I'm taking a break from my long fic and decided to write some oneshot Connor/reader prompts to keep my skills fresh. It's surprisingly so much easier to write oneshots than chapters for full-length fanfictions, who would've thought!? Anyway, I hope you enjoy my first time writing a character/reader fic. I have tried my darnedest to keep the language gender-neutral, but since I wrote it with a female in mind, I MAY occasionally slip up so if you see any errors revolving around that then don't hesitate to let me know and I'll fix it :)

Due to the fact you can't use "reader" as a character option in the tags, I've substituted with 'OC'.

Request from tumblr anon: Can you write a fic where reader is totally enraptured by seeing Connor look confused or surprised? Thank you! :)

Perplexity

It wasn't at all intentional the first time it happened.

Captain Fowler had handed you a data pad and asked you to deliver it to Detective Connor and Lieutenant Anderson, presumably because he was too involved with retrieving a coffee to walk the fifteen steps it would've taken to hand them their case files himself, but you weren't exactly busy, and cheerfully accepted the small task, more than happy to seize any opportunity to share dialogue with the handsome android you had become so fond of.

You spotted the two at the lieutenant's workstation - Hank sitting in his chair, thoroughly invested with something on his phone, and Connor leaning almost casually against the side of the desk, palms planted firmly on the surface as he spoke with his partner about something or other - and you began to make your way towards them.

The mix of your playful mood and the delight at having a reason to talk with Connor had ultimately culminated in the urge to act somewhat impish - which was why, as you approached the android who was facing solidly away from your direction, you tapped him on the shoulder and quickly slipped behind him to his other side when he turned his head to seek out who had interrupted him.

Even from just the back of his head, you could tell he was confused over the fact that he had certainly felt a tap on his shoulder and looked to find nobody there. You covered your mouth so as not to laugh, watching as Connor's head tilted in puzzlement, until finally he turned his head enough to detect you in his peripheral vision.

You saw the yellow LED on his temple turn back to blue as he faced you fully, his ridiculously soft-looking lips forming a small smile before he again inclined his head, not entirely sure what was so amusing to you.

"Anything I can help you with, detective?" Connor enquired placidly in the way he always did, his equable tone highly pleasing to the ear, and if it had been anybody else speaking, you might have assumed they were being passive aggressive - as a human might act if they had been rudely interrupted and laughed at - but you knew Connor well, and you knew he generally only saved his sarcastic remarks for Detective Reed.

You bit your lip to control the grin threatening to erupt on your face and handed out the data pad containing all the details pertaining to Connor's and Hank's most recent case.

"No, no, I'm just here to give you this", the tremble of a giggle in your voice was far too evident not to arouse suspicion, and you noted Hank's dubious look in your direction out of the corner of your eye, but paid him no mind, instead opting to offer your brightest smile to the android before you.

Connor took the data pad, giving the first page of contents a quick scan to determine its subject matter, and then returned your smile, "Thank you, detective." His polite manner always gave you butterflies in your stomach.

You expected him to return to his conversation with Hank, but Connor assessed your face for an extended moment, and after a few seconds you thought he might ask what it was you found so funny.

He did not. Not exactly, at least.

"Your face is flushed and your pulse has accelerated. Are you feeling well, detective?"

Although Connor was an incredibly curious android, he had learnt to be less direct with certain lines of questioning, finding that there were easier ways to pluck information out of people without making them feel uncomfortable from the straightforwardness of his enquiries. What he didn't realise was that his observation made you uncomfortable for an entirely different reason.

You were sure your cheeks had grown even more heated at his well-meaning enquiry, and you could absolutely feel the way your heart stuttered in your chest, picking up the pace under his innocent scrutiny. No doubt his scanners perceived the further quickening of your heartbeat once again.

"I'm fine, it's nothing", you blurted out, shaking your head while forcing a smile in place, "please excuse me, I have to go." With those words, you escaped Connor's probing presence and strode speedily towards the restroom, leaving him to his and Hank's investigation.

