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sethrine-writes · 5 years ago

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I Will Fight This War For You (Hold On), Ch. 2

Pairing: Connor x Female Reader

Words: 5442

Chapter Warning: Fluff, Jealous Connor, Worried Connor, Serious Tones

Story Summary: “Our choices define us. Don’t let them tear you in two.”

Your investigation into the string of deaths of both humans and androids takes a drastic turn when a victim is purposely left alive. The killer’s intent is the same, to prove a point you have yet to figure out. The change, however, is the power of choice.

Stress and exhaustion lead you astray as you and Connor are both thrust into a war between the mind and the heart. You can only hope everyone involved makes it out alive.

IMPORTANT A/N: This is a repost from my previous blog of a DBH fic I started over a year ago in response to a challenge a friend of mine posted up, at the time. I’ve also gone through and edited/cleaned up each chapter for a better reading experience! I’ll be posting a chapter or two every day until I’ve posted all current chapters, and then I’ll be updating with a brand new chapter for the first time in nearly a year!

Inspired by the song Torn In Two by Breaking Benjamin.

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Chapter 2 - A Tide of War and Broken Dreams

The park was lovely during the early evening hours, the sun barely on its ending trek toward the horizon, ready to cast the baby blue sky in brilliant colors. Rays of sunlight bounced off patches of undisturbed snow in such a way that it twinkled gently as you swayed on your feet, shivering ever so slightly.

The cold was embracing, honestly, and it had you feeling lively despite your current exhaustion. You had even taken a handful of snow earlier and pressed it to your face, the shock of the action waking you like nothing else.

Connor, however, had been unamused by your jittery antics and continued to be a worry-wart as you shrugged off another shiver. Between him and Hank, it was a wonder you hadn’t developed an ulcer on their behalf.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather stay in the car until they arrive? The temperature is twenty-four degrees and will continue dropping-”

“I’m fine, Connor,” you assured for the third time since coming to a stop at the park bridge, huffing out a laugh at his worried expression.

He'd begun fussing over you when you had woken up from a brief nap after last night's shift and had continued to do so nearly all day, much to your amused chagrin.

As expected, you had helped Hank with his paperwork and finished a few files of your own before heading home sometime around three that morning. Once back at your cozy abode, you'd taken to reviewing the interrogation video regarding Anthony. You sat for hours trying to pick apart what he had said, using the small nuances of his voice as well as his movements to help you better understand what he was trying to tell you right before he left the room.

“Our choices define us. Don’t let them tear you in two.”

Sleep had been hard to come by during the past few weeks, but after last night’s turn in the case, you were lucky your body allowed you a brief two hours of uninterrupted sleep over your at-home desk before you were back into the case files with restless energy. The crick in your neck hadn’t been pleasant, though Connor had done an excellent job at massaging out most of the pain, despite his initial plan to most likely put you back to sleep with the soothing pressure.

“I believe it would be best to seek someplace warmer,” Connor urged, his words coming out in a rush, almost as if he were trying to hold back from saying anything more. “You’ve been stressed lately, which has drastically compromised your immune system's ability to-"

“Connor, sweetheart, I'm fine,” you insisted with a groan, effectively cutting off his rambling by turning toward him and giving an exasperated smile. “Look, I’m all bundled up in my big coat, and a scarf, and I’ve got a nice, hot cup of honey lemon tea warming my hands, since you so vehemently urged me to lay off the coffee.”

You emphasized your words by holding up the paper container from the coffee shop you had stopped at before setting out to the park, giving the half-empty container a little shake. Connor looked sheepish, but still had the audacity to sigh heavily, the action completely unnecessary and only meant to showcase his slight frustration through action. You rolled your eyes at the theatrics, but smiled all the same.

“If it makes you feel any better, we’ll be in a nice, warm space as soon as we meet up with the others,” you placated, moving closer to place your head against his chest while wrapping your free arm around his back.

Connor returned your embrace rather quickly by pulling you even closer, snugly fitting you against him. He was warm and comforting through the thick layers of clothing separating you, and you realized a moment too late that he had planned your snuggles from the start, knowing you would want to comfort him after he became huffy over your own exasperation, and had purposely increased his core body temperature to warm you.

Having an analytical boyfriend who learned your every quirk had its ups and downs. In that moment, it had to be somewhere in the middle, seeing that you were both irked and endeared by the thought behind such a clever play of events.

“You are insufferable, sometimes,” you groaned, leaning into him more heavily. Connor only chuckled, knowing he had been caught.

“I think you enjoy it,” he said.

“Oh, no, you caught me,” you mumbled against his coat in a mock surprised tone, earning you a quick peck to the top of your head and, undoubtedly, a gentle smile.

Time seemed to slow as you relaxed fully into Connor's embrace, the warmth of his hug and the slow, smooth motion of his hand rubbing at your back lulling you with its comfort. Your eyes had slipped closed without your knowledge within seconds, and the cup of tea in your hand would have surely fallen, had your arm not been curled just so between you and Connor.

