#rk800

Chapter 15: Different Battles

Warnings: Brief description of physical assault, canon typical android prejudice, workplace discrimination, PTSD, anxiety, panic attack symptoms, emotional distress, mentions of trauma, mentions of police brutality.

Additional tags/ warnings may be added as story progresses

Summary: Connor and Elise both have their first days at work. Unfortunately for them, neither of them have the day they expected.

November 30th, 2038 - 07:00am Elise’s Office

Elise hesitated at the glass doors of her office building for a moment before pushing past them. She had been pacing around her apartment for the past few days at the inclination of returning to work. Now dissociated, as she realised she was looking into the office building. Instinctively, she started to gnaw at the inside of her cheek; her heart beating so fast it hurts. 

She couldn't understand why she felt this way — realistically not much should have changed in three weeks. Perhaps it was the fact she didn't want to deal with all sympathetic remarks and the questions; How are you feeling? Why didn’t you let anyone know? We genuinely thought we were going to lose you. 

Elise knew everyone meant well; however, it felt overbearing. The last thing she wanted to do was be honest with herself about how close she was to dying.

Elise hurried through the doors, heading upstairs. She hesitates for a moment, a hallucination in the outline of Emma, which faded to another lady behind the desk. She stands there for a moment as her eyes adjusted; the lady looks up at her irritatedly as Elise had interrupted her work. 

Her cheeks started to burn as a crimson flush crept up her neck, “I- uh sorry.. I thought you were someone else.”

She forced her legs into a steady rhythm, praying she didn’t trip over her own feet on the way up. Why did I do that? She replayed the front desk lady’s deadpan glare over and over. Her intention was set, she just wanted to get to her office as soon as possible. 

Violet had texted Elise a few days ago, warning her some people in the office wanted to do something for her return. She begged Violet to somehow convince them not to, Elise did not want all of the attention that game with such gestures. She checked her prior messages:

Violet: Hey… heads up the office wants to have a welcome back party for you 

Elise: OMG. I think I would’ve rather died.. Please convince them not to!!!

Violet: LOL. That is still not funny. 

I’ll try though 

Elise: Ugh. I might actually have to quit 

When she finally reaches her office, her vision blurs slightly as tears prick the corner of her eyes. Her office looks the same as it did three weeks ago. The stack of paperwork she was meant to finish remains scattered across her desk, sweater still hung on the back of her chair, as if she would have returned any moment to wear it. 

Her planner is still open to November 9th. All of her tasks were written down, some crossed off, some never finished. Everything was exactly as she left it — yet something inside of her has been permanently changed.

Elise notices footsteps are getting closer to her office. She quickly wipes the tears away and starts to unpack her bag, trying to look busy. She sets her water bottle on her desk, opens her laptop, straightens the papers that are still scattered everywhere, hoping whoever is walking by will think she’s working.

As people pass by her office, she quickly jumps into her chair, dizzied by her movements she lowered her head toward her laptop. She gives them a polite “good morning,” hoping they won’t linger too long. She anxiously picks up a pen — the same one she left on her open planner, pretending to write something down urging them to get the hint: I don’t want to talk. 

Elise’s guilt creeps up on her; after all, she knows they’re just happy she’s alright. Still, the uneasy feeling in her chest tightens whenever she thinks about that night, outweighing any guilt she might feel for dodging everyone. 

Footsteps draw closer, she sighs. She contemplated going home for a moment — but it would be exhausting trying to avoid conversations all day.

She ruminated about all the ways she could get stuck in conversation: trying to refill her water, leaving for lunch, going to the restroom or any simple mundane task that could lead her into unwanted discussions. 

For a brief moment, she finds herself yearning for the past; where she didn’t have to face everyone and could spend all day with Connor.

Relief floods Elise’s face when Violet pops her head into her office, “Hey stranger!” She walks into Elise’s office with a casual poise ,setting a coffee down, “Brought you a pick me up for your first day back!”

“Thank you.” she smiles faintly, hoping Violet wouldn’t notice her inner turmoil.

