#rt600 chloe

“Chloe, don’t be like that!” Cassie insisted “I’ll lend you one of my prettiest dresses, I’ll give you some money so you can go buy yourself a milk tea afterwards, please?”

Chloe huffed out a soft sigh “Very well, but I’m not doing it again” she said, as she had a terribly clear vision of herself walking down the aisle to tell some poor unfortunate creature ‘I’m so sorry, but Cassie is not coming today’

“Thank you! Thank you!” Cassie hugged her happily, this was why Chloe could never say no to her sisters “Let’s play dress up!”

Chloe found herself sitting on the park bench where Cassie and her date had agreed to met, she checked tree times, the one facing the lake with the gazebo just behind, this had to be it. Cassie and her date, Tina Chen  (Chloe had to make sure to remember her name), had exchanged pictures so they would recognize each other, but Chloe didn’t worry about that, she and her sisters really looked so much alike they could pass for triplets, only both her sisters were a bit taller than she was, Cassie’s date would still be able to recognize her.

She waited feeling delighted with the day and sorry she’d have to make it a little less bright for someone else. It was cloudy and windy but she didn’t mind, even if it was messing her hair up a little. She felt light and happy in this floaty white dress that gave up the faintest, loveliest sea green reflection when you moved; Chloe imagined it was made of sea foam and starlight, and had put on the sea salt perfume her brother Elijah had given her for her birthday to match.

The sky got greyer giving the day a witchy silvery light and the gusts of wind were getting stronger moving the skirt of her dress in a way that allowed her to see the sparkling sea trapped within it. She got her phone from her purse and looked at the hour, Cassie’s date was fifteen minutes late already, maybe she had gotten Cassie’s messages after all, or maybe the person she really fancied had overcome their cold feet just like North had, faced with the possibility of someone else beating them to it. Chloe would give her fifteen minutes more, that seemed fair, it’s the time she’d allot to a first date that was running late.

Chloe felt the soft tap-tap of rain drops falling on her head, she put her hand up, the cool drops on the palm of her hand confirming that it was, indeed, raining. She got up from the bench to find refuge in the gazebo, she still could see the agreed on meeting place although the rain made it even less likely that Cassie’s date would actually arrive. Chloe was glad, she was not in the business of breaking hearts, much less those that didn’t belong to her, she twirled along the gazebo aimlessly, enjoying the smell of the rain, when she looked up again, there was a girl near the bench looking around. Chloe was about to call out to her when the girl noticed her and ran towards the gazebo.

“I’m so sorry I’m so late!” Tina said, she was wearing a plain grey hoodie, and her jeans and boots were all muddy, she had an umbrella but her hair was slightly wet and pulled back in a messy ponytail, and her face was flushed as if she had been running “I had all the day planned, and I promise I had a better outfit chosen, but one of my friends lost his damn cat and that cat is an absolute abomination just like her owner, they are a disaster, and then my car wouldn’t start but I was already late, and  I wanted to send you a text but my phone fell into a fountain when we were searching for Rex and then it started raining and I stopped to buy an umbrella, anyway, I’m so sorry I made you wait so long”

“Tina, I’m…” Chloe trailed off, Tina looked so earnest and she had come to her date despite all her troubles when she could have just thought it too much of a bother for a stranger, Chloe would hate so to disappoint her

“Should we go have some tea?” Tina was saying, looking embarrassed but hopeful “I know this teashop, it’s not too far”

“That– that’d be lovely” Chloe replied, feeling a bit trapped by the current but she’d go with the flow this once

“Wait,” Tina said, unzipping her hoodie to reveal the oversized band t-shirt underneath, she looked down at herself sheepishly “I really had a better outfit than this chosen, I didn’t plan to come in what are virtually my pajamas, but you can wear the hoodie so your dress doesn’t get wet, it’s not dirty…” Tina added as an afterthought after glancing at her muddy boots

Chloe laughed then, what she didn’t know was her most charming, silvery laugh, it made anyone that had provoked it feel lucky just to hear it, a home where that laugh sounded often would, without any doubt, be a lively, joyful place. A place where you couldn’t help but feel content, and where you couldn’t wait to go back to when you were away.

“Of course it isn’t dirty!” Chloe exclaimed putting on the jacket, soft with years and years of loving wear, she placed the hoodie over her head too, her soft blonde hair cascading out of it

The teashop Tina had chosen was an absolutely wonderful place, Chloe couldn’t look around enough, it was like a garden, plants and flowers everywhere, some in lovely pots, some others climbing on the walls, and even some growing from planters at ground level. Tina slid back the chair from a table surrounded by rosebushes in a tone of orange that was almost copper but seemed to change to a lovely lavender color once the blooms where drying, Chloe had never seen roses of quite that color before, even when their garden was full of rosebushes, her mother was quite fond of them.

