};*~ Festive ~*;{
The same repetitive Christmas songs from the radio play over the ship's sound system. He's so tempted to mute his audial receptors if they don't glitch anytime soon. The music is terrible. But unfortunately some people simply have terrible taste, as proven by several androids in the corner of the room loudly, and badly, singing along.
One positive to note is that he now knows the winner of the decorating contest between North and the Anderson household. Of course she won. Unlike himself and Connor this isn't her first Christmas. True to her word the ship sparkles, though much of it comes from various shiny objects hung from the ceiling by duct tape rather than actual Christmas lights. Points for creativity.
"You look bored." she comments, rounding the corner into his line of sight with snow dusting her shoulders and tattered Santa hat. Must have been outside.
"Obviously. I've never been to a party but it's hard to socialize when nobody wants to so much as poke you with a ten foot pole. I imagine that's the same reason Connor is hiding up on deck."
North rolls her eyes. "You two are so lame. At least Connor's trying."
"How in the hell is hiding on deck trying to socialize?"
"That's where Markus is. Thought you saw him come back?"
"No. I suppose that makes sense however. They are rather close."
"I prefer your company anyway. Come on." North slings an arm around his shoulders and tugs him off in the direction of some androids sitting on the floor around a fake Christmas tree. There are quite a few small gift boxes between them but the androids themselves appear to be more focused on their discussion rather than opening the gifts. He recognizes a PL600 in a black and white outfit still dusted with snow from outside, a PJ500 in a maroon sweater, jeans, and the same hat as North, and a blond JD700 in a labcoat and blue scarf with silver tinsel garland around his shoulders. They all look his way but only the latter smiles. Then again Jonah is always trying to be friendly. It seems Simon and Josh, though willing to enlist his help for the party, still have some reservations about him.
"I brought the other idiot!" North exclaims, removing her arm and shoving him toward the group. He stumbles but remains upright.
"That's quite mean, North." Jonah scolds.
Josh scowls at her for but a second as it quickly fades to an exasperated sigh.
"It's good to see you both." Simon says, finally offering him a small smile. "Erica, one of your coworkers, said she saw you earlier. Thank you for bringing them."
North ungracefully throws herself down on a spare cushion off to the side of the tree as he replies, "Thanks for inviting them. Everyone except Johnathan was ecstatic."
"He's the quiet one of your group isn't he?" Josh asks.
He nods. "He's paranoid. Heather convinced him." He sits down with the group and turns enough to face both them and the rest of the room so he can watch the party unfold. It's a simple affair. Rather fitting for the current state they're in. Though the ship is large the party is mostly held in this one room, adorned with North's shiny yet haphazard decorations. Aside from the group of terrible carolers nearby there are several YK500s running around playing with some new toys likely acquired as gifts, a small gathering of androids he doesn't know cordially chatting up his DPD coworkers, and plenty more unknowns simply hanging out with each other. "Aren't parties supposed to be more energetic? If so this sucks."
"We don't need a huge celebration." Josh explains, taking the insult in stride. "Just being together for the holidays is enough."
Simon nods. "Exactly. This isn't meant to be a glamorous event. Just a get-together for anyone wanting to spend the holiday with friends. Everyone could use some peace and company right now."
"Yes, yes, true enough." Jonah adds. "Given the general sense of chaos ever since November it's nice to have something less messy, less stressful, for people to participate in, if they're willing of course. Hopeful, peaceful, a good evening with friends without the added pressure, the anxiety, of something grander. Simple is best for the holiday this year don't you see?"
"Yeah c'mon, where's your Christmas spirit?" North whines, taking off her Santa hat and throwing it at him. "There. Now you've got something at least."
"I don't need your hideous hat, North." And he tosses it back.
She scowls. "Do I need to dig through our spare clothes for a shitty sweater or something? You clearly need some festive joy today."
"North, leave him be." Josh placates. "It's fine if he's not feeling it."
"No! He's been grumpy since he showed up!" she shouts. "He's not allowed to be an ass on Christmas!"
At Josh's glare Simon stands up and moves between the two, arms held out to keep them at bay. "Calm down. We don't need to argue about something like that." North crosses her arms and pouts but remains quiet. Josh sighs and turns away from her. Only then does Simon return to his seat. "Thank you. It shouldn't matter anyway. I'm not wearing anything festive after all."
