Chapter Three
Questions
The day was not kind to Gavin. Well that was an understatement. The day had literally tried to kill him. Again. Seriously, with this line of work, you'd think he'd be used to almost dying. But no. He wasn't. Not only had be almost been stabbed, again, twice. But he almost got hit by a car. One of those self-driving ones that were supposed to be safer and shit.
Well, so much for that fucking theory. He had managed to dance out of the way of the car, back onto the sidewalk before he became a roadside pancake at the consequence of their suspect getting away. So no only was Gavin licking the wounds to his pride over losing his perp, he was also trying to come down from the emotional rollercoaster that followed a life or death situation. In short, Gavin was not stable at the moment. He felt like his foundation was crumbling. And he just wanted it to stop.
And it wasn't smart, he knew that. But damn it if it didn't make him feel good by numbing the pain! As soon as Gavin had been let off of work, he went home long enough to feed Mister Ass before he darted out the door again. His destination: a bar. Well a club to be exact. He didn't want to sit alone all night listening to shitty music and pool balls clacking against each other. No, he wanted his thoughts to be drowned out by a beat until he couldn't think at all. He wanted to feel the bass thump against his chest like a heartbeat. And if he happened to pick someone up for a one night stand while he was there, then icing on the cake. But that wasn't the reason why he was there.
It never ceased to surprise him how busy the establishments that he visited were, even so early into the evening. There wasn't a line out the door but it still took quite a bit of time for Gavin to find himself seated on a bar stool with music filling his head and lights flashing around his eyes. As a semi-regular, the barkeeper took one look at him before nodding. A drink was set in front of him a few moments later, one of the few drinks he got consistently. Gavin didn't look at it before he was downing the entire thing. All he tasted was lemon, the familiar burn of alcohol following soon afterwards. He waved the bartender over, asking for refill.
"One of those days?" The man leaned in close and yelled, to be heard. Gavin simply nodded. "I'll get you something stronger." This was why he kept coming back to this club. Aaron, the bartender, took very good care of him. And Gavin tipped well so Aaron always made sure he wasn't without a drink for long.
The drinks kept coming, and he felt like he could finally breathe. The pressure and stress of what happened to him lifted and Gavin could finally relax. A few other patrons had tried to come over, to talk to him, to get him to dance but he turned them all down. He just wanted to soak in this feeling without being interrupted. He was alive. Everything was fine. Now if only he could convince himself he was fine, that would be great. Gavin buried his face into his hands.
"Detective Reed," he heard someone say close to his ear. He recognized the voice. Kind of. It was the voice of Connor and Richard. Only not. Honestly, who thought it was a good idea to make them sound the fucking same? He'd like to personally punch them as a big 'fuck you, not a good idea.'
He dropped his hands from his face, resting his arms crossed in front of him on the bar as he looked over. Well, definitely had the face of Connor. Why was he not surprised? But those eyes had a suggestive look to them, and a very pleased smile graced his features. Christopher, apparently.
"I didn't know you frequented this establishment," Christopher probably would've purred if he didn't have to be so loud to be heard, even if they were in close proximity. The android leaned against the bar with his side, elbow on the surface with the front of his body facing Gavin.
"Sometimes," was Gavin's reply with a shrug.
Christopher chuckled. "Well what brings you here tonight then?"
"Why do you wanna know?" Gavin really just wanted to be left alone. He didn't mean to come off as hostile. Maybe he wasn't fully himself yet after his little dance with death today. He hoped that the other didn't take it too personally. Gavin just had a prickly personality.
And it didn't seem like he did, as he smiled slightly at Gavin, leaning towards him a little more. "No particular reason, Detective. Just trying to satisfy my curiosity." It was innocent enough.
Gavin looked away from Christopher as he took a thoughtful sip of his drink. "Rough day at work," was what he answered. He honestly didn't want to get into detail about it.
The android cocked his head to the side slightly. "Wanna talk about it?" Why was he so interested in Gavin?
