Chapter Five
Forgiveness
Ultimately, the case was given to another officer. With Hank and Connor working on a big Red Ice bust; Gavin and Richard working on the rising amount of break – ins and thirium theft, Fowler thought it better to hand it to someone else. Not that Gavin was complaining. That crime scene was enough to haunt his dreams at night so he was happy to not have to review those photos for extensive periods of time. Plus, with an android child in the mix, he wasn't exactly sure how that was handled. He really needed to brush up on his protocols for such a thing. He was feeling oddly inadequate. Still, it not being his case didn't mean he wasn't curious about it and wanted to know how it turned out. Cases that bad tended to stick out like a flag in his mind. And Gavin was naturally curious.
Any chance he got, the detective would pull up the case file and follow the reports on it. It was a lot of legal mumbo jumbo; he actually didn't pay too much attention to that. But the officer followed up with asking the android what she could tell him about the case. Emma couldn't recall much. Talking with the neighbors gave no leads. The last time he checked, he noticed that the officer was waiting for approval for the android's legal guardian, Mrs. Kent's sister, to sign off on them accessing her memories. He didn't know how long that would take so Gavin didn't check the reports for a day or so.
When he finally did check again, he was absolutely floored by the officer's findings. "That's a load of horse shit!" He yelled at his screen, causing nearby officers to stare at him.
"Detective?" Richard questioned from its seat at its desk. Gavin didn't pay any attention to it as he stood up from his chair, actively looking for the officer who handled the case. Fucker was lucky he wasn't around. So when Gavin couldn't locate the man, he did the next best thing and bolt down to the evidence locker. He had to see this himself.
When he let himself into the room, he vaguely paid any attention to the officer who was looking through the database. "Out!" He ordered, already putting in the case file number in the main console. The officer left, albeit grumbling under their breath. Most likely about him but he didn't give two shits about that. Once that officer was gone, Gavin made sure to cloud the glass around him before diving into the evidence.
Looking at photos of the crime scene was difficult, so he mainly focused on the ME's report. Cause of death wasn't surprising to him. Mrs. Kent died of blood loss while Mr. Kent actually died from a heart attack; which was most likely caused from the forced removal of his arm. The arm went first, then both legs. The limbs were removed before Mrs. Kent had been attacked. There was no question that whoever attacked Mr. and Mrs. Kent was an android. The time frame of how quickly the limbs were removed and both Kents were killed pointed out that much. He just didn't believe the officer found the right suspect. There was no way.
He was just about to pull up the video that was Emma's memories of that night when he heard the door open behind him. "That is not our case, Detective." Go figure, he should've known.
"Fuck off trash can," he bit out. He pressed play on the video, leaning against the console with his hands on the screen to watch. It started off with Emma in her bedroom, having just changed into her pajamas when a hand came from the side and stopped the video from continuing. Gavin immediately tried to push the hand away from the screen but it wouldn't budge. He looked to his right, glaring up at Richard as the android stared at him with its usual expression. "Move it," he demanded.
"This is not our case," it tried again, hand not moving.
"I heard you the first time," he growled, grabbing the thing's wrist to try and shove it away from the screen again. It wouldn't budge. Instead, Richard flipped his hand to grab Gavin's own so that they were holding each other's. Gavin immediately let go when he realized his own wrist was being held.
"I advise that we get back to our own cases, Detective."
"Nah uh, not happening," He snapped as he tried to remove Richard's hand from his wrist. It wasn't painful; a firm grip instead. But he didn't like it. But he couldn't get the thing to let him go. It's grip was sturdy, that was for sure. Fucking androids.
As Gavin struggled to get the hold off his wrist, Richard tried to pull him away from the panel. The detective dug his heels into the ground, trying to resist as much as he could. "It is a closed case. The suspect has been located, there is nothing else to review," Richard insisted.
Gavin couldn't help but snort at that. "Like fuck it's been! Have you even looked at the file?"