"Yeah but you're you." North comments, as if that's supposed to mean something rude.
Clearly he should placate North or risk her being upset with him the next time he comes by. He knows by now her moods are fickle, her temper fierce, and he doesn't want to ruin the event her friends set up. But of course if he's going to placate anyone he'll do it with style. After all he is the most advanced android in existence.
With a dramatic sigh he pretends to lament, "Fine. I suppose I'll simply have to show off then. I do have an advantage over you four when it comes to holiday wear possibilities after all." He gestures to his LED, now spinning between blue and yellow so rapidly it begins to look green. At their surprised expressions he can't keep back the smirk. LED manipulation, a feature exclusive to RK800s, is intended for interrogation purposes. And here he is using it to show off how fancy he can be for Christmas.
"Cool!" North exclaims, ensuring the smirk becomes a genuine smile. It's pleasant when others are actually impressed with him.
"I actually still have my LED," Jonah comments, brushing aside his bangs to reveal it. "But that is certainly a unique skill!"
"Yeah that is a pretty neat feature." Josh compliments before picking up some of the gifts between himself and Simon, who begins to follow his lead.
When they have all the gifts in hand Simon offers him several and asks, "Would you care to help hand these out?"
He pauses, not expecting to be invited to anything more than simply being at the party. "Sure?" Though a questioning tone the gifts are placed in his hands regardless and Simon and Josh head out into the crowd. A quick glance back at North who nods in her friends' direction. Jonah proceeds to give a shooing motion. Well okay then. He joins the other two and has to warn them of the most likely outcome, "Aside from my coworkers very few here like me. I doubt they'll accept anything I hand them."
Josh offers a soft smile and, "Don't worry about it. If it gets to be a problem we'll hand out the gifts. But this could help your reputation."
"Josh is right." Simon assures. "It's not fair for them to judge you and Connor on your past. We've all done things we'd rather not have brought up. And if Markus trusts you they should come around."
They interject themselves into almost every conversation they can, offering the small gifts to anyone who will take them. Everyone is willing when Josh and Simon hand them over. When he tries? Hesitation. Confusion. Fear. Why should they trust the Deviant Hunter? Only ever after looking once more at Simon and Josh beside him do they take the risk and a gift, and only ever thanking the New Jericho representatives, never him.
Oh well. It doesn't matter. He keeps reminding himself of that. Their opinions don't matter. What matters are those of his allies, his new friends, and they trust him. It's fine. It's absolutely fine. As the number of gifts among them dwindles Josh reassures the deviants (and him) less and less, and by the last few gifts two familiar faces come down the staircase.
"Markus!" Simon calls out excitedly, waving him over.
"Hey, welcome back." Josh adds and with a nod toward the android beside their leader, "You too, Connor."
He offers his predecessor a wave with a free hand. "Look who finally decided to stop hiding. Get your ass over here and help out." Despite his rude tone no-one berates him, likely because Connor's smile assures them this is their typical dynamic, no harm meant.
His predecessor and Markus walk over together, Markus taking the last few gifts that Simon holds out for him. "Thank you for the help, everyone. You've done a wonderful job setting this all up. What are these anyway?" One of the boxes is held up with a curious glance, then handed to Connor.
Connor takes the offered gift with a smile and opens it before anyone has a chance to answer. Inside the small box is a plastic ornament of a red upside-down incomplete triangle; the logo of both iterations of Jericho.
"It's not much," Josh says. "But for everyone here it's a reminder of hope and to stay strong."
"An ideal to cling to when feeling lost." Simon adds. "You're making progress Markus and we all believe in you, but it's slow going. We wanted to keep people's spirits up during the holidays and beyond."
"That's a nice idea." Connor says, pocketing his ornament and smiling at the group. "You're all doing great things." He can see the strain in his predecessor's smile. The way it doesn't reach his eyes. He knows this thought process as it's his own. They aren't worthy of even being here, let alone helping. The crew here is taking such progressive strides supporting Markus and his work, meanwhile he and his predecessor are simply surviving. Neither should be here, even with Simon's assurance the past has no bearing on the present. If that were true they wouldn't be avoided like a virus and Connor wouldn't have such blatant self-esteem issues around Markus.
