#android connor

“I don’t need a damn machine watching over me,” Hank muttered as Connor followed the two of you across the bullpen, walking with that immaculate posture that somehow made people even angrier.

You glanced back at Connor.

He offered a polite, hopeful smile.

Poor guy.

“Lieutenant Anderson,” Connor began, “I simply wish to—”

“Nope. Don’t wanna hear it.”

You stepped in before Hank could escalate.

“Hey, c’mon, Hank. He’s not doing anything wrong.”

Connor’s LED flickered in mild confusion.

Hank scowled at you like you’d chosen violence.

You were halfway through processing a crime scene when Connor crouched beside you, his eyes glowing faintly as he scanned evidence. Hank hovered in the doorway, arms crossed, broadcasting disapproval like a nuclear signal.

Connor leaned slightly closer, tone gentle.

“Detective, I believe I’ve identified—”

“Connor,” Hank barked, “if you say the word ‘analysis’ one more time—”

“Hank!” you cut in, exasperated. “He’s trying to help.”

Connor’s eyebrows lifted a fraction.

You could swear you heard a soft chime — relief?

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

You didn’t know androids could sound almost… shy.

It quickly became a daily routine.

Connor offers help.

Hank threatens to break something.

You swoop in like Connor’s unofficial bodyguard.

When Connor tried handing Hank his coffee?

“I don’t need caffeine delivered by a glorified Roomba.”

You snatched the cup before Connor’s LED could flash to yellow.

“Hank! Drink your coffee and be nice.”

Connor looked at you with something suspiciously close to *gratitude-coded admiration*.

When Connor reported an observation mid-case?

“I swear to God, plastic boy—”

“Hank!” you snapped again.

“Stop verbally assaulting Connor.”

“I’m not assaulting him,” Hank said.

“I’m verbally educating him.”

“You’re traumatizing him!”

Connor blinked slowly.

“I am… not traumatized.”

“Don’t lie for him, Connor.”

Connor had no idea whose side he was supposed to be on.

Androids weren’t meant to stare — but Connor did.

Not in a creepy way.

In a processing something unfamiliar, intriguing, possibly mission-critical way.

Whenever you defended him, he straightened.

Whenever you smiled at him, his thirium pump kicked up a fraction.

Whenever you touched his arm while pulling Hank away from throwing hands… well, he almost blue-screened.

One afternoon, Hank stormed off after yelling something about androids ruining society.

Connor looked at you, LED spinning.

“Detective… Why do you defend me?”

You shrugged.

“Because you’re trying. And because you don’t deserve to be yelled at every thirty seconds.”

He tilted his head.

“I find your empathy… statistically rare.”

A beat.

Then:

“I like it.”

Your heart skipped.

He noticed.

His LED flickered for half a second before returning to blue.

You pretended not to see.

He pretended not to malfunction.

The next time Hank tried to “educate” Connor, you stepped between them again.

“Lieutenant Anderson,” Connor said from behind you, “I believe Detective Y/L/N is preventing further physical altercations.”

“Damn right I am,” you muttered.

Hank threw his hands up.

“You know what? Fine. You two can babysit each other. I’m going to get lunch.”

He stomped off, leaving you and Connor standing close — too close — in the empty hallway.

Connor looked at you with something warmer than anything you’d ever expect from an android.

“Thank you… for protecting me.”

You smiled.

“Anytime.”

His LED glowed a soft, steady blue.

He watched as Connor stared quite openly at [Name], who was equally oblivious to his crush on her (and he wondered how that could be). He watched as he felt excited whenever her eyes would even glance at him by accident and how his plastic eyes would light up when she smiled at him or waved at him. He noticed how Connor would clench his fists when Gavin gave [Name] a hard time, and Hank would roll his eyes over how troubling it was to live through his partner achieving adolescence.

    “Connor,” Hank said, his voice low, “Why don’t you just ask her out?”

Connor tilted his head, of course, the android had no idea what he was talking about, “I can’t seem to comprehend what that means, Lieutenant.”

Hank groaned. He was too old for this.

    “If you have a crush on her, why don’t you ask her out on a date, son?”

He hated spelling things out, but the one thing he actively wasn’t doing was being empathetic. Connor backed up, straightened his posture (Hank now noticed that the android wasn’t sitting straight, quite odd for a robot) and glanced in her direction once before looking back at Hank.

