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“You’re smoking again detective.” A sure voice piped up behind him, stern and flat in nature. Gavin didn’t need to flick his gaze over his shoulder to know who stood behind him even as the side door to the DPD precinct clicked shut. Gavin could practically see it now, hands fold neatly behind a strong tall body, accentuated by the neat pale black turtle neck he wore, blending into nearly unwrinkled slacks. Hair neatly styled into place. As professional as ever.
God Gavin hated it.
“Really now?” Gavin snarked, taking another drag of the cigarette between his fingers. The smoke fills his lungs, leaving a hearty flavor as his tongue as he blew out the remaining grey into the evening air.
The rising smoke matched the dark clouds that loomed in the sky, a stormy grey with orange highlights from the looming sunset blocked out by the surrounding buildings of the parking lot. The small lip of an overhang provided little protection from the assaulting rain, the breeze splashing drops along the pair as it came and went.
“We’ve discussed this. Smoking increases your risk of lung cancer by 15 to 30 percent. Its believed to be responsible for up to 20% of all cancer deaths.” Nines explained once again, uncaring Gavin had heard it exactly 8 times prior. His took another step forward, joining Gavin at his side. “Nicotine also increased the risk of decreased immune function, gastrointestinal disorders, and cardiovascular dysfunctions.” Nines didn’t bother a glance as the sparse rain drops began to soak into the shoulders of his sweater, beading off his hair. A drop of water slowly made its way down his nose, his face reflexively crinkling his nose in attempt to ease the discomfort.
Gavin had caught the reaction out of the corner of his eye, feeling a telltale tug at the corner of his lips. It was a small reaction, barely noticeable but it tugged at something in his chest. He tapped the side of his cigarette with his thumb, sending ash cascading to the concrete below. The ash was quick to dissolve into the water that had saturated the ground below them, leaving a small dark stain to later be washed away.
“Yeah well, something’s gotta kill us all eventually right?” Gavin huffed, uncaring to give a genuine reply. He heard it a million times before from a million different people and honestly he couldn’t give a shit. He been shot before, survived with little more than a scar and resulting pain in his upper back. Hed be lucky if cancer or a heart attack took him before his job could.
Nines frowned at that, tilting his head a few degrees to the right as he looked over Gavin. It confused him. Most humans, and deviants, feared their own mortality. They actively avoided putting themselves at risk of injury or death.
Granted their job did require them to put their lives on the line, but this was different. Nines understood Gavin had a history of suicidal ideation and at times tendencies as did many officers. It was a common cost of the career, a direct result of the physical and psychological trauma that came with it.
Nines was also well aware humans took pleasure in many dangerous activities, smoking being the most common. As well as drinking alcohol. The chemicals in nicotine produced a reaction in the brain, releasing dopamine and adrenaline stimulating the nervous system.
‘Wonder if it would work on androids.” Nines passively ponded, a completely illogical conclusion. Nines was well aware things such as nicotine, ethanol, THC did not have any effect on Androids, even deviants naturally. There had been an upgrade put out for beta testing to allow such a sensation but Nines has yet to download it. Nor was he sure he really wanted to.
It seemed illogical; a waste of time, money, and efficiency. But so it seems is human nature. Emotions were illogical. Nines had dually noted his efficacy has dropped exactly 7% since his point of deviation. From his expected coded preset of 94% to a disappointing 87%. He has made multiple illogical decisions based off simulated emotions over the eight months since he deviated. It bothered him to no end.
‘What would one more hurt?’ Nines thought to himself, flicking his gaze to the small white elongated cylinder between Gavin’s fingers. There was no Amanda, no immediate directive. As Gavin would say, fuck it all.
“May I try?” Nines spoke up before he could reconsider, giving a minute nod towards the desired cigarette. His voice was still calm as ever, smooth and even but it curved at the end with a pinch of something Gavin rarely heard from the other. Hesitancy.
The rain continued to trickle down, a drop here or there landing on the pair. Failing to wash away the silence that had now settled between them. Gavins brown eyes flicked upwards slightly, a look only described as confusion on his scarred stubble ridden face. There was a quirk to the corners of his lips, clearly holding back a laugh in his shock.
“The hell ya say, plastic?” Gavin asked, though his words lacked any actual cruel intentions despite the demeaning title. There was humor laced into his words, clearly amused with both Nines inquiry and his uncertainty.
“As a human may say, can I bum a cigarette?” Nines repeated, more confident this time. Nines was not uncomfortable to calling attention to his lack of human nature, finding no reason to deny or hide it. Gavin couldn’t hold back the chuckle that escaped his lips, the gloomy nature of him seeming to have lit up with yellowed teeth flashing between scarred lips.