He shook his head. "No." He watched Christopher make a thoughtful glance off to the side before looking back at Gavin.
"Well, I hear dancing is good for the soul," he tried, moving to stand up straight.
"I think that's laughing, not dancing," Gavin smirked.
"Depends on who you ask," was the quick remark that Christopher shot him. Gavin couldn't help but chuckle at that. He was certainly quick on his feet. Christopher pushed off of the bar to stand straight. He offered his hand to Gavin with a slight cock to his head, smile ever present on his lips. "Shall we?"
To say he was taken back was an understatement. Gavin wasn't sure what to do now. Why was Christopher being so nice to him? Offering his hand and everything? And why did he want to dance? Not that Gavin minded, he liked dancing. Sort of. But this was with a carbon copy of Connor. Wouldn't that be weird?...Well he supposed not. It was like twins. They might look the same but they were entirely different people. And Christopher was definitely not Connor. Besides, it was just dancing. No harm could come from it right?
After some consideration, Christopher being ever patient with Gavin as he struggled through his inner thoughts, he nodded his head. He quickly downed the rest of his drink before taking the hand that was offered to him. He let Christopher lead him to the dance floor and just started moving.
There was space between them at first, despite the crowd trying to push them together. Then the next thing he knew, Christopher had his hand on the back of Gavin's neck, pulling him close as his other hand gripped his hip. Christopher was slightly taller than him, just like Connor, so Gavin had to look up at him to see his face. The dancing lights played across the face that he had become familiar with without realizing it. But despite Christopher sharing Connor, and even Richard's face, it was different. Somehow. Where Connor was ever the negotiator, trying to appear soft and friendly at all times; Richard was stern, cold, and analytical. Christopher himself held none of these. The lights played off of his pleased smile, casting shadows across his features to accent his cheekbones. His eyes appeared darker despite the flash of lights, alluring as they tried to draw Gavin in. He found that he couldn't really look away, not with Christopher holding him close and emitting this confidence that made something in Gavin stir. He swallowed hard. He was definitely not thinking straight. He may have drank too much. But he'll be damned if he wasn't going to enjoy himself anyway.
They continued to move against each other, Gavin finding his hands starting to explore Christopher's chest on their own accord. They started at his hips, feeling how slim they were, before fingers traced up his flat stomach. Hands flattened when they reached his chest and pectorals. He shouldn't have been surprised at how firm and fucking perfect they felt under his hands. One hand stayed on his chest as the other continued to explore up to a sturdy shoulder. Fingers traced down the synthetic muscle and skin before curling around the back of Christopher's bicep. He could feel the android shiver against him. Which was strange, he didn't think he'd be able to elicit such a reaction. Not that he minded. Quite the opposite. It excited Gavin. His hand stopped suddenly, hand resting like a grip on the android's bicep. His firm and shapely bicep. Fuck. Whoever designed him definitely deserved their paycheck.
He was brought out of his thoughts of marveling over Christopher's form with a soft brush of a nose against his cheek. Eyes half-lidded, Gavin turned his head slightly towards the touch. Next thing he knew, Christopher's lips were pressed against his in a soft but confident kiss. Gavin couldn't, or didn't, stop the groan that came from the back of his throat, gripping Christopher's bicep tightly. With a flick of his tongue on his lip, Gavin gave Christopher access into his mouth. The hand that was on the back of his neck slid to the side, palm against his jaw as the android angled Gavin's head for a deeper kiss. Another groan escaped him, his open palm turning into a fist as he gripped the android's shirt.
It was strange; the kiss. Gavin wasn't sure what he was expecting from kissing an android. His kiss was Jenna was too quick and close lipped to where he didn't really get anything out of the experience. Not that he wanted anything out of that experience. It's just that he was expecting something different with Christopher. There was no taste really. Not like you'd get with kissing another person. Human. Whatever. He was expecting an almost metallic taste, since Christopher was an android. It made sense to him. But there was nothing. His mouth wasn't dry, there was liquid for sure. Solution is probably a better word for it. Whatever the fuck it was that was inside an android's mouth. It tasted clean. If clean had a taste. Or lack thereof. He wasn't sure. He couldn't exactly think straight, but he knew it intrigued him.
