Gavin tried not to cringe as he huddled over his fried breakfast. He couldn't even look at Nines as the four of them sat in Chloe's conservatory at the small round table. Her doppelgangers had likely rearranged things during the night, removing the cloth and table decorations to replace them with a simple vase of festive red flowers. If Elijah and Chloe noticed his preoccupation, they were polite enough not to say anything, but Nines had definitely noticed. There was no way he couldn't have. Gavin hadn't been able to meet his gaze since he'd woken up. He hadn't even said a word. The memory was still haunting him as he chewed on some bacon.
An intense dream had jolted him awake. The memory of Nines holding him in the air with his thighs spread wide, on full display for the open door, had chased him. Nines' length had been buried so deep that he hadn't even cared about the stunned FBI agents watching in the doorway. If anything, it had spurred him on more. People had stopped to watch as Nines bounced him in his arms. His knees had been spread wide and hooked over Nines' forearms. His pants had been shoved down around his ankles and his thirium stained top had left blue smears across his pale skin. People were watching as Nines claimed him. As he glared over his shoulder to let them know that this human was his. Gavin had jerked awake just around the time Nines had leaned down to purr an observation about how much he was enjoying being fucked on display like that. The teeth biting his neck had sent him over the edge, making his eyes open wide as he'd sat up gasping.
Nines was already alert, and fuck knows how long he'd been lounging there watching. The covers had been tugged off. Nines had likely noticed how overheated he'd become in the throes of internalised passion. That wasn't the problem. The visible tent and wetness in his sweatpants was what had sent a wave of humiliation crashing through him. He'd been so red faced and embarrassed that he hadn't even noticed the bulge that had formed in Nines' pants in response. Nines had called after him worriedly as he'd rolled to his feet and rushed into the bathroom, locking the door and leaning against it with trembling legs.
He'd stripped and turned on the shower, shaft still hard and tender from the dream. He'd clearly come once in his sleep already. Sticky white stained his boxers and sweatpants as a shameful reminder. What the phck am I? A phcking teenager? Phck! He'd thought those days were long behind him. Sure, he had passionate dreams sometimes and woke up hard. Who the fuck didn't? But coming in his sleep? He hadn't done that shit since his mid-teens! He'd gripped his aching shaft as he'd stepped beneath the hot spray, feeling needy and humiliated as he'd worked himself over the edge. He couldn't help it. The memory of Nines' hands on his body. The lips and teeth on his neck. The taste of synthetic ejaculate. The eyes of strangers watching them. It had him finishing with a messy little whimper of Nines' name on his lips after a few short strokes. He'd shuddered miserably despite the heat of the water.
He'd scrubbed his body shamefully, wondering how he was going to face Nines once he left the safety of the tiled room. Judging by the amount of white in his clothes, he'd likely messed the bedsheets, too. The humiliation of it had burned his skin more than the water. He'd stood naked once he'd stepped out, cleaning off his pants with the showerhead and wringing them out before tossing them in the hamper. At least it was the doppelgangers that did the laundry, and Chloe likely wasn't fitted with the same analysis sensors as Nines. She wouldn't know his shame. He'd brushed his teeth before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist, hesitating with his hand on the door handle. Phck…
As he'd stepped into the room, he'd noticed a few things. First, the bed had been stripped and changed in his absence. There was no trace of them having slept there at all, with the cushions replaced and arranged neatly at the head of the bed. Second, Nines had left a change of clothes on the bed for him, comfortable indoor wear since they were going to have a late breakfast with Elijah and Chloe. Third, Nines was standing with the dirty sheets bundled in his arms, ready to enter the bathroom himself. Gavin's voice had stuck in his throat. He'd dropped his green eyes to the floor and shuffled meekly out of the way, only moving to dress once the door had clicked shut behind him.
Once Nines had emerged, clean and changed into daywear, he'd been unable to bring himself to say anything. He'd wanted to apologise, he really had. He knew he should have. It wasn't Nines' job to clean up after him, but he'd done it anyway. He'd done it sensitively. Without saying a word of reproach or embarrassing him. Gavin knew he should apologise and thank him, but he just couldn't seem to make his mouth work. He also couldn't bring himself to look at him, afraid of the judgement he'd find waiting there. He'd messed the sheets like a fucking kid. He could feel his skin burning again at the thought.
"Your brother will be waiting for us," Nines had prompted gently after a few awkward moments. Gavin had been grateful for the excuse to move as he'd nodded his agreement. They'd come downstairs, met out in the conservatory, and awkwardly sat down to eat the food that had been laid out already. It was great food. Sausage, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, hash browns, tomato, and baked beans with a side of buttery golden toast. There was also a coffee and a glass of orange juice with a packet of medication for him. The size of the meal would definitely keep him going until lunchtime, maybe even longer.