Nines scanned Gavin, memorizing the way his lips curled into stubble laced cheeks. The slight crinkle in his nose, bending the scar that settled there. He’d done it a thousand time before, memorizing the different expressions of his partner. Calculating his emotions and filing them away to store for later as he would for everyone he met and functioned with on a daily basis.
Nines ignored the fact his file for Gavin was increasingly more full than anyone else’s personal files. It only made sense, he did spend a majority of his time with the detective. A requirement of the job he assured himself.
“The hell- Do you even have lungs?” Gavin shook off the shock, scoffing, mumbling a small ‘fucking android’. Before haphazardly thrusting his hand towards Nines to pass off the half smoked cigarette. Having gaze flicked upwards, landing on the other face. His thin, perfectly manufactured rosey lips to be exact. Gavin grimaced.
“Yeah, no. Never mind. Fuck that. I know what the hell you’ve put in your mouth.” Gavin complained with a huff, pulling his arm back to his side. Gavin had seen Nines put a multitude of samples in his mouth from crime scenes for analyses. It was fucking disgusting, made his stomach churn every time. Gavin remained assured it was because of that, and totally not because he doesn’t want to know what passively touching lips with his partner would do to him.
“I can assure you my mouth is completely sterile. I have a self cleaning mechanism that assures no samples may be contaminated by remaining debris or bacteria.” Nines explained, his lips twitching into a small frown. Disappointed Gavin did not remember, he reminded the detective every time the other would complain about him collecting and analyzing samples.
Nines shifts in place as he watch Gavin slip the cigarette between his lips once again with a disgruntled noise, moving his now free dominant hand to dig into his coats pocket. There was reluctance in his movements, perhaps exaggerating. After a short moment of rustling the well loved brown leather, he retrieved out his worn box of cigarettes.
American spirits. Kings. Go figure. He’d seen Gavin with them over a dozen times now, usually left haphazardly around the house or in his car. Sometimes left at his desk at the precinct, though Fowler heavily advised against it.
Gavin’s pushes open the top of the pack with a scared knuckle, using his other hand to fetch out one of its contents. He juts out the cigarettes to Nines lazily, unmoving until the androids hesitantly plucks it from his fingers. Nines held the cigarette between two fingers, gently pinched between his thumb and pointer finger like someone would hold a joint. He was quick to fix his hold on the cigarette, settling it between his middle and pointer finger, just under the first knuckle. Mimicking Gavin’s hold all too perfectly.
Gavin scoffed at the movement as he stuffed the pack lazily back into his pocket, not bothering to force away the grin on his face. Clearly amused by the display. Gavin returned his attention to searching his pockets for his lighter, slapping a hand over each one until he finally found it settled deep in his back pocket.
As Gavin turned his gaze up, the small red Bic wrapped between sun-kissed fingers gripped tighter as Gavin layed his eyes on Nines. The RK900 had settled the cigarette between rosy lips, the butt of the cigarette gripped between the edge of his perfect white teeth, looking at Gavin expectantly.
Gavin couldn’t help but swallow the ball that bubbled in his throat, drawing a breath in between his lips at the sight. Puffing out smoke, Gavin forced his resolve, flicking his gaze as way as he lifted the light, remembering the task at hand.
As Gavin lit the lighter, the flame cupped from the wind with his other hand as it was met half way. Nines leaned down ever so slightly, meeting Gavin at eye level. The androids hand mirrored Gavin’s, cupping the flame from the other side to protect the gentle flicker from the weather persisting around them.
The flame danced between their mirrored hands, licking the tip of the cigarette is an orange watercolor smear. The glow from the flame illuminated the lines of their faces, orange hue dancing in their iris’s. Dim blue-grey eyes met deep browns as eyes met in a passing glance; just enough for thunder to rumble in the distance. Nines flicked his gaze away first, inhaling to draw the flame to start embers on the paper of the cigarette.
As the cigarette lit, Gavin pulled his hand away first, releasing the lever of the lighter as he shoved it back into his pants pocket. It was warm against the meat of his thigh, reminding him of the moment of pause between the two. He blamed the warmth in his cheeks on the bitter wind nipping at the pair as it weaved between the cars in the parking lot laying infront of them.
The RK900 had noticed the small increase in heart rate in the other, fining his own pump regulator mimicking the action. It left an off jumpy feeling in his chest. A feeling Nines still couldn’t quite pin down, unsure if it was linked to simulated emotions he experienced as a deviant or a simple malfunction his dealt diagnostics had failed to pick up. The RK900 shook off the discomfort, huffing as he finally took a deep inhale of the cigarette between his lips.
