A/N: This is a request from asexualsandbox for the prompt, "Keep your eyes open." Originally, I wasn't going for a stargazing scenario, but it sort of works with the prompt. Enjoy!
The rustling of paper resonated through the ears of one Hank Anderson as he retreated into his suburban bungalow, a bag of groceries girdled in his coiled left arm. He deposited his keys onto a lone hook installed into the doorframe with a sigh in response to the natural aroma composed of the things he knew: dog hair, coffee grounds, and eucalyptus mint (which came from an automatic air freshener Connor recommended to him as well as the fragrance). The grizzled cop would be lying if he said he found the poignant odor of alcohol that used to linger to be pleasant. Abandoning his alcoholism wasn't easy, he would admit, but with the help of the former deviant hunter and his everlasting patience and support, he slowly, yet surely, began to lose the desire to drink himself to a coma.
Casting his thoughts aside, Hank sauntered his way towards the kitchen to place the groceries on the countertop, simply putting off the task of putting them away until later. He meandered to the window to peer out into the backyard for some reason that he couldn't quite decipher. It seemed to be a decent evening from what he could see from his position, however. Just as he was thinking of checking in on Connor (he presumed the android to be in his room, most likely playing with Sumo), his sight partially roamed towards the left to meet the unexpected display: Connor was lying out on a soft blanket he had perched atop the dewy lawn with Sumo (who apparently dozed off) lounging about above the android's head.
What the hell?
Hank gawked for no more than three seconds before he marched away from the window and to the rear door, stepping out into the cool mid-February eventide breeze that flowed through his silver tresses as he strode towards the reclining deviant. In the midst of venture, however, he came to notice the scattered array of shimmering stars in the crispness of the nighttime sky.
It was quite apparent that the young man was stargazing.
Hank finally made his way toward the spread blanket, stopping just centimeters from the giant Saint Bernard, the only thing separating him from his android of a son. He glanced down at the other before directing his gaze back up to the starry night sky. "Enjoying the view?" He finally spoke up.
The LED below sparked yellow for a solitary second in surprise, and Connor quickly sat up and turned behind him before the yellow flickered back to a calm blue. "Oh, it's just you, Hank… I'm assuming you've recently arrived back home from the market."
"Only a few minutes ago," Hank responded casually with a shrug if his shoulders, shifting his gaze back to the android. "What the fuck are you doin' out here?"
Connor hummed to himself and returned his focus towards the twinkling stars, his blue LED flickering on and off in pure fascination. "While I'm aware that I possess a glow-in-the-dark star map on my ceiling, I prefer to experience the natural aspect of stargazing when I'm given the opportunity. Besides… it seemed like a lovely evening to do so, from what I've come to notice as I let Sumo out."
"Yeah, it… it actually is, kinda…" Hank murmured in agreement with a simple nod of the head, folding his arms over his chest nonchalantly, yet interested in the sparkling display above the earth. "You know what? I think I'll just join ya. I ain't got shit to do, anyway."
"I'd like that," Connor replied graciously, looking up to smile at the older man, the turquoise LED flickering matching his mood.
Accepting the open invitation, the lieutenant stepped towards the prototype's left and carefully lowered himself onto the blanket, easing himself onto his back shortly afterward. He raised his arms up and behind his head, using them as a makeshift pillow as he peered into the heavens, admiring the beauty of its diamonds.
(A/N: I'm just going to point out that I have little to no knowledge about constellations and where or when they appear, so I'm just going to use what I've found through internet research. Just bear with me.)
"Look, Hank! There's Pictor!"
"Huh? Where?"
"Look over just partially to the upper left."
Hank scrutinized his vision as shifted his grey-blue irises to the given direction ever so slightly and set his eyes on an arrangement of four stars - two of which were aligned into a short, vertical line, the bottom leading to a longer line slanted toward the lower left, forming an obtuse angle, and a lone star shone at a small distance from the star that acted as an intersection to the two lines, barely inclined to the upper left.
"So, um… what the hell is it supposed to be?" Hank finally asked, obviously stricken by the seemingly confusing shape.
"It is supposed to resemble an artist's easel," Connor explained, instantly accessing a piece of data within his memory bank he downloaded just last week. "Markus once told me about as he was working on a painting dedicated to the constellation and its founder, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. Lacaille originated and introduced it into the southern sky after his observing expedition to the Cape of Good Hope between 1751 and 1752. There is no mythology behind it, though."
"Good, 'cause your lecture was already putting me to sleep," Hank let out a dry chuckle as he lightly nudged at the android's side with his elbow.
Connor felt a small smile tugging at his lips as he shifted slightly upon contact, subconsciously twining his arms over his torso before returning his gaze to the stars. "And there's the constellation, Gemini."
Hank peered over to the right to spot a formation that appeared to resemble stick figures. They seemed to be holding hands, from what he could tell. "Oh, yeah. I see it." He muttered, somewhat interested.
"Gemini is one out of the 48 constellations discovered by the second-century Greek astronomer, Ptolemy. The name means 'the twins' in Latin. It portrays the twin Greek heroes, Pollux and Castor, who were among the men Jason led on his voyages on the Argo."
"Here we go…" The older man sighed, placing a hand over his face in his own dismay.
"According to myth, however, they were actually half-brothers and not really twins. Despite sharing the same mother, Leda, they had different fathers. Castor's father was a Spartan king called Tyndareus, whereas the father of Pollux was Zeus himself."
