Work Text:
Gavin was failing at a game of Hearts on his computer when Nines dropped a pile of paperwork on his desk.
“This is my half of the paperwork from our last case.” Nines said. “Please properly fill out your half, as I am now heading out for the weekend and won’t be able to do it for you.”
“You got any fun plans for the weekend?” Gavin asked distractedly, as he forced the computer player on the left to take the Queen of Spades, that’s right fucker, didn’t like that now did ya?
“In fact, I have plans to meet with my boyfriend tomorrow.” Nines stated in his usual neutral manner.
“That’s nice.” Gavin said as he planned his next card to play. Then he choked, abruptly focusing up at Nines’ face towering above him. “What?”
“I said I have plans to meet with my boyfriend tomorrow.” Nines repeated
“You have a boyfriend?” Gavin asked, his voice going high in disbelief. “Since fucking when?”
Nines gave a slow blink, which Gavin was pretty sure was an indication of surprise, but could equally mean anger. But from context Gavin was pretty sure it was the former. Nines had been a part of the DPD for four months and Gavin was still trying to figure out his expressions. “Yes. I have a boyfriend. We’ve been dating for a couple months now, is that so hard to believe?”
‘Yes.’ Gavin resisted the urge to say, it would have been rude, and he was trying to be better about that. But still, there was absolutely no way that stoic, no-nonsense, boring-ass Nines had a boyfriend of all people while Gavin had been single for years.
“Just surprised is all.” Gavin said, swiveling his chair so he could face Nines fully. “Where’d you meet this boy-toy of yours?” Gavin asked, because if Nines could find a boyfriend there, Gavin would bet his next paycheck that he could too.
Gavin tried to ignore the part of his mind that whispered to him that he probably just wanted to make a certain someone jealous.
“He is not a ‘toy,’ and we met online.” Nines answered.
“Online, huh?” Gavin asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. His detective senses were tingling, something was off here. Nines didn’t usually indulge in this much chit-chat. Was he pulling Gavin’s leg? Or trying to seem superior by having a boyfriend?
“Yes.” Nines confirmed. “We don’t get to see each other often, as he lives in Canada.”
There it was. Nines was definitely lying, the only question was why? Time to put the good ol’ detective skills to work.
Crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair, Gavin said, “Y’know, if you didn’t want to tell me what you were doing this weekend, you didn’t have to make up a boyfriend.”
Nines slow blinked again, a small crease appeared between his brows which made Gavin tense. Now fully uncertain whether Nines was surprised or angry, Gavin prepared to fling his chair into Nines to slow him down while he dive-bombed for cover behind Connor. The terrifying android wouldn’t do anything to harm the other android he considered a brother. Not that Gavin had seen Nines hurt any of his coworkers before, but Gavin wasn’t ready to chance it. The stoic ‘droid gave him the willies.
“I do have a boyfriend. I am not lying detective.”
“Uh-huh. And what’s his name?” Gavin asked, trying to appear casual.
“His name is Adam.” Nines stated.
Gavin blew a raspberry. “Really? That’s the best you can come up with? That is literally the fakest name in the book. Something like Damian, or Stefan, or even Keith would have been better.”
The crease between Nines’ eyebrows deepened and Gavin debated running for his life, but his mama didn’t raise no coward, so he would stay where he was until the last possible second.
After a moment, Nines shook his head slightly, his expression becoming neutral again. “I’m sorry Detective, but we’ll have to continue this discussion later. I have some time-sensitive errands I need to run. Goodbye.”
Gavin called after Nines’ retreating back, “Leaving just makes me believe you even less!” But the android didn’t even flinch.
Gavin watched Nines go, and when he was out of sight he pushed his chair away from his desk, rolling across the office. He almost collided with Collins, but he muttered a quick apology and continued on his mission, rolling up next to Connor’s desk.