Then he wondered how he tasted to the android. Probably like the alcoholic beverages he'd been drinking all night. It must not have bothered Christopher is he was kissing Gavin with such enthusiasm. So he really shouldn't be worried. But for some reason, he couldn't help but question if he remembered to brush his teeth this morning. Not that it probably mattered, being so late into the evening. Still. Unnecessary stress is what Gavin lived for.
He wasn't sure how he ended up at Christopher's place. He vaguely recalled the kiss ending, the android asking him a question, and Gavin agreed to it. The taxi ride to his place was a such haze of grabbing hands and heated kisses that when they were finally inside the apartment, Gavin had to take a moment to physically breathe before Christopher was on him again. Kisses lead to nipping each other's lips, then lips and teeth left lips to trail down necks and jaws. Hands grabbed and pressed at anything they could.
Christopher shucked off Gavin's jackets quickly, while Gavin's own hands worked under the android's shirt to feel smooth and perfect synthetic skin. He wasn't sure who purred but soon they stumbled into the bedroom, lips never leaving skin. Gavin found himself on his back, shirtless as he stared up at Christopher, who was smiling seductively as he climbed onto Gavin's lap to straddle him.
Fingers traced across his chest, Gavin suddenly feeling self-conscious about his body. Mainly because he knew what the other was tracing without having to look: all the scars that littered his body. The knife wounds and gun shots. The long, thin lines that popped up without him knowing where they came from. Thick, fat ones from where he got into one too many fights with a perp. And then of course all the dangerous shit he did, like jump through broken windows. There had been a bomb explosion at one point. That was fun.
"You're even better looking than I first thought," Christopher purred as he dipped his head low, bending over Gavin's body to trail his tongue over a scar that ran from the center of his chest to about an inch above his right nipple. Gavin laid his head back and moaned breathlessly. He heard Christopher let out content chuckle before sitting up once more. The shift caused Gavin to look back up at him, the android staring down at him with hooded eyes paired with biting his lower lip. "Before I forget to ask, do you prefer top or bottom?"
Now that was not what Gavin was expecting. Usually these hook ups lead to Gavin being bottom. With the occasional top. Not that he minded either way. But the question still caused his brain to sputter. More so than it already was. "Uh," he said, physically having to shake his head to clear it enough to think about an answer. "Whatever. I don't care," was as good an answer as he could think of. While the thought of being top again was thrilling, he would honestly be okay with Christopher just fucking him into the mattress. He shook his head again. "Whichever you enjoy more," he added quickly.
Christopher let out a hum. "Attractive and a considerate lover." He leaned back, grinding his ass against Gavin to elicit a gasp from the man. "I've really hit the jackpot." Gavin felt his face flush. He wasn't given much time to even think about a response before Christopher was kissing him again with renewed vigor.
The shrill of his alarm clock on his phone is what woke him up the next morning. Gavin groaned at the pain in his head, closing his eyes tightly and burying his head into the pillow beneath him. The noise wouldn't stop. He groaned once more, moving to sit up when he realized just how sore he was. He opened his eyes, realizing that he wasn't in his room. He wasn't even in his apartment. The events of the night crashed into him as he looked around, shame burning his cheeks hot. It wasn't that he was ashamed of what he did. Sex was good. Sex was fun. It's just that he did it with Christopher. Who worked the sex industry. Who was practically Connor and Richard's brother! Did they even consider themselves family? It was hard to think that they wouldn't. They had the same fucking face. But, then again, Gavin wasn't too thrilled with who he was related to. So maybe they didn't.
