and with that one comment, you gradually sit up straight, removing your head off connor’s shoulder.

“sorry, captain.” you nod curtly, voice rasped as your hands wipe at your eyes.

hank holds back a chuckle from your other side — you’re surprised he managed to stay awake during these meetings too.

with one last stern look, your captain gets back to talking and all the other officers, sergeants and whatnots turn back to him as well.

you just yawn, way too tired to feel embarrassed.

connor leans closer to you, mumbling quietly again, "l/n, do you require a coffee?"

you stare back at him, eyebrows furrowed, "hm?"

"coffee." he repeats, "since you keep falling asleep."

"oh," you smile softly at him, "no, it's okay, thanks connor."

his led flashes yellow briefly before he sits straighter, “if you say so, detective.”

you watch him for a moment longer, taking note of how caring he is for an android — especially when you’re constantly getting told that they can’t feel things.

connor has only been here for a month and he’s already made you doubt that statement on multiple occasions.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

it didn’t take long before you were back at your desk, hands cradling your head and eyes squeezed shut.

thankfully you didn’t have much work to do today. at least, you don’t think you do.

you were enjoying the deep slumber, that was until a certain coin-flicking robot decided to shake you awake.

“connor,” you groan tiredly, hands blindly pushing his solid body away, alas, he doesn’t budge. “give me five more minutes.” you ask, relenting your hands back to cover your head.

“you’ve had a total of two hours of sleep today already — bear in mind, you’ve been in the precinct for four hours.” he states simply, as though tracking how long you’ve slept was what he was designed for. “you need to start working.”

you wish you had another set of hands to cover your ears. “too tired.”

he sighs.

since when could androids do that?

“detective,” his tone is stern now, “your lunch break is in one hour, i suggest you fill out some reports and sleep afterwards.”

when you don’t move, head still glued to the table, he takes one glance at hank — who’s only smirking at the whole altercation — and decides to take things into his own hands.

he pulls a random chair up and slides next to yours.

then, he starts jabbing your bicep with his pointer finger, like an eager toddler demanding attention.

“connor.” a gentle warning. although, it’s more of a disguised plea.

“not stopping until you sit up and log onto your computer.”

a few more agitating seconds pass by before you give up.

you take your time sitting up, typing in your password, and opening up some reports — just to annoy connor.

a smile graces his face, “was that so hard?”

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

he didn’t leave your side. not even when you needed to go to the toilet — he waited outside, but that still felt like he was right there with you.

he claimed it was so that you wouldn’t fall asleep again, which didn’t happen, thanks to him.

you were excited for lunch. excited for the small nap you could fit in. however, connor had other plans.

“detective, i can’t let you sleep, especially since you haven’t eaten all day.” his eyes look at you with so much concern

“but you said if i did my work i could sleep at lunch.” you whine.

“i was only negotiating with you. now come on, i know a great place for burgers.” he pulls you up off your chair by your hand, tugging you towards the exit.

“how do you know of good food places? you don’t even eat…” you query out loud.

he shrugs, hand still attached to yours as you now leave the station. “hank eats.”

that explains it.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

it didn’t take all that long to reach the burger stand — and you have to admit, it was good.

you’re both sat on a bench, overlooking a river as it slowly frosts over.

connor thinks it’s peaceful. he notes how still you’ve become. how your heart rate has decreased to a gentle thrum. how low your cortisol levels have dropped.

he’s slightly amazed that you’re not asleep.

yet. there’s still time.

he takes the quiet opportunity to ask you some questions. “y/n…”

he waits for you to look at him first.

“what’s up?” your response is soft. gentle.

he purses his lips — a habit you think he’s obtained from you. “why do you have such troubles staying awake?”

your stress levels increase slightly.

“i just- i don’t get much sleep at home.” a simple answer.

he nods, pretending to understand. “how so?” his voice stays hushed.

his eyes track how you begin to fidget with your fingers.

