"I don't understand why you think I'd get an apartment with two bedrooms," Connor says. He's sitting carefully on their rented apartment's bed as Markus unpacks clothes he had bought while Connor got the apartment situation finalized.
Earlier than that, Connor set up separate and joint bank accounts for the two of them. A decent amount of money was stolen from a few corrupt probably-drug-cartel businesses. Markus failed in preventing Connor from tipping the cops about every other potential laundering schemes in their new neighbourhood. Markus refrained from reminding Connor of his own short laundering practices because of the glee Connor showed in sending digital messages to the three nearest police stations.
"Wouldn't this make people think we're a thing? I just assumed that you would take personal boundaries into account but-" Markus sighs in defeat when he sees Connor's confusion, "Y'know what? Fine. this is great, Connor, good job," Markus says as he calmly hangs clothes and laces it in their closet.
Connor tilts his head slightly in confusion,
"A thing? What do you mean-"
Markus awkwardly waves it off and shrugs before looking down at what's left from the shopping trip.
A small plastic bag is alone on the ground and Markus picks it up. He walks to Connor and sits next to him on the bed.
"I know we can already do long-distance communication with each other, but I thought it'd be smart if we got used to using phones around these people. Don't text anything too suspicious though, these are just for other people and for considerably normal things," Markus says.
He reaches into the bag and pulls out two boxes, each containing a Stark Ind. smartphone. He holds one of the boxes out towards Connor only to sigh again and berate him. Connor sits there, LED-less, but obviously searching the internet for what Stark's brand of phones is like.
"Despite it being kind of necessary, It's still a gift so I would prefer for it to be a surprise," Markus says with a faux pout. Connor shakes out of his research and sheepishly takes the phone.
"Thank you, I will be transferring the landlord's, Miss Pott's, and our bank's contact information into the phones. The company came back, by the way, they will be interviewing tomorrow morning at ten," Connor reports. Markus nods and lays back on their bed.
"Alright. Tomorrow I'll be doing my interview, what about you?"
"I'll be coming with you. I have an interview also,"
"I thought we agreed that I was going to be led as a caretaker? I know there's a slim chance that I'll fail the interview, but still,"
"We did. My interview is for the position of bodyguard and chauffeur for his intern Peter Parker,"
"I was joking when I said that-"
"Regardless, it is another good opportunity for getting close to Stark,"
"What did you put in my resume anyway? And what about our own backgrounds? We can't use any of my actual former employers, and we don't really have a family history,"
"I'm sending your resume and history to you now. As for my resume, I have years of protection and self-defence training from Hank and his colleagues. In my high school years, I practised tactical skills and first-aid with the intent of becoming a police officer. Due to unforeseen circumstances and the death of Lieutenant Hank Anderson, I 'chose' to apply for a job as a chauffeur and semi-bodyguard in order to help pay for our living,"
"As for our other backgrounds, I copied saved information and legal records about our human friends from back home and wove them into the records existing here. I was adopted at the age of twelve by the 'now-deceased' Lieutenant Hank Anderson after being abandoned by 'my original parents' Elijah and Amanda Kamski-"
Connor stops for a moment and seems to be reviewing information.
"-We've lived in Detroit all my life and met on our college campus. You are the adopted son of the 'also-deceased town-famous painter' Carl Manfred. We are close friends because of our adoption history and decided to room with each other. I have both given each character in our lives a family history dating back to before the first World War. It's hard to explain away our lack of actual possessions, but it seems this world has yet to begun proper repair of Detroit. Our old family homes and apartments burned down, so we took what was left and moved to New York for a new life,"
"Wow. You are very thorough-wait you have Carl's records saved ?"
Connor freezes guiltily and carefully lays down on his back beside Markus.
"I decided to do a background check on all important humans who decided to stay in Detroit. There weren't many, and you knew Carl so I thought it'd be useful,"
"Useful for what, exactly?"
"...he was a potential sponsor for the android renaissance and reformation. I needed information to aid in persuading him to our side. I was unaware of how close you two were at the time,"
Surprisingly, Markus laughs and gently pats Connor's chest. He looks at the ceiling and grins before silencing himself.
Markus nods and takes in a cooling breath.
"Well, then. It's late and we have nothing else to do," Markus moves his hand away from Connor and shifts up the bed to lay his head on a pillow. He moves onto his side with his back toward Connor, "We could save some energy, so- goodnight, I guess," Markus mutters.
"Goodnight Markus,"
They both begin to awkwardly shut down for the night. Markus plans on convincing Connor to start carrying a packet of thirium with him tomorrow morning.
