OOOOOOOH SURPRISE BITCHES, THOUGHT YOU'D SEEN THE LAST OF ME?
I'm sorry it's been a while since I last posted a oneshot! Been heavily focusing on my other fic and also I'm working more hours a week so it's difficult to find time, but I suddenly got inspired for a Halloween-themed chapter. This wasn't requested by anyone, I just sort of came up with it :') I hope you all enjoy.
Also, introducing Nines this chapter because I love him so much and haven't written about him in any of the previous chapters. Nines and Gavin are partners in this, and it's heavily implied at the very end of the chapter that things get a bit shippy between them, but if you don't like Reed900 then know that it's literally only at the very end of the chapter, so you can happily read it until that point, if that's how you wanna ;)
Synopsis: It's a Halloween party at the precinct, but something's up with Connor? :O
Masquerade
Something seriously strange was going on. You could feel it. You could see it.
Connor was acting awfully peculiar. You hadn't seen him looking so stiff and reserved since before the revolution when he was still just a machine, and you knew for a fact that he could become quite talkative when there were plenty of people around - especially at a social event such as this - but he was flicking idly through files on his terminal in search of a lead for his current case while everyone else was more or less having fun.
A Halloween celebration. You were still struggling to figure out how Detective Reed - of all people - had managed to convince the Captain into allowing the precinct to throw a spooky workplace party on the evening of October 31st. Then again, it wasn't entirely a work-free event. Everyone still had to do their jobs, of course, but the atmosphere was alight with childlike excitement given there was eerie ambient music playing, a quite-large buffet table filled with creepy themed food, and almost everybody was in costume and actually taking the time to socialise with each other.
Well, everybody except Connor.
Even Nines was speaking with colleagues in a more affable manner than usual, which certainly said a lot. Connor had hardly approached you that evening, and it was the first indicator that something may had been bothering him - he generally spent a lot of time in your company given he was your boyfriend, so it was unusual for him to avoid you.
You stirred the little pineapple skewer around in your beverage of fruit punch, a thoughtful look of deliberation on your face as you tried to find a possible reason for the android's behaviour, but nothing came swiftly to mind. The only thing that could possibly pertain to it was the fact that he had arrived late to the party and his change in demeanour had been apparent from the get go.
Glancing towards the more advanced android who was hanging around the break room with Officer Chen and Detective Reed, you quirked an eyebrow - Nines had been with Connor when they arrived, so perhaps the RK900 knew what had triggered his prototype's quiet conduct. It would probably be beneficial to enquire about it, but you wanted to wait until there were less people around Nines so that you didn't draw attention to it. No doubt if Gavin realised there was something up with Connor, he'd take the chance to jeer and gibe at him, which would only worsen it.
Instead, you observed Connor for a little longer, taking note of his rigid sitting posture and the way he kept pulling at the sleeves of his gray suit blazer as if he was experiencing some sort of sensory issue.
What on Earth was wrong with him?
You sighed, finishing off your beverage and discarding the empty cup into the trash can before turning your attention to the buffet table and plucked up one of the small, frosted cupcakes that was decorated to look like a spider in a web, and peeled back the paper base to take a bite.
Fuck. You'd forgotten about your fake vampire fangs. They made it incredible awkward to actually chew the sugary treat - you were beginning to wish you'd dressed up as something that didn't intrude on a basic function such as eating. You should've just worn tattered clothes and painted your face to look like a zombie, or something. Anything was better than wearing vampire fangs, and you were pretty sure your smokey eye makeup had smudged as well.
Lieutenant Anderson hadn't put much thought into his own costume - he was wearing devil horns and that was about it, whereas Gavin had gone all out and dressed himself up as an oddly dashing skeleton in a pinstripe suit. He looked pretty funny with all that skeletal face paint, his features slathered with black and white tones.