Violet slumps into the chair Elise had bought to make her office more cozy, “I’m sooo over this week already! I have so much paperwork to review.”

Elise nods emphatically, letting her friend vent about her workload, “I’m sorry. I’m sure I'm in the same boat as you... Considering I’ve got three weeks to catch up on.”

She takes a sip of the coffee Violet had brought her. Surely this wouldn’t help the feeling in her chest, if anything it would make it worse. She didn’t want to burden Violet with worry — not after all she’d done for her.

A few moments passed, Violet begrudgingly drags herself out of the chair she had been perched in. “I guess I should get back to it.”

Elise forces a smile, “Yeah, me too.”

As Violet turns to leave, she smirks at Elise, “Lunch in my car? Just like old times?”

“Of course.” 

She tries to focus her attention and start working — the fluorescent lights had other plans, overhead they focused their attention on her. She sat completely rigid, her hands flat on the cool surface of her desk where everything had once felt so painfully normal. 

Just three weeks ago, her office was a sanctuary of mundane routines. Lukewarm coffee with Violet, the steady hum of the printer down the hall and the predictable rhythm of deadlines. Now, the familiar setup felt like a trap. Her pens were in the same spot she had thrown them before leaving that day. The half empty pack of gum sat precisely where she had left it. 

The utter normalcy of the office was a violent contrast to the wreckage inside of her mind, a harsh reminder the world had kept spinning while her own had shattered. Elise hadn’t really sat with it yet.

She hadn’t let herself feel the heavy suffocating trauma of what had happened. The air was ripped from her lungs as the officer slammed his foot down on her arm, them laughing at her as she tried to defend herself and what haunted her was the way they had intended to kill her. Whether she was an android or a human, it didn’t matter. 

She remembered so vividly how her blood mixed with the white snow, creating pink streaks and her desperation focusing on the group — their wellbeing a priority over her own. 

She had forced herself back to work, trying to outrun the memories. Her fingers trembled as she pulled her planner toward her. She flipped to that date. The neat, handwritten ink layout of her schedule stared back at her. 

09:00am - Weekly team meeting 

11:30am- Client call 

02:00pm- Finish reviewing documents

Elise stared at the words until they blurred, then she closed the book. Five seconds passed. Her heart hammered against her ribs, in a frantic rhythm. She flipped it open again, but the words haven’t changed. She exhales a shaky breath, only to close the book once more and immediately feel the clawing panic return. 

She had to check it again. Just to be sure… just to make sure she was still in control. 

“Elise?”

The voice shattered her focus. She flinched so hard her elbow knocked against the coffee sitting on her desk, causing some to spill onto her desk. The manager was standing in the doorway, he held a stack of paperwork, but his eyes were fixed on her. His brow furrowed in concern. 

“Oh.. hi, sorry,” her voice came out a pitch higher than normal. She immediately smoothed her hands over her pants, trying to calm her shaking frame. 

“I was just getting organized for the morning.. I’ve just got to finish up this report.”

Her manager didn’t move toward her desk, instead he leaned gently against the doorframe, crossing his arms. He noticed the hyper-vigilant dart of her eyes, and the way her thumb kept tracing the corner of the planner. 

“You don’t have to do that,” he says softly. 

“Do what?” she forces a smile, “I’m just reviewing.. Lots to catch up on.”

“Elise..” he walked into the room, stepping around the desk, and gently pulling a chair over. He sat down, dropping his voice to a tone that wasn’t just a boss checking on an employee, but one of a human being looking out for another. 

“You’ve been back for forty five minutes, and you look like you’re ready to bolt at any moment.”

A pause. “You haven’t taken a single deep breath since you walked through the front doors.”

“I’m fine,” she lies quickly, “Really. Being busy is good for me. It keeps my mind off… things.”

“It’s been three weeks..” he reminds her gently, “we didn’t expect you back for at least another month. Nobody would blame you if you wanted to stay away longer.”

“I wanted to come back,” she insisted, though her voice betrayed her, cracking slightly on the final word. She gripped the edge of the planner, tracing absentminded shapes on it. 

