"Are you certain I am not intruding?"
"I see no intruder," Markus teases.
Connor allows Markus to guide him through his home. Connor felt honored to have been invited but he wasn't the only one. That much could be seen when Connor enters the dining room where three familiar androids sit. North, Josh, and Simon were all conversing with one another until Markus re-entered the room with Connor in tow.
"Connor, fashionably late?" North asks curiously. Androids were usually on time. It was hard to be late when there was an internal clock in their systems that made them aware of each passing second. North and the others assumed that Connor meant to make a late entrance on purpose. The opposite was true. Connor wasn't late on purpose. No, he was far too busy caring for the new furry companions he plucked off the streets.
"There were obstacles in my way," Connor explains, "thus I could not be on time."
"It is of little matter now," Markus tells his company before gesturing for Connor to sit down on one of the chairs. He complies and settles himself next to Simon where he can face both Josh and North on the other side of the table. "I am just glad that everyone is here," Markus continues, "because my father wanted to meet all of you. He insisted I bring my friends over for dinner."
North looks at Markus knowingly but Simon and Josh share a glance. Connor himself sits stiffly in his chair hoping to look proper because old habits die hard. It was ingrained in him from the moment he woke into this world that appearances were everything. Connor needed to look professional and trustworthy. That was the strategy he had to win people over from day one. Now he was unconsciously using that strategy in hopes of impressing Markus' dad because this was the deviant leader's father of all people. This was the man that might have just sparked the rebellious spirit in Markus, considering that he was willing to let Markus call himself his son.
"I will go retrieve him," Markus informs, tilting his head forward in a small nod, before leaving the room to do as he said.
Markus isn't long. He comes strolling in an elderly man in a wheelchair who Connor can see is already sizing everyone up. One scan gives him the identity of their new acquaintance. Carl Manfred. A famous painter in the art world with art critics highly praising his pieces.
North is already standing and approaches Carl with a sort of reverence that is strange for her.
"Hello," she speaks in a lower tone than usual, "my name is North."
Carl smiles and reaches out to take North's hand within his own.
"I've heard a lot about you," Carl says, "It's good to know that Markus is in good hands."
North smiles.
"I've also heard that you were a constant companion during the android protests. I appreciate that Markus had someone to look to when he needed advice." At that Carl turns to the other androids present because he knows that North wasn't the only one who helped Markus liberate the androids. "I can't imagine Markus going very far without any of you."
Simon smiles and Joshua grins sheepishly.
Connor though?
Connor's face couldn't be any blander.
He wasn't sure on how to react because he didn't really help Markus aside from freeing a bunch of androids from Cyberlife's clutches. In fact, he had lead the humans to Jericho and caused the death of many. The thought alone causes Connor to clench his fists in his lap and for at that moment he wishes he hadn't come. He didn't belong here. Something had to be up. Markus couldn't have done this out of pure goodwill because Connor had played a role in the slaughter of his own kind. That, of all things, surely did not escape Markus' careful observation.
"You have no idea how relieved I feel now that Markus has friends. It's good to know he will have companions to turn to in the case that… well…"
Markus doesn't want to hear it.
"Don't talk like that Carl," He chides.
"It's inevitable," Carl sighs, "one day I will die."
The room is silent.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin this joyous meeting-..." Carl begins, eager to put it all behind, "how about you share the details on how you met Markus?"
And thus each android within Connor's company recounted their meeting and experiences with Markus. Markus would point something out here and there but ultimately let each android tell their own story.
"And you are…?"
Connor wasn't aware Carl was addressing him until he noticed everyone's eyes were on him.
Connor shifts in place.
"I'm Connor," he introduces, "Markus and I met through…"
He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to tell Carl. Hell, no one except Markus knew that Connor had held him up at gunpoint. They had never told anyone else.
"Connor is a deviant hunter," Markus explains.
"Oh?" Carl leans forward in interest.
"That is correct," Connor says, "I was an android created by Cyberlife with the objective to hunt down deviants."
"I'm guessing your first meeting didn't go all too well then," Carl speculates.
"A flawless guess," Connor nods in affirmation. "It was when I met Markus that I realized that I was just a tool for Cyberlife. Replaceable. Truthfully, if it were not for Markus, I would probably already have been deactivated."
"I'm glad that didn't happen," Carl says, "You seem like a good man."
"I couldn't agree more," Markus inputs, "Connor is an invaluable friend just as everyone else here."
Markus' statement lifted the heavy atmosphere and lightened everyone's faces. Carl seemed to be happy, nodding to himself in some sort of contemplation, while Markus continued chatting on about how much he valued his friends.
Eventually, things in the dining room shifted so that everyone no longer had to act so formally. Carl had invited them to relax and so Simon and Markus took to watching a nature channel while conversing amongst themselves. Joshua was inspecting Carl's library while the man was pointing out book titles that he might be interested in.
North and Connor?
They played chess.
"I don't know much about you Connor," North says, inspecting the board in front of her, "but I don't think you're all that bad. When Jericho was falling apart, you were there shielding both Markus and me from getting shot. I never forgot about that."
North looks up from the board.
"Connor, if you're ever in trouble or need any help, you are always welcome to look to us for help."
Connor looks at the sincerity written in North's face. From the short time he spent with North, he could tell that she was a person true to her thoughts and feelings. She couldn't be saying this lightly. She must mean it.
"Thank you. I will keep that in mind," Connor inclines his head gratefully towards her.
Little did she know, in the little time she had looked up from the board, Connor had already won their match.
She looks at the board with wide eyes.
"How…?"
Connor smiles playfully.
"Want to try again?"
"Oh, you are on."