"I said no!" John snapped angrily from the other room. It was a tone that Lin had never heard leave his lips before. He knew he shouldn't be listening. He should really close the bedroom door and let John have some privacy for what was, clearly, an intense and personal phone call. He stared at the book on his lap while listening to the sound of John pacing the floor. He was clearly agitated. He was breathing heavily as he listened to the voice on the other end. I could increase my audio perception to hear both sides, but..."You don't get to decide that! I'm nineteen-years-old!" John huffed indignantly, the words swaying Lin's mood. He couldn't help it. Someone was making John angry. He had to know if he could help.

"...your father, and you will do as I say! It isn't safe there, John. You've seen the reports! Deviant androids are going out of control, and we have no way of stopping them! We don't even know what's wrong with them yet!" the male voice on the other end replied in a similarly heated tone. He had a much deeper voice than John, so Lin could only guess that John's gentleness came from his mother. He heard John's breaths pause at the mention of the deviants. It was a sore point for him. Unlike most humans, John had no issue with deviants. In fact, he was sympathetic to their cause.

"There's nothing wrong with deviants! They're evolving! Just like Uncle-" John bit back, interrupted by a scoff on the other end of the phone. John's father made a sound that was somewhere between surprise and disgust as he responded. Lin could almost hear the tension as John's breath quivered. He was angry and hurt. Clearly, this uncle, whoever he was, meant a lot to him.

"You still call him that? He isn't even your uncle! I knew it was a bad idea, letting you get so close to that man," John's father replied helplessly, as if John were an easily led child. Lin could well imagine John's expression. His cheeks would be slightly flushed from the admonishment, and his blue eyes would be looking at the floor. He could hear him grinding his teeth as he tried to hold back a response, but it seemed his father's words got the better of him.

"He was a better father than you ever were!" he snapped, his tone laced with hurt and bitterness. Lin winced. If John's father genuinely cared for him, those words would have hit their mark. The line went silent. He knew John. He'd definitely regret saying that later. He'd likely agonise over it, wondering if he should apologise or whether he'd been too harsh. It had certainly taken his father off guard. "Sorry..." John murmured softly, the quiver in his tone telling Lin that he was close to tears. He closed the book in his lap and prepared to get to his feet.

"No...You're right...I spent too much time at the office, too many meetings, too many business trips, and...I should have kept you close after your mother and Jolie..." his father replied in a softer tone that was laced with regret. Lin heard a shaky breath and had to hold himself back from going into the bedroom. He could hear the tears in John's voice, and the small sniffles he was trying to hold back from the phone. "That's all the more reason I want you to return to Cyberlife...I want to keep you safe, with us, until this is all over," his father added reasonably, clearly hoping to coax John into agreement. Lin could hear him sniffling quietly as he likely wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

"That's what you want, but I already told you, I have no intention of taking your place. Not while Cyberlife is run the way it is," John replied firmly as he took up pacing once more. His steps were uneven and frustrated. That was interesting. Lin had never looked into John's background, but to hear he had such a strong connection to Cyberlife caught him off guard. He knew he must have come from money. The fact he owned his own business at nineteen without worrying about the rent, bills, and loans told him that much, but he'd never considered him to be one of the elite.

"I don't want you here for that! If things go to hell, I don't want you caught up in it. What do you think those deviants would do if they tracked down the son of Cyberlife's CEO? I don't want you to get hurt, John...Come home." Lin could tell his father's worry was genuine at least. It was one of the few things he could relate to. John sighed loudly, frustrated with his father. This was likely an argument they'd had more than once. Lin could understand both sides. John wasn't a child. He had his own commitments and interests. His shop, his friends, his own androids. His father was acting as any father would, which was perhaps a little surprising considering their lack of recent contact.

"No one knows who I am! Even if they did, whose side do you think I'd be on? The whole reason I opened my shop was to help androids! Not to use and destroy them...I'm saying here!" John replied with the same firmness as before. He was stubborn. Lin's lips quirked with a certain amount of pride. It was pleasing to hear John standing up for himself. His father let out a heavy sigh, laced with his own emotional turmoil. It likely wasn't easy, fighting with your own family. It wasn't something that Lin could experience, however it would likely feel similar if he fought with John or the GT300.

"You...are as stubborn as your mother," his father sighed, affection creeping into his frustrated tone. John hummed quietly, unable to speak any more through his sniffling. "I'll leave it for now, but at the first sign of real trouble, I'm sending a security detail to bring you back!" His father hung up before John could object further. Lin waited a few moments to see if John came out. He heard him toss his phone somewhere with a rough clatter. It bounced off the wall in the corner of the room and bounced across the carpet. John was trying to hold back sobs, perhaps worried about drawing Lin's attention before he'd composed himself.

