Taylor Swift - Lover

"Hey, kid. Long time no see." Hank's reaction to Taylor's return was fairly muted compared to everyone else. Connor supposed he should not be surprised. Taylor smiled at the lieutenant, and she went in for a hug immediately. He hugged her back, somewhat awkwardly.

"Good to see you, Hank." She released him a moment later. People had been waving or acknowledging her since she walked back into the precinct, but she had made her way straight to his desk.

"It's good to see you back on your feet. Maybe this slacker will come back around to work now." Hank said, giving Connor a pointed look. Taylor just smiled at him. She didn't want to give him away.

"Actually, I came to speak to the Captain about returning to the precinct." Connor said. Hank looked over at him in surprise, then he clapped him on the shoulder.

"That's great! About damn time." Hank was smiling now. "Do you need me to come with you?"

Connor looked at Taylor uncertainly, but she just raised her eyebrows. "If you think it would help."

"I came to see Gavin, so I'll leave you two to it." Taylor said, clearly amused. Hank frowned at her.

"He ain't in a good mood these days thanks to his new partner. Watch yourself." He warned. Taylor just rolled her eyes at the warning, turning in the direction of Detective Reed's desk.

"What could be so bad about his partner?" She asked, looking around for him. Gavin wasn't at his desk, and she sighed.

"Actually, funny story," Hank began, looking suddenly uncomfortable. Connor was curious now, and was about to ask why, when he noticed Taylor freeze. He followed her line of sight and saw Gavin exiting the break room, his new partner hot on his heels.

His LED flashed yellow for a moment. The android following Detective Reed was clearly a Connor model. He caught sight of the RK900 on its jacket and frowned. An upgraded version, then.

"Your buddy Markus sent that thing along a couple weeks ago from CyberLife. Fowler thought Connor was such a hit, he decided to keep it and assign it to Reed since that asshole can't keep a partner." Hank explained.

"He's not deviant?" Taylor asked, tilting her head as she watched the two. There was a curious look on her face. Connor didn't like it at all.

"Apparently it has some anti-deviant software on it. Markus said it just wanted to do its assigned job as a detective android, so he sent it here." Hank shrugged, clearly not caring about the whole situation. "It's a creepy Connor knock-off."

Taylor laughed, but she was still staring at Gavin and the RK900. "Can't go deviant, huh?"

She started walking towards them, and Connor found that he was following her a moment later. She gave him a skeptical look, and he said quickly, "I've decided to accompany you to see Detective Reed."

"Uh huh." She clearly wasn't convinced, but she didn't protest. He had sworn to himself that he wouldn't be unnecessarily jealous anymore. He just didn't like this situation at all.

That android was a Connor model. Wouldn't it be just as drawn to Taylor as he had? From the very beginning, when he was a machine still, Taylor had enamored him. Why shouldn't this new version of him be the same?

What's more, what if Taylor decided she wanted an upgraded Connor. She seemed intrigued by him. The RK900 probably had plenty of improvements over him. He had only been a prototype, after all.

"Hello, Gavin," Taylor said with a smile. They'd crossed the room and stopped in front of Gavin's desk before Connor had appropriate time to organize his thoughts. Gavin glanced up from where he'd been glaring into his cup of coffee, and his jaw dropped open.

"Holy shit, you're back." He said, which made Taylor laugh again. Connor was watching the RK900, who was now eyeing the blonde with interest. Scanning her. He made himself stand very still beside her.

"Now that is an appropriate response, Detective Reed. Well done." She gave him a cheeky smile, and Gavin managed to close his jaw. For the moment, she wasn't acknowledging the android at his side. "I came to say thank you. For Anthony."

"Yeah, sure." He responded, glancing away. His ears turned pink. "I was just doing my job."

"If I may ask, who are you?" The RK900 finally spoke up. His voice was deeper than Connor's, his eyes the color of steel. When Taylor glanced in his direction, he said, "I have never seen Detective Reed react in such a manner. I am curious as to the cause."

"No one is talking to you, tin can." Gavin bit off, more annoyed now, glaring at the android standing near his chair.

"My name is Taylor," Taylor said, ignoring Gavin's comment, a grin of amusement on her face now. She stepped around the desk and offered her hand to the RK900. He looked down at it, a slight frown on his face, before he reached out to shake her hand.

Connor felt himself tensing the moment the two of them touched. He knew it was irrational, but the RK900 made a strange expression when he grasped her hand, releasing it quickly. Taylor seemed completely oblivious. "What's your name?"

"I have been designated 'Nines'." He said, regaining his composure, folding his arms behind his back. Taylor gave Gavin a dubious look.

"What was I supposed to call it, Connor Two?" He grumbled, glaring at Connor like this whole thing was his fault.

"It's nice to meet you, Nines." Taylor turned back to him with a smile. He just looked at her uncertainly before he nodded. Content, she came back around the desk. Connor felt better with every bit of distance between her and the RK900, who was still watching the blonde curiously.

Taylor stepped up to his side, sliding her arm through his and giving him a sideways smile. He'd forgotten temporarily that she could sense his stress levels now, too. To Gavin, she said, "See you around, Detective Reed."

"Yeah, whatever." He muttered, still frowning as they walked away. When they were a good distance away, she leaned into him.

"Please tell me you were jealous of the android back there and not Gavin." She was attempting a joke, he knew, but Connor still felt unsettled by the whole affair.

"He is an upgraded version of myself." He said after a moment. Her smile faded when she saw how serious he was. "What if he develops feelings for you as I did? What if you decide you like him more?"

