Hello everyone! This story will be semi-cannon so if I don't mention a key cannon plot point, just assume it hasn't happened yet. My goal is to prolong the tension as long as possible… because I. LOVE. SEXUAL. TENSION. So this will be the golden example of a slow burn. Please enjoy! [EDITED THE WHOLE THING SO IT IS NOT A READER INSERT]
-JESSICA- - - - -
Rain fell down on her, gracing the absorbent fibers of her coat with a cold wetness. The jacket she wore was heavier now, due to the rain. The cold sogginess reminded her of the vicious cycle she was stuck in where she would curse herself out to buy an actual raincoat, forget to buy one, and then get into another rainy situation where she would curse herself out again.
She stared at the house ahead as the other detective walked up its rotted wooden steps.
"Alright doll-face, after you." The unnerving detective named Gavin, although she preferred to call him asshole, gestured for her to walk into the decaying house.
She passed him, must like the sigh that passed her lips. "You gotta quit calling me that, asshole." She continued inside, thankful to be out of the rain.
"Hey, you keep using my nickname, then I'll keep using yours." Gavin walked up beside her as he scanned the area.
She ignored his comment and examined her surroundings as well. It was a simple abandoned house, and by the looks of the bags of chips on the ground it was recently abandoned.
"Alright. You head upstairs and I'll check the ground floor."
"Got it doll-face." He chimed out as he climbed the stairs slowly.
"Asshole." She shook you head and muttered.
The detective searched the living room, dining room, and mud room. She rummaged through the kitchen drawers and stopped as soon as she found an odd height difference in the bottom of one of the drawers. Adrenaline pumped as she pulled out your pocket knife and jammed it underneath the fake bottom of the drawer. The thrill of finding something useful engulfed her as she saw a small notebook. Real paper, she hadn't seen that in a while. It didn't surprise her that drug dealers were using it though, it was untraceable through any digital means. But it was still physical, and it was still there to use as a lead.
She skimmed through the pages, finding exactly what she needed. Locations and dates of Red Ice shipments. Footsteps came down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"I found nothin'."
The female detective turned to face the asshole, lips curving into a cheeky grin as she slapped the notebook against her hand.
"I found our lead."
The fiery detective's heart raced and eyes glistened as a triumphant smirk cut into her cheeks. Still damp in her non-waterproof coat, she barged into the police station, bagged notebook in hand, and headed straight to the one person you wanted to gloat to.
"Hank! Look who hit the jackp-"
She stopped mid-sentence realising the man she were looking for was not there. Instead there was an unrecognizable face peering back at her from the other desk. As she got closer to him, her brows started to furrow as the blue arm band came into sight. Why was there an android sitting in the desk across from Hank?
The android tilted his head ever so slightly, as if to replicate the look of enquiry. The soft lock of his dark brown hair shifted slightly as he swivelled in his chair with precision to face her.
"Hello, are you looking for Lieutenant Anderson?" His voice was soft yet insistent, as if it were a mix of 'good cop, bad cop'.
The woman released the tension in her brows and quickly broke off the stare she held on him as she looked to the lieutenant's desk for a millisecond. Her face softened as she returned her gaze back at the android, he appeared mildly eager to hear her reply.
"Oh. Uh yeah. Do you know where he is?" She stuttered out as she came down from her excitement in an embarrassed fashion.
Without breaking eye contact he nodded. "I was given information that the time of his arrival is dependent on what bar he was at the night before." His statement, although probably not funny to him, made the detective break out into a smirk as she shook your head. That was a perfect sentence to sum up Hank.
It would seem as though her smile was contagious because the android seated before her smiled as well, that or it was trying to mimic her emotion. Strangely, its smile felt real which confused the detective a lot.
"Was my statement amusing?" His brows pulled into a faint furrow, searching her face for an answer.
The woman broke her stare on him again. Taken aback by her lack of social skills in regards to impolitely staring.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about how accurate it was." She chuckled at the thought of Hank's consistent tardiness.
The android tilted his head again as if trying to understand something. "So you find accuracy amusing. Interesting."
The detective opened her mouth to correct him, but realised the effort to help him understand would go wasted as he was probably incapable of wrapping his mind around the confusing concept of humor. Instead she closed her mouth and looked down at the clear bag in her hand.
She sighed, slightly disappointed that you had to wait for the sliver of approval she knew you'd get from Hank. The detective knew he'd be proud of her, even if it didn't completely show through his 'grumpy old drunk man' act.