[TASK REMINDER: ATTEND 10:00:00 AM INTERVIEW AT AVENGERS TOWER]
Both of the androids woke up exactly an hour before the interview. They get up and begin dressing in their new clothes and ready to begin heading out. As they walk to the subway station, they wirelessly and silently talk to each other.
'So will we be arriving together or-'
'Together. It is essential that we appear to hold no secrets, and our backgrounds are already close. They know we are roommates,'
'Alright, anything else I should know?'
'...Stark has experience with self-aware AI. There was an incident a few years ago regarding a sentient AI conducting a terrorist attack. Please be careful when interacting with him,'
'That information could've been shared sooner, but I'm sure I can blend in well enough. Will we have to regulate our body temperatures?'
'Yes. Stark's tower has a number of checkups to avoid unauthorized weapons from entering the building.'
'But we will be able to slip through, right?'
'Of course,'
Their subway car arrives at their destination. As they exit the bus and then the subway, Markus stutters to a stop in order to take in the Avengers Tower with wide eyes. It's the most similar thing to a home he's seen in the last few days. They begin their trek closer to the tower and soon, they stand at the front doors and are let in by an Asian lady. They both hide their surprise at how quickly they are identified.
"Follow me, your interviews will be led by Miss Potts herself," The woman says as she swipes through different screens on her tablet. They walk into an elevator and arrive at the twenty-third level. They are further led down wide halls with recognizable architecture and design and arrive finally at an office door. Besides the office door, there are five chairs lined against the wall with two other people sitting there.
"You will wait here until you are called in. Feel free to help yourself to snacks or water," The lady says as she walks away, half-mindedly gesturing to the opposite wall that has a slim table topped with water-filled Stark brand, reusable bottles, pretzels, and mini-chip bags pushed against it.
Markus smiles discreetly as he watches Connor stare at the food and grimace. He always thinks it's funny how Connor judges the healthiness of food. Markus wishes he could do that sort of thing on sight like Connor, but his programs only allow him to get that information through internet-searching.
The silence is slightly awkward. The other interviewees, a woman and a man sit with their faces focused on their phones. Connor begins fidgeting, his leg bounces and he stops shyly when the man glares at him and moves to the only other seat, away from Connor. When Markus catches Connor nervously fidgeting again, he softly smiles and gently nudges him.
"You good?"
Connor looks back at him incredulously. He huffs and sinks slightly in his chair.
"I am alright. Thank you for asking, " Connor responds.
The two other adults with them sneak glances at the two. Markus places a hand over one of Connor's wrists and turns Connor's palm upwards. Markus reaches into his pocket with his other hand and grasps a quarter. He takes it and presses it into Connor's hand.
"Could you show me that rolling coin trick?"
Connor brightens up slightly,
"Sure!"
Connor turns bodily towards Markus and begins rolling the coin between his fingers. It flips over his knuckles and passes between Connor's hands smoothly. Soon, Connor starts doing other tricks.
...
"Connor Anderson? Your interview is next,"
A lady with freckles and red hair is standing at the now-open office door. She's holding a clipboard and her posture is proper. Connor immediately identifies her as Ms Potts. An interviewee leaves the room with a dejected look. She's smiling amusedly at him and Markus. Markus sends Connor an encouraging smile.
Connor nods, pocketing his new quarter after Markus refuses to take it back, and joins Miss Potts in the interview room.
"You may refer to me as Miss Potts or as Pepper, whatever you prefer,"
"Miss Potts then, I am Connor Anderson,"
"Let's begin with our questions, shall we?"
"I am ready to begin,"
Markus waits patiently in the hall. He takes out his phone and begins familiarizing himself with it. He wonders if Connor even has to do that sort of thing. It's still crazy after all these months, that Connor just has so many programs and protocols installed in him. Markus couldn't ever hope to be as advanced as him.
"So which position are you applying for? I'm applying for the position of being some special intern's bodyguard. My name's Lucy,"
Markus is stirred out of his thoughts as the woman introduces herself.
"I'm Markus, and I'm applying to be Dr Stark's caretaker,"
Lucy struggles to hide her surprise. Her brows raise and she nudges another guy,
"How 'bout you? What job do you want?"
The man is silent and ignores the two. Markus frowns lightly before directing his attention elsewhere.
"-so what was your friend applying for?"
Markus stiffens up and carefully assesses Lucy's suddenly competitive and pressuring voice.
"He's applying for the position for the intern's bodyguard, "
"Is that so?"
"-you've recently moved here from Detroit, yes? Wouldn't that affect your ability as a chauffeur?" Miss Potts asks. The interview has been going fairly well.
[PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS: 54%]
Connor feigns hesitation before answering.
