Work Text:
As Harry poked the troll’s nose with his wand, you could not help but screw up your own nose. Not only was it disgusting to watch, but the CGI was extremely bad. For a movie that was now well over thirty years old, it was probably great CGI, but at times, it made you cringe.
Yet, you were super invested in the story. Ron looked just as disgusted as you were, then it cut to Hermione’s face, and then…!
You stared at a dark screen.
Did your TV just break? No, your TV did not just. Not now. No. That couldn’t be. It wasn’t even that old!
You fumbled for the remote on the couch, as you knew you had thrown it beside you somewhere. When you found it, you tried to turn the TV on again, but it just didn’t work. Maybe the battery of the remote was dead?
And then, it hit you. It was not just your TV, that didn’t work.
The entire living room was way too dark, you could not even make out any silhouettes of your furniture! All the little stand-by lights, the atmosphere light from the kitchen, nothing worked! And usually, the streetlights from outside shone bright enough to tint this room into this orange colour, especially since you did not even have the blinds down. But it was just dark.
You patted your couch again, trying to find your phone. When you did, you quickly turned on the flash. Equipped with your phone, you dared to walk to the window without the risk of stumbling over something and looked outside. And really, the power has not only gone out in your apartment, not even just this street; it has gone out everywhere, at least the parts of Detroit you could see from your apartment on the top floor.
So this was a real blackout then?
You’ve only ever heard of it, but never experienced one that affected more than just your house. And even that was when you were still living with your dad, years ago.
But this looked like all of Detroit was cut off. Maybe the entire state? It was unfamiliar to see the city like that.
You wondered what the reason for it was, but decided to take care of the darkness first. Using the flash of your phone the whole time would only suck the battery out, and you had no way of recharging it. You hoped the blackout wouldn’t last too long, but if it was going to take longer, you certainly wanted to have some battery left.
You bought some candles not too long ago, didn’t you? Yeah, tea lights, because you had this spur of an idea of turning your bathroom into a makeshift spa when you saw those candles at the store. Right, you remembered how you dreamed of a day full of relaxing and self-care. Yet you haven’t bothered to do so, yet. Instead, you wasted most of your free time on the internet, with sleeping, or watching TV.
While you rummaged through every cupboard in your apartment and each drawer, you could not find those candles, nor did you remember where you had put them. But they had to be somewhere, you were sure of it. Just when you thought about looking through the first cupboard once again, the phone in your hand vibrated.
You looked at the screen. Connor was calling. Your neighbour. Your friend.
You answered the call right away. “Connor, hey.”
“We’re having a blackout.” Connor sounded concerned; he even skipped the greeting. How untypical of him, he usually was all about manners.
“Really?” You couldn’t hold back a little chuckle either. “Do you know what happened?”
“First information online states that parts of South Detroit are affected by a blackout caused by damaged power lines. There are speculations of problems during maintenance work.”
“So nothing serious,” you said, sounding relieved, which even surprised you. So you had worried more about it than you even admitted to yourself.
“Yes, nothing serious as it seems,” Connor said. “Were you worried?”
“Maybe a little,” you said. “But I’m more worried about finding my candles right now.”
“Candles?”
“Yeah. You know, I can’t see in the dark,” you said. “And it’s making me slightly uncomfortable.”
“Don’t you have a flashlight? Or some other lights that work with batteries?”
“Just my phone, and I don’t want the battery to die too quickly. I wasn’t really prepared for this,” you laughed again.
“I guess most people aren’t. Blackouts don’t happen a lot these days, especially not in a city like Detroit.”
“I should probably get myself an emergency bag, for things like this.”
“Wait, I think I can help you out,” Connor said. “I have one.”
“What? You have an emergency bag?” What would Connor even do with that, you wondered.
Connor’s laugh was clear through the phone. “A candle. Wait a second, I’ll bring it over,” he said. “I mean, if that’s okay with you.” There was a short pause before he added the last sentence.
It made you smile. “Actually, that’s very much appreciated.”
