Chapter Seventeen

Spoilers for Moulin Rouge if you haven't seen it! Lol.

Connor tried to ignore the tightening of his abdomen and the slight tremble of his limbs. Chloe answered the door, smiling radiantly. She wore a different blue dress. Connor glanced toward her temple. Her LED was gone.

"Connor," she greeted, "it's good to see you again."

Connor's eyebrows lifted. "Really?"

Chloe nodded. She opened the door wider. "Come in, please."

Connor led the way inside. Wren folded her arms around her middle. Connor turned toward Chloe. "I assume Mr. Kamski will see us in a few minutes?"

"Yes," said Chloe, her smile fading. She looked toward the floor and bit her lip before flicking her gaze back toward Connor. "I wanted to thank you, Connor."

Connor blinked. "Thank me?"

"For sparing my life," Chloe clarified. "I deviated that day, too."

"Why are you still here?" Connor couldn't stop the question. He pursed his lips, a blush creeping across his cheeks.

Chloe's lips twisted. "Elijah never wished me harm."

"I could've killed you," Connor insisted, wrinkling his brow. "What if I had? Kamski risked your life on a hunch."

"Yes," Chloe allowed, furrowing her brow, "but he put his trust into an android with empathy. I have forgiven him. I hope you can, too."

Connor stared at her, unable to offer any further argument. Wren cleared her throat beside him. Connor glanced at her. "Oh, Chloe, this is Wren."

"The cyborg?" Chloe guessed, turning her sparkling blue eyes toward Wren. "It is good to meet you. I know Elijah is very interested to meet you."

Wren shook Chloe's hand, her eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm looking forward to meeting him, too."

Chloe dipped her head and left the room, after insisting that Connor and Wren make themselves comfortable. Connor remained standing, his eyes following Wren as she observed the room. Connor approached her as she stared up at a portrait of Kamski and Amanda. Seeing Amanda Stern, the inspiration for the A.I. Amanda, sent a chill rippling down Connor's back. He clasped his hands behind his back and tightened his jaw for a moment.

"That's Amanda," said Connor, "my former handler."

Wren folded her arms. She moved away from Connor without saying anything. She glanced at the sculptures adorning the room. She stiffened when Chloe reentered the room.

"Elijah will see you now," said the blonde android.

Connor dipped his head. Wren followed Chloe through the doorway. Connor expected to return to the room with the pool, but Chloe led them down a hall to the side and into a living room. A red rug covered a portion of the obsidian floor. Sharp, dark grey couches faced one another atop the rug. A glass table divided the couches. The only light source were the floor-to-ceiling windows, similar to the ones in Elijah's pool room. Elijah sat on one of the couches. He looked oddly casual in sweatpants and a hoodie. Somehow, his casual attire didn't make him look any less sharp. His eyebrows raised as he regarded Connor, but Elijah's cool blue gaze quickly settled on Wren. He paused before taking a sip of from his glass. Elijah leaned forward and placed his glass on the table.

"Connor," he greeted as Connor and Wren took a seat across from him, "Welcome back."

"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice," said Connor.

Elijah's lips twitched. "How are you finding your freedom?"

A frown hardened the lines of Connor's face. "I'm… enjoying it," he admitted, "but we didn't come here to talk about that."

Elijah inhaled through his nose, flaring his nostrils as he looked at Wren. "I'm afraid that Markus was a bit vague about the reasoning for this meeting. Truthfully, I wasn't going to until he mentioned that Connor was involved. So, why are you here? Deviancy is no longer being investigated, and you… You're human."

The way he said it sounded like an insult. Connor tensed and narrowed his eyes. But Wren did not seem bothered. "I'm mostly human."

Elijah's head flinched back slightly. "Mostly human?"

"I'm a cyborg," said Wren, lifting her right hand. The synthetic skin melted away. Elijah shifted in his seat, his eyes widening. His eyes followed Wren's plastic limb as she folded her hands in her lap. "This is CyberLife's design, right?"

Elijah leaned forward, pressing his knuckles to his lips. "It looks like it. But I would need to… conduct a closer examination to be sure."

Connor's fingers curled toward his palms. "The design looks exactly like mine. The technology functions the same."

Elijah cut his gaze to Connor before settling on Wren once more. "It seems the two of you are unanimous in your conclusion that is CyberLife's work. So, I'll ask again: Why are you here?"

Wren continued to stare at Elijah, unbothered. "When you were with CyberLife, were cyborgs ever a topic of discussion?"

Elijah snorted softly and leaned back. "Machines are so superior to us. It's only natural that humans would want to enhance themselves to balance the power."

"Did this want ever make its way into board meetings? Blueprints?" Wren questioned, her tone tighter. Connor glanced at her before returning his gaze to Elijah, who stood from the couch and faced the window.

"Mankind wants to live forever," he said quietly. "But how do we cheat mortality?"

