This is just something I wrote while I was travelling and got stuck with a 12 hour layover.
I hope you enjoy! Please review if you like it,
Much love!
Gavin sighed tiredly as he stood in line at the airport. He'd had an early morning with a final goodbye meeting with the senior staff at the local station. It was mostly a thank you for coming all this way sort of deal. Why he'd agreed to go all the way to Dubai in the first place was beyond him. Sure, someone experienced with android integration was best suited to train personnel, but then why not send Hank and Connor? Guess the old man's not up to a twenty-nine-hour flight…Not that he could blame him. Flying economy long distance sucked. He'd at least gotten himself an aisle seat for the journey, on all three planes he'd had to get. There and back. It wouldn't be so bad. He just had to make sure he ate some decent food before he got on board and he'd be good. Mostly. His neck would be sore as fuck if he fell asleep, though that was unlikely. He'd never been good at sleeping on planes.
Check-in wasn't open yet. He'd arrived early. Really early. His queue wouldn't be opening for another hour and a half. Most other travellers either hadn't arrived or they were sitting on the chairs to save their legs. Gavin just wanted to get it over with. He paced slowly at the front of the queuing lane, keeping an eye on the slowly ticking clock. He looked up as a tall man in a smart suit approached. It was a black suit with a crisp silk tie. The suit alone looked like it cost more than his education. Gavin balked as the man raised his head and he found himself staring at Connor's face. No…not quite…This man's face was a little meaner than Connor's, and his eyes were an icy blue shade that cut right to the core. Despite looking a lot like Connor, the man had no LED. Doesn't mean he's not an android though…
Gavin looked away as the man looked at him. He'd never been good at making eye contact. It made him uncomfortable, and he was pretty sure the guy wouldn't appreciate being ogled by a commoner. He was pretty sure he was loaded, and that usually meant they had a sizable ego to go with it. It didn't surprise Gavin as the man stepped into the space for the first class queue and looked up at the board. He sighed as he checked his watch, but he seemed content to remain in place. Where this man was still, Gavin was bored and restless. He kept his hands in his pockets as he paced beside his two bags. He had a large case for clothing, and a small backpack for his laptop and sweater. That was about all he needed during the flight.
He tried not to watch the clock as he paced, keeping his eyes mostly on the shiny white floor. He couldn't help raising his head every so often to get a look at his silent companion. At first, the man had simply folded his arms and watched the clock, but as time wore on, Gavin felt those silvery eyes upon him more and more often. It wasn't at the stage that it was weird yet. He was probably just glancing his way because he wouldn't stop pacing, and his old sneakers were squeaking on the laminated flooring. Thinking he may be annoying the man, Gavin stopped beside his case and faced away from him. Oh shit! Did I remember my power cable? He had a bad habit of forgetting the cable when he was in a hurry, and he'd charged his laptop at the hotel the night before. He bent over to look in his backpack, which he'd placed on the floor beside his case. A quick rummage confirmed that he'd remembered. He let out a small sigh of relief as he zipped the bag and straightened up. That's one less thing to worry about…
Since he'dstopped pacing, and he'd already had one bad thought already, Gavin decided to check the rest. He bent over again to open the front section of his bag, where he kept smaller items, like his phone charger. His passport and ticket papers were ready, as was his work visa. That was good. He'd remembered everything. He checked the ticket on his bag, just to make sure he'd definitely written his address right and his contact number was up to date. He also had one of the complimentary bottles of water from the hotel. I'll drink that now so it doesn't go to waste. He settled in a crouch as he twisted the cap, turning his head to look around the room. He was surprised to find the man from first class openly staring at him. Was he…Gavin almost scoffed at the thought. No guy with that kind of life is going to check out my scrawny ass! Why would he? The guy could probably buy an army of Traci androids for that sort of thing. Well, could have, before the revolution and shit. Having said that, it was still legal to own androids outside the USA.
When Gavin looked again, the man's eyes had shifted to look at his watch. See? He was just looking down. Not at me. Gavin stayed crouching as he drained the small bottle, resting his legs. Once he was done, he got to his feet and looked around for the nearest bin. There was on just a few meters away. He glanced at the man a moment before deciding there was no way he'd dirty his hands by stealing anything of his, and the presence of the man would be enough to deter anyone else from trying. He strolled off casually without a word, not even looking back as he padded across to the recycling point and dropped the bottle. When he turned back, he could have sworn the guy was looking again. Pfft, yeah, right!
