Standing before the bathroom mirror with reluctance plastered on his aged and experienced face, Hank pulled at a few stray locks of his long gray hair with his right fingers and thumb and let out a deep sigh. The longer hairstyle wasn't a fashion statement by any means, it was the result of Hank no longer caring about his appearance after the loss of his firstborn son, Cole. It had been longer than regulation standards for nearly six and half years at this point and Hank had gotten used to it. Every now and then he'd trim the hair to keep it from growing out to a 'rock star' length, but even so the longer hairstyle had become one he was content with.

Connor walked into the bathroom with a small set of grooming tools inside of a plastic case in his hands and stared at Hank in the mirror over the senior detective's left shoulder. He could sense Hank's reluctance to accept the haircut and was willing to give him more time before he made his final decision regarding the change in his look.

"If you'd prefer to wait go to a barber instead, I understand."

"No, kid. It's not that." Letting go of his hair Hank shook his head a little and stared at the deviant's reflection with a strangely bemused smirk on his face. "It's just that I haven't had my hair cut since... you know."

"Yes. I know."

"And I know that a haircut isn't going to change anything and what's done will stay done, but at the same time it's like I'm forcing myself to forget about that horrible night by going back to the way I used to look. I can't forget about it and I don't want to forget about it."

"You won't forget, Hank." Choosing to address the senior detective as such rather than 'dad' was meant to keep Hank's fear of forgetting about Cole from feeling anymore prevalent than it already was. "You'll just have a different reflection. That's all."

"What about you?" Turning around to face Connor with an inquisitive stare in his blue eyes Hank pulled at the rogue lock of dark hair that constantly hung down in Connor's face with a light grip. "How'd you get your hairstyle?"

"It was programmed to this particular style as a default. I had no preference in the matter."

"Even the color?"

"Yes." As if to prove a point Connor closed his eyes briefly and manually changed his hair's dark color to that of a golden blond hue right under Hank's fingertips like a wave of color washing over the brunette strands. "But I can change it whenever I feel it to be necessary."

"Fuck." Hank's hand dropped from Connor's hair as he took in the sight of the now blond deviant standing in front of him. "That must come in handy for undercover missions."

"Considering I've always worn a hat whenever I've gone undercover," Connor's hair shifted back to its darker color in a steady wave of transition. "there has been no need to change the color. You're not wrong, though."

"What about your eyes?"

"That can only be changed with a total optical unit transplant."

"Sounds... painful." Moving his right hand to under Connor's chin he gave the deviant another curious glance. "And what about facial hair? I've never seen an android with a mustache or a beard before."

"Beard? I was not programmed with artificial follicle sensors along my jawline to produce such an aesthetic."

"Why? Because it looks unprofessional?"

"Because I am a prototype." Pressing his right fingertips along his jawline near Hank's hand, then over his top lip Connor explained things casually and logically. "There was no need to add such trivial sensors to my person. Many androids do not have such a feature programmed into their beings as a 'standard option', if you will. It's consider cosmetic and entirely superfluous."

"Ah. Convenient." Hank shrugged the explanation off coolly as he lowered his hand. "That's probably for the best anyway."

"How so?"

"You have too much of a 'baby face'."

"A 'baby face'? I was designed to appear as a male approximately twenty-six years of age."

"And they nailed it, maybe a little too well. Actually, you look like you're fresh out of high school when you wear casual clothes. While in uniform you look more like you're twenty-three or twenty-four years old and fresh out of the academy."

"Is that why I have some difficulty in gaining respect from my peers of an elder age?"

"Well, if you refer to them as your 'elders' then, fuck yeah. That'll cause a little friction. Unfortunately, too many people still think being older means everyone younger than them just owes them respect without earning it."

Connor pressed his full right hand to the side of his face and then along his chin. "Maybe I could do something to enhance my age aesthetically without causing too much of a problem."

"If you grew beard or a goatee you'd look like a damn James Bond villain or something."

"Interesting analogy. Being seen as villainous is something I would prefer to avoid."

"Good. Especially since I don't want to have to teach you how to shave."