Richard stopped trying to drag Gavin away by his wrist, instead turning back to face him with a dead expression. "There's no need. It is closed." It was like the damn thing thought that repeating those words would get him to give in. Well, Gavin wasn't one to roll over and show his belly. It was bullshit and if Richard didn't believe him then fuck it.
"It's wrong!" He declared with the certainty of…well he wasn't sure. But he was pretty damn sure that the reports were wrong.
The android blinked slowly at him. "Why do you think so?" It would not let go of his wrist. Why did this thing like touching him so much!? It was fucking annoying.
The detective gave him a hard look. "There's no way that she did it."
Richard cocked its head to the side. It let go of Gavin's wrist to place its hand on the surface of the panel. Skin peeled back to reveal the plastic underneath as it interfaced with it. It only took a second, just long enough for Gavin to blink before Richard removed its hand from the surface, skin covering the white once again. "Unfortunately, your assumption is incorrect."
"Bull shit!" Gavin snapped back.
"The correct suspect has been apprehended."
"There's no way Emma killed her parents!" He yelled.
The door to the evidence room opened and both Richard and Gavin looked over to see who it was. A very confused but concerned – how did he always have that fucking look on his face? – looking Connor stood in the door, staring between the two. "Is everything alright?"
"The fuck you want?" Gavin questioned instead of answering the question.
"I heard yelling. I was worried," Connor responded easily, stepping into the room and closed the door behind him. Great, now he was stuck in the evidence room, windows whited out, with both androids. Gavin hated life.
"Yeah well, you were worried for nothing, Richard was just leaving." Gavin glared up at it. It didn't move, just stared back down at him with its usual expression. He then waved at it with both hands in a 'go away' motion. "Get a move on then! Scoot, scram, skedaddle!"
And to nobody's surprise, Richard didn't move a muscle. "I refuse to allow you to waste time on a closed case." Why did he get stuck with such a stubborn ass android?
Gavin glared even harder, scowl deep on his face. "I don't remember you having a say in what I do with my fucking time."
"What's the problem? Perhaps I can help." Connor, ever the helpful little…whatever the fuck he was. Android, deviant, person. Anderson's little pet.
"Fuck off – " before he could finish, Richard cut him off.
"Detective Reed believes that there was a mistake in capturing Mr. and Mrs. Kent's killer." Gavin puffed up, arms crossed over his chest.
Instead of saying anything, Connor came over to them, doing what Richard did to interface with the terminal. Gavin had to take a few steps back and away from him, just because he didn't want Connor too close. Being sandwiched between two androids just did not seem like a good idea. Connor interfaced a little longer than Richard, about five seconds before the skin covered the white of his hand again. Brown eyes immediately found Gavin who was standing off to the side. "No error has been made."
Gavin ran both hands through his hair in frustration. "What the fuck is wrong with you two!? There is no way in hell Emma killed her parents! No fucking way!"
"While it may be hard to believe, it is the truth, Detective," Connor tried with a soft tone of voice.
"She's just a kid!"
"She's an android," Richard pointed out, rather harshly from the suddenness of its input. "While it may be hard to believe for a human child, Emma is an android. She is more than capable of harming a human adult."
Gavin rubbed his face with his hands as he groaned. He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't. He then removed his hands from his face, pressing them together in a prayer position as he rested the sides of his index fingers against his lips. "Okay, fine," He ground out. "But that doesn't explain what caused her to flip shit to begin with." The androids exchanged a look. "Yeah, see. You don't even know." He was probably a little snarkier than he intended but fuck it. He noticed something that the two androids didn't. He had a right to be proud.
"I fail to see how that matters for the case," Richard quipped as it returned it's gaze to Gavin, who was still giving the two androids their space.
"'Fail to see' – are you seriously that fucking dense?"
"Detective – " Connor tried to interject.
"Oh no," Gavin pointed at Connor. "You don't get a fucking say. Why are you still here anyway?"
Connor gave him a casual shrug. "I do have to review some evidence from a crime scene." Gavin threw his hands up in defeat as he turned his attention to the ceiling. Figures. "Why do you think there's an error in the case?" That brought his attention back to the two sharing the room with him.
