December 25th 8:42 pm, 2039

Hank shifted in his bed, trying to find a comfortable place to position himself. He had no idea what time it was. All he knew was it was the evening, and he had been sleeping for a couple of hours now. Hank blocked his ears. There was a sound that was keeping him awake and he didn't know what it was. Was it chattering? Talking? Music? It was a mix of most of those things. The lieutenant slowly got up from his bed, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Fuck… What the hell are those sounds?" Hank began to slowly walk to the door, still half asleep from when he got up from his bed. He opened the door slowly, and he could see at least more than 20 people/androids all chatting around in his living room. There were others things too. A large Christmas tree which mas almost reaching up to the roof. Christmas decorations were hung on the walls like tinsel garlands, ornaments, holiday stockings, strings of light, and more. He muttered under his breath. How in the world were so many people in his house? Just last night he was talking to Connor about how they shouldn't celebrate anything for Christmas.

…..

…..

…..

"Connor…" Hank looked around past the "guests" and around the different areas of the house. He spotted his android just at the corner of his eye in the kitchen, seemingly cooking something at the stove. The policeman also realized that his entire table was replaced with a proper, wooden table with 8 chairs. How did it even fit through the door? There were color coded holiday linens composing of green, red, and white, holiday serving platters/dishware, wooden nutcrackers, and even scented candles. He was astonished. How was he supposed to feel? Happy? Sad? Frustrated? Relieved? Glad? Hank didn't know what to think of the situation. He shook his head, beginning to pass through the many people in his house, trying to be as polite and quiet as possible. He walked up to Connor, pulling his t shirt. Connor turned around, tilting his head to the side.

"Is something wrong Lieutenant?" Hank raised his brow at the android. Connor had just decorated his entire house getting ready for Christmas, invited at least ten or more people, and bought all of the ornaments and everything with who knows what money?

"Of course something is wrong… Actually, everything is wrong!" Hank kept his voice to silent whisper, but it was still loud enough for a few people to hear their conversation "Why are you doing this to me? I thought I told you last night that we weren't going to celebrate the fucking holidays! Also, you should stop calling me lieutenant. Hank is fine…" Connor gave a confused look back at the officer.

"I don't understand what the problem is. I designed your house for this specific occasion and I just thought that inviting a few friends over would be good not only for your mental health but also your physical health-"

"If you're saying that I will stop drinking, I will not. Ever. And no, I don't have mental problems…" It was true that Hank was a bit violent and had sudden mood swings, but it wasn't problematic. Was it? Connor turned back around, continuing to cook what he had planned.

"Many statistics show that people who celebrate holidays with friends and have family have proven a 23.7% increase in dopamine levels of a human being. Besides, wouldn't it be more sufficient to enjoy the holidays with others?" Hank groaned.

"No, I told you last night and I'll tell you again. I am not going to be celebrating Christmas with friends or family, and I am not going to stop drinking. Also, how in the hell did you get people into my house? And how did you do all of this without me finding out about it?" Hank had already planned his entire month out in a sort of check list schedule. It was quite simple actually. For the entirety of the upcoming months, he would spend the holidays at home with his dog Sumo and Connor while watching TV and drinking. He should've known that his android would choose the best approach at trying to help Hank. Throwing a Christmas party completely caught the policeman off guard. Not only that, but Connor could sense that Hank's heart beat had increased by 17.3% from normal. He couldn't tell though whether he was excited or simply scared.

"Well… it all started about a month ago, when I encountered Markus and North shopping at the nearby mall complex…"

Flashback

November 16th 3:09 pm, 2039

Connor stepped through the doors of the mall, dusting off his jacket and adjusting his beanie accordingly. He was about to begin his plan. Ever since he met the lieutenant, Connor had always planned their celebrations, and this situation was no exception. He had been planning for about a month now, and he realized it was the perfect time to begin his shopping spree.

