Hey guys! This is the official ch5 technically, but i decided to leave ch5 preview chapter bc of the q&a sessions and not have to repeat life updates in general XD since it was fairly recent
But enough talking, bc i talked WAY too much in the beginning notes last time
LADIES N GENTS HERE IS UR FULL CHAPTER
It's 6am according to the clock, but that's not really the thing that catches her attention the most.
The first thing that Alina really noticed when she woke up on the sofa is that something was resting on top of her back that wasn't necessarily a pillow or blanket. Rather, it was something that seemed slightly heavy, sturdy, and gave off some warmth. She slowly got up from her position, and said thing slid off of her as she worked to get off the sofa bed.
However, in an instant she found herself pulled back onto the couch and her body tensed from the sudden gesture. After managing to slow down her breathing from the initial shock, she looked up and recognized the heat source next to her as Hank and that right now he had his arm protectively around her. That was probably what I felt earlier?
It was strange . . .
Strange to be on the receiving end of a hug, the initial body contact paralyzes you for a bit but then it is followed by a warm fuzzy feeling.
It's no wonder Connor wasn't used to her hug earlier.
She kinda felt like a stuffed animal being enveloped by Hank right now. Her head was tucked right underneath his chin and she was nestled into Hank's side while using his shoulder as a pillow. It felt safe and secure.
She hadn't felt that way in a long time. Her mum was always out of the house, working to help pay the house mortgage and keep them afloat. When she was 12 and 13, her mum would still come home a bit earlier to cook dinner with Alina. It was their bonding time and a sense of reassurance that maybe they could retain a sense of normalcy after kicking dad out of their lives. But after she turned 14, she started to do more part time work too and their break times wouldn't match as much.
Dinner nights became . . . lonely and she was always asleep by the time her mother came back. She silently shuttered thinking back to all the times she cooked and ate alone. Sure, she didn't mind eating alone and had gotten used to the concept. But it wasn't exactly something she liked having to deal with.
She peeked over to Hank's sleeping figure and saw how he seemed to be so relaxed despite the bags under his eyes. Maybe things would be better here than back home? She liked the fact that she didn't have to be alone all the time. She did have friends and a family of friends, but it just wasn't the same.
She relaxed some more next to Hank and her head plopped onto Hank.
I don't want to be alone again. Please… don't kick me out.
Nuzzling herself to Hank's side, she then pushed the negative thought away. It was no use in thinking about it now, he did say she was only staying with them for a week. Maybe Tina could take her in? As she thought more and more about what to do next, her mind cascaded into the world of oblivion again as the dream world beckoned her.
Alina scrunched her face up the second time she woke up, there was a female voice faintly giggling in the background.
"Awww, they're so cute."
The voice is singsong-like and just slightly toward the high pitched end, so she assumed it was someone young.
"I don't think I've seen Hank like this in a while," There's a small thump as something gently hits the wooden kitchen table. "Thanks for this desert special Connor. I'll treat you to something in the future."
"I'm glad you enjoyed the coffee. Though, I don't believe that is possible for you to 'treat me'. From my records, that analogy is often used as a form of offering food in future tense, to which I don't really consume."
"Ahhh silly, the coffee was good. But the real treat was some nice pictures to spam Hank in the future."
For some reason, Alina could just imagine Connor raising his eyebrows in response to the potential blackmail. While still buried in Hank's arms, she tried to crane her neck to see who the woman in the kitchen was. To her luck though, she heard footsteps approach the couch and out bopped a familiar face over her.
"Good morning, sunshine!" It was Tina, and she has a loop-sided grin on. "How are you doing, Alina? I came just to drop some clothes over, but-" Tina pauses and quickly scanned over the two. "This is a nice way to start the morning too. Hank looks like a papa bear right now."
Alina tried to untangle herself from Hank's arms and was nearly out, when her wrist was grabbed from behind a second time. Somehow, despite it being the second time, she still wasn't used to the sudden grab and she let out a startled yelp that somehow miraculously didn't wake up Hank. Hank's arms dragged her back into his embrace and in turn, her head landed right back onto Hank's chest for a second time.