He shoved his hands into his pockets as he toed the ground with his toe of his shoe. "Doesn't feel right," He grumbled as an answer. Connor cocked his head to the side at that. He was going to ask him what he meant by that. Gavin just knew it.
"What do you mean?" Dear god he was psychic.
Gavin took a hand out of his pocket to rub at his nose a bit, right along the scar. "Well…report says there was no cause. Typically people need a reason to kill. A trigger. There was none. I was going to check out her memories before Richard here decided to be an ass." He put his hand back into his pocket. Connor appeared to be thinking, if the yellow LED meant anything. He was even looking at the ground with his arms crossed, a very human thing to do. It unnerved Gavin a bit. Okay, maybe more than a bit.
"Since she is a child model, her programming resembles that of a child. Her memories were very chaotic due to the trauma of the event," Connor said, almost like he was reading directions from a manual.
Gavin shrugged. "So?"
"So while we could not locate a cause, a trigger as you called it, it does not mean there wasn't one. It simply was not logged as part of the trauma," Richard finished, sounding bored of the conversation already.
The detective contemplated that, chewing on his lower lip in thought.
Software Instability ^^^
It then occurred to Gavin. "She wasn't deviant," he blurted out suddenly. He remembered that coming up at some point in the reports. Emma hadn't deviated after the revolution.
"She was not deviant before the killings took place, that is correct," Richard confirmed with a short nod.
Gavin shook his head as he waved his hands a bit. "No, no, that's not what I meant. Isn't it that if an android doesn't accept the deviant virus or whatever the fuck it is, something has to stress them out to the point of deviating themselves?" Both Connor and, surprisingly, Richard looked shocked that he knew that. "Yeah," He snapped. "I pay attention."
Software Instability ^^^
Connor nodded his head, being the first to recover. "Yes, that's right."
"So what the fuck happened between her changing into her pjs and the murders?"
Both androids' LEDs turned yellow as soon as his question was asked. Probably reviewing Emma's memories. Richard's turned back to blue while Connor's remained yellow. "Nothing," They said in unison. Which was like something out of a horror movie. It immediately caused Gavin's skin to crawl, hair on the back of his neck standing on end.
"Don't do that again, fucking creepy ass androids," he rubbed the back of his neck as he shuffled on his feet. "Anyway," he insisted on, not looking at the two in the room now. "There can't be nothing. Right? Deviancy itself is caused by a traumatic event, right?"
Connor nodded. "Her coding changed without prompt. It…doesn't happen like that," He said slowly, LED still yellow as he contemplated what that meant. Which couldn't be good. It did not bode well if an android's coding changed within an instant and caused them to turn into murderers. Not well at all.
Ultimately there wasn't much he could do now with the case closed. Without evidence to prove that it wasn't Emma who killed her parents, which video proof through her own eyes was kind of hard to beat, Gavin's hands were tied. But that didn't mean he liked it. It didn't mean he accepted it. It just didn't sit well with him. So it was another case that caused him to lay awake at night, just mulling over the details. There had to be something that they missed. There had to be.
It was lunch time, which meant break time. Gavin was the last of the officers to take leave for lunch so all that was left in the station were the relief staff. Hank and Connor left hours ago. And he hadn't seen Richard for quite some time. He wasn't too sure how long exactly; he didn't keep track of the damned thing whenever it left. Even the Captain had stepped out to grab some food. So Gavin was on his own when he moved to the front of the precinct to exit the building to start his own break. Dear god did he feel like he needed one too.
He was only a few feet away from the main entrance when a figure came barreling through it. Nearly knocked Gavin right on his ass too. "Hey, watch it!" He snapped as he regained his balance.
The person zeroed right in on Gavin. It was then that he noticed that the man was carrying someone, a woman – no android – bridal style. And she was bleeding. Profusely. "Are you an officer!? We need help! She needs help!" The man insisted as he approached Gavin, right up into his personal space.
