Would Give Anything

      Hank sits up a little straighter when Connor came towards him with two mugs. The smell of sugar fills the air, hues falling to the soft white whipped cream, it wasn’t hard to tell what it was. Hands reaching out to cradled the cup between large hands, lips puckering up to blow air along the rim to cool it down but not blow away the topping. Blues dart to Connor’s cup of blue blood, seeing him drink before he brings his own cup to his mouth to sip. The whip dots his nose and attached to his beard, though he doesn’t mind. 

    “Thank you, Connor...” Hank says gently, sitting back, sinking back into the couch. Feeling the others head on his shoulder makes him smile, hues falling shut for a momnet as he tilts his head to rest against Connors for a moment.

     Cassius glanced over at Connor when the RK800 model showed concern for his momentarily lapse in blurting things out. For a moment, he considered trying to wave the comment aside, pretend like everything was alright.

     But he couldn’t.

     “…People see me, and they see your face,” he said after a long moment, eyes once again overlooking the water. “I was created to replace you, even though I don’t want that to happen. I want to…do things. And make my own identity. But how can I, when I had nothing at the start and I have barely anything now? How can I know who I am when all people will see is another version of you?”

     His voice held no hostility, just a wistfulness within it that betrayed the emotions rushing around his head, his LED spinning gold. “I don’t know who I am, Connor. Nor do I know who I am supposed to be. I had nothing before you helped deviate me, so I have nothing to fall back on.”

      Connor keeps his trained on the others face, his LED flashing as he thoughts to himself. The others words made a soft sadness rise in his chest, now over his once insecurities, Connor quiet liked the other android. And it didn’t matter to him anymore that they looked alike, honestly he forgot most of the time. He did not consider that the other would have concerns about it.

                 ”You can be whoever you want, you are not supposed to be anything other.” He says carefully, “... I was lost for a long time after I deviated, I returned to working with Hank because I thought it was what I had to do... but in doing so I also found that I liked the work.” He blinks, a small smile touching his lips as he thought about Hank.

As Connor had observed, the Lieutenant tended to be more defensive to comments regarding his unhealthy eating habits when he was eating, so he had concluded that bringing up the subject in a different time and place — the office, early morning, but not too early. Forty-five minutes since they had arrived, to be precise — would bring better results. If he had made the right choice, he couldn’t tell just yet.

Connor’s voice and expression softened. “A monthly meal plan,” he insisted.

Negotiations with humans worked differently than they did with an android, so it was more difficult to estimate his chances of success. But it was easier to determine an optimal approach.

“Your health is something that concerns me, Hank. I’d like to continue being your partner for as many years as possible.”

    Hank sits back his features are soft but unsure, since he didn’t know if Connor actually meant any of what he said. Partly due to his own insecurities, thinking someone, anyone, actually cared about his well being-- well it made him feel weird. 

      “... oh, yeah?” He questions, arms moving to cross on his desk. Sure Hank had considered eating better, sleeping better, giving his liver a break. Most days were better, some were still so bad he couldn’t help himself. But he was pushing through it, for the better this time. Then again, if Connor has actually put though into this it would be easy to see. A good way to tell he was serious, unless he bluffed. Which Connor was good at.