Chapter Text
“I apologize for the inconvenience, Lieutenant,” Connor said robotically as he poured the shot in his hand onto the floor.
“Jesus Christ, Connor, what the fuck are you doing?” Hank slurred his words, making it a little difficult for Connor to understand what exactly he was saying.
“We’re still at work, Lieutenant. I’m assuming you have forgotten that.”
”If we’re not in the office, I can get as drunk as I fucking want,” Hank spat, slamming his fist onto the bar.
The bartender eyed him nervously, and Connor took a second to pay the note with plenty of a tip on the side. “I payed for your drinks, and,” Connor looked at the man’s name tag, “Henry, that tip is for the clean up.”
”What a nice man,” Hank grumbled sarcastically.
“Lieutenant-“
”Connor, I swear to fucking God Almighty if you call me that one more time, I will castrate you with a rusty spoon.”
Connor seemed unperturbed. “Sorry, Hank, but I must inform you that castration would not be possible for an android model of my design, as I do not have-“
”Stop talking,” Hank whined.
“Yes, Hank.”
The cop turned around to see Connor standing perfectly still behind him, nothing revealing his emotions other than a slight smirk placed upon his lips. Knowing Connor, he assumed the android would take him literally until told otherwise. Hank rolled his eyes and took the shot glass out of Connor’s hands. Rather than asking for a refill, though, he placed it on the counter gently. He then remembered why he was at the bar in the first place, and sighed. “If the culprit came around here, we missed him.”
Connor blinked a few times, apparently deciding whether or not to continue the joke. His LED flashed yellow for a slight second before he smiled. “I have been surveying the scene this entire time, Lieu- Hank, and no one matching the description of a dark haired male in his thirties with a tattoo on his hand has entered the bar.”
“Well, look at you go, Mr. High-and-Mighty. Looks like you don’t even need me,” Hank joked. He frowned as he saw that his comment left Connor’s LED flashing yet again, and corrected himself.
“I was joking, Connor, Jesus. Lighten up a bit, will you? I’m already in a fucking damnable enough state as it is.”
“Sorry, Hank.”
“Jeez, let’s go home already. It’s late, the culprit ain’t here.” Hank stood up to leave, before being stopped by the bartender.
“Wait, if there is someone by that description that comes in here, what’s the number I can use to contact you?”
Connor politely gave Henry the number to Hank’s work phone and instructed him to leave a message if Hank didn’t pick up. He also informed him to call 911 if anything too drastic happened, as the criminal they were looking for had been charged with aggravated assault and possession of an illegal firearm. Seeming to understand the situation, Henry wrote everything down and left it by the cash register for any other bartenders that were on shift when he wasn’t.
“Thank you for your cooperation, sir. I’ll remember it, should we ever meet again.”
“Just doing my job as a citizen, my man. Y’all have a nice evening,” Henry smiled.
“As do you,” Connor nodded.
Hank and Connor left the bar and got into Hank’s car. Connor fastened his seatbelt and waited patiently for Hank to do the same. However, when the time didn’t come, Connor looked over at Hank to see him scowling at the dashboard. “L-Hank, may I ask what is wrong?”
Hank snapped out of his daze and looked at Connor curiously. “That man back there. He called you his man.”
Connor nodded. “You are referring to what he said when we left.”
“Yeah, what the hell was that? You don’t know him, do you?”
“That phrasing comes from Southern roots, especially in Texas. It’s a friendly way to address someone without calling them your friend. It has nothing to do with romantic partnership, if that is what you thought,” Connor explained.
Hank let loose a small growl, and it was Connor’s turn to look at the man curiously.
“Is something wrong?”
Hank never answered, but instead buckled up and started driving.
“Hank, the station is in the other direction,” Connor pointed out.
“And?”
“I need to go to the station for the night.”
“Fuck that, you’re coming home with me,” Hank rolled his eyes.
“But, I have to charge, and if I don’t go into stasis, I will not be able to fully recover the damage I took from the fight earlier today, and that could lead to-“
“I get it, shit,” Hank mumbled. “But you can do all that at my house. You’re a free man, now, and I’m tired of having to drive you all the way to the station just for you to sit alone for 12 hours.”
Connor frowned, and his LED turned honey. “I guess I don’t like being alone for all that time.”
Something in Hank shattered seeing him like that, and he tore his eyes away in order to drive safely. “I bet Sumo doesn’t like it either, so you can keep him company.”
He could feel Connor’s smile if he was a mile away, and the corners of his mouth turned up as well.
“I would like that very much,” Connor admitted.
“Good, ‘cause I was gonna take you home no matter what you said, and lord knows that might not have turned out too pretty.”
“No, I guess not,” Connor shrugged.
Hank nodded and turned into the driveway of his... their? ... house.
As soon as the door opened, Sumo sat up from his spot on the floor and wagged his tail. Upon seeing Connor, he stood up and padded his way over, knowing how much Connor loved to pet him.
“Hello, Sumo. It’s good to see you again,” Connor said to the dog, getting on his knees to pet him. Sumo leaned into the touch of the android, eventually so much that he plopped over onto his side.
Hank laughed at the sight and poured himself some water, knowing Connor would scold him if he drank anything else. Already, he could feel the house get brighter with the presence of another being, and it made him happy to know that this is what he’d be returning to, hopefully, for the rest of his life.