Connor looked both his ways. Restaurants upon restaurants. It was definitely not helping in the slightest. Although it was nearing Christmas, the discounts that the android had predicted did not do well for his savings. $100 was not going to cut it for the party he was planning, especially one meant to impress. He quickly calculated the amount of money needed for a simple planned dinner. Not enough, not nearly as much as he would've liked. Connor looked in front of him to see a large tablet in the middle of the mall pathway as well as a digital map. He walked up to it, pressing the touchscreen to turn it on. The tablet turned on to reveal a list of applications and options. Food, business, school, general goods, and others of the sort. There was something in the center though that caught Connor's attention. A featured option. The android selected it.

Up popped a few things to select from. It wasn't anything specific, but they all had one thing in common. They were all Christmas related. Connor tapped on the filter, sorting all of the featured to stores.

"Bingo" Connor began to walk toward his destination. A popular goods store that is selling very good quality Christmas ornaments, décor, and others. Located in the west wing, and the 3rd floor, Connor began to head over.

Choosing between two brands was a lot more difficult than what Connor had expected. After a short walk he had finally arrived at the store he was looking for, but there was a very large problem. The pricing of these items were absolutely crazy. $76.99 for a small Christmas tree? And that's at half price! Connor couldn't believe it. It was his first time to express such an unpleasant emotion. He wasn't able to describe it in full detail. It was like anger and frustration all in the same package, but slightly different that it differentiates it from the two. A message appeared in his system.

Stress level: /\ 61%

Connor knew he was stressed, and he didn't need his programming to tell him. He knew what his emotion was now, and it felt horrible. He had felt annoyed. Connor wanted to ring up the manager to complain about the high prices, he wanted to tell everyone to hurry up since they were so slow in line. The emotion felt odd and even scary. He felt a hand touch his shoulder, breaking the calm thinking process. Connor turned around, he was going to punch somebody. But as he saw who it was, he began to feel calmer, not as annoyed.

Stress level: \/ 30%

It was Markus. He was relieved, even glad for the android to make his sudden appearance. Connor softened his fist and soon the annoying emotion faded.

"Hi Connor, fancy seeing you here" Markus smiled gently, giving a reassuring look at Connor "I noticed your stress levels, it was spiking suddenly wasn't it?"

"Yeah… Don't mind it. I just felt… Annoyed somewhat" Markus nodded.

"Don't worry about it. I get annoyed too sometimes. Anyway, what brings you here?" Connor glanced back at the Christmas tree before turning around to face Markus.

"I was going to buy a few decorations"

"Oh, perhaps it's no coincidence. I believe you are going to be holding a party?"

"Yes…"

"Well good luck with your party" Connor tilted his head in confusion.

"You and North are not going to be participating in the holidays?" Markus shook his head.

"It really isn't that. It's just creating a party is a lot more difficult for us, in both time and money" Connor smiled and his eyes gleamed in an almost childlike sparkle.

"You can come to our party"

"Are you sure? I feel as though we may be a disturbance to you guys-"

"No, it's fine!" Markus stepped back at Connor's sudden remark. The RK800 shook his head, looking down at the floor. Markus could tell the android's stress levels were rising steadily.

Stress level: /\ 47%

"You're low on money, right?" Connor shot his head back up.

"How did you know?"

"You are a very calm person Connor. You rarely get offended or angry about anything. But the way you looked back at the tree while talking to me, and the reason why you were annoyed in the first place. Well, I put 2 and 2 together and I got the answer" Connor grabbed the money he had in his pocket and showed it to Markus.

"This is my savings. I am sure it won't cut it for the party I've planned" Markus looked back at the android, a bit confused of his reason to worry.

"Why don't you ask that lieutenant man for some cash?"

"Lieutenant Anderson would never agree to lend money for anything other than his beer and high cholesterol sandwiches"

"So… All you need is a quick buck?" Markus and Connor turned around. It was North, in a regular Christmas sweater and long blue jeans. She smiled, giving a confident look at Connor "I know of a way to fix all your decoration problems"