She looked up to see Tina chuckle again.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops," Tina winked at Alina and made her way to the door. "I'll swing by in the future if you need help picking clothes in the future too."
Connor went up to the front door to escort Tina on the way out, "Are you sure you don't want to stay longer? We could go to the precinct together."
"Nah, Captain Fowler mostly told me to come here to see how you guys are doing. But I think you guys are doing pretty okay." Tina gave a warm smile back to Connor and looked at Alina. "Let me know if you ever need some girl talk or just hit me up in the Precinct."
Alina nodded back and Tina gave them a mini salute send off before the door closed behind her.
Connor then turned back to the kitchen and came back to the living room with a plate of sunny side up eggs.
"I hope you don't mind eating these for breakfast." He placed the plate onto the coffee table first. Then, he helped her straighten her back position on the couch. She assumed that this was to help her eat properly without choking due to her awkward sitting position.
Connor handed her back the plate and fork, "They're a bit burnt though." He quickly warned her, but she already had half of the egg chewing in her mouth. She should have probably checked for burnt parts and scrapped them away because the instant she tasted it, she gagged a bit.
Ahhh, shoot.
For a second, she could just see droopy puppy ears on Connor as he slumped upon seeing her reaction. She felt her heart drop seeing him this way, so she quickly slurped up the rest of the sunny side ups so that he wouldn't feel too down about his cooking.
He threw her a concerned look and quickly got water from the kitchen for her much to her appreciation. She really needed to drown down that taste.
Which-
Yeahhh, that ended up being a mistake because she ended up choking on the water too.
"You don't have to pretend that you like it. I know that I don't exactly have the cooking code and Hank is outright with it." He reasoned while he patted her back.
"It's not bad," She said to try to put him at ease, but he ended up furrowing his brows anyway. "I cook often and I wouldn't say it's the worst thing I've eaten. The first time I cooked, I forgot to let my frying pan heat up and put oil before cracking the egg in. I stared at it for the longest time wondering why it wasn't frying or anything."
It seemed to have worked because Connor was smiling and chuckling a bit alongside her. It was nice seeing him crack a smile with his usual demeanor. His laughter was so light and fluttery. It didn't only make him glow ,but also his surroundings. She could have sworn that if he ever chose to do a job in modeling, he would easily gain fans in the millions with the smile alone.
"Let's make a deal then." She quickly followed up with. Connor looked at her curiously but still listened intently.
"Why don't I make breakfast in the future myself? I don't want to impose on you since I already intruded upon you guys."
Connor thought about it for a couple of seconds, but then slowly nodded a 'yes' to her suggestion. Then, he scrunched up his face after his LED spun yellow.
"I should make a grocery run then. Hank doesn't usually cook so there isn't much in the fridge."
"I could go with you! Why don't I make dinner tonight and you can see what I can do! It'll be a surprise for Hank!" She exclaimed excitedly, giggling while pumping her fits into the air.
She then heard Hank groggily let out an exasperated yawn and turned over to see that he was finally waking up. It was a miracle that he didn't wake up from all the hacking and choking sounds she made earlier.
"Hm? What surprise? For me?" Hank rubbed his eyes some more, but he still held a glazed look when he took a glance at the two kids.
She held up a finger to her mouth, making a shushing symbol to Connor and giggled some more to Hank.
"If I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, would it?"
Hank muttered back something along the lines of, "Whatever, it's too early in the morning," before turning to the other side of the sofa and tucking himself in. Luckily for Alina that meant hopping out of Hank's single arm embrace, to which the older man probably didn't realize judging by his demeanor.
She quickly got up, brushed her teeth, and then went to examine the clothes that Tina had given her and left on the computer table. In the meantime, Connor was focused on waking up Hank again and keeping him awake.
"Hank, we should really get going!" Connor chided while pulling the blanket away from Hank's grasp.
"5 more minutes." Hank muttered back with his hands covering his eyes to shield against the sunlight leaking from the window blinds.
"It's 9am. Lieutenant. And today is special, we have a meeting at 10am about the human homicide case." Connor reasoned and continued tugging Hank off the sofa by the arm.