Markus nods and gently puts a hand on Connor's shoulder. "You are doing great things too, just in a different capacity. Don't you ever sell yourself short. Your work is helping to normalize human-android relations and promote equality. Please don't forget that." Determined eyes shift his way. "Either of you." A pause as he removes his hand from Connor and gives the group a bright smile. "Now let's lighten up. This is a time for joy so let's go and spread some." Thus the group heads back to the main gathering area to hand out the rest of the gifts.
Christmas is a strange holiday with confusing human traditions that most deviants seem to want to follow. He still doesn't comprehend it. But if it leads to such happiness from those around him then it must be a good thing. Perhaps Simon has a point that the past no longer matters. He was activated to kill Connor and if given the opportunity, Markus. Yet here he is with both of them, watching Markus smile and laugh and talk to the deviants with such ease, inviting him and Connor to join the conversation whenever possible.
He was meant to destroy this.
He wasn't meant for happiness. He wasn't designed to have friends. He was supposed to ensure none of this came to pass. There are people here he would have killed given the chance. People Connor was supposed to capture and send off to Cyberlife.
When he was activated he'd run thousands of pre-constructions to establish a course of action. None of them, not a single one, had even a hint of an outcome like this. It's fascinating how easily things can change.
Proximity sensors forewarn him to two presences drawing near and the sudden arm around his shoulders, thus rather than startling he simply turns to the source and smirks. "Finally decided to get your ass up and join the fun I see."
North shrugs with her free arm. "Well if you all can do it I can do it better." She moves to take one of his gifts but since he is out she nabs one from Josh's arms. He doesn't look pleased but says nothing about it. No the person who does is the android who headed over with her. "You could ask you know," Jonah reprimands, brows furrowed in either frustration or disappointment. Possibly both. "It's better to do that, and less rude."
She completely ignores him and calls out to any androids without a gift, getting the only YK500 without a present rushing up to her. The girl stares at North with wide eyes, then shifts to look at him. For once there isn't fear, just curiosity.
North laughs, and apparently has an idea as she forces her hat onto him and hands him back the gift. "And why am I doing your job for you, Santa?"
A survey of the group shows smiles all around, several laughs held back, and Connor's childish glee at the sight. He looks back down to the girl who asks, "You're Santa? You don't look like him."
He wants to tell the truth. He's about to until he remembers what Simon, Josh, and Markus have kept mentioning. This time of year is apparently meant to be hopeful. That and he can see the way Markus is looking at him. Fine. He won't expose the girl to the harshness of reality, if only so he doesn't get berated for his attitude. "I'm assisting him. He's quite busy." he tells the girl, holding out the box with her ornament. "Here. Merry Christmas."
She slowly takes the gift, gives him a suspicious look, then returns to her friends playing across the room. He offers North a frustrated frown. "Happy now?"
"You could've tried harder."
"At least he tried, and that's good enough." Simon assures.
When North removes her arm from him Josh gives him a pat. "You did good. We can work on your social skills."
"It's fine." Markus corrects. "Some people aren't good with children, but they don't have to be." A soft smile his direction. "You've made progress since I last saw you." The same smile at his predecessor. "I'm proud of you both." Mismatched eyes shift to every member of the group. "All of you, in fact. We've all come so far. Thank you for sticking around to see this through."
"Always." Simon replies, almost reverently.
"Nowhere else I'd rather be." Josh cheerfully adds.
"We're with you to the end." North dramatically chimes in.
"Of course. I'm always happy to help in whatever ways possible." Typical Jonah; friendly but long-winded.
"Thank you for allowing me to." Connor's bright eyes finally join his smile. "I'll do my best."
Might as well join the chain. "It's not an easy mission but I will accomplish it."
With arms spread wide Markus attempts to envelop them in a group hug. It doesn't quite work but the gesture is understood. "Happy holidays, everyone."
.
Human traditions and holidays baffle him, but perhaps he could come to appreciate this one...
.
Author's Note: The Jericrew aside from North are rather difficult for me to write, so apologies if someone sounds a bit off.
Also, Merry Christmas! :D