But what if they did? Gavin buried his face into his hands. He didn't often regret his one night stands. But this was definitely one of them. He should not have drank so much. He should've told Christopher 'no.' Why did he think it was a good idea? But dear god, if it wasn't good sex. At least it was good for him. Christopher definitely knew his way around the human body. Not that it surprised him. The android worked at a sex club after all. Which was another point of confusion for Gavin. Why would the android want to sleep with him when his days were filled with sex? Seemed kind of…wrong almost? Was that even the right word? He didn't know. He couldn't think straight with the pounding in his head and that fucking noise ringing in his ears.
Oh right, alarm clock.
Gavin looked around for the source of the noise, finding his clothing folded nicely on the bedside table next to him. His jeans on top of his shirt, his phone sitting on top of the jeans next to a folded paper note. He grabbed both the note and phone. He turned off the alarm without looking at the time, the paper being the center of his attention. He opened it to see eloquent – there was no better word for it – cursive that was apparently Christopher's handwriting.
G.
I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you woke up. Feel free to help yourself to the shower. I don't have much for food so I'll make it up to you later. I had an amazing time. Let me know if you ever want to do it again. I hope to hear from you soon.
C.
And next to the 'C' was a little heart. Gavin found it oddly sweet. He stared at the note for a long while before he hefted a big sigh. While he did enjoy himself, he wasn't sure if he would take Christopher up on his offer of doing this again. He didn't think he could handle the guilt.
Because he was feeling guilty. He didn't know why exactly. But he felt that he, somehow, betrayed Connor's trust. Or something. It was so fucking stupid too. He knew he shouldn't feel bad for what happened. He and Christopher were both consenting adults. But still. That feeling lingered and he didn't know what to do with it. So Gavin just swallowed it, set the note aside to check his phone.
"Phck!" He hissed, jumping out of bed to throw his clothes on. He was going to be late to work! He didn't know where he was and he didn't have his car. As he grabbed his things, not paying much attention to the furniture of the layout of the apartment as the mantra of 'fuck, fuck, fuck!' repeated in his head on his way out of the building. He didn't even have time to check his appearance to make sure he looked presentable. Flashbacks of last night suggested that he did not. Much to his dismay.
He didn't even have time to go home to feed Mister Ass! Gavin called a cab to take him right to the precinct, still ending up ten minutes late to work. His head was pounding, but the guilt and shame of walking into the station with the same clothes as yesterday after fucking Christopher made him hesitant. He tried to keep his head down, eyes lowered as he briskly walked through the building pass the receptionist desk and towards his desk.
His ass didn't even touch the chair before he was swooped on upon by Tina. The fucking woman was like a hawk when it came to his sex life. She was always around whenever he had one of his one night stands. Always hovering and wanting details. It was like a sixth sense. Or she was stalking him. Which was equally possible with that woman. "Gavin Reed," she said, drawing his name out in a sing-song way. He sat down, pointedly ignoring her as he signed into his computer. "Looks like the dry spell is finally over huh?" She was now leaning against his desk, knowing smile gracing her lips.
"Shut up," he snapped, but he held none of the usual bite it would've. Instead, his eyes were trying not to locate Connor and Richard. He honestly didn't know if he could face them. After fucking someone who had their face. Richard, luckily, wasn't at its desk. And he was sure Connor was across the way by Hank. So it looked like he was in the clear. For now.
"So who was the lucky guy?" But that still meant he had to deal with Tina. Fucking Tina Chen who couldn't help but stick her nose into his affairs. Literally. He tried to ignore her but she wasn't having any of it. With a light tap on his arm, she leaned closer to him. "Oh come on! You can't come in looking like that and not tell me what happened! Was he hot? Did he rock your world? Sure as hell looks like he did," she teased.
Gavin's brow furrowed. He honestly didn't know how bad he looked. He glanced over to Tina, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. "How…how bad is it?" He muttered. Normally he couldn't give two fucks about a few hickeys and bruises from a good fuck. But again, this was a little different. Especially for him.
Tina snickered. "You mean you don't know?" She pulled out her phone and turned on the front facing camera before handing the device to Gavin. He flinched so hard he almost dropped it. His neck and collarbone were littered with bruises. It didn't help that he was wearing a 'V' neck shirt that did very little to hide the extent of the night's activities. His hair was a terrible case of bed head. His lips were still slightly swollen from the rough kisses that Christopher exchanged with him.