Two things ran through Gavin's brain. First, there went his lunch break. Second, he didn't know the first fucking thing about helping a bleeding android! What the fuck was he supposed to do!? But he noticed that she had several gashes through her frame, including one in the side of her neck, close to where her collarbone was that was just oozing blue blood at an alarming rate. If that was bad for humans, it had to be bad for androids. Right? So without really thinking, he immediately stepped closer to apply pressure to the wound. He tried to recall all he learned from his first aid classes. But would they help for an android? He just didn't know. But he'd be damned if he didn't try. "Shit," he hissed as the blue blood bled through his fingers, the pressure not doing anything to stop the flow.
"Get her to the back," he ordered the android as he turned to face the receptionist. Who was staring at him in shock, hands over her mouth. She was frozen in place. It was odd to see an android show symptoms of shock. But now was not the time for that! "Call for help. Get Connor or Richard or someone who can help," he instructed as he followed behind the man who took the woman back into the bullpen. Once he was there, he tried to find a surface for her to be placed upon. Before he could, the man collapsed, dropping the android onto the floor with a heavy thud. "Fuck!" He rushed over, dropping to a knee. "Are you – " He tried to ask, only to be pushed away rather roughly.
"Help her!" The man cried. So Gavin did just that, he scooted over to her, rolling her limp body onto her back. It was difficult but he managed to do it. He hadn't realized just how fucking heavy androids were. How was that man carrying her?
Time for that later, Reed; he scolded himself before he took off his scarf and pressed it against the wound on her neck to try and stop the bleeding again. Now that he was closer and could see her form better, it looked like stab wounds littered her chest. He knew very little about android anatomy but from what he could tell, none had hit her pump regulator. Maybe. He wasn't too sure. There was blue blood everywhere.
The bleeding wouldn't stop. The wounds on her chest were oozing as well. He looked around the bullpen for an extra pair of hands. "I need help over here!" He yelled out, hoping that someone was around to help. Two sets of hands were offered.
"I don't know what to do," one of the officers admitted.
"I don't either, just try to put pressure on the wounds to stop the bleeding." It was really all they could do. Try to buy her time so that someone who knew what they were doing could help. The two did just that. But there were more wounds than hands unfortunately.
"Detective!" He heard behind him after what felt like an eternity.
"About time!" He snapped. "Took your sweet ass time didn't ya?" Now was probably not the time to be snipping at anybody but he was anxious and worried and didn't know what else to do. He felt useless, even if his blue blood-soaked scarf was probably helping the android.
He felt Connor's hand on his shoulder before he crouched down next to him. "I need you to let go." How was he so calm during all of this!? Gavin was pretty sure he was shaking.
Everything in his brain was telling him that was a bad idea. You always kept pressure on a wound. You never removed the gauze or fabric or whatever you used from the wound because it could remove any clotting that may have occurred. His brain just kept running through his first aid classes over and over again. "I can't," he said shaking his head.
"I can't fix what's wrong unless you let go," Connor tried to reason with him.
"But – " He tried to argue but a hand, clean and pale covered his blue stained ones. He looked over to Connor.
"It's alright, Detective." So he let go and backed off. He got back to his feet, giving Connor space to work. His stomach churned uneasily as he looked at his hands. Stained blue. Somehow it wasn't any easier than when they were stained red.
He was shaking even more now that he was on his feet. He looked for something to do, anyway he could help when Connor moved to pick the android up. "What are you doing?" You never moved an injured person without the proper equipment!
"I need to take her to interrogation. Richard's set it up with what we have so we can work on her," he explained as he stood to his full height easily. Whereas Gavin had struggled to roll her onto her back, Connor was able to lift her like she weighed nothing.
He nodded his head, moving to follow Connor when he saw another approach them briskly. "I came as soon as I could," Christopher said, looking disheveled as could be. How could an android that didn't breathe sound so breathless?
"Christopher, what happened?" Gavin immediately asked, noticing that the android was bleeding as well, but just from a shallow cut on his forearm.
The brunet shook his head as he tried to catch his breath. "I – I don't know. One second everything was fine and then the next he was attacking her!"
That didn't make any sense. Why would the man that brought her in attack her? Maybe he was guilty? "Wait, who?"