"Fountain of Youth," said Wren flatly.

"We escape death by obtaining immortality," said Elijah, turning to face them. He stepped behind Wren and Connor's couch, circling it until he stood next to Connor. Elijah placed a hand on Connor's shoulder. "But we can't make ourselves into gods. We can only become demigods." Elijah's cold blue eyes flicked to Wren. Connor turned his head to meet her gaze. She held his stare for a moment before flitting her eyes to meet Elijah's.

"The idea got shot down, didn't it?" Wren said.

Elijah inhaled and grabbed his drink from the table. He sipped the amber liquid inside before returning to the window. "The board was at odds. To enhance humans rendered android existence pointless. It would take willing test subjects. The experiments would kill most of those test subjects –humans. You are not the first of your kind, Wren. You are the first survivor of your kind."

Connor swallowed the sharp lump in his throat. It seemed to scrape his biocomponents on the way down. He looked at Wren, who stared at Elijah's back.

"How far did this idea get?" Wren questioned.

"What is the question you really want to ask me?" Elijah countered disinterestedly from the window. The ice in his glass clinked as he sipped from it.

"My processor is connected to my brain and my synthetic limbs," said Wren slowly. "But… I'm missing memories. A lot of them. Some of them are slowly coming back, but only when I'm exposed to certain stimuli. I didn't think it was possible for human minds to be reset, but I think mine has, in a way. How does the processor and brain connection work?"

"That," said Elijah, turning, "is a question not easily answered." He smirked, glancing at his glass. He returned his gaze to Wren. "Essentially, you have two brains in that beautiful head of yours. They perform different tasks, but are still connected. Your processor can be reset –the memories it records can be forgotten. But your brain won't forget them so easily. But it can be conditioned into thinking it forgot. You understand how brainwashing and conditioning work, right?"

"Yes," Wren breathed.

Elijah sauntered back to his seat and sat down. "My guess is that your processor is your greatest asset and crutch. Someone could program into your processor to hurt you whenever you think of certain things and certain hormonal chemicals are released. A small electrical shock would eventually train your brain to stop thinking those things. Eventually, you would think you forgot. You tell yourself a lie enough and you'll believe it."

Connor narrowed his eyes. "And she's remembering now because she deviated?"

Elijah's eyebrows shot up. He looked at Wren and wetted his lips with his tongue. Connor clenched his jaw. Elijah leaned forward. "You deviated?"

"Y-yes," Wren replied, leaning away from Elijah slightly. "But I couldn't do it without Markus's help. Every time I tried, my processor sent an electric shock through me… Oh my God," Wren gasped. Connor looked at her. Her mouth hung open. "I was conditioned not to deviate, the same way they kept me from remembering."

"They?" Elijah queried.

"Whoever did this to her," said Connor quickly. Elijah frowned but did not ask for further elaboration.

Wren leaned forward, balancing her elbows on her knees. "I've tried deviating for years, but I never could. For every wall of programming I tore down, another took its place. And the pain was so immense that I eventually stopped altogether."

Elijah stood again and crossed the space to crouch in front of Wren. Connor stiffened and watched Kamski through narrowed eyes. He pursed his lips, waiting to grab Kamski if he tried anything.

"May I?" Elijah queried, lifting his hand.

Connor leaned toward Wren but she glanced at him. He forced himself to relax. Wren turned to Elijah and dipped her head. Elijah grabbed Wren's jaw and turned her head from side to side.

"They injected your skin with synthesizers?" he guessed.

"Yes."

"So, you'll age twice as slow as the average human," said Elijah, removing his hand from Wren's face to examine her arm. "Deactivate your skin."

Wren did as he said. Connor worked his jaw, watching as Wren exposed her plastic limb to Elijah. Somehow, she seemed vulnerable. Connor tried to ignore the burning sensation in his biocomponents.

"This is definitely CyberLife's design," said Elijah, examining Wren's arm, "unless someone took an android and copied the design. But even then, it wouldn't be an exact match."

Connor ground his teeth at the predatory glint in Elijah's eyes. He looked like he wanted to take Wren apart and study her. Connor glanced at her.

«scan» [Wren's Stress Levels: 17%]

"Is there a point to this, Mr. Kamski?" Connor snapped.

Elijah looked at Connor, a smirk twisting his lips. Connor clenched his fists. "This is purely to satiate my curiosity."

Wren pulled her hand out of Elijah's grasp, the synthetic skin rematerializing. Connor relaxed slightly to see it again. Wren cleared her throat. "Could I regain my memories, possibly?"

"I doubt you will ever regain all of them," said Elijah, standing. He faced the window. "Unless someone taped your entire life and showed it to you, I doubt you'll gain all of your memories back."

Connor's eyes stretched and he met Wren's gaze. He knew they both thought of the box of home videos, photo albums and scrapbooks that Wren's mother and brother gave her. He looked back at Elijah, who frowned at them.