He should've gone home and changed. He should've taken the write up at being late over having to go through the day like this. Handing the phone back to Tina, Gavin ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to try and smooth it back to fix it. He knew it wasn't going to work but at least he tried damn it!
"So," she drew out, "I want the detes!"
"Nobody says that anymore, Tina." He turned back to his computer screen, trying to delve into his work.
He heard Tina scoff at him. "I'm not going away until you tell me," she protested heatedly.
At that, Gavin glared at her lightly. His eyes only left hers when he heard Richard take its seat at its desk. Gavin jumped out of his seat like it was on fire, briskly walking towards the break room. He couldn't face Richard. Not so soon. Not yet…maybe not ever. He should've said 'no.' And of course, Tina followed him. "I'm not gonna tell you," Gavin snapped at her as he moved to the coffee machine.
"What's going on?" A fellow officer asked from their spot at the small table in the break room. It sounded like officer Brown from the voice.
"Gavin got laid and won't tell me anything 'bout it," Tina immediately told, making Gavin feel like he had just been tattled on to the teacher. What the fuck?
He shot a glare over to the woman, who simply returned it with a determined gaze. Behind him, he heard Brown suck his teeth. "Come on Reed, you know Chen lives for this shit."
"Not helping." He turned back to the coffee. "And still not telling."
Much like he predicted, Tina would not leave him alone. When she was at the station, she was hovering. When she wasn't, his cell phone was blowing up with so many texts that he seriously considered turning it off for the day. Or for the week, until she lost interest. But then again, this was Tina they were talking about. She was about as stubborn as Gavin was. And frankly, this was not a battle of the wills he thought he could win.
She managed to catch him before he left for his lunch break. Not that he brought lunch to eat or anything. It was either order something or stepping out for him. He hadn't decided which yet. "Gavin," she sung his name.
He answered with a groan. "What do you want woman?" He turned in his chair to look up at her, seeing her holding a bag in one hand with a sinfully evil smirk on her lips.
"I got you something." He waited for the catch. "It's your favorite from that burrito place I can't stand."
He let out a deep sigh. He hadn't had anything from that place in forever. Just the thought of it was making his mouth water. So Tina was pulling low blows, playing dirty. She needed better hobbies. "You need to think of better ways to waste your free time," he grumbled but his eyes never left that bag. The smell was finally hitting his nose and it was slowly lowering his resolve. It wouldn't hurt if he told Tina right? Maybe she could help him not feel guilty? She was his good friend after all. "Fine," he threw his head back with exasperation before righting himself to grab at the bag.
Tina let out a triumphant noise, pumping her fist. "Ha! Yes! Wait, my lunch is in there too." She moved to grab the bag back from Gavin, who lightly slapped her hand away.
"You don't even like the place!"
"I was there and hungry!" She defended as Gavin peeked into the bag.
"Go get some napkins," he told her.
"They didn't put any in!?"
"No they did." He pulled out the two napkins that were inside the bag. "Just not enough." There was also another reason why Gavin was sending her away. He didn't want to tell her, exactly, who it was. Instead, he wanted to text her while she was in the break room. Call him paranoid but he didn't want Connor and Richard to overhear them with their super android hearing. Richard had been good about keeping to itself all day today too. Considering they weren't on the best terms, it was probably for the better. And Connor had been out all day, so far, with Hank working cases. So avoiding the two hadn't been hard. Much to his delight.
Tina left for the breakroom, and Gavin fished out his phone. He started to type a reply to her a few times but couldn't exactly think of the words. So he settled on 'Christopher, that android that came in to see me' and hit send. He had just pulled out both burritos from the bag, setting Tina's aside for her when he heard it.