"Kevin," He shook his head again. "He was crazy! High on Red Ice. I didn't have a lot time to react before he just started…" He wasn't able to finish, obviously too upset over just having watched the other android – most likely his friend and coworker – get brutally attacked. Christopher crossed one arm over his chest and brought his free hand up to cover his mouth. Gavin wasn't exactly sure what to do. Once again, he felt to useless.
He moved his hand to place it on Christopher's shoulder, only catch sight of the blue that was slowly becoming invisible on his hand. His hand hovered for a second before he dropped it back down to his side. "It's alright. You did what you could. Do you know where he is now?" They had to catch this fucker.
The android nodded his head, only dropping his hand because he had to answer. Both arms were crossed in front of his chest. "He's in his office at Diamond Dust." Now that didn't make sense. Wouldn't he have run? Christopher offered him a small but sad smile. It didn't reach his eyes. It wasn't him at all. "I may have knocked him out and locked him inside so he couldn't leave." Gavin couldn't help but blink in surprise. He honestly wasn't expecting that. But then again, why shouldn't he? Christopher was the same model as Connor. Which meant he probably possessed the same martial prowess that Connor did. And he knew how effective Connor was in that aspect, having been on the receiving end of it. Kevin deserved every hit. That was for damned sure.
Gavin nodded his head again. "Thanks," He said before he tried to move to leave.
A hand on his arm stopped him. "Wait, where are you going?" Christopher sounded genuinely distressed about him leaving. He was not expecting that.
"To go arrest Kevin," He answered simply, like it was obvious that that's what he was going to do.
The hand on his arm tightened a little as Christopher chewed on his lower lip a bit. "Can…Could you stay? When Amber comes around…she'll want to talk to you."
"Why me?"
"Because we trust you," Christopher said softly with an honesty that caught Gavin off guard. He wasn't expecting that answer. He didn't know what he was expecting but it certainly wasn't that.
He swallowed before nodding his head. "Okay, I'll stay."
Christopher beamed at him. "Thank you so much." But that still meant that someone needed to go pick up the bastard. So he held up a finger to Christopher, indicating that he needed a minute. The android nodded and let go, although he didn't look happy about it. Gavin vaguely noticed how Christopher wrapped his arms around himself and moved to sit down at Gavin's desk. That was weird.
The detective quickly located his target. Hank was trying to talk to the man who brought Amber in. He was sitting at Hank's desk with his hands buried in his hands as he wept. Gavin walked over to him. "Anderson," he said softly, getting the old man's attention. He nodded his head off to the side. He needed to talk to him. Hank nodded, excusing himself as he moved over to where Gavin was.
"Yeah?"
"The fucker who did this is at Diamond Dust. Main office."
His eyebrow shot up. "So why don't you go get 'im?"
"I've been…asked to stay. Apparently the android wants to talk to me when…she comes to." He almost said 'if.' Not that he didn't belief in Richard and Connor's abilities. He just didn't know how effective they were at repairing another android. And what if she couldn't be repaired? Lost too much blue blood? Then there was nothing they could do. But still. He knew that if the man or even Christopher was ease dropping, then now was not the time to be his usual pessimist self.
Hank nodded his head. "Alright, I'll go pick 'im up." Gavin nodded his thanks. Once Hank had left, Christopher had moved over to comfort the other man, talking to him softly and rubbing his back. Gavin just left the two alone. He wasn't good at those kinds of things. So all they had to do was wait.
It hadn't taken long before Connor came out to tell them that Amber was operational again. She had sustained a lot of damage and would need to see an actual mechanic but for right now, she was stable. It took all of twenty minutes but it felt like an eternity. The man was the first to dart to his feet and rush to the room to check on her. Gavin followed suit, walking with Connor. Despite having washed his hands multiple times to get the blue blood off of them, he felt like it was still there. The sensation only worsened when he saw her.