A surge of data filled his systems, analyzing the smoke that filled his artificial lungs and the cigarette that sat between lips down the very molecules. It was new, different than analyzing the second hand smoke he inhaled from being around someone smoke. The influx of data almost made him a little dizzy as he exhaled the smoke, tongue moving around his pallets in attempt to collect more dats. Despite the interest in the data,the RK900 failed to ignore the bitter taste that lingered in his mouth from the drag.
It was hearty, deep, and bitter, hard to ignore and all together warm. As an android, especially one made to analyze blood and a variety of other evidence; foul taste did not bother his much, little more than an influx of data. Not to mention androids, even deviants didn’t taste in the same way humans would. Granted they could have preferences to the data and subjective reactions simulated from consumption but it wasn’t exactly the same. Regardless, the RK900 was a little surprised humans enjoyed the flavor of cigarette or atleast put up with it for its addictive effects.
Something far off in Nines processors reminded him that these were the same cigarettes Gavin smokes regularly. Hense Gavins mouth or lips would likely share a similar taste. The thought made something tighten in Nines chest.
“The taste is quite foul.” Nines commented, plucking the cigarette from between his lips as he turned to look towards his partner. Nines face was scrunched up in a slight scowl, his nose crinkled ever so slightly and lips downturned. Gavin had an amused look on his face as he stared back, looking up at the android.
“Yeah no shit, ain’t supposed to taste good, tin can.” Gavin laughed, shaking his head as a grin split his stubble lined cheeks. The exhaustion and ebbing dread had lifted from the air around the detective in the light of his laugh, stress of the day forgotten momentarily. The displeasure of the taste seemed to get lighter too as RK900 watched the other. “Hell man, blood, thirium, fuck knows what else is fine. But you draw the line at a cigarette.” Gavin harped, taking the chance to poke fun at his partner. Gavin took another hearty drag of his cigarette, huffing in amusement as he settled, still gazing up at his friend.
“I don’t ‘draw the line’, it is tolerable, simply unpleasant is all.” The android assured with a small huff as he took another drag of the cigarette. The self cleaning mechanism in his mouth had already started to dissolve and sanitize away the last puff of the cigarette. Despite the unpleasant nature of the taste, he enjoyed the data, and enjoyed the fact he was sharing something with his partner.
Gavin simply grunted in response, a simple acknowledgement despite its seemingly rude nature. He took another drag of his cigarette as he turned his gaze forward again, watching as the rain still punched down on the gloomy city of Detroit. The silence was comfortable, light and unassuming; unlike the tense one they shared earlier that day during their run down of an old file. The words having grown heated between the two before Gavin had stormed off to go loudly complain to Tina Chen at her desk a few feet away.
This silence was nice, simple. Familiar to the ones he and Gavin typically shared after work, watching some randomly selected movie or show together in their shared living room. A reluctant agreement the two had made a few months prior, Gavin offering the android a place to crash on his couch during their off hours. Hesitantly and over time the RK900 had agreed to the arrangement, figuring it would be easier to assure Reed made it to work on time and was awake and alert for incoming cases.
The silence made itself at home between the two for a few more minutes, only interrupted by the rains blending with the sounds of the city and the occasional breath of a cigarette. Thunder still rumbled somewhere far off in the distance, a warning of the looming threat of worsening weather. Nines stared out at the parking lot as he worked through the cigarette, following the rhythmic patterning of inhaled and exhale. He blew out a puff of smoke, watching as looped and joined with Gavin’s as it rose upwards to dissipate into the cloudy sky. The silence was finally broken under the guise of a small statement.
“I think I understand the enjoyment of partaking in cigarettes. I would like to join you more often for your smoke breaks.” Nines finally spoke up, sparing a small glance to his partner who stood relaxed at his side, not missing the slight shake in his shoulders as he humored the RK900s statement.
“Of course you fucking do.” Gavin scoffed, though the smile on his face betrayed his attempt at sounding displeased or annoyed. He didn’t bother looking over at the other, already able to practically see his expression. Able to see that question look in his grey eyes, likely a small upturn to his lips. “Whatever Terminator, just fucking buy your own next time. I don’t make enough to support two addicts smoking habits.” Gavin relented as he took a final drag of his cigarette, throwing it to the ground and snuffing it out under his boot.
Despite his displeasure of his usual alone time being disrupted and the intent to continue disrupting it in the future, Gavin couldnt bring himself to turn down the other. Fuck it, having a smoking buddy was nice.