For a minute, you were blissfully falling into a fitting sleep against your clever boyfriend.

“Look at you two lovebirds!”

Startled, you pulled away from Connor and turned quickly, nearly dropping your tea with the sudden movement. Connor placed a steadying hand between your shoulders as your eyes focused fully on the small group approaching, a grin spreading across your face.

Simon was ahead of the pack, his bright blue gaze joyful as he rushed forward and pulled you into a hug. From over his shoulder, you could see North grinning at you, with Josh and Markus just slightly behind, talking to themselves as they approached.

The joyous laughter that escaped you couldn’t be stopped.

“Simon! It's so good to see you,” you exclaimed, pulling away to better look at him. He had a wide smile set in place, eyes crinkling at the corners as he looked over your features with extreme fondness.

You could remember a time when he had been leery of you, as had North, and yet here they were, almost more eager to greet you as you were them.

Connor had introduced you to Markus, who then introduced you to everyone else, shortly after the revolution, and though it was a bit of a rocky start, you couldn’t dream of a better group of individuals to call your friends.

Simon had been on the cautious side, afraid to trust, and you couldn’t blame him. Now, he was perhaps your closest friend, always smiling openly and sharing his thoughts with you without hesitation, and it warmed your heart to know that he trusted you so deeply.

“I’m happy to see you, too. It's been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Couple months, at the most,” you replied, “but who's counting?”

Simon gave a short chuckle, his hand sliding to your free one and giving it a gentle squeeze. You returned the gesture, watching his smile widen with the action. For a moment, he seemed content to just stand there, holding your hand without a care in the world.

He startled when North appeared beside him suddenly, placing a hand to his shoulder to gain his attention. She eyed him in amusement as he looked a bit flustered, his gaze darting back to you and briefly over your shoulder.

He stepped aside quickly, smiling to you once more, albeit a bit more forced, allowing North to move in and wrap you up in her arms. You returned the embrace without much more thought on the strange interaction, humming pleasantly.

She had been the hardest of the group to befriend, at first not wanting to even so much as be in the same room as you. With Markus' gentle persistence in properly getting to know you, however, North came to learn that you could be trusted, that you held no malice for android kind and only ever wanted to help and aid in their cause.

From there, a tentative friendship formed, and it grew with each passing day.

“Missed you guys so much,” you mumbled against her shoulder before pulling away with a huff of breath. She smiled genuinely at you, in turn.

“Can't believe we've been gone for so long,” she said, pulling away with a groan. “You wouldn’t believe the shit we’ve had to sit through. Feels good to be back home for a little while.”

“Remind us never to go so long without seeing that smiling face of yours, again,” Josh intervened teasingly, swooping in for a hug of his own and a peck to your cheek, his attention turning immediately to Connor afterward to continue his greetings.

You grinned at the affectionate attention, recalling how easily Josh had taken to getting to know you. He always saw the good in others and believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt, which led to many a friendly conversation between you both. It was only natural that you would grow closer in such a short time, and the easy way he acted with you was proof enough.

You finally turned to face the last of the group who stood before you, patiently awaiting his moment for pleasantries.

“Markus,” you called out warmly, watching his smile widen at your greeting. A gloved hand immediately came out before him, expecting a handshake, though your pause had him chuckling. You quirked your brow at him, amused, and watched as he changed tactics and held out both arms to you. You rushed forward and embraced him as you did the others, humming delightedly against his shoulder.

“No handshakes, only hugs,” you mumbled, pulling away to give Markus a good once-over. He was dressed warmly in a long coat, gloves made of soft leather, and though you knew that androids couldn’t quite feel the cold as humans could, the look was cozy and appealing.

Goodness, but you had missed him.

“Business meetings have already trained me to greet with a handshake,” Markus said by way of explanation. “You know I meant nothing by it.”

“Of course,” you grinned, unable to keep your giddy happiness at bay. “God, I’m so glad you’re back.”

“As am I. I've missed you, just as much as the others have,” he said, hands coming up to cup your cheeks. His smile dropped then, expression a bit curious as his eyes roved over your features. “How have you been?”

“Alright,” you answered with a sigh, reaching up to pat at one of his hands to lessen any worries he might have had.

Markus was always very good at picking up on things, and it didn’t help that your exhaustion was probably more obvious than you wanted to admit

“This case has been an utter nightmare. Haven’t been sleeping as well as I could, but go figure, right?”

Markus hummed at your answer, eyes roving over your features curiously. He had always been like that as long as you’d known him, curious and eager to learn, always wanting to be better, do better, in hopes of being half the man his father figure had set him out to be.

You knew, without a doubt, Carl would have been so proud of everything he had done and what he would continue to accomplish.

“Perhaps you'll rest easier tonight,” Markus said softly, hands leaving your cheeks. You hadn’t realized how warm the leather had been against your cold skin, almost instantly missing the touch.

You watched as Markus' gaze moved and lingered behind you, his expression becoming a bit more serious. You turned to the side, finding that Connor was approaching with an equally serious look upon his face. He gave a short nod after a lingering silence.

