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The first time Connor made eye contact with you was the day right after the end of the android revolution.
He had been busy dealing with his newfound freedom, taking inventory of his facilities, deciding on his next course of action. Connor had walked down a deserted street, occasionally coming across a deviant, although he had found the silence somewhat disturbing at first.
He got used to the silence of the city eventually. At least until the evacuated citizens of Detroit would drift back. Until then, he decided to analyse the way the city worked without warm bodies occupying the area, no chemical trails or data he would cross-reference from a database, leading to less stimuli for his senses. He did this just to kill time.
He always thought that was an odd expression.
Connor had turned a corner, finding himself enjoying the sensation of sunlight on his artificial skin, when his eyes flickered to some movement across the street.
He would have merely kept moving if his brief analysis wouldn’t have provided him with data that suggested that you had heat radiating off your body, as well as chemicals being emitted from your skin.
You were human. A human who had apparently stayed within the city while the mass evacuation had been issued.
He supposed that a few humans would be left behind, whether that was intentional or not. He shouldn’t have been surprised.
But he was.
You looked up then, startled by sudden movement from behind a corner not so far away. You weren’t expecting anyone to come down this street, in fact, you were hoping to be alone today.
Connor felt a jolt of something, an unidentifiable emotion, course through his system the moment your eyes landed on his. He wasn’t sure what exactly caused it, deciding to attribute it to his surprise at finding a human so unexpectedly.
He wanted to speak with you, find out why you were here when most other humans would have fled the city regardless of their stance on deviant androids.
You turned around and headed towards another street before he had the chance to do so.
Connor was left feeling disappointed that day.
---
The second time you made eye contact with that android who startled you a week ago, you were busy carrying your belongings to a relative’s house. During the android revolution, although it was led peacefully, a few humans had broken a few windows and trashed the neighbourhood you lived in.
The reason why this android’s face stood out to you was not only due to the news which had mentioned an android assigned to aid the DPD –showing a picture as well- but also due to the fact that it had looked so absolutely startled when it had come across you.
You found this odd, since you had come across many androids on the street who were now free, and none of them really paid you any mind.
This one had. He had.
More and more people were now returning to the city, and you hoped to get your large duffel bag –which was currently incredibly heavy- to your new temporary home without any problems.
People could be so messy and get in the way.
You had to put your bag down to catch your breath when you noticed a figure standing some distance away. They weren’t moving and seemed to be watching you.
You attempted to remain casual as you glanced up, only to find yourself staring into a handsome face with a curious gaze directed at you. This was the same android who had practically given you a heart attack last week.
You weren’t sure how to proceed. What could he possibly want?
“Do you need any help?”
You blinked in surprise, not having expected him to talk to you, not really, and wondered why you were crossing paths again. It’s not like the city was small or anything, not even close.
“Um…” you hesitated, not entirely sure if you could trust him. You knew that androids, even deviants, were most likely not going to harm you, but you had heard of the homicides. You decided to decline his offer, deciding that playing it safe would lead to another tomorrow.
“No. Thank you, though. I, uh, I can manage on my own”, you said while offering him a small smile. You picked up your duffel bag and walked past him, avoiding any more eye contact.
You weren’t sure what possessed you to turn around and say, “I guess I’ll see you around...”, before quickly resuming your path down the street.
“Connor”.
You weren’t sure if you were just imagining things, or if he had just spoken to you and given his name, but you didn’t look back.
Connor stood on the street watching your retreating form.
He had to resist the urge to pursue you, after all, he knew that based on your behavior and posture you would most likely react negatively to such an action. He wasn’t sure why he was still curious. It had been a week, after all, since he last saw you, and since then more humans had returned to the city.
He had even returned to the police department to work as a regular part of the staff. Hank was his partner again, and it seemed like things were going to return to a somewhat stable state of normalcy.
After meeting you for a second time, Connor was left feeling slightly frustrated.
---
The third time Connor made eye contact with you was well over a month later at DPD.