"Hey." Taylor stopped walking abruptly, pulling him to a stop with her. There was a frown on her face, and she grabbed the lapel of his jacket, yanking him closer. "That's not fair. I don't care about some shiny, new Connor. You're my Connor."

"But—" He didn't get the chance to finish. She pulled him down against her lips, cutting off his words. He forgot they were in the precinct until someone whistled, and Taylor pulled away from him, smiling.

"No buts. We're going to have to work on your jealousy." He cleared his throat as she stepped around him, continuing on towards Hank. The lieutenant was shaking his head at them, but he also looked slightly amused. Connor followed after her, adjusting his tie, trying to appear unaffected.

Hank led them towards Captain Fowler's office, holding the door as Taylor walked past him. Connor filed in and Hank pulled the door shut. The captain looked up from the papers on his desk, his face decidedly not amused by their interruption. His eyes found Taylor immediately.

"You're back." He said, frowning. "You could have at least turned in your badge when you left."

"I lost it." The lie fell from her lips effortlessly. Taylor shrugged and smiled like she couldn't be bothered, not even glancing in his direction. Connor had felt his thirium pump speed up with nervousness as soon as Captain Fowler brought it up, but Taylor just said, "It's been an intense couple of months."

"So I've heard." Fowler sighed, and then turned his attention to Connor. Letting it go, just like that. Connor had to try not to be impressed with how easily Taylor lied to other people. "And here's renegade number two. Deviant now?"

"Yes, sir." Connor stood at attention with his hands folded behind his back. It had been quite some time since he'd been standing in this office, but he fell back into it easily.

"Now you've come crawling back. What are you doing here?" Fowler wasn't going to give in easily. He was going to make Connor work for it.

"I was hoping to resume my position as detective with the Detroit Police. If you'll have me." He inclined his head, aiming for humility. Fowler didn't look impressed.

"Come on, Jeffrey. He was helping to free his people." Hank said, sounding annoyed. "And I still need a partner."

"If you behaved like an adult and not a child, you would have a partner," Jeffrey snapped, glaring at Hank. Hank glared right back, and beside them, Taylor pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. Then Fowler turned back to Connor, his glare easing into a frown.

"Fine, you can have your position back. For now." He sighed again at the smile the stretched across Connor's face. He couldn't hold it in, though. Hank clapped him on the shoulder. "If you step one toe out of line again, though, you're getting demoted to cleaning android."

"Yes, sir." Connor nodded. They filed out of the room quickly, before the captain could change his mind.

Taylor was sitting on the floor of her new living room, trying to set up her new television. If she had to live life as a hermit, she was going to do it with all available streaming services and videogames. She'd ordered a new, bigger TV and was signing into all of the apps.

Connor was sitting behind her on the couch, watching her work. He had mounted the television onto the wall for her, not that she needed help with things like that anymore. She was an android too, after all.

She looked at him over her shoulder. He'd been staying with her for the past couple of days while she settled in, and while she was certainly glad for his company, she was starting to wonder when he was going back to Hank's.

He noticed that she'd stopped typing in passwords on the screen and met her eyes. His LED flashed yellow for just a second. He'd still decided to keep it, even after being deviant for so long, even now that he had rights. She didn't mind it. Even though she could detect his stress levels now, it was still her favorite way of figuring out what he was thinking.

"What is it?" He finally said. She realized she had been staring at him in silence for at least a couple of minutes.

"Nothing, it's just," she turned back to the television and erased her password from the box, starting over. She'd forgotten where she'd left off. Then she remembered she could have accessed her android memory and remembered. She was still getting used to that. "I was wondering when you were going to go back to Hank's. I mean, I think I've gotten everything figured out here now."

Connor didn't respond, but she heard him stand from the couch. He padded over to her, taking a seat behind her and pulling her into his lap. She leaned back against his chest, the remote in her hand drifting down to her knee, forgotten.

"I'm not going back to Hank's." He said, resting his chin against her shoulder. With his arms wrapped around her waist, pinned the way she was, she couldn't turn to look at him. "Unless you don't want me to stay?"

Taylor didn't know what to say at first. Of course she wanted him to stay. The only thing she could manage was, "What about Hank?"

"I will see the Lieutenant at work." Connor said simply, pressing a kiss against her neck. She tried not to shiver, but it was no use. "We can visit him as often as we like, right?"

"Right," she agreed.

"I don't want you to stay here alone." He said, when she didn't say anything else. His arms tightened around her middle, drawing her closer still. "I don't want to lose you again."

"You won't," she said softly. He nuzzled his face into her neck, and she raised a hand up to touch his hair. "You can stay forever, if that's what you want."

"Forever," he repeated, like the concept was foreign to him. A little puzzled and slightly in awe. "I'd like that. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet," she said truthfully. "I told you before that I've never been anything but famous. I have to learn how to do something else now."

"You will." He lifted his head again, his nose brushing against her cheek. "You can do anything. You're amazing."

Taylor laughed softly, twisting in his arms so that she could face him. Her hands came up, cupping his face, and she kissed him. Slow and sweet and full of every bit of passion she had for him. She pulled away before he could deepen it, their noses still touching, and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Fin

Hey guys. I just wanted to write a few lines here at the end to say thank you for reading this story. I had a lot of fun writing it, so I hope you guys enjoyed it.

I have an epilogue that I'm half-heartedly working on. Just to wrap up some of the loose ends I left, let some of the characters get a little more screen time. If any of you are even interested in more of this nonsense, drop a line and let me know. I'll try to finish it soon. Otherwise, this is the official end.

These are crazy times we live in, so stay safe out there.