#something to do with the virus affecting him and raising his body temperature maybe?

[tiredsurvivoronmain]

He's wishing he was in the cold with Chris right now ;-;

Based off the picture of Chris (from revelations) on his screen in some cutscenes and Wesker being a little sweaty in RE4R

[ashiemochi]

Hewwo and good morningg baby <3<3 i come with a blurb idea thats soff for once sjsbejsbsi but i was thinking what would Damnation Leon react like if his s/o with chronic insonmia (jsnsjsnsjs) came out to cuddle him, resting their head on his lap and immediately passing out on him becauss he's the only remedy for their insomnia? Purely self-indulgent but ejebejebejebejehej ilysm

awhh bby <33 Damnation Leon soothing his gal to sleep - lets gooo

Leon was up late, having to type in his report of his recent mission. The lights in his office room were out but the little desk lamp that you pestered him to buy; something about 'don't hit the door on your way out when you become blind.'

Whatever the fuck that meant.

Still, his eyes burned and stung faintly, having been staring at the laptop's screen a bit longer than usual. Leon huffed, ceasing his typing to lean back against his chair, sighing as he rubbed the inner corner of his eyes then he glanced at the time. 2:23 AM. It was too late for this but the DSO wanted it tomorrow.

Before Leon got up to get a tea refill and maybe a snack or two, soft knocks came from behind his door. They were so quiet Leon thought his tired mind was beginning to play tricks on him but the door sliding open proved him wrong. Leon blinked, finding you standing there, covering yourself with your blanket.

"Hi..." You muttered, voice sounding faint and exhausted. Leon raised an eyebrow, leaning back and crossing his arms against his chest but worry tugged at his heartstrings.

"Hey, baby," Leon kept his voice low, not wanting to disturb the silent past-midnight hours, "Why are you still up?"

Your grip tightened a second on your blanket, switching weight from one foot to another as you spoke, "... Can't sleep."

It clicked in Leon's - your insomnia was acting up again. Leon knew about it when he first met you and he could relate to an extent. With the government and evil virus-addicted scientists looming constantly over his head, Leon too could barely get a wink of sleep.

Having reports to do was one of them.

Leon could stand not sleeping, but what he couldn't stand was seeing your dull eyes as you'd try and continue on with your day as if your body isn't ever so slowly shutting down, mind deteriorating with the lack of sleep.

Leon's eyes softened at your small voice before uncrossing his arms and pushing his chair back a little, "C'mere."

Even with the dim light of the laptop and the desk lamp, Leon saw your cheeks redden as you entered his space, closing the door behind you. The ash-brown haired man gently coaxed you onto his lap, getting your legs to straddle him and slip under the chair's armrests. Leon reached down to cover up your legs by sliding down the rolled-up pants.

A relaxed sigh came from you as you snuggled up his chest, borrowing his body heat and the warmth of the sweater you wore - which too was his so you guessed you were borrowing Leon's essence; borrowing him.

"Something on your mind?" Leon mumbled lowly, wrapping his arms around you, shivering slightly when the tip of your cold nose bumped into the crook of his neck.

Your sleep disorder had affected your overall body temperature, leaving you feeling colder than usual. Whilst Leon was just fine in a simple clad shirt and sweatpants, you had to wear a long-sleeved shirt under a knitted sweater, big fluffy pants and socks.

Yet you'd still shiver.

The drowsiness began catching up almost instantly and you didn't know if it was his warmth that was soothing you to sleep or the fact he was there.

Leon was there. His arms around you. Surrounding you in his embrace, keeping you close and comforted.

"... You..." You whispered, eyes slowly dropping as your body grew heavy and Leon tilted his head down to take a peak of you.

"Me?"

"Mmm... 'm in love with you..." Your lips barely moved but you managed to kiss his skin ever so faintly and Leon's ears pinked, smiling at your words.

Ah.

He was on your mind; the thing that kept you protected and feeling secure.

"I love you too." Leon whispered, his hand reaching up to brush your hair away from your head before pressing a lingering kiss on your forehead, muttering into your skin.

"Sweet dreams, princess."

And that's all it took to get your body to finally give you a long-awaited slumber.

[taelme]

can you write a parent!au with Taeil where you both are taking care of your kid while their sick (maybe twins?) so you put them to bed or sumn. this is kinda a mess , I loved your Taeyong au with byul!!

genre: parent!au, established relationship!au, kind of slice-of-life, right? I think haha, domestic!au (fluff just alot of domestic soft parent taeil)pairing/s: Taeil / Readerword count: 3k+tw: nonea/n: thank u so so much for being patient anon!! im taeil biased and I love domestic aus so this was very much self-indulgent as well HAHA i hope you enjoy this!!

