(Y/N)'s P.O.V.

November 6th, 2038
03:02 pm

I sat in the car, staring at my legs. Hank stopped the vehicle, causing me to look up. We arrived at some disrict in the heart of Detroit, according to our surroundings. Before leaving, the grey-haired man shot one glance at me, as I weakly nodded, showing him that I was alright. Without one word, he stepped out of the car and headed down the street, walking in the direction of a food truck called "Chicken Feed". Raising an eyebrow, I felt suspiscion rise within me upon seeing that shop. Oh well, I trusted that at least Hank stayed out of danger.

"Detective (L/N), if you do not mind, may I ask a question?" Connor, who sat in one of the front seats, turned around to look at me.

I felt my body growing weak and a warm sensation illuminating my heart at the same time, leaving me confused. Gulping, I merely nodded at him. My anger had dissipated by now but that didn't change the fact I was still shocked by what had happened.

"Why did you run after me onto the street? It appeared that the whole situation was rather uncomfortable for you, considering your altered heartbeat and breathing. Not to mention the fact that you cried. Why did you do such a thing?" He once more tilted his head in that innocent manner, making me sigh.

"I already told you, androids are more than simple machines to me Connor. I care about you and honestly, I am not too keen on seeing you get run over by a car, believe it or not." My voice sounded sarcastic, as I hoped he undestood what I meant.

"I like this team, Connor. You are part of it as much as Hank and I. That's why I think we should get you on the lieutenant's good side too." The detective android stared at me, processing what I had said, which was indicated by his yellow flickering LED.

"Let's go talk to Hank, all right?" I asked, facing Connor with a weak smile.

He nodded, whereas we both left the car. The grey-haired man was currently talking to another person, probably the owner of the food truck. I carefully crossed the street, goosebumps appearing on my skin during that moment. Connor calmly walked beside me, making me kind of admire his ability to not be shocked after what had happened earlier.

The lieutenant now faced another man, addressing him as Pedro. "Hey, hey, hey... Hank! How you doin', man? Hey, listen, I got a shit-hot tip for you. Number five in the third, Lickety-split! That filly's one hell of a chaser. You wanna flutter?"

They shortly hugged each other, when Hank answered, "Last shit-hot tip you gave me set me back a week's wages, Pedro..."

We approached the two men, still listening to their conversation. "Come on, this is different, it's 100% guaranteed. You can't go wrong." Pedro tried to convince Hank of his deal, sounding extremely suspicious in my opinion. Furrowing my brow, I wondered why Hank was even participating in such activities in the first place.

"Yeah, right..." Hank muttered, slightly turning away from the other man. However, after another second, he took out some money and handed it over.

"All right, I'm in."

Pedro seemed satisfied, already leaving. "Damn straight! Hey! You won't regret this!"

I exhaled, still confused why Hank took part in such gambling shenanigans. Now noticing Connor's and my presence, the lieutenant turned around, as the android stood right next to him. I watched both my partners from behind them.

"What is your problem? Don't you ever do as you're told? Look, you don't have to follow me around like a poodle!" It partly seemed to me, Hank was helpless in this situation. He stopped staring at Connor in disbelief to call me over.

"(Y/N) you make him understand that. You can at least stand him in some way!" I weakly grinned, shrugging my shoulders.

"I'm sorry but it seems Connor has made up his mind to talk to you. I can't help." Smiling innocently, I saw the lieutenant grimacing, disappointed at my refusal. He faced the food truck again, as silence descended once more.

"I'm sorry for my behavior back at the police station. I didn't mean to be unpleasant." Connor's genuine voice froze me for a second, leaving me bewildered. His honest apology was awfully adorable.

Hank however, appeared unimpressed. "Oh, wow... You've even got a brown-nosing apology program! Guys at CyberLife thought of everything, huh?"

I silently sighed to myself at the failed conversation. Hank surely did not like androids. The owner of "Chicken Feed" moved and handed Hank his lunch.

"Here you go."

Fully ignoring Connor and me, Hank accepted his order. "Ah! Thanks, Gary. I'm starving..."

