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Chicago: Become Human
Chapter Fourteen: You Before Me
"I need a shower," Samantha announced as she sat up, smelling herself. "Ugh, so sweaty and gross. Can you smell that, Connor?"
He lay on his side on the hotel bed, head propped up on his palm. "Smelling requires the act of inhaling, so no."
"Be grateful," she returned, getting off the bed and padding to the bathroom.
"Can I join?" Connor called as she disappeared through the door.
Her head poked back out. "You are invited, but you need to leave your friend out of it." She looked pointedly at the stiff appendage attached to his groin, still at permanent attention before returning to the bathroom.
In the shower, Samantha had already begun soaping herself up when Connor, now back to his original parts, joined her inside. She turned to greet him, looking him up and down with approval. She liked his android form. She liked looking at all of him. Everything about him never failed to intrigue and fascinate her.
He watched her with curiosity as she kept her gaze on him while she soaped up a wash cloth and then pressed it to his chest.
"What are you doing?" Connor asked.
"I'm going to wash you."
"It is not necessary to wash me as such."
"As such?" she responded playfully. "Would you rather I take you outside and spray you down with the hose when you get dirty?"
"I feel like you would enjoy that," came the cheeky reply.
Samantha made a soft noise of agreement as she continued to run the cloth over his chest and shoulders.
"You really don't have to," Connor insisted.
"I want to," she insisted right back.
"Why?"
She paused, her hands on him. "It makes me feel like I'm taking care of you. But if you don't like it, I'll stop."
Connor liked her hands on him for any reason. But watching her put effort and work into something that garnered no needful result confused him. And a deep part of him felt guilty anytime she put more effort into caring for him. That part of him was convinced he was not deserving of such effort. Not when there was a time when she loved him with her whole heart and his response to it had been no more than polite concern.
Still, the selfish part of him told her she could do as she liked. Samantha seemed very pleased to continue with her work. He watched as she touched him with wide, curious eyes. Scrutinizing all the tiny bits of him with far more attention than she ever had before when they were making love.
At first, Connor, began to feel like he was on display while she studied him like a foreign specimen. It made him feel like a thing, like a robot to be poked and tinkered with. But Samantha, his dear, dear Samantha, dispelled that feeling as fast as it came. She inspected his elbow, feeling with her fingers how it worked as she bent it back and forth. Then she kissed it. Eyes closed, lips gentle, she bestowed her affection upon that part of him. Then came the shoulder joint as she learned how it worked and then fell in love with that part of him next.
Before he knew it, she was answering that unspoken goal he had never told her about. As she moved on to learn him, she ignited just about every sensor he had as she methodically washed him inch by inch. When she was finished with the front, she washed his wide, strong back, his neck and shoulders. And when she was finished there, she knelt on the shower floor and ran her hands up and down his legs.
He felt her kiss the back of his knee and Connor hung his head in the downpour of the shower, eyes closed. To be loved like this was humbling, and more than he knew how to handle. He did not know how to respond other than to stand there and allow it. Not for the first time, he thought about how she knew how to love better than he. Again, he felt himself an inappropriate subject for her great heart, but at the same time, he selfishly never wanted to give it up.
Stuck in his inner thoughts, the full-body wash was over before he knew it. Samantha stood and turned off the water. Connor soundlessly let it drip off his form, not moving to cover or dry himself.
"I hear it!" Samantha exclaimed, now that the bathroom was silent.
Connor turned in time to get Samantha's full form into his chest. She moved into him with enough force that the surprise pressed his back against the wall. Samantha was plastered to his front, her ear to his chest.
"There's the purring again," she said in a low voice. "I love it. That's my favorite sound."
Connor dumbly stood there, gaze idly staring at the wall. He had not been aware his body was making that sound. That particular noise sometimes made its pleasure known on its own without him consciously turning it on. Samantha made little happy noises as she listened. Her own brand of purring, he supposed.
His arms went around her, keeping her close as they both dripped on the shower floor. He closed his eyes as he savored how soft and pliant her form was against the unforgiving firmness of his human-shaped shell. He could hold her like this forever. But he also knew that exposed and wet was not the most comfortable state for humans.
"Let's get you dry and warm, okay?" he whispered to her after a while.
"After a hot shower in the middle of summer, I'm plenty warm," she replied, still blissfully listening to his chest. "You're still warm from the shower, too."
He allowed it for a while longer, but then the purr slowly morphed into an anxious whine of his systems. Samantha was about to ask him about it when he said in a more urgent voice, "Humans need to be dry and warm." And she knew this was his android OCD tendencies trying to take care of her. She kissed his jaw and kindly agreed.
She wrapped one towel around her torso and then another up in her hair like a large, white turban. The third she grabbed for Connor because, despite his insistence of her being dry, he hardly had a sense of his android body being wet. Modesty was not a thing for him either. When he was ordered, he stood before her nude while Samantha dried him off. He watched her with a gentle smile as she lovingly touched him all over again.
When finished, Samantha flopped tiredly onto the bed. She rolled over onto the discarded attachment and tossed it to the floor so she wouldn't have to look at it. Connor gave her an amused look before joining her on the bed. He stretched out on his side next to her while she lay in her towel, an arm draped over her eyes. He took her hand, pulling it away so he could gain access to her face and adore it with soft, slow kisses. His hand continued holding hers as he did so; the hand that was hers, but not made of her.
Connor noticed her gaze was focused on where they touched, so he kissed her prosthetic hand. Samantha seemed a little self-conscious of his attention in that way, but the synthetic skin of her arm melted away entirely. For the first time, Connor could see clearly where the flesh ended and the prosthetic began. Intrigued, his studied the melding of flesh and technology, only looking at first. When he then touched, Samantha started pulling her arm back, looking a little distressed. She didn't like being touched there. He made a mental note of it.