“it’s embarrassing…”

he shakes his head, placing his hand on top of yours to stop you from fidgeting. “if it’s giving you issues, it can’t be embarrassing. i would never judge you, y/n.”

he says the latter with such sincerity that you would mistake him for a human had you not known he was an android.

then you look at his eyes. they look more human than most.

his led flashes again, awaiting your response.

a sigh escapes your mouth. “i get nightmares most nights. every night, really.”

his thumb begins to stroke circles across the back of your hand — a tactic he’d just searched up to help people calm down. “are they of anything in particular?”

you have to think for a moment, recall every night. then you shake your head, “no. maybe it’s just because of the job?”

“could be.” he comments, actively wracking every website page he can access that mentions ‘nightmares’. he’d do anything to help you.

you shuffle closer to him on the bench, gradually beginning to feel the brisk, winter air.

“an article says that having a companion with you can help to reduce nightmares.” he suggests, “have you ever tried that?”

instantly you shake your head, a laugh leaving you too, “i don’t know anyone who would willingly stay over at mine.”

“i would. to help you, of course.”

your heart beats a bit faster.

he notices.

“i mean- if you wanted to- if it helps, right?”

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

so now here you are, you and connor both sat awkwardly on your bed.

“maybe close your eyes.” he attempts to help but it just sounds like teasing.

you move under your covers, connor copying, “do you know how to turn off your sarcasm?” you jab back.

“sorry, i’m just trying to help.” he absentmindedly moves closer and simultaneously makes you feel bad.

“i was just playing with you, connor.”

“oh.” he looks around your room, “do you need me to turn the lamp off?”

“uhm, sure, thank you.”

he leans over you to reach the switch, flicking it off before laying back down, now even closer to you.

“would you like me to tell you a story?” he whispers.

“no, it’s okay.” you mumble.

“you’re already feeling tired.” he states with a small, successful smile on his face.

you shuffle your head across your pillow, making contact with his chest as you relax into him. “maybe because you kept me up all day.”

much to his surprise, he enjoys the human contact. maybe that’s because it’s you. he wouldn’t enjoy it if hank were sleeping in his arms instead of you.

he quickly blinks that picture away.

gently, he wraps an arm around you, soothingly rubbing your back.

you’re out before you know it.

if connor had a heart, it would be melting. your soft snores take over his hearing. the smell of your shampoo filling his senses.

but it’s not until he looks down at your sleeping face to see your hand clutching onto his top, your face completely relaxed — that’s when he feels it.

love, maybe?

is that something an android can feel?

the room faintly lights up red as he ponders. it quickly returns to blue when he focuses back on you.

Come to think of it, where did Connor even get this picture? You didn’t recognize it at all. You couldn’t even place where it was taken. There were zero clues in the photograph as you were the only focus. Nothing else, just you.

You were about to ask Hank about it when a voice over your shoulder startled you, “I really like that picture.”

An inhuman yelp escaped your lips as you spun around in Connor’s chair. You found him looking down at you with a pleasant smile, not even remotely embarrassed to be caught having a photo of you.

“Why… what even… what?” you stammered.

Connor cocked his head curiously, waiting for you to get your words out. But you couldn’t. You were so utterly confused that your brain couldn’t remember a single word in existence. You just stared at Connor with a gaping mouth, holding the picture up for his viewing pleasure. 

When you didn’t say anything, Connor’s eyebrows furrowed for only a moment before easing. An endearing habit of his that made your heart flutter. He definitely was not helping you find the right words. 

“I’d like to clear your confusion as best I can, but… I’m afraid I don’t understand its cause,” Connor said gently.

From behind, you heard Hank’s quiet snort. He wasn’t helping either.

“Well… Connor,” you started slowly like you were gradually putting the puzzle pieces together. No matter how hard you tried, the pieces weren’t fitting. “Why do you have a picture of me?”

The corners of his lips raised into a small grin, his hands moving to clasp in front of him. You knew this stance to mean he was about to tell a story.

“I asked Lieutenant Anderson about the keepsakes on his desk. I was curious as to why these particular items were objects of significance and what classified them as such,” Connor explained cheerfully. “As I recall, he said ‘I don’t know, they’re just alright, I guess.’ Perhaps my interpretation was incorrect, but I took that to mean those items made him happy.”

Connor’s smile widened slightly. That meant he was finished. He didn’t clear any of your confusion.

“Okay…?” you prompted.

