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Hank's eyebrow twitched as he heard it again. The same thing that had been taunting him. All. Fucking. Morning.

That goddamned beep.

When he'd woken up at the ungodly hour of 8am Hank knew it wasn't going to be a good day, despite it being a day off. It was the one day a week he had off without Connor, and right now he was wishing his partner was still in the house. He'd be able to pinpoint this annoyance in a heartbeat and turn it off.

By 9am he'd switched off all the electronics in his house. No change.

By 10am he'd turned them all back on and had upended half the living room looking for it. Nothing.

By midday he was ready to tear his hair out after going through the whole damn house, save for Connor's room. At this point he was entirely tempted to break that little privacy rule he had made for himself to save his sanity.

BEEP

"Fucking stop!" Hank screamed as it came back again, knowing this was doing nothing for his blood pressure. Considering he was meant to find their house an escape from work, he was damn well tempted to go and join Connor for the rest of the day. And maybe half the night to just get away from this. The worst bit was he couldn't even tell where it was coming from. He'd stood in every corner of the house and still couldn't figure out if he was near or far. That just didn't make sense!

Sumo was watching the human stomp about the house angrily, his head cocked in confusion. Hank glared at the dog whenever it barked at him. "Yeah I fucking know, Sumo! I know I'm being an idiot by not finding this thing!" Hank sighed. "Don't suppose you've got any ideas, do you?" Sumo barked before lying back down, curling back to sleep.

Hank roared again. "Of course this isn't bothering you, just me! Where is that goddamned kid when I need him?!"

He knew he was being entirely unfair – it wasn't Connor's fault that this happened on a day he wasn't in.

Hank froze. Or was it?

A thought took hold and Hank dialled Connor's number, waiting impatiently as it rang. It was unusual for Connor to not pick up straight away, unless he was dealing with Fowler or a suspect. When it reached the eighth ring, Hank was beginning to wonder if Connor was ignoring him. The android finally answered on the eleventh.

"Hello, Hank. This is unexpected, what can I help you with?"

The lieutenant's eyebrow twitched. There was definitely something…off with Connor's voice. He was being a little too casual. "Connor, you didn't happen to…hear anything before you left this morning, did you?"

"Hear something? I think you're going to have to be a little more specific than that, Hank."

He sighed angrily. Connor could be a pain in the ass when he wanted to, but he wasn't normally this awkward. Hank's gut was beginning to give him a feeling. "A fucking beep, all right? It's been driving me nuts since 8 in the fucking morning, Connor! Are you honestly telling me you didn't hear it before you left?"

"My hearing range automatically filters out frequencies which can be construed as an irritant or potentially harmful, Hank."

"Fucking androids…" he growled, but they both knew there was no malice behind it. Hank heard Connor chuckling on the other end of the line and his eyebrow twitched again. His partner was finding this situation way too enjoyable. "All right, well at the very least do you mind if I take a look through your room to make sure it isn't in there? It would just tick another box off my list."

Hank was suspicious when the android didn't answer back. "Connor?"

"…I can assure you that you won't find it in there, Hank."

"You fucking brat, I knew you did this on purpose! Connor I am going demented, here. At least tell me where it is so I can turn the damn thing off!"

"Is Sumo showing any signs of discomfort?"

"No, Connor, the fucking dog is snoring away quite happily! What the fuck does that have to do with anything?!"

Hank could practically hear the smirk in Connor's voice. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Hank. I will see you tonight."

When the line went dead, Hank had half a mind to smash the phone off the floor. "Son of a bitch!"

BEEP

"Shut up!"

Connor reappeared at 7 that night, and he was bemused when he found no sign of Hank in the house. A smile meandered on to his face as he found their dog sleeping on the sofa, no doubt taking advantage of the fact that Hank normally ordered him off it. After dropping the box in his hand on the nearby table he knelt down next to the St Bernard and ruffled his fur lightly, earning a deep rumble in return. "Hello, Sumo. Thanks for the help today, I hope Hank hasn't been too much of an irritant."

The android slipped his hand under Sumo's collar and found the small beeper he had attached there that morning, smiling when it went off and the dog was unaffected. When he heard another set of keys going into the front door Connor swiftly turned off and pocketed the device, turning his attention back to the animal on the sofa.

Hank's face was like thunder when he came through the door, and his eye twitched when he saw Connor kneeling and smirking at him. "You fucking little shit, what did you do that for? Do you know what I've had to do today to get away from that infernal beeping?" he snapped.

"You were out of the house, and since Jimmy's Bar is currently closed for refurbishment and I don't detect any alcohol in your system, I assume you have just been out walking?" Connor's smile changed from confident to soft as he spoke.

The lieutenant was about to snarl again when Connor's statement finally struck home, and he chuckled. "You did this just so I would get out of the house, didn't you?"

Connor said nothing but turned to pick up the pizza box which he had sat down on the table, before standing and presenting it to Hank. "Peace offering?"

Hank pretended to glare for a few more seconds before sighing in defeat. "Just as well I like you, kid," he said before taking the food. Connor watched as Hank shooed Sumo off the sofa and sat down, shuffling over to silently offer Connor a place next to him. The android smiled as he sat down, sitting in silence as Hank ate.

It was a few minutes later that Hank spoke up again. "So, uh…where did you hide it? God knows I all but tore this place apart looking for it." When Connor smiled again with that glint in his eye, Hank sighed. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

Connor winked at him. "Where would be the fun in that, Hank? Besides, there is nothing to say I won't use it again."

After a few seconds, Hank muttered back at him darkly. "I'm not above kicking you out, you know."

"Your threat is acknowledged, lieutenant."

Hank scoffed. Acknowledged and ignored. Damn kid knows I've got too much of a soft spot for him. "You're turning into quite the prankster, aren't you?"

Connor turned to smile at him, that wicked gleam still in his eye. "I believe you started this with the water balloons last month, Hank. I will admit I am surprised by the appeal, however."

"Careful, Connor. You don't know what you are getting into here."

From the sparkle Hank could see in the android's eye, Connor knew exactly what he was starting.

Oh, it's on, kid.