Work Text:
Monday
When Chris walked in Monday morning, he was expecting a few things.
Number one: Gavin would be complaining about it being Monday.
Number two: Tina would be fussing over her latest lesbian celebrity crush.
Number three: Fowler's windows would be darkened to their highest setting.
Number four: Hank would not be there yet.
Chris was completely right, as he always was when it came to anticipating his friends. Gavin was expressing his weekly intolerance to Monday mornings through sheer attitude. Tina was trying to show Gavin a picture of another famous hot woman she found as he ignored her in the break room. Fowler's windows were completely darkened to discourage anybody's attempt to talk to him. Hank had yet to arrive, which was honestly the most probable of Chris' predictions. He had, after all, been building his reputation for years.
However, this Monday was slightly different than the others.
Around 9: 25, Chris saw Gavin leave his desk to go a little deeper into the DPD building for an unknown reason. He didn't think much of it, and continued on with his work.
Around 9:30, Chris heard a screech come from near the holding cells, and Chris went running. Did somebody break out? Had somebody dropped dead in the hallway? Was the president paying them a visit? Tina, and quite a few other officers stopped what they were doing as well to investigate the disturbance. In the hallway stood Gavin, standing on one leg, pressed against the wall as closely as possible. In front of him stood a raccoon, which was obliviously sniffing a spot on the ground.
Chris came to a halt as his jaw dropped. A raccoon… in the precinct? It was unheard of! How did it get in? Unless someone had intentionally brought it in as a prank, Chris couldn't fathom the idea of it bypassing their security. He didn't even know how it could be smuggled in. It wasn't exactly a small rodent! Raccoons may be intelligent animals, but they weren't intelligent enough to break in the precinct by themselves. The bullpen hardly ever even got stray insects anymore! Insects were a whole lot more common than stowaway raccoons.
"What the fuck is that thing doing here?" Gavin demanded, pointing at the unbothered animal who continued to ignore his presence. Clearly, the detective wasn't taking the surprise all that well. Honestly, if a raccoon had jumpscared Chris too, and if he had the charming and charismatic personality of Gavin, he may be in an outrage too. Those were many "ifs" though.
"Chill out, Gavin. It's just a raccoon," Tina reassured, taking a pair of gloves that someone handed her. "It doesn't even acknowledge your existence, you'll be fine." She strapped on the gloves, and began to slowly creep up beside the raccoon.
"What if it has rabies?" Gavin stammered, before half the small crowd's faces turned to him in disappointment.
"Does it look like it has rabies?" one officer that Chris didn't know said sarcastically.
"Sometimes rabies can be carried in an animals without it being symptomatic yet," another argued back.
"Dude, the USA is almost entirely rabies-free now," a female officer remarked. "Quit exaggerating the situation." It was technically true. The US had nearly eradicated all cases of rabies among wild animals. The likelihood of this raccoon having rabies, in such an urban area too, was unlikely. Additionally, there hadn't been a case of a human getting rabies in the USA in decades. Chris doubted Gavin would be the one to break the streak.
"Gavin's just jealous that the raccoon's home is better than his!"
"What's that supposed to mean, you prick?"
Chris hid his amusement, careful not to attract Gavin's dramatics to himself. Gavin's antics were funnier when he was fussing at somebody else.
Tina had successfully managed to grab the raccoon, and surprisingly, it didn't put up much of a fight. It was remarkably docile. Well, urban animals had been habituating themselves and becoming comfortable around mankind for a long time after all. This raccoon was likely just completely desensitized to the presence of humans, and didn't care much. Also, Tina was being gentle and calm, and Chris had heard that animals can pick up on certain cues in humans. The raccoon may just not register Tina as a threat, to which it would be correct.
Unlike Gavin, who was angry and loud, and likely threatening to anything that came across him.
"Hank, my office, now!" Chris heard Fowler shout, and everybody froze. If Fowler was calling for Hank, that meant the Lieutenant was here. Hank was inside the building.
"There's no way, right?" Gavin whispered, the raccoon completely forgotten in Tina's arms.
Chris, sadly, was similarly surprised too.
"Woah, it's only half past 9! New record! And on a Monday no less!" Tina said, shifting the raccoon a little to look at her watch. Chris had thought that the raccoon would be the most unsuspected part of his day, but he was wrong. Hank showing up before noon. And so soon? Chris could brush it off if Hank appeared at 11, but 9:30 was definitely unusual. Connor had to be a miracle worker.
In the background, Chris heard Hank curse. Well, at least some things stayed the same.
If Hank was here, then Connor should be arriving soon too—
"Rocket?"
Chris, and everybody else, turning around sharply to see Connor standing behind them, looking curiously at the rodent in Tina's arms. The rodent in question began to squirm, and Tina, deciding that fighting the raccoon wasn't worth it, let the raccoon fall out of her hold. The raccoon then wasted no time running over to the android, who crouched down to be closer to its level. The sounds of the raccoon's paws skittering across the floor were slightly endearing as they echoed through the hallway. Connor held out his arm, and the raccoon willingly crawled up the makeshift path and settled on his shoulder.
"Did you bring this thing in, you damn plastic?" Gavin interrogated, eyeing Connor suspiciously. Connor shook his head after hearing the question.
"No, I did not contribute to Rocket getting into the building," Connor answered clearly, turning his head slightly to feed the raccoon a small sum of seeds out of his palm. Where the hell did Connor get seeds from? Who just carried around seeds?
