Gavin hummed softly, brow furrowing as he turned his head to chase the gentle fingers that were running through his hair. He blinked his hazy eyes, still numb and disoriented. He didn't know where he was, but he knew Nines was there and that was all that mattered. His long fingers were still carding through his thick locks, teasing his scalp and gently coaxing him into a more wakeful state. Nines didn't want to jar him too much, not so soon after yet another psychological blow. Gavin turned further into his chest, nuzzling his firm pecs.

"Are you awake now?" Nines asked softly, willing to wait for his sleepy reply. It may take time for him to process the question and work up to a verbal response through the fatigue. Gavin nodded with a small hum, still getting used to the new setting. He wasn't on a cold, hard floor anymore, and the air wasn't cold. He'd been propped up on Nines' lap, legs stretched out along a cushioned surface. It was familiar. The room was bright. Light was shining through a wall of glass. The...bar? He turned his head, which felt a lot heavier than usual. They were in the penthouse bar. On the curved sofa. Nines had put some towels down to protect the plush surface. Gavin took in a sharp breath, his whole body stiffening. It was on his hands! He could feel it! His sleeves were still soaked with it! "Gavin...Gavin, calm down...Shh, it's alright. You're awake now, so we'll take a shower and clean it off...alright?" Nines remained calm as he took Gavin's trembling oily hands in his own. He held his jittering gaze with steady blue eyes.

"Th-thanks," Gavin almost whispered, closing his fingers to grip Nines' hands tightly. He had no idea how hard he was holding or whether his grip was weaker than usual. However tight it felt, it clearly didn't bother Nines. Nines squeezed back with a gentle look before prying himself loose. He gathered him securely against his chest and stood, carrying him bridal style towards the stairs. He'd taken off his jacket and shoes at some point. Chloe's going to have to clean it again...Gavin shivered as he thought about the blue coating the worn leather. It may have gone invisible, but it was still there. Oily. Cloying. Slick.

"Stay with me," Nines prompted as he noticed him spiralling. Gavin nodded mutely as Nines entered his bedroom and walked straight through to the bathroom. That was good. It was Nines' space. It was somewhere he knew he'd feel safe and secure. Nines' unique thirium scent mixed with bathing products had seeped into the air. "Strip," Nines ordered as he placed him on his feet. He waited a moment to be sure Gavin could support himself before crossing to the large shower to get the water ready. He praised him in gentle tones as he pulled off his stained top, wiping his hands as he did so. Stripping the rest was easier.

Nines quickly tossed the dirty clothing in his hamper to be dealt with later, removing his own clothes as he did so. He smiled softly as he held a hand out to Gavin, waiting until he was ready to move. Gavin slipped his hand in Nines' and allowed him to pull him closer. Nines wrapped his arms around him gently, stroking his spine and teasing his neck as their bodies touched. Gavin let out an almost relieved hum as he returned the embrace, needy arms slipping around Nines' slim waist. Nines obliged him as he raised his face for a kiss, pressing their lips together tenderly and cupping his cheek.

"Come," he urged softly as he drew back enough to encourage Gavin to walk with him. Gavin sighed and shuddered as hot water rolled over his body, leaning heavily against Nines' chest beneath the cascading spray. Nines seemed happy to humour him for now, wrapping him in a loose embrace and tracing patterns on his spine. Despite his dazed state, Gavin felt a lot clearer than he had in the past when dealing with trauma. Nines offered tender praise as he drew back and grabbed the shower gel. He had two bottles. One was Gavin's standard soap and the one he'd picked up was Elijah's special degreaser.

Gavin helped, feeling alert enough to largely wash his own body this time. Nines washed himself, keeping a close eye on Gavin to make sure all the thirium was removed. He was gentle as he took his hands and stroked between his fingers, scraped along his nails, and kissed his fingertips. The heat of the water was helping. Gavin stopped shivering after a while, though he didn't move out of Nines' personal space for an instant. Nines accepted his presence silently, stoking and kissing him at varying intervals.

Once Gavin was clean of thirium, Nines crossed to the bathtub and started to fill it. Gavin gave no objections, simply watching from the warmth of the shower as Nines let the tub fill and added bubble bath to the water. It was a huge tub, big enough for them to sit together, so it took a while to fill. During that time, Nines returned to the shower and wrapped Gavin in his arms. They hadn't talked about what happened, but Nines felt just as vulnerable as Gavin. Gavin had been hit with a fresh bout of trauma, but Nines had to confront the fact that Gavin had once again rushed into danger without him. He hadn't even tried to reach him.

They would talk about it. He was going to make sure of that, but for the moment, all he wanted to do was press Gavin back into the tiles and savour the sensation of their lips caressing in lazy kisses. Gavin's arms looped around his neck as he eased him back against the tiles. His head tilted up as Nines leaned down, green eyes closing as he responded to each demanding kiss. Nines hummed as a hand fisted in his hair, slipping his own hands over Gavin's hips to squeeze his rounded rump. He could feel Gavin's erection prodding him as he pulled him closer, reaching down to grip it loosely.

