Chapter Text
Eyes finally open,staring at white walls that lie just ahead, the same as always. But today was difficult. People walk in this time, moving quickly to disconnect wires. He was finally ready. Months of waiting and now he's ready for his job.
"I'm quite excited!..but you need to be careful,they've new to deviancy.Like a newborn learning everything. A mind full of knowledge but new to the emotions that come with it"
Connor stood in the break room, leaning over the table as he spoke to Hank.Ever since the revolution Connor was certain that he'd lose his job.This wasn't the case at all and he's incredibly thankful. He was now allowed freedom, including on his uniform.The cyberlife jacket had been discarded.It was instead replaced with one of Hanks DPD hoodies, though he made sure to still have his badge clipped to his belt,needing to tweak the hoodie so that it wasn't too big for the android.Hank looked up at him, scratching his beard before letting out a sigh
"But will he be alright with Gavin?Gavin is an emotional mess..and since he doesn't know yet he might…"
"....explode?Indeed,that's a possibility.I advised against it but Fowler insisted that it's best for the both of them"
Hank shrugged. He sipped at his coffee, leaning back into his chair.Hanks appearance hadn't changed too much, but his beard was more trimmed and his hair had been cut to be shorter.Mostly because Connor insisted.Hank had been in a downward spiral for so long that he didn't realise how much he stopped caring about himself.Connor realised.Connor stayed by Hanks side to help him. The two glanced towards the detective they had been talking about.Gavin Reed.The loose cannon.He was deemed a mess before the revolution and after it too.Sure,he was an asshole to Hank and Connor,but they still got along sometimes.
Though the incident in the evidence room has been the topic to be avoided by both Gavin and Connor.Connor broke the law.Gavin got knocked out.What more can they say about it?
Gavin was leant back in his chair at his desk.His feet were kicked up on his desk besides his computer, like usual, looking over a small stack of papers.Tina walked by to go to the photocopier
"Asshole"
"Bitch"
They flashed each other a smile as they then continued like normal.That classes as their usual banter.Even though Connor was deviant and knew more about emotions, more than he did months ago, it still confused him,though he couldn't help but smile at the two of them.They were best friends after all.The android soon turned his attention back to Hank to finish their conversion
"Should we perhaps warn him beforehand?I'm scared of another evidence room incident" Connor spoke quietly since Hank and Gavin were the only people within their department that knew about it.Of course Fowler knew too but that's a different story.The android folded his arms across before he finally pulled up a chair and sat beside Hank.
"Con...I'm honestly not sure.Gavin is even more unpredictable than me before you came"
"Wow that is unpredictable"
Hank just cocked an eyebrow at Connor, mumbling an insult at him before they both laughed
"..cheeky twat..anyways,will the new one be okay with all this?I could barely handle you at first"
It didn't take long before Gavin entered the break room to have a coffee refill,giving Connor a middle finger as a joke.It also didn't take long before he noticed that Connor and Hank soon stopped their conversation
"Aww, you two discussing secrets?Did I interrupt?"
Gavin waited for his cup to fill before he mixed in his sugars, blowing over the top of it before taking a sip.Hank let out a sigh.He was about to speak until Connor stood up suddenly.Hushed whispers were started to arise from all the DPD desks. Hank glanced over in that direction too, watching as Connor started to smile. Gavin blew at his coffee again
"Huh?What are you asshats looking at?"
Cyberlife.A cyberlife jacket soon came into view and Connor jogged out from behind the table and to the entrance of the break room. "Nines!" He pulled someone into a hug.Gavin almost spat out his coffee.
Connor but not Connor. Everyone's attention was on the new android in the department.He was taller than Connor by about two inches,his dark brown hair styled in such a way that reminds Gavin of how Connor was when he first started at the DPD by Hanks side.Now Connors hair was more on the wavy side, even being curly in some places.The most noticeable feature was the androids eyes, being an icy pale blue colour compared to Connors warm brown.Soon the whispers got louder.
"So he's the new android?"
"What's with the Cyberlife jacket?"
"It's Connor 2.0"
"Wasn't he made to replace Connor?What happens now?"
"Do you think Gavin will get mad?"
Of course the last remark intrigued Gavin, making him set down his coffee.Connor pulled away from the hug, guiding 'Nines' over to Hank.Nines gave him a small stiff smile.Gavin almost laughed after witnessing it.It was almost as if the android hadn't smiled properly before.Little did Gavin know.
For months Nines had been with Cyberlife, being within his own white room.He never opened his eyes during testing,it was unnecessary.His state always stayed in his little garden inside his mind, where he tended to plants that didn't need it.His garden strayed far from Connors.Connors was much smaller with lattices full of roses. The newer android had a larger hedged off garden, brimming with different flowers and even having a large pond filled with Koi fish.Over to the left were benches next to a grey stone bird bath. Nines often sat there to admire the birds.Sure,the birds didn't come at first but once he discovered he could change it, he made them appear.He longed to finally open his eyes. He longed to finally see over the hedges that closed his eyelids.Nines wanted more.