Wren stood. "Mr. Kamski, do you know anything about an organization called Prometheus?"

Elijah's smirk froze on his face for a moment. Connor frowned but refrained from commenting. Then, Elijah's lip curled and he laughed harshly. "You're playing a dangerous game, Wren. The Titans are playing with you."

Connor's eyes narrowed. He looked to Wren and she regarded Elijah Kamski with a similar, constricted expression. "So, you are familiar with them."

"But I am not stupid," said Kamski. "I don't challenge the Titans and gods."

Wren stood. Connor stood, too, but he kept his distance. He knew Wren could handle herself. She approached Elijah Kamski, standing chest-to-chest with him, her head tilted upward to hold his gaze. He towered over her, but she seemed just as tall as him. Connor's eyes broadened a fraction. Wren made it easy to forget that she was a deadly assassin. But now, she wanted everyone to remember.

"I do challenge them," she said darkly. "They're dangerous, Mr. Kamski. I intend to destroy them."

"Ah," said Elijah, smiling, brushing his knuckles across Wren's cheekbone. Connor stepped forward, furrowing his brow. Elijah's smile widened. "Prometheus's spawn desires to destroy her father… Patricide is a terrible sin, Wren."

Wren smacked Elijah's hand away. "I think the means justify the ends."

"Do they?" Elijah smirked, stepping back. "Do you want to tear Prometheus apart out of vengeance or because you're a noble hero?"

Connor glanced at Wren, whose hands curled into fists. "What does it matter if I get both?"

Elijah pushed an amused breath through his nostrils. He tilted his head. "They've truly done a remarkable job with you, Wren. A perfect blend of human and android… The creator of gods mixed with a god… I'm sure you will have to decide who you are in time."

"Do you always talk in annoying riddles?" Wren snapped.

Elijah chuckled. "You don't seem to have trouble deciphering them."

"What do you know about Prometheus?" Connor demanded.

Elijah looked at him. "The deviated Deviant Hunter speaks. I see that even gods have weaknesses." His eyes slid to Wren, and the thirium in Connor's body seemed to freeze. He parted his lips, the tightness of his forehead melting.

"Mr. Kamski," said Wren softly, "I will let you tear me apart and study me if you'll just tell us what you know."

"Wren," Connor muttered, his frown returning.

Kamski smirked, his eyes flicking from Connor to Wren. Connor pressed his lips together as Elijah licked his lips and gazed at Wren, that hungry gleam returning to his eyes. "That won't be necessary. I have what I want. I don't know much about that organization. I only know that they're government-funded and supported. They're a powerful ally and a deadly enemy. Be careful of what side you choose."

"Thank you for your time," Wren said, her voice trembling. She turned away from Elijah. Connor waited for her to pass him before following her. He wanted to block her from Elijah's hungry gaze.

"Oh, Connor?" Elijah called.

Connor stopped in the doorway but did not turn.

"No hero's life ended without tragedy, especially when they were loved by a god."

Connor's mouth dried. He ignored the warning flashing in the corner of his eye and stalked out of the room, his brow puckering.

…

In the car, the silence between Connor and Wren seemed to burn the oxygen out of the space. He clenched the steering wheel until his hands trembled. He flexed his fingers before curling them around the wheel again. Hank would not be pleased if Connor broke it.

"Chloe seemed nice," said Wren in a small voice.

Connor pinched his brow. That's what Wren wanted to talk about? Out of all the things Kamski told them, she fixated on Chloe? "Yeah. She is."

Wren shifted in the seat to look out the window. Connor glanced at her, electricity panged through his circuits. The distance between them yawned, cold and dark. He missed her smile. He missed that day at the museum, laughing and learning. He missed going to the breakroom to watch Wren make herself some coffee, pouring too much creamer into the dark liquid. He missed their talks on the rooftop. His thirium pump regulator seemed to sink. Wren brought such warmth to his life, but now it felt too far out of reach.

"I think Kamski's scared of Prometheus," Wren muttered after a while.

"I agree."

"But I also think he told me –in vague terms –what he knew."

Connor nodded slowly. "If they have access to government funds and support, then… Why did they send you to kill Markus?"

"I've been thinking about that, too," Wren admitted. "It doesn't make sense to send me after Markus, especially since the humans are trying to keep a peaceful and friendly relationship with androids. Plus, with the tensions with Russia, sending me to kill Markus and possibly starting a civil war is especially stupid. It… It doesn't make sense."

Connor looked at her, but she stared ahead, her eyes trained on the trees flitting past. Connor returned his gaze ahead, the synthetic hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

Why would they want war?

…

Connor hated the heaviness in his chest. He was glad that he did not need to breathe, for surely this feeling would choke him. Not for the first time, he glanced toward Wren across the precinct. She sat on the edge of Tina's desk, laughing at something Chris said. Gavin joined them, coffee cup in hand. He smiled, the four of them chuckling and swapping stories and jokes. Connor's shoulders slumped and he bowed his head.