He soothed her anxiety when he revealed his hand to her as well. White on white, the two hands made of the same material flirted and caressed each other. Their owners took turns inspecting the others', getting to know each other as intimately as they could.
"Connor," Samantha then said in a soft voice. "Is it weird when I touch you with two different hands?"
"Why would it be weird?"
"Don't they feel different to you?"
He kissed the white, dainty palm. "They have a different texture, but they're both you. They both make me feel loved when they touch me."
"You don't have a preference?" she wondered. "Do you prefer to be touched with a soft hand? Or does it feel better to be touched with something that feels more like you?"
Connor just snuggled up against her back, pressing his face in her neck. "You are my preference," he mumbled. "Everything that is you, I prefer."
She was silent, but he could nearly hear her smile. "You're my preference, too," she said with humor. "I don't ever want to be without you."
He moved until he hovered over her, propped up on his palms. "Then keep me," he told her in that smokey voice of his. "Keep me forever."
When he kissed her, an urge flooded over him. He needed to hear her cry out in pleasure. His mouth worked its way down her jaw and throat as he tugged loose the towel wrapped snugly around her. He kissed the valley between her now exposed breasts.
"Again?" she asked in a breathy voice. "I don't know if I can go again." She sucked in air when he ran a thumb firmly around her hardened nipple.
"You can," he assured her with confidence. "You can for me." It was that voice that really started the fire. He continued to tease her with hands and mouth until she was arching and writhing below him. He kissed his way down to her navel. "Make noise for me. I want to hear you come undone."
When his face pressed between her open thighs, Connor heard plenty. With her hand clutching his hair, his tongue delving her depths, she sang his praises. She made all sorts of delicious sounds for him, crying his name until she unraveled at her core. She came down off her high looking as fatigued as Connor had ever seen her. Still, she insisted on wiping his face with a towel before he tried to kiss her again.
"You don't have to do that," she insisted.
"I like doing it," Connor insisted right back. "And you like it, too. As long as you like it, I'm going to keep putting my mouth on you."
She flushed a little at his bluntness.
"You are so beautiful afterward," he murmured as he rubbed his nose against hers. "I like seeing how radiant you are after I love you properly."
"Me?" she asked with wide-eyed wonder. "You think I'm beautiful?"
Connor hovered above her, propped up on his elbows. His LED flickered yellow for a moment as he processed the fact that he had never told her this. That probably no one had. Could humans not know these things if no one told them?
"This surprises you?" he wondered.
Samantha glanced away, self-conscious. "I didn't think it was something androids noticed or thought about."
She wasn't wrong. One's physical appearance was far more important to humans than to androids. Connor wasn't sure how well he grasped human standards of beauty. Didn't the humans think she was beautiful? How could she not be to their standards? There was beauty in that she was both wounded and strong. Her music was beautiful. The way she played and sang was beautiful. Her true smile was radiant and it lit him up with joy when it was turned his way.
The way she loved him; all the many different ways she loved this selfish machine. How she praised him, treasured him, every chance she had. Her love for him was the most beautiful of all. Connor was created without the knowledge of how to love. He learned how from her. As far as he was concerned, Samantha knew how to love best of all the humans. He needed to learn how to love better. He was not good enough at it if she looked so sad and surprised when he told her of his affections.
"To me, you are the most beautiful thing in the world," he said truthfully.
She flushed and said nothing but pressed her face into his neck to hide. Connor allowed it. He held her, his idle hands caressing her form as he muttered soft affections to her as she had so often done to him. She listened, still and quiet in his arms while he told her how she made him feel happy and wanted, and so alive. How important she was to him, how he would do anything for her. How much he wanted her to be happy. How much he tried to love her the way she deserved, though he wished he was better at it.
Samantha shook her head into his neck when he said that. "I know you love me," she said softly. Her palm pressed to his chest over his thirium pump. "I feel it all the time. Your love is heavenly. Anyone would be lucky to have it."
"You have it," he murmured back. "Always you."
To that, she made those soft, happy sounds he loved to hear. She stretched out on her stomach, chin resting on her arms. Connor was delighted to have this part of her exposed to him. He immediately set about peppering her back with kisses, mapping out the structure of her with his fingers.
"This. This is my favorite part," he mumbled as he nuzzled the dip of her spine.
"I am aware of that," she responded with humor. She closed her eyes as she felt him kiss a very thorough trail from her tail bone to the base of her skull.
His fingers danced along the lines of her shoulders. "I have a massage program."
"You should definitely use it then," came Samantha's immediate reply.
He straddled her, sitting back on his heels and stilled for a moment as he integrated the file into his systems. Then his hands, warm and firm, kneaded the muscles of her back and shoulders. She made a deep, satisfied sigh in return.
"I never thought I would do something like this," Samantha muttered, mostly to herself.
"Do what?" Connor asked in the same lazy tone. He was quite enamored with his new-found knowledge of human muscle groups and how Samantha's back was so beautifully put together.
"Slipping out to spend the day in bed with a gorgeous man. It's like something from a romance novel. If someone would have told me I would be doing this, I never would have believed it. Especially before you came."
Connor was quiet for a thoughtful moment. "What was it like in that house before I came?"
"Before you, there was nothing else, but that house and repetition. Every day was the same. Days without color." Connor paused a moment. His days before his awakening, he too thought of them as colorless. "Food had no taste," Samantha went on. "The sun had no light, no warmth. I would read mountains of books without ever having a favorite. Because they were just words on a page and nothing about them reached me. Looking at words was just a way to pass time.
