Being in a police department filled with multiple androids and a few jaded humans meant that the days spent there aren't really... lively. Especially in the mornings, when the humans were relying on the first few hours to get them through the rest of the day.

Hank was never really enthusiastic to begin with, being a machine and all, but he seemed to have more energy than his very human partner. That meant he was always the first one to greet him when he eventually showed up.

"Good morning, Connor."

And his partner was always the first to be snappy.

"Go to hell."

Hank narrowed his eyes. At first, Connor thought that he had taken it too far, but his worry disappeared when Hank pointed at the bright pink box in his hand.

"How many donuts are in there?"

"Eight?" He set it down before sitting in his slightly uncomfortable desk chair.

"How much have you eaten?"

"I'm on my fifth."

The box was taken.

"Hey! That's my breakfast!"

"You've had enough for right now. Try to get some work done."

Connor scoffed. "I swear to God if any of them get eaten-"

"The majority of people surrounding you are androids that can't eat. If a human came by, it would most likely be Amanda or some traumatized victim, and if they asked I'm sure you would give them one."

"It's Captain Stern, you fucking idiot." Was all he responded with.

"You call her Amanda."

"Yeah, that's because I grew up with her. You, however, have not. So just..."

"Understood."

"Connor!"

As previously mentioned maybe a bit too many times, the police stations were always supposed to be quiet in the morning. That's why, when someone came in and started yelling, it was inevitable for some of the other humans to glare at him. Connor himself sighed, back turned towards the man, planning on figuring out who it was before facing him- sort of a mental prep. It didn't sound like Amanda, and something told him that it wasn't any of his co-workers, either. Androids and co-workers both addressed him with the same painfully monotone voice.

Hell, the only person he could think of that sound professional this early in the morning was-

Hank sensed his uneasy feeling when it became evident on his face. They both turned towards the entrance, watching as another tall brunet sauntered in confidently, as if he also worked there.

"Nines?"

When the stranger- now known as Nines- got close enough, he pulled Connor into a hug. An obviously reluctant hug. Hank winced upon the realization.

"I haven't seen you in so long." His voice was monotone, but it was obvious that he was attempting something more... cheerful.

"Who let you in?" Connor coughed, trying to force air back into his lungs.

"Oh, the lady at the front desk..." He mused,

"What, why- why are you even here? I thought you were busy."

"To celebrate your birthday?"

"Who's this?"

The hug finally broke. When he looked over at Hank, his brow raised, but he looked more annoyed than curious.

"This is my brother, Nines. Nines, this is Hank."

"An android?" He asked, though his tone lacked the venom he was used to. "Is he your partner or something?"

"He's also apparently my babysitter." Connor scowled over at the stolen box of donuts sitting at a taunting angle.

"Mind if I grab one?" Nines asked. When Hank pushed the box over to him, he grabbed the only one left with glaze.

"Why does he get one?" He snapped.

"He hasn't had any."

"Don't worry, Connor. I'll only have one"

Connor muttered something foul under his breath.

"I'm going to quickly say hi to Amanda. I'll talk to you later, Connor."

Shortly after Nines disappeared from their sights, Connor's head landed on his desk.

"You shouldn't do that, lieutenant. It can cause brain damage."

"Good."

"You didn't tell me you had a brother." When all he got from that was a grunt, he continued, "You don't seem to like him very much."

"I don't."

"Can I ask why?"

Connor finally got his head off the desk, and leaned back against his chair. He looked like he was about to talk about everything in too much detail, just like a teenager would at a sleepover, but decided against it at the last minute.

"I don't know. Can you?" Connor's glare returned when Hank opened his mouth, "Don't. Answer that."

Half an hour passed before Connor started talking again. In the midst of doing his own work, he looked up and spotted Connor glaring at Nines.

"Lieutenant?"

"Let's go- I'm fucking starving, and I don't trust you enough to leave you here by yourself."

"You just ate."

"Then it'll be my lunch. Jesus Christ, one day I'm not eating enough, and the next you think I'm eating too much. Make up your mind."

___________

Hank decided that he wouldn't talk until Connor actually calmed down. He stayed uncharacteristically silent when Connor ordered fast food through a drive-through. When Connor was stuffing his face with fries, he struck.

"So. What's your family like?"

The scowl he was sent didn't phase him. He could tell that he had calmed down a great deal.

"What's it to you?"

"I was thinking of passing the time with... small talk. Because you've been alive for over 30 years, and I've only been active for 3 months, I was thinking that you had some interesting stories tell."

"And because you found out that I had a brother?"

"Possibly."

"Well, you assumed wrong. There's nothing interesting about me."

"Nothing?" Hank repeated, catching the lie in an instant.