On days like these, you’d never appreciated Taeil’s presence more.

You were currently rushing over from the bakery you worked at part-time while the kids were at school, a privilege that was courtesy of the kind elderly woman who took you and Taeil under her wing when you were newlyweds.

Upon receiving the phone-call, your heart sank. You’d heard about a few of their classmates having fallen sick recently, not knowing that the flu virus would have spread so quickly to the twins, knowing it was only made worse with the awfully rainy weather you’d been experiencing.

Your only consolation as you were making your way to the preschool was that it was almost time for Taeil to get off work, meaning that you would get help to care for your kids soon.

The receptionist who you were pretty familiar with had greeted you with a sigh of relief, a young girl with a bubbly tone. You didn’t miss the sympathetic look she had given you as she buzzed you in, and you didn’t have to ask her to know that the sound of the crying in the distance belonged to your children. 

Letting her lead you to their classroom, you spotted your pair of 2-year-olds, crying their hearts out as they sat on a mat away from the other students, the teachers desperately trying to soothe them.

“Look, look! Look who’s here!”

One of their teachers gave you a relieved smile upon spotting you, managing to successfully divert your children’s attention towards you, your toddlers standing up immediately and running over to your squatting form with a loud cry leaving their lips.

Opening your arms wide, you’d let them collide into you, rubbing their backs soothingly as you consoled them, “it’s okay, I’m here, I’m gonna take you home, okay?”

Their form teacher had made her way to you, letting the other teacher instruct the children to go to their respective seats, about to start another activity with them. 

“We really didn’t want to disrupt you, but they seemed to be going through a lot of stress so we figured it was best to call you so they can go see a doctor,” the teacher told you apologetically, making you shake your head in dismissal.

“It’s fine, really,” you assured her, “I understand how hard it must’ve been with all of this going on,” you gestured towards the rest of the students who were talking and playing loudly amidst all that was happening.

“Will you be able to manage?” the receptionist had asked, though you knew it was simply out of sympathy since there wasn’t much of a way for her to help if you had said no.

Choosing instead to nod, you stood up, carrying your daughter on your hip and holding your son’s hand with your free hand, managing to usher then out of the class as the teacher explained the situation further to you. 

You had to manage, anyhow.

Cursing mentally, you knew that you didn’t have medicine at home, since you hadn’t found the time to buy any since the last time Taeil fell sick. And your children’s tired-looking, tear-stained faces weren’t doing anything to lessen your worry.

You’d felt your son tugging on the fabric of your pants.

“My head,“ he whimpered, his features beginning to pull into a frown as his pout grew bigger, signs that you knew were the prelude of tears.

“I know, honey, that’s why we’re gonna go to the doctor now, okay?” you told him as you were helping him put on his shoes, your daughter clinging to you tightly as you did so.

“So that the doctor can give you and your sister medicine,” you explained, “then you guys will feel better, hmm?” you gave him a reassuring smile, watching your son nod slowly, feeling too uncomfortable to be anything other than compliant at this point.

Figuring you shouldn’t waste anymore time, you’d bid goodbye to the teachers, fumbling to get your daughter’s shoes on before you left the centre.

Like you said, on days like these, you were extremely thankful for Taeil. 

Had he not chosen this neighbourhood for the both of you, you wouldn’t have been able to bring your twins to the doctors as smoothly as you did now. Though your shoulders were already beginning to ache from carrying your daughter with one hand.

Your son was snuggled up against your arm, staring at the elderly lady sitting nearby that was smiling at him, and you shifted carefully in your seat as your daughter was beginning to fall asleep on your shoulder, giving you a chance to phone Taeil.

“Hello?” You spoke, hearing the tell-tale sound of him clearing his throat. 

“Hey, baby, what’s up?” you could practically imagine his smile. 

You couldn’t help but sigh, huffing in spite of yourself, “the school called to tell me that the kids weren’t feeling well—”

“Huh? Where are you now?” you heard him pause to bid one of his colleagues goodbye.

“—so I’m at the doctors now, but there’s a few people ahead of us so we won’t be that fast,” you glanced at your queue number. You were about 3 consultations away.

You heard muffled noises on Taeil’s side, being able to faintly make out the sound of him bidding goodbye to someone.

“Okay, I’ll head over now, see you soon,” Taeil’s words came out calm, serving to lessen your worry slightly as you bid him goodbye and hung up.