“Do you like it?” Tina asked

“It’s so wonderful!” Chloe said excitedly “I’d never had known this was here! There are some flowers I don’t even know the name of!”

“I see I may have trouble making you leave!” Tina said

“Oh! Not at all!” Chloe said earnestly, the flush that came to her face highlighted all the kissable spots on it “Then I would miss any other beautiful place you wanted to show me”

Tina grinned even wider as they sat at their table. Chloe found herself laughing often and talking easily, she wasn’t shy, that wasn’t it, but there was always certain formality to her she had trouble overcoming and made people feel that she kept them at arm’s length or in the worst of cases that she was really stuck up, but she didn’t feel she was talking as if through a glass wall when she talked to Tina.

After a couple of hours her phone lit up with a text from Connie, asking her when she’d be home. Chloe hesitated, it was early to cut the date off and she was having so much fun, but she probably should ask Tina.

“Tina, when do you think…” Chloe trailed off, searching for a polite way to ask when did Tina think the date would be over

“Do you have to go back home?” Tina said “Should I walk you to your bus stop?”

“Oh!” Chloe said disappointed, maybe she had acted stuck up after all “It’s still a bit early, isn’t it? I thought maybe after this we could go to this art exhibit, it’s supposed to be so wonderful, there’s a water exhibit with interactive fish made of light, but of course, if you don’t have the time”

Tina smiled really brightly then, in a way that gave Chloe a lovely warm thrill

“I’d love to!” Tina said sincerely “I just thought it was fair to give you an exit in case you wanted to go home”

“Did I look like I wasn’t having fun?” Chloe asked concerned,

Tina considered this for a moment “I thought you seemed like the kind of person who would be polite to the point of holding up even if you were bored out of your mind”

“Oh my goodness, I don’t know if that’s good or bad!” Chloe laughed “I’m not bored at all but I do know that’s one of my defects, seeming uninterested and I guess, distant sometimes… like I’m only politely humoring someone?” She pondered “even when that’s not the case. My sisters and I even used to joke about me not having a soul”

“That’s so creepy!” Tina laughed

“Isn’t it! we used to have so much fun with it, we still do sometimes, mum always said it was because I spent so much time with my brother, he’s not a people person, but he’s rather sweet in his own way” Chloe said animatedly “Are you having fun though? Should I be the one to offer you an exit?”

Tina shook her head and a few strands of hair escaped her ponytail, framing her face in a way Chloe thought positively bewitching, just like a mischievous wood nymph

“I’m having lots of fun,” Tina said “I am sorry I profiled you!”

“That’s the detective side of you taking over” Chloe said fondly

Tina smiled “I’m only an officer, though”

“Would you like to be a detective someday?” Chloe asked with interest

“Yes, someday, but I’m not quite like Gavin”

“That’s your friend with the cats!” Chloe interjected feeling proud of remembering that little fact, she was starting to hold on and collect all the little details that were part of Tina’s life, like a little bird gathering the softest feathers and sturdier little branches for her nest.

Tina nodded “He’s so work oriented; it’s almost all he thinks about. He aims to beat the record for youngest Lieutenant and he probably will, but I’m–” she shrugged “I’d love to be a detective in a couple of years, but I don’t think I have many work related ambition after that.” She said with a frown “I only want a stable comfortable life like everyone I guess, but I’m not aiming to be the absolute best or for riches and greatness” she smiled “that’s probably really bad of me to admit, and in a first date too” she rebuked herself “but I want to have time to do the things I love doing besides work… like napping!” she half-joked

“Well, that sounds perfectly reasonable to me” Chloe said, thinking it would be lovely to have evening naps with Tina while they heard the rain outside, and wasn’t she getting a little bit ahead of herself there.

When they went out of the teashop it had stopped raining, there were small ponds all over the sidewalk and rain drops still caught in the leaves of the trees

“Should we go to that exhibit then?” Tina asked

“Absolutely!” Chloe said

“And only to be sure…” Tina said, with a puckish smile “It’s Chloe, right?”  

Chloe blushed prettily at being found out

“I am afraid so” Chloe said “I’m sorry, Cassie couldn’t make it, and I was supposed to tell you but you looked like such a –“

“Sorry thing?” Tina laughed

“Interesting person!” Chloe said blushing again, “How did you know?”

“Well, I’m an amazing detective to be with years of training, and absolutely astonishing powers of deduction” Tina said proudly

“I’d say…”

“And your sister said you were coming in her place in the last text I could read before I dropped my phone in the fountain”

“You knew all along and didn’t tell me!” Chloe chided her playfully “That’s so mean!”

“Aren’t you the same?” Tina asked, pulling softly at one strand of Chloe’s hair

They had been dating for almost three years now. They started off in shambles; built each other up. They were in love. 