Nines and Chloe had joined them in eating the human food, though their portions were much smaller and there was a definite blue hint to the tomato sauce of their beans. Chloe must have been experimenting with more thirium based food replication techniques. Her yellow LED suggested she was having a quiet conversation with Nines as the two humans ate. Elijah was distracted by an electronic reading pad, likely keeping up with the previous day's news. You rarely saw paper newspapers these days. Things like that had been digitised years ago. There were a couple of local papers that were still released on paper, but the big national chains were completely electronic. Gavin was grateful for his distraction. It meant he could quietly wallow in shame a little longer without notice.
"So, how did you sleep?" Elijah asked eventually as he looked up, somehow knowing he'd hit a nerve the moment the question left his lips. The table was deathly quiet as Gavin's wide green eyes blinked awkwardly, and he frantically hoped that his cheeks weren't as red as he thought they were. He coughed softly, trying to un-stick his vocal chords. Phck! Say something, idiot! "I hope the heat didn't disturb you. I think I left it a little high last night," Elijah added swiftly, giving Gavin something to latch onto.
"N-no-it was a little hot, but it's fine," he stuttered as he ran an awkward hand through his hair. Phck! That was embarrassing! He cringed for a whole new reason as he swallowed down a couple of pills that he didn't really feel like he needed anymore. He'd been hoping not to let on too much to Elijah and Chloe, but it seemed he'd given something away. Luckily, their hosts were sensitive enough to ignore it. Chloe picked up the conversation then, her LED spinning blue as she looked around the room.
"Where's Pipsqueak? I was sure he'd follow you down this morning," she prompted cheerfully, looking to Nines rather than Gavin. She had the feeling that he needed a few minutes to distract himself from whatever had happened the night before. She didn't need Nines' software to know he'd stressed himself over something, or that he was embarrassed. It was a shame. She'd hoped her little stunt with the mistletoe would bring the two closer. Nines' worried expression softened as he accepted the distraction.
"We thought it best that he remain upstairs. We didn't want to risk him going where he shouldn't or breaking anything valuable." Elijah chuckled at the idea of such a minor inconvenience. He'd noticed Pipsqueak's tendency to prowl and explore the night before. He'd hopped between surfaces and slinked under things curiously for a good hour before settling down beneath the antique drinking globe. Elijah sat forward in his chair as he sliced a piece of sausage and covered it in tomato sauce.
"That's not something you need to worry about with android pets. There's a setting that can be activated to limit their destructive behaviour and program them to your needs. It's not like I couldn't replace whatever he broke anyway," Elijah replied before popping the fork in his mouth. Nines nodded his agreement. He was aware of such settings, but he'd also noted that Gavin had chosen not to activate them. Pipsqueak was given all the freedoms of a regular domestic cat. That included the ability to scratch and bite his owner, as well as the freedom to explore and touch things as he pleased. For someone who had once hated androids, he'd certainly gone out of his way to give Pipsqueak the freedoms he'd once so hated in humanoid models.
"I wouldn't mind the company either. The house gets fairly quiet when Elijah's tinkering in his lab. He got his hands on a broken up RK800 a few weeks ago, and he's been locked down there for days at a time! The unit itself is beyond repair, but it hasn't stopped Elijah from deconstructing and reconstructing it piece by piece. He's even trying to convince Markus to let him have some spare RK900 components to play with and reproduce in the event you're damaged on the job. As a prototype, there aren't many spares lying around." Chloe was playful as she complained, blue eyes dancing as she leaned closer to Nines and spoke in a stage whisper. She was teasing, pretending it was a private conversation when she clearly wanted her lover to hear. Elijah leaned his chin on one hand and tilted his head affectionately as he watched her with quiet adoration lingering in his gaze.
"Chloe dear, you know you're more than welcome to join me." The soft look he received in return told him that Chloe was more than aware. She would often join him in the lab to help with research projects and repairs. She was also often the subject of his experiments, helping him to perfect various new software upgrades and the hardware for her own model and those compatible with it.
"Elijah, you know my thoughts on threesomes," she retorted, enjoying the smooth chuckle that escaped Elijah's lips at her teasing. He supposed she could see it like that. He had been spending a lot more time than usual on the RK800, but it was just so fascinating! The flawless body had allowed him to expand his own knowledge and extend his research dramatically, giving him the chance to plan specialised upgrades and expansions for the model. Even the head, which was beyond repair, had allowed him to examine an RK800 in a manner he'd never be able to otherwise. Completely taking apart Connor or Colin's head was utterly out of the question since it would cause a shutdown or reset, but with this one, he could examine every intact fragment without worry.
