Work Text:
Nines, nowadays, is almost always eager to enter stasis.
As an android of the RK line, it was seen as necessary to do. Connor, an RK800 and his predecessor, had to do it. Markus, an RK200, had to as well. As advanced prototypes, they used stasis to process information the way humans used dreams. However, in stasis, androids were fully aware of their actions and environment.
Nines, an RK900, had a Zen Garden waiting for him in stasis. For the other RKs, they had created their own environments. However, Nines stuck with the setting given to him by CyberLife. It was familiar and comforting.
Although, there was one thing in the Zen Garden he had created on his own, started from scratch with each line of code carefully written by the android himself. It was the thing that made him look forward to rest.
It was a version of Gavin, his work partner. He was a detective and human who worked with the android at the Detroit Police Department.
Initially, the Zen Garden version of Gavin, or Zenvin, as Nines liked to call him, was created as a way to cope with the real Gavin’s vile behavior when they were first partnered. Gavin was a cantankerous man when they first met. He was almost always raising his voice at the android and belittling him when they had met. Nines, in his frustration, created Zenvin. He was kinder, for the most part. Although, he served the purpose of teaching Nines how to interact with his partner. The AI had helped him greatly.
Now, Gavin and Nines were as close as an android detective and his human partner could get, considering their rough start. They were close friends now, after having taken the time to attempt to understand each other after their endless amount of misunderstandings. They were on good terms.
Although, something in Nines itched for more. He wasn’t sure when it had started. Like a flower, the feeling bloomed a while ago, and had continued to grow. At first, the feeling was painful and emotionally burdening. After, he began to come to terms with the fact that he had fallen in love with someone for the first time. Someone he had a work and platonic relationship with. The acceptance helped, but the pain was still there regardless.
It was only during stasis he could ease away the pain and disregard the unrealistic aspects of the pre-constructions he had made, all involving the detective.
It was only during stasis he could satisfy his own feelings.
Zenvin was made to help Nines learn how to deal with his human, but he eventually was used to help play out the scenarios he had only imagined involving the actual Gavin Reed.
Only in his Zen Garden could he hold, kiss, and hug Gavin without the fear of rejection or distrust. Nines knew the human would never return his feelings, let alone touch him, even in a platonic sense.
The AI he had created looked, talked, walked, and sounded exactly like Gavin. It possessed his emerald eyes and playful tone.
The thing was, Nines was fully aware of the fact that the AI was only a simulation; he could satisfy all his wants and needs in this world he possessed, but Gavin would never truly love him back. Although, pretending in his Zen Garden hurt less than having to face rejection by his partner.
The android opened his eyes slowly. His LED spun calmly, glowing pastel yellow.
He looked ahead, confused as he saw no one in sight.
Taking a deep breath, the android began to stroll around his Zen Garden, looking for the man he sought out every time in this world.
Zenvin stood at the opposite end of the garden, looking up at the pink of the cherry blossoms blooming on a tree.
“Nines,” He greeted with a pleasant tone, smiling gently.
“Hello, Gavin.”
Admiring the human's serene expression, Nines smiled back at him. He looked lovely.
Zenvin turned to the RK900.
The AI looked calm and rested, rather than disheveled and tired, unlike the human he was based on. He wore a clean white shirt and kept his hair naturally curly. His skin looked bright and clean. Although he kept his stubble and scars, he still looked angelic.
He took the android’s hand in his, interlaced their fingers, and kissed the back of Nines’s hand, making him blush blue.
They began their typical stroll around the garden with a languid pace. Nines always felt relaxed here, as if a deep calm blanketed his body.
He felt the warm sunlight of his skin, the gentle grip of Gavin’s hand, and the soft thud of their footsteps beneath them.
Being here with Zenvin never failed to bring him genuine peace. Here, he could slow down for a few moments before committing himself back to his real life. It was always stressful and confusing out there.
The android may have been a deviant for over a year, but his emotions and their effects always felt new, as if he was only converted days ago. It added to the stress of navigating through work and personal matters. The whirlwind of emotions he was always experiencing usually felt overwhelming, besides in moments like this. Everything felt manageable and distant like this.
Only in his own mind could Nines truly relax.
Zenvin brought them over to a bench placed in the center of the garden, facing the old “emergency exit" in the distance. It had no use, now that Nines was deviant. It was meant to be used if an android had to force exit the control of CyberLife or their program. Although, there was no use now that all androids were deviant. There was no programming to escape.
Now, it was kept there for the sake of comfort: he would never use it, but he wanted to keep it there. He knew he would dislike the empty space it would leave behind and would not know what to use to fill its place.
He looked at it for a second, wondering if he would ever have had to use it if the circumstances were different.
“Eyes on me, tin can.”
The android turned to face the man beside him, who stared at him with a fond smile.
Zenvin brought his hand up to the Nines’s neck, gently caressing it. Rubbing his thumb against his cheek, the human tilted his head to the side in the quizzical matter the RK900 did at times.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing much. I’m just glad to be here with you.”
Nines placed his hand over Zenvin’s. He couldn’t help the smile that bloomed across his lips as he leaned into the touch.
Suddenly, the human’s expression changed into something serious. The smile on his lips had disappeared and his brows were slightly furrowed in what seemed to be worry.
“Nines, I need you to wake up. Wake up, Nines,” Nines heard.
However, it didn’t come from Zenvin’s lips.
Nines looked at him with sudden confusion. His LED spun a violent red and began to flicker wildly.
“Gavin?”
Nines blinked forcefully a few times, his Zen Garden and the real world replacing each other every time he opened his eyes. After a few more times, he was finally out of stasis, displeased to leave his Zen Garden so suddenly.
“I leave for maybe, about 3 minutes and you’re already nodding off on me. You sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine, Detective.”
“Sheesh, I didn’t mean to interrupt your beauty sleep. No need to pull the ‘Detective’ shit on me.”
Gavin eyed the android suspiciously, who just went back to scanning files on his tablet. He turned to his computer and sipped his coffee.
With no new cases of their concern, the duo didn’t have much to do besides look at old cases or, in the android’s case, upload hard copies of information from the evidence archive to the police department’s online database.
The lack of action was unusual for them, as they could usually be found on active scenes or researching their cases. However, it was excruciating, especially for the human. Everyone in the station knew that he lived for his job, so seeing him so agitated over the lack of work was expected.
“May I suggest ending our work day early? I’ve already updated the department’s database with case files from the 1970s to the 1980s and I’m sure you’re sick of staring over the same closed case for 3 hours.”
Gavin stared at Nines with a cocked eyebrow.
“You’ve read my mind,” he sighed, grabbing his keys and turning off his computer.
“Let’s grab something to eat or somethin’, yeah?”
“Sure, Gavin.”
Gavin walked toward the back exit of the building as Nines tidied his desk, numerous pre-constructions, which would never be played out, running through his HUD.