The moment you entered the staff toilets, you jumped into a cubicle and pressed your face into your hands, hoping there was nobody else in the adjacent partitions as you laughed deliriously into the silence of the room. The grounds for your amusement, of course, was the simple fact that Connor looked so incredibly adorable when he was confused - there was something to the way he blinked rapidly and cocked his head, something about seeing his LED turn yellow to convey that his processor was having trouble resolving a matter.

Perhaps it was a strange thing to centre in on, but the sight of perplexity on Connor's face brought you overwhelming joy.

The second time it happened, you had not been watching him.

It was late afternoon and Hank was taking a coffee break, Connor was naturally hovering nearby the lieutenant in the break-room, and you were subtly peering at the two of them from your desk, plotting and scheming your next idea to invoke that wonderful look of bafflement on the android's handsome face.

Posing a riddle had been your initial idea, but the more you thought it over, the more you realised riddles were pointless. Androids were far too perceptive to be puzzled by a simple conundrum - Connor especially was quite astute, and as somebody who solved criminal mysteries for a living, it would be highly unlikely that he would fall for something as plain as a brain-teaser.

Trick questions, on the other hand, may be enough to flummox his processor.

In the brief window of time that the break-room was occupied only by Connor and Hank, you hopped out of your seat and headed for the coffee-maker, striving to appear offhand as though the coffee was the only reason you had entered the room in the first place.

Connor angled his head in greeting as you passed him and you gave the android a soft smile in return, fiddling with the percolator to prepare yourself a cup of coffee; once the hot beverage was safely in your hand, you turned and approached the small table the other two were stationed at, a look of nonchalance on your face.

"I have a question for you, Connor", you stated, the corner of your lip quirking up into a sportive smirk.

"Oh? Fire away, detective", the android straightened his posture, granting you all of his attention, and Hank shot you a skeptical look, endlessly cynical over your odd interactions with Connor.

"If a plane crashes on the border of the United States and Canada, where are the survivors buried?" you spoke, as if posing a very important enquiry, and watched as Hank rolled his eyes wearily.

Instead of tilting his head inquisitively like you expected, Connor merely quirked a single eyebrow, his LED blinking but retaining its light blue colour, and regarded you with a look akin to concern, "Detective… why would bury survivors?"

His overtly serious response made you feel like an idiot.

You clicked your tongue, feeling that familiar flush of your skin rising on your cheeks, and awkwardly shrugged your shoulders, "Ah- heh. You know what? Nevermind." With that, you spun around and scuttled away to your desk, purposefully keeping your head down as embarrassment ate away at you.

Had you been watching, you would have seen Connor incline his head and squint his eyes at your retreating form.

The third time it happened, you truly felt bad about it.

Hank had invited you to join him and Connor for a drink at the bar that evening after your shifts ended, and while you knew the android was not able to consume alcohol - or any liquid besides thirium, for that matter - the idea of releasing your inhibitions around him, although perilous, was too utterly enticing to pass up.

In a desperate act, you had performed an internet search on your phone for 'how to confuse an android', and had skimmed the results, not exactly expecting to find anything useful, but happened to come across a thread that detailed the effects of forcing an android to contemplate paradoxes, and how it could bring their processors to a complete stand-still.

It was an old thread, posted even before the first android-deviance case popped up, so you weren't completely sure it would work any longer, but chose to give it a try regardless.

You and Hank were several drinks deep when the subject of the multiverse theory had arisen - you don't quite remember how it had popped up, but you were sure the trigger for it had tumbled out of your mouth at some point - and as you took a sip of your vodka and coke, you settled your eyes on the android, who had not spoken up at all during the discussion.

"Connor, what do you think of the multiverse theory?" you asked, subconsciously licking your lips.