Two patients down in the queue, you’d heard the bells at the door jingle to signal the entrance of another patient you assumed.

Looking up, you couldn’t help but smile, letting out a deep sigh of relief as you saw your husband walking towards you, raising his eyebrows in amusement as he spotted your half-asleep twins lying on and against you.

Upon being woken up by the harsh sound of the nurse’s partition being shut, your daughter had let out a whimper, her cries slowly growing as the discomfort started to kick-in.

Taeil had a smile full of affection on his face at the sight of his daughter, cooing and making soothing sounds at her as you attempted to ease her distress, you waited for Taeil to be done settling down before handing your daughter carefully to him.

“Why are you crying?” he cooed, bouncing her lightly on his shoulder as she had calmed down in the arms of her father.

You felt him lean over to give you a hug, pressing a light kiss to your cheek as you caught the whiff of a scent that was utterly calming, a scent that to this day you could only associate with Taeil. You resisted the urge to sink into his touch.

“Hey, baby,” he murmured.

You heard your son mumble something incoherent, looking up and mustering a tired smile for his dad as Taeil smoothed your son’s hair over, your son bringing a hand up to rub his eye as he wrapped his other arm around yours.

Stretching his arms out in a silent plea to be carried, you couldn’t help but smile, hoisting your son up onto your lap, letting him lean over to sling his arms around your neck, surprising you at his body temperature.

“He’s burning up,” you told Taeil, making Taeil reach over a hand to press it against your son’s forehead gently, the boy leaning into his father’s touch with his eyes drooping closed.

Taeil grimaced, glancing at the queue number currently being flashed on the board, “hopefully the next consultation will be done quickly.” He said, more as a consolation for you since he knew you long enough to be able to tell that you were worried.

Taeil leaned his head against the wall, his hand rubbing your daughter’s back soothingly, “did you have a hard time just now?”

You shrugged, giving him a reassuring smile.

“Not really, I’m just glad you’re here now,” you told him, earning a tight-lipped smile from him. 

“You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

 You shook your head at Taeil’s question.

“I haven’t, but I doubt either of us have any energy to cook,” you huffed, earning a nod from him, his hand that wasn’t holding your daughter reaching over to grasp yours, his fingers interlocking with yours, resting your interlocked hands on his thigh.

“The kids probably won’t be able to stomach the usual food, anyway. We can just head next door to get something for all of us,” he said, referring to the small (but very well patronised) Chinese food restaurant that you frequented since your kids loved their soup.

Taeil yawned, blinking slowly as he looked at you with hooded eyes, “how were things at the bakery today?”

Your attention was temporarily diverted when you saw the board flash a new number, signalling that you were next in line. Taeil being able to sense your anxiousness, your mind clearly preoccupied with how you’d completely missed his question. 

“Hmm?” you looked at him expectantly, curious as to why he was looking at you like that.

“Do you want to borrow my shoulder?” he asked, his tone light yet firm.

You shook your head, “it’s alright, you worked the whole day…you’re probably more tired than I am,” you explained.

Taeil gave you a look of disbelief, his hand coming up to smooth over your daughter’s hair, “yeah, you’re not fooling anyone—”

“Taeil, please. I’ll manage,” you gave his hand a firm squeeze, hoping your tone was as firm as the gesture.

You spent the next waiting moments zoning out, your son beginning to fiddle with your hair and giggling whenever he managed to tuck the stray strands behind your ears.

You’d felt Taeil tap your hand before you heard the ding of the queue number changing, “c'mon,” he got up with a grunt.

This elicited a giggle from you, trying your best to withhold your comment on how you were both getting old as you picked your son up with a light grunt of your own and carried him over to the doctor’s office.

You were thankful Taeil did most of the talking. You tended to trust him more whenever it came to the more serious matters like these, and of course, you knew this was a serious matter, but you couldn’t help but swoon at Taeil’s demeanour. Fortunately, you weren’t the one that was explaining to the doctor, you wouldn’t have been able to focus for very long.

“Can you bring watch the kids first? I can go and buy the food while you’re waiting,” you told Taeil, seeing him nod at you, prompting you to go as he led your children to the reception area, being able to faintly hear him telling them you were going to get their dinner.

The grandma that ran the restaurant had recognised you, asking you many questions about how you were and how your family was doing while you waited for the food to be prepared.

“Did you come with your husband?” She asked.

You nodded, an unconscious smile making its way on your face as you thought about Taeil, “yeah, he’s next door waiting for the kids’ medicine.”

