1. Belongs: The universe and characters of Detroit Become Human belong to Quantic Dreams and David Cage.
2. Rating: "T" in general, but might be "M" for cursed words, graphics contents such as violence, injuries, or sexual scenes.
3. Summary: Gavin meets Tina and Chris at the Black Spot, as usual, and sees Jack for the first time since their night together. The android seems to blame him for something so Gavin goes against him to clear things up. But Midnight suddenly arrives in the bar, almost panicking.
Note: Hey! The next chap is here as planned! I was initially thinking to move things in this chapter, but well, I ended up with a super long chap, so I had to cut it in half! The drama will be in the next one, I promise!
CHAPTER 16
"There Were Rules."
- 09th May 2039, 09:46 pm, Black Spot -
The routine repeated itself once again. It was Chris's turn to get his rest tonight, and he deserved it. The officer had spent the whole week investigating on the anarchists. They had robbed a villa in the suburbs of Detroit: windows, furniture, electronic devices, everything had been destroyed and stolen while the owners were gone to the grocery store. Spottings had been reported weeks earlier, and neighbors had been a great help in identifying the perps.
They were then all three at their usual table and had clinked their beers, celebrating the officer's success.
"Congratulations, Officer Miller," Jack said, coming over to bring some snacks to their table. "It's from the house. We are always happy to see that police is doing good things and that we can feel safer in our city."
"I was just doing my job and my duty," Chris replied humbly. "But thank you, it's nice to know that all of these efforts are appreciated. And thanks for the antipasti. "
"You're welcome, Officer Miller," Jack said, tilting his head slightly, before glancing sideways at Gavin, who was trying to disappear with his nose in his glass. "I have to go. "
And Jack went back to the counter to resume his work and deal with the new customers.
Gavin followed him with his gaze, his nose still in his glass, but when he stopped staring at the android out of his field of view, his eyes met Tina's. She looked at him suspiciously and a hint of mischief shone in her eyes.
"What?" Gavin asked, lowering his glass.
"Had a fight? "
" Who? "
"You and Jack," Tina said, rolling her eyes. "There was something between you two, right? And now, it looks like something bad happened."
Gavin shrugged. He hadn't seen the android since their night together, so they hadn't had the opportunity to possibly argue. However, he hadn't really felt comfortable around him either tonight when he'd seen him again. It wasn't the first time for Gavin to revisit his hookups in other circumstances than sex, and most of the time, there was no complaint or hostility between them.
But now, Gavin had to admit, there was something wrong. Maybe Jack hadn't appreciated the fact that he left his home in the middle of the night, without seeing him afterward.
Gavin was sure, though, that he'd been pretty clear that he wasn't looking for a serious relationship, and that it would only be some kind of a favor to each other. Which was the concept of a one night stand.
So why did Jack seem to blame him for something? Gavin really didn't remember doing anything wrong with him. They had agreed together, so why?
What if Gavin had actually hurt the android? What if he'd hurt him by letting him alone after their night together when maybe Jack had grown attached to him and expected more?
What if he'd still been selfish in thinking only of himself and his needs, and therefore had not fully understood the android's intentions?
Gavin had done something wrong, it was obvious. And Jack hated him now.
He avoided his friend's gaze to stare at the beer in his glass, gently swirling the liquid while tilting the glass carefully.
"I don't know," Gavin replied, "Maybe I did something wrong without realizing it."
"You should go and talk to him to clarify things then."
"I… don't know," Gavin replied, uncertain. "I'm not sure I can fix this."
"It won't get sorted out if you stay here and do nothing."
She was right, but Gavin didn't feel able tonight to confront Jack to clear up an issue he didn't know about. He was guilty of something, for sure, Gavin had screwed up a lot of things in his relationships, whether long or short, that was his issues.
He was the source of conflict without realizing it, and by the time he's getting aware of it, it was too late.
"Gavin," Tina said to get his attention again. "You should really go talk to him …"
Gavin sighed. He knew it, yes. He apologized to his friends and got up from their table, his beer in hand, and walked over to the counter. He took a seat on one of the stools, and Jack turned his eyes slightly in his direction, noticing his presence. The human gave him a small wave, and the android joined him, the two separated by the counter.
"Needing something, Detective?"
"Um…" Gavin began a little uneasy. "Would be nice to have a chat?"
"I'm working, I don't have time for this."
Gavin looked around for a moment. There wasn't a lot of people tonight, it was a Monday after all, and the pub was far from crowded with patrons.
He glanced at Jack, who seemed cold and distant.
"Look, I don't know what the hell I did wrong, Jack…" He pursed his lips. "But whatever I did, I'm sorry if I hurt or angered you."
"I'm not blaming you for anything." The android said, cleaning the glasses. "I just haven't seen you that much, lately."
"Oh ..." Gavin said, nodding slowly. "That's right… I've been pretty busy lately. Mostly work, then I have a new teammate, so we spent a lot of time together."
The android gave Gavin a look that made him realize he certainly shouldn't have said this that way.
"Who is it ?" Jack asked in a mix of curiosity and jealousy.
"His name is Nines, he's an android."
Not really realizing it, Gavin began to smile absently as he mentioned the vigilante. He wasn't there tonight because he was playing the Nightwings in town, but he already missed him.
Since Hannah had been found, Gavin and Nines had spent relatively little time together. Gavin had continued to search for Collin's tracks on his own but found nothing. No murders had been committed during that time either. The investigation had come to a standstill.