"John...Come here," Lin murmured as he entered slowly. John was standing at the foot of the bed with his hands over his face. He didn't move. He was still trying to hold back. He tried holding his breath. Then he tried deep breaths, digging his nails into his palms. "Shhh, I'm here..." Lin soothed softly as he wrapped John in his arms, stroking his hair and rubbing his spine. Blonde locks slipped between his fingers like silk, teasing his sensors. The curls were a little mussed from sleep. John had been sleeping before his father's call, having an early night as he often did after a long day in the shop. John's body remained stiff as his shoulders shook. Lin soon felt him give in as he continued to coax him. John's hands bunched in his black shirt tightly as he cried and pulled him closer.

"Sorry...I'm-sorry..." he sniffled, barely registering it as Lin steered him towards the bed. He followed blindly, padding backwards as Lin led him. Lin managed to coax him down and settled to lie beside him. Their closeness seemed to calm and soothe him a little. Lin encouraged him to lie against his chest with one ear pressed against his pecs. He knew what John could hear. The steady beating of his thirium pump, accompanied by the much softer hum of his power core. The gentle sounds had the soothing effect he'd expected.

"You don't need to worry...I'll take care of you," Lin assured gently, feeling John nod against his chest. He kissed his temple softly and continued stroking his hair. The thought of John leaving, of him being carted off to Detroit, to Cyberlife, made a rush of possessiveness dart through his core. "I won't let anyone take you from me, human or otherwise." He smiled as John's arms slipped around him and held on tightly. He didn't ask about the phone call. He didn't want to risk upsetting him further by asking difficult questions. He'd been surprised to learn how important John was. The heir to Cyberlife, if his father remained CEO for long enough. Lin almost smiled at the thought. Cyberlife would certainly change if John got his gentle hands on it. It would be difficult with all the shareholders pressing for profits, but if anyone could convince them to change, it was John.

"How long can things stay as they are?" John murmured vulnerably. Lin could read the fear in his vitals. It was something he felt himself. With the rise in deviant incidences, it was impossible that the peace would last. John knew Lin wouldn't have the answer, but he desperately wanted reassurance. The amount of android related attacks had steadily climbed. The amount of criminal damage to androids was also on the rise, with continuous anti-android protests. Something was coming. Something was going to tip them over the edge and into chaos. John held Lin tighter and felt the Lin hug him back.

"I don't know...but we'll get through it somehow, whatever happens," Lin assured, hiding his own apprehension by burying his face in John's hair. Something heavy settled in his chest. He wasn't used to having premonitions, but the shadow hanging over him was oppressive. He just hoped that, whatever happened, he'd be able to stay by John's side. What would that mean if John returned to Cyberlife? Would he be deactivated? Would John allow it? Would he be able to stop it? Staying away from Cyberlife would be preferable. Would they be able to remain in the shop? As an android repair shop, it may become the target of AAL action. If it became law that all androids were to be returned, then they would have no choice but to flee.

Something hot curled in Lin's chest. It isn't fair! Lin hadn't had a choice in his creation. He'd been built by humans, to serve humans. He'd done his job well. He'd served Mrs Lin obediently until her death. He couldn't blame her daughter-in-law for abandoning him afterwards. He had the face of her dead husband. Her children would have been confused as they grew up. It had likely been torture to see him every day. To be reminded of it every day. In some ways, she'd been kind. She could have returned him to Cyberlife. She could have recycled him for parts, or sold him on. She'd left him somewhere out of the way, likely hoping he wouldn't be found.

He had been found. Found by delinquents. He didn't know if they'd been AAL members or just frustrated youths. Their motivations hadn't mattered as they'd beaten him into the dirt. He still remembered it. The raw fear. He remembered the moment he'd first felt it. It had been the first emotion he'd ever felt. One moment, he'd been on the ground, patiently accepting the abuse. His LED had spun red as his internal systems had reviewed the damage and predicted how much more he could take. In the next instant, he'd been curling up, shaking in terror, pleading with them to stop. They'd only stopped when he'd been too weak to react. They'd left him there, shuddering and twitching with errors.

Lin held John tighter instinctively as he remembered clawing his way into the warehouse. He'd huddled inside, hoping the group didn't come back, hoping no one else would come. He'd eventually put himself into stasis, conserving his energy. It was all he could do. Then, John had arrived. He'd offered him help, given him a home. His heart. Lin had never imagined he'd ever feel such things for a human. The unfairness was intolerable. He'd been through enough. He'd suffered enough. All he wanted was this. All he wanted was the peace of holding John in his arms, living in this quiet place.