"I have a sort of eidetic memory, ma'am, I have already memorized multiple routes from my apartment to this building, "Connor says. Pepper blinks confusedly before smiling.
"You seem pretty confident that you'd need to know how to get here regularly. About your living arrangements, it seems you share an apartment with one of our other applicants?"
Connor notes Ms Pepper's sudden and genuinely interested tone of voice. The other past few questions seem to have been formalities.
"Yes, I share an apartment with Markus Manfred. I have known him since college and he is a very close friend-"
"We know that the apartments there have only one bedroom each, and we have a zero-tolerance policy for any sort of bad discrimination. You two will have to fill out some extra forms though if you both end up getting the job here," Ms Potts says teasingly. Without meaning to, Connor's face closes off and he becomes stiff. Pepper stops herself and concern colours her features,
"-or is it just out of necessity? Does one of you sleep on the couch? You don't have to answer that. I'm sorry for assuming," Pepper hurries to apologize and Connor's eyes widen before he relaxes.
"It is alright. We are, in fact, in a relationship," Connor placates her, and he silently informs Markus of this new development. It would be good for the mission. They now have an excuse to hang out more often than friends do.
Markus's strained smile twitches as he receives the new information from Connor. He's had to deal with Lucy, and now Connor told their potential employer that they were dating .
"So how many years of training does he have?" Lucy asks. She had just taken Connor's chair and was leaning into Markus' space, her chest almost touching his shoulder. Markus openly frowns and carefully shifts away from her.
"I don't know. Please refrain from touching me," Markus says. Lucy slightly shakes her head, and her confusion is quickly masked by a tight smile. She stays in his personal space.
"I'm not touching you, I'm just asking some questions. Wanna be friends? Will you do me a favour?"
Before Markus can answer, the door opens and Connor walks out of the room and tilts his head at the sight of Markus awkwardly trying to leave his seat. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Pepper frowning,
"Markus, you're next," Pepper says, slightly moving to the side as Markus gets up and movies into the interview room. She directs her attention to Lucy, "After his session, you, Mr Anderson, and Mr Jacobs will be taken into the testing gym for further assessment,"
Lucy nods with a suddenly more professional and serious disposition. She eyes Connor before settling down in the chair he had sat in before. Connor takes her old seat next to the silent man.
"So you are one of four people that actually applied to become Tony's caregiver," Pepper starts with. Before he can introduce himself properly, Pepper sighs and sets down her clipboard.
"Now, it's been a while since Tony has had his own actual caretaker. You are pretty young and you've actually gone through two different teaching and caregiving courses. However, you also have a large background in art. Why do you want this job?" Pepper asks. She sounds confused and a bit bored. Markus inwardly winces at her question. He looks over his resume in his head once more before answering.
"I enjoy taking care of people," Markus shrugs before continuing,"My dad was my third foster parent before deciding to adopt me. Despite his old age, he did his best to take care of me as a kid. When the time came where he was too old to be by himself, I was ready to take care of him in return. As for my fine arts degree, I just like art. I grew up around art and I grew up with the responsibility of caring for people, "
"That still doesn't take away from the fact that you're still only twenty-three and that Stark needs someone to actually take care of him. For things like actually eating and not drinking himself dead, " Pepper sends Markus a disapproving look and he's unsure as to who she's actually disappointed at.
"Ms Potts, I have spent my whole life caring for people. I don't intend on resigning from the job two years in-" a lie but Markus has always been surprisingly good at faking genuine emotions,"-and I can handle unhealthy habits. Miss, my father wanted to be a mural painter. When he lost mobility in his legs, he lost faith in the abilities of humans. But I still cared for him, despite his bleak outlook and need for help in the bathroom, " Markus laughs a little in the end, and Pepper cracks a small smile.
"I'm absolutely sure that despite my age, I can handle cooking meals for a superhero, " Markus says.
Pepper nods before glancing at a camera in the corner of the room. Immediately, her phone vibrates and she sighs.
Markus confusedly watches as she picks up the phone and answers the call. A male voice filters through. A human wouldn't be able to hear it, but Markus can.
'Hire this one! He's young and actually looks like he would laugh at my jokes! If you're forcing me to have a caretaker, at least let me choose this guy instead of the three other old bags and grandmas, "
Pepper rolls her eyes and opens her clipboard in order to pull a few sheets out. She hands the forms over to Markus and sends him an intense warning glare.
"If you turn out to be some sort of press or spy, I only have a few calls to make in order to have you disappear, " Pepper snarls at him before relaxing and beaming a smile.
"You're hired!"
Markus smiles back with his own touch of surprised fear.