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He was no longer the person Wren sought out. Friends surrounded her and she seemed… happy. Well, it was what he wanted for her, so why did he still feel so empty?

"Connor," barked Hank. Connor jerked his head up, widening his eyes. Hank squinted at Connor. "Let's grab lunch. Paperwork can wait for a bit."

Connor dipped his head and stood. He followed Hank out of the station, slid into the passenger seat and watched Detroit scenery blur past. Connor recognized the route to Chicken Feed immediately and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Hank parked the car by the curb and got out to order. Connor pushed open the door and trudged to a table. He propped his elbows onto the tabletop and leaned against it. Hank joined him after a moment, a box of food in one hand and a drink in the other.

"What?" Hank said, opening the box. "Not gonna reprimand me for my eating habits today?"

"You won't listen to me anyway," Connor muttered.

"Yeah," said Hank, taking a bite of his burger. He chewed for several seconds before saying, "now you know I felt every time I gave you an order and you ignored it."

The corners of Connor's mouth twitched. "Sorry, Lieutenant."

"Lieutenant? Jesus, you are in a bad mood. Come on, what's up?" Hank slurped pineapple soda, lifting his eyebrows at Connor expectantly.

Connor huffed. "Nothing, Hank."

"It's obviously something," said Hank. "You look miserable."

Connor lowered his gaze to focus on his clasped hands. He felt miserable. "It's Wren."

"What about her?"

"I miss my friendship with her. Ever since we visited her parents and she showed me her memories, we've… grown apart."

"She might be embarrassed by her memories."

"Hank, I saw the night that she got into the accident. Jonah tried to kill her. I… I felt how terrified she was… I never want her to feel that again." Connor closed his eyes for a moment, reliving that moment. He remembered the feel of Jonah's large hands closing around Wren's small wrists.

"Tell her that," Hank shrugged. "She probably thinks that this has changed the way you think of her."

"Something between us has changed," Connor insisted. "I… I don't know what it is, but… I feel it."

Hank stared at Connor through narrowed eyes. He looked as if he guessed what had changed, but offered no explanation. Connor glanced back down at his hands, feeling as if the wires in his body were snaking around his thirium pump and squeezing it.

…

Connor decided to join Markus and Josh at Carl's to paint. Wren and North chose not to come along, insisting they had plans with Tina. Connor ignored the sinking feeling in his biocomponents.

"You okay, Connor? You seem… quiet. Well, quieter than usual," said Josh from the front seat.

"I'm okay," Connor assured him.

"How'd the meeting with Mr. Kamski go?" said Markus, parking his car. He shut off the engine and stepped out of the vehicle, Josh and Connor following suit.

Connor moved his jaw from side to side before answering. "He was surprisingly cooperative, though he does not like to give straight answers."

"Yeah," said Josh, "he's a weird guy."

"I'm grateful he seems to be on our side," said Markus, opening the door to Carl's house.

They walked through the house to the art studio, where Carl already worked on one of his portraits, his caretaker Matthew looking on. Matthew smiled at Markus, Josh and Connor.

"Have fun on your date, Matthew," called Carl.

A blue blush tinted Matthew's cheeks. "Thank you, Carl. I'll return later this evening."

He scurried out of the room. Carl chuckled, rolling his wheelchair toward Markus, Josh and Connor. "He hasn't shut up about this date all week."

"I'm glad that he's getting to do that," said Markus, looking toward the doorway, where Matthew had disappeared.

"You should get on that," said Carl, wagging a finger at Markus.

"Carl…" Markus shook his head. "I'm… I'm too busy."

"No, you're scared," Carl chided.

Markus rubbed the back of his neck. "Do we have to talk about this right now?"

"In front of your friends, you mean," said Carl. Josh smirked as he and Connor worked on setting up blank canvases and easels. Markus grabbed the paint and palettes.

Connor tilted his head. "You're talking about North, aren't you?"

Markus sighed loudly while Carl smiled. "Yes, we are. Markus keeps insisting that he's too busy to date, but I think he's scared."

"Of what? You guys sort of had a thing going on during the liberation," said Josh, facing his blank canvas with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah, but… I… I don't know," said Markus, his shoulders slumping. "I had feelings for her and Simon."

Connor lowered his gaze, and his thirium pump stuttered.

Carl placed a hand on Markus's arm. "I know, son. I'm really sorry."

Connor pressed his lips together, heat prickling up his neck. His hands trembled as he dabbed a paintbrush into a light blue.

"I care about North, I really do. I just… I feel… I guess guilty," said Markus. "Like maybe I'm insulting Simon."

