Yes, I use the blatant POV announcement titles. I'm sorry, but I like it.
-JESSICA- - - - -
Jessica's coat was still damp even after being seated in the office for an hour. She scanned the room to see Gavin get his third coffee while Fowler had a heated conversation on his phone. Amidst the slowly flowing ecosystem that was the bullpen, she spotted out Connor and Hank as they looked to be finished with their debriefing. Her view on them was blocked by the back of another officer, the LED display on his uniform was broken. The detective couldn't help but stare as she wondered how those things were even powered. She glared intently at it, really focusing in on what it could possibly be made of. All of a sudden, the officer walked away revealing a pair of brown eyes that were staring back at her from across the room. He sat there calmly looking at her as if he had been observing her the whole time. Jessica was locked in Connor's gaze until she tore her eyes away from him, she immediately glanced down at her desk and attempted to look busy so she could salvage her composure.
He was really staring at you. That thought alone sent a strange warm jolt through her that set fire to her cheeks.
She glanced back up at the android who now seemed to be engrossed with whatever was on his display monitor.
After waiting patiently, Jessica felt it was finally time to receive the praise she had waited for from the very beginning. With a huff, she pulled the bagged notebook out of her desk drawer, stood up, and made her way over to Hank.
-CONNOR- - - - -
Detective Mayfield was headed towards Lieutenant Anderson with the book in her hand. A quick scan of her face revealed pride and a hint of satisfaction.
"Alright you old fart! Now that I have your attention –"
Her abrupt greeting made Conner flinch his head back. The book was dropped on Lieutenant Anderson's desk. The disgruntled man looked at the item, then back at the woman. A faint smirk teased the corner of the lieutenant's mouth as he picked it up and took it out of the bag to examine it.
"Well… well… well. You really hit it big with this one kid." He skimmed through the pages.
'Old fart' and 'kid', these terms when said to these types of people were usually considered insults but Connor could not detect any hostility between the man and woman.
"I know! Just when I thought the case was fucked." A large sigh exited her parted lips as she beamed at the seated man. "I might even get a promotion if things keep going good."
Lieutenant Anderson merely smiled at her and nodded his head, handing back the item to her. When Connor looked back at the young detective he could see the look on her face – it was as if she glowed, an odd anomaly seeing as though the sun wasn't out and the light fixtures were so high above them. This unalloyed look pulled Connor in, causing his chair to creak slightly as he leaned forward faintly.
"We gotta celebrate." Her eyebrows rose. "Drinks on you of course."
Hank scoffed as he shook his head. "Alright, how's tonight sound?"
"Hank. It's Monday." She exclaimed. "I know you can waltz into work after 12 the next morning with no problems, but I can't." She placed her hands on her hips. "Please make it a Friday."
Lieutenant Anderson looked back at his monitor. Hopefully getting back to the mission at hand. "Beggars can't be choosers, kid."
The case had been delayed for too long. Connor already had their next Deviant to search for and he was not willing to waste any more time as the malfunctioning android got away.
The woman leaned on the lieutenant's desk. "Pleas-"
"If I may interrupt lieutenant, I have found a lead and believe we should act on it as soon as possible." Connor stood up, grabbing the attention of the two humans.
Right now the mission comes first.
Anderson slowly turned his head to face Connor. "Listen here, the case can wait for a bit. We've only been here for 30 minutes, give me some time to settle." He leaned back in his chair.
"Lieutenant, we have been here for 1 hour, 29 minutes, and 44 seconds. Is that not enough time to rest?" Connor was persistent.
Anderson's anger visibly grew, something that Jessica took note of.
"Hank." She simply said in a soft tone.
He grunted loudly, loud enough even for Fowler to hear in his glass office. "Fine." He stood abruptly and sneered at Connor. "Give me a second, I need to use the shitter."
"Alright." Connor confirmed.
This confirmation seemed to irritate the lieutenant further as he turned and made his way to the bathrooms with a huff.
"Hey! Friday night at Jimmy's!" The female detective shouted out. Connor took note of the date and stored it away for any future use.
"Yeah, yeah…" Anderson waved his hand without looking back.
Connor looked to the woman, she seemed pleased with his aloof response. This reminded him of the anomaly from before.
"Excuse me, Detective Mayfield. But how do you uphold a civil relationship with the lieutenant, even after exchanging insulting names?"
Her brows dramatically creased inward.
"Insulting names? W- What did I say?" She seemed concerned.
"You called him an 'Old fart'." Connor stated flatly.
At the mention of the nickname her face broke into a large smile as she rolled her eyes. "Oh! Oh…" She shook her head. "That's just my nickname for him. It may sound offensive out of context but I only call him that as a joke." She carefully explained and paused, thinking for a moment. "That's kind of what friends do."
The detective and lieutenant are possible friends.
"You're friends with the lieutenant?" Connor asked in search for a clear confirmation.
Her smile was accompanied by a shrug and furrowed brows. "Yeah… I'd say so. I mean, he doesn't yell at me anymore."
So, Anderson yelled at people, even those who are now his friends. His short temper and agitated behaviour were now established as basic mannerisms he naturally possessed.
"Oh." Connor paused. Maybe Anderson would stop yelling at him at some point.