“Hello, Markus.”

“Connor. You look well,” Markus replied, earning a small lilt of a smile. Connor then reached forward and clasped arms with Markus, a mutual greeting they had with each other, before pulling away with a more genuine grin. Any perceivable tension all but vanished between them, leaving behind a much friendlier atmosphere.

“How have negotiations been?” Connor asked.

“As well as can be expected. Our rights are within our grasp, though lacking several signatures to finalize the documents. A permanent Bill will be enacted by the end of this week, and a list of laws, including any unjust action toward androids, will follow soon after its signing.”

“Good to know,” Connor commented. “I know how difficult it must have been, but the laws couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time.”

“So I've heard,” Markus replied, eyes growing hard. “You mentioned things were suddenly more complicated with your investigation.”

“Moreso than we initially thought, unfortunately.”

“Alright, then. Perhaps we should continue this discussion somewhere more private, and preferably much warmer for you?”

Markus' gaze fell to you at his query, and you immediately perked at the notion.

“That sounds fantastic, actually,” you answered, pausing at the affronted look Connor gave you. “What?”

“At least you take someone's advice,” he said, his tone playful despite the disbelieving face he was pulling. You rolled your eyes yet again, reaching for Connor and linking your arm with his. Behind you, Josh was making some sort of comment, most likely one at your expense, before being effectively cut off by a jab of Simon's elbow into his side.

“There's a public library nearby,” Markus spoke up. “We can talk there.”

---

The upper section of the library had its own lounge area, the perfect, quiet place to discuss things with your company without others interfering. It helped that the staff was very cooperative, ensuring that the upper floor remained off-limits until you were all ready to leave.

The group took to their own areas of comfort; Markus and Connor stood across from the lounge you, North, and Simon sat upon, while Josh leaned against the back of a chair to your left. You had even taken off your coat and scarf, placing them within the empty chair at your right.

Everyone was focused as you and Connor relayed information pertaining to your current investigation, vital info they were privy to only because of the person of interest and the victims involved in the cases.

“So the suspect is an android,” Markus stated, having processed the majority of what you and Connor had explained. “You're sure of this?”

“Anthony seemed genuine when describing his attacker,” you responded in affirmation. “We had previously profiled him as human, but Anthony was very clear to establish the suspect was an android."

“This is very unprecedented,” Markus murmured, brows furrowing in confusion. “It would make more sense if your suspect was human, but an android attacking other androids in such a manner…I can’t deny there have been a few problems with our transition into society, but nothing this extreme.”

“Problems? Have there been android-on-android attacks?” you questioned, shocked.

Surely the DPD would have picked up on some of the crimes, and even if you hadn’t been assigned to them, surely there would have been talk about androids going at each other, especially among the more intolerant officers.

“Nothing that led to any physical violence,” North spoke up from beside you, which affirmed your lack of knowledge on the matter. “Just verbal attacks on differing opinions, some minor backlash between those wanting to lash out at humans and those understanding that it will take time and careful effort to normalize our lives.”

You supposed it made sense. Not all androids would be up for a peaceful resolution, especially after the way a good majority of them had been treated by those humans they were made to obey. North, especially, had once been on track with violence, as she had believed there was no other way to reason with humans. Still, most seemed to side with Markus and the careful, civil approach he was taking to ensure all androids had all the rights of a human being.

“Ever since our peaceful victory,” Markus continued, “we’ve maintained a close network between many of our people to ensure safety. We all have a common goal, and we have, thus far, continued on the path of civility so that we may all live amongst each other comfortably in the foreseeable future."

“Well, someone obviously didn’t get the memo,” you deadpanned, throwing back the last of your lukewarm tea before tossing the paper cup into a nearby trashcan with a mild grimace.

“Hold on, wouldn’t we have heard something from one of our informants?” Josh questioned in disbelief. “I mean, it feels like someone would have noticed something off, especially to this magnitude.”

“Not necessarily,” Connor answered. “If we believe our suspect to be an android, it's highly possible he's someone within our circle. He would be harder to detect when under the trust of the very man who led the revolution, and it would be much easier to keep a low profile.”

“Is it possible that there’s more than one person behind everything?” Simon asked, throwing out an idea.

“Unlikely,” Connor shut down quickly. “No previous evidence hints at more than one suspect, and with Anthony's testimony taken into account, there is nothing else to suggest multiple offenders.”

Ideas and concerns continued to bounce around the group, valid points being brought up only to get squashed by conflicting evidence to the contrary. It was a confusing mess, just as it had been from the start, and it felt like the case was, once again, coming to a dead end.

You sighed through your nose, closing your eyes as you tried to piece together what you already knew in the vain hope of figuring out something that would help.

The suspect was currently being considered an android that was kidnapping both humans and androids. From the first two cases, there were two victims each, where the victims knew each other in some manner. The third case added an extra victim, human, but the setup was the same: one victim was tortured with small injections of blue blood while the others were made to watch.