Connor glanced away from his terminal to look at Gavin, a smile appearing on his face. The smile was a bit uneven with one side higher than the other, but it seemed natural on Connor and Gavin pretended that it didn’t make his heart speed up a little every time he saw it.
“What’s going on?” Connor asked.
“What are you doing this weekend?” Gavin demanded, cutting straight to the chase.
Connor smiled a little wider and tilted his head, “I have no current plans, why?”
Gavin put his elbows on his knees, leaning in close to Connor to whisper conspiratorially, “We’re going to follow Nines.”
Connor looked completely thrown by that answer, tilting his head back as he blinked rapidly. “Why?”
“He’s says he’s hanging out with his boyfriend this weekend.” Gavin explained. “But I’m certain he doesn’t have one, and I’m gonna prove it.”
“But he does have a boyfriend.” Connor said, his eyes still a little wide in surprise.
Gavin lifted an eyebrow, how could Connor be so trusting? “Can you prove it?”
“Yes.” Connor answered emphatically. “Nines talks about him fairly often. He has even shared pictures.”
The idea of pictures intrigued Gavin and he asked curiously. “Can you show me them?”
Without hesitation, Connor flipped up his right hand and displayed an image that hovered an inch from his skin. The picture was the bust of a dark-skinned young male with thick black curls close to his head. His smile had an uncertain quality to it and he seemed to be wearing a button-up and sweater vest combo.
“That’s a school photo isn’t it?” Gavin asked, unimpressed.
“Yes, Adam is finishing his bachelor’s after having dropped out of college for several years.” Connor explained, lowering his hand.
“Yeah, not very convincing. I’ve used school and work photos I’ve found on the internet to fake having boyfriends before.”
Connor raised an inquisitive eyebrow, silently asking Gavin for an explanation.
“It helps to keep my Grandma off my back about finding a nice girl and settling down to have kids before I get too old.” Gavin explained, then added thoughtfully. “Though recently she’s been telling me adoption statistics, so I guess that kinda backfired.”
Connor gave a small, amused smile. “It seems your Grandma is determined to have great-grandchildren.”
Gavin made a noise of agreement, then spoke. “Anyways, back on topic. I’ll pick you up tomorrow and we can start recon, sound good?”
“Gavin.” Connor said with exasperation. “Don’t you think this is a little too much like a breach in privacy?”
With a shrug Gavin said, “Hey, he’s the one that told me about this supposed date, if we just happen to show up in the same place it’s not really a breach, now is it?”
Connor took in a breath to let out an artificial sigh. “Okay fine. But why don’t you do this on your own? You don’t need me to spy on Nines.”
Gavin tilted his head with a smirk. “Are you kidding? Having the best detective on the force helping me is always a boon. So are you in?”
Connor seemed startled by this statement, glancing down and to the left. Was he embarrassed? Gavin’s smirk softened slightly into a smile, Connor was just too cute.
“Fine.” Connor muttered.
“What was that?” Gavin asked, too distracted admiring the moles on Connor’s synthetic skin to hear what Connor said.
“I said I’ll go with you. If only to make certain you don’t interfere too much with Nines’ date.” Connor said sternly.
“Alright!” Gavin cheered. “I’ll text you the details later, so make sure you’re ready tomorrow.” Gavin then shot Connor finger guns as he rolled back to his desk, which Connor responded to with an eye roll followed by a smile.
Gavin rang the doorbell to the Anderson home, trying to ignore the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. There was no reason he should be nervous to hang out with Connor, going to places that would be considered romantic. None at all. He wondered if he should have brought flowers or something.
Gavin had waited until Connor had texted him that Nines had left before showing up. And now he waited some more, hearing the sound of a scuffle from somewhere behind the door, then silence. Abruptly the door opened to reveal a brightly smiling Connor.
“Gavin. Hello.”
“Uh, hello.” Gavin said, feeling startled. He happened to glance off to the side and see Hank on the couch, a hand to his side and looking winded. Before he could think much on it Connor was stepping out, quickly closing the door behind him, forcing Gavin to step back so there was room for them both on the stoop.