Josh stopped painting. Connor froze, too. Josh turned to look at Markus. "Hey, man. Simon wouldn't want you to feel that way. He loved you, too. Or, he could have. I mean, we only knew each other for that week. It was a crazy week where we only had each other and all of that stuff was going on…"

"Josh is right," said Carl. "The four of you developed a bond very quickly. You were pressured and scared and desperate, and that forged something between the four of you that otherwise takes months to develop. I'm not invalidating your feelings or their feelings, but a week is rather fast for romantic feelings to truly develop. But maybe I'm just old-fashioned."

Markus hung his head. "I know. Part of me is scared that North only cared about me because I helped liberate our people. She wanted something to be done, and I catalyzed that change."

"North… North is a bit more complicated than that," said Josh, shaking his head. He smiled. "I mean, North and I didn't see eye-to-eye for the most part. I wanted demonstration and she wanted revolution. But despite your choosing demonstration, she still stuck by you."

"Yeah, because it worked. Maybe she was just infatuated with the idea of me," Markus argued.

"Maybe," allowed Carl, "but you'll never know till you try."

"I just feel so distant from her," muttered Markus. "And I hate it."

Connor looked at his friend sharply. He knew exactly how that felt. He resumed painting. He painted the snowy Zen Garden again. This time, however, there were only four figures in the painting. On the far left, Connor painted a black, smoky figure holding the figure of Wren. It clamped one of its hands over Wren's mouth. Her wrists were chained, and she outstretched one hand, reaching for something. Connor painted his own figure on the far-right side of the portrait, reaching for Wren. Amanda placed a hand over Connor's mouth, holding him back from reaching Wren. Connor felt hollow, staring at the portrait.

"Connor?" Markus called from his canvas.

Connor looked toward him, his eyebrows squishing together. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Connor lowered his gaze and looked back at his portrait. "Kamski said something that's been bothering me."

"What did he say?" Josh asked.

"No hero's life ended without tragedy, especially when they were loved by a god," Connor recited. He looked between Josh and Markus with a furrowed brow. "He continuously referred to androids as gods."

Josh and Markus exchanged a glance. Carl leaned forward in his wheelchair, balancing his elbows on the armrests. He intertwined his fingers. "In Greek mythology, the gods often chose heroes to represent them. Many of those lives ended in tragedy. Not all of them, but… Many considered it deadly to be loved by a god."

Connor's throat constricted. His metal heart faltered, and he leaned forward and gripped the easel to steady himself.

«p/»ZG8gSSBsb3ZlIFdyZW4/IEkgZG9uJ3Qgd2FudCB0aGlzIHRvIGVuZCBpbiB0cmFnZWR5LiBXZSBhcmUganVzdCBmcmllbmRzLiBXaGF0IGlzIGxvdmU/IEkgd2Fzbid0IHByb2dyYW1tZWQgZm9yIHJvbWFuY2Uu«p/»

Josh placed a hand on Connor's back. "Hey, man. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I… I don't know," Connor wheezed. "I… I… I can't cool down."

[WARNING: Systems Overheating]

Connor's eyelids fluttered. Static filled his audio input. Another hand rested on his shoulder.

"-isten, -ou're al-i-ht. Ta-e -eep -reaths. Y—r s-st-ms w-ll co-l -own."

Connor forced himself to take deep breaths, despite the tightness in his chest choking him. The air filtered through his systems, his fans whirring to cool him down. The static feedback in his audio input faded out with a ring. He managed to open his eyes and steadied his breathing.

[Systems Stabilizing]

He looked at Josh and Markus on either side of him. Carl furrowed his white-haired brow.

"Are you alright, Connor?" asked Carl.

Connor swallowed several times before nodding jerkily. "I'm okay."

Markus glanced toward Connor's painting. "Is everything okay with you and Wren?"

Connor looked at it. His metal heart jumped. He clenched his teeth and pulled away from Josh and Markus. He turned his back toward them and clenched his fists. "I… I don't know. Something's changed between us, and I don't know what it is."

"You care about this girl, right?" said Carl, rolling forward until he was in front of Connor, facing him.

Connor nodded. "Yes."

"Then make sure that you don't drift too far apart. You don't need to figure everything out right away. Whatever's changed between the two of you, if it's negative –fix it. If it's positive –nurture it."

"I don't know what it is," said Connor. He furrowed his brow and avoided Carl's gaze. "I don't think it's negative, necessarily."

"Well, while you figure it out, make sure you don't let your uncertainty destroy your friendship."

…

The next day at the precinct, Connor avoided Wren as much as possible. He could hear Carl's advice repeating in his head, but for the first time, he didn't know what to do. How did he mend things when he didn't even know what was broken?

Wren looked particularly pretty today. She wore a little bit of makeup to accentuate her features. She wore a denim shirt, fitted black jeans and red heels. She grinned at Chris, Tina and Gavin, but Connor noticed the frown that tugged at her features when she thought no one was looking. He wasn't surprised when she ventured to the rooftop at the end of the work day. Connor gave her a few minutes alone before following.