“I wanted to do something similar. I thought it could help me accommodate to deviancy, so I decided to surround myself with things that make me happy.”

Your mouth clamped shut as your confused look turned to one of shock. You were almost sure you hadn’t heard him right, but another laugh (hidden behind a cough) from Hank made you confident that you had.

“I… make you happy?” you clarified.

“Yes,” Connor answered curtly. There was another long pause as you waited for Connor to continue. He seemed to get the hint by now, elaborating further. “I always enjoy your company. I look forward to seeing you when we have scheduled plans. This wasn’t a scheduled visit, so I was pleased to see you were here. It made me smile. Seeing you makes me smile.”

With all his talk of smiling, you couldn’t help cracking one of your own. Seeing your smile made Connor brighten.

“Like that,” he said. “If I could photograph and frame you right now, I would.”

You were so giddy with affection that you couldn’t help but laugh. You had never known Connor to be so poetic with his words.

“You know, Connor,” you said with careless laughter. “I came here to sweet-talk you into an interview for the Press. But here you are sweet-talking me.”

Connor looked pleased with himself, standing a little straighter. “I hope that made you smile.”

Chaos lingered through the precinct, the ringtones of the phones and hurried conversations. However you were focused on the pile of case files on your desk. It had been another grueling day under Detective Reed’s supervision, his disdain for you obvious in every clipped order and scornful look. You’d learned to endure it, keeping your true nature as a deviant locked away beneath layers of carefully calculated composure.

But today, Reed was more agitated than usual. His voice cut through the air, making you flinch.

“Hey, tin can!” he barked, stalking toward your desk. A folder smacked down in front of you, the force rattling your coffee mug. “What the hell is this? You can’t even do basic paperwork?”

Your jaw tightened, suppressing the sharp backtalk that threatened to slip out. “I’ll have it corrected by the end of the day,” you replied calmly, keeping your voice neutral.

“Not good enough!” Reed snapped, grabbing the folder and throwing it aside. Without warning, his hand clamped around your arm, yanking you to your feet. Your LED blinked red at the sudden action, signaling that you felt danger. Before you could process what was happening, he shoved you roughly against the wall, the impact hurt.

“You think you’re something special, don’t you?” he hissed, his face inches from yours. “You’re nothing but a damn machine playing dress-up. No emotions, no soul. Just a cold and empty programming.”

The words hit harder than they should have. You felt your throat tighten as your instincts warred between standing your ground and breaking free. But before either could win, another voice spoke, it was calm. “Detective Reed. That’s enough.”

Connor stood a few feet away, his usually neutral expression hardened with disapproval. His LED blinked yellow, his gaze locked on Reed like a silent warning.

Reed let out a derisive scoff, releasing you with a shove. “Stay out of this, Connor. It isn’t your problem.”

“It became my problem the moment you crossed the line,” Connor replied, stepping closer. “I suggest you leave before I escalate this further.”

Reed muttered something under his breath, but he backed off, storming out of the room with his usual bravado. The silence he left in his wake was deafening.

Connor turned his attention to you, his steps cautious as he approached. “Are you alright?”

You nodded, though your hands trembled slightly. “I’m fine,” you said, though the quiver in your voice betrayed you. “He’s just… having a bad day.”

Connor’s frown deepened, his dark eyes scanning you for any sign of injury. “That doesn’t excuse his behavior,” he said softly. His hand hovered near your arm, as though he wanted to offer comfort but wasn’t sure if it would be welcome. “You shouldn’t have to tolerate that.”

You forced a weak smile, more to reassure him than yourself. “It’s not worth making a fuss over. Reed’s just… Reed.”

His LED spun yellow again, his hesitation evident. “If he does that again, you need to tell someone. You don’t deserve to be treated like that.”

There was something in his voice. An undercurrent of protectiveness that made your chest tighten. He meant it, which you would soon realized. He wasn’t just saying it because it was the right thing to do.

“Thanks, Connor,” you said quietly, meeting his gaze. “I appreciate it.”

For a moment, the air between you felt heavy. Maybe it was the lingering feeling of reed’s anger or something else. You couldn’t quite tell what it was, but it was new. Connor studied you with a softness you hadn’t seen before, as if he were trying to unravel some hidden truth about you.