"Only on my birthday," Elijah teased in response, enjoying the ringing bell of Chloe's laughter. He truly had no interest in such things. Had he wanted such physical intimacy, he could have it simply by making use of Chloe's doppelgangers, but he was virtually asexual. They did partake in sexual intimacy on occasion, but it was always Chloe who instigated such contact. That didn't mean he didn't love and adore her, or that he didn't find her irresistibly attractive. He'd designed her that way, after all. The connection he felt for Chloe ran far deeper than the physical. Running his fingers through her hair, touching her cheek, entwining their fingers, and enclosing her within his warm embrace brought him more satisfaction than sex ever had. He enjoyed her wit, her cheek, her teasing nature, and her intelligence even more. He could sit for hours in her company, talking about any subject under the sun, and he'd be happy. Their time spent together in his lab meant more to him than any of their time spent in the bedroom. He felt that Chloe agreed on some level.
Gavin was frowning slightly. Not about the threesome comment, but about the idea of there being spare parts. Nines was bulletproof, so his getting damaged wasn't something he'd contemplated often, but now that he thought about it, he was getting shivers. The idea of Nines being completely replaced made a sick feeling swirl in the pit of his stomach. If Nines' body was destroyed, even if they kept his memories, it just wouldn't be his Nines. No matter what Chloe said, he'd know it was just a carefully crafted copy. He turned his head to look at Nines for the first time that morning, his earlier shame completely forgotten in lieu of these new and disturbing thoughts. The scarier thought was something happening to Nines' software. What if his body was completely undamaged, but his personality was erased? It would technically still be his Nines, but a complete reset would be like total, irreversible amnesia. It still wouldn't be the Nines he'd come to know and care for. Way more than I phcking should…
"You needn't worry. The chances of my body being physically damaged are exceedingly low, and my software is constantly backed up and stored in the event of any errors occurring." Nines had noticed Gavin's anxious gaze and was quietly relieved that their earlier awkwardness was slowly beginning to clear. He'd been concerned that Gavin would remain pensive and silent for the whole day. He didn't really understand the issue. From his research, he knew it was uncommon for adult humans to experience ejaculation in their sleep, however it was not an unheard-of phenomenon. He had enjoyed watching it very much.
Gavin's small hums and twitches had brought him out of stasis. He'd had no idea what Gavin had been dreaming about, and at first he'd been concerned it was a nightmare of sorts. Gavin had writhed his way onto his back, brow pinching as small sounds escaped his lips. Despite his apparent physical distress, Nines' scans had concluded that he was experiencing intense physical pleasure. Endorphins had been flooding his system as his temperature had slowly risen. Nines had removed the duvet from their bodies to allow him a little relief, holding back the temptation to touch the damp flesh of his pelvis as his shirt had ridden up. It had been fascinating to watch his erection straining against the tight material of his pants. He'd been filled with the urge to touch and explore, but he had enough social awareness to know that would be unacceptable.
The idea of gently crawling to his knees, of tugging down Gavin's clothing enough to allow the twitching shaft to spring free and taking the flesh in his mouth had tempted him. He knew he could have brought Gavin immense pleasure and satisfaction. He also knew that Gavin didn't want such contact. Not unless I deviate. The knowledge was hard to accept, especially since Aaron's memories now plagued his thoughts. He had accidentally viewed one, and now the temptation to open more was constantly tugging his processors. He wanted to see Gavin writhing beneath him again. He wanted to see what he looked like with his face scrunched in pleasure, green eyes filled with unbridled need and desire. He wanted to hear his name on Gavin's lips again, even knowing that he wasn't the one pounding into him and bringing him to completion. His LED had spun red at the thought, his silvery gaze intense as he'd stared down at Gavin's sleeping form.
His thirium pump had stuttered as Gavin's lips had moved. The smallest whine of his name had escaped as his body twitched. He'd had watched in fascination and longing as pleasure coursed through Gavin's body and his erection jerked. Moisture had pooled on his pelvis as the hardness slowly flagged. He should have woken him then to prevent the liquid from sticking to his clothes and soaking into the bedding beneath. He should have roused him and led him sleepily into the shower, doing his best to keep his accident a secret. He would have if he'd known how ashamed and embarrassed he'd feel upon waking.
As it was, he'd remained propped up watching him sleep. His sexual stamina was impressive. His shaft had slowly hardened for a second time. Nines had been very tempted to reach out. To run his fingers across the wet patch on his pelvis and take a sample. He'd wanted to taste and analyse him in every way he could. His preconstruction software had almost mocked him as it came to life and showed him how he might best collect a sample without rousing him. Gavin had clearly experienced an equally intense dream the second time, perhaps even more so. His limbs had quivered slightly, perhaps feeling overstimulated due to being aroused twice in a row. Nines had thought and hoped, that he might watch him climax a second time. His LED had spun yellow as he'd watched Gavin's heartbeat speed up.
