a while, basking in each other’s touch, breathing in the tender atmosphere. Their hands have found each other too, fitting together like opposite poles. His spare one is threading through Gavin’s hair, messing it up on purpose. Connor loves seeing it like that, it feels intimate to him. A secret side of the man reserved only for those who are closest to him. It’s nice. Too nice. 

The moment is so overwhelmingly light it doesn’t even occur to him how dangerous his actions are. How those small acts can wedge a rift between them if he isn’t careful enough. 

But it’s too late to back out because Gavin kisses his chest, the place whereunder his mechanical heart beats loudly. And it doesn’t stop there. He traces those kisses up along his collar bone, his jaw, his neck, eliciting a content hum from him in the process. When he comes close to his lips, the man hesitates for a second that seems like an eternity, but ultimately decides to give in. 

And that where Connor draws the line. Snapping out of his trance, he quickly shoves his hand in front of his mouth to prevent Gavin from doing something he won’t be able to take back. 

“I’m sorry,” comes the muffled expression of regret. He truly loathes having to say that phrase so often because he apparently can’t do a single thing right in his life. 

He climbs off Gavin, dropping his body right next to him instead. 

“Why,” the man breathes softly. 

“I- I can’t. I can’t give you everything you want, Gavin.” He tries to communicate his despair through his doleful gaze, which his friend appears to be drowning in. 

“What-” Connor grabs the upper side of Gavin’s hand, guiding it towards him in an answer. It discomforts him greatly, but he leads it to where his genitals would be if he had any. He’s not the only one unsettled by this, for he senses Gavin struggle against his grip and at this point he has no choice but to set him free.

“You phcking toaster, you think I don’t know that?” he laughs without mirth. 

“You think that… that I want you just for your body?” 

Connor has hurt the man again, despite trying to do the exact opposite. 

“...no?” 

“No!” It’s not that difficult to believe, but not as easy when the truth has been spoken out loud. 

Gavin leans back into him, resting his head on his shoulder. At least they haven’t spiralled down the path of pretend animosity. 

“You don’t mind that I’m not a man?” Connor has never really regarded himself as one. It’s a label that doesn’t feel right to him. He’s simply himself, a human-like android who has been given a soul. There is no need for something else.

“I don’t care what or who you are, Con. As long as it’s you that’s inside, I wouldn’t mind if you were a phcking jellyfish, I’d… I’d love you all the same.” 

“You… you love me.”  The world around him gets blurry as he can’t quite process what he just heard.

“Is that so surprising, tin can?” Gavin chuckles, his own tears audible in that delightful sound.  

He wants to say it back, every inch of his being is urging him to do so, but his brain has frozen over and refuses to receive any command his heart gives him.

The words are stuck in his chest, leaking out through his close eyes, unable to be turned into any shape. They stab him with their intensity over and over, making him want to pluck them out and throw them at the person who has created them. 

“I-”

“You don’t have to, Con.” 

Maybe neither of them is ready to carry the weight behind that sentence just yet.

@a-convin-new-year i had to change the title a bit to suit my story hope you don’t mind 

[themurphyzone]

Animal Crossing Oneshot: New File

I wanted to try my hand at a full AC fic. One that jumped on the whole edgy bandwagon. I might do more AC fics someday too! 

Whenever a New File was created, the countless number of animals that waited in limbo all clamored for their chance to be within the Player's inner circle of friends. The lucky shopkeepers were always in demand, and even if the Player chose to delete the town, more Tom Nooks and other shopkeepers would replace the one that had simply vanished into a thin string of coding.

On certain days of the year, special characters would pop out and provide everyone with food and fun before they left for town. After all, it was their job to give happiness to others with their funny quirks and gifts.

It was all they could do, since the alternative was a cheerless existence.

"A new town has just started up in the Gamecube quadrant, sparkles!" Chrissy exclaimed, tugging Francine through the crowd so they could look at the Board. "This is like, super ultra rare! Do you think I'll be picked, huh? I hope they have peaches!"

"Slow down, karat. You're wrinkling my tee," Francine complained, lightly brushing her clothing so it didn't wrinkle over her cottontail. "Are you certain about this? I haven't seen a New File here for quite a while."

Looking around, Francine could tell they weren't the only ones who'd been attracted to the Gamecube quadrant at the announcement. Several Hoppers pretended to be disinterested, though their twitching feet betrayed their anticipation. She could see at least five other excited Chrissies dragging their Francines behind them. Two Louies engaged in a flexing contest, as if that would somehow persuade the Board to select one for the Player's town.

It was obvious that nobody else had expected the Gamecube quadrant to have a New File. Usually the New Leaf quadrant was the busiest. Francine had made it a point to never set foot in there. Apart from being musty and overcrowded, she knew that she'd have a better chance at being chosen for a New File elsewhere.