"We take care of android cases, what's this got to do with us?!" Hank let out a grumble, but finally relented to Connor's pleas by sitting up and pushing himself off the sofa contraption.
"This time it's different, it's because the human victim is part of a hybrid family, so they called us in to talk with the android witness."
Hybrid family? That wasn't part of the game.
"What's a hybrid family?" She asked.
"You don't know about it?" Hank squinted at her. "I thought you young people would know best about this. Basically, Markus helped implement this thing where since androids are officially recognized as intelligent beings, then they can be part of human families as well. Connor and I are one. I adopted him when the policy was available."
She looked towards Connor, who was smiling radiantly at the mention of his adoption.
"I'm still not used to calling Hank, 'father,' though," Connor sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.
"And you don't have too," Hank said while waving away Connor's insecurities. "I'll still regard you as my son." Hank had a wide smile on while getting up from the sofa.
What a way to start the morning. She could feel herself grinning from ear to ear. She had always loved their bond in game and now she had the ability to see it in real life face to face. Ahhhhh, I'm so lucky to see this.
She quickly pat her cheeks just in case her mini fangirl grinning was creepy looking. She then went to the bathroom to put on the clothes Tima gave: a light blue hoodie, denim jeans, and a bra(whoaaa did not expect that to be included in the package, but yes she did need it). Once she came out with her new attire, Hank gave an approving nod.
"Much better than my clothing, you look more like a teenager now."
When she tried to ask about what he meant, he just grunted and mummbled something about her looking like a little kid. He then swiftly went straight for the coffee machine. And just as Connor had explained earlier, Hank really didn't eat much. He literally drank coffee and that was it. That was his breakfast.
She let out a soft sigh, maybe she should make breakfast for Hank too. That would put Connor at ease too if she helped out with cooking this week. And while she's at it, maybe she'll help with cleaning too. It was...uhhh...an interesting sight in the bathroom with the walls, lots of stains. Bleach should do the trick.
"Alina! You coming?" Connor called over from the front door.
She quickly raced over to the front and Connor handed her a pair of boots. At first she was confused, but then it quickly dawned to her.
That's right, I only had indoor slippers when I first arrived. But how did he-?
"I found that your slippers were size 6.5, so I had Tina make a run to the nearby thrift shop to buy these boots. They are leather mountain boots that go up to your knees so you won't get cold and you can trench through snow easily." He then pointed to the shoelaces as he placed the boots on the ground for her. "They are lace up boots, which can be a bit of a hassle but decreases the chances by 20% of feeling cold due to the long strings-"
Connor suddenly paused, chewed his lip for a moment before he broke into an anxious smile.
"Uhh, do you like it?"
"Um…" Alina trained her eyes to the ground as she fidgeted with her fingers a bit before continuing. "Would it be alright if I hugged you again?"
Connor blinked back for a couple of seconds before replying, "I don't mind."
"I LOVE THEM!" She shouts when she gives him a hug. Upon contact, he freezes up initially but then relaxed and reciprocated the hug. This time it's a little less awkward when he patted her back, his arms weren't stiff but rather they enveloped her and were comforting. Her smaller height was also more apparent, unlike last time where she sorta leaped across a table. This time the hug was more direct and it felt like she's mostly hugging his stomach, if anything. Sigh, why do I gotta be so short. Connor and Hank are so tall. Tch, these small asian genes letting me only be 5 feet.
"It's amazing how you put so much thought into." She said as she let go of him and slipped into the boots. A small smile escaped her lips as they fit near perfectly.
"I wanted them to be practical, especially since you said it was your first time in Detroit. So I chose black mountain boots that wouldn't make stains as apparent. Tina just chose the boots that fit my criteria. For a moment, I thought you didn't like the color or something since you seemed so bewildered."
She gave another bright smile back.
"No! I love them! Really! I was just surprised with all the reasoning you put into this specific choice. And these must be expensive, I would like to pay you back somehow, but I don't have a part time job right now."