“I.. I need routine. If I stay at home I just.. I just see it happening over and over again..” She couldn’t finish the sentence, the words caught tightly in her throat. 

He looked down at her tightly clenched hands, then back up to her eyes. He gave her a small, understanding nod. He wasn’t going to push her to talk about the incident, but he also wasn’t going to let her drown at work. 

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” he says, his tone firm, but lacking pressure. “I want you to pack up your laptop and go home.”

Panic flared in Elise’s chest, “No, please, I can work-”

“Listen to me,” he interrupted gently, raising a hand. “I’m not going to tell you that you can’t work, but you are going to work from home the rest of the week. No strict log on times, no meetings, just do what you can handle.”

Elise stared at him, her chest rising and falling in shallow, rapid movements. “Okay.”

He leans forward, ensuring she was meeting his gaze.

“And Elise?”

“You still have three weeks of approved, fully paid medical leave. If you wake up tomorrow or next week and realize this is all too much, you take the leave. No questions asked.”

“I..I don’t want to let everyone down,” she whispered, the honesty finally slipping past her defenses. A single tear escaped, trickling down her cheek. “Everyone has been so supportive. I feel like I’m failing because I can’t even sit at my own desk.”

“You went through something terrible, Elise,” he said, his voice filled with genuine empathy. “We all understand that. You need to take care of yourself first. The work will always be here.”

He stood up, giving her desk a reassuring tap. “I’ll let the team know not to reach out, that you’re working from home, excluding meetings.”

As he walked out of her office, leaving her alone in the quiet space, Elise looked back down at the planner. For the first time all morning, she didn’t feel the desperate need to open the planner and check the date again. She let go of the cover, took a deep breath, and reached for her bag. 

Elise slips out of the office unnoticed, not even stopping by to tell Violet goodbye. She really just wanted to get out of there, and Violet would understand. Elise would send her a text once she got home. 

As soon as she steps into the crisp, winter air, a weight is lifted off of her chest. Maybe her boss had been right, that she came back too soon. She walks home, through Capitol Park, occasionally stopping and taking in how different everything is now. 

Three weeks ago, this area had been the epicenter of the revolution. Now, almost every shop, restaurant, and business was bustling. Aside from the empty CyberLife store. What was once a thriving company, now looks as if it’s been abandoned. 

When she finally reaches her apartment, she quickly throws her shoes off, changing into something cozy. She curls up on the couch with Pumpkin, who hasn’t seemed to have moved since Elise left for work earlier that morning. 

November 30th, 2038 - 08:30am Detroit Police Station

The bullpen looked exactly as he remembered it. The same fluorescent lights, the same chipped desks, the same coffee stains on reports halfway abandoned through the day. Only this time, he wasn’t waiting for instructions from CyberLife. 

He wasn’t arriving as a machine, he was arriving as a detective. As a person.

The familiar blue hue made Connor feel more relaxed on his first day. He recognized many officers such as Miller and Reed, although he wouldn’t complain if he didn’t need to interact with detective Reed. 

Connor stiffens in his chair as he notices the familiar figure of detective Reed nearing in his peripheral vision. His chest starts to feel heavy, with an uneasy feeling he can’t quite name. Now that he was officially hired, he didn’t want any problems, especially not on his first day. 

He is immediately relaxed when Gavin walks past him, not paying him any attention. However, Connor didn’t seem to notice how Gavin smirked when he noticed Connor seemed relieved not having to interact with him. Now, he just needed to wait for the perfect moment to mess with the station’s newest detective. 

His morning had not been as exciting as he’d hoped. He had hoped there’d be a new case to work on, just like there was when he and Hank were working on the deviant case. 

However, when Fowler calls him into his office, handing him stacks of paperwork to fill out: Bank account information, W-2 forms, identify verification, all of the boring first day stuff he’s never seen before. He quickly realizes there was more to being a detective than he thought. 

He walks back to the desk he claimed as his, the one right across from Hank, his now official partner. He drops the stack of forms on the desk, starting to look through them. 