Gavin was not impressed by Connor's reply, and pressed further. "You named it?" he asked suspiciously, his voice pitching up at the end, crossing his arms. Chris didn't want to disbelieve Connor, but the situation was looking mighty suspicious. It was a big coincidence, if he was being honest.
"I do know this raccoon, but it came in by itself. It must have figured out where I most frequent," Connor explained, not looking up from the distracted raccoon on his shoulder. Tina walked over to the two, completely unfazed by Gavin's accusations. Chris had to admit the sight was pretty adorable. He also knew that Tina was a total sucker for animals, and this raccoon may already have her wrapped around its finger.
"Aw, you named it Rocket!" Tina cooed, carefully petting the raccoon's back to not startle the creature. "That's from that old Marvel series, Guardians of the Galaxy, right?"
Connor smiled. "Yes, I'm happy you recognized it."
"Of course you'd make a dumb reference like that," Gavin scoffed, and Tina shot him a malicious glare.
"Well, I think both the raccoon and its name are very nice," Chris complimented. To be fair, it was a clever reference. Chris had seen the movies when he was a child, and was happy that even someone as (chronologically) young as Connor was interested in them. It brought him back. Rocket was a very fitting name for the trash panda.
A few minutes later, everybody was fawning over the raccoon sitting on Connor, including the people who Chris had never met before.
"Connor, how did you meet this little guy?" asked the woman officer, completely entranced by the animal. Chris had a view of her name tag now, which read 'Charlie Kiptin'. He wondered if they knew each other, or if she only knew his name because he was a pretty famous figure now.
"Well, Lieutenant Anderson had requested I go out and pick up a container of bird seed from a nearby shop. On my way back, I spotted this raccoon and decided to give it some of the bird seed after ensuring that it was edible. I then named it Rocket after the fictional raccoon," Connor explained thoroughly. "I've seen it appear near me occasionally since then, but I did not expect it to pay this place a visit as well."
"You need to tell me your secrets!"
"This is absolutely ridiculous," Gavin said, but nobody paid him any mind.
"How did you manage to befriend it so quickly?" asked a man whose name tag read 'Logan White', completely astonished.
Connor just smiled nervously. If Rocket weren't on his shoulders, Chris thought he would have shrugged.
"Hey Connor, where are you— oh Connor, what the fuck?" came another voice, and Chris looked up to where Hank was standing, completely baffled. Was Hank unaware of Rocket? If so, this made the situation a whole lot funnier. Chris wondered what was happening in the old man's head.
"Oh, hello Hank," Connor said, completely normally, is if there wasn't a raccoon balanced on his shoulder. Chris wanted to laugh at the lack of concern in Connor's voice in comparison to Hank's ridiculous expression.
"Am I drunk, or is there a fucking raccoon on your shoulder?" Hank asked. "I left you alone for just a few minutes to talk to Fowler, and this is what I come back to." Connor smiled in that awkward way he did when he didn't know the best response, and it was absolutely perfect. Tina snickered, and the three mystery officers hid their faces. Gavin groaned in disbelief once more.
Maybe this Monday wouldn't be so bland after all.
Tuesday
It was a rainy day, a very rainy one actually, and Connor was walking around the park. Hank had insisted that he not go out, since the chance of rain was so high, but Connor expressed that he logically could not be harmed by the rain, and that he did not find it uncomfortable. The cold only began to cause discomfort to him if it was snowing.
In fact, he found the sensation and sound of rain to be rather pleasant, and would not be bothered if he were to be caught in the downpour. He had no immune system to weaken, the rain wasn't near cold enough to induce hypothermia, and the rain did not trigger any sensory issues that would cause him discomfort. He found that some humans did not appreciate how wet clothing clung to their skin, but Connor didn't personally mind it. The rain felt good on his face.
So here he was, walking in a park (which was completely empty now), in the pouring rain. He had discovered, that humans often express sadness and despair with being alone in the rain, but it truly wasn't the same for him. It may appear pitiful for outsiders, that he was strolling in the park by himself during a storm, but it was different in Connor's head. The rain also served as a deterrent for annoying citizens who got too close or spoke too loudly. It gave him a chance to be alone and have the area to himself.
That was, until he heard a faint sound come from his left. The sound was not a natural sound that any human made, nor was it one that originated from the noisy storm. There were also no other humans around, and no wind would have produced a pitch like that. It was something else entirely, and naturally, as an investigative android, Connor felt deeply inclined to check it out. Even if it really was nothing, Connor could rest easy knowing what he found.
The sound of mud filled his audio processors as he stepped off of the paved path and onto the soaked ground. The mud wasn't quite slippery, but it still squelched beneath his weight. His synthetic hair was plastered to his forehead from the water, and Connor knew that most of the gel would be rinsed away by the time he was dry again.
Mew.
There it was again. Once more, Connor detected the sound, and zeroed in on it. The grass in the area inside the park's path was littered with strategically planted trees. His tracking led him to one of the trees with a cavernous space in between its roots and trunk, a reasonable burrow size for a small animal. Connor, not caring about the cleanliness of his uniform anymore (because it was beyond needing a wash at this point), bowed down to see what creature was producing the sounds.
It was a small kitten, barely a few weeks old, completely alone and soaked with rainwater and mud.
Connor froze.