Gavin returned to his bags and stretched a little. He was going to be sitting for at least six hours, so he was determined to make sure his legs got a bit of a workout first. He did a few small lunges, opting to face away from the man to avoid any further embarrassing eye contact. He widened his stance a little before bending over to touch his toes. He then stretched each calf before shaking out and pacing a few times. Time felt like it was crawling. Within a few minutes, Gavin noticed a familiar face approaching with a trolley of expensive cases. He smiled in relief and was about to wave his hand when the smiling blonde woman approached the man from first class instead. Gavin actually felt a little hurt until the man spoke.
"Ah, Cleo. I see you found your way." Gavin swore he almost got a boner as the man spoke. Holy phck, who the hell has a voice like that? It was deep and rich, with an underlying smoothness to it. It took him a few seconds to realise what he'd said that was so important. Wait, Cleo? It's not Chloe? Looking at her, he wasn't sure whether she was an original RT600 model or a newer ST200. Both had been based on Chloe's physical design. The only differences were in their software, which Gavin couldn't see. He'd never seen another Chloe in real life before. It was pretty weird, looking at a face he knew so well, but getting nothing back.
"I did. You were easy to find. Here's your briefcase and ticket. Would you like me to check you in?" Cleo asked in a dutiful business tone. It was hard to tell if she'd been deviated or not. She was so different to the Chloe he knew. She had a similarly kind smile, but her voice was just so flat and blunt. Her crystal eyes looked sharper, too. She kept her brows slightly lower, which gave her an almost strict air. The man took his briefcase with thanks and checked his ticket and passport.
"No, it's fine. The desks will open soon," he replied almost dismissively. Cleo had no objections either way and took up the place beside her…boss? Boyfriend? Husband? Owner? Gavin had no way of judging their relationship. They weren't being touchy like a couple, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. The man seemed to have a certain amount of affection in his gaze as he spoke to her, but Gavin couldn't really hear what they were saying now. They were standing close together, and he currently had his back to him. It didn't really matter what they were. It wasn't Chloe, so it didn't affect Gavin one iota. God, I should call…When was the last time I called?
He felt slightly bad as he thought back to the time he'd stopped talking to his brother. His company had produced an android that could take his job. He'd tolerated the android shit when it had just been Chloe, but the moment he started commercialising that shit and putting decent human people out of work, he'd gone too far. It was even worse when he'd found out that deviancy wasn't a glitch. It was a deliberately placed virus called rA9. Gavin was a detective. Wasn't his job dangerous enough already without his brother putting him directly on the frontline? Technically, they were only half brothers, but he'd always felt that Elijah valued him like real family. The threat to his livelihood, not to mention his life, had made him re-think that. He still remembered Elijah walking after him in his swimming robe as he'd stormed out. He'd protested all the way to the door that he'd never intended for him to get hurt, and he hadn't even taken part in developing the Connor series. Gavin had been too angry to listen so soon after the revolution. He hadn't spoken to him since.
Obviously, things hadn't turned out as bad as he'd expected. He hadn't been replaced at work, though he'd had to undergo some serious sensitivity training with Connor. He had to admit, that had actually helped. Partnering with Connor on a few cases, getting to know him on a personal level, and fixing his relationship with Hank had all helped to make things better. He greeted Connor with a ruffle of his hair or a light punch to his shoulder these days, and they readily sought each other for help on cases. It still surprised Gavin that Connor even needed his input, but there were just some things that only came with experience, and Gavin had a lot of experience. He understood how humans thought and felt, and could predict how they may react with more accuracy. Connor could do the same for android suspects. It made them a pretty good team and had Gavin thinking that maybe deviancy wasn't such a bad thing after all.
More people slowly joined the lines. So far only the man and Cleo were waiting for first class, but there were a few people in business class and a long line of economy fliers waiting. The desks finally opened and the man from first was waved over straight away. He had really strong shoulders from the back, and his ass wasn't bad either. Gavin had always been a sucker for a hot guy in a suit. He was so busy daydreaming, he almost missed the young woman calling him over. He tried not to fluster as he hurried across with his case and bag.