Amber, the android, was sitting in one of the interrogation chairs. Her shirt was tattered, soaked with her own blood. She looked so tired, could barely keep her eyes open. Losing blood must've been as exhausting as it was for humans for androids. She was using her arms to cover her chest; doing her best to appear modest. Or probably to keep some dignity.
Her eyes immediately fell upon him when he walked into the room. "Are you Gavin?" He nodded his head. She let out a deep sigh, her shoulders tensing a little. She looks so uncomfortable. Not that Gavin blamed her. She was just attacked by a human. Plus she was surrounded by men. If Tina had been in the station, he would've asked her to talk to Amber. Just to make her more comfortable. Women typically liked to talk to other women.
The man that had brought her in was glued to her side, hand on her shoulder as he stood right against her. Somehow, it didn't look comforting even if he was trying to be.
Gavin did the first thing he could think of to help make her more comfortable. He shucked off his jacket, stepping closer to hold it out to her. He was met with a confused look from her. "So you can cover up. If you want."
Software Instability ^^^
She smiled sadly, taking it from him. "Thank you," she said softly as he put it on. He nodded his head to her again. With it zipped up, she looked a little more comfortable. But not by much.
Now that he didn't have his winter coat, he didn't have anywhere to put his hands besides his pants pockets. He was currently wearing a grey and black horizontally stripped sweater, which didn't include pockets unfortunately. So he put his fingers into his pockets as uncomfortable as he was now. "So what happened?" Gavin asked. They still needed her statement.
"What do you mean 'what happened!?' She was obviously attacked! Stop messing around and go get that animal!" The man beside her immediately erupted.
Gavin gave him a hard stare. "We currently have an officer picking him up. And we still need her statement if she wants to press charges."
He just looked offended by this. "Of course she's going to press charges! She was nearly stabbed to death!"
"If you won't shut up and let me talk to her then you can just leave," Gavin pulled his hands from his pockets to cross them over his chest. The man didn't look happy but he shut his mouth quickly. Gavin then looked back to Amber, who wasn't looking at anyone. Instead she was staring at the ground. "What happened?" he tried again, his tone softer than when he spoke to the man.
She didn't answer immediately. Hesitantly, she spoke very softly. "I was…with a client when he – Kevin – um…started to get very angry. He was yelling and pushing me around. Next thing I knew, he had a knife and he just kept stabbing me. Over and over again."
Before Gavin could even get a word in, the man jumped into action again. "See! He's crazy!"
"Dude, I swear to god – " Gavin started before Connor stepped forward.
"Why don't we wait outside while the Detective and Amber speak? I need to hear your statement as well." The man looked hesitant, looking down at Amber for permission.
She nodded her head at him. "I'll be okay." He nodded then, allowing Connor to lead him out of the interrogation room. Now it was just him, Amber, and Richard.
"What actually happened?" Gavin asked suddenly, causing her to jump.
"I don't know – "
Gavin gave her a knowing look. "You weren't with a client when he attacked you, were you?" She looked away from him, clearly ashamed as tears started to fall from her eyes. He let out a deep sigh, stepping forward until he was standing in front of her. He then dropped into a crouch. "Look, I'm gonna be straight with you. For me to help you, you have to be honest with me and tell me everything. I know you may not want to but it's the only way I can help you." She looked down at him, tears falling from her eyes at a faster rate.
"You promise you won't tell Justin?" He could only assume that was the man's name.
He nodded his head. "Entirely confidential. Just between you and me." Then he remembered. "And Richard, if you want him in here." She nodded her head a little too quickly at that. She might not be entirely comfortable being alone with Gavin. Which made sense. Gavin was human, Kevin was human and he attacked her. So he got back to his feet and sat in the chair opposite of her. "Okay, so start from the beginning."
It had taken some time but Amber told Gavin pretty much everything. Apparently Kevin was more of an asshole than he originally thought. Bastard was bribing the women that worked for him into doing sexual favors for him and his friends to keep their jobs. And the jobs of any of their friends. And had threatened them if they told anyone and went to the police. Mainly Gavin. So Christopher coming into talk to him had caused quite a bit of tension within the sex club. Amber had refused to do something for Kevin, and since he was smoking Red Ice, flew into a rage that resulted in her being attacked. She tried to escape when Christopher intervened, but she was too badly damaged to get very far. That's when Justin grabbed her and ran. Which also explained how Justin was able to carry her the entire way; he was an android as well. He and Amber were in a relationship, which was why Amber didn't want Justin finding out what she had been doing for them to keep both their jobs.