“...Hank?”

He looks up from where he’s dealing with his own paperwork, the stack he had neglected while Elise was still hurt, “Yeah?”

“....I’m not sure how to fill out this form..”

Hank pinches the bridge of his nose, the fluorescent lights directly above his desk always make his head hurt, “What’s it asking?”

Connor looks at the form in his hands, tracing the black letters with his fingers, “...It’s asking for my surname..”

Hank sighs, “Yeah.. You can just choose one.. Since you’re an android, it’ll be official once we put it in the system.”

He pauses for a moment, he hadn’t really thought about this before.. What should he choose?

He hesitates, “...What about Anderson?” He immediately regrets saying that. What if Hank thought that was weird? What if it made him angry?

“... I.. I just mean you are like family to me..”

Hank faintly smiles, “That would be nice, if that’s what you want. It’s your choice, Connor.”

The first half of his day passes rather quickly. Hank helps him fill out all of the forms Fowler had given him, set up a bank account, and set up all of his login information for accessing the database and evidence. Once that is done, Connor spends the early afternoon watching safety and training videos at his desk. Videos that were clearly meant for the human employees.

He smirks to himself, knowing that he could easily avoid every situation the HR videos are showing by using a simple preconstruction. Gavin, sitting across the bullpen notices the smirk on Connor’s face and takes his chance to try and intimidate him. 

He walks aggressively to Connor’s desk, “Hey! What are you smiling about?”

Connor looks up from his terminal, “Nothing.”

“Nah you think you’re better than the rest of us don’t you,” Gavin scoffs. 

Hank sighs, looking up from his work, “Knock it off, Reed.”

Gavin wants to push more, but now Fowler has stepped out of his office, noticing the commotion. Not wanting to to deal with the possibility of a disciplinary action, Gavin scowls as he walks away defeated. Connor knows him well enough to know this won’t be the last time he has to deal with him. 

When most of the human employees step out for lunch, Connor feels a little relieved. Not because he dislikes humans, but because the tension in the bullpen is obvious. Androids had been granted basic human rights, the right to work and be paid for said work included. However, not everyone agreed with that decision. 

A lot of people still thought of androids as stealing human jobs, as objects meant to serve them, not work alongside them.

He couldn’t help but notice how when he entered the break room, some humans would look up at him and laugh. How they would make comments calling him “tin can” or  smug remarks like, “we don’t need a piece of plastic hanging around” as if  he couldn’t hear them. 

One detective in particular, seemed to hate androids. He would make comments about all of them, because Connor was not the only android the station hired. They had also decided to hire the girl at the front desk, and this detective hated everything about it. 

He wasted no time letting his coworkers hear his thoughts on the matter. Even when Connor had been sent by CyberLife, this man could not stand to see him at the station. 

Connor didn’t know this detective. He scanned him to determine the best approach when he was standing by officer Miller’s desk, and he wasn’t given very useful information. Connor determined his name was Alex Vance and he worked in the cold case department. 

Most people still weren’t back from lunch, so Connor thought now would be a good time to walk around, explore the station as an actual employee, not just as CyberLife’s tool. 

Unfortunately for him, Alex was printing some reports in the copy room when Connor walked in. He immediately has a look of disgust on his face when he notices Connor,  “Can I help you?”

“I was looking for-”

Alex scoffed, “Wrong room.”

Connor nods politely as he steps backward toward the hallway.  Nothing he could have said would have made that situation better. 

Behind him he hears, “Fuckin androids, god damn machines taking human jobs.”

He returns to his desk, feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt. Had he taken a job from someone who needed it? He knew logically the department had chosen to hire him, but that didn’t stop the question from lingering.

 Connor  had expected some humans would still belittle him and talk down to him, but he hadn’t realized how much it would still  hurt. 

November 30th, 2038 - 05:45pm Elise’s apartment

Connor steps out of the station, into the snowy streets, heading to Elise’s apartment. He had to admit he was looking forward to seeing her, especially after his day didn’t go as well as he had hoped. 