The motive was still unclear, but to you, it felt like the suspect was sending a message. The first two cases might have been just practice rounds, and the third was possibly the suspect adjusting the variables, perfecting his method by adding something the other two cases didn’t have.

“A choice,” you whispered, eyes opening in mild confusion. Anthony's parting words to you began to play in your head yet again with the small revelation.

“Our choices define us. Don’t let them tear you in two.”

“Hey, are you alright?”

You turned at the sound of your name and the gentle touch of a hand upon your knee, finding Simon looking at you in worry. You hadn’t realized you were being so quiet and pensive as everyone else dove into the discussion. Even now, North was bringing up some sort of misunderstanding between an android and human she had overheard, the topic clearly having redirected itself in some way, as both Josh and Markus corrected some of her exaggerated details.

“Yeah…yeah, I'm good,” you answered quietly, not wanting to interrupt the others.

Simon's light grip on your knee tightened, a gentle prodding for you to talk to him. You sighed again, smile weary as you placed your hand over his and took hold of his fingers. Your friends sure were good at figuring you out, and Simon...you could tell Simon anything.

“I'm exhausted,” you murmured sincerely, reaching up with your free hand and rubbing at your dry, aching eyes. “This whole investigation has me so anxious to solve it. I can’t sleep, not for very long, at least, without the details running circles in my head. I'm constantly queasy, and my head aches, but I just want to catch this guy before more people get hurt.”

Simon gave a small hum of sympathy, his hand twisting in yours until he was able to smooth his thumb along your knuckles. The motion was grounding, calming, something he had taken to doing during times you were in distress. The action never failed to ease your racing thoughts.

“It must be hard to have all these details on your conscience,” he said, “but you need rest. It's not safe to be so tired, especially in your line of work.”

“I know,” you admitted, words grumbling in your frustration. “I just…I wish I could piece all this stuff together and figure out why this guy is doing this. Everything’s just a big mess right now in my head.”

“Maybe you could try bouncing ideas off me? I know we’ve technically been doing that already with everyone else, but…maybe it would help having just one person to talk to, instead of five talking over you.”

You looked up at Simon, his gaze still showing concern, but just as equally, there was an eagerness there to help in anyway he could. Smiling, you leaned toward him and bumped your shoulders together in a friendly manner.

“Yeah, okay. Can’t hurt to try, I guess.”

Simon smiled gently, fingers squeezing yours before his thumb continued the slow, methodical movement across your knuckles once more.

“Okay, tell me all the details again.”

---

Across the way, Connor watched you. His eyes roamed over the scene before him as if he was looking over evidence for analysis. He lingered on your hand clasped in Simon's own, how he touched your skin with gentle, unending strokes. You were speaking quietly with him, leaned in close, body relaxed and comfortable within the other's presence.

He realized quickly that what he felt at that moment was jealousy. Connor knew that, when it came to Simon in particular, he felt jealous because of your easy relationship with the other android. He hated that he could feel such a way over someone you both considered a friend, but it was there, an ugly beast of an emotion that clawed at him from deep within, stuttering his thirium pump and twisting his inner mechanisms with vicious intent.

Connor had only felt such a way a handful of times, flashes of heated envy over something that was so trivial in every sense of the word. Honestly, it seemed petty to be jealous over a friendship that brought you ease, a friendship that you had truly felt most comfortable in.

But he could not help the way his emotions were swayed when it came to you.

He didn’t like the way Simon sent almost longing gazes in your direction, as if hoping you would notice his stare as more than friendly. He didn’t like that Simon touched you so freely, and you did nothing to deter him. He especially didn’t like how close the other android was to you at that moment, talking with you in a way that seemed much too intimate, a sight that sent his inner processors whirring with a deep seated feeling. Frustration? Maybe anger?

The L.E.D. at his temple was blipping a constant red as his mind reeled into dangerous territory.

Stop.

Simon needed to stop. He needed to stop right now-

“How long has it been, Connor? Seven months?”

Connor blinked once, twice, the clench of his jaw releasing as he registered Markus' voice from beside him. He was asking a question, a question he was easily able to pick up on.

He blinked a third time, tilting his head ever-so-slightly, though keeping his eyes on you. The red at his temple flickered to yellow, retaining the color for the time being.

“Almost eight,” he answered, voice sounding a bit rougher, the barest hint of interference stuttering his words.

He hadn’t realized how absolutely wrecked he was becoming until his thoughts were interrupted. Seething sounded adequate, but he didn’t believe he was that angry…didn’t want to admit it.

“Eight months,” Markus repeated quietly, his echoed words sounding reverently amazed in the best way. “It doesn’t seem like it's been that long, does it? Then again, it feels like forever, being with the right person.”

Markus turned to look at Connor, mismatched eyes narrowing in a serious manner as his brow furrowed.

“You’re lucky to have each other in this time of change. It's easy to see how much you care for her, how much she cares for you. As long as that feeling is there, nothing will tear you apart, not even what your eyes assume is there right before you.”

“I…”

Connor hesitated, his own brow furrowing, doubting. His gaze on you faltered, eyes closing momentarily with self-doubt. He grimaced.