    “I…” Connor hesitated, Hank’s eyes widened a tad bit, “I’m not sure I can…”

He was taken off guard if he was being completely honest. Here was an android, with an active crush on a human being! He never thought it was possible. Hank laughed after this, a couple of times before looking at Connor’s clueless expression once again and laughing once more. The android couldn’t blush, but there was something about Hank’s laughter right then that riled him up.

    “Lieutenant—” Connor tried stopping him. “Lieutenant, I… I’m quite sure I do not like what you are laughing at.”

    “Oh?” Hank asked, in the middle of his laughing fit, “And why is that?”

Connor narrowed his eyes, “I think you are laughing at me.”

Hank laughed more at his verbal acceptance, before standing up and patting the android’s back. It was Hank’s fault too, a tad bit, for not giving Connor the credit for actually developing feelings for a human being. It was all new to him, too, ever since Connor had spared that android’s life at Kamski’s house, he knew Connor was more than just plastic and wires.

    “Enjoy this phase while it lasts, Connor,” Hank said, with a calm smile. “The most blissful part of falling in love is the bit where you actually fall.”

Connor blinked before feeling the area around his chest constrict. He knew he had to get this checked, running several scans on himself did not work anymore. He found nothing was wrong, everything was intact, but it was getting in the way. He wasn’t sure if this love business was great for him discovering his potential as a detective, but whatever it was, Hank was right.

It felt good.

○

    “And then she just ran away, it broke my heart.” [Name] said, mournfully, staring at her sandwich.

    “Stray cats aren’t the best at socializing.” Hank retorted, taking a large bite of his burger.

Connor watched as she went on and on about a stray cat she had seen the day before. She looked excited, and running his vitals on her, he discovered that she was well-rested and was feeling rather pleased that day.

    “You look well, [Name].” Connor blurted out of nowhere, a warm smile on his face.

[Name] was startled with his sudden announcement, and nodded once at him before giggling.

    “Thanks, Connor. I got a lot of sleep last night. A few of my friends came over and we had a bit of wine. I pass out instantly after making a fool out of myself for a bit.”

It was as if Hank suddenly got the idea out of nowhere. Looking at Connor, the man winked once before having the android tilt his head.

    “Is there something you wish to tell me, Lieutenant?”

Hank’s eyes widened before turning to [Name], who was also curious now, and he groaned. Jesus, this idiot really needs to understand cues, he thought before shaking his head. Focusing on his burger, Hank tapped on the table three times, trying to get Connor’s attention. This seemed to work, before Connor sneakily looked at his partner, waiting for a dialogue. A moment later, [Name] excused herself to go to the bathroom—a lucky break for Hank, and this gave him the opportunity.

    “God, Connor, you need to understand these subtle cues!”

    “Were you trying to secretly tell me something?” Connor asked, curiously.

Hank deadpanned a moment later, “Yes. Yes, I was. Anyway, this is our chance! She’s a lightweight. We take her out tonight to drink and you can find out if she likes you back. If she does, you can take her out on a date.”

    “I was thinking about this ‘date’, Lieutenant. I don’t think the concept of a ‘date’ is very android-friendly. They involve food and other internal stimulation. I require none—”

    “The concept of a date is to spend time with the person you like, Connor.” Hank gritted his teeth.

Connor made an ‘oh’ with his mouth and turned away, feeling hesitant. Looking at Hank, he waited for something, again, it was his body moving before his mind could even process what was happening.

Hank immediately understood this gesture—it was so very human of Connor to look for assurance. He wanted to be told that it was alright, he wanted to be told that this idea would not go wrong. The idea of hesitance and the fact that an android was feeling hesitant, to begin with, was something strange, but it was welcome. Hank adored this new development, and whether or not Connor’s love prospers, it was all a good experience for the male.

Placing a hand on his partner’s shoulder, Hank offered him a smile. He nodded once before once again focusing on his burger.

    “Thank you, Hank.”

Hank would never admit it, but he was indeed warming up to his partner.

[Name] returned a moment later, her goofy grin and smile caused the android to lose track of everything he was focused on currently.

    “You really do make me forget I’m an android, [Name]. And I don’t know how that’s possible considering I am an android.”

Once again, she was taken off-guard. Hank gave his partner a stern look before thinking, save it for the date, you fool! [Name] smiled before placing a hand on Connor’s, which was on the table, and grinned.

    “You’re really sweet, Connor.”

Hank wanted to vomit. Even with porn, he skipped foreplay these days. Vanilla bored him.

    “[Name], do you want to grab a drink after work tonight? Just the three of us.” Hank suggested a bright look in his eyes.