"Good afternoon. Where are you heading today?" the young woman asked politely as she typed on her computer. He guessed she was human. Androids were still pretty rare outside the USA, China, and Russia. Cyberlife androids were pretty much American exclusives right now, save a few business models, and those owned by expats. Those in the Dubai police force were new. Old stock left over from Cyberlife and sold off right after the revolution. International laws meant they didn't have to be deviated, but Dubai was pretty forward thinking in their training. The desk clerk looked young, maybe fresh out of university. Gavin gave her the usual roguishly polite smile he reserved for victims and interviewees at work as he handed over his passport, visa, and ticket papers.
"Detroit. Just heading back after a business trip," he replied in a leisurely tone. The young woman smiled brightly as she looked through his papers and checked that his ID numbers matched, as well as his picture. With a few taps of her keyboard, she weighed his luggage and started printing labels. It was at that moment that a familiar, expensive jacket sleeve moved across to lean on the counter and cover his ticket papers. Gavin and the young woman both looked up in surprise at the interruption. The man smiled and Gavin felt his heart thud. His smile was somehow different from Connor's. More alluring, with silent promises hidden at the quirked corner of his lips.
"How would you like an upgrade?" he offered in a silken tone. Gavin furrowed his brow in disbelief as he looked from the man to the stunned desk clerk and back again. Am I seriously being…solicited? It seemed that was exactly what was happening. He wasn't sure how to respond to the request. He was pretty sure his skin was heating under the intense, silvery gaze. It wasn't exactly possessive. More covetous. There was a burning desire in his sharp eyes. How tempting it was sort of depended on the price.
"No one just does that…You don't upgrade some random stranger for no reason, so what is it you want exactly?" Gavin was pretty sure the man was asking what he thought he was asking. What else could he possibly want? His status as a detective wasn't exactly obvious, and he didn't have any useful national secrets anyway. From the man's accent, he even seemed to be American. He clearly didn't need money, and Gavin had no particular skills that this man would know about, so there was really only one thing he could want.
"It would be a mutually beneficial exchange, I assure you." That didn't exactly answer the question. His quirked eyebrow suggested as much. The man smirked before leaning in closer, clearly wanting to keep the details between them. Gavin was cautious as he also leaned in until the man's lips were right beside his ear. "I want to take that fine ass and make it mine for the duration of the flight." The deep, rumbling purr sent shivers down Gavin's spine and prickles across his neck. Gavin gave him a look of disbelief, stammering a little as he looked back and forth between the oblivious desk clerk and the smug, rich asshole.
"Wait-you just-You don't-" Gavin was still stammering as the man turned his attention to the clerk and handed over his credit card, politely asking her to upgrade Gavin into first class. The majority of the section was empty, what with it being a late evening flight. The young woman seemed surprised, but it was more than her jobsworth to complain or object. She seemed a little flustered herself as she went ahead and completed the transaction on Gavin's behalf. "Hey! I never said I'd-" Gavin didn't finish the sentence as the man turned to smirk at him again.
"But you didn't turn it down…" He hadn't exactly been given the chance to, but it was all done now as the woman printed a new label to show that his case was first class. Gavin was still stunned as the young woman handed him his newly printed tickets and bid him a good day. He was so stunned that the man actually had to lead him away from the counter by the arm. Once they reached the end of the desks, the man tilted Gavin's head up by the chin and let him feel the smoothness of his skin for the first time. "Here. You'll want to prepare yourself before our flight. You can enter the first class lounge with this. Enjoy your time there, and I'll see you on board."
"W-wait a-I-I-You didn't even tell me your name!" Gavin stammered as he looked from the small plastic bag he'd been handed to the tall figure walking away from him. The man quirked his lips as he looked over his shoulder. It was a look that Gavin was beginning to think of as a fuck me look. Well, technically a fuck youlook…It was a look that sent heat swirling in the pit of Gavin's stomach at the thought of the man bending him over. He was tall, strong, and built beneath his clean-cut suit. Gavin had no doubt he'd look good out of it.
"You can call me Nines." That was all he said before he continued walking away, leaving Gavin with nothing but a stunned expression and a bag of personal hygiene supplies.