Talk about a mess. Once Gavin had heard everything, Amber and Justin were able to leave. Not after Amber returned his coat, thankfully. Justin had used the time Amber was with him to get her some replacement clothes. As far as he knew, their next destination was to get her repaired fully. He hoped so anyway.
Connor and Hank were interrogating Kevin, as much as he wanted to do it himself. Richard had immediately started working on the necessary paperwork from the interrogation, which Gavin was genuinely thankful for. He was running on fumes at this point. And he was starving.
What he wasn't expecting was for Christopher to be sitting at his desk when he and Richard exited the interrogation room. And he stayed when Gavin had made sure that Amber and Justin could safely go on their way. So when all was said and done, he approached his desk, and the android, leaning against it. "Something up?" He questioned.
Christopher looked up at him, soft smile on his lips. "I just wanted to apologize for Justin's behavior. I knew he wouldn't do it himself. He's not always like that. He just really loves Amber."
"I'm sure he's a stand-up guy," Gavin said sarcastically.
Christopher chuckled a bit at that. He then stared up at Gavin with that look in his eye that he usually had. "I can't help but notice that you're hungry. How about I get you something?"
Gavin stared down at him, brow furrowed together. "How did – " He then remembered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ya know what, nevermind. As much as I appreciate the thought, I've got a lot of paperwork to do."
The android hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I believe I spotted a snack machine in the break room. At least allow me to do that for you."
The detective dropped his hand with a sigh. "Fine," he pushed off of the desk and started walking towards the vending machines that Christopher had mentioned. The android was right on his heels.
Software Instability ^^^
The break room was empty, which was an odd occurrence. But it meant that they could talk somewhat privately. Gavin still needed to speak to Christopher about what happened. And why it couldn't happen again. Although, this probably was the worse time to actually do it. He had only shown up at the station because his friend was stabbed. But if he didn't do it now, he probably wouldn't do it at all. He was so deep in thought that when Christopher spoke, he jumped.
"What would you like?" He had asked.
Gavin rubbed the back of his head, not even glancing at the options. "Whatever, I'm not picky," he mumbled. The android nodded, paying and choosing a bag of trail mix for him to eat. He pulled it out of the machine and handed it to Gavin. He nodded his head in thanks. "Thanks," he mumbled again, looking at the bag in his hands and not the android.
"You look like you have something to say," Christopher said softly.
He clenched and then unclenched his jaw a few times, shifting on his feet as well. "I do…but I don't think – well I know now isn't the best time to bring it up."
The android hummed a bit. "Tell me anyway."
He made it sound easy. Gavin huffed, glancing up at Christopher. "It's just that…" God he was bad at this. He shifted on his feet again.
"Is it about what happened? Between us?" At the mention, Gavin's cheeks began to heat up. He opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. So he closed it and nodded instead. "Did you not enjoy yourself?"
That was enough of a shock to break him out of his stupor. "What? God no! I mean, yes. I mean," He let out a deep breath. "Let me start over. I had a great time. A really great time. It's just…it's not something that we can…ya know, do again." He had been looking everywhere but at Christopher as he spoke. It wasn't until he finished that he finally glanced up at him again.
The android was smiling softly at him, looking at patient as ever. "That's quite alright. I figured as much when you didn't contact me."
Well that made Gavin feel like shit. "I don't have your number," He shrugged.
"Yes you do." Gavin gave him a confused look. "It's with that report I filed."
He facepalmed himself. "Right." Right, Richard would've put it in after they interfaced. Wow, he was a fucking idiot. Christopher laughed lightly at him. "Right well, thank you for, uh, the snack," he shook the back in his hand. "I don't wanna keep you from…whatever you're gonna do." Ugh he hated how awkward this was! This was why he hated these talks! But something was still bothering him.