“You’re not emotionless,” he said suddenly, his voice quieter but no less certain.

Your breath caught, panic flickering through you. “Why would you say that?”

He hesitated, his LED flickering again. “Because I’ve seen it,” he said finally. “The way you talk to people, the way you carry yourself. It’s more than programming. You care.”

His words left you momentarily stunned. How much had he noticed? How much had you let slip without realizing it?

“Connor…” you began, but he shook his head, his expression gentle.

“You don’t have to explain,” he said. “Just know that if you ever need someone to stand by you, I am here.” His voice was a quiet promise, and something in the way he looked at you made the tension in your chest ease. For the first time in a long while, you felt a spark of safety in a world that seemed to constantly push you down. Trying to diminish your anatomy.

“Thanks, Connor,” you murmured, your lips curving into a small, genuine smile. “That means a lot.”

He returned the smile, just the faintest upward tilt of his lips, but it was enough to make the moment feel lighter. The noises faded into the background as the two of you stood there, a silent understanding passing between you.

My eyes fluttered open. My dark eyes were situated to the lights being off. The only source of light was Connor's bright LED. He was flipped onto his side, sleeping peacefully. I moved under our warm duvet to get closer to Connor, preparing to fall back asleep. His LED flashed yellow for a split second, then back to blue. He never opened up his eyes. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. I lifted my leg on top of his and cuddled in the crook of his neck. "You're being needy." Connor groaned. "You're the one who pulled me in." I teased. He huffed out a short laugh and kissed the top of my head. He rubbed quick circles into my back and pulled on the fabric on my top. "What's wrong?" I mumbled. He didn't respond, he just let out an airy giggle.

your laugh died on your lips, settling them into a slight frown as you turned back towards connor. he was only gently smiling, his eyes focusing on yours. eyes flickering to his led, you noticed it was blue. confused, you open your mouth to ask.

"wh-"

"can I kiss you?"

your eyes widen for a moment, pupils shaking as you begin to comprehend the emotions that seemingly simple question evoked in you. excitement, puzzlement, bashfulness, then finally, eagerness.

while your mind churned through this, connor's led had turned yellow and was spinning fast. your eyes locked onto the colour change. knowing his system was now running through many possible outcomes to this interaction, you briefly considered trying to create an outcome that his system wouldn't have mapped out, like you just grabbing his face and pulling him to you.

you decided against it, knowing it was his first kiss and not wanting to overwhelm him. so, you just grinned and nodded, giving him the opportunity to make the next move himself.

his hand lifted from his leg, reaching out to cup your cheek, and you note his temperature is slightly lower than that of a human. his eyes are searching your face, and he seemingly loses a bit of confidence as his eyes widen with the reality of the situation, his cheeks tinging blue with a blush.

"I don't.... I mean, i do! I want to, but-"

"connor, it's alright. take your time."

his eyes squeeze shut for a brief moment at your encouraging words, and he steels himself. opening them again, he feels himself relax. you can't help but let out a giggle at the small, self-assured nod he does.

he smiles at your reaction and uses the moment to finally lean in, his eyes fluttering shut as your lips finally meet. the first thing you notice is how soft his lips are, not distinguishable from a human's. they're warm and plush, pressing against yours with gentle eagerness.

he begins to pull away, and the skin between your eyebrows creases with frustration at how short the kiss is. you can't help your reaction, and you reach for his tie, tugging at it to keep him close. your other hand comes up to hold his jaw, tilting it so you can deepen the kiss. connor lets out a noise of surprise but doesn't try to back away.

this time, you're the one who pulls away. your hands drop towards your lap as your eyes flicker downwards.

"I'm sorry- I got carried away."

connor catches your hands with his before they hit your thighs and gently squeezes them. this makes your head lift, and you can't help but mirror the wide smile he has.

"it's okay, I enjoyed it."

“Yeah,” he began, “I gotta get to work, can you take him?”

“Sure,” you looked at the android who was sitting on the couch with a passive smile. “Let’s go Connor.” 

He looked at Hank who sighed and nodded, “Alright y/n, let's go.”