Her paw clasped Chrissy's in anticipation. Thankfully, nobody else pointed it out. She would've died of embarrassment. She swallowed thickly, squeezing Chrissy's paw. What was the point in being sisters if they were all chosen when she wasn't? Why couldn't a Board have mercy on them and allow them a peaceful life together of catching bugs and fishing?

It seemed like an utterly cruel twist of fate that they were told of a kind land where they never went hungry and there was always a friend to count on, yet never got to experience it for themselves.

The Board rose high into the black void, its six slots spinning with infinite combinations of who would be chosen to partake in the New File.

"The Gamecube quadrant is now closed. Please have your ID cards ready. Scanning for the drawing pool will begin in one minute."

Francine untucked the ID that she hid underneath her tee, inwardly grimacing at how unsightly the necklace looked on her outfit. Chrissy's ID hung on a similar chain, and she quickly scanned over the number.

"Scanning will now commence in preparation for Player: Cara, Destination: Lovetown. Please stand by."

Lovetown. What a tacky name, Francine thought.

"Isn't that a lovely name?" Chrissy cried, bouncing up and down as the blue light washed over every animal in the Gamecube quadrant. Francine didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise. "That name sounds like it would be a deliciously magical place for marshmallows and peaches!"

"IDs scanned. If your name and ID match, please step onto the platform so we can transfer you to Lovetown. Please enjoy your time with Cara!"

The six slots stopped spinning, each displaying the picture and name of an animal with the corresponding ID number.

Becky #3850

Bones #7326

Mitzi #8829

Oxford #0143

Jay #3712

Chrissy #7671

"Oh my gosh! I'm in! I'm in!" Chrissy cheered. "I can't wait, sparkles! Peaches, here I come!" She danced around in excitement, taking a nearby cat's hand and

Francine quickly forced a smile. "That's great. Instead of these annoying bozos, you have to live in close proximity with those annoying bozos."

"Oh come on! They're not all annoying bozos!" Chrissy protested. "I mean, peaches taste better when you're sharing with someone, right?"

"Course," Francine muttered. "Just go already. I certainly won't be missing you, karat."

Chrissy frowned, then wrapped her paws around Francine in a tight hug. Francine stiffened, turning red as she felt some several prying pairs of eyes bore into her back. Awkwardly patting her back, Francine slowly pulled away.

"I'm sorry," Chrissy said. "I'm sure you'll get to eat peaches in the sunshine one day."

"Good luck," Francine murmured, ignoring the looks of pity she received from the other Chrissies and Francines. It was unfair how they managed to stay together. It was unfair how the last pair she'd witnessed got to be in a town together, while she struggled to maintain her hold over one Chrissy for…how long has it been since she was born from the coding anyway?

Chrissy gave her one last look before the Board sent her and the other chosen away.

Forever.

The Board determined who would be sent to live in a town when a New File was created. The Board determined who would be a new arrival once the Player was settled. The Board determined who would be ripped away from their happy life and thrust into complete limbo in a swirling mess of numbers and letters under the guise of "moving out".

Players simply couldn't fathom the wave of darkness that swept over deleted towns, engulfing every pixel that made up their being. How villagers screamed and tried to escape the disintegration, but to no avail. Everything one worked for dissolved into puddles of code, unable to be salvaged by even Resetti.

Francine kicked at the nonexistent dust at her feet, not caring if her pedicure was damaged. She couldn't watch another Chrissy leave. Chrissy was too happy, too chipper to be forced out there into the world of screens.

Players were fickle creatures. When they decided that they didn't like you, they'd do everything in their power to get rid of you. Would Chrissy be stuck with one of those? The one who'd gleefully swing a net at her head or purposefully trick her into stepping on pitfall seeds?

Or perhaps she'd be trapped with the cruel player who starts a town and deletes it within a few minutes, uncaring of the animals who were just seeing the sunshine for the first time in their lives, and their joy would be short-lived as they disappeared forever.

Perhaps another day, she would eat peaches, decorate a house, and befriend others.

But Francine liked her life. She could exist. The Board couldn't force her to ask for a change in catchphrase here, nor force her to ask the Player of a favor that she could've handled herself. Or worse, say the much reviled "I'm moving out" spiel.

Yeah, it was dreary, and nobody could establish a relationship for long before they were forced apart. However, it was still her home.

Francine pulled up a chair, smiling at the half-formed Chrissy within the computer.

"You're the twenty-fourth Chrissy I've known since I was formed. Twenty-four is the purest karat. Maybe it's a sign that we'll strike it rich this time."