He wonders if her day was any better? Did she get to catch up with her work friends? Was she glad to be back into her routine? He secretly wonders if she missed spending all day with him as much as he missed spending his days with her.

When Connor knocks on the door, he hears shuffling almost immediately, it’s almost as if she had been waiting for him. Elise flings the door open, the faint smell of a candle burning reaches his nose. He feels relaxed already, and he hasn’t even stepped inside yet.

“Connor!” she smiles, “How was your first day! Tell me all about it!” 

He steps inside, shedding his coat, and Pumpkin is already rubbing against his legs. It was clear someone missed him. He debates lying for a moment, telling Elise everything went well.. But somehow she always made him feel better in moments like this.

Connor hesitates for a second, “It was okay.”

Elise now bundled in blankets on the sofa tilts her head, “Just okay?”

“There were a few detectives who… disagreed with androids being hired,” he sighs. 

A pause. “I.. I knew there would be humans who still did not support the government’s decision to hire us.. But.. I hadn’t expected it to hurt the way it does.”

Elise stands, frowning as she walks towards where he’s leaning against the kitchen counter, “I’m sorry. You deserve to have the right to work.. I know that doesn’t change how people treat you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he shakes his head, “I’ll get used to it, eventually.”

Elise crosses her arms, hands rubbing them. His acceptance of people treating him poorly made her devastated. She does the only thing she can think of, hoping it wouldn’t be too weird. 

She walks slowly, closing the distance between her and Connor. He looks at her with a confused expression as she stops right in front of him. Elise lifts her hands as if she’s about to do something, but pauses briefly. 

Her hands hovered in the air between them first, fingers curling slightly as she noticed the quiet defeat in his shoulders. The day had worn on him more than he was letting on. Elise takes one final step, closing the distance between them until the pump of his regulator pressed through her shirt. 

Elise wraps her arms around his torso, careful and light, making sure to give him room to pull back if he wished. Instead, a ragged exhale escaped him.

His LED flickered a sharp, unstable red. Her sudden proximity sent his optical sensors into a frenzy, tracking the precise distance until she was flush against him. Connor froze, arms hovering awkwardly at his sides as her arms were around him. His internal processors scanned for the appropriate response.

Objective: comfort. 

However, there was no preprogrammed script for the heavy, aching pressure in his chest cavity. When she tightened her arms around him, a cascade of warning prompts filled his vision, but all were bypassed by a strange quiet demand he couldn’t delete. 

Slowly, his synthetic fingers curled into the fabric of Elise’s shirt. He leaned into her, his chin resting on the top of her head as his LED slowly settled from yellow, to a steady blue. He hadn’t decided to hug her back. Yet, somehow he already had.

Elise hadn’t realized how fast her own heart was beating as she pulled away from him a few moments later. Suddenly overwhelmed with how emotional that felt. She retreats back to the sofa, trying to pretend like she wasn’t suddenly nervous. 

“How was your first day back?” he says to break the awkward silence. 

She fidgets with the blanket draped across her legs, “Oh.. it was fine.”

His eyes narrow and he crosses his arms, “Elise..” 

She sighs, watching him slowly make his way to sit down beside her, “I.. I thought I could handle going back, but I couldn’t.”

A pause, “ Just seeing my office the way it was before.. And my planner was still open to that date.. I just.. Couldn’t do it..”

Connor nods, “You don’t have to be ready right now.”

Elise shakes her head, “I just.. I had a panic attack and my boss said to do what I can from home for the week.” Tears prick the corner of her eyes, “and.. I still avoid that part of the city..”

Connor feels his chest ache and tighten, he hadn’t known she felt that way, that she was still struggling. At the same time, he feels a sharp, burning sensation boiling inside of him towards those officers. 

They had taken so much from her already physically. They had injured her, causing her to spend days consciousness and weeks in the hospital. Now, they were taking from her mentally and it made him so angry he didn’t know what to do. 

He’s pulled away from those thoughts as she continues talking, “I.. I know that area is like a monument now. People want to remember.. But I’d rather forget.”