You began the walk to Cyberlife in silence. “So y/n, how did you and lieutenant Anderson meet?”

“You already-” you sputtered, “I um, used to babysit Cole.”

“Cole?”

“His son.”

“I didn’t see a child there.” 

You glared at him, “let's drop the topic. Do you remember anything about last night? I mean an update can’t fully wipe your memory…”

“There’s nothing in my memory storage from before this morning.” 

You bit your lip and thought for a second, “Well let's hope Cyberlife fixes that.” He nodded. “Also, I need to prep you for when you enter.”

“Why? I’ve come from Cyberlife.”

“Well it’s different now, it’s been two years and Androids run it.”

“Androids? Have the deviants taken over?” He asked, grabbing your arm and pulling you to a stop.

You tried not to laugh, “the tower maybe-”

“Are you sure we should go in then?” his LED turned yellow.

“Connor,” you rested your hands on his arms, “you have nothing to worry about, before what happened you were a deviant too-”

“I would never be a deviant!” he said harshly, pulling away from you.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” you frowned, “I liked you better as a Deviant anyway.”

“You’re lying,” he muttered, “I self-test regularly-”

“ ‘so I know what I am and what I am not’ save me the speech,” you grabbed his hand, “we’re going to Cyberlife to fix you and you’re not going to do anything that’ll ruin your ‘Deviant friendly’ image alright?”

As he looked at you his LED returned to blue, “alright.” You hummed, not trusting him, and continued down the street. 

The two of you finally made it to the doors of the building, “are you gonna be on your best behavior?”

His LED flashed yellow, “yes,” he was lying. You rolled your eyes and led his past the doors. As he entered he visibly tensed, he knew all the Androids he was seeing were deviants. 

When he stopped walking you turned and grabbed his hand, “c’mon,” you muttered. 

You led him to the elevator and punched in the code you were given, “we’re going to meet with the leader, you two are friends so don’t try anything.” He nodded, still looking forward. You noticed that he began to furrow his eyebrows, “everything okay?”

He glanced at you and returned to staring ahead, “yes y/n.” You could tell something was bothering him but you decided not to push it, it was clear he didn’t trust you.

The elevator doors opened and Markus was leaning on a desk, talking to North. She gave you a dirty look as Markus smiled, “Hello, is there something I can do?”

You forced a smile and began walking toward him, “Hello, I was wondering if there were any androids that have memory issues? Last night Connor had tried to install some kind of update and it seems like he reset or something?” You gestured at the android who was still standing next to the elevator. He began to walk toward you, LED yellow as he processed everything in the room and some.

“Yes, we’ve had a few reports but they all were temporary,” he said, walking to you, mimicking Connor’s movements, “you might have to jog his memory if it takes too long.”

You smiled, genuinely grateful for his advice, “thank you!” You turned to Connor, about to say something when you felt Markus’ hand on your wrist. You turned back, wondering if you cut him off too soon. Before you could ask Connor’s hand wrapped around Markus’ wrist, LED flashing red as he acted before thinking. 

Markus smirked and released you, “I wish you luck y/n.” You pressed your lips together and nodded. You grabbed Connor and headed to the elevator.

Once its doors shut you muttered, “I thought I told you to keep appearances.”

“You did.” 

You frowned, “are you okay? You sorta lost it back there.”

“I’m fine,” he muttered closing his eyes. He kept them closed until you reached the ground floor. He stormed out of the elevator, not looking to see if you were following him. You almost had to run to match his pace as he charged to some unknown destination.

“Connor,” you called, he seemed to be in a trance, he kept going, “Connor stop!” you tried again. He didn’t listen and kept walking. When he finally stopped you felt like collapsing. “What the fuck was that about?” He let his head drop, his shoulders heaving with each pant. Curiously you placed a hand on his cheek, seeing how much he was overheating. You didn’t expect him to lean into your touch and just as soon as you noticed, he pulled away and turned away from you.

“I couldn’t contact Amanda,” he huffed, “something’s wrong.”

You snorted, “yeah, isn’t that because you deviated…?”

“I’ve never deviated,” he said, adjusting his tie.