“Have you told her, yet?”

Connor's eyes opened once more, his head slowly turning toward Markus. For a brief moment, Connor’s façade crumbled away, his brief expression conveying the underlying issue behind everything he was feeling. Markus' own eyes widened a fraction, understanding what Connor was saying without speaking a word.

“You're afraid.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Connor harked defensively, looking away from Markus and hiding behind another spark of what he would call anger and definitely not embarrassment. He felt stupid for letting such emotions get the best of him, for letting such things as self-doubt and jealousy completely ravage his systems and lead his thoughts down dangerous paths of action he did not want to take.

Breaking Simon's fingers was not only uncouth and absolutely not a good thing, but it would also upset you greatly. Connor would be upsetting himself if he so much as humored the sudden, brash thought longer than the blip of a second it took to think it, and yet it was still a thought he had come to.

What was wrong with him? Was jealousy always such a potent feeling?

“Simon is a good friend,” Markus went on, ignoring Connor's outburst in favor of continuing his talk with Connor.

“I know that,” Connor conceded.

“Then you must also be aware that she and Simon have a special bond in their friendship, one that was earned mutually through trust and understanding. The best of friends, those two. They can tell each other anything without fear of judgement or worry that their secrets will be spread.”

“I'm…aware.”

“And it scares you to know she can be so free and open with someone else, can rely so heavily on someone else. Your fear holds you back, doesn’t it?”

“I…I don’t want it to,” Connor admitted softly, his voice sounding small as the root of the issue was carefully prodded and plied open by Markus' doing. He looked to you again, watching your tired expression light up at something Simon had said.

He felt helpless when there was nothing to feel helpless about. You were with him, happy with him; at least, he believed you were. You hadn’t expressed anything contrary to that belief, nothing that outwardly expressed any dissatisfaction within your relationship or a want for something he could not readily provide.

Then why was he so…so scared to lose you?

“Simon is infatuated with her,” Connor muttered, the words almost leaving a bitter taste on his tongue, an odd sensation he would have to dissect later. “He shows all the signs of interest. They would…work well together.”

“In another life, maybe so,” Markus agreed, not dissuading Connor's observation. “But she chose you, Connor. She sees something in you that no one else has. She adores you; Simon knows that. He would never hurt either of you in that way. Just like you and me, he only wants what is best for her.”

“I know,” Connor repeated quietly, and Markus smiled.

Markus was worried for a moment, but talking Connor through his feelings seemed to help the detective. He wasn’t nearly as tense as before, and though Markus could tell his friend was still suffering through a combination of emotions, he had peace of mind knowing he had helped Connor better understand the situation presented to him. Even his L.E.D. was flickering between yellow and blue, his thoughts still muddled, but calming quickly.

“You should tell her,” Markus spoke, clasping a hand to Connor's shoulder with the suggestion. He met Connor's gaze, smile quirking the corner of his lips at the hesitant nod his friend gave him.

Markus pulled away just as North took notice that something was amiss, though he gave a slow, single nod to assure her all was well. She looked relieved, though as her eyes looked behind him to Connor, she frowned in confusion.

“Connor?”

---

You looked up from Simon as North called out to your boyfriend, eyes looking to her, then Connor, who was blinking rapidly as his temple held a steady stream of yellow. You recognized the action as an incoming call and jumped up immediately, moving toward him with an anxious flutter in your gut.

Just as you reached him, he regained focus, deep brown eyes looking to you in surprise as he called out your name quietly.

“What do we got?” you asked, watching his face contort into mild concern before smoothing out into a neutral expression. Vaguely, you felt as if you missed something, but you ignored the feeling in favor of Connor's following words.

“Another murder, same set-up as last time, though the officers on-call are only confirming one dead, and nothing more.”

“Shit,” you muttered disdainfully, looking to Markus and the group with an apologetic expression.

“We understand,” Markus spoke calmly, “I'm sorry we couldn’t be of more help to the investigation.”

“Just being able to talk to you guys was enough for me,” you said, pulling him into a hug he was all too prepared to reciprocate. You moved around the room and did the same with the others, aware of Markus and Connor talking behind you.

“Please, keep us updated on the investigation. If there's anything more we can do to help, anything, you know how to reach me.”

“Of course, Markus.”

You pulled away from your final embrace with Simon, turning toward Connor and pausing. He looked hesitant, almost troubled, his brows furrowed and the slightest frown against his lips. You noticed the flicker at his temple, noting the color was still yellow, cautious and inquisitive.

“Connor, what's wrong?”

His eyes instantly snapped to you, the L.E.D. flickering once more before becoming a steady blue. His expression relaxed somewhat as he reached for your hand, your fingers intertwining with his without hesitation.

“Nothing, sorry. We should get going.”

You nodded carefully, confused by his suddenly odd demeanor. Again, the feeling of having missed something was rearing in the back of your mind, but there were more pressing matters at stake. If Connor didn’t want to talk about it now, that was fine. You knew he would eventually come to you for whatever was troubling him.