"Hey." The detective called for his attention, greeting his gaze with sincere eyes. "He'll warm up to you. It just takes time." The corner of her mouth rose and there was another skip in Conner's processing.
"Right." He nodded and continued to stand, waiting for Lieutenant Anderson.
There was a small pause before the detective shifted her weight to leave. But before she turned around, her eyes watched Connor's as if she analyzed him.
"Good luck with the case, Connor." A mix of worry and hope surfaced on her face.
It took a moment for Connor to register this as empathy. He was not used to receiving actual compassion from humans, politeness maybe, but earnest empathy… never. With that discovery came another skip in his processing, this hiccup delayed him from giving her a response.
He tilted his head. "And you with yours detective Mayfield."
-JESSICA- - - - -
The tired detective spent the rest of your day seated with a coffee in the break room. Tuesday flashed by faster than spoiled Chinese food passed through her body. An unsightly image but nothing worse than what she discovered at the locations written in the notebook. Androids and humans torn apart in abandoned buildings as if they were discarded trash waiting to decompose. It would seem as though possible Deviants were leaking into her case.
At the thought of Deviants, Jessica's gaze flicked from her coffee cup over towards Hank's desk. She relaxed into the stool, leaning her elbows against the coffee table. Their cases might actually be crossing over.
Jessica continued to idly rub her index knuckle against her bottom lip. The slight painful irritation provided the woman with some stimulus that, in a way, was satisfying. Her knuckle was replaced by her teeth as she became impatient with Hank's arrival. She needed information on the Deviants to see if there was any correlation between rouge androids and the brutal scenes she had witnessed. The soft tissue of her lip cried out for mercy, and it received it when her gaze landed on Connor who now entered the office. His strides were confident and his body had little sway to it as he glided through the room. The detective's hand gripped the paper coffee cup to steady it in preparation for her call out to Connor.
"Connor! Can I speak with you?"
The android first turned his head to look at who called, then the rest of his body followed as he registered who she was and what her command was. He was now standing on the other side of the table, his head titled slightly to the side with that quizzical expression.
"Yes detective. What would you like to speak with me about?" He blinked.
"I was wondering if you guys would tag along with me to the next location on my list. I think Deviants are involved and figured we could help each other out." Jessica offered him a warm smile, unable to resist the urge to make him smile back.
After he processed what she said, her wish came true - the corners of his mouth twitched up slightly.
Man. There was something about his simple smile, it's like it was barely there. Just small enough, as if it should be kept secret to everyone except for who it was directed to. Jessica wondered if he always smiled like that in response to other people's interactions.
"That does sound beneficial. Is it alright if I cross check the locations with information that I've gathered?" His brows furrowed in anticipation for her reply.
"To find the location relative to your case?" She wanted to confirm to make sure they were on the same track.
"Precisely." He perked up, as though he was happy she too was on the same wave length. That small smile twitched on his face again this time making his eyes squint ever so slightly.
Jessica found herself slipping into those brown eyes, they look real… but-
"Hey! It's the tin can." The voice she dreaded to hear broke her out of her trance. Jessica and Connor looked at the incoming co-worker.
"Doll-face, check it out. It grabs coffee for me. How's that for tax payer's money well spent." He turned to Connor and jerked his chin up at him with a crinkled nose. "Go get me a coffee you plastic prick."
Just as Connor went to move, Jessica reached over and grabbed Connor's shoulder.
"Connor, sit down. Don't listen to this asshole." She stared down Gavin as she applied some downward pressure onto Conner. He obliged and sat down on the stool next to her. The female detective looked to Connor who seemed to be processing something.
Just as Gavin was about to speak, Connor tilted his head looking between the two detectives.
"Asshole? Is that your nickname for Detective Reed?" He blinked. Once again, another perfect sentence to come out of his perfect mouth – something he didn't understand was funny but she found hilarious.
Jessica's laugh caught Connor off guard and he stared at her, perplexed by her reaction. She licked her lips as she finished laughing and sunk her teeth into her bottom lip as she held back another laugh. Connor examined the woman's expression and smiled back with creased brows, he was clearly confused but definitely not upset by it. That little expression made Jessica's heart leap a little, reminding her just how new and innocent Connor was.
"Is that some sort of snide remark?" Gavin, once again, ruined the woman's moment as he stepped up to the seated android and pushed his finger hard against his chest.
Connor's confused smile fell immediately and Jessica's heart dropped lower than the corners of his lips.
Her attention turned to Gavin as she, quite audibly, smacked his hand away from Connor. Jessica assertively pointed her finger at him as if it were a weapon.
"Leave him the fuck alone, or I'm gonna dump this weeks' worth of paperwork on your shoulders. And I know for a fact you're already behind. So if you want to keep your head above water, then I suggest you get a fucking move on." Her lip curled up as she sneered at him.
Gavin backed up and sucked on his tooth.
"We share the paperwork." He emphasized the word 'share' and glared at her as he walked away.
The female detective sighed as she watched him leave, her and Connor were finally at peace again.
"Did I… escalate the situation?" Connor's voice sounded subtly troubled.
"No… you…" Jessica searched for a reason to logically explain why it wasn't his fault and that it's just because Gavin's an asshole. But that look he gave her, he seemed so concerned about his own ability to socialize. She didn't want him to blame himself. "No, Connor. What you did was make my day."
She smiled at him.
And he smiled back.