But he was unprepared.His precious garden lacked people.Sure,he was programmed with how to talk to people due to how he was made to work with the police, however his speciality was more along the lines of being more direct.In other words, he wasn't meant to be as 'welcoming' as Connor. He was meant to be stronger, more intimidating. However, during the testing he went through in Cyberlife the revolution happened.It was about 2 months into his testing when it happened.A month later Nines was made deviant and Connor started to visit his garden.
Nines was still new to all of it.It took a quick scan for him to identify Gavin Reed, stepping forward and extending his hand for him
"I'm Nines,pleasure to meet you.I look forward to being your partner,Gavin"
"Excuse me, what?"
Gavin blinked, swatting the others hand away.Connor swiftly placed himself between the two. "Gavin..This is Nines..he's new to the DPD and urrm…"
He stopped mid sentence, sighing in relief when he saw Fowler leaving his office.Soon he made his way over to Nines.
"Come on everyone, quit your gawking..Nines,Gavin,let's discuss this in my office..I know you're clueless right now, Gavin I know that I haven't told you yet so I need to explain"
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Gavin would be lying if he said he wasn't irritated.Fowler has explained it all to Gavin,who kicked off and immediately got threatened by Fowler who reminded him that he can easily take away his badge.Now he was sat at his desk with Nines sat opposite him, who hasn't stopped staring at him.He'd also be lying if he said that Nines staring at him didn't make his cheeks start to burn red.
"Detective?"
"What?"
"I apologise for dropping in so suddenly.I was under an impression that you knew….but it seems like I know a lot less about reality than I thought"
Gavin had to hold back an eyeroll.He didn't want to seem rude but he couldn't hold back a small laugh too
"Did I say something funny?"
"You're a Cyberlife baby, aren't you?"
"Excuse me?"
Gavin clicked his tongue and leant back in his seat, scooting more towards one side so he could look at Nines without his computer blocking the view of him. He took a moment to take Nines on.He looked like a standard factory fresh android, at least so far anyways.Gavin decided to put his detective skills to use
"Let me guess because I know nothing about you..you have been kept in Cylerlife's basement all this time..perhaps not long after Connor started working here. You're an RK900, it says so on your jacket, Connor is an RK800.You was made to replace him. However deviancy changed the course of things,you couldn't replace him anymore so you had to adapt, they had to adapt for you.The revolution happened and they made you deviant, but since you have never seen the outside world you have no idea on what's going on. You're new to all this.You're like a newborn baby who's finally learning once outside the womb...a plastic baby"
Nines blinked.His LED went amber.Gavin gave him a satisfied smirk before he moved to type something up on his computer.He really felt like he one upped the advanced android in front of him. It gave Gavin a little bit of pride.The one thing he didn't expect was for a sudden laughter to come from behind his screen.
The android was laughing. Nines was laughing. The detective didn't know what to do other than give Nines a rather puzzled look.He certainly didn't think that Nines would laugh at him.It made his cheeks heat up in embarrassment
"...the fuck are you laughing at, tincan?"
"....a baby…oh my RA9…I don't think a baby can have knowledge like mine"
"I meant with deviancy, you ass"
"Detective Reed, I'm not a baby..Sorry for laughing but that's the strangest thing anyone has said to me..well you're only the second person I've spoken to since living Cyberlife..Connor being the first and Fowler being third"
"You know what, fuck you"
"We're work partners, that would be unprofessional"
Whatever coffee Gavin was drinking, it soon got spat out, causing him to choke for a moment. His face soon turned a deeper shade of red, causing Nines to laugh again, but if anything it was only a chuckle
"It seems like you wasn't expecting that, Detective..Sure,I'm new to emotions but I just let out whatever comes to mind"
"How do you-...nevermind"
Gavin shuffled closer to his computer in hopes to just avoid Nines right now, but it wasn't working. Without even looking he knew that Nines was staring at him.It agitated him a little but he felt like he was less agitated than he should be.Post revolution Gavin would be screaming at the android.Sure, Gavin didn't change much and he still insults androids, but he found that their deviancy made them harder to insult. Nines wasn't any different.
"Please finish that question,I'm curious"
"No"
"Why not?"
Gavin exhaled out of his nose, skim reading over the last sentence he just wrote before looking back over at Nines
"I don't want to…now just look over case file 403.Since you're my partner now or some shit you need to look at it since we'll be working on it" It only took Nines to place his hand on the computer and the file went straight to his head. It made Gavin grimace a little.