Midnight had been to Belle Isle, specifically the Cyberlife Tower, the day after Hannah Lewis returned to see if Collin was still there. But nothing, as he'd expected. The only thing he'd found was thirium downstairs in the reception area, and at the tower's entrance. It belonged to Collin, but he hadn't been able to find anything more.
So since then, each one on their side tried to find a way to locate him. With Hannah's recordings, Gavin was able to use Collin's face to try and locate him via surveillance cameras around town.
Midnight had isolated the signal emitted by the RK800 which he'd received at the docks a few weeks earlier. He was on the lookout and connected to all radio in hopes of detecting Collin's signal.
But the two partners had seen very little of each other in the past five days. And Gavin had to admit it, he missed Nines. After this almost intimate moment in his apartment, he missed the vigilante. The few times he'd saw him, he'd felt his heart leap in his chest, and when he hadn't seen him at night, an empty feeling was crawling in his core.
He couldn't deny it anymore. It definitely was more than a crush.
"Gavin," Jack said to bring the detective back to the real world. "I have to say that I primarily didn't want to get attached to you. But now, it happened despite me. So, I think I'm gonna need some time to distance myself from these… feelings."
"Um…" Gavin said, pursing his lips, realizing what he was thinking and what Jack had just said. "Yet it seems to me that we'd been clear about ... what would happen that night between us, right? And what wouldn't happen next?"
"Yes," Jack sighed, putting down a glass. "But… it's hard to resist you." He sighed but smiled before giving the detective a sideways glance.
" I'm sorry… "
"Don't apolog-"
The Black Spot's doors suddenly swung open, attracting the entire clientele and staff's attention, bringing the room into a deep silence, and just leaving the buzz sound of the background music. In the doorway, breathless and dripping with rain, Midnight stood there, in his vigilante attire, his glowing eyes scanning the room in micro-movements, looking for a particular face.
Gavin jumped from his stool when their eyes met. He tensed as if about to snap like a bow as the vigilante strode across the room straight towards him, under the questioning and surprised customers' eyes.
"M-Midnight ..?"
"Detective!" He said, stopping at his level, grabbing his arm. "I located him!"
Gavin's blood boiled suddenly and he nodded.
"Do you know where he is?" Gavin asked, walking over to the table to retrieve his jacket. The vigilante nodded fastly, and Gavin glanced at his friends. "Sorry, duty is calling ..!"
"With Midnight ?" Chris exclaimed, eyes almost coming out of his orbits at the whole scene.
"Long story.. !"
And Gavin ran for the exit, joining the vigilante waiting at the door. Immediately they pushed them open and found themselves under the terrasse's blind. It was only then that Gavin realized it was raining.
"He's moving." Midnight interjected, passing the rain curtain. "We have no time to waste, Gavin."
"My car is parked too far away, shit !"
"So it's time for you to go on a ride with me."
Midnight gave a loop sided smile, and Gavin understood, responding with a small smile as well, before the two of them ran off in the rain towards the motorbike, parked a little further away.
Midnight mounted his Zero, which reactivated as soon as he was seated on it. Gavin didn't hesitate for a second, and sat behind him, wrapping his arms around the android's waist, both soaked.
Midnight started in a bang, his motorcycle's tires screeching on the wet asphalt and cruising through the streets of Detroit. Rain crashed into their faces and Gavin hid behind the vigilante's back, eyes closed and cheek pressed to his shoulder blades while keeping his arms locked tightly around the android's waist.
Despite the rain, the cold, and the wind, some warmth was emerging in Gavin's chest. For a moment he thought it was adrenaline, but realized that this pleasant warmth was coming from Midnight's body. It was then he really became aware of the situation, that he was clung against the android, face tucked behind his back, and his arms wrapped around him. Subconsciously, he tightened his grip, more from a sudden need for closeness than from fear of falling off the speeding motorcycle through the town.
This closeness and adrenaline made his head spin, and the sudden urge to become one with Midnight, to melt into him, grew stronger and stronger.
As for the vigilante, his pump was beating wildly under his chassis. His mind was completely focused on the road, deftly weaving between cars on the streets, synchronized to his Zero, but a part of him couldn't ignore the detective who was pressed against him. He could feel the human's heat and the pressure of his body against his despite the clothes, the rain, and the cold.
Of course, that didn't leave the android indifferent. He had only one thing on his mind and that was to stop on the side road, to turn around to face the detective, and to kiss him as he'd never done before.
But they had more urgency: Collin had sprung a signal from an abandoned warehouse outside the city. He was still able to locate it, and the RK800 had stopped for a good five minutes over there.
Out of town, Midnight sped up in a long straight road, almost dodging the raindrops in an electric hiss. A few minutes later, he spotted the old warehouse, which was nothing but a shopping mall abandoned after the revolution and the exodus of Detroit's citizens.
He then gradually slowed down as he neared his destination, and ended up coming to a complete stop in the empty parking lot of the mall, setting his foot on the ground.
The android straightened up, but Gavin didn't let go of his waist and stayed nestled against his back.
"We've arrived, Gavin."
"Oh." He said, finally taking off and getting off the bike. " Yes sorry." He wiped his face with the back of his arm but being soaked, and the rain still falling, the gesture was unnecessary. "A Walmart?"
"He's still in there."
"So we're gonna corner that fucker."
The two of them then walked silently to the old Walmart, and once they got to the doors, Gavin pulled his weapon from his holster and pointed it inside.
Midnight turned off the light in his eyes for more stealth and scanned the hall. He looked at Gavin then nodded to let him know the way was clear.