"Gavin Reed you slut!" His face turned bright red as he shot to his feet. He didn't need to look around to know that everyone in the precinct was staring at him from Tina's exclamation. He turned on his heel and started to practically jog towards the bathroom, when he ran right into Hank and Connor. Fucking great. Why was this his life? "Stop him!" Tina yelled after him.
Luckily Hank wanted nothing to do with what was going on, holding up his hands to show he wanted no involvement. Connor just looked confused as Gavin skirted around them to get to his destination.
"Hey Connor, guess what?" He heard from behind him, which immediately made him stop and turn around to glare daggers at Tina. She wouldn't dare!...Would she? That hesitation caused him to take off in an all out sprint in the short distance between him and Tina, who was standing next to Connor, now in the middle of the bullpen. He practically tackled her as his hand went to cover her fat mouth.
"Don't you fucking dare," he hissed at her. He wasn't sure what she had said before he got there. He couldn't hear over his heartbeat pounding in his ears. "Ignore her," he said quickly as he glanced up at Connor who looked mortified. At what, he didn't know.
"Detective, I can assure you that whatever it is, it doesn't require you to tackle Officer Chen." Ever the negotiator.
"I assure you, it – egh! Did you lick me!?" Gavin pulled his hand away, wiping the wet streak on his palm that Tina had left there on her police jacket.
"Gavin fucked – " He replaced his hand back over her mouth before she could speak another word.
This was all going downhill fast. He wasn't sure what to do. If she told Connor, he was sure that he wouldn't be able to show his face in the station anymore. Hell, in Detroit. He'd have to move away to another city. No, State. Change his name. Change his occupation! "I doubt Connor wants to know what I do in my free time, Tina," he ground out, hoping that she'd pick up on the fucking hint he was dropping.
"Detective, are you alright?" He glanced up at Connor. "Your stress level is incredibly high right now."
"Don't fucking scan me," he bit out, worried that Connor would be able to just somehow know how he got his marks from scanning him. That's how it worked right? He'd scan something, then reconstruct it? The same thing that Richard did.
"Would you kids knock it off? This is a police station, not a playground," Hank interjected. "Who fucking cares who Reed banged? Nobody gives a shit." Somehow, that did not make Gavin feel better to hear.
He felt a sharp pain run through his hand suddenly, causing him to yelp as he let Tina go. "You bit me!" He accused, waving his hand in the air like that would get rid of the pain.
"You keep covering my mouth!" She defended. Both their hackles were raised now. There was no turning back.
"Maybe it's cause I don't want you sharing my personal life with everyone and their mother!" He snapped. He really hoped she'd fucking take the hint. "Don't you have work to do?" He questioned, knowing that it was their lunch hour. So no, no she didn't.
"Fuck you," she snapped back.
"Alright," Connor said suddenly, putting himself between Gavin and Tina. "Lieutenant Anderson is right. This is no place to be holding such arguments. Why don't we find somewhere else to have this conversation? Perhaps somewhere more private?"
"There's no conversation to be had!" Gavin suddenly boiled over. This was all just too much suddenly. "Fucking tell them, I don't give a shit anymore. God, you're such a bitch," Gavin snarled, clinging to that anger like it was a lifeline. He didn't know any better.
Tina tried to step closer, despite Connor being between the two of them. "Why's it such a big fucking deal to begin with? Everyone knows you're the station slut. You'll sleep with anybody. Anything."
Software Instability ^^^
Gavin would've pounced had he not been held back by Connor. He bared his teeth at Tina, Connor's grip tight on his arms to ensure that he didn't attack a fellow officer.
"That's enough." A stern but firm voice demanded of them. It wasn't Fowler. He would've been screaming at them so loud that the walls of the station would've started shaking. No. Gavin looked over to see Richard standing there with its brow fixed with determination. Or maybe it was frustration. It was hard to tell. Wait…it didn't feel emotion. Just projected them. Whatever. "Detective, go outside. Have a smoke to calm down before coming back." Why the fuck was it ordering him around like he had done something wrong!?
"The fuck – " he started to argue before that icy stare was sent his way.
