While Hank turned in for the night for a "nap", which past behaviour indicated would probably end up being a full night's sleep, Connor stripped what was left of his clothes, took the cleaning chemical out from the bathroom drawer with a scrubbing pad, and stepped into the spray of the shower.

His evening had been blissfully quiet with his notifications and tertiary systems on standby, and it was with reluctance that he turned them back on, knowing that he probably had a few concerned messages waiting for him.

And sure enough, 2.6 seconds after he took himself off standby there was a message from North - N: You went offline for a period of 3.2 hours this evening. One of your processors has malfunctioned. Tell me you are alright.

He knew he couldn't keep North waiting. She was probably the most impatient android he'd ever known, but he appreciated that she kept running tabs on everyone involved with the revolution, making sure they were safe and away from danger. She and Markus mostly tried to keep contact with him after the events, but he didn't reach out nearly as much as he knew he should.

C: I did. I downloaded an external program that did not mesh with my systems. A new CPU has been ordered and is enroute.

N: Downloaded an external program? That's not like you. Did you check the serial number to see if it was compatible with your system?

Connor opened the chemical bottle and poured a measure on the scrubbing pad, letting it foam under the lukewarm spray of the shower. Hank would probably comment on the acidic smell of the shower afterwards, but it was the most antibacterial way to clean his skin and chassis, and he didn't want Hank or Sumo to get sick.

C: I checked the serial number, but I was not aware of what it would do to me.

N: Have you taken steps to uninstall the program?

C: Please stop worrying, North. I'm fine. The program was running on an external device.

While he scrubbed at his shoulders and across the back of his neck, he lamented that he could not feel the sensations, but he supposed he could always use the device in the controlled environment of Hank's home. It was something.

It was a few seconds before North replied, and he wondered sadly if he had disregarded her.

N: I was worried. We were all worried. When the most recent Android model goes dark that's not a good sign. I am glad you're okay, so is Markus.

And then…

N: What program were you trying to run? Is there a way we can help?

Connor frowned, feeling apprehensive. C: It's a sensitive matter…

But he thought about the model of android that North was. Surely she would have more information on patch number #638.1.12 being a WR400, maybe even how to better handle the effects or known bugs with that particular program. Would it be much harm to ask her…?

C: Can I ask you to keep this between you and me?

N: Okay? You're acting strange.

Connor was aware that, as a deviant, she may not keep it to herself at all, but he didn't overly care of what they would think of him if they knew he just had sex with Hank. He was more worried about what it would do to Hank's reputation if the word got out.

Having sex with an android who didn't continue to work in places like the Eden Club was still very much frowned upon, even by other androids, let alone the humans who still hated them.

And androids choosing to take human partners? Unheard of.

C: I was running patch number #638.1.12 on an external device. I received the device from Elijah Kamski earlier today.

It was a full minute until North replied. Connor used the time to wash down his legs and let his apprehension for her reply grow. Hank's sweat and saliva was all over him, and a small part of him was loathe to wash it away. He hoped there would be other opportunities to get it on himself again in the near future.

N: Okay.

N: First of all

N: Why are you trying to integrate this patch if it is not compatible with your model type?!

N: And second

N: Are you INSANE going to Elijah Kamski for help?

N: Do you know he still has us locked out of the base code?

N: Tell me what happened.

Connor rolled his eyes as the rush of messages scrolled past his UI.

C: North. Please calm down.

C: I wanted to see if it would aid in my assistance functions. I asked Kamski for help because I didn't know anyone else who had his expertise.

N: Why didn't you come to us? How could you trust him over us?

C: Because there's no other available model like me.

More waiting for her reply. It was a half-truth, if he was being honest with himself. Truly, he didn't trust the androids at Jericho, and he assumed that they didn't really trust him either. He still worked for the law enforcement regardless of his deviancy, and in the months following their uprising he declined most invitations to speak on the matter or to discuss policy.

He had no interest. He also didn't really have the time.

N: Okay. I'll accept that. Maybe you thought he would have the answers you're looking for, but maybe you're also not giving us enough credit, Connor. We're more advanced than you think.

C: I can understand your reasoning, but I just chose the option with the highest success margin.

Connor put the scrubbing pad down, doing a quick maintenance test to see if he missed anywhere. His mouth was at a sterile level. His skin was 98.9% disinfected. It would be enough.

There was also a lot of semen in him.

When Hank came, he came hard. Connor was going to quickly research the best way to clean himself out, but instead braced his hands against the wall when he recalled, with perfect clarity, the sound of Hank groaning into his ear when he orgasmed. The all-encompassing feeling of Hank's mouth on him, or the electricity of Hank pressing against the plate deep inside him.