He turned on his feet and headed for a table a few feet away from us.

"Don't leave that thing here!" The owner of the food truck yelled after Hank, pointing towards the android.

Hank gave his friend a look, merely declaring, "Huh, not a chance! Follows me everywhere..."

Connor seemed to shortly hesitate, staring at the man in the car, then back to me. I waved my hand towards Hank, showing my partner that he shouldn't give up. Nodding, the android traced the grey-haired man's steps, as I quietly inspected "Chicken Feed" once more. The food here surely was not healthy at all. Well, I guess everyone needed some fast food from time to time.

Respiring, I also walked over to the table Hank was standing at, not sure what else there was to do. I arrived just in time to Connor starting a conversation another time.

"Your meal contains 1.4 times the recommended daily intake of calories and twice the cholesterol level. You shouldn't eat that."

Now standing next to the android, I carefully glanced over at Hank, trying to read his expression. Was it really a good thing to critize his choice of food? Unaffected by his words however, Hank gestured his hands towards Connor.

"Everybody's gotta die of something..."

Then, he faced me, asking, "Shouldn't you eat something too? Never saw that happenin' before."

Nervously, I smiled at him. "It's fine, I had a good breakfast, so I'm not that hungry."

Connor chimed in, his soft brown eyes meeting my (E/C) colored ones. "You should not starve yourself, detective (L/N). Eating three meals a day is very important for humans."

His worry, if it was correct to call it that, caused my heart to skip a beat. Connor truly was too much for me to deal with alone.

"Sure, I'll keep that in mind..." I mumbled, averting my gaze.

Not wasting one second, the android once more focused on Hank, who kept eating his lunch. "I don't want to alarm you, Lieutenant, but I think your friends are engaged in illegal activities..."

The lieutenant solely shrugged his shoulders, indifferent to that fact. "Well, everybody does what they have to, to get by... As long as they're not hurting anybody, I don't bother 'em."

I bit my lip, rethinking that statement. Technically, those people were acting against the law so they should be served justice, right? Frustrated at those ambiguous feelings welling up again, I held my head, leaning down on the table with my ellbows. My partners simply looked at me, yet did not question my behavior any further, which I was thankful for.

When I stood up straightly again, I caught a glimpse of Connor rethinking Hank's answer too, peering at our partner with actual interest in his eyes. His curiosity seemed to light up his usually neutral eyes and I had to admit that look suited Connor perfectly. He appeared much more human at that moment. Taken aback by that expression, I missed the next question Connor posed but caught Hank's answer.

"I have my reasons."

Confused as to what the android had asked, I silently stared from one man to the other, trying to catch any sign of what the topic was. However, the only thing I noticed was Hank's solemn face and Connor slightly shifting.

"Is there anything you'd like to know about me?"

The androids next inquiry caught me off guard. Nevertheless, it was nice to see Connor offer such a thing. Smiling to myself, I looked over at the grey-haired man, who appeared to be visibly abhorred hearing that.

" Hell, no..."

One second later though, he raised his hand. "Well, yeah, um... Why did they make you look so goofy and give you that weird voice?"

He motioned towards Connor, squinting his eyes. Staying to a matter-of-factly way of speaking, he answered, "CyberLife androids are designed to work harmoniously with humans. Both my appearance and voice were specifically designed to facilitate my integration."

Hank nodded as if understanding what the android had just explained, albeit shaking his head immediately. "Well, they fucked up."

Glancing at me, Connor continued, "I do think it was fairly successful. Detective (L/N) appears to have quickly gotten used to me."

I widened my eyes at him addressing me, opening my mouth to chime in, yet did not know what to say, hence I closed it again.

"She doesn't count, she's got a thing for androids anyway." Hank waved Connor's statement off.

Embarrassed by the way the lieutenant had expressed that idea, I protested. "Excuse me, I do not! I simply view them as equals." Feeling a slight blush dust my cheeks, I turned away, my gaze landing on the street next to us.

"Sure thing..." Hank sarcastically whispered.

To my luck, Connor decided to change the topic. "Maybe I should tell you what we know about deviants?"