"We got it at a thrift shop, so don't worry too much." Said Connor as he pulled his brown cargo off the coat rack and wore it on top of his white button up. Unlike yesterday where Connor was wearing just a grey long sleeved, this time he wore a blue tie on top of the button up shirt. I'm guessing they have to dress a little more formally since they have to interview someone.
She took a quick look at Hank. Andddd, I take that back. Hank was wearing a streaky shirt topped with the usual black coat he wore in the game. It did look formal-ish? Well, not that Fowler cared usually. Connor passed her Hank's large black leather jacket that she wore that time. Except this time, all the dust was properly cleaned off and the wool was fluffed up. Did Connor clean up this too? She peeked over to see a possible reason from him, but got nothing from his usual face. Nevertheless, I know Hank isn't the type to clean. She cracked a smile while putting on the coat and they were off to the police station.
Andddd the day just turned sour.
"Who the fuck is this pipsqueak?"
Lo and behold, it's Gavin. Oh god, it's even worse in real life seeing him and the attitude he's surrounded with. As soon as the three of them walked in, Gavin just had to tackle them with insults. I swear to god I will punch him, so help me Lord.
Connor glares at him though, and it seems to set Gavin off for a moment.
"Tryna act tough in front of others, huh Connor? Well reality ain't like that." Gavin made a spitting motion at Connor and was about to continue his insults when Hank stepped in.
"Alright, alright, fuck off Gavin. At least, in front of the kid alright?" Hank said, trying to shoo Gavin away. "She just lost some family, she doesn't need any more stress from you."
When Gavin heard the second part, he instantly froze. He seemed dazed and gave a pained expression for a split moment before returning to his seat. Was that a hurt expression? Sympathy? I didn't think he was the type. . .
"Alina," Hank said, calling her attention away from Gavin. "Connor and I will be at a meeting for a bit, just sit tight here with this tablet."
Connor pulled out a small glass slate from a pouch and handed it over alongside a pair of cordless earbuds while Hank continued talking. Bluetooth earbuds I'm assuming?
"If you need anything, Tina should be here soon, probably just at the restroom." Hank gestured to her desk with Tina's name plate and then the two went off to one of the inner rooms.
Welp, time to catch up on some anime. Hopefully, they have the ones I'm looking for. Bwahahaha, 20 years into the future sorta? Maybe they'll have all the episodes out? Crossing my fingers here!
OMG, I'm so tired. Whoaaaa new milestone, 3k words in one chapter. No wonder this took so much longer than i thought XD and all freaking 5 chapters take place within like a day's span, how did this happen. All my mental energy gone, imma cal it a week XD, wanted to write 12 pages of words for a double update but nope im at my wits end. Mannn though I really wanted to churn out some more, especially in show and not tell, but i dont got my beta readers with me
As for the story!
The cooking story with not putting in oil and not heating up the pan was something tht happened to a friend of mine, she suddenly called me asking me why her egg wasn't frying and realized the problem later XD
Lolll also, we have a hugger here with alina[XD but plz dont hug a lot in real life rn due to flattening the curve of the virus. Elbow to elbow is ok though! (─‿‿─)]
And *cough* maybe gavin redemption arc possible? Hmmm
And yes, we have an anime weeb (‿◠)✌
q& a questions: R you guys looking forward to animal crossing? Or you guys already fans in general? Do u guys have any other gaming stations like nintendo switch? Which gaming stations are your favorite(s)? And if you would like, what's some of your favorite games?
For me I'm going to check out the animal crossing app before I decide to buy it on the switch. And I don't really have a favorite gaming station because i think they're all cool ❤（っ＾▿＾）hmmm so far in terms of favorite games I would def say dbh ., but other than that i would say spiderman on the ps4, pokemon, oh that funny goose game!
Alsooo, if you want more fluff and sibling shenangians that churns out much faster, please check out the spin off side story 'Because it's fun to tease your sister' Link below for archive of our own, just add this to the end bar. or just search it up directl on google with ao3 'Because it's fun to tease your sister'
/works/23190634/chapters/55513441
It is super chill and has its own versions of fluff/fun .~ and we get to see the jericho crew earlier there