You gave his hand a gentle squeeze as you pulled away briefly to grab your coat and scarf, bundling up cozily and taking his hand once more. You tugged gently as you started up a quick pace toward the stairs, giving Markus and the others a final wave as you made your exit.

“Connor, wait!”

Connor stopped abruptly at the exclamation, forcing you to come to a halt in front of him. You both turned to find Simon had rounded the lounge, seeming surprised by his own outburst. He looked almost indecisive about continuing his train of thought, eyes closing as he took a steadying breath.

“Please…make sure she gets some sort of sleep later. You and I both know how stubborn she can be, but I figured, maybe, you could be just a bit more stubborn, this time.”

The room was quiet. Connor and Simon stared at each other, and though you couldn’t see Connor's expression, the interaction made you nervous in a way you couldn’t explain. Then, Connor gave a small sigh, the action alone breaking the strange, heavy tension with ease.

“I will.”

Simon smiled at the promise, and you were sure it was a promise, unspoken but there. It was Connor's turn to lead you away, as you remained momentarily frozen in your place, unsure of what exactly had just transpired before you.

“What are you guys up to, huh? Doing some sort of secret-android-mind-reading? Conspiring against me?”

Connor chuckled, actually chuckled at your faux put-upon questions, turning to look at you with a smile as soon as you both made it down the stairs. It was a complete 180 turn from his previous mood, and it had you nearly reeling at the change.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” he answered, and you believed him.

For whatever crazy reason, that last-second exchange had put him at ease. You would have to thank Simon next time you had the chance to talk to him.

#detroit become human #dbh #dbh connor #dbh connor x reader #dbh markus #dbh simon #dbh josh #dbh north #reader #reader-insert #torn in two

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my-one-love-is-music · 8 years ago

Text

Too Obvious

Summary: In hindsight, Levi realized that the two of them really weren't doing anything to hid their relationship from their fans on Tumblr. They'd just fallen into a rhythm and everything else seemed to fall into place with it.

Time for another installation of the fic verse!!! It's been so long since I worked with the universe I set up, but better late than never, right?

Hope you enjoy some more from our hopeless nerds.

Also on AO3!

It had quickly become routine, interacting with Eren after the two of them had really gotten serious with each other after they started dating. Levi hadn’t thought much about the increase in skype conversations that they’d had or the fact that they weren’t afraid to tag each other in posts at all or have somewhat public conversations, despite the fact that none of Levi’s fans knew what he looked like or much about his personal life beyond the small snippets that he would give if he was running late on an update or someone sent him an ask wanting to know how he was doing.

Eren’s fanart output had also increased now that he was on break and had more time to draw, which he was never afraid to indulge in with Levi’s fics either. Most of their fans followed both of them so it didn’t take long before questions began to arise about the two of them. People wondered when they’d become such good friends and how long they’d known each other and if they interacted in real life. None of these questions had been asked directly to either of them so Levi saw no need to answer and he assumed that Eren just failed to see the conversations that were happening on Tumblr since he tended to get so absorbed in his projects and other things.

That is, until someone reblogged one of Eren’s pieces of art from him and added quite a compromising comment in the tags.

#this is so cute #I love the fic this is for too #kaydensweet15 #ISwearTheseTwoAreDating

The last one had made him stop in his tracks and he had to read it over a couple of times before he was sure of what he was seeing. Interested to get Eren’s opinion on the whole thing, he sent him the post through messenger.

Humanity’s Strongest: Look at the tags on this post. What do you think?

While he waited for a response, he clicked on the blog and started skimming through their posts to see if they made any other mention of him and Eren, curious as to how far these theories and claims had spread among the people on the site. There were times when he was still surprised by how diverse and widespread his readership was and the fact that this had grown so much wasn’t something that he’d been expecting. He wasn’t surprised to find multiple conversations between the blogger and the person who they’d mentioned in the tags. Thankfully, there wasn’t anything discussed that was explicit and it was mostly the two of them bouncing ‘what if’ situations off each other and referencing several posts made by Eren and Levi wherein they interacted with each other.

Levi honestly hadn’t even noticed the growing attention placed on the two of them, either. They both remained pretty tight-lipped about their lives outside of the internet so he wasn’t worried about something weird happening if he did happen to know someone who followed him in real life. That line of thinking always made him feel a bit strange. He could easily pass one of his readers on the street and never know it and they wouldn’t either.

His messenger notification brought him back to the conversation at hand and he closed out of the blog he was looking at to check Eren’s response.

Jaegermeister: Huh. I never considered that our interactions on Tumblr could somehow be suggestive of our actual relationship.

HS: What do you think we should do? Should we address this or just leave it alone?

JM: I don’t think we need to address it until someone brings it to our attention directly. From there, I don’t really mind if they know that we’re dating. It’s not like they know who we are off the internet so it shouldn’t bother me unless they start asking really inappropriate questions about our relationship which, considering the type of people who follow us and the stuff they read, is a possibility.