She gave you a smile, the kind you would give at a cute animal or an adorable baby, “you two are so sweet, send my regards to him and the darlings, okay?” she told you.

Casting a look behind her, she’d stood up, briskly walking over to the kitchen and coming back out with your food orders, “thank you, sweetie.”

You shook your head, thanking her for the food before going out of the restaurant, seeing that Taeil was already waiting outside the doctors for you, pointing in your direction to alert your kids. 

“Look! Your food is all ready, now we can go home!” Taeil said in an overly-enthusiastic tone, waving your twins hands in the air to get them in a more excited mood. 

Your daughter giggled at Taeil’s behaviour, Taeil’s tone managing to get her excited at the thought of food, and you took your son’s hand as you walked back to where Taeil parked the car.

You could hear him humming a song absently as you both strapped your kids into the car seat, the familiarity of it serving to calm you down (which was Taeil’s goal). Letting him drive, you’d spent the ride in relative silence, aside from the sound of Taeil’s music, until you were home.

“We shouldn’t shower them, should we?” You asked, looking to him briefly for advice as you opened your front door, ushering your son in with an excited sound, making the boy erupt in a fit of giggles as he waddled in the direction of his room.

Taeil hummed, his lips twisting into a thoughtful purse, eventually shaking his head, “I remember my grandma telling me that you should give them a sponge bath, she used to do that when we were children and we were running fevers,” he recalled.

Humming in acknowledgement, you nodded, leading your kids to the bathroom as you prepared whatever you needed.

Taeil squat down next to your kids and helped them out of their clothes, pulling his sleeves up to his elbows as he helped you to wash them.

After you were done, you’d brought them to the dining room to eat, thankful that they were compliant even despite the discomfort they must be feeling.

Your son pushed back Taeil’s hair that was falling out of place with a giggle as Taeil fed him, the sight alone enough to make you smile.

“What are you doing, baby?” You asked.

Your son turned to you with a smile, his hands moving to cover Taeil’s forehead. Swallowing his mouthful of dumplings, he spoke, “daddy’s hair is too long, he can’t see.”

You pressed your lips together in your attempt to stifle your laughter, shooting a look at Taeil who simply sighed in agreement, “you’re right, I think I’m due for a haircut too.”

“I think daddy will look cute with short hair, don’t you think?” You asked your daughter, feeding her the last bit of her dumpling as she looked at Taeil curiously, as if trying to imagine what he would look like before nodding her head vigorously, her eyes pulling into small crescents as she grinned at you.

Taeil scoffed playfully at you, “I’m cute with any hair.” Making you laugh, shaking your head at him, turning to scoop the last of your daughter’s food into her mouth. 

“All done,” you sing-songed, standing up to dispose of the food packets, cheering internally that there were no dishes that needed to be done.

Leading your kids back to their room, you’d almost cooed at the sight of how readily they’d gotten into bed with their fever patches on their forehead, excited that Taeil was about to read them their bedtime story.

Soon enough, you could tell they were beginning to doze off, murmurs of ‘goodnights’ leaving them before they’d forgotten all about the story, not seeming to care what would happen to ‘Curious George’ anymore as their breaths evened out, their tiny figures clutching to their bolsters tightly.

Taeil’s eyebrows lifted as he carefully pulled the book from the bed, setting it on the bedside table before turning to you with a tired smile.

Walking out of their room, you saw him raise a hand up to you, not being able to help but laugh as you gave him a high-five, feeling his arm go around you to rub your arm soothingly.

“We did it!” He murmured as triumphantly as he could without waking the kids, earning a groan of relief from you.

“For today,” you sighed, “you should’ve seen them at the centre, they looked like they were in so much pain. Let’s just hope they recover soon.”

Walking into your bedroom, you’d gone to shower first, Taeil lounging on the floor next to your bed using his phone as he waited. You were done quickly (despite the ache in your shoulders), letting Taeil shower as you took your time to get changed, searching through your drawers to find pain-relief patches.

Going over to your kids room, you’d turned on their night-light, sitting at the small chair you had near their bed and basking in the calm of their room for a while, the sight of them peacefully sleeping serving to calm your heart down a little more.

Taeil figured you were in the room when he hadn’t seen you in your bedroom after showering. Going over to your kids room after changing and opening the door slowly to find you in your children’s room, walking over to you and holding his hand out for you to take. 

He’d looked different now, so much younger in his sleeping attire, his simple shorts and t-shirt a big contrast from his office-wear, his hair still slightly damp and messy from being tousled by his towel.