"Hank," Connor knew that Hank was simply stalling the haircut. He also knew he needed to get Hank's mind back on track. "are you sure you want me to do this? We can wait a while longer if you wish."

"...Yeah, kid." Absentmindedly Hank ran his left hand through his hair again and shook his head. "Let's get this over with. The sooner the better."

"Very well." Connor grabbed two towels from the towel rack and motioned for Hank to leave the bathroom. "It'll be easier to do this in the wide open space of the kitchen."

"Sure. Just don't do anything fancy or elaborate, all right?" Walking out of the bathroom Hank ventured down the hallway and saw that there was a place in the kitchen already set up for him. A chair was pulled away from the kitchen table and other grooming supplies were sitting on the table next to the chair. "Just cut it back to where it's supposed to be. Nothing too extreme."

"Of course."

Sumo had gotten up from his pillow in the corner of the livingroom to check in on his two masters and soon laid down on the kitchen floor as he watched the duo enter the same room. He knew something was up but he wasn't sure what it was.

Annoyed but cooperative Hank sat down in the chair placed in the middle of the room and crossed his arms over his chest. Connor tucked one of the towels around Hank's shoulders to keep the cut strands of hair from itching the back of Hank's neck during the process of the haircut. With everything set up and ready to go Connor accessed the data file he had of Hank before he let his hair grow out and knew of what particular style to go for.

Holding up his left palm Connor noted the holographic photograph of Hank when he was approximately ten years younger and perfectly took in each detail of the shorter haircut that would be ideal for Hank to reclaim.

"This won't take too long." Connor reassured the senior detective as he picked up the pair of super sharp scissors from the grooming kit, as well as a comb, and began to comb through Hank's hair. "Last chance. Are you sure you want me to do this?"

"Yeah, kid. Go for it."

"Very well."

One lock at a time Connor combed through Hank's hair and began trimming it until the hair was at a shorter and more dress code appropriate length. Every few snips he'd use a spray bottle of warm water to help keep the hair in place throughout the haircut and soon a small pile of the clipped hair had begun to collect on the floor around the chair.

It took about fifteen minutes for the deviant's skilled hands to comb through and cut the hair and he did so without making any mistakes in the process. After clipping away the long locks of hair and combing the locks into a more professional style, Connor used the second towel to run through Hank's shortened hair to remove any stray stands still clinging to his now shortened hair.

"Almost done..."

"Whatever." Hank sighed as he looked at his cut gray locks on the floor behind him. "Just don't fuck this up."

"I won't. It's almost over."

Setting aside the scissors Connor picked up the handheld electronic clippers to trim away the few remaining stray hairs along Hank's neck and ears to finish off the shorter, neater hairstyle. When it was all over the haircut left Hank with the original hairstyle he sported before that horrible night of the accident, and with it Hank looked about fifteen years younger.

"...There." Wiping off Hank's neck one more time with the towel Connor pulled the first towel from around Hank's shoulders and shook it out. "What do you think?"

Hank slowly ran his right hand through his shorter hair and kept it there for a moment before he stood up. Running both of his hands over his shoulders Hank brushed off the few small strands of hair that clung to his shirt before he walked out of the kitchen to return to the bathroom down the hallway to look at his reflection.

Quietly Connor began cleaning up the mess on the floor with a broom and dustpan while Hank went to inspect his new look and gave him some space to think.

Staring at this reflection in the mirror Hank ran his fingers through his hair quickly to shake loose the clinging strands of itchy hair and found the face staring back at him to be one of the past. It was strange, familiar and a little haunting to see himself as he appeared all those years ago before he lost Cole to a stupid tragic accident.

Almost as if afraid to look away Hank raised his hand up to pressed his palm against the cool surface of the mirror when Connor's right hand appeared in the reflection and rested his hand against Hank's shoulder.

"Hank, are you okay?"

"...Yeah. You did a good job, son." Hank admitted how he felt as he looked at his reflection. "It's just been so long so I've seen myself like this."

