Richard sat across the table, synthetic heart aching as he watched his sullen counterpart remain frozen. "You haven't touched your soup," the android glanced at the cold tomato bisque.
Gavin stayed silent, his eyes vacant and mouth set in a hard line.
RK900 dragged the corners of his mouth into a frown as worry began to gnaw at his circuits. He drew his brows together, "Gavin, please," he insisted, his LED set to a stressed crimson, "You must eat something."
The brunette was lost in his own world of utter grief. His eyes were hollow and his gaze was fixed to the table.
The machine continued to stare at his heartbroken colleague while letting out a brief huff of concern. "You haven't said a word since we left the station," Richard tilted his head in an attempt to get the brunette's attention, "I need you to talk to me, detective," he implored in a desperate tone.
Still, the officer refused to acknowledge his partner. No amount of suggesting or pleading was enough to evoke a reaction from Gavin. He remained in his chair, engulfed in anguish as he engaged in an internal war with his emotions.
"I'm sorry it had to be him," the android arched his brows, "Please," his eyes gleamed with sympathy, "Talk to me so I can help." The machine pressed a hand on the table as he leaned forward and grazed the detective's cheek, "It pains me to sit here and watch you wither away like this."
Gavin tilted his head to gaze at Richard with an angered expression. He then pushed the android's hand away from his face, startling RK900. "What do you want from me?" the brunette maintained eye-contact while standing up.
Richard's eyes rounded, bewilderment plaguing his features, "I don't understa—"
The brunette slammed his hands on the table, his back expanding and contracting as he breathed heavily. "What's your end game, android?" he turned his head to the side with a broken smile, "What're you tryin' to achieve, hm?" he chuckled.
RK900 lowered his lids, saddened by his counterpart's words, "Oh, Gavin," he shook his head, "I would never—"
"NO!" the detective squeezed his hands into fists, "I know you want something, so let's just get this over with," he pushed away from the table, "All this time," he furrowed his brows, "This whole fucking time, you were just trying to get close to me to use me!"
"I'm not going to argue with you," Richard slowly stood up from his seated position, "You're angry," he steadily walked around the table, "You're hurting," he approached the brunette, "I understand, so please, let me heal you."
Gavin took a step back as he attempted to fight back tears. "I-it's impossible," he whispered while Richard inched closer. The brunette shut his eyes and crinkled his nose, "Everyone I've cared about has either fucking died or betrayed me!" his voice strained.
RK900 froze in place as to not further provoke his emotionally unstable partner. "Not everyone," the machine stated with a tender cadence.
"Shut up!" Gavin barked, "It was a mistake to ever think you actually cared about me," he growled, eyes darting from floorboard to floorboard, "Everyone just wants to fucking use me," his lower lip began to quiver.
Richard remained quiet as he tried to pull any sort of coherent thought that would aid him in this situation together. Ardent distress clouded his processors with billions of jumbled up nonsense, making it hard for him to think.
"Fuck," the detective clenched his stomach before falling to his knees, "God, why?" his voice cracked, "Not John," he begged as tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Oh, no," RK900 dropped to the detective's level, "Come here," he stretched out his arms and brought the brunette in for a comforting embrace.
Shock crossed Gavin's face as Richard gingerly placed a hand against the officer's upper back to offer relief. He then narrowed his eyes and knit his brows as he struggled to stifle his premature crying. He smeared his face into the android's shoulder before his body began to violently shake.
"You don't have to fight it, Gavin," Richard stroked the back of the brunette's neck, "You don't have to hold back," he rephrased, "Not in front of me."
The android's words were enough to prompt the detective to finally breakdown, sobbing hysterically. "DAMN IT!" he screamed in between convulsive gasps, "IT HURTS!" he pressed into his counterpart, "IT HURTS!" he stressed.
Richard stayed silent, allowing his broken-hearted partner to vent out his sorrows. All he continued to do was provide the desperately needed affection Gavin was so starved of all his life.
"H-he…he was more of a dad than my actual father," the brunette grit his teeth, "He was the one I fucking looked up to and now…" he took in shaky breaths, "It's not fair. It hurts," he arched his brows.
"I know," RK900 rubbed the detective's back, "I know it does," he clarified. "I'm sorry, Gavin," the android tightened his grip around the brunette, "You have no clue how painful it is to see you this upset," he shook his head, "The heart I never knew I had is shattering."
Gavin tried to calm down and take deep breaths to rid himself of acute hyperventilation. John's betrayal wasn't the only thing confusing the brunette. "W-why do you like m-me?" he asked while continuing to calm down.
The android's eyes rounded as he was caught off guard by his partner's question. He let out a small sigh before wiping a tear from the detective's cheek. "Firstly, I don't like you, I love you with every fiber in my body," he traced the brunette's jawline, "Secondly, I have come to adore everything about you, Gavin. I fell in love with your vehement determination to solve cases and found your softer side to be absolutely enticing."
The officer looked to the ground as blush began creeping up on his face.
"You're kindhearted, hardworking, passionate," he smirked, "very handsome and very very cute in bed," he chuckled.
"Hey!" Gavin shot an embarrassed look at his partner.
Richard let out a small laugh before smiling at the slightly less distressed detective. "I love absolutely everything about you," he grasped the brunette's hand and brought it toward his lips, "Things you call flaws, I call features," he kissed the officer's fingers, "You call them habits, I call them charming quirks," he aligned his digits with Gavin's, "You see them as mistakes, but I only see learning experiences."
The detective's eyes snapped open as he watched the artificial skin from Richard's fingers slowly dissolve away. "W-what's happening to your hand?" he asked in a mesmerized manner.