"For fuck's sake, you're killing me here…"
"In the Babylonian times, they were known as the Great twins. They were named Meshlamtaea and Lugalirra, which meant 'The One who has arisen from the Underworld' and the 'Mighty King'."
Hank withdrew his hand from his face and turned to shoot the android a light warning glare. "Connor, if you mention one more fact about constellations…"
Connor returned the scathing gleam with a twinkle of mischief in his doe-brown optics, a sly smirk lifting just at the corner of his lips challengingly. "Pollux is the brighter of the two. With a magnitude of 1.14, it's the brightest star in the entire constellation."
"Aghh! Enough of this!" Hank turned onto his right and slipped a hand underneath an old, faded DPD hoodie he lent to him on the first night the android moved in before clamping onto the left side of the toned abdomen. Shortly, it began to squeeze the artificial flesh, light and fast.
Connor flinched and withdrew a sharp, silent gasp before he fell into a frenzy of bubbly giggles, tightening his arms around his waist as he rolled onto his back. "Ah! Hahahank!" He whined.
Hank offered no response and, using both hands, pried his arms away from himself. He swooped his hands under the hoodie and underneath his arms, fingers swiftly spidering along the synthetic skin with light scratches, even as Connor cinched his arms into his sides in a desperate attempt to ease the sensations. "C'mon, Connor, throw another fact! I dare ya!"
Connor attempted to open his mouth to speak, only for more giggles to pour out as he felt the lieutenant to pull his right hand out from the hoodie and into the crook of his neck, his fingers lightly tracing along the sensitive skin, not leaving his ears out on the treatment. He snorted and hunched his shoulders upward in hopes of protecting himself. "I-I cahahan't! I- Gah! Nahahahahaaa!" He shrieked in response to the left hand squeezing at his artificial hip bones, switching between them after every few tweaks.
"You can't?" Hank questioned mockingly, now kneeling at his side so he could get better access to the giggly android as he continued his relentless attacks. "Whaddaya mean, you can't? Tickling hasn't stopped ya from being a smartass before! So, let's hear another fact! C'mon, try me!~"
As expected, Connor took the challenge and managed to make another attempt to shoot off at the mouth along with his forced laughter. "Cahahastohor is a cohohollectihive stahahar systehehem with a combined magnihihitude of 1.58, lohohocatehed approxihihihimately 51 lihight yehehears from Earth- Aah!" He was interrupted in the midst of his discourse by the ripply sensations of a light raspberry being administered to his the left side of his neck. "Hahahahahaaank!"
Hank chuckled and began to burrow his face along the sensitive skin, simply gliding his blunt fingernails up and down the young man's sides slowly, grinning at the snorts and frantic giggles that bubbled from him. "Aww, what's the matter, son?~ Can't talk while you're laughing, can ya?~"
"Nahahahahaaa!" Connor cackled out helplessly as he tried to push him away by the shoulders, but the tickly sensations rendered him weak. Instead, he kicked his legs in the air lightly, attempting to cope with the sensations as a result of the older man's beard and nails. "Y-Yohohou're so meheheheeean!"
Hank chuckled and surprised himself by letting up right there and then, settling himself on his back as he listened to the residual giggles that poured from his mouth. He turned his attention back to the ebony-hued evening sky, enjoying the lack of descriptive blabbering about stars. He then looked over to the android, who was still sputtering quiet giggles as he curled in on himself, eyes closed as he waited for the remnant tickles to wear off. "Hey, c'mon. Keep your eyes open. Look up there."
On cue, Connor's eyes lightly fluttered open to meet the scintillating wonder of the stars dispersed throughout the nighttime firmament above them. After a few intakes of fresh air, he rolled from his position on his right side and onto his back. He glanced at the various formations before looking towards the direction Hank pointed to, fixating his gaze on a particular constellation that caught his eye.
"Yeah, can you see it? That there's Canis Major," Hank explained, pointing to the dog-shaped figure composed of several shining stars.
"The Great Dog…" Connor finished the title, his voice barely above a whisper as he stared at the particular arrangement with awestruck, doe-like eyes.
Hank nodded, simply watching the dots as they twinkled in their places. "Yeah. You like dogs, don't 'cha?"
"Of course, Hank. I like dogs," The prototype replied softly, reaching up and behind his own head to stroke a slumbering Sumo's furry cranium, drawing out a low rumble in the midst of his rest. "I especially like Sumo - I love him, in fact."
"I know you do, son," The older man murmured, reaching to his right to lightly ruffle the android's already disheveled locks. "Now, why don't you kick back and just take in the beauty of the stars? No more lectures, okay?"
Connor turned his head to the left to offer a content smile in the human's direction. "Sure thing, Hank."
With a light grunt in confirmation, the lieutenant continued to peer into the vast beauty of the night's bejeweled atmosphere, stealing a side glance to the android, who he had come to accept as a son. He couldn't fight off the warm grin that spread over his lips at the sight of the deviant lying back, donning the faded, gray-tinted DPD hoodie, charcoal sweatpants, and loose-fitting sneakers, relaxing - he looked so… human, save for the LED radiating a cool blue at the right side of his head.
"Did you know that this is another arrangement out of the 48 constellations founded by Ptolemy and that the name means 'the greater dog' in Latin?"
"Goddammit, Connor!"