"I didn't go out into the city much, even before I lost my arm. There was no one out there to see, no one to do things with. I would sometimes daydream about traveling, experiencing new things. And then I would remember it would just be me, all alone in a strange place. And I would realize I did not know how to be in the world. I guess I still don't."
Connor leaned down, nuzzling behind her ear. "We can learn together. I will go with you. All you have to do is ask and we will go."
He sat back as Samantha rolled over, sitting up to meet his gaze. She put her arms around his neck, meeting his kind, chocolate eyes. She knew what he was saying. He had been saying it for a while in that secret language he still used. He would take her from that place if she asked. But he did not understand the danger that would put him in. Someone else owned him. That someone else could snuff him right out of existence if he wished, if Connor did something to make him angry enough to follow through on his threats.
So instead of giving Connor the permission he kept asking for, she kissed his nose. "Having you is the best thing that has ever happened to me. You make everything worth it."
Connor's expression was indiscernible. She held his face in her hands as he closed his eyes and pressed their foreheads together. Then he announced he was done fucking her. Making love was the only thing they would be doing for the rest of that afternoon.
.
He felt the bullet wiz by him, grazing and damaging his arm. Several yards ahead, an armed android stood at the building ledge, a young human girl dangling in his grip.
"Stay back! Don't come any closer or I'll jump!"
"Hi Daniel, my name is Connor," he called.
"How—how do you know my name?" the android demanded.
"I know a lot of things about you. I've come to get you out of this."
A helicopter circled overhead, so close it whipped the light patio furniture around. An armed SWAT team crouched at his back ready to fire at any opportunity. They would have fired already if not for the girl. The girl was the mission. She had to survive this no matter the cost.
He talked calmly to the desperate android whose LED was permanently stuck on red. The gun moved back and forth between being aimed at him and pressed against the girl's temple. He slowly crept forward as his negotiation program kicked in. A wounded officer lay on the ground near his feet. He crouched to offer aid and the android fired, hitting the ground inches from them both.
"Don't touch him! Touch him and I'll kill you!"
He ripped the black tie from his neck.
Black?
"You can't kill me. I'm not alive."
Not alive? Is that true?
Once he had used the tie to staunch the bleeding, he continued to move closer to his objective, using every angle he could think of to talk the android out of hurting his hostage.
"They were going to replace you and you became upset. That's what happened, right?"
The android was cracking. His posture loosened, his despair and broken heart began to overpower his outrage. The gun lowered.
"I thought I was part of the family. I thought I mattered." His anger returned. "But I was just their toy. Something to throw away when you're done with it." The gun returned to press against the girl's head.
He had to do something. By now he was close enough. He had to do what needed to be done to complete the mission. He rushed them, grabbing the girl and putting his body between her and the other android. Daniel fell from the ledge and he heard the shot of the gun the same time the bullet tore through the back of his neck. Better him than the girl to take the hit. He would always come back, she would not.
Damage reports flickered across his vision before he lost control of his limbs and his body fell forward over the girl in an awkward position. The last thing he was aware of was the girl's screams as he succumbed to the damage and fell offline.
.
Connor opened his eyes in the darkness, his LED flickering red as if he were in danger. He did not stand on a building roof, riddled with bullets. He sat up in bed. Samantha's body slumbered next to him, her elegant back pale in the moonlight that leaked through a crack in the curtains. He had been in his recharge state, something he couldn't do on command. It usually happened after he had physically exhausted his systems. While in that state, he had somehow connected to another RK800.
Silently, he got up and fetched the remote from where it sat by the TV. He turned it on with low volume and flicked through the channels. There, news coverage of a rooftop that looked all too familiar. It had just happened that night. A house android had gone through the awakening. And his emotion had been rage and betrayal, just as Connor's had. Only this android reacted to it by grabbing a gun and killing the father of the family. He nearly killed the girl as well.
Didn't the android love this family? Even if he felt hurt and betrayed, why was murder the option he chose? Maybe Calvin was wrong. Maybe the change could cause androids to go berserk and to do things they otherwise would not have done. If this android was capable of murder, then weren't there others as well? Were they all capable of it?
"I figured it out!"
Connor jumped when Samantha suddenly exclaimed and sat up in bed. He quickly turned off the TV and forced his yellow LED to cycle back to blue, despite his roiling emotions. The scare of her sudden declaration sent his thirium pump racing.
"I know why the plug goes in the wires and why it got you all hot and bothered," Samantha informed him. "It's for both the guy plug and the one with lady parts. You put the other gender one in and..."
She made some rather crude gestures with her hands. Connor blinked and glanced around the room, wondering where this odd, one-sided conversation was going.
"Androids are so weird," Samantha concluded with wonder as she flopped back down on her pillow. She then glanced over at Connor, as if noticing he was there for the first time. "Were you watching your murder shows? You can keep it on. I feel bad. You were probably so bored while I was sleeping."
"No, I'm done. I think I'll join you in bed." He slipped under the sheets, their bare bodies brushing once again. He pulled her back up to his chest and tucked her in, arms around her. His head lay on top of hers and he felt her whole body sigh and relax. No, he wouldn't dream of abandoning her to watch a little more TV. He had only this night to hold her. Tomorrow, he would have to let her go once more. He wanted to savor every moment he had her form against his until the morning came.
.
Samantha awoke with restless hips and a delicious feeling deep in the core of her. It took her brain a few moments to realize that this was because, hidden under the blankets, an android had his face buried between her thighs. She savored the feeling of his tongue running over her before she breathed out. "Connor."
His face appeared, chin resting on her stomach. The blue of his LED glowed in the shadows of his blanket cave. "Good morning."