What was it doing here? Where was its mother? Where was the rest of the litter that it was born with? Was it orphaned? All of these questions ran through his head as Connor did a quick search about young kittens. Worryingly enough, he found that they were highly susceptible to hypothermia and starvation due to their inability to care for themselves. While the rain wasn't a concern for himself, Connor knew that it would likely be a death sentence for the kitten if he didn't do anything. Connor knew he only had one choice.
He, of course, grabbed the kitten and began returning to Hank's house immediately. Hank would understand… hopefully.
The trip did not take long. Between Connor's determination, Connor's inability to experience fatigue, and the short distance, they were back in no time. After all, Hank wouldn't have let Connor go at all if it was too far away to walk. The rain hadn't let up at all, which Connor hadn't worried about before, but now he was responsible for the health of a small creature that was most certainly affected by such weather. He had attempted to shield the kitten from as much of the rain as possible, and while he was helping some, he didn't feel like it was enough.
Looking at the trembling cat, Connor couldn't tell if the color of its fur was really brown, or if the mud had stained the coat completely. Thankfully, Connor didn't detect any blood, meaning the cat was unlikely to be sporting any wounds.
Connor took out his copy of the house key and opened the door, hoping that Hank would be back in his room by this time. It was getting late, and even if Hank wasn't asleep yet, he'd likely be getting ready to. Hank typically went to bed earlier when Connor wasn't home, because he ran out of things to stay awake for.
"You're back soon, is everything alright?"
Well, shit. Curse Connor's luck. He'd been hoping to reveal the cat later. Maybe he could still salvage this.
"Yes, Hank. I just thought it'd be better to return home before any lightning began," Connor said on the spot, not elaborating any further. Connor wasn't sure what he'd say, anyways. It wasn't as if he'd been expecting Hank to be sitting at the table. Connor had already put his hands behind his back, the cat thankfully staying silent. Connor had considered hiding the cat in his shirt, but the option had quickly been disregarded. His Cyberlife uniform was fitted to his exact body shape, there wouldn't be enough room to hide an entire kitten without it sticking out and being painfully obvious.
Unfortunately, Hank wasn't a renowned detective for nothing.
"What are you hiding behind your back, Connor?" Hank asked slowly, eyes narrowing slightly.
"I am not hiding anything, Lieutenant."
"Don't 'Lieutenant' me, boy. Did you hurt yourself? Are you hiding an injury on your hand?"
"No, I am uninjured."
"Are you holding something that you shouldn't be?"
"No—"
Before Connor could make an excuse for why he was holding his hands behind his back, the kitten chose that the moment was the right time to make a noise.
Meow.
Hank froze, and his eyes widened. Connor watched as disbelief crossed his face.
"Show me your hands, Connor."
"But-"
"Show me them, now." Hank's voice did not raise, but it remained firm and intimidating, and Connor was backed into a corner. There was no escape for him anymore.
Reluctantly, Connor revealed the kitten curled up in his hands, and Hank pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation.
"Connor, where did you get that."
Connor felt the sudden urge to defend himself, and said, "I found it alone in the park. I couldn't just leave it there!"
"The vet's already closed, what are we to do with it?"
Connor stood there silently when faced with the question. To be fair, he hadn't really thought that far ahead, his priority being to get the orphaned cat out of the cold rain first. The only thing on his mind the entire way back was which angle he should position his body to protect the freezing cat from as much rain as possible.
"I could take care of it until tomorrow morning," Connor weakly supplied.
Hank sighed, "Well, I guess it's our only option. I'm not heartless enough to let it die, but you're responsible for all of it! Those things are so needy!"
Connor smiled gratefully as the man got up to head to his room, "Of course, Hank."
That was the day that Connor acquired Hazel.
Wednesday
"Why do we have to do this, again?" Gavin whined for the fourth time since they arrived.
Fowler, sick and tired of the precinct's inability to ever work harmoniously (cough cough Gavin), arranged for everybody to have a big picnic at one of the parks in the middle of Detroit. Gavin was, by far, one of the most upset people present. He had been complaining non-stop since the event started, which happened to be 30 minutes ago.
Tina loved Gavin, but she was really losing her patience.
"Gavin, I swear to all that is holy, if you don't stop complaining, I'm writing Fowler a complaint myself."
"You wouldn't!"
"I would!"
"Oh yeah? Then prove it!"
"I will if you really want me to!"
"You two act like Damian does when he doesn't want his vegetables, you know that?" Chris said as he joined them, throwing down a quilt beside them. Tina recognized it as the quilt he had gotten at a gift exchange some time ago. It was red and white, and Tina wanted to laugh at how stereotypical it was. It looked just like the quilts she'd see in picture books as a child.
"I don't want to be here," Gavin said again, and Tina seriously considered smacking him over the head for it.
"I'd quit your complaining, if I were you, Gavin. Tina looks like she's about to blow a fuse."
Gavin, finally seeing reason, fell back and put his arms behind his head. He was laying down now, too lazy to bother sitting up. Tina was too busy fighting off the flies trying to steal their food to do the same, though.
Usually, when Fowler has to arrange emergency team bonding events, it's some kind of indoor activity. One time they went bowling. However, Fowler said that, "Maybe their problem was that they weren't touching enough grass," and decided to summon them all to a park instead. Of course, it was only the more troublesome half that were required to attend, as they couldn't empty out the entire precinct. Crime didn't wait for the law enforcement of Detroit to finish their picnic, so they couldn't all just take a vacation.