"Now, Detective." Gavin growled at it before storming out of the station. He really hated that Richard felt the need to order him around. It's not like he could do anything about it though. He couldn't fight Richard, physically or even mentally. How do you win against a highly advanced android? He was no tech head otherwise he might have a chance. But he wasn't. So he didn't. Fuck this.
He was standing in the parking garage, at his usual smoking spot but he wasn't indulging himself in his vice. There was a lit cigarette between his fingers, yes, but he had yet to take a single puff aside from the one he had to start the damn thing. He was too wrapped up in his thoughts. Now that he had some fresh air, stepped away from the situation, he could see a million different ways that could've gone differently. Gone better. But it didn't. Because Gavin was a fucking idiot. He knew it was his fault. Well, mostly. Tina was also partially to blame but still, he could've handled that better. He rubbed his face for like the tenth time since he got outside.
He was so tired all of a sudden. Drained, exhausted. That little bit had taken so much out of him. Now he just felt hurt. While he knew that Tina wasn't serious about her words, they still hurt. Believe it or not, he did have feelings. He just buried them for the most part. Emotions were messy. They fucked things up. Why on Earth did androids want to experience them so badly? Well they could have them, keep them. Gavin didn't want them.
The door opened with a click. It was rather heavy, it squeaking on its hinges as it opened. He dropped his cigarette, putting it out with his boot. "Look Tina – " He started as he turned his body to talk to her. Only, he blinked when he saw who was standing there instead. "And you're not Tina," he said dumbly when he was met with Connor instead of her.
"I am not. I thought it was best if we came to see you in her stead."
"We?" Richard appeared behind Connor, stoic as ever. It stood with its back straight, hands placed behind its back. Almost like it was Connor's bodyguard. That was rich. Gavin sucked his teeth. "Right…'we.'" Definitely not the ones he wanted to talk to right now. He was half expecting Hank to be standing there, since he and Connor went every where together. He was disappointed at first, then that quickly turned into apprehension. Why the fuck were the two of them out there with him? Suddenly he felt oddly cornered despite there being open space behind him. Only that lead to a concrete wall so technically, he was kind of cornered. That realization didn't make him feel any better. Worse in fact.
What really got him was how neither of them had said anything yet. They were just standing there, staring at him. Connor with his brown and Richard with its blue. It was like they were waiting for him to say something. Only he didn't know what to say. Like those fucked up dreams where you were standing in front of a group or class and had no idea what the fuck you were supposed to say. So it was just awkward, and unpleasant, and left a nauseating feeling in his stomach. It only added to his stress. Sooner or later, his fight or flight would kick in. He was sure of it.
Gavin rubbed the back of his neck, chewing on the inside of his cheek. He hated this. Fucking hated it. With ever fiber of his being. He opened his mouth to finally say something.
"I would appreciate it, Detective, if you'd answer my questions honestly."
Gavin's teeth clicked together when he closed his mouth. Well that was fucking straightforward. And the way he said it. Why did he feel like Connor was interrogating him? He didn't like this. Gavin slipped his hands into his pockets, staring directly at Connor with his brow furrowed with concern. "Okay," he said slowly, trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever question the android was going to ask him.
"Did you have sex with Christopher?" Even with the mental preparation, Gavin was still caught off guard by the bluntness of the question. He took a hand out of his pocket to gesture to his appearance. Like that was enough of an answer. "Your words, Detective."
Gavin's eyebrow shot up at the tone. Surely he was being interrogated. "Yes," he stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it was. His fucking neck was evidence of that.
"Did you take him up on his offer?"
Now he was confused. What offer? He cocked his head to the side slightly. "What are you asking?"
"Did you have sex with him as a form of repayment for helping the androids at Diamond Dust?"
Now he was just fucking offended. Was Connor really asking him what he thought he was asking him? "The fuck did you just ask me?" The anger was back again, full force and red hot.
"I can only rephrase the question so many times Detective," Connor deadpanned.