He was at his desk, in the middle of briefing Hank on the details of their next assignment, when you walked in with a large smile on your face. He was instantly captivated at seeing this new expression on you, disregarding the fact that he had only met you twice before anyway.
Connor had stopped mid-sentence, and Hank’s eyebrows shot up in surprise since he hadn’t known that androids –at least Connor of all people- would actually be distracted in such a way.
Connor quickly recovered from his stunned state, hoping that Hank wouldn’t realise the reason for his slip in attention. He wasn’t even sure why it would matter whether Hank knew or not, only that he had the irrational urge to keep it a secret.
Although Connor resumed his sentence, he couldn’t help but leave a part of his processing unit to focus on your voice and what you were saying.
Apparently you knew someone on the police force and decided to come visit them.
You had wanted to visit sooner but were busy.
You had only recently found a new job.
You promised you would visit more often.
You wanted to know whether that android over there was called Connor.
Connor’s systems froze –or at least it felt like it- upon hearing his name leave your lips. He hadn’t really expected you to notice him sitting at his desk, although he had been the only one speaking at the time in the general vicinity.
He looked up -ignoring Hank’s words on the case- and caught your gaze. You stared back at him for a few long seconds before finally looking away, and Connor wondered at the feeling left in his circuitry which was reminiscent to what he felt when he first made eye contact with you.
It excited him, this new feeling. It made him giddy.
He wasn’t sure what to make of that.
---
The fourth time you made eye contact with Connor was only a brief moment.
You had visited your friend at DPD a couple of days after your first visit to the precinct and were in the process of making tea when Connor brushed past you to throw something into the wastebasket situated near the beverage machine.
You had looked up only to notice that Connor’s eyes were already anticipating your own gaze. Once your eyes met, you noticed how he blinked rapidly and his LED flashed yellow before he simply nodded at you and walked away.
You had frowned a bit, wondering what that was all about as you waited for your teabag to finish soaking before tossing that into trash.
When you turned around and headed towards your friend’s desk, you noticed how there was a small wastebasket situated at every desk, and that the one at Connor’s desk was empty.
---
After the fifth time Connor made eye contact with you, he decided that he would actively get to know you.
You were at DPD again, as you seemed to be visiting more and more often, and were casually sitting at one of the desks located in the department with a phone in your hands.
Connor approached you with slightly hesitant steps, his system seemingly at war with itself the closer he got to you. Once he reached you he immediately froze, his joints locking in place. You hadn’t looked up from your phone, and it was most likely that you hadn’t noticed his approach.
Connor was about to say something, his mouth already opening on a syllable, when you finally looked up at him with a smirk on your face.
Connor blinked in surprise, that delicious sensation coursing through his system yet again, and his mind tried to think of a reason why you would direct such an expression towards him. He seemed to be finding it difficult to execute certain functions, which is what he reasoned must be the cause of the slow processing of information.
He deduced that the smirk directed at him indicated that you knew he had approached you and had ignored him just to tease him in a friendly manner.
Good. Perhaps he could still function at least semi-optimally.
“Hello. My name is Connor, and I’m the android sent by CyberLife”, Connor said, instantly wincing at the automatic response. He didn’t even associate with CyberLife anymore. What was he thinking? Why had that happened? Had he caught a virus? Did deviancy really overwrite certain basic functions in his programming to cause such unfiltered speech?
You blinked up at him from your seat before bursting out into peals of laughter.
Connor found that he quite enjoyed the sound of your laughter and would like to hear more of it in the future.
“Connor, I know who you are”, you said with a warm smile directed at him. “Who wouldn’t, really? Especially anyone who steps foot in this place”, you gestured around you.
Connor nodded once in acknowledgement. Of course you would know about him. Of course. He was the only android who returned to DPD after the revolution.
“Would you like to head into the city and get a beverage of some sort?” Connor asked, blinking rapidly.
Your smirk returned at his phrasing before morphing into a soft smile.
“Yeah. I’d like that”.
Connor found himself wanting to spend more of his existence looking into your eyes, as they seemed to spark an interesting reaction within him.
After that day, and more time spent with you, Connor found himself feeling happy.