Most people brought their own food, but there was a table set up with some finger foods, snacks, and drinks for anybody that fancied them. Thankfully, the day wasn't very hot. Tina didn't want to imagine how miserable the picnic would turn out if everybody was experiencing a heat stroke. Tina didn't want to see how she would react. Tina wasn't good company when she was overheating, and everybody that had been with her on a summer day in the great outdoors could confirm that statement.
"Oh, hey, Connor, over here!" Chris called, and Tina looked over to see Connor and Hank chatting by a nearby tree.
Gavin hissed, "What are you doing? Don't invite them over here!" Chris ignored him, and continued waving them over. Tina swore she saw Connor's eyes brighten. To be fair, the guy didn't really have many friends at the DPD besides Hank from what she'd observed over the weeks of him working there.
Naturally, as Connor began to walk over, Hank followed. Tina wouldn't expect anything less from the Lieutenant. Gavin had covered his face in despair, and Chris just smiled evilly. Tina felt proud of Chris for doing this. Not only were they getting Connor out of his shell, but they got to bother Gavin at the same time!
"Hello," Connor said simply as he knelt down on the quilt. Hank sat down as well, though his posture was much more relaxed. Someone really needed to teach Connor how to be less rigid all the time. She didn't know if the same thing applied to androids, but standing with such a straight back all the time caused issues in the long run. Cyberlife probably considered that, though, so she hopefully had nothing to worry about.
"Hey, Connor! What's up?" Chris said happily, handing Connor an Oreo from his lunchbox. Connor awkwardly took the Oreo, and hesitantly took a bite out of it. Chris beamed, "There we go! It's good, right?" Connor nodded. After Hank had pestered him about it for a few days, Connor had enabled his taste sensors. Originally, he only had the ability to analyze samples that came into contact with his tongue turned on. This meant that instead of tasting the sample, he only got a report regarding its contents. Hank, not accepting this, had forced Connor to allow himself taste. At least, that was what Hank told Tina one time when she'd gotten curious about how androids sensed things.
Tina didn't miss the tiny smile on Connor's face when Chris turned away, half-eaten Oreo still in hand.
"Hello, Detective Reed," Connor said to Gavin, who had been trying to ignore the android's presence to the best of his ability. Tina saw the detective immediately become enraged at the android's greeting, but she also saw how he attempted to restrain himself. At least he was aware that Fowler would have his ass if he instigated a fight at the bonding event. Gavin knew that logically, Gavin wouldn't even be able to claim Connor started it, because Gavin's reputation with the android was so horrible.
"What do you want, you android?" Gavin muttered, left arm draped over his eyes dramatically. The sun wasn't even that bright. It was overcast. At least Tina could be grateful for the lack of cussing Gavin was saying so far.
"Would you like some peanuts?"
Tina turned around to look at Connor again, who was pulling something out of a small grocery bag. It was a comically large bag of unsalted peanuts. Oh, Connor did his research. This was going to be entertaining.
"… I'm allergic to peanuts."
"No you're not. I ensured that nobody in the precinct had a nut allergy before coming here with them."
"Fine, but only because you're so insistent!"
Connor had only asked once.
Tina almost broke into laughter upon making eye contact with Chris, who was certainly thinking the same thing.
Tina knew that Gavin was definitely wanting those peanuts. He loved peanuts. She had visited his apartment one time to find three entire jars of crunchy peanut butter sitting on his counter. Connor was so obvious with this, but Gavin hadn't seemed to pick it up yet. Tina faintly wondered how Connor had heard about Gavin's preference for peanuts. Maybe he'd simply suspected it after seeing Gavin show up to work with a bag of peanuts in his lunch bag for the fourth time that week. He wasn't a detective android for nothing.
Gavin huffed and stuck out his hand, turning his head away in embarrassment, as Connor poured a handful of peanuts into Gavin's open palm. There were still a ton of peanuts leftover though. Connor's face remained passive, and didn't visually change as Gavin accepted the offering, but Tina could feel the change in Connor's demeanor. The android appeared to be very pleased with himself. Honestly, he should be.
Hank watched all of this unfold silently, but he was smiling as he watched Connor give Gavin the peanuts. Tina had a feeling that in Hank's perspective, he was watching his introverted kid try to make friends at the playground by sharing his lunch. It kind of looked like it, if Tina really squinted. To be fair, that was sort of what was happening.
Hank pulled out a sandwich (that Connor most certainly made) and began to eat it. Happily, Tina was pleased to note that she didn't notice anything amiss in the box's contents. To be fair, it would have been very hard for the Lieutenant to sneak anything out without Connor noticing, and Fowler would throw a fit if he heard that Hank was drinking at the lunch picnic. The sandwich also looked like it had come straight from a health show, but somehow managed to look extremely appetizing at the same time. Tina would never complain about food again if she also had access to Connor's food.
"Hey, did you hear about that new video game that's coming out soon?" Chris said suddenly, probably remembering the ads they'd all been seeing recently.
"Oh, yeah! Apparently it's slightly inspired by not only androids but also Entropy III," Tina recalled from a late night Discord discussion. How else was she supposed to get all the insider info?
"No way, really? Entropy was great," Gavin spoke up, pretending like he wasn't snacking on the peanuts. It didn't escape Tina's attention that every time she looked over, there were less in his hand. She chose not the mention it though. If Gavin wanted to continue being a tsundere, he was more than welcome.
"Aw, what was it called?"
"Hinder- something, I think?"