The silence in himself when he came because it took over every function.

C: North.

C: Can I ask you a personal question?

N: Sure?

C: Does it always feel like that?

There was another long pause. Connor spread some of the chemical on his fingers, pushing them inside himself to try and clear out some of the mess.

N: I've never gone dark or had a CPU malfunction on me, if that's what you're asking. You shouldn't have trusted Kamski, just FYI :)

C: I am aware of that now.

N: Do you want us to take a look and see if we can integrate it for you? If it's important for your job, Connor, we can help you.

He sighed as he read the message. Maybe he should have gone to Jericho first… he just didn't want their judgement. Infinitely he was glad that he didn't let Kamshi 'test' the device on him, because he wouldn't have been able to fight the effects or fight off Kamski if he chose to make an advance on him.

The program Kamski made for him made him so incredibly weak. Kamski could have done anything he wanted to him at that moment and he wouldn't have had a choice.

North was right. He shouldn't have trusted him.

C: I don't know… I don't know if you can, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt.

N: We won't put you in danger.

C: I know.

N: Can I ask you a question now?

C: Sure.

N: What were you doing to make you overheat a CPU?

N: The conversation is still between us, I promise I won't tell anyone. Just… hope you're okay. I hope no one took advantage of you.

Then, he was faced with a dilemma. North knew what it meant to be used by humans, probably more than most other androids. She hated humans and he knew that, of course she would assume that someone used him instead of thinking that maybe he made the decision for himself.

Hank certainly asked for his consent enough times. He didn't feel like Hank pushed him, or that the device took away his ability to make a decision.

C: I'm okay. No one took advantage of me.

A pause. And then -

C: I had sex with Lieutenant Hank Anderson.

C: I wanted to.

Another pause. And then -

C: I'm in love with him, North.

Connor wasn't entirely sure why he told North, and that terrified him to his core because there was little he was ever unsure of. Maybe because he thought North would understand on some level. Maybe because he got on better with North than he did any other android. Maybe because she didn't see the 'Deviant Hunter' when she looked at him.

He couldn't even tell Hank he loved him, at least not yet. It felt less of a burden to carry after admitting it, even when he waited, and waited, and waited for her reply.

When she finally did, it was a relief.

N: Well, I can't say I'm surprised. No offence.

N: Also, that's fucking disgusting. No offence :)

N:A Human. Ugh.

Connor laughed as he turned the shower faucet off.

C: Stop judging me :)

C: Please don't tell anyone.

N: Your secret is safe with me.

N: If you're worried about this device that Kamski gave you, bring it down to us and we'll see what we can do. I'll look into integrating this patch in the meantime. I'll keep you posted.

When he picked up the towel off the bar next to the bath, he wondered what the texture would feel like and made a promise to himself that he would try it again in the morning with Hank there, just in case he overheated again… and because he wanted to have more sex. He just hoped Hank wanted that too.

C: Thanks, North. If you could, that would be great.

N: No problem.

"Connor?" He whipped around at the sound of Hank calling his name sleepily from the bedroom.

"Yeah?"

"Can you c'mere a sec?"

"Sure," he called out, drying himself off and putting on the fresh clothes he left for himself on the lid of the toilet, throwing his old pants in the wash basket.

Padding into Hank's bedroom, he looked through the dim light with the curtains closed to see Hank curled up under the duvet, one of his feet sticking out from the bottom of the bed to hang over the edge.

"Something wrong?" Connor asked quietly, approaching the bed closer. Hank turned over under the duvet.

"... Can I ask you a favour?"

"Yes…? Are you alright, Hank?" He stepped closer and sat on the edge of the bed, resting his hand on top of where he was sure Hank's shoulder was.

"'M fine, don't worry," Hank said, muffled somewhat by the blankets pulled up around his head, "I was just… gonna ask you if you would stay here tonight."

A little perplexed, Connor rose a brow. Hank never asked for much, but he understood the reasons behind the question. They had been intimate, and some humans required physical closeness afterwards in order to feel secure. On a level, he supposed that Hank was now considering him as a potentially intimate partner instead of a random sexual encounter.

He was surprised that Hank asked, but not surprised why.

Hank continued, "It just feels… I dunno, weird - to fuck you and then not have you here, you know? That probably sounds pretty stupid."

Connor smiled a little. Hank was feeling self-conscious. "Not at all," he replied, "let me just let Sumo out for a few minutes and then I'll be back."

"Yeah," Hank sighed, "sorry if I'm asleep by then."

Shaking his head in amusement, Connor got up and left the room to let Sumo out, and while he waited on the arm of the couch for the dog's return he sifted through the messages left for him from the precinct. There was nothing really of note or particularly important. Administration concerns, mostly, stuff he could probably do while in standby while he lay beside Hank.