The two stay like that, sitting together on the couch, sitting with the heavy feelings of the day. Eventually, Elise falls asleep leaning against the armrest, Pumpkin curled right beside her. Only then does Connor slip out of her apartment quietly, making his way back home to Hank.

December 1st, 2038 - 08:00am Elise’s Apartment 

Elise sits in her bed, opening her laptop. Her boss had told her if it was too much, she still had three weeks of medical leave. Staring at her screen, unable to bring herself to do anything, she considered the possibility that she should take the leave. 

Although, she didn’t want to. What she wanted to do was get back to her normal, boring life. She wanted to walk to work every morning and listen to Violet complain, she wanted the boring paperwork, the staying late to meet a deadline. She never thought she’d miss something so mundane until the incident. 

Now, she couldn’t even stand the sight of her office without breaking down. She closes her laptop, and places it on the stand beside her bed. Elise had decided working, even from home was too much right now, she should just take the leave and try to heal before returning to work.

Of course, Pumpkin doesn’t mind at all. She quickly curls up beside Elise, the two of them drifting to sleep together. A few hours later, Elise stirs, earning an annoyed meow from Pumpkin.

She slowly sits up in bed, rubbing her eyes. She reaches over to her night stand, grabbing her phone only to realize it’s noon. 

She unlocks her phone, sending Connor, who finally has a phone a quick text:

Decided to take the leave. So I just woke up LOL

He replies almost immediately:

I’m glad that you are taking care of yourself. Though I'm sure Pumpkin won’t mind you being home with her for three weeks. 

A few minutes later she texts him again:

Do you want to hang out after work?

She sets her phone down,heart racing as she anticipates his response. So far, he’d always been available, or wanted to see her. She dreaded the day when he was busy, or simply didn’t want to see her. And.. she couldn’t stop thinking about when she hugged him last night. 

Connor didn’t respond for awhile, but she assumed he was just busy at work. He was a detective after all. She didn’t really know what being a detective entailed, but she assumed there would be days he would be very busy and unavailable. 

A few hours later, he texts her back:

I’m sorry. You know I would love to, but I have some things to get done after work. 

She stares at his reply for a few moments.She should’ve known this would happen eventually. Connor had his own life now, she couldn’t expect him to spend every second with her. It didn’t stop the apartment from feeling strangely quiet. 

Pumpkin jumped into her lap, curling into a warm orange ball, purring loudly enough to fill the silence. Elise smiled despite herself, scratching beneath Pumpkin’s chin. 

“Guess it’s just us tonight.”

Outside, Detroit continued moving forward. Tomorrow would come, whether or not either of them felt ready for it or not. 

Lowk hit a flow state with this one💙 hope you all enjoy <3

Eye for an Eye

Occurs during canon chapters “Capital Park,” “Meet Kamski,” and “Freedom March”

Hank and Connor seek out Elijah Kamski in an effort to locate the source of deviancy.  They may have gotten a little too close… Clover visits Officer Miller at the hospital after learning he was attacked by deviants, but spared by Markus.   She returns to work afterward, but not for long.  DPD’s dispatch is alerted to hundreds of androids marching along Woodward Avenue. It’s Markus, she knows it, and she takes off to bear witness to the march… Instead she sees the blood.  Blue blood. And her hands are covered in it.

⋅☘︎⋅──────────── 𖧋⋅⚠⋅𖧋 ────────────⋅☘︎⋅

Warnings: references to emotional/psychological manipulation, power imbalance, possessive behavior, weapons, android body violence, dissociation, existential crisis, trauma

Wordcount: 4.3k

ao3 link l masterpost

"Don't send an organic to fo a machines job"

Go crazy, make it a connor x reader. Maybe machine connor? I dont know

I was lost in the sauce and had 2 buzzballs and 4 cigarettes when i sent that💀

Was considering going home from work, and still might tbh

I should be working on stuff Friday and Sunday though. Saturday is pretty busy for me, but just wanted to update you all 💙