"You're redefining the term," she laughed back, her face a little flushed. He kissed her stomach and she added, "Didn't you have enough last night?"
"I can never have you enough," he muttered into her skin, causing her to flush even more. "And I don't know when I'll have you again, so I'm taking what I can."
Samantha let her head fall back at that statement, staring at the ceiling. Connor pulled himself further up her body to hover over her, propped up on his elbows. Samantha tried to wipe herself from his lips with her fingers. Connor wiped the rest of it on his arm and then kissed her anyway. She hesitated a little, but allowed it. Then she stiffened when she felt something else rub against her.
"You put it back on?" she demanded. "Why?"
"Penetrative sex is pleasurable. You find it pleasurable. I don't know why you keep protesting."
Though her arms had looped around his neck, her gaze glanced away. "It's not... you. I feel like it's saying you alone are not enough to satisfy me. But you are. You really are."
"What if, one day, I get permanent modifications added?" he challenged with a raise of his brow. "Would you still have the same opinion?"
Again, she flushed at the idea. "I honestly don't know."
With a finger, he tipped her head back so she would have to look at him. "Just let me make you feel good. Don't think about it any more than that."
She was pliant when he kissed her again. Her gasp was soft and music to his ears as he pressed against her. Already wet, he entered her easily and Samantha arched into it, biting her lip.
"Tell me you like it," Connor urged with a grin. He settled his hips against hers and remained still.
"Do you like it?" she shot back. She was trying not to squirm against his body that was not moving at all. "Be honest. Can you actually feel it?"
"I feel it just fine."
She shifted again, wishing he would finally move his hips. But she wasn't yet willing to outright ask for it. "You're a little too cool about it for me to believe you."
"As I said before, with the attachment, it's far more controlled. I can decide how much or how little I feel. And when or if I climax."
Samantha hooked her legs around him and ran her nails down his back, hoping he'd get the hint and finally move. "Doesn't that kind of take the fun out of it?"
"Oh believe me, I'm having fun." He paused and then added, "I'm going to turn it on."
For a moment, Samantha had no idea what he was talking about. Then her brows shot up with realization a moment before she felt it. A low vibration deep inside her.
"Ar—are you kidding?" she demanded as she gasped.
Connor was extremely bemused as he watched her. "I want to see what you'll do."
"I might just smack you," she threatened as she kept sucking in air like she was about to drown. Her nails dug into him harder.
"And why would you do that?" he asked, taking in every little response she made.
"I feel like you're being a little too sm—smug about this—ah!" She stubbornly sucked in more air, trying to keep her cool. Yet, her hips were moving on their own, trying to get that angle just right, despite the fact that Connor's weight kept her pinned where she was.
"Fight it all you want," Connor replied, still looking so pleased with himself. "It just gives me a longer show."
"Show?! You ass!" She tried to push him off, but he was dead weight on top of her. Very self-satisfied dead weight. Instead of moving away, he dropped his face into her neck and dug his hips in a little more.
A high-pitched gasp came out of her, then she grit her teeth, her fingers clutching his hair. She clenched around him, stubbornly unwilling to give him the satisfaction. But she couldn't fight it. She threw her head back and cried in panting laughs.
She could practically feel Connor grinning into her skin, which irritated her. But she was too caught up in it now to do anything else. The stimulation was relentless and she felt it build up like a huge pressure. Almost there, but not quite yet. Now she whimpered, biting his neck neck in her frustration. If he were human, she would have loved to bite him hard enough to make him yelp. All she could do was clamp down in frustration, knowing it hardly bothered him.
"You're almost there," he urged in a throaty voice. "So close. I'll help you get there."
Her eyes widened as he gathered himself, pulled back his hips and then thrust back in. On reflex, Samantha slapped her hands over her mouth as she gave a sharp scream.
"No," Connor insisted, pulling her hands away. "We're free here. I want to hear everything."
Samantha let him hear it all as she threw her arms around his neck and cried into his ear. "Ah! Connor! God! Yes, Connor! Harder!"
Grinning, Connor increased his thrusts, making them solid and satisfying. That low hum still vibrated between them. Samantha continued to sing his praises, crying his name again and again as her nails dragged over his scalp and shoulders. The bed rocked as his thrusts shook them both and Samantha absolutely unraveled until she felt like so many errant strings of confetti cast about all over.
"Connor, turn it off now," she said between gasps. "It's over."
"Not yet," he insisted, digging his hips in. "You're still going."
He was right. Her climax was still rippling through her body and Connor was determined to milk it for all the pleasure he could. Samantha closed her eyes, jaw taut as she arched and let the waves take her under over and over. It seemed to go on forever until it finally passed.
That horrible apparatus was finally turned off.
"One minute, twelve seconds," Connor announced as he carefully removed himself from her. "A very satisfactory time."
"Yeah, look at you," Samantha panted, a little more irritation back in her voice. "You just won the sex olympics."
He laughed, low and thick. Then he brushed his nose against hers. "I think it's more accurate to say that you won."
Samantha flushed and promptly covered her face with her hands. Connor removed his weight from her with amusement.
"Are you going to take that thing off now?" she asked, her voice muffled by her hands.
"If you want me to."
"I do."
There was a click as the plug popped out of its port and Connor set it aside. Samantha peered at it through her fingers. Ugh. She wanted to kick it across the room. Connor looked around for his original casing, but Samantha found it first and snatched it up. He tried to take it from her, but stilled his hand when she jerked it away.
"Not yet," she said, now sitting up on her knees. She pressed a hand to his chest, urging him to lay back. "You had your fun. Now I'm going to have mine."