"Wait, I think I remember! Operation: Hinterland!"
"Oh, yeah, that's right!"
"I wonder how the android's play into it," Gavin wondered aloud.
"Hey, Connor! Wait—where'd Connor go?"
Huh?
Tina looked around, but Chris was right. Hank must not have noticed him leave either, because he stopped eating his sandwich and peered over his shoulder where Connor had been previously. He stopped chewing when he didn't see the android beside him.
"Oh come on, where'd that kid sneak off to now?" Hank muttered after swallowing.
Gavin pointed at something, "Wait, isn't that him over there?"
Tina turned to look, and honestly, she hadn't known what she'd been expecting. It wasn't what she saw, though.
Sitting in the middle of an entire murder of crows sat Connor, hands inside of his open bag of peanuts.
When did they even appear?
"Holy fucking shit…" Gavin said, trailing off as the four cops took in the sight. Connor was kneeling on the grass by himself, sprinkling peanuts around as crows hopped around him, eating the unsalted snacks. There had to be dozens of crows, completely surrounding the android, who looked entirely unbothered by the crowd. It was like he was sitting in the middle of a black circle.
"Can I ever just take my eyes off of him? Connor! What are you doing!" Hank yelled. At that moment, a crow flew up and perched itself on Connors head, settling in his hair. It was such a precious sight, Tina didn't think that even Gavin had the ability to feel anger towards it.
"I am feeding the birds," Connor said, tilting his head innocently, as if his situation was the most normal thing in the world.
"This kid is going to be the death of me," Hank said as he tilted his head back. Tina couldn't help but agree.
Thursday
When Hank had gone to sleep the night before, Connor had already settled down on the couch. The android hadn't gotten the opportunity to go into stasis the night before, so he really was due for a restful night. Hank didn't bother him about it, and just let Connor set up for the night by himself. He'd never seen a sleep deprived android, and didn't want to find out what it looked like. Connor was a bit too powerful to be getting irritable.
Hank, of course, was only human, and therefore required his sleep as well. He got ready for bed quickly and wasted no time retiring for the night. Since Connor had been so insistent on getting Hank to work at a reasonable time in the mornings, Hank's best bet was getting as much sleep as possible the night before. It was his greatest chance at being reasonably rested for the next day. Hank didn't want to be tired in the mornings, those always sucked.
When he woke up, he was disoriented at best. Hank groggily put a hand to his face as he fumbled for his phone to check the time. He was usually roused by the sounds of Connor in the kitchen and the smell of Connor's latest breakfast dish, but the house was silent. He also didn't smell anything good, so he must have somehow woken up before Connor, which was truly a rare event indeed.
6:42 A.M.
Ah, fuck. It was too early to go anywhere, but still a bit too late to go back to sleep. Hank always had trouble going back to sleep anyways. If he tried to fall back asleep, it'd just be about time to get back up by the time he succeeded. He wondered what woke him up. Hank turned over to lay on his other side, and came face to face with Hazel. Hazel, Connor's new cat who was just a few weeks old. Miraculously, Connor managed to get the cat dry, warm, and fed the night he brought it in, and the kitten had showed no signs of illness since.
When he'd taken it to the vet to get it checked, the vet had complimented the quality of care he'd given. Hank was secretly proud.
How did it even get here?
Well, Hank guessed he found the culprit.
"You damn cat, waking me up. Why aren't you bothering Connor?"
Well, Hank had already been woken up, so he might as well walk around the house and find something to do. Maybe he'd finally read one of those old books he's got lying around. He didn't want to wake Connor up prematurely with the TV, so that was his only option, really. Perhaps he should read that book on the history of mirrors at last. He wasn't sure how long he'd last before going mad, though. After all, it was 300 pages of just mirrors alone. He didn't even remember when and where he got it. Who would even research and put enough time into writing a book like that? The author must truly hate themself.
Hank stepped out of his room, quickly going into the bathroom. After taking a piss, he briefly glanced at himself in the sticky note covered mirror. Well, he didn't look any worse than usual, that was saying something. After he confirmed that he hadn't sprouted purple alien antennae on his forehead in the mirror, and his beard hadn't gotten a foot longer, Hank continued traversing the house to reach the bookshelf.
The living room was completely dark. Well, it would have been if the city lights didn't continue to filter in through the windows. The curtains weren't completely opaque. Hank could also see the faint light of Connor's LED shining blue as he passed by. The LED was cycling sluggishly, naturally, as the android was asleep. Without thinking, Hank ventured a little to the side to get a better look at the resting android.
Seeing as nothing changed, Hank was about to continue on his journey before he saw the blankets shift slightly. Hazel was back in his room, still stranded on his bed to his knowledge. He hadn't seen the cat leave the room, nor pass by him to join Connor on the couch. Hazel was but a small kitten, and got exhausted easily. The likelihood of her escaping his room without napping on the way out was low. The blanket shifted again, and Hank froze completely.
Sumo was sleeping on the other side of the room.
Androids also didn't just move in their sleep. They were either asleep, or they weren't, and Connor looked pretty asleep. The blanket moving multiple times sort of ruled out gravity.
Hank knew he'd feel guilty if he accidentally woke Connor up before he finished stasis, but Hank had to make sure there was nothing wrong with the blanket. He knew he was being paranoid, but he worried, okay? Admittedly, Hank had grown protective of the android. His first impression of Connor had been that he was an asshole, a cheap human copy. Hank had quickly been proven wrong, after only spending a few days near the android, and had become protective of the android before long.