“Ready to go to bed?” He asked, earning a shake of the head from you.

“Me neither,” he huffed with a smile, stretching out a hand for you to take, and you’d let him pull you back to your room. 

Sitting on your side of the bed, Taeil made his way over after turning off the light, the small lamp on your beside table casting a warm glow on where you were. About to pull you over, Taeil frowned upon spotting the pain relief patches on your bed.

“What’s wrong?”

You shook your head, setting your phone down and turning, seeing him holding up the box of pain-relief patches, “nothing, my shoulders just kind of hurt, I think it’s my sleeping position and carrying the kids just now made it hurt a little worse.”

Taeil frowned, beckoning you over to the bed as he sat behind you, cross-legged, one of his hands going up to rest on your shoulder nearer to your neck, “here?”

You brought your hand up to grasp his, moving it just slightly, “here.”

Taeil tut his tongue in feigned annoyance, already beginning to dig his thumb into your shoulder, “you’re almost as stiff as me,” he snickered, “you see, this is what happens when you don’t let me take care of you more.”

You rolled your eyes, not being able to retort when you’d felt him apply more pressure on your shoulders, letting your eyes close briefly at the sensation, not knowing how much time had passed before he stopped, letting out a small huff of amusement.

“Better stop now, wouldn’t want you falling asleep like this.” He helped you paste the patches on your skin, tossing the box onto the nearby work desk, and you turned around to face him.

“How was work?” You asked, hearing him hum.

“The usual, I guess, there wasn’t much going on today other than working on my marketing proposal,” he yawned, “oh, right, Johnny told me to tell you he says hi,” he huffed, lying down on his side of the bed, his palm going under his pillow as he looked at you from where he lay.

You couldn’t help but laugh, “that’s cute. Can I bring over some lunch next week?” You lay down, rolling over onto your side to face him, feeling him roll over so he was facing you as well.

“For me? Or for Johnny?” He teased, making you gasp. 

“Fine, I’ll just bring it for Johnny then since you don’t—”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Of course, you can.” He was quick to make a disclaimer, lest you really show up without his lunch. You sighed, shooting him a harmless glare.

“I think I’ll stay home tomorrow to look after the kids,” you yawned, hearing him whisper a small thank you, his thumb rubbing the skin of your waist gently, a yawn leaving him as well. 

“You know…” you began, “today while everything was happening, there was just one thought that kept popping into my head.”

Taeil sniffed, nodding at you as he blinked slowly, prompting you to continue, reaching one of his hands out to brush your hair behind your ear, feeling the cold metal of his wedding ring graze your cheek in an ever so feather-like manner as he pushed your hair away from your neck absently.

“How good this neighbourhood is?” He joked, making you scoff.

“Yes, that was one,” you smiled, “but the other thought was…how thankful I was for you.”

Taeil fell silent at that, simply looking at you with a tired smile on his face, your words seeming to have filled him with even more love for you, if that was possible.

You heard stories about your friends who were struggling to take care of their kids when both they and their partners were working, and you knew that choosing to sacrifice your job temporarily was a choice you were willing to make, but you were thankful you had someone like Taeil by your side who was more than willing to do his part as a father, most of the times doing more than the bare minimum.

“What?” you broke the silence, not being able to handle him staring at you like that any longer even though you’ve been together for so long, making him shake his head, his movements almost seeming slower as he shifted closer, his hand going under your chin gently as he pressed his lips against yours.

Pulling away, he’d let his forehead rest against yours gently, a silent acknowledgement of your words.

“Love you,” he murmured, making you pout before leaning over and closing the gap between the both of you, kissing him a little longer this time.
Pulling away reluctantly, Taeil had wrapped his arm around you, pulling you closer so your head was now resting on one of his biceps, your arms wrapped lazily around his torso as well.

“Goodnight,” you murmured.

Taeil rubbed your back gently, “‘night.”

[steves-on-a-plane]

Don’t Get Attached (P11)

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six / Part Seven / Part Eight / Part Nine / Part Ten Words: 1724 Connor x Daughter!Reader w/ Dad!Hank Anderson A/N: Okay so couple of things with this chapter. It’s longer than most, (like double the length!) because a lot of the dialogue is straight from the Meet Kamski Chapter in the game, but don’t worry there is definite enough of my personal flair in it too. Also this is the 2nd version of this chapter that I wrote. Originally I was going to take this in a whole other direction, but then I got an idea from @dragonempress123′s comment on one of the older Parts. (I’m not saying which one.) And honestly I’m really happy with the direction that this version takes instead. I can post what I’ll call the “Non-Canon” Part 11, if there’s enough interest, but going forward the story will be built based on this version. 