Levi sat back and thought over Eren’s words. He hadn’t expected him to have that much to say about it and he honestly agreed with him.

HS: I agree. For now it’s probably fine that we just keep doing what we’ve been doing.

JM: Nice. You still free to skype later?

HS: Yeah.

JM: I’ll see you then. I’d love to keep chatting, but I need to get back to working on my new drawing.

HS: It’s scary how much the two of us are workaholics, isn’t it?

JM: Yeah, a bit. But what we do makes us happy so I’m not about to complain. Plus, your work is amazing and I definitely wouldn’t be at the level I’m at now without your writing as inspiration.

Levi felt himself flush and become embarrassed over the praise. He was glad that Eren wasn’t there in person to see his reaction. Eren always threw out his praise out easily, like he thought it wouldn’t make Levi freeze and obsess over the words or wouldn’t mean as much to him as it really did.

HS: Well I need to get back to work.

He hurriedly clicked back to the open Word document that he was working in and got back to his chapter, trying, and failing, to push Eren’s words from his mind. A pretty important part of his story was coming up and he wanted to make sure that he dealt with it just right. He’d been waiting to get to this moment for a long time and he wasn’t about to let anything distract him from getting it perfect, even if he had to rewrite it and rework it a hundred times over and delay his posting.

A few days passed and Levi had pretty much forgotten about the conversation that he’d had with Eren and the rumors that were floating around among their fans. He hadn’t noticed any more comments in the tags of posts or any other posts that were written specifically about their relationship and hadn’t received any messages or asks detailing the aspects of his relationship with his boyfriend. His new chapter and his boyfriend were both keeping him pretty occupied so there wasn’t much space left in his brain for other thoughts and he was forced to prioritize more than usual and pushing aside unimportant concerns didn’t bother him anyway.

He’d been so focused on his writing that he almost missed the sound of a new message notification on Tumblr. When he looked at the message he was starting to wonder why he kept the website open in the first place when he was trying to work. Probably because he was addicted to it, as shitty as it could be sometimes it did get him to his current status as a fanfic writer so he couldn’t really complain.

JM: So…

He groaned. This was going to be one of those times when it took forever for Eren to message him because he was trying to figure his thoughts out as he was typing. He’d have to give up on working on his new chapter since he was sure that every time he got back into the groove of writing, he’d just get another message. He wished there was a way to change the tone of the notification to make it sound more ominous. He felt like he’d need it with all the directions this conversation might go.

JM: I know that we just talked about this and came to an agreement on how we would deal with it.

Levi’s brow furrowed. They’d talked about a lot of things over the past few days. One of which were his plans to visit him later in the summer. Was he rethinking that? Or was this something totally different? This was why he hated not talking over the phone or face to face when Eren was trying to get his thoughts in order.

JM: But I finally got the ask.

JM: About us, I mean.

Levi’s brain immediately returned to the conversation that they’d had about this and how they began to realize that their fans were becoming suspicious and typed out a quick reply.

HS: Oh. What does it say?

JM: Nothing bad. Just some anon sent “Not to be rude and it’s totally fine if you don’t want to answer, but are you by any chance dating Humanity’s Strongest?”

HS: That’s it? Really?

JM: Yeah, it’s not bad at all. So before I answer it, I just wanted to check one more time that you’re okay with me telling them that we are in fact dating.

HS: Sorry, but I have no recollection of the two of us dating. You must be making this up.

JM: LEVI!!!

JM: What do you mean?

JM: LEEEEEVIIIIIII!!!!!

JM: Don’t be mean!!!

Levi smirked and quickly typed out a response to stop Eren’s barrage of messages. He always enjoyed teasing him.

HS: Yes, it’s fine. You can tell them that we’re dating.

JM: Good because I already did.

HS: You already…

HS: Then what did you bother asking me for?

JM: Calm down. I just did it a second ago when you were being mean. It was out of spite.

Levi rolled his eyes.

HS: Sorry. Eren who? What boyfriend? I’m sorry, but I have no idea who you are and am going to block you.

JM: Levi!!!

JM: LEVIIII!!!!

He ignored him and went back to editing his newest chapter. He was pretty happy with how things were turning out with it and couldn’t have imagined a better scenario for his characters to work with. It was a satisfying chapter to write and he couldn’t wait for the reactions and comments to hear what everyone else thought about it.

Until his skype started ringing. His head fell down to the coffee table that he was seated at with a groan and he reluctantly accepted the call.

“Yes?” he asked.

“You’re mean,” Eren said, petulantly.

“Is that all you needed?” Levi asked, turning his head to get a glimpse of Eren’s pouting face.

He blinked at him. “Well, not really. I just wanted to see how you were doing and thought we could hang out on skype for a while.”

Levi rubbed the back of his neck. “If you really want to. I was just in the middle of editing my new chapter so I don’t know how much talking I’ll be doing for a while.”

“Oh yeah. This is the big one, right? The chapter that you’ve been looking forward to?”

“Yeah,” Levi said, leaning back against the couch and pulling his knees to his chest to rest his chin on them.