I was glad he stuck to the plan of making up with Hank, whereas I slowly forgot about my light outburst a moment ago.

Faking interest, Hank replied, "You read my mind... Proceed."

"We believe that a mutation occurs in the software of some androids, which can lead to them emulating a human emotion." Connor argued.

Hank closed his eyes, moving one hand down through mid-air. "In English, please."

Paraphrasing his explanation, Connor repeated what he had said before. "They don't really feel emotions, they just get overwhelmed by irrational instructions, which can lead to unpredictable behavior."

I skeptically directed a glance towards him, disagreeing on that matter. While I did not know what the inside of an android looked like, I was sure that they did feel certain things. My mind always went back to Carlos Ortiz' android, who had been visibly scared for his life. That definitely was no emulation like Connor thought.

"Emotions always screw everything up... Maybe androids aren't as different from us as we thought." Hank uttered underneath his breath.

I completely agreed with that comment. While they sometimes are nice, they mainly seem to cause us suffering. Even the andoids had learned that.

"You ever dealt with deviants before?" Seeing how Hank asked Connor a question this time, my head perked up.

"A few months back... A deviant was threatening to jump off the roof with a little girl... I managed to save her..."

A weight fell off my chest, as Connor added that he had rescued the child. Unconsciously, a smile covered my face. "What 'bout you (Y/N)?" Hank turned to address me, as I shortly stared at the street once more. How much information could I offer?

"No, these cases were my first. However, I pretty much spend a large period of my life with androids, so I know quite a bit about them. That's also why I see them as equals." Trying not to give away too many details, I shrugged my shoulders.

Hank nodded, not as much disbelief in his eyes as there had been at the beginning of our teamwork. For a minute, the grey-haired man's gaze did not leave me, causing me to tilt my head.

"What's wrong?" I asked, earning a "Nothing..." from the lieutenant. Baffled, I let out a sigh.

"So, I guess you've done all your homework, right? Know everything there is to know about me?" Hank now addressed Connor again.

"I know you graduated top of your class. You made a name for yourself in several cases, and became the youngest lieutenant in Detroit. I also know you've received several disciplinary warnings in recent years and you spend a lot of time in bars."

Blinking, I was suprised how much Connor actually knew. Well, I shouldn't have been that bewildered, his knowledge was impressive anyhow.

Hank pressed his lips together. "So, what's your conclusion?"

Connor slightly leaned back, answering, "I think working with an officer with personal issues is an added challenge, but adapting to human unpredictability is one of my features."

At the end of that sentence, he winked at Hank and even though it was not directed at me, I felt heat rushing through my body. Flushed, I held my cheek in an attempt to calm myself down.

"Suprisingly though, I do not know anything about you detective (L/N)."

Seeing Connor turn towards me, while I was still feeling bashful, I nervously chuckled, looking anywhere but at him. "There's nothing interesting about me. I'm just a regular citizen, that's all."

My words were not convincing at all, hence I wanted to slap myself. If I messed up my mission now, CyberLife would surely bring me back again. Somehow, couldn't shake off that warm sensation inside my chest though.

"Well, that does not mean I do not have the opportunity to get to know you better."

I knew Connor had said that to benefit his own duty, yet I felt even more shy afterwards. Something strange was happening to me.

I witnessed Hank lightly grinning in amusement out of the corner of my eye, realizing he had seen my embarrassing act. Frowning, I took a deep breath and tried to focus on reality. Connor's LED flickered yellow for a second, then he turned to Hank and I.

"I just got a report of a suspected deviant. It's a few blocks away. We should go have a look."

I nodded, enthusiam taking over now. Nothing beat my determination to solve more cases.

Connor pointed towards Hank and said, "I'll let you finish your meal. I'll be in the car, if you need me." Shooting one glance at me, he turned on his heels and walked away.

"I knew you liked him," Hank claimed, a provoking tone in his voice. Exhaling, I rolled my eyes.

"I told you before, I treasure you both as partners, Hank."

The lieutenant cocked his head to the side and continued eating. Connor was my partner, maybe my friend. Yet that would be where the line was drawn. I didn't plan to let affection break me once again.