"It only happens when an android feels a very strong connection to someone," RK900 responded with hooded eyes.
Gavin's gaze drifted from his and Richard's joined hands to the android's face, a prominent shade of red dominating his cheeks.
"I wasn't lying to you," Richard reassured, "All I care about is your safety and well-being. I want to spend the rest of my time here with you," he inched closer to the officer.
The brunette tilted his head to the side. "It's ironic," he whispered, "Humans are the ones who ended up fucking me over in the end," he softly sniggered, "The one guy keeping me from losing hope in humanity ended up driving a blade so deep in my back that I'm still having a hard time fucking processing it."
RK900 glanced at his partner with an empathetic expression, his LED fixed at a red hue.
"It's even more ironic that now the one person I can't see myself without is you, goddammit," he consciously avoided the android's stare.
Richard slowly retracted his head as he attempted to parse through his partner's words. His internal fans kicked into gear as his components began to heat up. "You finally said it," the machine let out a satisfied sigh, "Wasn't as hard as you thought, right?" he cocked a brow.
"Oh fuck off," the officer sniffled, "It was harder than hard!" he attempted to counter.
The android brought a hand to his mouth as he loudly laughed.
Gavin's eyes rounded as he watched his partner genuinely giggle—something he'd never seen before but certainly would like to see more often now. The detective continued to scan his colleague's features in silence, his heart skipping a beat as he found Richard's authentic laughter incredibly…adorable.
The android looked to the detective, "What is it?" he asked with a happy cadence.
"N-nothing!" Gavin quickly dismissed, "Christ, can we get off the floor?" the brunette flailed frantically, "Let me finish the fucking soup you made so you won't bitch," he speedily crawled up to his feet before aiding the android in getting up.
"Wow, and I didn't even have to say anything," RK900 expressed gleefully as he walked over to grab Gavin's bowl, "I'll reheat it for you."
"Thanks, Mom," the officer teased.
"And, done!" Gavin placed his spoon down on the table with a loud clank, "That was really fucking good," he exhaled.
"Medicine?" Richard placed a hand on his hip.
"Already took it with water," the detective nodded.
The android let out a small hm, impressed by the brunette's unusually attentive behavior. He grabbed Gavin's bowl and silverware before walking behind the kitchen counter to begin washing the dishes. Richard glanced up at the detective after hearing nothing but the sound of running water and plates clanging together. "Is everything alright?" he stared at his somewhat distraught counterpart.
Gavin's gaze remained glued to the table. "No matter which way I look at it," he paused trying to remain in control of his emotions, "No matter what I tell myself," he turned to meet the android's stare, "It still fucking hurts, Richie," he brought a hand to rub his eyes, "My heart hurts so goddamn much it's almost unbearable."
RK900 arched his brows as the brunette's heartache was made evident by his pained cadence. The machine immediately turned off the running water and walked over to the detective. Without saying a word he scooped the shorter man off his feet and cradled him bridal style towards the bedroom.
"H-hey!" Gavin fidgeted, obviously flustered by his partner's actions, "What the hell're you doing?" he looked to the android with pink cheeks.
"It's time for you to rest, Detective Reed," Richard stated in a soft tone, "You've had an incredibly difficult day and now is the time for you to sleep."
"I'm fine," the officer paused to yawn, "I don't need you to baby me, doofus."
"Yes, yes, so I've heard," the android dismissed as he continued to carry his counterpart into the bedroom. RK900 walked into Gavin's room, hearing the occasional rebellious murmur from the brunette before he gingerly placed the detective on the bed. "There you are," the android smiled warmly.
"I needa change," he cringed in disgust, "Not sleeping in this fucking uniform," he glanced at the machine, "You should change to."
"Oh, but I don't have spare clo—"
The detective threw a pair of sweats and a t-shirt at the android. "Take those," he mumbled as he stripped down to his boxers and sifted through his wardrobe for a tank top.
"Oh my goodness," Richard giggled, "These felines are very cute," he pointed to the shirt the detective gave him. "That reminds me," he turned to look at Gavin, "How is Cleopatra doing?" he asked while beginning to undress.
"Laila was nice enough to watch over her for the night. She was a bit shaken up after getting thrown into the bathroom but she's okay," the brunette faintly smirked at the machine.
"Good," Richard nodded in relief as he slipped on the sweats, "I was worried about her."
After both men changed into more comfortable clothes and Gavin finished with his nightly routine of brushing and so on, he sluggishly removed the covers and promptly plopped into bed.
"For someone who didn't want to sleep, you sure seem eager now," Richard teased with a smug expression.
The brunette ignored the android's attempt to poke fun at him and instead stared at the machine, eyes darting up and down RK900's face.
Richard let out an elongated sigh. "Please do try and get some rest," he insisted, "Try not to stay up thinking about Sergeant Miller, alright?"
Again, the detective remained quiet, his gaze fixed on his partner.
The machine shot a puzzled look at the brunette but shrugged it off. "Well," Richard straightened up, "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," he turned around. Before he had the chance to take a step forward the detective quickly grabbed his arm. The android peered over his shoulder to meet his counterpart's stare.
"D-don't go," the brunette pleaded.
Richard's eyes snapped open.
"Don't leave," the officer repeated while blushing ear-to-ear, "P-please."
Richard smiled tenderly at his partner before turning around to fully face him. Without saying a word, RK900 slowly approached the other side of the bed, and steadily slid in under the sheets next to Gavin. He positioned himself right next to the detective and slipped his arms around the heated brunette, one resting on the officer's waist and the other, under the pillow.
"I'm not going anywhere."