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“Jeez, I’m glad Connor gave me this jacket.” You shivered in the back seat of your father’s beat up old car. “It’s freezing up here.”

“Don’t you have plenty of your own coats?” Your father hissed.

“Sure, but this one’s better.” You zipped up the jacket a little bit more to further drive home your point. “You could just get a car with functional heat you know.”  

“Connor doesn’t mind that there’s no heat. Do you?” He cast a brief glance in the andriod’s direction before looking back at the road. The car was almost at the end of Kamski’s snow-covered driveway.

“While I am not affected by temperature changes in my environment, I can certainly understand how the lack of a functional heating system would be uncomfortable for [Y/N].” Connor replied.

“I should have known it was only a matter of time before you two started to gang up on me.” Hank sighed. “We’re here. Leave the coat in the car will ya?”

“Absolutely not!” You argued immediately. “What if this guy is as cheap as you and doesn’t have his heat on?”

“Will you just get out of the car then?” He snapped in frustration.

You and Connor followed your father up to Kamski’s front door. Hank rang the doorbell and a blonde android answered. Introductions were made to the android did not question why you, a civilian, was along with two police personnel. Instead she greeted everyone warmly and ushered you all inside. After a brief wait, you were escorted into the next room. Kamski was swimming in a lap pool, joined by two more identical blonde androids.

“Guess androids haven’t been a bad thing for everybody.” Your father said, only loud enough for you and Connor to hear.

“Who gets blood red pool tiles?” You added  just as quietly. Kamski padded his way over to a ladder and climbed out of the pool.

“What can I do for you and your partners, Lieutenant?” He asked while one of the blonde androids offered him a robe. Now it was clear to you why no one had questioned your presence. They all assumed that you were an android just like Connor. Your father had been right after all. All it took to be mistaken for an android was something as insignificant as a jacket.

“Sir, we’re investigating deviants.” Your father played into the ruse because it seemed easier than explaining himself. “I know you left Cyberlife years ago, but I was hoping you’d be able to tell us something we don’t know.”

“Deviants.” Kamski repeated. “Fascinating, aren’t they? Perfect beings with infinite intelligence and now they have free will.  Machines are so superior to us, confrontation was inevitable. Humanity’s greatest achievement threatens to be its downfall. Isn’t it Ironic?”

“We need to understand how the androids become deviants.” Connor clarified. You could tell from his expression that he was not amused by Kamski’s reveling. “Do you know anything that could help us?”

“All ideas are virus that spread like epidemics. Is the desire to be free a contagious disease?” Kamski asked.

“Listen, I didn’t come here to talk philosophy.” Hank interjected impatiently. “The machines you created may be planning a revolution. Either you can tell us something that’ll be helpful, or we will be on our way.” Kamski scanned all three of your faces before setting his attention on Connor.

“What about you, Connor?” He pried, stepping towards him. “Who’s side are you on?”

“It’s not about me, Mr. Kamski.” Connor replied defensively. “All I want is to solve this case.”

“Well, that’s what you’re programed to say.” Kamski chuckled. “But you. What do you really want?” You exchanged a glance with your father. As much as Kamski’s badgering was making you uncomfortable, you were still curious how Connor would respond.

“What I want is not important.” Connor explained.

“I’m sure you’re all familiar with the Turning test. Mere formality.” Kamski said now addressing all three of you. “Simple question of algorithms and computing capacity. What interests me is whether machines are capable of empathy. I call it the ‘Kamski test’ it’s very simple you’ll see…” He was now looking at you. Studying your face. Surveying you as if you were a prized antique up for auction. His attention made you uncomfortable. Connor made a subtle side step so that he was partially shielding you.

“Magnificent, isn’t it?” Kamski continued, still looking right at you. “Perfect and beautiful forever. A flower that will never wither. But what is it really?” He looked away from you to ask your father. “A Piece of plastic imitating a human? Or a living being with a soul?”

Kamski turned his back to everyone to reach for something. He opened a drawer and removed an object. When he was facing you again, you realized the object was a gun. You stiffened at the sight of firearm. You weren’t afraid of guns necessarily. Your dad had been a cop your whole life after all, but there was something about Kamski’s demeaner that made him seem unpredictable. Connor took a very calculated half step in front of you for protection. Again, you and your father shared a concerned sideways glance.