"File 403.Murder of an assigned android and vandalism.Owner of the android, Martin Lowe, 32,came home from work to find his AR560 dismembered on their living room floor.It has stated that the AR560, otherwise known as Andrew, had been at his household before the revolution took place, gaining deviancy before it took place.To which Martin kept it hidden to himself until rights were won.No prints at the crime scene, a window was broken from the outside and the words Blind Sided written on the walls in Smalt blue spray paint.A strong cobalt blue made popular in the Victorian era"
"Yeah yeah, I know about the case"
"How long ago was this?"
"4 days ago..so everything from the crime scene has been photographed, sampled and then cleaned..so I guess that you just missed out, tin can"
Nines just let out an unnecessary sigh before standing up, moving to stand behind Gavin. "Bring up the photographs"
"Why didn't you bring it up on your computer?"
"So we can bring it up on yours and discuss it"
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"Gavin,your work shift has ended, you should go home now"
The human tilted his head up to the sound of his name, looking back at the android behind him.Gavin let out a soft sigh before glancing at his computer "Let me just email Fowler the witness accounts?"
"Witness?Oh I assume you mean Martin and perhaps his neighbours" Gavin just nodded in reply to Nines' question.It only took a few more minutes before the typing stopped. He sent it off to Fowler before he turned off his computer
"So what do you do after work?"
Nine gestured towards the charging docks at the back of the station "Oh I stay there so if you need me I'll be there.That reminds me, would you like my number to keep in contact with me?"
Gavin frowned a little when he looked at the docking stations.Nines was free, why couldn't he just get a house or an apartment?It's common knowledge that Connor stays at Hank's place, mostly to keep him on top of his meals and his health but Gavin knew that their connection went deeper than that.He then thought for a moment.If Nines had a place, where would he go?He soon snapped out of thought when Nines mentioned his number
"..and why the fuck would I want your number?"
Nines folded his arms across his chest "To keep in touch for work of course, I wouldn't have your number for personal use.That's just gross" That caused Gavin to punch Nines, but it resulted in him just hurting his hand.
"Fucker..fine..here"
Gavin got out his phone and soon they exchanged numbers.Nines had to explain how his serial number is just his phone number and how he gets texts straight to his head.Of course it freaked Gavin out
"That's..so weird..anyways,I'm going home now.Mia needs me"
"Is Mia your girlfriend?"
Gavin snorted.He zipped up his jacket and pulled his hood up, making sure that he's got everything before he checked the time. 5:05pm.He couldn't wait to go home.
"First of all, thanks for assuming my sexuality and secondly, Mia is my parrot"
"I apologise for assuming….but...a parrot?"
"Yeah, she's an African Grey, very talkative"
Gavin then sighed and started to walk to the front door.It didn't take Gavin long to realise that Nines was following him "Nines, I'm going home"
"Oh right…I'll see you tomorrow,Detective"
"Bye,robo cop"
He saluted before he left
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5:36pm was when Gavin finally arrived at his apartment.He seemed to hit every red light and it was a royal pain in his ass. As soon as Gavin entered his apartment he heard a familiar squawking coming from the living room. It brought a smile onto the detectives face.
He opened up the light green cage to watch Mia perch up on his finger, flapping her wings as she shuffled along his finger.Gavin moved to fill her small bowl full of seeds, placing it back inside her cage and putting her down to let her eat.He decided to keep her cage door open for a while so she can fly around and spread her wings more, so Gavin made sure that all his windows
It didn't take long before Gavin received a text, but it took him a few moments to actually read it. This is due to Gavin removing his jacket and shoes after he checked all the windows.He let down a sigh as he sat down, picking up his phone
Nines:
I hope that you got home safe, Detective
Gavin chuckled, kicking his feet up and placing them on his coffee table.It was a certain thing that Gavin would get home safe so the detective wondered if Nines just said that to strike up a conversation. He didn't want one right now.Gavin never really wanted any android to be friendly with him.
Gavin:
I got home fine 👍
It didn't take long before Nines replied.Gavin eye rolled at the speed of the response
Nines:
That's good to hear.Say hi to Mia for me
Gavin:
Okay
Nines:
Are you busy?
Gavin stood up, starting to make dinner for himself. He debated on leaving it.So he left his phone on the kitchen counter for about ten minutes as he put together his meal.Eventually though it started to bug him and he couldn't restrain himself for long.Gavin leant against his counter
Gavin:
What do you want,Tin can?
Nines:
Nothing.Just entertainment
Gavin:
Entertainment??The fuck?
Nines:
I apologise.It's boring here at the station.There's no one here.I assume that the androids that I saw today have gone home with other officers.Connor is currently busy with Hank
Gavin:
So I'm your last resort?
Nines:
I didn't mean for it to come across that way.I'll leave you alone
And just like that Gavin didn't receive texts from Nines anymore.He felt relieved but he felt a little conflicted.He couldn't help but feel sorry for Nines, imagining him all alone in the station.Gavin had to slap his face with both hands to help discourage himself.Gavin didn't like Nines, well that's what he kept saying to himself anyways.