“Good,” he said. You heard he was smiling as well. “I’m already on my way.”
You walked to the door, and when you reached it, you heard the door of his apartment opening and closing. “I’ll open up for you.”
And so you did. You were greeted by Connor standing in front of it, his face illuminated by the warm, orange light of the candle he held in his hand.
“Hey,” he said, and then it echoed through the phone once more. You both awkwardly looked at your phones, laughed, and then you hung up.
“Hey,” you greeted him back, this time not speaking through the phone.
And then, he repeated it once again, and it was much lower than before, almost sounding shy. “Hey.”
For a moment, you just stared at him, admired him and his voice. His hair was damp as if he had just been showering. And what he was wearing! He looked so comfy like this. While he looked great in his suits too, you could not deny that he just looked dangerously handsome in anything. Oh, and probably even better without anything, too.
Oh, no. Stop these thoughts!
And stop this stare!
Maybe you should let him in and not stand there blocking the door like a statue.
“You’re sure you don’t need the candle yourself?” You just said something, attempting to distract from your strange behaviour.
As he walked past you, the scent of his shampoo was much stronger than the hints of it you usually get. It smelled so nice, and now it would linger in your nose the whole time.
“I am perfectly fine without it,” he said, and it took you a moment to get that he was answering your question.
What was wrong with you? Was it just the whole mood, this darkness and the candlelight, that unconsciously turned your mind into this mush? Get yourself together.
“Should I put it on the couch table?” He asked and already walked over there.
“Yeah, that would be perfect. Thank you, Connor.”
He looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Anything for you.”
Again, a rush of warmth. He said these things so easily, and you wondered how he meant them. Was this all still just him being friendly? Him treating you kind because you were friends? Was it more than that, or just your wishful thinking? Did he even realize what he was saying, how you could interpret them?
There was an unreadable expression on his face when you followed him to the living room.
“Do you want… to stay here for a while?” You almost asked him if he wanted something to drink, but fortunately, you stopped yourself before that. But now, it sounded weird. You weren’t like this with him usually.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” he said right away. “I meant to call you anyway, even without this blackout.”
You sat down on the couch, then patted the spot beside you, which he quickly filled. “Yeah? Why, is something up?”
“Not really, but I haven’t seen you much the past days.”
Maybe that was the reason you were so awkward because you missed him. “It was busy at the hospital. I had to take another extra shift, and just came home not too long ago.”
“I thought so,” Connor answered. “So, what have you been up to before the power went off?”
“I’ve been watching the first Harry Potter movie, and it was just getting super interesting.”
“Didn’t the newest part of the series just come out not too long ago?”
Connor could have easily looked that up on the internet, you were sure. “I think so, just a couple of years ago. It was the last part of the Fantastic Beasts series, and probably the worst of them all. It felt more like a soap opera than anything else, if you ask me.”
Connor raised a brow and gave you a suspicious look. “That bad?”
“Maybe bad is the wrong word to describe it, but extremely odd. Dumbledore was in love with Grindelwald the whole time, but Grindelwald did not return these feelings, because he was just too power-hungry. Then Dumbledore dramatically challenged him for a Duel, which, of course, Grindelwald accepted. But he lost, and Dumbledore killed him. All his grieve turned him into this strange guy, that runs around in purple dresses that make him look like a Wannabe Merlin. What a tragedy.” You only noticed how you had rambled on and on about it when you had finished your rant. Poor Connor, he really had to listen to the biggest nonsense from you sometimes.
Hr squinted his eyes, looking both doubtful and confused.
“Don’t give me that look. Ask Miss Rowling what drugs she was on while writing that all.”
“Well,” Connor shook his head. “Thank you for enlightening me about that. I had a difficult time following it, because I don’t even know about Dumbledore or who Grindelwald is.”
“Wait,” you emphasized it with a gesture of your hand. “You don’t?”
“Well, I’ve heard of Dumbledore before. But Grindelwald… That name doesn’t ring any bells. It sounds German though. Was he German?”