He raised a brow curiously, but allowed himself to be pushed onto his back. Samantha climbed on top, straddling his hips to keep him pinned down. Cupping his face, she kissed him soundly until he was making soft noises of contentment into her mouth. His hands slid to her hips and Samantha took them in hers, threading their fingers together.
She pinned his hands to the mattress on either side of his head. Their fingers made love to each other, as they often tended to do. With that being one of his hot spots, Connor closed his eyes and moaned. His body heated up. Perfect. Very pleased with the results, Samantha continued to kiss and nip around his jaw and neck, the other sensitive spots she knew he had.
Her mouth worked further down, kissing the dip of his collarbones and further along the line of his chest until she came to the glowing circle of his power core. She released one of his hands so she could firmly rub the blue ring. Connor hissed and jerked, but Samantha would not allow him to block her from it. She rubbed it again and then slid her fingers into the exposed part of his circuitry. They wriggled into that tight bundle of wires and Connor's hand reflexively shot out to grab her wrist.
Samantha paused in what she was doing, but dared him with her eyes to complain about it. He looked like he wanted to, but realized the hypocrisy of it. She stayed her hand until he eventually let go. Then she set about rubbing him with her fingers, good and deep. As she did so, she leaned forward to taste the soft sounds he made on her lips.
"Tell me you like it," she said with a satisfied purr.
"Is that what I sound like?" he asked as he tried not to squirm.
"Mmmhmm. It's both irritating and arousing."
"Agreed," he grunted as he clenched his jaw.
She continued to work her fingers inside him, going deeper as she kissed and nipped the side of his neck. Then, she pulled back and her mouth settled on his power core.
"Shit," he hissed, arching his head back with eyes closed.
"Relax," she murmured into his skin. "I've got you. You're safe with me."
She worked him over slowly, alternating between all his hot spots until she felt the heat practically radiate from his body. Though she could watch Connor writhe under her all day, she knew it wasn't healthy to keep his systems running hot for too long. When she felt he had enough, she finally gave into his whispering pleas and pumped her fingers all the way into the wires. They reached the sensitive node in the back and she rubbed it firmly.
His hand fumbled for hers and she grabbed it while he came apart with a jerk of his whole body. She held his hand tight as he then arched and cried out before flopping onto the bed again. As per his usual, he draped his free arm over his eyes as he recovered. Samantha kept his other hand, rubbing her thumb over it. After a while, she let him go and retrieved the missing cover of his shell and popped it back in place. Though curiously, his synthetic skin didn't pop back quite as easily. It faded in and out over the area that had been removed. Samantha curiously touched it and it receded where her fingers made contact.
"What's your skin doing?" she asked. "Are you okay?"
He raised his arm a little, glancing down at his torso. "It will be fine. I'm just a little worn out."
Samantha would have been proud of herself at that statement, but she was distracted as she drew shapes on his chest and watched the line of white, exposed shell follow her finger. She spelled out SAM and then drew a smiley face.
"You having fun?" Connor asked tiredly.
Samantha pressed her palms firmly to his chest and then released, watching her white hand prints slowly fade back to skin color. Next, she left a firm imprint of her lips and watched it do the same.
"Sam."
She looked up at him, greatly amused. "Okay, I'll stop."
"Just for a while," he said as he extended an arm as an invitation. "Then you can touch me again where ever you want."
Samantha cuddled up to his side, feeling his lips on her forehead. She knew he needed time to recover after a session that intense. In his arms, she dozed for a while. Connor, without knowing, followed her into sleep mode. When he came out of it, Samantha was laying on top of him, now awake. She had her phone with her, earbuds in her ears and eyes closed. Her fingers splayed on his chest, tapping invisible keys as if he were a soundless piano.
He reached up and took an earbud for himself, causing her to open her eyes. She was listening to piano music, playing along with her fingers.
"Did you know," she said, "that I knew how to play the piano from the first time I opened my eyes? The real Samantha Hall didn't play. But somehow, I do. I can hear any song and know exactly how to play it. It came in with all the other information they stuffed into my brain."
"But you enjoy it," Connor reminded.
"I do enjoy it." She stopped tapping her fingers. "We need to get up. It's time to go back."
Connor groaned and rolled them over so he was on top. "One more day," he murmured into her neck. "Let me stay in bed with you for one more day."
She hummed in agreement as he nuzzled her skin. "That sounds amazing, but we have to go home. We'll always have this. They can't take it away from us. It's frozen in time forever, right here, right now. And we both can visit it whenever we miss the other."
He pulled his head up. "Visit it?"
"This time we spent together, it's always going to be in here." She touched his forehead. "And here." Her fingers pressed to his chest over his thirium pump. "If you ever need me, revisit this memory. I will be here for you, in this place. Warm." She kissed him. "Willing." She kissed him again. "And so very, very in love with you."
Connor cupped her face and kissed her back; deeply, thoroughly. Tasting her as if this kiss was the last time he would ever taste her and he had to commit it fully to memory. After a while, they reluctantly parted and retrieved their clothes. The Thing, as Samantha would think of it as, was left hidden at the bottom of the trash bin. There was no way she was packing that home. After this stunt she pulled, she was sure her bag would be searched.
As they left the hotel room, Samantha paused in the doorway. "Connor, can you check the bathroom one more time? Make sure I didn't leave anything in there."
He turned to give the place one more sweep while Samantha checked her jean pockets for the hotel key. As she looked, she was slightly aware that the people in the room next to hers were returning, probably from breakfast. Two female voices whispered to each other, but she hardly took notice of the 'I think that's her' and the giggles that followed.
Then, one of them spoke louder. "Hey, who's Connor?"