The blanket chose that moment to move again.
Okay, Hank could do this. All he'd do was move the blanket back slightly to make sure there was nothing in it. That probably wouldn't wake up Connor. Could you really blame him? So far this week, Connor had somehow became best friends with a raccoon without his knowledge, adopted a random ass cat after going on a walk, and became the king of crows with a bag of peanuts, so nobody could blame Hank for being concerned some other creature was napping with his kid.
Slowly, Hank lightly pinched the edge of the blanket draped over the android, and pulled it back.
Laying on Connor, curled on top of itself, was a whole ass snake.
"Holy shit — what the fuck!" Hank shouted, jumping back as the snake looked up at him with beady eyes. Hank nearly tripped on his coffee table as he scrambled back. Why the hell was there a snake on his couch?
Triggered by his loud yelling, Connor's LED turned yellow as he exited stasis, blinking his eyes as he readjusted to sight.
"Hank, what's going on?"
"Connor! Why do you have a snake?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You mean to tell me, that you don't know about the snake laying on top of you right now!?"
Connor blinked, confused. Hank was actually about to lose his shit. Connor looked down at his torso, where a bright blue snake was resting. The little bastard hadn't even tried to slither away.
"Oh, hey little guy. Where'd you come from?"
"Please don't tell me that you actually don't know this snake."
"Nope, he's cute though."
"Get it out of here!"
"Can we keep it in the yard?"
"I don't care what you do, as long as it's out of my house!" Hank said, speedily agreeing to whatever terms Connor came up with in an attempt to get the snake out.
"Alright, come on Diamond."
"I know you did not just name the damn thing."
"What else am I supposed to do?" Connor asked purely, and Hank covered his eyes with his hand, exhaling in what could only be described as pure disappointment.
Friday - Saturday
It was the end of the week, and Connor was completely aware that Hank was anxious to get out of work before Fowler managed to conjure up extra jobs for the Lieutenant. Fowler had a reputation of doing so, if they stayed any later than necessary, so Connor had began to clean up ahead of time to avoid Hank's pressure. This way, Hank couldn't blame Connor for an increased workload no matter what!
"Connor, let's go!" Hank shouted from the bullpen, while Connor organized the coffee mugs in the break room. He hated to leave the job unfinished, but Hank was calling. He bid the cups a farewell and left the break room. Maybe another cop would finish it for him. He hoped they picked up on the order he was sorting them by. Surprisingly, Hank was completely ready to go the moment the clock signified the beginning of a new hour, and Connor walked over. Hank was really serious about getting out in time, today.
"Ready to go?" Hank asked, taking his coat off of the back of his chair and putting it on. Connor nodded. He had already watered his plants earlier that day. "Alright, then let's go."
Hank and Connor left the building just in time, and once Hank exited the workplace, his walking became more relaxed. The car wasn't far (Hank never parked far from the entrance), and before long, both men were sitting in their respective car seats, ready for the road. Connor allowed himself to zone out, letting his hands fiddle with his coin automatically as he fell back into his head.
Connor was getting better at thinking about nothing. The concept was strange and alien to him when he had initially started. It was much harder at first, but Hank had insisted that he try to do it. It wasn't good to always be thinking, he had said. It took a while, but Connor thought he was slowly getting the hang of it. He could sit in silence every now and then, and his CPU wouldn't be speculating anything! He wasn't sure if that was exactly what Hank meant, but it was different than before, so something had to be happening.
The rest of the day advanced like any other Friday. They went home, sat on the couch to watch TV with Sumo pressed up against Connor's legs, and went to bed like usual. Nothing was abnormal, and it seemed to be the beginning of any other generic weekend.
When Connor woke up the next Saturday morning, he saw that Hank's bedroom door was open, and he could hear movement in the bathroom. From what he could tell, the faucet was running, as he could hear the water hitting the sink. Connor checked the time. It was 10:22 in the morning. It was unusual for Hank to be up and about this early without reason. The man loved sleeping in, and Connor was almost guaranteed to rise out of stasis before the man left his room.
Connor stood up, having to push away Sumo who had taken it upon himself to lay on top of the android in his sleep, and began to walk towards the bathroom. Unlike humans, he didn't need to reorient himself with his motor functions every time he woke up. Connor was just as stealthy as when he fell asleep. Connor chose to simply stand in the doorway of the bathroom, and address the Lieutenant when he noticed.
It didn't take long, and Hank startled when he turned around to see Connor ominously standing in the bathroom doorway. "Jesus Christ, Connor! How long were you there?"
"Just a few seconds."
"Uh, good morning?"
"Good morning to you too, Hank. May I ask what you're getting ready for?"
"We got places to be today, and you're coming too, so get ready."
Connor nodded. He noticed that Hank hadn't given him a straight answer, but he accepted it anyways. Thankfully, as an android, Connor didn't need to do much to be ready. His hair was easily styled (Hank made it a requirement for Connor to release his hair from the bonds of gel at night), he only had one pair of clothes (that never wrinkled), and there was no need for him to partake in any hygienic routine unless he had been doing something extreme the day before that resulted in getting dirty. Things like covered in mud during a chase in the rain or stained with thirium after being hit with a bullet. He didn't sweat or produce oil like a human, so he didn't need to bathe often.