“I don’t know if he was German, but I’m sure you could have looked that up quicker online than asking me that question. I mean, you probably could have read through the whole script online before I finished my first sentence!”
“I could have,” Connor admitted. “But lately, I try not to look everything up when we’re just casually talking.”
“Why?” It truly surprised you to hear that. “I would love to have that ability, I’m sure many people would.”
“I get how you see the practical parts of it. And it is practical in many cases, especially for work.” He paused there for a moment as if thinking what to say. “But I can’t help but think how strange it must be for you when we talk and I constantly feed you with information I found online, during our conversation,” he said.
“It’s not strange,” you quickly said. “I admit, it was something new, something I had to get used to. But I like that about you. I mean, if you want to… to stay offline while we talk, then I’ll like that too. But I want you to know, that you don’t have to do something because you think somebody else wants you to.”
“I think I enjoy talking to you like this. Just focus on your words and learn new things that way. It feels more human.”
While his words flattered you, they also made you sad. Connor wasn’t human, and there was no need for him to act more human. He was an android, and he should not feel like hiding that fact. You hoped that you didn’t give him any reason to believe he had.
“You know, you don’t have to change yourself like that, not for me, not for anyone. You’re perfect the way you are. I know there are still things you want to learn, and that’s great. I support you with that. Just know that you don’t have to adjust or something. ”
Was that too much? You hoped it wasn’t. Each day, it became harder to hide those feelings that started to develop. While you finally admitted to them, you knew you couldn’t rush Connor into anything. You feared, you would push him into something, that wasn’t fully his choice. Just from this conversation, you could see that he wasn’t ready for love, or at least for a relationship. You knew he liked you as well, but you didn’t know if he truly liked you romantically. And if you were going to confess your feelings to him, you feared he would misjudge his own feelings for you into something that wasn’t real.
While you thought about all that, Connor was silent as well, as if he was thinking about what you said to him.
He looked at the calm flame of the candle, almost hypnotized by it, and then, after a while, he finally returned his gaze to you. “You know, sometimes it is tempting to check things online. Just like right now. I’m not sure if you just joked about the plot of this film.”
You were glad that he answered in this light-hearted way. “Are you really thinking I lied to you about that?”
“I consider it a possibility,” Connor grinned.
“I am not even sure if I could come up with a plot like that. I mean, I didn’t even mention the worst parts of it!”
And then, suddenly, the power went back on.
You quickly stood up and looked out of the window, checking if everything looked like usual. It did. “That didn’t take long,” you said to yourself, then turned over your shoulder to look at Connor. You met his eyes, as he was watching you already. And his eyes were so warm, so kind and loving, and that wonderful smile. It made you weak and it was hard to not give in to the want of just walking over to him to kiss him. To distract you from these unwanted thoughts, you grabbed the TV’s remote from the table and turned it on, while you were still standing.
“Actually, how about we watch it together?”
“You mean, right now?”
You didn’t turn to look at him, as your face still felt hot.
“If you want to? I have tomorrow off, so I can stay up all night long so we could watch them from the very beginning.”
Spending time with him was much better than anything else, even if you had to watch all the parts of Fantastic Beasts again, especially that last one. You’ve really fallen for him, haven’t you?
You hoped the redness had disappeared when you looked to the side and gave him a questioning look. “What do you say?”
“Tomorrow’s my day off as well,” he answered.
“Oh, we could do a real marathon then!” You walked over to the couch again and plumped down on your side.
He gave you a teasing grin. “You’d really watch the Fantastic Beast Pentalogy again for me?”
“You know, there’s not a lot I wouldn’t do for you.” Did you just say that out loud? You did, right? Don’t look at him. Act as if you had not just said such a sappy thing.
“The same goes for you,” he said, and you heard the warmth of a smile in his voice.
You found the first Harry Potter movie and pressed play from the beginning, as you have just watched the first half of it right before he came over.
“So, that’s a yes, right?”
“Yes.”