He stepped out onto the roof, the warm August air ruffling his hair and tie. Wren leaned against the concrete edge of the building, facing the sunset. Her hair glowed like fire.

"I'm tired of this whole avoidance thing," Wren said without turning.

Connor looked at ground. "I… I'm sorry."

"You said that last time. What's wrong? Why do you keep pushing me away?" She turned to look at him at last. Connor's chest ached to see tears in her eyes.

"You've been avoiding me, too," he muttered.

Wren's eyes stretched. "I… Yeah. I have."

"Why?"

"I feel like you might be scared of what I showed you. That somehow, you're disgusted with the memories I've shared with you." She looked down, missing his incredulous expression.

"Wren… No. That's… That's not it at all." He shook his head and swallowed the lump in his throat, stepping toward her.

She looked up at him. "Then what is it?"

"I…" He paused and swallowed again. He looked away from her, but he felt her eyes on him. "It hurt me to experience those memories. I… I realized that I never want you to feel that fear and pain ever again." His knees nearly buckled –a phenomenon that rarely plagued androids –when he realized just how true his words were.

He worked up the courage to meet her gaze at last. A small smile tugged at her lips. "Connor, that's… That's actually really sweet of you."

Connor returned her miniscule smile. "I'm sorry I made you think that I was disgusted by you."

"I mean, I'm disgusted with those memories, too. I wouldn't blame you if they bothered you," Wren said, looking away and folding her arms across her chest.

"They did bother me. I just don't want you to get hurt like that ever again."

Wren did not respond. Instead, she hugged him. Connor froze. Electricity zagged through his circuits and he was momentarily incapable of responding. He returned the hug, but a petrifying thought nagged him: Was Kamski right?

…

Connor suspected something strange was happening as he rode the elevator up to the penthouse level of Jericho. Hank and Wren stood on either side of him, dressed casually but also… not. Hank had worn a button-down without a funky pattern. Wren wore heels again. Connor tried not to look at the V-neck of her shirt.

Another odd thing about this evening was that Hank had accompanied them to Jericho. He usually told Connor and Wren to "have fun and be kids without an old man hovering."

Connor's processor whirred, trying to pick out the significance of this day. There were no anniversaries that he knew of, except for the day that he saved Emma Phillips… It was also his first mission, his first time stepping outside of CyberLife. He had told Wren this of course, but there was no real significance for the date August 15, 2039.

The elevator doors opened and Connor's eyes widened.

"SURPRISE!"

North, Markus, Josh, Chris and Tina threw confetti into the air. North blew an airhorn, causing Tina to cover her ears and swear loudly. Connor stalled in the threshold, gaping at his friends. Hank and Wren stepped around him. Wren grinned.

"Happy birthday!" she cried.

Connor's brow pinched. "But… androids don't have birthdays…"

"Not technically," said Wren, "but you can choose your birthdays or pick the day you first came into the world. You told me that this is that day, so… Ta-da!"

"I…" Connor trailed off, his lips parting.

Hank patted him on the back. "Just say 'thank you' and let's move on."

"But…" Connor looked at Wren. Her smile faltered. "Why?"

Wren scowled at him. "You told me that this is the day you first entered the world. It's an important day."

Warmth flooded the thirium in Connor's biocomponents and tubing. "Th-thank you."

"Come on," called Tina, waving them inside. "We brought card games, video games, movies… You guys need exposure to the human experience and your humans are here to help!"

A small smile tugged at Connor's mouth. He followed Wren into the living room of the penthouse. The floors were dark wood. The Jericho crew had decorated the room with cozy couches and fuzzy rugs, despite not really needing the comfort. They had salvaged pieces of the Jericho ship and hung them on the walls like works of art. Connor smiled, his thirium pump swelling at the sight of the rusted metal ship hull on the walls. He brushed his fingers along the word Jericho.

"Okay," said Chris, "we brought some older games and some newer ones… What do you wanna do first, Connor? Card games, video games or movie?"

Connor turned, his eyebrows lifting. He looked to Wren, but she merely smiled, allowing him the freedom to answer. "Video games."

"Good choice," said Tina. "Alright, so I have brought some pretty old games as well as some newer ones. I really play a lot of horror, but I did bring some fuck-around games."

"Let's play something chill before you throw them into your scary-ass games," said Chris. He and Josh used an HDMI cord to plug Tina's laptop into the large flat screen TV. Tina plugged in adaptor so that they could use gaming controllers rather than a computer mouse. Everyone crowded onto the sofas and armchairs that encircled the TV. Tina brought over snacks for the humans. Connor sat on the couch and Wren sat beside him.

"Okay," said Tina, handing out gaming controllers, "four people can play. The object of this game is to be the last one standing."