Everyone had been excitedly anticipating Connor's and Nines's costumes before they turned up, talking animatedly about what outfits they would choose, but had ultimately been disappointed when the two androids turned up in their regular, non-spooky attire. Connor in his everyday grey blazer and Nines in his white jacket with the high collar; Gavin had openly voiced his irritation that the two of them had failed to participate in the fun.
You threw the cupcake wrapper into the waste bin and licked your lips free of frosting - once again working your tongue around the fake fangs - and pulled your black and red cape around your body in a sinister fashion so that you could glide across the room in a villainous way, much like Dracula in those old-school, black-and-white horror movies.
"Blehh, I want to suck your blood~" you burbled in a stereotypical vampire voice as you laid your hands down on Connor's shoulders after sneaking up on him. The android was unperturbed, glancing briefly over his shoulder before back to his terminal.
"Thirium is not made for human consumption", he stated blankly, not a hint of inflection in his voice to demonstrate even a smidgen of amusement, and your lips formed a pout.
Taking a seat on the desk beside him, you looked pointedly at the android, waiting for him to give you his attention, but he seemed quite enraptured with the contents of his terminal to even so much as glance at you.
"Okay, spill it. What's up? You're acting like I've offended you or something", you spoke up, giving him a light shove on the shoulder to pull him away from his work. Connor looked up, a hint of surprise on his face and he shook his head.
"Nothing is wrong, detective, I'm just trying to solve this case."
You leaned over, catching a glimpse of which case he was currently pursuing and scrunched your nose in confusion, "This is the case Gavin was assigned, and it's not exactly pressing. You don't need to be doing his work for him - come socialise and have some fun!"
Connor frowned, his brown eyes flickering to the break room where Gavin was snorting with laughter over something Nines had just said, "Well someone's got to do his work."
You blinked, staring hard at Connor.
Something had definitely happened. His attitude and manner were very different from how he usually was, and there was a level of austerity in his habitually warm gaze that you rarely saw - he only adopted that look whenever he was interrogating a suspect and purposefully trying to look cold.
It was a weird bearing for Connor - he tended to act this way when he was upset about something, but his LED cycled a smooth blue, denoting that all was fine with him emotionally; if he was actually distressed, his LED would be either yellow, or flickering faster at the very least, but no such aspect occurred. For all intents and purposes, according to his LED, he was content.
You gave a soft sigh. If something was truly bothering Connor, you trusted that he would confide in you in his own time. "Alright", you nodded your head, "Just… don't work too hard on Gavin's case. Don't want him getting credit for your efforts." You figured if Connor was in the mood to work rather than interact with others, then you'd leave him to it and let him be.
Alternatively, you departed from the android with a pat on his shoulder - not missing the way he shrugged slightly in response and then fiddled with his lapel - and made your way over to the break room, hoping to catch a moment with Nines in order to probe him and potentially shed some light on Connor's mood.
"You're such a basic bitch", came Gavin's taunting voice as you entered the break area, and you promptly sent him an accusatory look when you realised he was addressing you.
"Excuse me?" You snapped with indignation as the other detective smirked, his white-painted lips twisting up with mirth at having gotten a rise out of you, "I'll have you know my costume was very thought out", you informed him, and then lifted your upper lip to reveal your sharp canines, "Be careful what you say or I'll tear your throat out."
"Wow. I'm so intimidated", Gavin deadpanned, "By the way you've got a little white frosting on the side of your mouth", he pointed to his own lips, a hint of smugness in his eyes and you felt yourself flush immediately, reaching up to wipe the back of your hand across your mouth.
"Oh yeah? Well you've got a little white paint-" you motioned your entire face, "-all over, really."
"That's the idea, dumbass. I'm a fancy skeleton."
"Oh, you're a skeleton?" you exclaimed with faux surprise, "I thought you were just a fuckin' weirdo."
Gavin rolled his eyes, obviously sensing your sarcasm. "Yeah, well you look less like a vampire and more like you've been socked in the face twice."
You sneered - how dare he insult your eye makeup - and prepared to spit out another comeback, something akin to 'I hope you're allergic to the facepaint, asshole', but Nines interrupted before you could speak, "I think your costume looks fine, detective."