“Are you ready to go?” Connor asked cheerily.
“Yeah, we’re gonna bust this case wide open.” Gavin declared, vainly trying not to notice how close Connor was. He was looking good in a leather jacket and a white t-shirt and Gavin was so used to seeing Connor in button-ups at work that seeing him in casual clothing always caught him off guard. Gavin also tried not to notice that if he tilted his head and stood on his tiptoes, they’d be kissing.
Connor shook his head in amusement, “I don’t know why you’re so determined to find out whether Nines has a boyfriend or not.”
Gavin snorted, heading down the stairs of the stoop and towards his car to create some distance. “C’mon, aren’t you curious at all? Have you even met this supposed boyfriend?”
“No I have not. But I trust Nines when he says he exists, though I am curious to meet Adam.” Connor stated, following Gavin to his car.
“See? If this so-called boyfriend truly exists, then I wanna know what kinda guy would be willing to date Nines of all people. And if Nines was lying about him, I wanna know why. And Nines sure as shit ain’t gonna tell me on his own. I can barely pry out a conversation about the weather from the guy, let alone anything about his personal life.”
When they reached his car parked in front of the house, Gavin unthinkingly opened the passenger door for Connor to get in.
Embarrassed and surprised from his own action, Gavin glanced away and grumbled, “Get in already.”
From the corner of his eye, Gavin saw the smallest uptick of a smile on Connor’s face as he got in without a word. Then shutting the door gently behind Connor, Gavin went around the front and sat in the driver’s seat. He started the car and made a u-turn on the street, he was old-fashioned and liked driving a car himself, rather than use an autonomous one.
After a few moments of silence, Connor asked, “How did you manage to figure out where Adam and Nines are going?”
“I hacked his search history.” Gavin stated matter of factly.
“Gavin.” Connor said with warning.
Gavin shrugged. “Hey, he’s a cop, if he didn’t want people to see his history than he should know to delete it.”
Connor let out an artificial sigh. “Fine. So where are we going?”
“Ann Arbor.” Gavin answered. “The plan is to visit the botanical gardens at the University there and then go to a restaurant which has recently added android-consumable foods to its menu.”
From the corner of his eye, Gavin saw Connor smile, “Sounds fun.”
“Right? If this is really a date and not some self day trip, then Nines definitely has more game than I give him credit for.”
Connor shook his head but didn’t respond to that statement.
The two of them eventually settled in for the drive, chatting about this and that. Gavin enjoyed listening to Connor talk, he always had a sense of wonder for things that Gavin took for granted and made him look at things in a different way. And in turn, Connor was always an attentive listener, responding at the proper times and asking pertinent questions. Gavin actually forgot what they were trying to do until they had reached the parking lot and they passed Nines’ motorcycle as they searched for a space.
“Looks like he is here.” Gavin stated. “But now to find out if he is alone or accompanied.”
Connor let out a sigh. “Alright.”
The gardens were a bust, they had walked around and through them for hours but saw no sign of Nines and his supposed boyfriend. Nines must have always been in a different part of the park from them. Though a teeny-tiny, itsy-bitsy piece of Gavin had to admit that he had been quite distracted looking at Connor from the corner of his eyes. His pale skin stood out so beautifully against the fall colors of the plants. The two seemed only to enhance each other’s beauty, like a well placed gemstone in a metal band. Gavin would be lying if he said he didn’t want to hold Connor’s hand while they strolled through the peaceful trails, or kiss his lips after every factoid he read out loud from a plaque. Which made Gavin all the more embarrassed when he realized he spent more time thinking about that then searching for Nines.
Embarrassment that Gavin hid with frustration, stomping back to the car, passing the now empty space where Nines’ motorcycle used to be. “I can’t fucking believe we walked the whole park and didn’t even get a glimpse of Nines!” Gavin growled.