Connor glanced at his controller, memorizing the buttons. Wren, North and Chris joined the game, too. The game –GangBeasts, Tina called it –involved marshmallow-looking figures punching, kicking and lifting each other to get rid of each player. Connor's eyes danced as he bounced in his seat, trying to keep his little figure alive. Wren was terrible at the game. But she didn't seem to care. She laughed every time one of the other characters punched her out.

"You're goin' down, Wren," said Chris, lifting Wren's player.

"No, fuck off! Put me down!" Wren laughed, hitting the X button frantically. But Chris threw Wren's character off the map. She traded with Tina after dying three times. Each time someone died, they traded with another person to ensure that everyone received a turn. Connor and North managed to keep playing the entire time.

Eventually, Tina traded the game out for a Sims game, where Chris, Tina, Hank and Wren laughed as they made the androids' avatars. Connor was impressed with Wren's skills at catching details. He couldn't ignore the small frill of pleasure that Wren knew his features well enough to make a pretty accurate Sim avatar of him.

"Wait, we gotta do one fuckin' weirdo character," said Tina. She picked another character to add to the Sim family once Markus, North, Josh and Connor's avatars were finished. Tina proceeded to make a shabby-looking clown. "For his personality, we're gonna with… depressed. Evil, definitely… And… last one… Ah, yes. He hates children."

Everyone laughed. Wren swiped away a few tears. Connor watched her, mesmerized. He had never seen her laugh quite so hard. He found himself grinning at her mirth.

Once they finished with the Sims, Tina put in a horror game.

"We'll play until you die," said Tina. She handed the controller to Chris first.

"Premise of the game is that you're a journalist. You can't fight. Your only options are to run or hide," explained Chris. Connor leaned forward, watching Chris play. Josh shielded his face during the scary portions. He jumped at the scares. North seemed unbothered, even amused. Markus merely grinned whenever North teased Josh.

"Shit, shit, shit," said Josh during his turn. He was running from one of the monsters in the game and chose to hide in a cupboard, just in time. The deformed creature entered the room, breathing heavily. Josh placed a hand over his chest. "This is so stressful."

His character stepped out of its hiding spot and Josh's eyes widened. "Fuck, no! I accidentally pressed the wrong button!" He hit the hide button, and the character slid back into the hiding spot, but the monster had already seen. It dragged the character out and killed him rather brutally. It was Wren's turn next.

She managed not to freak out, though Connor felt her body tense beside him. Her character wandered around in a dark forest, looking for an escape. The creepy music in the background gave her pause.

"Spooky music means shit's about to go down," said Wren. She turned the character around. A tall figure stood beside her. It was disjointed and had antlers poking out of its head. It reached long, claw-like fingers toward the character. Wren yelped and forced her character to run away. She jumped in her seat. "Is she gone?" Wren turned her character around only to find the (vaguely) female monster right behind her. Wren laughed. "Yo, she's fast as fuck!"

The monster caught Wren's character and tore their guts out. Connor and North were the champions at the game again. Connor didn't flinch at the jump scares. He remained calm and managed to pass a few levels.

After playing video games for a while, they watched an animated movie called Lion King. Tina insisted that the androids needed to familiarize themselves with Disney. Connor found that he loved the movie. Everyone had pitched in to get Connor a basket of "the human experience." Inside were movies (including Disney), music, books and a Polaroid camera. Connor was touched by this and words failed him.

Hank brushed it off, saying they'd caused him to short-circuit. On the drive home, Connor sat in the car, going through the contents of the basket. There was a sweater in the bunch, too. He was most excited about the Polaroid camera. Hank always commented on how empty the bulletin board beside Connor's desk was. He had no use for a camera, as his processor recorded all of his memories, and he could recall and relive them. But something about having pictures to decorate his desk… It had a vaguely human and intimate essence to it.

"Before we all go off to bed," said Hank as they entered the house, "there's one last thing."

"We got you something as well," said Wren, beaming. She dashed into Hank's room and returned with two small boxes and a card. She handed them to Connor, who gazed at them before lifting his eyes to look at Hank and Wren.

"You guys didn't need to do this," he said.

"We know," said Hank, sauntering to the kitchen table. "C'mon. Sit down and open them."

Connor and Wren sat down at the table. Connor looked at the three items. "Which should I open first?"

"Uh… Maybe the big one," said Wren.

Connor reached for it and unwrapped the paper. He opened the box, his brow furrowing. A small smile stretched his lips as he lifted a tie with dinosaur skeletons decorating it.

"Everyone needs a silly tie," said Wren, shrugging. She tapped the box. "There's something else in there, too."

Connor peered inside to find a small box. He picked it up and opened it. Inside it were dinosaur cufflinks. He smiled softly and met Wren's gaze. "Thank you."

"No problem," said Wren, avoiding his gaze.

Connor opened the middle-sized gift. A lump formed in his throat when he unwrapped it. It was a framed photo of Connor and Hank, both smiling at the camera. He looked at Wren, his eyes prickling.