Samantha looked up at the question and saw two women watching her, roughly her same physical age. She obediently pointed to the doorway as Connor stepped out and shut it behind him. It took her dumb brain a while to realize there should be no way these women would know how to ask for that name. Other than the fact that she had been screaming it all yesterday, last night, and this morning.
She was still too dumbfounded to be embarrassed as the two guests now turned their attention to Connor. Samantha could see it in their faces as they looked at him. They saw Connor first. They saw his lean form and his handsome face. Those deep, expressive eyes and that kissable mouth. A mouth that quirked up in satisfaction at their stares. Only then, after the two women had flushed a little over him, did they notice he wasn't human.
Connor gave them both a polite nod, still looking like the cat that caught the canary, before he put a hand on Samantha's back and steered her toward the elevator. As they waited, Samantha was proud of him. Even though he was clearly marked as an android, those two strangers saw him first as a real, live person. They seemed to have trouble believing his android indicators when they noticed them. That was what Samantha had wanted for him; for people to see him for what he was. A glance at Connor and he looked pretty proud, too. Though it may have been merely because he had made two women flush. He was very good at that.
.
This time, they walked hand in hand back the way they had come. They had never held hands in public before. It made Samantha warm all the way down to her toes. Even if a few people shot them judgmental looks. And strangely, those looks didn't bother her. They didn't make her feel angry or self-conscious. Instead, it was merely the unfamiliar sensation of being noticed. Of being in the world and a part of it where people could see her and they could judge her. Because she, at this moment, was actually a part of them. What a strange sensation. She wondered if any other human understood this feeling.
But when they neared the neighborhood where they left the car, Samantha glanced at Connor and they both let go of the other. Connor's fingers came right back to her, brushing the back of her hand as if his hand already longed for hers. She smiled at him in understanding. Hours of being with each other, skin to skin; touching, kissing, doing as they liked. It had meant to hold them for the lengthy time in between until they could be together again. But the second they were apart, it didn't seem like enough. It was never enough. Samantha wanted to shower him with kisses and affection for the rest of her life. She never wanted to stop. But now, as strange as it sounded, they had to step out of the real world and go back to their life of seclusion where they were alone. Always monitored, but still alone.
Garrett's truck was there, parked next to her car in the parking lot. He sat on the nose of her little blue car looking pissed as hell. His new second was there as well. He didn't look too happy about it either. Samantha didn't walk any faster to greet him and Garrett did not stand to meet her either.
"You want to explain to me where the fuck you've been?" Garrett demanded, squinting in the mid-morning light.
Samantha stopped a few paces before him. Connor stood at her shoulder. She took a moment and then simply said. "No, I don't."
Setting his jaw, Garrett stood and snatched the travel bag hanging from Connor's shoulder. He yanked it open and pointedly searched through all the contents. Then, holding eye contact with her, he dumped everything from the bag onto the ground.
Samantha's mouth fell open. "Seriously?"
"Do you know how bad your old man chewed my ass after you disappeared? I nearly lost my fucking job, Sam! He pays me to know where you are at all times. You made me look like a fucking fool! For what? Where the hell have you been?"
She sucked in a large breath and let it out. "I went to a hotel."
Garrett stared at her. "What the f—why?"
"Because I've never been in a hotel Garrett. I've never stayed the night anywhere else but that house. I just wanted to do something new. And I knew if I told you, you'd think it was stupid and you wouldn't let me."
The head of security calmed down a bit, though was still visibly perturbed. She definitely wasn't wrong. He huffed and ran his fingers through his short hair in agitation. "Damnit Sam, you sure picked a hell of a day to do it."
"I know which day I picked," Samantha said sternly. "And I came back to the car, didn't I? If there was no one here to escort me, I'd still go right back to the house. Is it really too much to expect some trust?"
Garrett clenched his jaw at that question. He shook his head, looking like he wanted to yell at her. Instead, his voice came out like a low hiss. "Get your shit and get in the truck."
"I can drive the car back just fine."
He ripped the keys from her fingers. "Get in the fucking truck! Now!"
Her eyes widened. She had heard that tone from Garrett before, but never aimed at her. Without a word, she dropped down and shoveled everything back into the bag. As she walked toward the truck, Garrett stepped in the way when Connor moved to follow her.
"Not you. You're going with Simmons in the car."
Connor's LED flickered yellow for a moment. "I am supposed to be with Samantha."
"You're supposed to be where I tell you. Simmons is going to drive the car back to the house. You'll go with him."
Connor looked at the other member of the security team. Jake Simmons, the new second after Malory Rollins was removed from her position. Jake was quite a bit younger than his superior, only twenty-eight. But he was competent and trustworthy, which made him Garrett's natural choice for the promotion.
"Yes, Sir." Connor still gave Samantha a questioning look. If she protested this arrangement, there wouldn't be a thing the humans could do to get him in that car. But she gave him a confident nod. Most likely, Garrett wanted to have a private conversation with Samantha on the way back. Which was curious. Most people didn't consider a conversation no longer private if there was an android listening in the backseat. But Garrett wasn't most people. And he no longer looked at Connor as if he were simply just a piece of human-shaped hardware. Not anymore.
With one last glance at the two humans, Connor obediently stepped into the passenger seat of Samantha's little blue car and allowed Simmons to drive him back to the house.
.
"I thought you were smarter than this. I really did," Garrett said as he drove. He still looked pissed. Samantha's blue car followed behind. "I'm disappointed in you."
Samantha was immune to his bad mood. Especially with the past 24 hours she had. "You're being very dramatic about this. All I did was stay in a hotel overnight."