“It is a fairly large area to cover, so it’s not really a surprise.” Connor stated. “It should be easier to find him and Adam at the restaurant.”
“Yeah yeah.” Gavin grumbled, holding the door open for Connor once again. “Just get in the car already.”
The restaurant wasn’t far from the gardens and the inside looked like any other family diner. It contained a mixture of wooden tables and booths with green plastic covers, with yellow-ish lights to give it a more home-y feel. Rather than wait to be seated, Gavin blazed past the server to walk through the tables himself in search of Nines, Connor following after him and hissing at him to be more polite, which Gavin ignored.
Gavin didn’t have to go far before he saw a familiar black turtle neck and a haircut that looked almost exactly like Connor’s from the back. Sitting not alone, but with the man from the picture Connor showed him yesterday.
Adrenaline kicked into Gavin’s system and he grabbed Connor’s wrist and shoved him into the nearest empty booth to try and avoid being spotted. Nines’ back was to them, but Adam was facing them and if he saw someone that had the same appearance as his boyfriend? He might say something.
Once they were seated, Gavin making sure Connor had his back to the couple while Gavn sat opposite him to keep an eye on the two, a waitress walked up to them with an eyebrow raised, unimpressed. Clearly she was used to such shit as the stunt Gavin just pulled because she simply handed them their menus and rattled off her spiel as usual, not leaving until she said her piece even as Gavin tried to wave her off.
“Holy shit.” Gavin said quietly and with feeling once the waitress was gone. “I can’t believe Nines actually has a boyfriend.”
“I don’t know why you find that so hard to believe.” Connor said, lacing his fingers together on the table in front of him. “What is so hard to believe that Nines would want to have such an intimate relationship?”
Gavin waved his arms vaguely in the air as he tried to stumble through an explanation. “Because it’s Nines and he’s just, so, Nines, y’know?”
Connor smiled slightly at Gavin’s antics. “No, I don’t know.”
A thought suddenly occurred to Gavin as he watched Adam and Nines talk over Connor’s shoulder. “You don’t think Nines is paying him to go on a date, do you?”
Connor blinked and tilted his head. “Do you really think Nines would do that?”
“No. Maybe? Fuck, I don’t know. The guy’s a fucking science paper in a foreign language for how much I can read him.”
“He’s really not that hard to read. I don’t understand your trouble.”
“Yeah well, you live with the guy.” Gavin grumbled, “I just work with him.”
“Well I can assure that Nines is not the type to pay someone to date him.” Connor said.
Before anything else could be said, the waitress returned and asked them if they were ready to order. Rather than asking for more time, Gavin simply flipped open the menu and pointed at the first thing he saw. Meanwhile Connor asked for some kind of smoothie without even glancing at the menu.
Once the waitress was gone the two of them fell into a comfortable silence. Connor organizing the sugars, humming the latest pop-hit, while Gavin watched Nines and his boyfriend . And that was such a weird thought. That Nines had a boyfriend. Gavin couldn’t entirely say what made him have such a hard time believing it. Was it because of Nines’ personality? Or was it because Nines had been out in the world for less than a year and was already having better luck than Gavin did in the romance department?
As Gavin watched the two of them he had to admit he was seeing a side of Nines he hadn’t before. He seemed… softer somehow, more relaxed. Leaning in close to Adam as they passed notes to each other on a napkin and making small comments. Adam too, seemed happy to be with Nines. His eyes were bright with laughter and tended to follow Nines’ movement. As if too amazed to look away from what they saw.
Gavin put an arm on the table and leaned in closer to Connor to ask quietly. “What do you think they’re talking about?”
Without even glancing back at the couple, Connor said easily. “They’re discussing a book that Adam had to read for one of his classes.”
Gavin’s jaw dropped a little. “For real? You can hear that?” Gavin certainly couldn’t over the chatter of all the other guests around them.