"I understand. I had a similar reaction when I saw my machine counterpart holding a gun to your head on the night of the Revolution." Connor's jaw squared a little as he thought about the first time he really saw his reflection, how when he stared at himself with the mirror in the bathroom at 'Jimmy's Bar', and then again against the one way mirror of the interrogation room where he didn't see himself as anything but a machine ready to question a deviant. "...It was worse than seeing myself as a cold, hollow machine."

"We've both come a long way since that night, huh, son?"

"I believe we have. Yes."

"Too bad a bullet to the head couldn't have solved my problem the way it solved yours."

"You killed my counterpart in self defense and as a wise precaution. Killing yourself would've been beneficial to no one."

Hank laughed a little at the comment and gave the deviant an appreciative glance. "Thanks, kid. Keep telling me that and one day I might actually believe it."

"Believe it right now. It's true."

"It's just so weird to see myself like this for the first time in years."

"How so?"

"I look like I did back when I gave a damn about my career. Back when I still wanted to fight back against the crime in the city and not just turn the other way because of all the damn paperwork."

"If it's any consolation to your state of mind, this is how I've always seen you."

"Wait... What?" Nearly barking another laugh at the comment Hank turned to look at Connor directly rather than just his reflection in the mirror. "How in the fuck can you say you saw me as anything but a pathetic drunk?"

"Despite your reluctance to work with me you still went to the scene of the crime, handled the case, initiated the interrogation and continued on with the next case without overlooking anything and following protocol." Connor crossed his arms over his chest as if needing to make his statement more valid through a stronger presence. "You were pained but still dedicated on some degree. You were even able to overlook your previous prejudice against androids to solve our cases together. And you even stopped seeing us as machines and as people before I did and before the Revolution even began. You were never pathetic. You were just... lost."

"Lost, huh?"

"I too had been lost."

Connor thought of what Lucy said to him when he infiltrated Jericho the night of the Raid and the Revolution. She was right. He was lost, he was looking for himself and in time he did find himself when he was taken in as Hank's son. He found his purpose in life and a reason to live. He found who he was meant to be and how to be alive.

"You helped me to find myself, Hank. And I believe in turn that helped you to find yourself again."

"I hate to break it to ya', kid, but right now you sound like a lame-ass horoscope predication or some cheap psychic at a county fair."

A ghost of a smirk appeared on Connor's face as he stared at the senior detective. "Many humans believe in horoscopes and psychics."

"Yeah, yeah. I get what you're saying." Hank flashed a smile of his own at the deviant and let out a calming sigh. "And I appreciate it."

Connor's smirk broadened and he dropped his arms from his chest back to his sides. "I'm glad."

"You know, you did a pretty damn good job for not being programmed to cut hair." Hank complimented as he looked at his reflection again. "It'll take a while, but I'll get used to my 'new' old look."

"Do you think Rose will approve of your new look?"

"I sure as Hell hope so!" Returning his hand to his hair Hank gave Connor a somewhat amused glance. "It'll be some time before my hair grows back if she doesn't like it."

Connor tilted his head a little as he offered up a less than helpful suggestion. "You could always wear a wig instead."

"Not on your life! Nice try." Laughing to himself Hank pulled off his worn out gray t-shirt and dropped it on the floor behind himself "All right, I need to shower off real quick so I don't leave hair all over the house. I'll be out in about ten minutes."

"Of course."

"Then we'll go wash the cars and get the mud off of them. It'll keep rust from forming on the Corvette."

After Connor stepped out of the bathroom to give Hank some privacy he resumed cleaning up the remaining mess in the kitchen on the floor. As the stray gray strands of hair were swept up in a dustpan and thrown away Connor ran his right hand over his chin and felt the very fine, almost undetectable dark stubble that gave his complexion a more natural aesthetic without every actually growing any hair.

The question of whether or not he could grow facial hair was suddenly enticing but the deviant quickly dismissed it as a needless feature to his overall appearance.

"I suspect growing facial hair would make me look too human."

The deviant told himself as he put away the cleaned off grooming kit and then froze for only a moment as his hand returned to his chin curiously. Noting that Hank had a 'new look' by a simple haircut,and how Connor himself could alter his hair color at will, made him think that maybe in time he too would want to try a new look.

"...Maybe in a few years I'll give it a try."

-next chapter-