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This had been a bad idea from the start, and Nines had known it. And yet, had he done anything to stop it? If you weren’t counting pointed sighs and passive-aggressive comments about how bad of a plan he thought this was, then no, he hadn’t. Closer to the truth in Nines’ mind was that he had simply been unable to win the uphill battle that was ‘convincing Gavin to do anything other than what he had decided on doing’. Gavin’s determination was one of the qualities that Nines found terribly attractive any other day, but sometimes it was his complete undoing.
Connor was just as bad at giving up once he had set his mind to something, but he usually had the advantage of taking more time to consider his choices before he made them. That calculating processor of his rarely led him astray. As he would cheerfully point out any time Nines or Gavin tried to question him - it had been his idea to get the three of them together and dating in the first place. And what a wonderful idea that had been, Nines could freely admit that.
They had circled one another like sharks for weeks before that, none of them wanting to make a move lest they upset the other, but none of them able to just give up and admit defeat in the pursuit of what was a clearly desired romantic partner. Gavin always claimed he had just been after ‘a few hot pieces of robo ass’ but Nines and Connor knew better. They had always been able to see through the bluster, just each in their own way. And of the two, Nines had always found it much more endearing. Connor had a tendency to push Gavin, trying to get him to behave and settle down. Outside of the bedroom, that was a dangerous game to play.
And perhaps that was why Connor hadn’t stepped in in this case. When Gavin had volunteered himself for what was, in Nines’ humble opinion, a suicide mission, the RK800 model had barely batted an eyelid. Being the bait in a sting operation was never the safest of things to volunteer to be, but this case was dealing with a particularly volatile gang. And when Nines had finally caved and gone to Connor to talk about how worried he was over Gavin, Connor had brushed his worries aside. Well, not exactly brushed aside. More like tried to reassure Nines and explain away those worries.
The problem was, it wasn’t that Nines didn’t trust Gavin or think of him as just as capable as his android partners. That had been a huge source of anxiety for Gavin, and Nines would never want to intentionally bring up those fears again. It was just…
Nines was afraid.
He was afraid that this time, Gavin might have overstretched himself, and he’d end up hurt, or worse. He was afraid, as always, that he wouldn’t be enough to protect his partners, despite having been created as the strongest, fastest, and most deadly assassin android on the planet. And Connor knew, he had to know, but he still did nothing to stop Gavin. He simply focused his energies into preparing them all for the mission, pouring over the plans and the blueprints and syncing with every single piece of tracking equipment ten times over. Nines supposed that was Connor’s way of worrying - making sure that he did everything possible to ensure the success of the mission.
And at night, when they all curled around each other in bed, Connor and Nines’ hands linked across Gavin’s chest as their human slept, Nines could see the way Connor’s LED flickered yellow-blue-yellow in the darkness. He was afraid too, then, just hiding it better than Nines. Nines wasn’t sure if that comforted him, or made him more scared. There was nothing he could do except squeeze his partner’s hand a little tighter, and find some small sliver of comfort in the answering squeeze back.
On the morning of the mission, Gavin kissed Connor and Nines goodbye like usual before they entered the station, and Nines couldn’t help but chase his lips for a second kiss. He had to firmly remind himself that this was all going to be fine. That by tonight, they’d all be together again in their shared bed. Maybe even doing a little bit more than cuddling, if they weren’t all exhausted. And for the first half of the day, things seemed to go okay. Gavin got wired up and prepped one last time, and then he was bundling into the unmarked car they’d prepared for him. Nines tried not to think about the fact that he was driving off to be bait, but that was exactly what he was.
The minutes ticked by into hours, and the plan seemed to be holding the course - Gavin was in place, Connor was able to confirm that through his connection to the surveillance and tracking devices on his person. They just needed him to initiate contact with the mobsters, lure them into the open, and then the SWAT team would leap into action. There was a countdown timer on Nines’ HUD, and if he had needed to breathe, he would have been holding his breath as he watched it tick down.
And suddenly, all at once, everything went wrong. Connor’s LED flashed red as he lost connection with all of the devices, and the techs cursed as their screens went black. A lot of people started talking all at once, chaos blooming in the room as panic bloomed in Nines’ core - Gavin was in danger. Clearly the mob had figured it out or gotten wind of the sting, and were making the smart move of kidnapping the bait. Nines’ mind was immediately flooded with worst case scenarios, and the urge to just run out of the room and hop in a car and just start flooring it to get to Gavin was suddenly burning him up. He was firmly reminding himself that he needed to be more rational, needed to think things through instead of just reacting, when suddenly there was a hand in his wrenching him away towards the door.
Nines barely found his footing as Connor began to run towards the exit of the precinct, towards where all of the squad cars were parked. His mouth dropped open as he saw his usually calm partner’s face awash with panic and anger, and it was all Nines could do to keep up. Clearly Connor wasn’t going to wait around and think. For once, he was going to trust his instincts to rescue the person most dear to him. They bundled into the car and Connor peeled out onto the street, his LED strobing as he plugged into the traffic cams and set the most efficient course to the building Gavin had last been seen in. They couldn’t have gotten far. Nines and Connor wouldn’t let them.
The drive was a blur, a blur which didn’t stop when they arrived at the building and found SWAT already swarming all over it, but there was blood on the floor, there was blood on the floor and it was Gavin’s blood, and Nines couldn’t see anything but red red
red
Red like the flash of his and Connor’s LEDs as they raced along the trail. Red like the laser sights of the SWAT team chasing after them. Red like the blood dripping down Nines’ chin and coating his hands, like the sound of screaming as he and Connor tore through the men standing between them and their lover.
When the whirlwind slowed and the dust settled, Nines finally caught sight of Gavin, beaten and tied to a chair in a corner of the room. His head was lolling down against his chest, but he was alive and that was all Nines could focus on. He and Connor rushed to free him, Connor ripping open the ties holding him and Nines cradling Gavin’s head gently in his hands.
“Darling? Can you hear me? Oh please, can you hear me?” Nines asked, voice frantic with static.
After a few agonizing minutes, Gavin’s eyes fluttered open and he managed a weak chuckle. “See? Told you you didn’t have to worry.” He mumbled, voice rough but his crooked smile genuine, “I knew I was gonna be fine.”
Nines could have cried with relief or beaten Gavin about the head for that answer, and he wasn’t sure which way things were going to go just yet.
“I can’t believe I was so stupid as to believe you. This is the farthest from fine I’ve ever seen you!” Connor finally spoke, relief and anger mixed in equal measures in his voice. His fingers were shaking as they gripped Gavin’s hand and wiped blood from his knuckles, and Nines understood now that this had been just as hard for Connor as it had been for him all this time.
“I knew you two wouldn’t let anything happen to me.” Gavin retorted, and there in his eyes was that flicker of love and vulnerability that Nines felt so honored to see, “That’s why I wasn’t worried. Ever.”
And dammit if that wasn’t the most romantic thing Nines had ever heard in his life. His processors told him that there was no other possible option than to lean up and kiss Gavin, so that was exactly what he did. He kissed him until both of their lips were stained with blood, then settled back to watch Connor do the same, seeing that same desperate love mirrored in their movements. They would just have to live up to Gavin’s belief in them, it seemed. Because there was no force on the planet that could force these two androids to disappoint the human they so loved.