Connor nodded. “Yes. My auditory units are capable of picking sounds humans can’t and sorting them in a way that can be understandable.”
“Huh.” Gavin said eloquently, leaning back into the booth seat, the plastic squeaking as he did. “So you know what they’ve been saying the whole time?”
“Yes.” Connor answered as he switched to organizing the small creamer tubs into a flower shape.
Gavin mulled that knowledge over, when a bolt of panic hit him and he jolted forward, slamming his hands against the table and rattling it. “Wait, if you can hear them, does that mean Nines can hear us?”
Connor looked at Gavin out of the corner of his eye, a coy smile on his lips. “Yes.”
“Fuck. Why didn’t you say anything?” Gavin hissed.
“Because it’s as I said, I came to make sure you didn’t invade Nines’ privacy too much and I thought it was fair he knew we were spying on him.” Connor said evenly.
“Oh my god.” Gavin said in disbelief, covering his face with his hands. He glanced over at Nines and Adam to see the two looking at him with amusement on their faces before they both got up from their seats and headed towards him.
“Oh my god.” Gavin repeated, feeling his soul depart his body as he slouched down the booth seat.
“Mind if we join you?” Nines intoned when they reached their table.
Gavin didn’t say anything, just made distressed noises that were muffled behind his hands.
“Of course not.” Connor answered, getting out from his seat so he could slide in next to Gavin.
Once the other two were seated, Nines made introductions. “Adam this is my brother Connor and my co-worker Gavin. Connor, Gavin, this is Adam. My boyfriend.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Adam said, a note of nervousness in his voice.
“Likewise.” Connor responded warmly.
Gavin just meeped.
There was a moment of silence before Adam asked, “Is he going to be alright?”
“Oh, he’ll be fine.” Connor reassured. “He’s just embarrassed to be caught spying.”
As the three of them continued to make small talk, a fire reignited in Gavin’s soul, a raging fury that brought him back to life. He quickly straightened from his slouch and leaned his elbows onto the table to glare at Nines across from him. “How much did you know?”
“Enough.” Nines responded, implacable as ever.
Gavin turned his glare over to Connor, skipping over Adam’s wide-eyed gaze. “How much did you tell him?” Gavin demanded.
“Nothing.” Connor answered. “You asked me not to say anything and I did. I simply didn’t go out of my way to make sure we were hidden from Nines.”
Gavin collapsed slouched, feeling the wind go out of his sails. “I can’t believe I botched a spying gig. I’m great at those.”
“You were distracted.” Nines said.
“You shut up.” Gavin said mildly, giving Nines a weak glare. “You’re the one that made it sound like your boyfriend was fake.”
For a moment, Gavin could swear that Nines looked smug, maybe something about the glint in his eyes. But for the life of him, Gavin couldn’t fathom why.
“Um.” Adam said quietly, catching everyone’s attention. “Why did you think I was fake?”
Gavin let go of his glare, not wanting to be rude to Adam despite how much he wanted to punch Nines in the face. Instead he raised his eyebrows. “He said you lived in Canada. Among other things.”
Gavin watched Adam’s forehead crease in thought as he thought about what Gavin said, until finally something clicked in his head. “Oooh. Yeah, I get why you would think that.” Adam said, restlessly tapping his fingers against the table. “But I do live in Canada. Though it’s only until I finish my schooling, then I plan to move back to Michigan in hopes of improving the family farm.”
The conversation became more normal after that. Adam, being the new one of the group, got asked a lot of questions while he asked several in turn. Occasionally Adam would stiffen up nervously, but Nines would squeeze Adam’s hand reassuringly and he would relax. The second time this happened Gavin realized that Adam was meeting a member of Nines’ family, a fairly big step in a relationship, and he understood the sentiment.