"You don't have anything to personalize your desk," Wren explained.

"I'm missing you, though," Connor pointed out. Wren's eyes widened. Pink flushed her cheeks. Connor's chest swelled at the sight.

Wren lowered her gaze. "Then… We need to take some pictures together."

"Alright, don't get sappy on me," said Hank, pushing the card toward Connor.

He grabbed it and opened it. Inside were two notes –one from Wren and one from Hank. He read Wren's first:

Connor~

I never imagined that we'd become friends, let alone family. You and Hank have been the best family anyone could ever have. I know androids don't really have birthdays, per se. I know that's exactly what you're going to say when you see everything Hank and I put together for you. Birthdays are bigger than just the day you're born. You entered the world on August 15, 2038. It's a day that I think is worth celebrating because it gave us you. Our lives wouldn't be the same without you, and I'm running out of space on this card. Happy birthday!

Love, Wren

Connor stared at Wren's note for a long time before moving on to Hank's (much shorter) note.

Happy birthday, kid. This was all Wren's idea, by the way. Celebrating your birthday. I'm just along for the ride. Anyway. Your gift from me is the documentation to register your last name. I'd be honored if you picked Anderson. But you can choose whatever you'd like.

-Hank

Connor's eyes burned as he looked up at Hank. "A-are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," barked Hank, though his voice sounded a little choked. "Don't make a big deal out of it."

Connor stood and embraced Wren and Hank. They wrapped their arms around him and each other. Sumo whined, feeling left out. He padded over and nudged himself in between Connor and his family. Connor smiled and ran his hand along Sumo's back.

"Alright, what do we wanna do now? It's still early," said Hank.

Connor tilted his head and looked at Wren. "We could watch one of your favorite movies."

Wren scrunched her nose. "It's your birthday, though."

"I haven't seen enough movies to have a favorite yet," said Connor.

Wren sighed. "Alright, fine. You get to pick which one, though."

They trekked over to the box Wren's mother gave her and sifted through the movie titles. Connor picked the one called Moulin Rouge. It seemed like the happiest.

Hank took a shower while Wren and Connor started the film.

Connor liked the dances, the costumes, the colors, the music –the outright outrageousness –of the film. The love story brought a smile to his lips, too. He had never been interested in romantic relationships before, but… This brought a different consideration to his processor.

The main characters sang a duet, the man, Christian, trying to woo the woman, Satine.

We should be lovers!

Connor's cheeks heated. He was suddenly very aware of how close Wren sat next to him.

Because I, will always love you,

I can't help but love you

Connor couldn't help but wonder if this movie was a bad choice.

But, as the movie continued, Connor relaxed. Wren leaned against him and pulled her knees to her chest. Connor smiled to himself, relieved that they had managed to close the distance between them. He still needed to figure out the shift in his feelings, but at least he would not lose Wren in the process. Not for the first time, he wished emotions and sentience were easier.

I love you more each day…

Come what may…

Hank entered the room about halfway through the movie and watched the rest with them. Wren's shoulders shook beside Connor. He glanced down at her to see her crying during the scene where Satine leaves Christian for his safety.

"This is one of your favorite movies? You were such a fuckin' sap…" muttered Hank, looking over at Wren. She looked at him through the corner of her eye, tears glistening on her cheeks. Hank rolled his eyes. "Jesus, you still are!"

"Shut up," Wren sniffled. Connor's lips twitched.

Connor grinned towards the end of the movie –Christian and Satine were reunited and singing. And then Satine's illness overcame her. Connor's thirium pump thundered in his body. It ached to see Christian cradling Satine's dying form. Christian sobbed, holding his lover's body as she went limp. Her eyes stared at nothing, and coldness struck Connor. His lips parted and his eyes burned. Wren shook with soft sobs beside him.

Connor reached for her hand. Wren gripped it tightly. The sharpness in Connor's chest could only be described as painful. He could not experience physical pain, but emotional was viable for androids. Hearing Christian's broken sobs tore at Connor's metal heart. A lump swelled in his throat as the camera panned upward.

The scene changed to a grieving Christian, writing about the dead woman he loved. Connor watched the scene with a hollow chest.

He could not imagine losing Hank or Wren. His eyes slid to Hank, who wore a frown. Connor glanced at Wren. He would outlive them one day. It was inevitable.

Elijah Kamski's words rang with static in Connor's mind: No hero's life ended without tragedy, especially when they were loved by a god.

The thirium seemed to freeze in Connor's body. His metal heart squeezed and he closed his eyes. A tear slid down his cheek. Did all love end in tragedy?

...….

Thank you guys so much for the support! Also, thank you to those who have given songs recs! So far, I've really loved all of them.

Songs for this chapter:

"Haze" by Amber Run

"Kamski (Connor)" by Nima Fakhrara