Chapter Text
Amongst the upbeat tunes and the people in the bar, Nines was having what a CyberLife technician would call “a blue screen of death” moment. Otherwise commonly called a panic attack but he wasn’t really worried about the correct terminology with his HUD shoving unhelpful and conflicting prompts into his vision.
>>SEARCHING… ESCAPE ROUTES LOCATED
>>BIO COMPONENTS #340 (LEGS) - LOCKED
>>STRESS LEVEL - 85%... 86%... 87%...
No matter how much Nines wanted to completely tear down every notification and run out the door (>>13 FOOT DISTANCE), he couldn’t stop replaying the conversation he had overheard when trying to find Gavin at the bar.
“So you and Nines?” James Nook, a transfer officer that was the one of the gang’s friends back in the academy, asked as he leaned his elbows on the counter, away from their loud band of friends. He was the reason they were all there in the first place, a welcome home party that Chris insisted the detective partners should come.
Gavin smiled into the lip of his beer before taking a swig, “Yeeeup, it surprised me too.”
“From what Chris and Tina were telling me, you guys were practically dating without each other really knowing it.”
The detective scowled, but the blush on his cheeks was unmistakable. Nines smiled to himself as he leisurely strolled up to where they were sitting, noticing how late it was getting and Chris desperately needed to get back home before Tina could put any more beers in him.
Gavin grumbled under his breath as James laughed and asked, “How’s the sex? Can he even get it on? I know jack shit about androids.”
The small spray of beer from Gavin’s mouth as he coughed just barely missed the bartender (who seemed unfazed) before he turned a very real scowl to the officer, “Apparently you also know jack shit about stayin’ in your own business.”
“Oh c’mon, Gav,” James gave him a nudge with his elbow and the android could see how his face darkened ever so slightly, “You were the biggest slut back in the day, always kiss and tell with you.”
A beat followed before James’ eyes widened at Gavin’s lack of response, “You? Not climbing that tree yet? Damn, you haven’t gotten that old-”
“James, I swear to god if you don’t shut up right now, I will deck you in the face,” Gavin’s voice was strained, barely audible above the chatter and music.
It had been approximately 1.4 seconds since the conversation had fallen into silence and Nines was still stuck, the audio file playing on repeat and bouncing around like a lead ball in his mind.
He wasn’t ignorant of the fact that Gavin has had personal affairs in the past. Nor was he blind; the detective was an objectively attractive person with his barely-there smirks and fascinating scars. His regular workout schedule also played into his favor, but it was an afterthought to Nines; Gavin’s physical appearance wasn’t what drew the android in.
>>GAVIN REED - EXPERIENCED IN SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS
>>RK900 #313 248 317-87 - NO EXPERIENCE
>>SOCIAL PROTOCOLS SEARCHING...
>>30% CHANCE OF NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
Nines blinked hard and rapidly, trying to clear the involuntary prompts that appeared in bright red type across his vision.
He logically knew that that chance was lower, especially after Gavin’s confession of not going anywhere, that he didn’t care about all of the “bells and whistles.”
But that didn’t stop the bubble in Nines’s chest from rising, ready to burst at any second because how could he really be sure? His supercomputer brain could run all of the diagnostics, all the statistics, and he still would come out with a small chance of Gavin leaving him because he wasn’t complete.
Nines’s processors were so worked up, he didn’t even register the hands that gripped his biceps and pulled him towards the exit, away from the too-crowded space and into the alleyway. While he couldn’t feel temperature, the cold blast of the night air helped out his whirling fans that were desperately trying to keep him from overheating.
“Nines, hey c’mon, get out of that thick head of yours,” The words were far away and warped, but they slowly got louder as his bio components cooled down.
Once the last of his notifications in his HUD were flicked away, Nines found a very concerned detective standing in front of him, “Tin can, what is goin’ on? Your light is going crazy.”
Gavin raised his hand to brush his fingers against the fallen hair but the android caught him by the wrist. The shocked and hurt look that darkened his partner’s eyes burned through Nines like a knife.
“Nines-”
“Am I enough for you?” Nines’s voice came out rushed and low.
“What? Nines, of course, you’re enough,” The detective’s eyes flicking around, as if the answers were written somewhere
“But what about your needs,” He didn’t care how much his voice was rising, how he could see how much his LED was flickering red in the low light of the alley, “I’m not- I can’t yet, I don’t think I could-”
Nines’s face was suddenly grabbed between two very strong hands, the touch forcing his attention only on Gavin as he spoke, “Hey, hey. I’m never going to ask you for something I know you can’t give me because one, that would be fucking shitty, and two, I don’t need that for us to work.”
“But you’ve had other people before me... “
“Yeah and none of them made me feel like you do,” Gavin’s fingers caressed the strained lines on his partner’s face, causing him to lean into the touch, “Fuck, Nines, you have given me so much more than anyone I have had sex with and I couldn’t ask for more.”
The android was so, so numb except for the hands on his face and he practically collapsed into Gavin for a tight hug. To keep himself from completely breaking in the human’s arms, Nines let his sensors take in every bit of information about Gavin as they could. The rough and worn fibers of his shirt, how he was in need of a haircut, his unique smell under a layer of beer and sweat, how his heartbeat was slowing as those hands rubbed circles into his back.
As calm as Nines was becoming, doubt still plagued him. Gavin spoke up first, almost reading his mind, “And don’t fuckin’ worry about me, it's not like I’m going to die without gettin’ off. I’ve been single for a while y'know, I know how to take care of myself.”
“Barely,” Nines muttered into his partner’s shoulder that started to shake with laughter.
“Asshole,” Gavin held the android’s face once again so that their eyes met, his eyes impossibly soft, “Do you want to ditch this joint and go home? I was gonna tell you later but I grabbed some thirium ice cream at the store yesterday for you to try out. ”
Home. Nines felt like he was breaking all over again because how did this enigma of a man come into his life and completely ruin him in the best possible ways? All he could do was nod softly against those rough, scarred hands and let out an unnecessary breath he was holding.
Gavin, I’m home wherever you are.