Honestly, Gavin felt surprised the entire time how close Adam and Nines seemed to be. When the food arrived they both ate with one hand under the table and Gavin could easily assume they were holding hands. They also constantly gave each other small soft smiles- well, as soft as Nines ever got anyway. Adam even laughed at Nines’ jokes! Gavin didn’t even know Nines was joking, his voice always sounded so serious to him, but both Connor and Adam laughed so he figured it was just him out of the loop.
The whole thing was strange and it made Gavin’s heart ache a little. He wished he had that kind of connection with someone….
When it was time to part, Nines paid for everyone’s meal, giving a small wink and saying it was on him. This surprised Gavin, but he shrugged and accepted it, not one to turn down free food. Then they said their good-byes, Gavin and Connor headed back to Detroit while Nines and Adam said they had one more stop to make.
Gavin parked in front of the Anderson household and sighed as he turned to Connor. “Look Connor, I’m sorry about today.”
Connor looked at Gavin in surprise. “Sorry?”
Gavin scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, sorry for dragging you out like this. I was convinced Nines was lying and now that I know that he wasn’t, I feel kinda bad.”
Connor hummed thoughtfully. “I think I can accept your apology, on one condition.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Gavin asked, his heart thumping nervously.
Connor smiled. “This gets to be considered our first date.”
“What?!” Gavin squawked, his voice going unbelievably high, his arms making frantic circles as he continued, “You want what?”
Connor’s face fell. “I’m sorry, did I read something wrong? I thought you returned my feelings.”
“No no no!” Gavin exclaimed, his arms still moving wildly. “It’s just- I- Uh- You really want to make this a date? With me? Truly?”
“Yes.” Connor answered seriously. “I do.”
Gavin’s arm waving slowly came to a stop as he stared at Connor in disbelief, his jaw open.
“Do you?” Connor prompted.
“Do I what?” Gavin asked, his mind still reeling at what Connor at said.
“Do you want to make this a date?” Connor clarified.
“Let me think abo- Yes!” Gavin exclaimed, a grin splitting his face
Connor smiled wide, the crookedness of it absolutely lighting up his face. “Good. Then that means we’ll go on more?”
“Duh it means we’ll go on more.” Gavin said. “And they’ll be actual dates, not following someone else on theirs.”
Connor let out a quiet staticky laugh. “That would be nice.”
The two of them then smiled dopily at each other, so sweet and thick you could pour their gaze on pancakes.
After a little while Connor ducked his head and reached for the door handle. “I should go. Hank’ll be waiting.”
“Wait.” Gavin said, gently grasping at Connor’s sleeve. When Connor turned to look at him questioningly Gavin continued, a slight flush suffusing his cheeks. “To make this date official, maybe a good-bye kiss?”
Connor smiled and nodded. He closed his eyes and leaned in. Gavin licked his lips nervously, but let his eyes slip closed as he leaned in to meet Connor.
Their lips met softly, gently moving against each other in chaste exploration. When they pulled away their was such a happy sheen to Connor’s eyes as he stared wonderingly at Gavin that Gavin wanted to take a picture of it and store it forever.
“Should I walk you to the door?” Gavin asked softly.
Connor blinked and broke away from his reverie. When he spoke he sounded slightly embarrassed. “Ah. Probably not. I told Hank about today’s plans and he resolved to give you the shovel talk despite me insisting you had not intended this as a date. I managed to stop him earlier, but there’s a chance he’ll be waiting by the door and I’d rather not have the day end on a lecture.”
Gavin chuckled. “Me neither. But then you better get going just in case he decides to come out here and give it anyway.”
Connor looked horrified. “That hadn’t occurred to me.” He then quickly reached for the handle and opened the door. “Sorry to cut this short, but I’d best be on my way.”
“I’ll text you later!” Gavin called as Connor exited. “We’ll plan a real date!”
Gavin could see Connor smile and say, “Alright.” As he shut the door.
And as Gavin watched Connor walk up to his front door, he felt his heart warm. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was; to be dating Connor.