Gavin started to laugh. One of those disbelieving laughs, to show how fucking insane he found all of this. He rubbed his face with his hand again, stepping around in a semi-circle before rounding on Connor again. "Are you fucking serious right now?"
"I am."
Gavin snarled at him at that. "I did not convince him to sleep with me. He didn't need any convincing at all. I'll have you know that he came onto me," he threw at Connor, hoping that his words were portraying just how fucking angry he was at this line of questioning.
"Then why were you so intent on keeping Officer Chen from saying anything?" Connor sounded, and appeared, legitimately confused at that.
He threw his hands up in the air in frustration, walking in a small circle so he could move and not pounce on Connor. "Because I felt guilty!" He yelled at the android. "I was drinking and I wasn't thinking straight and didn't know if you thought of him as family or not! I fucked your brother basically and I felt bad. I didn't want the whole 'break his heart Gavin Reed and I'll break your fucking face' conversation because I was too full of my shit to think about it and say 'no.'" He was gesturing wildly with his hands now, starting to pace in a line now as he rambled. He realized his was shaking, violently. And he didn't know if it was from rage or anxiety. The two were too closely tangled together right now. Fingers curled into fists, opened again, then curled again, repeatedly.
He stopped moving, putting a hand on his hip as he looked off to the side, wiping at his lips with his fingers, tugging at his lower lip for a second before letting out a disbelieving laugh again. It was weak though, even to his own ears. "I know I'm an asshole and you don't think highly of me, but do you really think that low of me?" He rounded on the android.
Connor looked hurt, guilty maybe. LED flashing red. Richard as stoic as ever. LED ever blue. "Detective – " he tried.
Gavin wouldn't let him. "No!" He yelled, stepping into Connor's personal space. "You don't get to ask me if I used my badge and raped someone, and then apologize for it! Consent is a fucking human decency – no a right and you can bet your ass I wouldn't have done anything if he wasn't interested!" He took a few steps back, running his hands through his tussled hair as he physically had to turn his back to Connor and put distance between them to not strike the android. "And to think I was feeling bad, guilty. Had I known that's what you would've thought, I wouldn't have worried about it. I wouldn't have bothered," he snarled over his shoulder.
He couldn't take this anymore. He just couldn't put up with it today. He turned on his heel, hands pushed deep into his pockets as he stalked passed the androids to just get away from them. He was strung like a bow string, just ready to snap. And he almost did, when Richard grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. "Where are you going?"
Unlike before, Gavin was able to pull his arm away from the android. "Home. Fuck this. And fuck you two." He threw at them like he was cursing their entire family for generations to come. "I need to feed my fucking cat," he added as well, for good measure. He didn't know why he felt compelled to add that but he did. And they let him leave.
Once he was home, and Mister Ass was fed, Gavin sunk into the cushions and comfort of his couch. He had called Fowler to let him know he wasn't coming back in for the rest of the day. The man didn't even question it, actually admitting it was a good idea. Which meant that he was either told about or saw the little spat he and Tina had. Maybe Connor and Richard reported it. Fuck if he knew. Fuck if he cared. Mister Ass was curled up on his chest as he laid across the cushions, purring to offer some semblance of comfort to Gavin as he stroked the animal's fur. At least his cat liked him. Luckily it was Friday so he had the whole weekend to just decompress and try to get over how fucking hurt he felt over Connor's questioning.
Thank you for reading chapter three of Red Blood, Red Ice. I am so sorry this took so long! I just was not having a good week. But I hope the length of this bad boy makes up for it! It just would not stop growing once I started. I didn't really have an idea if Christopher would top or bottom with Gavin, so I left that up to your guys' imagination! It's whatever you guys want! Haha!
Also! Zoetropez drew some fan art of Christopher! Go check it out image/179144102426 Give them all the love!
This chapter was a shit show. I know. I would apologize but I'm not sorry hahaha. We'll see how things progress after this!
If you'd like to keep up with my progress and updates, check out my tumblr: pennameab
See you in the next chapter!