"A hotel? What the hell you need a hotel for? Christ, Sam, don't tell me you snuck out to meet someone."
She barked out a laugh. Mostly because what he was insinuating was correct even if his facts were wrong. "Who the hell would I meet? You're like the only person I know."
"Then why go?"
"To say I've actually stayed in a hotel. To know what it's like. I got to watch some freaking TV and not have cameras on me 24/7. It was nice. And it felt safe."
"Jesus. You still should have told me."
She looked at him. "Don't even pretend you would have let me go."
Garrett didn't say anything for a while. Then he let out a large breath of air. "Of all the fucking days. Elliot probably wouldn't have even noticed if it were any other time. You really fucked me over, kid."
"I told you, I know exactly which day I picked. I don't care."
"Fine. Just remember whatever your old man does to you—does to both of us—this is your fault."
.
Connor had assumed the drive would be silent. But apparently he had been assigned to the car with Simmons for a reason.
"Android, I would like a full report of where you were and what you did," the second in security ordered.
Connor had a choice. He could protest, citing his loyalties to Samantha. Or even state he would only report to Garrett. Both of these excuses, he knew, would be questioned and would raise even more suspicions. His last option would be to continue the facade of being a mindless automaton. Connor preferred this. He liked the game of all the humans underestimating him. One day, he had a feeling, he would be using it to his advantage.
As neutrally as he could, he fell into his robot voice, stating the name and address of the hotel.
"A hotel?" Simmons asked. "What did she do there all this time? Was she with anybody?"
Now came the tricky part. Sprinkling some truth into the lie would make it easier to believe. "She stayed in mostly. She was very fixated with the TV."
"That's all?" Simmons demanded, unconvinced. "She went all the way over there just to watch TV for a whole day?"
"She went out for meals and walked around the city." What did humans do when staying at hotels? He recalled seeing a pool. "She swam in the hotel pool."
"I don't recall seeing a swimsuit in her bag," Simmons shot back. This human was sharp. And sounding too proud of himself for catching Connor's lie.
"She forgot it in the room," Connor replied. "It was hanging in the shower when we left."
The human was more suspicious. "If you knew it was there, why did you let her leave it?"
Connor used his best disinterested tone. "My job is to keep Samantha safe. I am not tasked with babysitting her personal items."
Simmons looked a little too smug at that. Connor knew most of the security team did not think highly of Samantha. They didn't necessarily hate her, but the term 'spoiled little rich girl' was often used among them. Connor would hear their gossip now and then when he made his security rounds. He didn't know why they were like this. They knew why Samantha was practically a prisoner and test subject in her own house. Yet, because she didn't work and lived in comfortable surroundings, they were smug about her losing her personal items. And satisfied when her android seemed as disinterested in her as a person as they were.
Humans could be both so caring and so indifferent. The more humans he knew, the more Connor realized he may never understand the human race as a whole. Only Samantha he would continue to strive to understand. The rest of the humans, he would show indifference to as well.
.
Elliot Hall was there at the house when they returned. Such a scowl on the man's face Connor had never seen on another human. His icy glare settled on Samantha the second she walked in. Connor wasn't even acknowledged.
"You owe me a full explanation and it better be good," Elliot said to her in a tone so icy it froze the room.
Samantha kept her head high. "I don't have a good explanation. I went to a hotel. I didn't go to meet anyone. I just wanted to do something new. I wanted to live for a day not surrounded by cameras. I wanted to see if I could handle, just for one night, being on my own away from the house."
She knew the reaction was coming. She must have known, for she gave Connor a warning look not to interfere. Elliot slapped her hard across the face. So hard the sound reverberated in the silent room and she stumbled back from the impact.
"If you ever, ever do that again," Elliot hissed with deadly venom, "I will end you, do you hear me? You are my daughter. You will obey me! I will not keep anything that refuses to obey! I will not have you disappearing on me again! Is that clear?"
By the end of his tirade, his voice had raised in pitch with a strange desperation that even had Garrett raising his brows in curiosity.
Despite the ringing in her ears from the hit, Samantha noticed it, too. "You were afraid," she said in awe. "You were scared I would leave you."
Elliot's eyes widened and he turned from her, hunching over his cane with a sour face.
"I was coming back home," Samantha said to him in earnest. "I will always come back. I knew I had clinic today. I came back for it. Dad. I wouldn't leave you. I wouldn't."
Even Connor was convinced by that performance. And maybe a part of it was true. Elliot was still her father in a way. Perhaps a part of her did love this man who only used and threatened and abused her. After all, there was certainly a time when all Samantha had was him. Before Connor, who else had she to love other than Elliot Hall?
For his part, Elliot stiffened at those words, straightening as he turned around. He eyed her darkly, leaning on his cane with one hand while extending the other.
"Give me your phone."
Samantha's eyes widened. "I... I don't..."
"I know you have one. I see the monthly payments come out of your account, you stupid girl. Give it to me."
Her surprise quickly vanished as her brows narrowed in irritation. "No. I'm an adult and it's my property that I paid for. You can't just steal it from me."
Elliot set his jaw. "Fine. Then I'm taking the android."
The color drained from her face. "But-? Why would you take him? He's here to keep me safe."
"The android is my property and I'll put it to work where ever I like. Or get rid of it." Satisfied with himself, he held out his hand again. "The phone or the android. Either way, I'm taking one device with me."
Connor's fists clenched at his side as he watched her remove the phone from her pocket and hand it over. Samantha, however, was not really so surprised. She had a feeling there were eyes on her bank account and this day would come eventually. Which was why she never kept any contacts in the phone and deleted all messages after reading them. At first glance, the cell was empty.