"What did you need him for?" The android's assertive yet gentle voice took the woman out of her thoughts, and she snapped to look back up at him. "When he comes back, I could notify him that you were here. That way you won't have to wait." The corners of his lips rose slightly along with the tips of his ears and corners of his eyes. Yup, that was a textbook human smile, or at least what it should look like. But she were a sucker for a smile of any kind, that's why you did she best to smile all the time – to spread it around. And it would seem that even androids have contagious smiles, for the detective smiled back warmed by his offer.
"Well…" She looked at her watch, then around the office. It was noon, Hank should be here soon. "You're waiting here for him too right?" She pulled out the chair from her own desk and rolled it over to the android.
"Yes." He watched as the woman sat down in front of him.
"Then we can wait for him together." She smiled at him, searching his eyes for any hint that he was picking up on what she were getting at. "You know… keep each other company." As much company as a person could get from an android.
"Alright then." He confirmed and straightened his already perfect seated posture.
She sat there for a brief second until she realised she hadn't introduced herself. With a jump, she reached out her hand. "I'm detective Jessica Mayfield."
-CONNOR- - - - -
He had already scanned through her profile the moment she walked into the room, she was the only new stimulus to enter the environment around him. The way she burst through the doors with determination was also attention grabbing, not to mention the peculiar way she looked at him mid-sentence. But he continued with the greeting, and shook her hand as though he didn't know her.
"Hello, my name is Connor. I am an android sent by CyberLife to assist Lieutenant Hank Anderson." His dictation was clear and concise.
"Oh." She looked at him with confusion and shock. "Assist him with a case?" She aimed to clarify what Connor had said.
"Yes, the case involving the Deviant androids."
She nodded, eyes flicking down to the floor as she thought over what he said. It was as though there was some sort of conflict in her mind. Connor picked out emotional signatures on her face, registering that she was upset and slightly annoyed. The look of annoyance was one that Connor saw a lot, many humans found him to be of some sort of annoyance no matter what he did. He felt the need to probe her for an answer to her annoyance, maybe he could troubleshoot for a solution.
"Jessica, you seem distressed or annoyed. Have I caused you any disturbance?"
The woman recoiled at his words, shocked by what he said.
"What? God no. It's just…"Her eyes wandered to look at the desk across from Connor. "I was going to work with Hank on the next case he got." She flashed a frown, but then looked at him and smiled. "I can't blame you for being assigned with him. It's not your fault." She was being genuine. It seemed as though Connor was not the source of someone's annoyance, for once.
"I'm sure we could still use your assistance with the case." Connor offered a small smile which the woman mirrored back.
In a millisecond he caught the small detail in her hands, her grip tightened on the bagged book she held. To continue the conversation, Connor questioned her. "What is that in your hand?"
"This?" She held it up. "This is now evidence found by yours truly. Not only will it be extremely useful in court, but it has tons of shipping locations for Red Ice." That determined look she entered the room with finally returned. "I've been questioning witnesses for so long and getting nowhere. So I'm pretty fucking happy I found it." A scoff escaped her lungs bringing her parted lips to Connor's attention. His eyes quickly flicked back up to hers. She was waiting for a response now.
"I'm sure information like that was hidden well. Which means you must have a perceptive eye at finding evidence." He coldly calculated but also warmly complimented.
A coy side smile grew on her face as she rose an eyebrow, pleased with his comment but still unaccepting of it. "How very perceptive of you." She waggled her head, and Connor could detect she was mocking him in a sense. But it didn't seem aggressive or mean spirited, it felt… playful.
Just then a figure entered the room and Connor had to pull his eyes away from Jessica's in order to look over her shoulder.
"Lieutenant Anderson." He spoke out loud enough to demand the man's attention. Jessica turned her head to look at the lieutenant.
"Oh no. Not you." Lieutenant Anderson grumbled as he hung his head trying to avoid eye contact, or any contact, with the android.
Connor tracked the disgruntled man as he moved to sit down. "I've been meaning to debrief with you about the recent deviant that was de-"
"Hush it. You're interrupting Jess." The lieutenant cut him off as he gestured to the quiet woman sitting across from him.
Connor then directed his attention to her, unaware that he was even interrupting, and before he could utter any apology she spoke up.
"I think I can wait a little bit longer." She slowly stated as a devious expression graced her face. She turned to look at him as she leaned back into her chair. "You can continue Connor."
Connor stared at her face, cunning yet… playful again.
"Oh don't tell me you've sided with it."
Connor looked to the Lieutenant.
"I don't know. Seeing as how you made us both wait, I'd have to say I've bonded with him."
Connor looked back to her.
"What do you think, Connor?" She smiled with that underlying playful trickery, and winked at him.
Connor felt a skip in his processing.
He felt his brows relax as the corner of his mouth pulled up.
"Yes, I've learned quite a bit about you, Jessica."