The android had been turning his head back and forth between you both throughout the entire exchange, an unreadable look on his face, and you smiled in delight at his remark.
"Thanks, Nines", you gave Gavin a smug look, jamming a thumb in the android's direction, "See? This one here has good taste."
Gavin snorted, "He's lying. You look like a raccoon that was just pulled out of a dumpster."
"You're a real shit-head, you know that?" You grumbled, knowing the insults were all in good fun, but growing somewhat tired of having your costume made fun of.
Gavin smiled, "Yeah. I know."
You huffed, rolling your eyes before turning to Nines, seeing just a flicker of a frown on his face before he realised you were regarding him, and he allowed a trace of inquisitiveness to show in his expression.
"Nines, I need to speak with you", you told him, and then pointedly added, "alone."
The android blinked in surprise, shifting his glance to Detective Reed, who looked briefly scandalised before shrugging his shoulders. "Don't know what you plan to do with my partner, but make it quick, I'm actually enjoying his company tonight", Gavin quipped with raised eyebrows and you shook your head at his antics, grabbing the android's arm to lead him out of the break room and into the hallway.
"What can I help you with, detective?" Nines enquired levelly, pinning you with a look of interest.
His blue eyes were acute and attentive, very light - almost silvery - in colour, quite different from Connor's brown ones, but still just as piercing and majestic to look at. Usually, you were somewhat put-off by the RK900's unblinking gaze, but tonight, Nines appeared to have chilled out a little - it was possible Gavin had rubbed off on him somewhat, at least when it came to human mannerisms.
"Do you know if something's wrong with Connor?" you asked, not even trying to hide the concern in your voice.
Nines's eyes widened minutely, his pupils flicking over to the android in question for less than a second, "No. Why? What did he say?" He answered awfully quickly, and it gave off an air of culpability, as though he'd been caught out doing something he shouldn't have been doing, but the context of it made absolutely no sense.
You frowned, "Nines. Did you do or say anything to upset him? He was fine earlier, before everyone left to change into their costumes, but he's barely spoken to me since he got here, and he doesn't seem like himself." You hated to accuse the android of being responsible for Connor's bad mood, but he had been the only one with him when his attitude seemed to drastically change, and it was terribly suspicious how guilty Nines appeared to be acting.
"No!" The android was quick to contend, his LED flickering a little faster all of a sudden, "Not at all", he continued smoothly, "perhaps he's just frustrated with his case. It happens."
"Well yeah, maybe, but…" you trailed off, lips pulling into a pout again as you remembered how dismissive he had been of you.
"But…?" Nines urged gently.
"But he barely so much as looked at me when I tried to talk to him, and it kinda made me feel bad. He's usually not like that at all."
"What?" Nines frowned, looking over your shoulder at Connor who was still working at his desk, and there was a hint of irritation in those blue eyes that just seemed incredibly out of place.
"...you really didn't say anything to upset him?" You enquired tentatively and squinted, scrutinising the android closely.
Nines shook his head, lips pursed, and you let out a quiet exhale filled with exasperation, "Okay. Perhaps you're right… maybe he's just frustrated with his case." With Gavin's case, more like. Why was the android even bothering with the crass detective's work, anyway?
You wandered away from the RK900 as he rejoined Detective Reed and Officer Chen in the break room, and made your way towards Connor once more, but not before taking excessive notice of the way Nines adjusted his collar, pulling it away from his neck as though it was bothering him.
Oh. A wild thought occurred in your mind, and you pinned Connor with a dubious look - he had closed his eyes now, brow furrowed as he poured through pages upon pages of data at high speeds behind his eyelids, and suddenly everything began to fall into place.
Time to have a little fun.
You didn't bother to sneak as you crept up behind the android sitting in his desk chair and quickly bent down to wrap your arms lovingly around his neck, your breath grazing past Connor's ear, causing him to tense up suddenly.