The android's eyebrows rose briefly before he began to informatively relay known data about the concept, "The multiverse is a conjectural group of multiple separate universes including the universe in which we live. It is hypothesized that there are an infinite number of universes that contain endless possibilities-"

"So, like, if we live in a universe where the multiverse is a real thing, does that mean there's a universe where it isn't?" you spoke, a slight slur to your speech that wasn't the only indication that you were becoming rather tipsy - had what you just said even made sense, like, at all?

Hank laughed, shaking his head at the absurdity of your statement, while Connor merely frowned, not showing any indication that the implication of a paradox had troubled his processor.

"No, the multiverse theory does not cover paradoxical situations", he explained smoothly, and you lowered your glass half-way through another swig of your beverage, awkwardly swallowing quickly, before raising a wagging finger in response.

"Except in the universe where it does", you pointed out, a crooked smirk on your face.

Again, Hank found your ludicrous statement utterly amusing, and promptly snorted as he mumbled about how crazy you were, but you were far too focused on the way Connor had seemingly froze, his eyes just a little wider than usual.

The android did not speak, his eyes affixed to your face in a way that made you somewhat nervous, and after a few moments of his LED blinking yellow, it abruptly turned red, and Connor blinked rapidly, his lips parting and snapping shut persistently in what appeared to be mild distress.

"Uh, Connor?" you murmured, waving your hand in front of the androids face in an attempt to bring him back to reality, but the stuttered pattern of his fluttering eyelids continued for a worryingly long time.

"Connor, what the hell's wrong with ya?" Hank snapped upon realising that his partner was exhibiting some very strange behaviour.

"Uh, I- I… uh, I-" Connor stammered - actually stammered - as his brown eyes flickered between yours, and you were suddenly afraid you had broken him. Had your joke about the multiverse paradox actually overworked his processor? Was he overheating?

"Hey, it's- it's alright, Connor. Like you said, the multiverse theory doesn't cover paradoxical situations", you quickly amended, a frayed, nervous smile on your face as you tried to calm his contradictory thinking.

Blessedly, the LED on the side of Connor's head returned to yellow, before flickering back to blue, and the perturbed creases of his face evened out, a neutral expression settling on his features. "Right", he spoke, and then repeated his initial statement, "the multiverse theory does not cover paradoxical situations."

You shared a look with Hank, one that was swathed in worry, and the lieutenant seemed to be struggling to understand what had just happened; guilt bubbled in your stomach at the fact that it was probably your fault.

"You okay, Connor?" the lieutenant asked warily, tilting his head back as he watched the android with a quizzical countenance, and his enquiry caused one of Connor's eyebrows to quirk up, a peculiarity to his face that made it seem as though he was completely oblivious to what had just happened to him.

"Yes, I'm fine, Hank. Why wouldn't I be?"

You ordered another drink.

The fourth time it happened, you were too drunk to really appreciate it.

Following the little incident in the bar, you'd knocked back several more alcoholic beverages before Hank had appeared to fabricate a blatantly-not-true reason to leave you and Connor alone together, claiming that he was needed at the station and that it was something to do with the case, but insisting Connor stay with you when the android made a move to join him.

It wasn't until the lieutenant shot you a knowing look over his shoulder as he left that you caught on to the fact that he'd planned it from the beginning. Had Hank deduced that you had a crush on the android? Probably. It's not like you'd been very low-key about it. The real surprise was that Connor hadn't seemed to figure it out yet; for an intelligent android with a talent for being able to extrapolate results where others failed, he could be truly oblivious sometimes.

"I'll walk you back to your house", Connor proclaimed after you'd had what must have been your sixth or seventh drink that evening, and you returned his strong statement with a muddled giggle, giving the android what you thought was a suggestive smirk, but appeared more than likely closer to a goofy grin.

"You wanna walk me home? Why's that, mm?" You hoped your speech was legible enough for Connor to correctly interpret.

"Because, detective, I'm not sure you'll be able to find your way home without me", he answered unambiguously, a glint of amusement in his warm eyes.

