Hi!

I had a few ideas before starting this story, and I wanted to share them, therefore this story is born from that. I wanted to write something that involved an original character that I named Laure. During this 16 chapter long story, you'll see her side, as well as Connor's. You'll also see how their relationship progress. I don't want to spoil anything, but this story is full of ups and downs. It would mean the world to me if somebody took the time to read it.

Another thing I need to say before you start reading is that English is not my first language, and I corrected everything by myself. You might see some mistakes here and there. I hope it's still readable though.

I'll let you read now, have fun and feel free to leave a comment!

Chapter 1 – Home

January 2039

It had only been a few months since the android's demonstration. Their peaceful fight had given them their rights and their freedom. For the first time, androids and humans were equal.

After the 12th of November, the deviants had stayed hidden for a while with Markus. The leader had declared that they should wait a little bit before going back. Doing so, also gave humans a little bit of a break and time to absorb everything that had happened. A few days later, the androids that had a place to go afterward left while the others stayed. The last remaining ones were cheerful and enjoyed their new freedom. They all started to talk and know each other a bit better including Markus. They all seemed to be perfectly comfortable with one another, except one of them. One chocolate eyed android who always stayed in the corner of the room and didn't talk to anybody. He simply held his arms close to himself and looked at the ground. He was the only android who still had the small LED on his temple. RK800, or Connor.

Eventually, the other androids started asking questions as to why Connor didn't seem to fit in at all. Markus always had the same answer. "He just needs time." But honestly, Markus couldn't understand Connor's behavior. He had rescued thousand of androids up in the CyberLife tower, shouldn't he be proud of himself, or at least happy? Connor also still had his uniform. He still looked just like any normal android. Markus really couldn't understand him.

As the majority left, Markus was surprised to see that Connor was still in his corner. Maybe he didn't have anywhere to go. Leaving his group to talk, he made his way to the deviant and sat down next to him.

"Hey," Markus simply said as an introduction.

Connor looked up at him.

"Hey," he repeated.

"Tell me, what's the matter?" Markus asked after a while.

The android took a long pause before speaking in a whisper.

"I don't know. I don't understand," he ended up saying.

"Understand what?"

"Everybody's happy. They all look up to you and they're overjoyed by their freedom, but even though I'm happy that it all worked out in the end, I don't feel like I have quite the same feeling towards all of this," Connor explained slowly. "I feel all these emotions, but at the same time, I don't feel anything. I don't understand what's wrong with me."

"Nothing's wrong with you, Connor. Maybe you just need a little bit more time to adapt. You were built to hunt down deviants so maybe it's harder for you to become one."

"Maybe…"

Both were silent for a few minutes as Connor continued to look down. Markus was the one speaking first.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" he asked carefully.

"I… I'm not sure. There is one place, but I am not certain that he'll accept to have me stay with him," Connor sighed.

"Your owner?"

"I guess you could say that."

"You can stay here as long as you wish, Connor. You are one of us and we'll be there if you need anything."

"Thank you, Markus."

"No problem," the deviant said before standing up and walking back to North, Josh, and Simon.

North looked up from where she was sitting as Markus walked towards them.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"He's seem conflicted as if the deviancy was only partial in his programming," Markus tried to explain.

"Is he dangerous?" Josh asked.

"No, I don't think so."

At the same time, they heard the door open slowly. Standing up, the group walked to the door carefully. A man walked out, followed by a dog on a leach.

"Hi, who are you?" Markus asked the man.

"Hank Anderson, I'm looking for someone and I was told that this is where you all were. He's probably here," the man said.

He let the dog take a step forward before dropping the leach.

"C'mon Sumo, found him," he simply said with a small smirk.

"Who exactly are you looking for?" North asked as she took a step forward.

Hank didn't have time to answer before they heard another voice behind them.

"Sumo. Hey boy," the voice said.

Hank smiled as he walked to his dog. "Him," he simply said before kneeling to pet Sumo.

"Long time so see, Connor."

"Hello, Lieutenant," the android said as he kept petting the dog and scratching his ears.

"Whatcha doing here, anyway?"

"I… didn't know where to go," Connor said in a whisper.

"Well you do now, c'mon kid, we're going home," Hank said as he stood up.

"Home?" Connor whispered after a few seconds.

Hank gave him a smile before walking away. The android stood up as well and held the leach in his hand as he followed Hank. He said goodbye to the group before exiting the building.

The car ride was pleasant. Connor was looking out the window and sometimes reaching backward to pet Sumo's head. All throughout the ride, Connor kept thinking about what Hank had said. We're going home. Had he really meant that?

Arrived at Hank's house, they opened the doors for Sumo to get out and headed inside. After grabbing a beer in the fridge, Hank walked next to Connor who was still standing by the door.

"Hey, kid. Were you planning on staying at the door all day? C'mon, I want to show you something," Hank said as he walked to his room.

He pointed the door on the wall between Hank's bedroom and the bathroom and shrugged.

"It's not much but I figured if you were gonna stay here, might as well have a room for you. I cleaned it up for the first time since… yeah well anyway, it's yours now so… go in," Hank said as he opened the door.

For the first time since Cole's death. This used to be Cole's room, Hank was giving him his son's room. Connor walked inside and looked around. It looked a lot like Hank's room but warmer. On the bed was a box badly wrapped with a piece of paper on top. The android walked to it and took the sheet of paper in his hands.

WELCOME HOME, CONNOR

A smile appeared on his face as he noticed the small drawings on the corner of the page.

"I was probably drunk," Hank said as he understood what Connor was looking at.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Connor said as he turned around.

"Hank. Might as well you start calling me by my name," he replied. "Now open the box, I tried to wrap it up, but gave up halfway."

Connor smiled as he nodded and took the box. He unwrapped it carefully and looked inside. He tilted his head slightly.

"Clothes?" he said, confused.

"Androids are free now. That's a good reason to get rid of this stupid looking CyberLife uniform. I hope I got the sizes right," Hank explained.

Sumo, who had followed them inside the room, barked as he looked at Connor. The android smiled as he rubbed the dog's big head. After putting the box down on the bed, Connor turned around to Hank and gave him a smile. Hank sighed as he placed his hand on Connor's shoulder and pulled him into a hug. He smiled as Connor hugged him back and whispered.

"Welcome home, son."