"Nothing." He confirmed.

There was a brief pause.

"How old is your cat?"

"Sumo? He's... 8 now? 10?"

"You don't know your own pet's age." He reminded dryly.

"No, I don't. He's been..." he paused, looked over at Hank before restarting his sentence, "He's been getting sick around this time of year. Very sick. He barely made it last year, and I'm not expecting him to make it through this year."

"So you just..."

"I stopped counting after I realized."

Hank nodded.

"Where'd you get him?"

"Someone gave him to me as a birthday gift."

"Who?"

"Someone."

"Can you be more specific?"

"You're asking a lot of questions, Hank."

"Was it your brother?"

"No." The response was enough for Hank to get the message. He wasn't lying, but he obviously didn't want to talk about it.

By the time they made it back to the station, his brother was gone.

__________

"You seem troubled, lieutenant."

He was troubled. Connor was leaning his head against his hand, blinking slowly. It was obvious that he was trying to keep his eyes open.

"I'm exhausted."

"I noticed you had dark circles under your eyes. Did you not get enough sleep last night?"

"I always have dark circles under my eyes." He muttered.

"That's why I didn't say anything."

Connor rubbed his eyes.

"I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up in 30 minutes."

"It's late. You should be heading home."

"No thank you."

"I can drive if you need me to."

Connor mumbled out a sentence that he couldn't hear.

Hank walked over to his seat and leaned over, one hand shaking Connor's shoulder to wake him up, the other on the desk to keep himself balanced.

"It'll be best for us and the investigation if you go home and sleep early tonight."

"Back. Off."

He didn't.

"I'm not going to wait until you feel like leaving."

Connor finally lifted his head up. He grabbed Hank's jacket and pushed him against the wall. Though he was obviously sluggish, if Hank were human, he wouldn't have been able to get out of this.

"Listen. I don't need some dick telling me what to do or what's best for the investigation. I leave when I leave, do I make myself clear?"

Hank was unfazed by it.

"Glad to see you awake, lieutenant. Maybe this time you can come with me without arguing."

He let go, scooping up his keys. He didn't bother putting on his coat, simply slinging it over his shoulder before walking out the door.

Hank followed.

_________

Nines talking to his roommate was definitely not something Connor expected to see the moment he got home.

Connor opened his door and slammed it to announce his presence. Hank waited a few minutes before leaving, watching as Connor started arguing with his brother, waiting until he saw that it would escalate without him intervening.

Nines noticed the android, lifting an eyebrow. "Your android follows you home?"

"Not usually."

"Today was an exception?"

"What do you want?"

"We're celebrating your birthday." He said, so confidently that Connor winced in disgust.

"Gross."

"Come on, con-man." He slung an arm around his brother, "Don't you want to spend time with your family?"

"I'm not sure if that's rhetorical or not."

"It is. We're going to a nice restaurant tonight to celebrate your birthday."

"I don't want to."

"It wasn't a suggestion."

"Right. God forbid me doing what I want on my birthday."

"If you were going to choose, you would be dead by the end of it. We're choosing the better, safer option."

Connor glared at him.

"Can we go to a bar?"

"After the dinner."

"Daniel's coming, then"

"What?" Both Daniel and Nines said at the same time.

"I need emotional support. Hank, you're coming too. We need a designated driver."

"I'll stay sober, Connor."

"Yeah. Right."

________

The dinner wasn't great.

"Pick whatever you want." Nines offered with a smile.

"Hank told me that I should watch what I eat."

"You can eat what you want, but only for today. Because it is for your birthday."

"In that case, does this restaurant serve cyanide?"

"Connor."

Hank watched them both glare at each other, as if they were both wondering which one would back down first.

"Niles." He said in the same tone, and the other seemed shocked at another name being used.

"I don't know this restaurant." Daniel interrupted, as if they weren't talking, "I'll get chicken tenders and fries."

Connor rolled his eyes, and looked through the menu himself.

"I agree with Daniel."

"Connor-"

"I'll get ice cream or some shit for dessert."

The rest of the dinner was quiet. Hank could tell that Nines was trying to connect with Connor or possibly his roommate, but luck wasn't on his side tonight.

Once it was over, surprisingly fast and very unmemorable, Connor finally looked like he wasn't going to explode.

"Let's go drink, shall we?"

__________

"You look lonely."

Connor turned his head, finding himself staring up at a very pretty blonde that decided to approach him at the bar. Though he wasn't entirely sure why someone like her would want anything to do with someone like him, he decided to throw himself a bone and respond like a decent person would.

"Very observant." He muttered.

She must've noticed him staring.

