CHAPTER ONE

The sound of typing danced through the air in his darkened room. It drummed through his ears, drilling deeper into his head. Seamlessly his fingers moved across the keyboard, almost as though they had a mind of their own. Coffee scorched his throat as he took hasty gulps, barely tasting the liquid, barely noticing the heat. His dark green eyes were trained on the document before him.

It detailed all of the clues he had on the case so far; a serial rapist who liked playing with his victims. Piecing together the puzzle was the 'fun' part. Actually finding those puzzle pieces was next to impossible. Harry chewed the inside of his cheek as he worked. It kept him awake by the tiny throbs of pain. Sometimes when he was in too deep he'd chew until he tasted blood. Today wasn't one of those days. Today was piecing together the puzzle. He continued to scan the document, drawing connections from one thing to another.

Stacks of USB sticks were scattered around him. Empty coffee mugs and scribbled sticky notes cluttered his desk. The low thrum of his air conditioner slightly masked the typing, along with the occasional rumble of the train. Pure white light spilled in through the window and pooled across the hardwood floor. It came from the streetlights, so unlike the ugly orange glow they used so many decades ago.

Three hours later the sun was rising when he finally retired to bed. He flicked his Noiz on to 'Airways' and listened to the calming sound of high winds and creaking. When he closed his eyes he could imagine he was high above the clouds, floating along in his bed. Thoughts slowly ebbed through his mind as he sank deeper. Maybe tomorrow he'd finish the case, maybe tomorrow . . . one more clue . . ..

Waking was a sordid affair as usual. Crushed dreams clung to his eyelashes and the rot of unsaid words coated his tongue. He swallowed a few times before opening his eyes. They stung, as they always did after a late night. His fingers felt tired and overused. Groaning quietly he sat up. What day was it? What case was he on?

Harry dragged himself to the closet and threw on what smelled clean. Nausea tugged on his stomach as he choked down cereal and put on deodorant. Every morning he felt so sick, so used, like the coffee had carved a hole in his stomach. It was harsh but it kept him awake without completely frying his brain. He needed to be able to string two thoughts together, consequences be damned. He kneed the door open and stepped out into the hallway.

Thirty minutes later he was tramping through what appeared to be a computer graveyard. It was a warehouse lot with hundreds upon hundreds of 'dead' electronic devices. They were either too old or too broken to be considered worthwhile. The rejects. Harry poked through the piles of dead phones long out of style. Some of them were functioning and he pocketed a few. The sun beat down on his back as he scavenged, metal and plastic glittering madly in the midday light.

"Fuck!" He hissed as a loud banging noise made him freeze.

He wasn't strictly allowed in the junk heap, so he ducked low and looked around. The sharp smell of chemicals prickled his nose as he tried to quiet his breathing to less than a whisper. His heart jumped as another bang sounded, like flesh hitting metal. His eyes turned towards the warehouse. The only thing he could think of being able to move in a junk heap was a robot, and surely no robot would be here. This wasn't nearly high level enough, not even close. If it was a robot though, it would be a huge cash-out. He could sell it for scrap or if it was in good enough condition he could pawn it off.

Sweaty hands clenched, Harry approached the warehouse. The door was painted an ugly chipped red. It slid open easily. With a yowl, a mangy orange cat jumped forward and streaked past him. His heart continued to hammer wildly even as he swore and kicked a rock after the beast. Nothing. Fuck. As he was about to drop the door he saw something gleam in the darkness. His heart nearly stopped; there was a person in there.

"Are you okay?" He called, shoving the door up high enough that it clicked, "Hello?"

The form didn't answer so he rushed in. As he approached he could make out the form of a man. He had platinum gold hair that fell across his forehead. His silvery eyes glittered in the dim light, staring ahead like he wasn't even there. The man was wearing clean white clothes, his hands sprawled uselessly at his sides. Harry dropped to his knees and tried shaking him. Fuck. What if he was dead? The man wasn't breathing. Harry froze.

Very faintly he could see a pulsing green light coming from the man's wrist. Harry breathed out a sigh of relief, he wasn't human. The man appeared to be an android and an extremely good version by the authenticity of him. Harry hauled the android to his feet and found he was also as heavy as a man his size. Despite that his figure was slender so Harry was able to carry him easily. He carried him out of the warehouse.

The city Harry was living in was one of the lower class. Not everything was glass and sparkling. Some buildings were still made out of 'ugly' metals and wood. He was more comfortable with something so simple, when everything was run by machines he got edgy. People walking by him eyed him nervously as they watched him carrying the android. Their eyes blurred past him and the faces ceased to make sense. He was too focused on the task at hand to care about what anyone thought. Step one was get the android home.

Perhaps bringing an android into his house wasn't the smartest idea, but once he was there, there was no way he was going back. The android sat in the kitchen chair, still staring ahead creepily like a doll. Harry licked his teeth nervously; they tasted like rot and coffee. He'd forgotten to brush his teeth. Fuck. He'd do it tonight after he was done the case. His attention returned to the android as he paced.