“It’s up to you to answer that fascinating question, Connor.” Kamski handed Connor the gun. Connor looked down at the weapon, perplexed. “Destroy this machine and I’ll tell you everything I know.” Kamski stepped forward and pivoted Connor’s body. He raised the android’s arm so that the gun was pointed directly at you.

“[Y/N]!” Your father called out for you, but Kamski was standing directly in his way, his hand still over Connor’s with the gun. If he moved, Kamski might shoot him instead.

“It is alright, Lieutenant.” You said in your best impression of an android. It was a shaky impression, but enough to do the trick. There was no doubt in your mind that Connor wouldn’t shoot you. You trusted him implicitly. However, there was still that illogical part of you somewhere panicking because a gun was pointed right at your head.

. “Or spare it, if you think it’s alive but you’ll leave here without having learnt anything from me.” Kamski told Connor. The billionaire released his hold on the gun and took a step back.

“Okay, we’re done here.” Your father interrupted. He’d had enough if this entire situation. “Put the gun down, Connor.”

“No interference from the peanut gallery!” Kamski snarled at you. “For the test to be conclusive, Connor has to make the choice on his own. Decide who you are. An obedient machine, or a living being endowed with free will. What’s more important to you Connor? Your investigation or the life of his android?”

“This is ridiculous. She’s not an android! That’s my daughter!” Your father snapped. “[Y/N], I told you to take that fucking coat off.”

“Even better.” Kamski seemed unfazed. “If she’s human, that makes for an even more thrilling test of empathy. A true machine will accomplish it’s mission at all cost, Connor. Regardless of your relationship with your human partner or his daughter. But a living being? Well how could you look into her eyes and decide that learning more about deviants is more valuable than [Y/N] Anderson’s life?”

“Connor, you put that fucking gun down now!” Hank ordered. His hand hovered slightly over his own gun, but he knew better than to draw it too early. He’d been in enough stand offs to know that introducing more weapons to the situation on decreased you, the hostage’s, chance of survival.  

Connor hadn’t spoke since Kamski had handed him the gun and neither had you. He kept his arm pointed at you exactly how Kamski had angled it, but still you knew that you had nothing to fear. For a brief second the thought did cross your mind that maybe Connor might actually do it. That he could pull the trigger and you’d be gone, but you knew Connor better than that.

Connor had been displaying signs of empathy for several days now. Whether android were supposed to or not, Connor actually cared about you and your father both. You guessed that he was just waiting for the right moment to lower the gun. Kamski was obviously an unstable individual and even if Connor didn’t shoot you, it was reasonable to assume that Kamski might himself if he felt cheated out of his “Kamski Test.”

“Pull the trigger.” The billionaire bated.

“Connor don’t you dare.” Hank took a step forward, obviously not in on the secret revelation between you and Connor.

“From ancient grudge break to new mutiny. Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” Connor recited just in case you hadn’t already figured out that he had no intention on shooting you. He lowered the gun without hesitation.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Your father asked. He jumped between the two of you immediately, just in case Connor changed his mind.  

“Romeo and Juliet, Lieutenant.” Kamski answered taking back his gun. He shook his head. “Cyberlife’s last chance to save humanity is itself a deviant.”

“I’m…” Connor opened his mouth to argue but his processor must have been overloaded. It took him several seconds to manage; “I’m not a deviant.”

“You preferred to spare [Y/N]’s life rather than accomplish your mission.” Kamski disagreed. “You saw her fear and you showed her empathy. A war is coming you’ll have to choose your side. Will you betray your own people or stand up against your creators?” Connor did not respond. “What could be worse than having to choose between two evils?”

“Connor, C’mon.” You slipped your hand inside of his, lacing your fingers together just like you would on one of your walks with Sumo. Now holding hands the android let you tug him away. You walked towards the door while your father gladly brought up the rear. Hank had a protective hand on each of you so that neither of you could turn around or more likely in your case, head back into the room once the shock wore off and go off on Kamski for what he’d just done.

“By the way,” Kamski called out, unmoving from his position. “I always leave and emergency exit in my programs. You never know.”