"Detective, can you please release-"
"Come on, Connor", you spoke in a hushed singsong voice, "You've been working so hard today, why don't we go take a break?"
Connor inclined his head away, not even being subtle about his discomfort, "Detective, this isn't at all professional-"
"Hah! That's not what you said last week when we had a quickie in the restroom stall", you teased knowingly.
Connor's LED cycled yellow, his eyes wide as he turned on you, a somewhat appalled look on his face, "Ah, I… what-" he stammered, shooting a shocked look across the room at Nines in the break room, before adding more quietly under his breath, "...surely, he wouldn't-"
You smiled, resting your hands on your hips. "Got you, Nines."
'Connor' parted his lips, LED returning to blue as a subdued look of what you believed to be resignation fell over his face. "Was it really so obvious?" the android asked.
You hadn't clocked it until you'd seen 'Nines' fiddling with his jacket collar, and you'd simultaneously understood why 'Connor' had been exhibited such awkward behaviour - because he wasn't used to the clothes he was wearing.
Nines was dressed as Connor, sitting at the desk and working - as per usual - quite determinedly on solving the tricky case he and Gavin had been assigned, while Connor was dressed as Nines, fooling the fancy skeleton in the break room, along with just about everyone else. You were filled with amusement, why hadn't you realised sooner?
"Yeah, kinda. Gonna fill me in on why you're disguised as each other?" You crossed your arms, leaning back against the desk.
"It was Connor's idea", Nines explained simply, "I refused the notion of dressing up in a ridiculous costume for this… Halloween party", he relayed the words with distaste, "and Connor posed the suggestion that we swap clothes and optic components so as to appear as each other."
"...and you just went along with it?"
"Connor turned it into a challenge. Whoever keeps up the charade the longest without getting caught is the winner", Nines elucidated, not in the least bit enthusiastic about the little game they had been slyly playing, "Incidentally, it only took Lieutenant Anderson three minutes and twenty-seven seconds to catch me out."
You raised your head, spotting Hank across the room by the buffet table, "I see." The lieutenant probably found the whole thing to be hilarious, but he was certainly good at keeping it a secret.
"I asked Lieutenant Anderson not to reveal my true identity. Gavin is especially insufferable tonight and Connor is doing a good job of keeping him away from me, so I had hoped it could go on as long as it took me to read over these files and examine the evidence in the locker." He answered your unspoken question and you let out a laugh.
"Well, technically it was Connor who caused me to suspect something was up, so you both lose your little game. Neither of you are very good actors, I'll be honest", you chuckled, sending a deliberating glance across the office at the real Connor. "I think I'm gonna break the news to him that he's been found out."
"Can you at least keep Gavin away for a little while longer? This case is unfortunately tough as it is, but if he distracts me, I might not solve it until tomorrow", there was an underlying hint of desperation in Nines's voice and you smiled apologetically, feeling somewhat sorry for the android.
"Don't worry, as soon as Gavin realises he's been chatting amicably with Connor for the past hour and a half, he'll probably go into a catatonic state."
"We can only hope", Nines quipped in an emotionless tone. It was funny - if only Nines new how similar he and Gavin were.
You padded across the room with a burgeoning idea in mind - an idea that would fluster Connor and bring yourself a whole world of amusement. It would certainly teach him to try and deceive you.
Sidling up to Connor's side against the round table, you greeted the small group again with an overly innocuous tone devoid of suspicion and dubiety, plastering a far too enthusiastic smile on your face that even Gavin could tell was horrendously out of place.
"Hello again, detective", Connor nodded to you in acknowledgement, completely unaware that you had figured him out, "Did you figure out what was bothering Connor?" There was a slight terseness to his voice that led you to believe he had caught a glimpse of you throwing your arms around Nines's shoulders in a very affectionate manner, but from his demeanour, it was clear he had not paid close enough attention to the rest of your conversation with the other android. He was definitely still under the belief that you thought you were talking to Nines. Good.
