As part of his programming, being friendly had come naturally to Connor to a certain extent. Not as naturally as interrogating or the other things he was originally built for, but he was indeed programmed to show some form of kindness to get difficult people to cooperate when necessary.

So understanding friendship wasn't hard to grasp for Connor, especially when he became deviant. Hell, he was already friends with Hank before he left for Jericho.

But when the news talked about Markus and North kissing, well, that was a whole new realm of emotions. He had suspected it when he saw the two Tracis run away, but it surprised him to see androids fall in love.

Love, passion. Some of the strongest human emotions since the dawn of man. So what were androids doing, mimicking those very emotions?

Ever since Connor had moved in with Hank following the peaceful demonstration, he had let his normally task-obsessed mind wander to things that he didn't care about before. Cyberlife, he hoped, had no control over him anymore. So he allowed his mind to wander.

A blessing and a curse, really.

Connor was cooking breakfast with what was left in Hank's fridge. While he was flipping pancakes, he took the liberty of using an internet search of romance and all of it's synonyms.

Romance: a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.

Mystery was definitely the first thing Connor associated with love, but excitement? No, what was there to be excited about? He hardly understood what love was.

Love: an intense feeling of deep affection.

None of Connor's newfound emotions felt too intense, but they did provoke some reaction outside of his intended purpose. When that deviant was running away and Hank had an 11% chance of slipping and falling, Connor didn't dare to risk it. There would always be deviants to catch, but Hank?

No, there was only one Hank Anderson.

There were plenty of similar words: warmth, tenderness, and intimacy. That particular word had so many definitions that Connor bookmarked the page to read into great detail later.

"Morning."

"Good morning, Hank." Connor stated. "Syrup on your pancakes as usual?"

"Sure." Hank responded.

Connor could hear him taking his seat at the table, and Sumo slowly getting out of his bed and approaching both of them.

Now that he thought about it, there didn't seem to be any gender specifications to romance either. The two Tracis were both female-identifying, but Markus and North appeared to be the opposite gender. It was different than all the human families he saw consisting of a man, woman, and their children.

He made several searches on the internet before coming across the definition of sexuality, and it's more detailed synonym: sexual orientation.

Sexual Orientation: a person's sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.

There's...multiple sexualities?

"Hey Connor, is your mood ring spinning yellow cause you burnt the pancakes or something?"

"No, just making a few internet searches." Connor admitted. "Don't worry, the pancakes are at optimal temperature."

"You searchin' for porn?" Hank almost laughed.

Connor did another search.

Pornography: printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings.

"No." Connor determined. "Why? Do you want me to?"

"Jesus, no Connor." Hank coughed. "Christ, it was a joke."

"I know." Connor smirked, walking towards the kitchen table with the plate of pancakes. He took the container of syrup and poured the average amount that Hank normally desires.

Hank had gotten used to Connor making him breakfast almost everyday. He didn't want Connor to be his personal maid, but the android had insisted that he needed objectives to complete everyday.

That was partially a lie. More than anything, Connor wanted to make Hank feel comfortable whenever they weren't working. But having objectives was a bonus, it made Connor feel productive.

"Thanks, Con."

"You're welcome." Connor sat next to him.

As he learned, it helped to pick up a book or make conversation with Hank while he was eating. Staring at him had yielded unfavorable results.

Was he to bring up his curiosity about romance to Hank? He had to know a lot about love; he had a son and presumably a woman that also raised him.

But Hank was usually a closed book, and personal questions sometimes backfired. Love seemed to be very personal. But there was no book for him to read, and not much else to talk about.

Finally, he used his LED to turn on the TV.

"What internet search are you making now?" Hank asked as he started eating.

"None, why?"

"Your thing's still spinnin' yellow." Hank pointed out. "What's on your mind?"

Truth? Lie? With Hank? Always the truth.

"Ever since I heard of Markus and North kissing in front of the soldiers, I've been trying to understand how androids could fall in love." Connor explained.

Connor frowned, feeling conflicted by his newfound emotions. It's almost as if he could feel, but not enough.

Whatever that meant.

"Well, you know that deviants can feel scared and happy. You've felt it yourself, so what'll stop them from feeling love?" Hank replied.

Connor couldn't think of anything. What Hank said made sense.

"You love Sumo, don't ya?"

"Yes." Connor responded quickly.

He felt a lot of affection for the fluffy doggo, so that appeared to be a correct conclusion.

"Well...there ya go." Hank blushed, and Connor could tell that he had another question. One that'd go unspoken.

Do you love me?

Hank didn't like showing his emotions, so Connor didn't persist.

After Hank finished eating, they left for work.

Connor's conversation with Hank left a lot to be desired. He still didn't know what it felt like to fall in love.

His newest objective? Find out the meaning of romance. This objective wouldn't take priority of course, he still needed to work and keep Hank's house in order. But whenever he wasn't doing those two things, he'd be focusing on the romance objective. The first task?

Go to Markus' mansion tomorrow morning and ask him about what it feels like to fall in love.