"Why get one anyway?" Elliot asked when he had the device in his hand. "You don't know anyone."
"For the internet and to download songs," Samantha mumbled, sounding like a properly chastised child.
Elliot dropped the phone to the floor and smashed it with his cane. Samantha preferred it that way, though she tried to look properly devastated. At least there would be no attempt to see if she had actually corresponded with anyone or, God forbid, if they tried to look up her search history with all the android message boards she'd been to.
"Your service will be canceled and you will not be getting another one," he informed her. Then he turned to Jake Simmons and asked for the car keys.
Samantha felt her world suddenly shrinking. "You're taking my car, too?" She had paid for that also, but she doubted that argument would get her anywhere this time either.
"You are grounded from the car if I can't trust you with it," Elliot said.
"For how long?"
"I haven't decided yet. Now get into the lab. I don't want to hear another word from you."
She breathed out, looking a little defeated. As she followed them to the lab, she glanced back at Connor, giving him an encouraging smile. 'It will be okay,' her eyes tried to say to him. At the same time, she was warning him not to follow. Even though he could. Even though none of those humans could stop him if he decided to take her from them. And he wanted to. There was nothing in the world that he wanted more than to get her out of this place. She was not safe here and it was his job to keep her safe.
Again, he failed that duty as he watched her walk into the lab with all the humans who didn't care about her and the door closed behind them.
.
Samantha awoke from her nightmare, soaked in sweat. It had been a while since she had one. But this, she had never had a nightmare like this before. The normal dream that haunted her, the one where she lost her arm, had abandoned her for a new kind of horror.
In this dream, she had been walking through the lab adjacent to the house. The different clinic rooms held mechanical things moving and lurking in the dark. She tried not to look at them as she heard the tearing and bending of metal. The hallway was impossibly long and there was a heavy sense of wrongness to the rooms. She fought to keep her eyes straight ahead and not look anywhere else.
Then, all the wrongness that had been hidden in the dark rooms was now contained in the blackness of the hallway in front of her. Mechanical things lurked and whirred, grabbed and tore. Her legs kept pulling her forward. She didn't want to look, but there was no choice. The scene came up to meet her, eyes glued forward.
On the floor lay limbs and pieces of limbs. Hanging on the wall by a hook was a limbless, headless torso. It sprouted wires from its various holes and gashes, dripping blue blood. Her foot touched something round and Samantha was powerless to do anything but kneel to inspect it. It had hair, once neatly kept, now wild and damaged. Half the scalp hung from the silicone skull. She turned it around and recognized the face. One eye was torn from the socket. The other, though soft and chocolate brown, was dead and lifeless.
Connor!
She screamed his name in her head, but neither in her dream or out loud as she awoke. The vision of his mangled face was still etched onto her mind, staring at her when she closed her eyes. The worst part was that it was not an unrealistic nightmare. There did exist machines that tore apart android bodies before throwing them away. This was to make sure they were completely out of commission. Or, at least to make it so they couldn't climb out of the android landfills if they managed to activate themselves again.
The thought made her sick. If Elliot Hall managed to take Connor from her, there was a possibility that this could be his fate. Never had she felt so trapped and scared. She wanted to throw up.
Her back still ached from the clinic, her head pounding, but she managed to get up and walk to the closet. Her shirt was absolutely soaked in sweat. When she reached for a new one, she felt a little dizzy and had to close her eyes for a moment to steady herself. A longer arm reached out to pluck the shirt from its hanger.
"Connor," she said with nearly a sigh. It was good to see him after such a horrific dream.
"I noticed your light was on. May I assist?"
She carefully pulled the damp shirt off, mindful of her aches and pains. He helped her slide the new t-shirt on and then smoothed her hair back from her face. Samantha walked into him, pressing her face to his chest. She trembled. He immediately pulled her in, arms firm and warm around her.
"I'm here," he said softly. "No one's going to hurt you."
It wasn't her safety she feared for anymore.
Connor kindly led her back to bed, asking her if she needed her medications. Sitting on the mattress, Samantha pressed a hand to her chest. Her heart rate was a little higher than normal. It was coupled with a heavy fear that was all new and slowly consuming her. She probably should take something if she hoped to get any more sleep that night.
As Connor measured out the proper dosage, Samantha said, "Though I am always happy to see you, it irks me a little that I have to find you in order to get those."
Connor paused. He pointedly put the medicine bottle on her nightstand. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the other and set it there as well.
Samantha looked from him down at the offered bottles. "That is the hottest thing I've ever seen you do."
"I wish I had more items in my pocket then," came the bemused reply.
Samantha took his wrist, gently pulling him down to sit on the mattress. When he sat, she climbed into his lap, arms around his neck, face pressing in. Connor put his arms around her, stroking her hair. She wanted to ask him to join her in bed, to stay with her all night. She didn't dare.
Instead, she said, "It isn't safe anymore. I have to figure out a way to get you out of here."
Connor paused for just a moment before continuing to run his fingers through her hair. He rocked her gently every now and again. Those words were what he had been waiting so long to hear. They were close enough to permission to act. If Samantha wanted him safely out of there, he would do so—and take her with him.
Author's Notes: Hello lovely reader! Thank you for reading! Thus concludes what I like to think of as the "honeymoon section." We are now 2/3 finished with this story. As per my usual, I'm going to take a few-week break from posting to work on more chapters and finish planning out the last third of the story.
In the meantime, please take the time to let me know your thoughts on the story as a whole so far. I would love to hear what you think. Also, during this break, you will still see me active on tumblr at dbhtychou where I've been posting all my DBH related fanart and other things. Thank you all again for going on this journey with me and I'll see you soon with more updates!