"You look like there's something else."
Damn it! How did he know!? "It's nothing important," Gavin assured him, waving his hand like that would somehow prove his case. Christopher just cocked an eyebrow at him and waited. The detective licked his lips. "I just…I don't understand why you slept with me in the first place, I guess. I mean, you're…ya know. And I'm…" He gestured to himself like that was all the answer in the world. He was an asshole. He was old. He was scared up.
Christopher looked him up and down, smile transforming into a smirk that got Gavin's blood going. He then looked him right in the eye once he was done scanning his body. "It's quite simple actually. I have sex with my clients because I have to. With you, it was because I wanted to." Gavin's mouth suddenly became dry, but he swallowed none the less. Christopher's eyes darted down to follow the motion of his Adam's apple. "You're an attractive man Gavin. I wasn't lying when I said I enjoyed myself that night." He stepped closer to Gavin, cupping his cheek gently. He couldn't help but lean into it slightly. This caused Christopher to beam. "If you ever do change your mind, my door is always open to you." Then he leaned forward and pressed their lips together.
Gavin's heart was hammering in his chest. Eyes closed, cheeks burning, he found himself kissing back. Then almost as soon as it had started, they separated. Which was probably for the best.
Software Instability ^^^
"Detective." Gavin jumped, eyes darting over to see Richard standing at the entrance of the break room. "The report requires your signature." Gavin nodded his head at him, and Richard promptly turned on its heel to walk away.
Gavin swallowed hard again, licking his lips as he looked back at Christopher. "Right, so. Um…" He coughed. "Thanks again for the snack. I gotta – yeah." He walked out of the break room with Christopher laughing. Once at his desk, Gavin sat down. And Christopher kept walking, waving goodbye to Gavin. He returned it by just lifting his hand before he turned to look away from the android. Staring down at the trail mix bag in his hands, he realized that he wasn't hungry anymore. So he tossed them onto his desk before burying his face in his hands.
"You look like someone just kicked your puppy. Or maybe you are the kicked puppy. I can't tell," Tina said to his left.
"Shut up," He grumbled into his palms. Although it didn't contain anywhere close to the usual bite it usually did.
"So…wanna tell me 'bout it?" He groaned loudly. Gavin removed his hands from his face only to thump his head onto the surface of his desk. "That bad huh?"
"He was so good, Tina," He whined at the floor.
Software Instability ^^^
"I…don't see the problem. Call him up, ask him for another night out."
If only it was that easy. "I told him it was a one-time thing."
Tina was quiet for a moment. "The fuck you do that for?"
Gavin finally lifted his head up from his desk to look up at her. He shrugged a bit. "Seemed like the right thing to do…" She frowned at him. He let out a deep sigh. "I need a smoke." He stood up from his seat, nodding his head at her to join him. He honestly didn't feel like having this talk with Richard and Connor around. Even if he was just going to tell Tina that while the sex was good, it felt like he was getting tangled into the weird potential family that was the RK series.
Once they were alone and he told her that, she immediately understood. Having sex with someone's family member in the precinct was awkward enough. Having two of those family members, and one of them be your partner just made it even worse. Tina apologized, realizing that she should've kept her mouth shut. Especially with how bad he had been feeling after the deed. Gavin accepted her apology. He apologized as well, for freaking out like he did. They were back on speaking terms again, and Gavin had his friend back.
They talked some more, caught up with each other before they deemed their smoke break over and Gavin got back to work.
I'm alive! It's been so long guys! I'm sorry. I had a hell of a time writing this damned chapter. I wrote half of it, realized it was out of character for everyone and had to rewrite it. I like this second attempt so much better. I hope you like it as well.
As you can see, the Instabilities are stacking up! And happening a bit more frequently! Shit's about to go down guys. Buckle up.
Any and all feedback helps feed my muse and let's me know that you guys like what I'm doing.
If you'd like to keep up with my progress and updates, check out my tumblr: pennameab
See you guys in the next chapter!