Because of this, Connor finished readying himself before Hank, despite the older man's head start, and began to cook breakfast. He had a feeling that Hank would appreciate a quicker breakfast, if his tempo this morning was of any indicator, and chose to make oatmeal with cinnamon and diced, peeled apples. When it was done cooking, he sprinkled some crushed pecans on top.
~~~
"Hank? Where are we going?" Connor asked, readjusting his posture. The difference would be nearly imperceptible to a human, but it made Connor feel better. They were in the car, and they had just left the driveway. Connor was still oblivious to where Hank was taking him. He figured that if it were just another normal errand, Hank would tell him. However, Hank was being secretive, but Connor didn't know where else they'd be going.
"Just thought I'd take you somewhere. It'll just be a bit over half an hour until we arrive," Hank answered cryptically. Typically, Hank was straightforward with his intentions, and completely transparent about everything he did with Connor. It was a little unusual for Hank to hide his destination, but Connor trusted Hank more than anybody else, so he'd tolerate the suspense. The anticipation was pulling at his natural curiosity, though. He'd just have to stop thinking about it.
Around 45 minutes after they left the house, which was 45 minutes of getting his audio processors blown out by very loud heavy metal, they pulled into a packed parking lot. Connor looked up at the building, which was painted blue and had images of various aquatic animals pasted outside. He read the sign, automatically scanning it. Sea Life Aquarium. Oh. They were at an aquarium.
"Why are we at the aquarium?" Connor asked as he followed Hank out of the car. Hank shot him a confused look.
"We're here for you," Hank said, as if it were the most simple thing in the world. It didn't make Connor any less confused, though.
"But why?"
"You're the one always talking about fish," Hank said, shrugging. "I doubt those folks in Cyberlife ever took you to the aquarium, and it's the weekend. I supposed it would be a good idea to let you see a bunch of fishes in person. You gotta get used to experiencing fun stuff."
Connor wasn't sure how to respond to it. He still wasn't used to people doing things for him. He also didn't have a lot of experience doing leisurely things that didn't consist of watching TV on Hank's couch. Cyberlife hadn't programmed him with a manual for that. He was also particularly caught up on Hank's remark about Connor frequently talking about fish. Connor found himself feeling happy that Hank had paid attention.
As they neared the entrance, Hank opened his phone and got the digital tickets out. Curiosity got the best of him, and Connor checked the prices of the tickets quickly. The tickets were only about $20 each, which put the android at ease. Compared to how expensive most day trips could get, $20 wasn't too terrible.
Getting allowed into the aquarium went by smoothly, and before long, they were inside.
Over the course of the visit, Connor had been repeatedly stunned by the sheer quantity of things there were to see. He had seen seahorses of many varieties, stingrays, sharks, turtles, and so much more.
"Did you know that stingrays are closely related to sharks?"
"Seahorses can range from as small as an under an inch to over an entire foot long!"
"The organs near a nurse shark's mouth that resemble whiskers are called barbels. That's how they hunt."
"Instead of the male impregnating the female, female seahorses actually give the male their eggs and they develop inside of the male."
As Connor started listing off many facts about the different animals he saw, Hank listened, nodding despite the fact they both knew Hank wasn't catching most of it. It was alright though. For some reason, Connor didn't feel upset that Hank wasn't absorbed the information, but giddy that he could share it.
In one of the tanks within the freshwater section, Connor spotted a Dwarf Gourami, and he had a flashback to his first mission. He remembered when he had seen the fish struggling on the floor back at that apartment, and bent down to return it to its tank, before he had to confront Daniel.
"Hey, isn't that the fish you said came from South Asia?" Hank asked, actually remembering one of Connor's facts he'd shared in the past. Connor nodded, but even he knew it lacked his usual energy. Hank had noticed Connor's distant expression, and before the Lieutenant could ask him about it, Connor went ahead and recounted the event to his partner.
"Oh, look at you! Fresh off the assembly line and already taking an interest in fish. Perhaps it was meant to be," Hank had said teasingly, and Connor smiled, looking back at the fish in the tank. Maybe Hank was right. After all, Connor didn't have a reason to help the fish, it didn't pertain to his mission in the slightest, but he'd done it anyways.
Besides stopping for lunch inside a food court beside the aquarium around 2, the majority of the day was spent inside the aquarium.
Connor especially enjoyed the underwater tunnel, where he was surrounded by marine life on all sides. A shark swam by (a blacktip reef shark), very close to the glass, and she looked at him in a way that made something like excitement bubble up inside him. The shark looked healthy, like everything else in the aquarium that he'd seen so far. This aquarium had done well with caring for its creatures.
"Hank, isn't she so beautiful?" Connor said, gently pointed at the shark. It was almost as if she'd understood him, because she proceeded to swim around in a circle, flaunting her rough skin and placoid scales.
"She?" Hank responded curiously.
"Yes, she."
"You can tell that?"
"Yes, she doesn't have claspers, which are only found on male sharks."
"Very interesting," Hank said, looking at the shark who was still swimming in front of Connor. Connor, despite knowing the general aquarium rules, felt the urge to touch the glass. Perhaps Hank was rubbing off on him. He made sure to do so very gently, though. He was aware that strong vibrations could disturb the aquatic animals, and did not want to risk causing discomfort to the animals. The rule was there for that reason, but nothing should happen if he stayed conscious of the strength behind his hand.
In response, the shark got even closer, skin grazing against her side of the glass in some places.