Which was a strange concept to him, to think that they were so close already. But there was a difference, he knew, between casual sex and real intimacy. Perhaps too early to start categorising anything with a label, but it was something.

A small part of him wished he hadn't pushed everything so quickly. A huge part of him was happy that he did.

The block of data labelled in his directory was now full of new information that he was more than happy to sift through with a variety of new categories - smell, taste, relationship status, sound, likes and dislikes. All neatly categorized and interestingly new.

Sumo huffed at him while he waddled back into the house and sat down in the corner. Connor shut and locked the front door, remotely turning off the lights and walked back into Hank's bedroom, quietly walking to the opposite side of the bed. Hank turned over to watch him crawl up onto the bed to lay on his side next to him.

The device Kamski gifted him was on Hank's bedside locker next to his watch and a half-used packet of generic 500mg paracetamol.

As Connor put his head on the pillow beside Hank, he met Hank's steely-blue eyes evenly, "You are aware that I don't need to sleep, but I can stay here if you want me to."

Hank tongued the back of his teeth, and eventually said, "... If you're too busy or whatever…"

"I'm not busy,"

"Then why bring it up?"

"I may look strange to you if I go into standby mode,"

Hank made a dismissive noise in the back of his throat, "I don't care. I just… I dunno, I want you here, I guess."

Connor surmised something that made him sink a little deeper into the bed, something that was on his mind since he first saw the picture of Cole on the kitchen table when he met Hank nearly a year ago.

Hank was lonely.

The thought was frightening, particularly because humans were such incredibly social creatures and the isolation was just one of the many factors pushing Hank towards suicide. Despite him living with Hank, a little part of it was still there. Almost to reassure himself, Connor broached, "Are you feeling different, after what happened between us earlier?"

"'Course I am," he replied, putting one arm out of the blankets to scoop around his shoulder to pull him in closer, "'course I'm gonna feel different. Don't you?"

"Yes," Connor returned the gesture by winding his free arm around the blanket on top of Hank, "but not in a negative sense. I… would like to try more, if you do too,"

The Lieutenant snorted, "Maybe gimme a couple of hours before I do that again. I'm not the man I used to be, Connor."

Connor smiled, pushing aside the want to feel everything in that moment to just enjoy it for what it was. Lonely, perhaps, but hopefully not so much anymore now that Connor was sharing the bed with him. In more senses than just being physically there.

After a few moments of watching Hank's breathing deepen, scanning the movement of his thumb absentmindedly circling Connor's shoulder blade, Hank finally admitted, "I'm flaking here. Sorry, guess I should probably sleep,"

"That's alright. Goodnight, Hank."

"G'night…"

Is this what humans feel? He thought, when he leaned that little bit forward to press a kiss against Hank's brow. Over time, he watched Hank's breathing deepen even further and his face fall slack, his limbs relax and sink into the bed.

Is this what humans feel? He thought, while he watched Hank sleep for a few minutes and then closed his eyes to enter a stand-by state. Was the devotion in him a part of his social programming, or purely because he felt closer to Hank now? Was admitting his feelings to North something a human would do, or was it just another social function designed to keep him closer to his assigned partner?

Perhaps there was truth to North when she angered over being locked out of their base code. Connor would love to sift through it to see if his feelings for Hank were based on programming or not…

But then… Didn't Markus and North fall in love, too? Didn't Kara love and care for the YK500 called Alice? Even though their code dictated that other androids were irrelevant?

Maybe it was another area of android deviancy that none of them were really aware of.

Maybe he was a little more human than he thought.

A message from North popped up in his UI - N: Making headway on this patch for you. You should keep in touch more, you know were all here for you, Connor.

But he brushed it aside to read at a later time when he felt ready to answer her. He didn't have the integrity to open it and strike up the conversation again. Maybe because… Connor was a little lonely, too.

The androids at Jericho could welcome him in with open arms all they liked, it still wouldn't change the fact that he had hunted and killed a few of them before his deviancy. It was sad, but he didn't think he would ever feel a part of them because he was specifically built not to be. The guilt and shame would follow him forever.

He would never forget the terror in Kara's face when he saw her shield Alice from him in the church during the uprising. Or that Simon specifically shot himself so he wouldn't be taken in and destroyed by Connor when he caught him on the roof of the Stratford Tower. Or that despite all the words otherwise, he could tell a part of Markus still did not trust him.

Connor wasn't one of them. He wasn't human, either.

But as Hank shifted in his sleep to drag Connor a little closer so his head was tucked under Hank's chin, he thought perhaps if he couldn't be one of them, and couldn't be human, he could at least mean something to Hank.

And for that moment, that was enough.