“Think you could read me a little preview?”

“Just because you’re my boyfriend doesn’t mean that you get special treatment over the rest of my readers. You get to see it when everyone else gets to see it.”

Eren laughed at that. “Fine, fine. I knew I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. I’ll just have to wait until you’re here and then I can sneak glances of your writing as you work and I pretend to work on my drawings.”

“Keep thinking that and I won’t be working on my fics at all while I’m there.”

Eren rolled his eyes. “I’ll be good, I promise. And it really won’t bother me if you don’t do any work while you’re here. I just care that you actually show up and we can spend some much needed time together.”

“Because we don’t already spend so much time together? If we’re not messaging each other then we’re texting, and if we’re not texting, then we’re on skype with each other either working or watching a movie. Don’t even get me started on all of the interactions and cross-posting we do of each other on Tumblr. It’s really no wonder that everyone was starting to put the pieces together that we were dating. In hindsight, we really were that obvious.”

“Fine, some in-person time together. Geez, stop analyzing every little thing that I say,” Eren complained.

“Can’t. It’s too much fun. Plus it’s the writer in me and I love when you get all flustered,” Levi said, pulling up his web browser that already had Tumblr open. He refreshed his feed and scrolled through the posts that came up, finally landing on the ask that Eren had answered about their relationship.

Anonymous asked: Hi, I don’t mean to be rude or anything and it’s fine if you don’t want to answer this since it’s sort of personal, but are you by any chance dating the fic writer Humanity’s Strongest? You two just seem pretty close and I was curious.

Hey anon! In fact, I am actually dating HS. We’ve been together for a couple of months now since he asked me out. I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised that everyone who follows the two of us has noticed since we haven’t exactly been subtle, but the time we’ve spent together so far has been absolutely amazing and even though we’ve only been together a short while, I can’t imagine what my life would be like without him anymore. Turns out drawing fanart does actually get you places with your favs, haha. : D

Levi propped his chin in his hand and read over the words several times, turning them over in his head. He didn’t know that Eren had felt so strongly about the two of them, but he was glad that he wasn’t the only one. This relationship, as crazy as the circumstances were that brought it into existence, was more than he could ever ask for.

“Levi? Levi?!” Eren exclaimed.

He started at the sound of his name and moved back to his skype window where Eren was watching him intently.

“Everything okay? You were kind of zoned out there.”

“Fine,” he said and went back to Tumblr as Eren continued to talk. He quickly liked Eren’s post before moving on.

“Okay…well you should see some of these responses to my…” his voice trailed off and Levi intently tried to ignore his quickening heartbeat. “Hey, Levi?”

“Yeah?” he asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible even as his insides twisted and turned and somersaulted over themselves for his attention.

“I really like you.” And damn it all if the fondness in Eren’s voice didn’t just make his insides feel like they were simultaneously melting and constricting.

“I’d hope so,” Levi said, trying and failing to sound snarky and lighten up the situation. It was crazy how much he liked Eren. “We are dating after all.” It’d only been a few short months, but each moment they’d been together had felt like it held the power of lifetimes. All the months that they’d anonymously interacted on AO3 and Tumblr between art and fic had really been leading them to this moment.

They’d subtly and slowly gotten to know each other so much further in advance that when the time came where they began to interact more directly, it would’ve been surprising if they hadn’t fallen for each other. Hell, they were probably halfway there when Eren sent him that first message on Tumblr. Levi had found solace in their skype conversations and texting and had been caught staring on more than one occasion when he was so distracted by watching Eren. He could never stop himself from staring at the cute little creases that formed on his forehead when he was concentrating intensely on some new piece of artwork and trying to get the style and details just right and worked to commit them to memory or wonder how he would go about describing them if Eren was one of his characters.

Then there were the times when he’d caught Eren watching him if he paused in his work and had flushed and asked him what was wrong and Eren had just shook his head fondly and told him how cute he was when he was working intently or insisted that he got this little smile on his face when he was on a particularly exciting part of a fic or chapter update. Levi always did his best to brush off Eren’s comments, but he couldn’t deny the pleasure that twisted in his gut that Eren liked him that much or thought so kindly of him. The fact that he was never afraid to be endearingly honest even if his words were of the nature that Levi would never be able to dream up in a million years despite his experience creating and playing out romantic situations and confessions in his fics.

It was true that they were probably far too obvious and hadn’t even realized the little things that they would do or say to each other online that could give away their relationship. But when it felt almost as though the feelings they had were burning and all-consuming, trying to get out and make themselves known to the world, being a little too obvious didn’t seem so bad. It was almost scary how natural it seemed to want to give everything you had to the person you cared so deeply for. Sometimes Levi wondered if this is what love felt like, but he didn’t think he was quite ready to use that word.

“Yeah,” Eren said, in that too-fond voice of his that made Levi want to stop and close his eyes and just exist and revel in it. “Yeah, we are.”

#ereri #snk #fic verse #molim writes #snkartists network #eren jaeger #levi ackerman #fic: too obvious

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