"Psh", was your witless retort. It wasn't until you stood and almost tumbled to the ground that you realised it was definitely a very good thing that Connor was so considerate to suggest escorting you home. You really wouldn't have made it without his help.

He guided you with a hand on your back the whole way home - which was just less than ten minutes away - and made sure you didn't stumble over your feet in your embarrassing state of insobriety. You'd feel beyond mortified the next morning, but for now you were living in a blissful state of intoxication that made everything feel warm and content around you.

"We have arrived", Connor declared when you reached your front door, and the android detective steadied you with a hand on your shoulder as you almost tripped up the step to the porch; you faced him with a jubilant smile, exceedingly thankful for his assistance, and without thinking it over beforehand, you leaned in and placed an innocent kiss on his cheek.

Cleverly subdued surprise flashed over his face for a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, his lips parting with minor astonishment as his LED twinkled yellow, before the shock was replaced with a smile and unconcealed fondness.

"Thank you, Connor", you murmured your gratitude, before laying your head down against his shoulder and enveloping the android in a cordial hug. You felt his hands pat delicately over your back, surmising immediately that he wasn't used to physical affection, and stored the information away for later.

Despite the unrelaxed attempt at returning the embrace, Connor was really pleasant to hug; his body exuded a warmth that was generated by the workings of his thirium pump, and he was as soft and squishy as a human, thanks to the aid of his synthetic skin. The stray thought made you giggle for the umpteenth time that night, and you were sure Connor must have suspected you to be taken by some sort of delirium by now.

You hadn't imagined that androids could give off such a pleasing scent, and yet here you were, inhaling what was definitely an inviting fragrance that was emanating directly from him - if you hadn't been so drunk, you may have inferred that the smell was rising from his sleek detective uniform as opposed to his actual body. You identified the aroma as a strong mix of watermint and samphire - it left you dizzy for more.

The only thing that brought you out of your hazy stupor was the touch of Connor's hand on your leg - his fingers reaching into your pocket.

"Whoa, whoawhoa, what are you doing?" the words flew from your mouth in a garbled yelp as you pulled away from him so suddenly that you almost lost your balance again - you would have gone crashing to the ground if it wasn't for Connor's quick reflexes, his hand on your upper arm effectively stabilising you from collapsing.

"I was searching for your door key", Connor explained, holding up the said item that he'd managed to fish from your trouser pocket, and you blinked a few times fast, snatching the jingling object from his grasp.

"Well ya could've asked before shoving your hand in my trousers, Connor!" The exclamation spilled from your mouth, a distinct lack of coherence in your words, but the android appeared to understand just fine if the look of horror on his face was anything to go by.

"I… I didn't mean to-" Connor's tongue darted out to lick his lips as he regained his composure, "I did ask you. Twice. You didn't respond", he expounded, a note of discomfort in his expression at the thought of offending you in such a way - but you were far from upset by his actions.

You had only been joking with your shout of indignation, knowing that Connor would never take advantage of you in your drunken state, or indeed in any state - were androids even interested in sex? - and you looked upon the worried expression on his face, finding it twinned with what you could only describe as a hot flush on his cheeks.

Oh. He was embarrassed. Connor was embarrassed.

"Relax", you gave a light, silly laugh, and reassured him, "I wasn't being serious."

Even as you rushed to mollify his troubles, you were absolutely astounded by how gorgeous Connor looked when he was bashful - the steady glow of his cheeks was just beyond charming, and you found yourself openly admiring it.

"My apologies", Connor quietly spoke, lips pursed as he worked the sheepishness out of his face, but the cute flush below his eyes still remained.

You'd thought he looked adorable when he was confused or surprised, but when Connor was full-on flustered, well, let's just say you were looking forward to seeing a lot more of that endearing blush on his cheeks.

If you wish to leave a request, feel free in a review, but if you do, please also give me some feedback on what I've written - even if it's just a short comment telling me what you liked most! :D It helps me out a lot!