Most androids of the newer makes could be turned on by calling their name and number. Harry checked his wrists and palms but no numbers were on them. Looked like a strip was in order. Trying to ignore how perverted it looked, he began to pull up the android's shirt. In some computerized looking font the name 'Draco' was across his stomach in black ink. Harry tried to ignore his nicely sculpted abs and instead focus on searching for his number. He didn't have to look far, it was on 'Draco's' chest over his heart, the number '01'. How he'd ended up with the very first make of a model he'd never heard of was beyond him.

"Draco, one," Harry said clearly after he'd pulled the shirt back down and stepped back.

Light flared behind the android's eyes and the entire body relaxed as he began to breathe. It was eerie to watch, like he was some video that had been paused. His silver eyes flickered around and he looked oddly lost. Harry was no expert but this didn't seem to be normal android behavior. He should have at least gotten a hello. Instead the android stood up and began to look around his apartment.

"Um," Harry began and paused, was Draco too intimate? The thought was stupid, he was an android, "Um, Draco. Hello."

"Is this your apartment?" The android responded, seeming politely interested, "It's very shabby."

Well that was blunt.

"Yeah it's just temporary. It's just un- wait where are you going?"

The android was entering his bedroom. Harry followed him quickly, feeling more uneasy by the second with his stupid plan. Why the hell did he bring a random android home? For scrap? How could he sell a model that wasn't brand name and not even heard of? He had more immediate worries however as the android had begun to go through his closet.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked.

"Looking for Narnia," The android shot back sarcastically.

So he had an attitude. Great. And who the hell reads something that old?

"Those are my clothes," Harry said, deciding to be blunt.

"You have plenty, you can share."

He gaped at the android for a couple seconds. Not once in his entire life had he heard of an android acting this way. It had to be some sort of specialty make, someone looking for android with a bit of a flare. Harry shut his mouth with a snap. Maybe there was some value in this android, if he was a specialty make he could be worth a lot. There was a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

It seemed only intelligent to keep his mouth shut so he watched in mute annoyance as the android rifled through his stuff. First he tried on his favorite Cyberchase shirt, then settled on a black shirt with a green serpent. Harry eyed his body with unwilling appreciation as he stripped. Androids were made damn fine looking. He was wearing grey boxers that nicely outlined the bulge in his pants. Apparently androids were also nicely endowed. Why the hell did a robot even need junk? His mind gave him the answer and his felt slightly sick, he'd forgotten about the perverts. When the android had finished dressing he figured it'd be safe to talk again.

"So who was your maker?"

The android gave him an annoyed look, "I don't even get dinner before you ask me personal questions?"

"Just answer the question," He said.

"I don't know."

"What? You don-"

"I don't," He repeated irritably, "Now what do you have to eat? I'm starving."

"Androids don't eat human food," Harry said, too baffled to keep a sharp edge in his voice.

"Well I do, and I'm hungry," He said, like it settled the entire matter.

Harry hadn't expected to find himself eating cold three day old pizza with an android that evening. In fact that was at the very bottom of the list of things he'd expected to do today. As he chewed on the cold, unsatisfying meal he watched the android. He moved like a regular person, occasionally smacking his food when he ate too quickly. He'd shudder sometimes, taking a deep breath when he was breathing too slowly. He'd rub his eyes like they were irritated and he'd crick his neck like it got stiff. If Harry hadn't watched him turn on, he'd have thought he was a human.

After the meal Harry sat the android in front of the TV and handed him the remote. Once he'd done that he considered any more contact unnecessary; he had a case to solve. Which sounded painfully cheesy, like he was some fresh young detective skipping happily to analyze blood stains and witness statements. In reality he was a coffee fueled ball of instability and he probably needed to take a year long nap. Before he headed to his office, he made sure to brush his teeth; the dirty feeling was really getting to him.

Once he was alone in his office it was back to him and the drumming of the keys. Perhaps having another 'living' thing in the apartment was what made him feel a tinge of loneliness. It was a fleeting feeling but it was still there. When was the last time he'd eaten dinner with someone? Lines of text blurred past his tired eyes and he realized his coffee was empty. No caffeine boost? Strange. He got himself another cup and went back to his case.

It was a miracle when the final piece clicked. It had been so obvious, which was probably the only reason his tired eyes had caught it. He began to write up the paper on his findings when a small creak made him look around. The android was standing there, his silver eyes glimmering in the dim light coming from the monitor.

"Need anything?" He asked, "I have a surplus of coffee and confidential documents but you only get one."

"What're you doing?" The android asked, pulling a chair up beside Harry.

Harry felt a stab of annoyance, "Working."

"You're a detective?" The android tilted his head, as he read the lines of text, "A stand alone?"

"That's the idea yeah," Harry said, "I do lots of standing around and I do it alone. That's why I call it 'stand alone'."

The android didn't smile at his crappy joke, but he didn't leave his side either. Harry decided it was best to ignore him and just continue working. An hour later he was done his paper and in another twenty minutes he was actually done his paper. His tired fingers were extremely relieved to hit 'Send' so his superiors could read his findings. The sun wasn't even rising which was a bonus. That night he shared his bed with a pillow hog, but as he fell asleep he thought that maybe it wasn't too bad.

A/N Soooo getting back into writing Drarry. Tell me what you think in a review. Thank you for your time and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Remember to fav, follow, and/or review to show support!