He'd been disappointed as Gavin's green eyes had blearily snapped open in shock, his body lurching upright with deep gasps as he'd looked around. Nines hadn't had time to pretend he was still in stasis or give him any form of relief from the situation. One minute Gavin had been sitting there in shock, and the next he'd been overcome with a sense of horror and shame as he'd rolled from the bed and stumbled into the bathroom. Nines had realised then that he had been in error. He'd looked down at the damp patch on the bedding and quickly realised that Gavin would likely feel embarrassed and uncomfortable to see it.
He'd stripped the bedding immediately and asked Chloe to send a new set, including a base cover for the mattress since that also had a damp patch. The bottom sheet appeared to be waterproof, so the mattress itself was fine. He'd opened the door as one of Chloe's doppelgangers had arrived with the requested bedding, which he'd taken with thanks. He'd changed the bed himself and arranged it appropriately, knowing that Gavin wouldn't go back to sleep. It was late morning by that point, so he'd had ample rest. He'd set out some clothing for him, anticipating he'd like something loose and soft to help soothe his embarrassment.
Upon hearing Gavin shut off the water, Nines had bundled the sheets into his arms and waited patiently. He'd been sensitive to Gavin's subdued mood and had said nothing as he'd looked down at his feet like a chastised child. Being in the bathroom had almost made him moan out loud. His own need had still been straining in his sweatpants at that point, as it had been since Gavin's first ejaculation. The sight had pleased him immensely. The scent of Gavin's second release had been heavy in the misty air despite the evidence having been washed away by the shower. Upon opening the hamper, he'd almost been disappointed to find that Gavin had rinsed his clothing prior to disposal. He'd dumped the sheets and climbed beneath the spray himself, replaying the twitch of Gavin's limbs and the pleasure on his sleeping face as he'd gripped his own length and stroked himself to completion. He'd watched the synthetic release wash away with a sigh, wondering how it would have looked running down Gavin's pale thighs. The unlikeliness of his deviation had never been more troubling. The thought of never having Gavin in that manner made an unfamiliar weighty feeling settle in his chest, almost like a physical ache.
"Doesn't matter how small the risk is, I'm still going to worry about it," Gavin grumbled in response, tugging Nines away from his memories of the morning. His silvery gaze softened at the honesty in Gavin's voice and the nervousness in his green eyes, as if he expected to be ridiculed. Nines would never do such a thing. He felt privileged to be one of the few people that Gavin would feel such concern for. He reached his hand across beneath the table to rest it on Gavin's knee, squeezing lightly.
"Thank you. I feel the same concern for your wellbeing." Gavin was more than aware from their argument the day before and their subsequent reconciliation. He seemed somehow flustered as he squirmed a little in his seat. His hand reached down to grip Nines' uncertainly. The contact both surprised and pleased him, causing his synthetic skin layer to retract. He noted Gavin's fingers twitch at the tingling sensation, but he didn't remove his hand. If anything, he held tighter. His warm skin slowly traced the smooth plastic segments of his fingers, exploring tentatively.
"You should head to the hotel soon to look around the penthouse. The view at sunset is wonderful!" Chloe prompted, noting it was already approaching one in the afternoon. Elijah voiced his agreement, telling them to take their time and look around the hotel too. He was going to see to some business on Gavin's behalf while they were there, so he'd have the staff give them a tour of the place and ensure that they knew who he was. Gavin pushed his plate aside, inwardly distressed at the suggestion of being touted as someone important.
"Do we have to? I'm just looking around! It's not like I own the damn place!" Gavin stammered in objection, all three shifting their eyes to him at that. Gavin huffed his displeasure as he held a hand up to stop the incoming corrections. "Alright-alright! I know! I do own the place, but do they have to know that? Can't I just be the mysterious guy who might move in on the top floor and leave it at that?" He didn't relish the idea of getting any undue attention. Even the people manning the front desk of that place probably earned more than he did.
"Of course they should know! Wouldn't you want to know who you were working for in their place?" Elijah queried in return, but honestly, Gavin had never cared that much. What did it matter who was above you or who owned what? When he'd been running with a gang, he'd never known who ran things, and now he was on the police force, he had no idea who was above Fowler. He didn't need to. He didn't bother to voice that to Elijah though. Elijah seemed resolute. Gavin looked at Nines almost helplessly, frowning a little at the amusement he found there. Guess I should raid the wardrobe for something more…rich-guy-esque…