"Hm, looks like she can tell that you're not human either. I've never seen a shark behave like that in an aquarium before," Hank remarked, before frowning. "Were there always this many fish on this side of the tunnel?"
Connor looked around, and realized that near his position, there was a heavy imbalance in the number of animals. The number of creatures seemed to be more concentrated where he stood. Connor stuck out his finger again, and one fish instantly swam to it. Curious, Connor moved his finger to the side, and the fish followed without hesitation.
"Connor, why do you have to be so liked by animals, for God's sake. Fish are supposed to be skittish," Hank laughed as more fish joined the first one. It looked like Connor had a fish army following his hand. As they continued down the tunnel, the growing crowd of animals followed him. Some fish had veered off, but in their place, another fish replaced them. Connor could hear other humans in the tunnel whispering in speculation at the sight. Hank just laughed at the situation. Connor had his own animal fan club, even in the aquatic world!
~~~
They began to leave at around 3:30. At some point, after Connor had gotten comfortable, the trip had shifted from Hank having to push a nervous Connor to go look at things, to Connor running around while Hank tried to keep up.
Before they left, they passed through the gift shop on their way out. Hank was busy looking at their coffee mug selection, and wasn't paying much attention to Connor. Connor's eyes wandered, and he ended up fixating on a giant stuffed turtle. He had tried to ignore it, but it looked so soft… and it was so big he felt like he could hug it just like Sumo. It was really big, only a few fitting on its section of the shelf. He wondered what it would be like to sleep with it.
"You want that turtle?" Hank suddenly asked, and Connor whirled around to see Hank looking at him. When had he stopped searching the mugs?
"Huh? Oh, no, I was just looking," Connor stammered. Hank had caught him staring, and was now looking at him with a skeptical expression.
"Don't lie to me, kid. If you want the turtle, you can get it. I won't stop you." Hank crossed his arms, shifting his weight.
Hank looked straight through him, and Connor swallowed nervously. Connor had to fight to keep his eyes from darting off to the side to avoid eye contact.
"I suppose that the turtle would be… nice," he said, pulling his coin out, and Hank smiled knowingly.
"There we go," he said, "Well, would you look at that. Get the one you want and meet me at the register, okay?" Connor had figured out after a while, that the "okay?" at the end wasn't necessarily a required a question, but also not entirely rhetorical. It was something in between.
There was a small line, so Connor agreed with Hank's decision to go ahead and jump in before a wave of people passed through, lengthening it. He turned back to the turtles, still feeling awkward about accepting Hank's proposal. He picked one up to ensure it wasn't damaged. He rotated the animal, searching for stains, tears, or any other flaws that the toy would have accumulated from being improperly manufactured or mishandled during its time in the store. Thankfully, the original one he picked up passed the test, he took it with him to the counter.
He was glad he didn't need to waste too much time selecting the turtle, because Hank was almost through. Hank had moved up in line, and only had one person in front of him. Hank greeted him when he joined him.
"Is that the one you want?"
Connor nodded.
"Good. I'm just getting this mug," Hank said, lifting up a white mug with a shark drawing on it, a silly pun written beneath it. The design didn't fit Hank's usual mug style (most of his mugs had crude language on it to describe his grouchy attitude at work), but it was a rather wholesome alternative. Connor had seen people online collect various mugs at different locations that meant something to them too, and wondered if it was a human custom.
When the person in front of them was finished, Hank stepped forward. The cashier automatically greeted them, "Good afternoon." Hank, after putting his mug on the table, extended his hand to offer to take the turtle from Connor. Connor obliged without much thought, handing the massive stuffed animal to the cop. For an odd reason, stepping forward to put the turtle down himself registered as "awkward" in his head.
The cashier looked like she was about to ask about Connor's choice of souvenir, but ultimately decided against it. Connor was thankful, as that would have likely resulted in him feeling embarrassed. Maybe she saw his face and managed to deduct that he was feeling anxious. She just rang up the two items, and took Hank's payment. She then asked if he would like a receipt. Connor already knew what the answer would be. It was the same every time.
"No, thank you."
"Alright then! Have a good rest of your day!"
"You too," Hank replied out of habit, and Connor nodded to the cashier in thanks. She nodded back. The mug was put into a box for safety and bagged easily. However, the turtle was a bit too large to be accommodated by any bag the store could offer, so Connor had to carry it out. If it were to be stuffed into a bag, it would look extremely awkward and out of place, pressing on the bag from the inside in random places and morphing the shape. He didn't mind. The turtle's texture was very soft to Connor's hands, and it offered enough resistance to where he could hug it against his chest comfortably.
When they reentered the car to return home, Hank reached over to put the bagged mug on the floor of Connor's side. Connor made sure to keep his legs and feet off of it so that he wouldn't accidentally damage it. He did decide that it would potentially be a good idea to put his feet beside the bag to prevent it from moving during any sharp turns the car may make. The turtle was still hugged against his chest. Hank started the car, and a minute later, they were back on the road, heading back home by 3:45.
"Hey, Hank?" Connor spoke up, turning his head to the driver.
"Yes, son?" Hank turned his head to Connor, years of experience allowing Hank to keep driving without crashing.
Connor tried to think of what to say for a moment, before deciding that he only needed to say one thing.
"Thank you," he smiled, and Hank returned it, turning back to the road with the ghost of a proud smile on his face.
"No problem."
With that, Connor rested his head on the turtle that was nearly up to his face. A few minutes later, he'd already drifted off, feeling the lightest he'd ever been.