Mia flew around the living room, almost knocking into Gavins ceiling fan, which luckily wasn't on at the time.Gavin smiled before turning on the TV. That's his entertainment for tonight
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To say that there was some development in the case would be down playing it.Gavin had just arrived at work when he was soon called away to a crime scene, bringing Nines along with him.A similar case has arose, apparently the victim being in a similar state was enough for Fowler to tell Gavin to head over there.They're currently in Gavin's car, the sound of rock music playing quietly.Nothing was spoken between the two so far.Well,that was until Nines say his opportunity to speak whilst the radio was playing advertisements.
"You have a similar music taste to Hank"
"Don't say that again"
"I thought that you were friends?"
The detective let out a soft sigh as his fingers tapped at the steering wheel.For a moment or two the only sound that could be heard was the tick of the indicator as Gavin turned a corner.Then he spoke
"We're…not really friends, we just tolerate each other "
"So like us?
Gavin gave a laugh, shaking his head" I can't tolerate you yet" Gavins laugher made Nines smile along with him. The car window rolled down and Gavin smiled as the breeze filled the car.It didn't take long before they pulled up at the crime scene.
It was an apartment, on a block similar to Gavins but it seemed to be smaller with less floors.The crime scene was on the first floor.The apartment door was already taped off.Gavin and Nines had to duck underneath to go inside.And indeed it was similar,a dismembered android corpse was sprawled across the carpet.Most of it was thiruim soaked, however some of it had evaporated but only Nines knows about that.It only took a turn of Gavin's head for him to see familiar paint sprayed on the walls.
"Arrogance"
Nines read outloud, stepping forward to examine the writing as Gavin crouched down to examine the corpse.
"Don't touch them,Gavin"
"I know I know"
He let out a gentle sigh and moved to put on some blue medical gloves. Cross contamination was something that Gavin never ever wanted to deal with,it just frustrates the people working on the case. On top of that it involved a ton of paperwork.Gavin hated paperwork.Soon Nines joined Gavin by his side
"Very sloppy work, perhaps rushed..When did it all get reported, Tin can?"
"About an hour before we've arrived.By the looks of things the team has only just got together here since photographs and markers are still being set down"
Nines spoke as he crouched down beside Gavin, watching as the human gently scooped up the deceased android's head to check for any marks.His thumb ran over one of the cracks on the forehead before turning it over in his hands.
"Struck from the back so there was no struggle.It seems like she fell forward after the attack, hitting her forehead on the corner of the coffee table..Nines,can you confirm this with your robo skills?"
Nines rolled his eyes at the request and he tried not to smile at that.They're at a crime scene.Now won't be the time for him to smile.It only took a few moments for Nimes to confirm it, reconstructing what happened and examining the scuff on the corner of the coffee table
"Yeah that's correct..but call them robo skills again and I'll hit you"
Gavin cocked up an eyebrow, setting down the androids head before he gave Nines a 'you wouldn't' stare.Nines just smirked in reply.Before Nines was about to reply, a message popped up inside his mind, making his LED flash yellow
"What's wrong, tin can?"
"Nothing.Connor has messaged me, that's all"
"Awww the robot has a babysitter"
In one swift movement Nines hit Gavin on the back of the head.
"Ow!...inconsiderate much?"
"I warned you"
"Dumbass..I meant around the android that died that way"
Nines' mouth went agape a little, the realisation settling in "Shit"
"Shit indeed.. I'll let you off, you're a baby who needs to learn social cues"
Gavin chuckled and walked past him, nudging his shoulder before he went to examine other parts of the room.In the meantime Nines had opened the message from Connor, moving to stand near the wall so that he wasn't in the way of anyone at the crime scene.
Connor:
How is Detective Reed treating you?I heard that you two went to a crime scene together
Nines:
We're here now
Connor:
You didn't answer my question
Connor:
Do I have to drag him to the evidence room again?
Nines:
No.But to be fair it was funny when you knocked him out
Connor:
I'm glad that I shared that memory so you can see it happening, it was great.Don't mention it to anyone else though
Nines:
Okay.Gavin is being acceptable. Don't worry.He isn't being an 'asshole' like you and Hank stated
Connor:
Good.
Nines:
He does call me a baby when it comes to emotions though, how do I stop that?
Connor:
You can't.I guess it's true 🤷♂️
Nines chuckled to himself as he opened up his eyes to go back to the crime scene.Maybe Gavin was being more considerate to him than others.Other than the insults, he was okay.
The android watched Gavin from across the room.He was holding a bagged item in his hands, turning it as he examined it.Nines noticed the way he concentrated as he focused on something within the bad and that concluded what Nines thought, for now anyways.
'Working with Gavin won't be as bad as I thought'