"Yeah, he was just struggling with the case", you inserted conversationally, a casual air to your words, "You'd think with that supercomputer brain of his, he'd be able to solve it with the snap of the fingers", you accompanied your words with the voiced gesture, "But oh well, maybe his processor is starting to slow down - I'm sure you could figure it out though, Nines. You are a superior model android, after all."
Gavin and Tina both gave you shocked looks - they knew you well enough to know that you'd never purposely put Connor down, even behind his back, so to hear words like that straight from your mouth without a hint of sarcasm was incredibly startling. You were more likely to be the one defending Connor from such remarks, not speaking them yourself.
Connor's face was blank, but you could tell in those shiny blue eyes, there was most certainly a hint of confusion, possibly even a flicker of hurt, which had you feeling apologetic almost immediately. You weren't going to let it last too long, and once you revealed that you knew he was Connor the whole time, you were sure he'd find the whole thing amusing.
"Mm… I'm sure Connor will solve his case soon…" Connor murmured, his LED blinking irritably.
"Pft. Maybe." You shrugged your shoulders, before reaching down subtly to pinch Connor's ass. He jolted and went rigid, mouth falling open in shock as his LED flickered yellow.
"What's up with you, Nines?" Gavin asked, not having seen your cheeky action, and arched a brow at the android's behaviour, but Connor remained silent, his blue-eyed gaze hard on your face.
"Nines is totally fine. It's Connor who's got something up with him. He was pretty rude to me earlier, actually-", you interjected pleasantly, "-I think I'll ditch him for you", you gave the android beside you a pointed look, smiling suggestively, and Gavin choked on his fruit punch.
Tina similarly looked at you like you'd gone completely insane, while Connor stared neutrally at your face for a few long seconds before his LED returned to a smooth blue and a defeated expression took hold of his features.
"What gave it away?" He asked.
"Everything, Connor."
Gavin recovered from choking on his fruit punch only to immediately begin choking on air at the implication, "W-wait, what?" he gasped, eyeing who he thought was Nines with a look of incredulity.
You decided to take pity on the crass detective and explained what exactly was going on, "Nines and Connor swapped clothes and dressed as each other for the evening. They've been fooling almost everyone here since the party began."
Gavin gaped, looking between the android sitting at the desk across the room and the one right in front of him. His face scrunched up with annoyance, "Are you fucking kidding me? But his eyes-"
"Nines and I have temporarily exchanged optic components", Connor elucidated.
Gavin looked like he was about to flip the table; he marched to the entryway of the break room and snapped at full volume across the room, "For fuck's sake, Nines! Here I was thinking you'd finally pulled that stick outta your ass!"
Nines gave no response except for a swift roll of his eyes, not taking his gaze away from his work.
"Look on the bright side, Gavin", you laughed, "at least you found out that you and Connor can have a fun, civil conversation without biting each other's heads off."
If Gavin hadn't been wearing opaque white paint on his face, you were sure you would've seen his skin turn pale regardless. The detective pinned Connor with a look that could kill, "If you repeat anything I've said to you this evening to anyone-"
"-I presume you are referring to the substantial amount of flirtatious remarks you have thrown my way for the past hour and a half?" Connor enquired with a tilt of his head, "Trust me, I don't wish to relive the times Detective Gavin Reed accidentally made romantic advances towards me. I had planned to redact the memories altogether come tomorrow morning, however-" he smiled, a very startling look to see on what looked like Nines's face, "I have half a mind to use it as blackmail now."
"You wouldn't fuckin' dare. I'll rip out your thirium pump with my bare hands-"
"And it's straight back to being at each other's necks", you rolled your eyes, sharing a look of amusement with Tina, "Chill Gavin, everyone here already knows you're thirsty for Nines."
"I- I am not-"
"Sure, Gav. Sure." You laughed, and turned to give Connor a wink.
The android smiled, brushing his fingers against your own where your hands rested at your sides.
Notes: I hope you all enjoyed that funny little oneshot :') Comments make me super happy, so please don't forget to drop me one as a thankyou if you liked this chapter!