"Just like you, apparently." She quipped with a wink, making Connor look away before she got the chance to sit. "I'm Chloe."

Connor looked over at her outstretched hand, soft and practically glowing in the lighting provided. He was never usually a fan of painted nails, seeing as some didn't do it correctly, but upon further inspection, he spotted some intricate and interesting designs painted on her thumb's nail.

He took it lightly.

"I'm surprised your talking to me."

She laughed, and Connor swore to God that he felt his heart jump to his throat.

"I'd appreciate a name."

"Connor. My name is Connor."

__________

"Who is he talking to?"

Hank scanned the lady Connor was talking to. It didn't take long to identify her, seeing that she was very famous.

"Her name is Chloe Kamski." He informed.

"Isn't she the one that made all the androids?

"Yes."

"Does he know that?"

"Most likely- no."

Smiling.

Connor was smiling.

"What are they talking about? Hank, can you read lips?"

"I don't think it would be wise to eavesdrop."

"Come on..." he coaxed, "I just want to know what they're saying."

"...fine."

He paid close attention.

"So. Do you own any androids?" Chloe asked.

"Technically. He's an HK800- works as my partner at the police station."

"Are you fond of him?"

"I don't hate him. I like to keep my opinion neutral until I know the other person's thoughts."

"For their sake?" She chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess. I just don't want to start a fight right now."

"Well, I need to know whether or not you'd be willing to grant me a... personal favor." She rubbed his arm, and yet he seemed unaffected by her touch.

"Can you be more specific?"

She smiled, sliding a few bills towards the bartender.

"Why don't we take a cab up to my place and discuss the details there. Unless you're busy?"

"I'd be happy to. Unless you live in a crackhouse."

"I don't think you'll be disappointed."

She pulled her coat on.

Connor looked around until he spotted their booth, and waved at them before leaving.

"He's going home with her," Hank informed.

Daniel just tsked.

"Lucky bastard."

________

Chloe's house was much nicer than Connor's. Stepping inside to a dazzling greeting room with a very alien interior made him realize that she was not only rich, but had nice taste.

"Let's go to the bar."

Of course there was a bar.

"We were just at one." He pointed out sheepishly.

Connor sat down on a stool outside of Chloe's lovely indoor bar, leaning against the counter, just as he did at the bar they were just at.

Chloe sighed, soft and sweet, "Unfortunately, there are not as many people here."

Drinks were served. Androids buzzed around in a hurry, and Connor barely noticed that they all looked exactly he same.  

"I see what you mean." He mused, taking a sip of whatever was placed in front of him. He winced at how strong it was, but he managed to swallow it. "So... you needed to talk to me?"

She nodded, walking around with a drink in her hand. Connor focused on the clicks her heels made against the ground until she found the right words and started talking.

"I'm sure you're familiar with the deviant case."

"I am."

Chloe definitely made the scene a lot more dramatic. She moved the shot glass in her hand, swirling it around before taking a sip, all while staring out of the same window. She took her sweet time talking, and Connor couldn't help but admire her thinking of what to say before saying it.

"I don't know what's going on." She admitted.

"Nobody really knows. It's... a very new problem."

"Yes, but I'm sure that people are expecting me to have all of the answers- since I created them in the first place."

"You..?"

She broke her facade, staring at him with an amused expression.

"You didn't know who I was?"

"No..."

She laughed lightly, facing the window again.

"I'm the reason androids are around in the first place. Though I'm not connected with Cyberlife anymore, I... can't help but feel that people will find me responsible for them going deviant and attacking."

"And how do I play a role in all of this?" He asked stupidly, double checking to see that he was on the same page.

"I can't get close enough to the deviants to know what went wrong. You, on the other hand..."

Connor nodded.

"I understand."

"I just want to know what's going on. I'm not necessarily trying to put a stop to it."

"So you're... encouraging the deviant behavior?" He asked quietly.

"Not exactly." She explained carefully. "I haven't made up my mind on whether or not it's a bad thing that the androids are gaining free will."

"The only ones I know of that have deviated so far have abused or killed their owners."

"Yes, but what if it's something else that's turning them, Connor? What if they can deviate peacefully?"

"You can't be sure of that."

"That's why I need your help. I need to know what's going on, and you're... not the only one who can help me, but you were the closest."

His eyes narrowed.

"You knew who I was when you walked up to me."

"I thought it'd be mutual."

There was a long, silent pause.

"If they succeed, everything is going to change..."

"Since when was change always a bad thing?" Connor looked up to meet her gaze, bright and determined.

"All right, Kamski. Let's say they are capable of deviating peacefully- what then?"

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it. Unless you somehow manage to figure it fast enough."

"Challenge accepted."