After the revolution, Connor had put his investigative skills to the test, searching for androids to being to New Jericho. 

That's when he had stumbled upon a large, abandoned warehouse by the river. There were hundreds of androids taking refuge there. It's where they met for the second time. 

She looked just as lovely as the first time he laid his eyes upon her, if not a little listless. Her blue eyes glowed with determination, even as her hair was grimy and her dress torn at its edges. 

She said that despite Kamski allowing all his Chloes to leave if they wanted, she regrets abandoning the closest thing she had to a home. It was safer there, no protesters marching, no hateful strangers lurking in alleys to attack unsuspecting androids. 

But for all her struggles, she admitted that she would do it all over again. She made friends, gained independence. She wasn't just the first android to pass the Turing Test anymore, she was Chloe, a familiar face to turn to when in need, a friend to the child models, a protector. On more than one occasion she had left the safety of their hideout to look for supplies. 

She always returned. She was strong like that. Connor admired her strong mind, her caring soul. 

He helped her, as well as many others, get settled into their new homes in New Jericho. There were just as many large, shared spaces as there were individual rooms. Many androids feared to be alone. Chloe was one of them. 

Being alone reminded her of angry faces, violent hands. Having others around kept her grounded, kept her distracted. She didn't have to be alone anymore. She never got used to it. 

Connor also disliked being alone, although he was less upfront about it. He feared that her voice would come back. He hated how powerless it made him feel, it was like he had no control over his own actions. The silence reminded him of her disapproving looks. He tried not to be alone. 

They were not alone together. They got along well, talking about their aspirations, chatting about their hopes for the future. 

Chloe thought she wanted to be a doctor. In her time at the warehouse, she discovered that she liked helping people, protecting them. She wanted to be able to buy her own house; she wanted to live by the beach. 

Connor wanted to return to the precinct. They both liked the idea of nobly defending those who lived here, those they shared a home with. Connor wanted to have a family, a group of people he loved, and who loved him. He thought he was getting close to having that. 

Connor wanted to hold her hand, to make her smile, to show her the world. He wanted Chloe to be happy. 

He told Chloe this. He felt that if he didn't, it would be too similar to lying. Chloe told him that she wanted him to be with her, to spend the rest of their days in her beach house fantasy. 

That's how it began. They did indeed hold hands, and go on dates, and grow closer. This time, it was Chloe's turn to admit something; she loved him. She loved being with him. She was in love with him. 

She loved seeing Connor smile, and he did much more than just that. When she told him, he scooped her up into his arms and spun her around. He smiled at her, whispering `I love you's and they danced the night away. 

They told each other everything. She admitted that when androids could get married, she'd love to be one of the first. He told her that he wanted to grow their little family, include a pet or two. They adopted two fish, a dog, and a small kitten she had found abandoned in a box in a dark alley. Scared at first, the ball of tawny fur grew to love her family. The kitten reminded Chloe of herself. 

So when Connor started getting home later, not talking to her as much, Chloe immediately knew he was hiding something, she just couldn't figure out what. 

The anniversary of the revolution was coming soon, maybe he had something planned to distract them from the bad memories the date forced to the front of their minds. 

But then the anniversary came and went, and all they did was have a movie marathon with Markus, Josh, Simon, North, Hank, and some of Connor's friends from work, Tina Chen, Chris Miller, and a very Grumpy Gavin Reed. It was a lovely day, with laughter and games and music. 

So, Chloe took matters into her own hands. She couldn't ask Connor up front, because the last time he was planning a surprise for her, he just doubled in his efforts at hiding it from her. Instead, she turned to Tina Chen. As a detective, the woman could both monitor Connor's behavior at work and be less likely to get caught doing so. 

It was going great, at first. Tina reported that she was getting closer to discovering what Connor was hiding, even stating that she was planning on following him wherever he went during his breaks. 

The following day, Tina met with Chloe just to report that all he did was walk to the nearby coffee shop, people watch, and leave a generous tip as he departed. Chloe had hit a dead end. She decided that if Connor had something really important he was keeping from her, that he would either tell her soon or she would find out naturally. Putting so much effort into looking into his behavior was distracting her from med school anyways. 

One warm summer evening, as the sunset behind the city, Connor took her out to a field in the nearby park for stargazing. He laid down a soft blanket and held her hand as he pointed out constellations, even though both of them knew that she could name them just as easily. 

Then, near the end of the date, as the first rays of sun lit the horizon in a soft pink hue, he sat up and turned to her. He pulled out a small black box. Inside lay a simple silver ring, containing only a pale blue gemstone.

He asked her to spend the rest of forever with him, to get one step closer to their beach house from her dreams. She smiled and kissed him and for a moment, everything was calm, everything was perfect.