“Just keep walkn’.” Your father mumbled in warning. “We’re getting the fuck out of here.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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[rovingconvict]

Part Two

(Storyline with @HeartOfRegret from from 10/19/16 to 11/1/16) 

Travis: 

In the year that had passed since Layla and I had left for the west coast, our relationship had continued to develop into something so wonderful I could have never dreamt possible. I had been a cynical man when it came to the matters of the heart, and it had taken meeting Layla to change me. Despite the threat the virus had placed over our lives, we had survived. Together. Somehow we had formed a life together, fallen in love, and survived both the virus and the sort of fallout that had taken place once the initial devastation had tapered down. Yes, we had continued to face dangers on our travels, but for the most part, Layla and I had made it to California, settling in a modest home along a deserted beach. It had taken months to find the resources we needed to sustain our lives physically and to create a comfortable life for us, albeit a stark difference to what people would have considered "the American dream." Now as I stood on the backyard deck, steam rising from my mug of coffee, I replayed last night's dream in my head. It had to be a dream because of the strange people I encountered, one face standing out over the others, a distorted version of my late father. At least I assumed he had died during the outbreak. He kept repeating the same jumble of words, and the more I tried to recall them, the more his grotesque visage faded in my mind. As I sipped from my coffee, my eyes closed, savoring this part of my morning rituals that I had taken for granted. Layla and I had gone for months without finding any coffee to brew until we stumbled upon this house, finding it eerily untouched compared to those in the surrounding neighborhoods, almost as if it had been waiting for us. Another sip, and my eyes slowly opened, taking in the rolling surf, a contrast to the otherwise quiet environment. A noise from inside the house caught my attention, and I slowly made my way inside, heading toward the source. What I found almost made me drop my mug. It was Layla sitting on the edge f our bed in some sort of trance. Although her eyes were wide open, they had rolled back in her head until all that was visible were white orbs, moving in odd rotations. I couldn't hold back a disgusted gasp as I took in the rest of her face. It had contorted in a way similar to my father's in my dream, and she was mumbling in a voice starkly different to her normal one. Except I could actually make out the words she was saying. "Ravens, beware... ravens, beware... ravens... ravens." I didn't know what to do. Was it like dealing with someone who was sleepwalking. I had read something about how important it was not to wake a person in that state. But this was different. @HeartOfRegret had remained in this state for almost ten minutes now. Slowly extending my hand, I slowly waved it in front of her face, hoping to receive some kind of reaction from Layla. Nothing. The mumbling had ceased, but her eyes remained the same. Unsure of what to do next, I took a seat on the bed beside her, gently grasping her shoulders, giving a light squeeze until finally Layla crashed back onto the mattress, lying still for a moment. If I hadn't seen the rise and fall of her chest, I would've mistaken her for dead. Her arm slowly raised until it rested above her head, turning her face to the side as her eyes opened. 's gaze rested on my face a mere few feet from hers and smiled in recognition. "Morning, babe. Is that coffee for me?" I was stunned at the stark difference in her behavior and simply nodded, unable to find my voice, waiting until Layla sat up, handing her my coffee. Layla simply gave me another beautiful smile when our hands touched, mouthing "thank you," her eyes fluttering closed while she took that first sip.* "Perfect. Just like you." Layla reached for me with her free hand, and I pushed away the frightening images I had just witnessed to the back of my mind, choosing to focus on the angel who brought me so much happiness. Layla: A year had passed and Travis and I had never parted. We'd found unexpected love in a dark world. The outbreak brought a lot of casualties and hate, but along the way we managed to steer clear of the worst of it. Our journey brought us to the west coast and after searching for an ideal place, Travis and I had managed to find a place to call home. Due to everything, sleep became altered in ways that aren't always easy to describe. The nightmares often affect Travis and I find myself trying to sooth him during those times, which in turn leads to my lack of properly sleeping. We take care of each other though and I find there isn't a whole lot I can physically do for the man I've grown to love in such a powerful way, but when he's sleeping and at his most vulnerable, I do what I can to bring comfort. Often times, Travis relaxes and I can find sleep myself. The last week had been a very restless week for me, so when Travis and I slipped off to bed there was no lingering awake for very long. I felt like I'd finally gotten the much needed sleep before I found myself waking to Travis with coffee already in hand. A smile played across my features as a feeling of being refreshed washed over me. There was no lingering exhaustion this morning. Just Travis, me and this perfect cup of coffee. Maybe it was because we'd missed coffee so much, but it really was perfect. I let the moment linger a while longer before glancing at Travis questioningly. "Are you feeling okay? You look a little on the pale side." In all honesty it wasn't unusual for either of us to look a little blanch due to the limited resources that we'd had for so long, but since finding the place we call home... Things had changed for the better. We were looking healthy again. Eating better. The things we'd been lacking had been found, though we were both a little on the thin side still. Regardless... We were happy here. Happier than we'd been in a long time. My free hand moved to take Travis' as I eaned in lightly kiss his cheek. Really, I was feeling for how hot his body temperature was, but I didn't notice much of a change. Maybe it wasn't an illness after all...