[Name] blinked a couple of times and pulled her hand away from Connor’s. She turned to the android, who looked like everything in the world wouldn’t matter if she made it, and chuckled.

    “Sure! Why not?”

And that was that.

○

That evening, Hank was nowhere to be found. 

Connor approached [Name] and tapped on her shoulder twice before having her smile almost blind him. He felt his chest constrict again, and he didn’t know how it was possible.

    “Where’s Lieutenant Anderson?”

    “He already left. He wants us to join him there directly.” Connor said, smiling.

Nodding, [Name] grabbed her things and walked out with Connor. Initially, the two walked in absolute silence before [Name] sighed dreamily. Connor looked to [Name] before waiting.

    “Simon and his fiance released a few photos of themselves on the internet recently. They look so happy, Connor, my heart aches.”

Connor nodded once before searching for the images in his head. He remembered Simon’s face but had never really seen the human being he called his fiance. The two of them were wearing black tuxes, holding hands, the rings prominent, a glass of champagne in their other hands. They indeed looked happy.

Which brought to the question—were the upgrades Simon had worked on really worth it? Was Connor completely against them? Strangely, despite his growing feelings for [Name], he still believed they would merely get the way of his work. Turning to [Name], he noticed her left hand sway by her side. Reaching forward, Connor entwined his fingers with hers, causing her to look at their connected hands. She quickly then looked up at his face, a shy smile coming on her features.

    “You still don’t think those upgrades are useful?” She asked, her voice a bit low from before.

    “I personally don’t believe they are useful to me,” Connor said, “They may be useful or appreciated by other androids. I am still…” He took a good look at [Name]’s face before continuing, “I still need to figure out a lot of of things. I still don’t know what it is to be an android. And yet, here I am, feeling all these human feelings. It’s a lot to take in. If it was merely information, I could have accumulated more than an average computer could. Now, it is mannerisms, gestures, subtle signs and these subtleties don’t come in definitions. These stimuli are—”

    “There’s no such thing as human feelings, Connor.” [Name] said, giggling.

Connor waited, he didn’t understand what she meant.

    “An android is not supposed to feel emotion.”

    “But, here you are. Just because you’re not supposed to feel things doesn’t mean those feelings are external and untrue. What you’re feeling is entirely you’re own, Connor. It isn’t restricted to just people. If you’re feeling something, then you are.”

His grip on her hand tightened a tad bit.

    “I never thought of it that way.”

    “It’s my opinion, but… I think feelings are stimuli anyone with a mind can feel. And you have a beautiful mind, Connor. Don’t restrict yourself. If you don’t want those upgrades, then you don’t want them. And it’s completely alright.”

[Name] edged herself a bit closer to Connor, their shoulders now touching.

    “Why do you think Simon made those changes to himself?” Connor found himself asking.

[Name] didn’t answer right away. She looked a bit lost in thought before noticing that they had reached the bar Hank was in. Connor opened the door for her, causing her to giggle, and she waved at Hank who had downed two glasses already.

    “What is the lady going to drink?”

    “What do you suggest, Lieutenant?”

Hank scoffed, “Call me Hank outside the damn station. It makes me feel like I don’t have a life.”

Connor watched her, as the bartender gave her a drink. She pulled Connor closer to her, and there was a whole conversation about how gin was a lady’s drink. Connor watched her and wondered what it would feel like to drink with her, and his eyes widened.

He couldn’t get drunk. If he drank, nothing would happen. The upgrade allowed androids to get their movements blurred, imitating the feeling of intoxication. He looked around and saw a few androids drinking, slurring, laughing and singing, and he felt this new void grow inside him. He looked back at [Name] and felt that same void deepen. Was it curiosity that made Simon build those upgrades?

A moment later, Hank wandered off to the bathroom. [Name] looked at a sullen Connor, before narrowing her eyes a bit.

    “Is something wrong, Connor?” Her voice was slurring a tad bit.

Connor found himself smiling a bit at her intoxication, but the confusion still remained. His previous question was unanswered, though it wasn’t as if she was going to answer it anyway. However, it seemed in her eyes that she remembered something.

    “I still haven’t answered your question!”

Connor shook his head before trying to stop her from troubling herself with his stupid query, however, everything moved too fast. In a swift movement, [Name] pressed her lips to his, causing his eyes to widen. However, the moment was quicker and didn’t last long.

    “What did you feel?” She asked, tilting her head.

Nothing, he thought. He knew he couldn’t say it.

    “That’s why Simon wanted those upgrades.”

And there he had it.

○

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