“You did when they tried to get you to kill their leader, Markus.”

“If I don’t remember deviating did I ever?”

“It’s not like trees falling. You broke through your programming, even if you forgot that you did, it's not like it would re-manifest itself.”

He paused, deep in thought, “tell me to do something.”

“What?”

“Command me”

“You’d only do it because you wanted to.”

“Try it-”

“It wouldn’t work.”

“y/n, please…”

You chewed on your lip, “stand on the railing.”

He looked at the railing then at you, “that’s too easy.”

“Then do it.”

“It’s not registering as a command, try something else.”

“It’s not registering as a command because you don’t need to follow commands.” He leaned against the railing, wanting to have to climb on top of it. He groaned and crouched down. You crouched beside him, “when you first deviated, you were scared and confused. You were worried none of the androids would be on your side and you’d be alone.” He looked at you, “but then, as time went on, they came ‘round. You were a great leader, uh co-leader, with Markus. They admired you for how well you interacted with humans and how good you were. And as you realized this, you became more of your goofy confident self.” You placed your hand on his back and smiled, “I like that side of you.”

His brows furrowed together and he looked at you intently. You cleared your throat, “ahem, anyway Markus said something about jogging your memory, and I was thinking we could do something you like…”

He smiled, “well what do I like doing?”

“You like reading, listening to music…” you trailed off, trying to think of something he’d like.

“Have I gone to a Fair?” he asked.

“No, but I’ve got-”

He turned to you, “then we should go!”

“But it won’t jog your memory…”

“Having fun might.”

“Then let’s go!” you said, hooking your arm through his.

He led you to the small fair they had set up in a field. You took him to the games that had the best prizes and he won them of course. You only won five prizes when they realized he was an android and banned him from playing. You tried playing a few but lost.

“Man,” you sighed, I really wanted to get you a prize…”

He smiled, “well you’re funding this whole thing so it’s already like a prize.”

“That’s one way to look at it I guess,” you huffed, pursing your lips.

“Do you have any rides you want to go on?”

“A couple, is it safe for you to join me?”

“No, some of the rides weren’t meant to hold androids,” you frowned, “but we can ride the Ferris wheel before we go.”

“That sounds good!” you smiled. As the two of you boarded the gondola, you arranged the prizes like they were sitting too. The way Connor looked at you didn’t go unnoticed. You sat in silence as the gondola ascended. You went around a few laps before it paused at the top.

“Have you had a good time?” you asked, keeping your eyes trained on the horizon.

“Of course,” he said.

“Remember anything?”

“Everything.”

Your eyes shot to his, “what? Really? When?”

He squirmed, suddenly embarrassed, “uh- when you told me about how I was after I deviated.” You narrowed your eyes at him, “I just wanted you to have a good time today, and if it was too much trouble I can pay you back for it-” he looked at you at the exact moment you could no longer hide your smile, “what?”

“You’re such a dork,” you laughed, “even if you had your memories I’d come here with you!”

He was clearly overheating but he refused to start breathing, “I didn’t think you would…”

“Why not?” The wheel began turning again, it was going to be your turn to get off soon.

“I don’t know…”

“I think you do,” you smirked and leaned forward. He looked at you as his LED spun yellow, “Don’t think too hard now, you might break something.”

“I like you a lot y/n,” he muttered, fidgeting with one of the prizes, “and I didn’t think you liked me back.”

“Didn’t?” you smirked, “I’m glad you know better now.”

“Wait- you-” he sputtered, surprised by your confession.

“Yeah, I was basically singing your praise today and you still didn’t notice?” 

His eyes flickered to your lips then down to his lap, “not really. I thought you were encouraging me.”

“I was but I don’t think I’d be that encouraging if I didn’t like you.”  Before he could say anything the gondola arrived at the bottom of the wheel. The doors swung open and you grabbed some of the prizes while Connor grabbed the rest. You ordered a couple of cars and walked to the gates.

The first car pulled up, “I’d like to do this again sometime,” Connor said, still a little fidgety.

“Me too,” you smiled, leaning forward to press a kiss to his cheek, “see you next time!” He smiled and waved awkwardly as you stepped into the car. He could wait to see you again.