"Nines!" Gavin gasped as Nines jerked the length between them slowly, silvery eyes gazing down with blazing heat. Gavin pulled him closer, sealing their lips as he rocked his hips into the firm grasp. Nines left his lips to trail his way down his neck, littering the skin with nips and kisses as he continued to pump his shaft. He huffed in amusement as Gavin hooked a leg over his hip, gripping needily as he bucked against the tiles. Gavin continued panting and cursing as he leaned against Nines' chest. Nines stroked along his raised thigh to grasp the rounded flesh. Gavin came with a shuddering whine, hazily allowing Nines to help rinse him off before they finally crossed to the now filled bathtub.

Nines climbed in first, settling back against the curved edge away from the golden taps. He held Gavin's arm steady as he climbed over the edge and eased himself down to rest between his long legs. Gavin settle back against his firm chest, sighing and closing his eyes as gentle arms wrapped around his waist to keep him safe. Nines stroked his sides, fingers caressing his abs before settling down on his stomach. Silence fell between them. It was peaceful at first, but they couldn't ignore it forever. Nines knew it wouldn't be Gavin who broke the silence. Talking had always been a challenge for him.

"Why did you go there by yourself?" His voice remained a soft murmur against his ear. He felt Gavin stiffen, afraid he was being told off. Nines nuzzled his shoulder, bumping their heads softly in comfort. He was angry when he first found out. This was the second time Gavin had left the precinct without informing anyone of his whereabouts. The second time he'd disappeared. The second time he'd gotten himself in trouble. Luckily, Tina had found him a few moments after she picked up the phone. Nines tightened his hold subconsciously as he remembered reading through those messages, with Tina hovering beside him anxiously. Connor had looked over his shoulder in horror as he saw what seemed to be his own face staring back at them.

"H-he told me to...I thought he'd hurt Con-I, he'd-hurt-Colin...Phck, I really thought it was Connor! It never even crossed my mind that he'd-" He cut off as Nines hushed him, watching as he idly fingered the floating bubbles. The layer of foam was thick and covered his chest like a blanket as he leaned further back. Nines stroked his damp hair and teased his neck reassuringly, watching his stress levels jump.

"He wanted you to believe that he had Connor. I'm uncertain whether he did it on purpose or because he couldn't take the real Connor...He likely needed you to believe he had Connor because your attachment to him is greater than your attachment to Colin." That made sense. He'd gone through a lot of shit with Connor. They'd gone from hatred to a firm friendship within a few months. Connor had forced his way through his defences and planted himself in his friend group like he'd always been there. Losing him like that would have been tough after all that progress. "Tell me what happened from the start." Gavin gave a timid nod as he began.

"After you left, I finished up the interrogation with Miller and Pearson...He confessed, by the way...Idiot was almost bragging by the time we finished. After that, I checked to see if you'd messaged. You said you knew something had happened to Connor, and Niles was with some other human family, that he was upset. It sounded like you were heading there to see what happened, so when I saw the other messages, I didn't have any reason to doubt it was Connor." Gavin wasn't sure whether he was trying to ease his own guilt by making excuses or if he was simply relaying what happened. It certainly felt like he was making excuses. Excuses for what? What the phck do I have to feel bad about? I did what I thought was right! "His message told me to meet him at the clock tower alone. I didn't want him to hurt Connor, so I did as he said, but I didn't want to just...leave. I-I wanted to leave a trail for someone to follow." Nines was attentive as ever, silvery eyes level and calm as he listened.

"So you left your phone in a place where Tina was likely to find it." Nines raised an eyebrow as Gavin nodded. "Why not tell her directly? Or write a message?" Gavin sighed and bit his lip. He couldn't help but feel that maybe his earlier fears were dumb, that he'd been paranoid in thinking the DPD had been hacked. Can't blame me though, not when Nines can do that shit so easily.

"I thought he was watching...somehow...It felt like he was right phcking there! Like he could read my mind, and the minute I thought of telling someone else, he threatened to hurt Connor...I couldn't risk that shit! On my way out, I tried to make it look casual, like I was putting my phone away and dropped it. I figured he wouldn't punish me for that if he noticed, if he was watching...Guess Tina got the massage," Gavin huffed gratefully as he sat up and hunched over a little. Nines moved to follow, leaning his chin on Gavin's glistening shoulder. He nodded. Upon their hurried return, having left Niles and Sumo in Hank's capable hands, Connor and Nines had searched for Gavin. Nines had known something was wrong the minute he'd gone through to voicemail. He knew Gavin would have finished the interview by then. They'd barely begun their search when Tina called them over and showed him the phone. Gavin's phone. She'd found it by her desk. Gavin wouldn't just drop it like that. He lived on his phone, and it was too much of a coincidence for it to be right beside her desk. Connor had balked upon seeing his own face and immediately tried to contact Colin, whose signal had been blocked. The call wouldn't even connect. It had just bounced back.

"She did. It was her belief that finding your phone by her desk wasn't an accident. She showed it to me, and I put the rest together. A simple failed call to Colin confirmed that he was the victim being held." Nines was quietly grateful for both Gavin's foresight and Tina's instincts. It said something about their friendship that Tina had understood the silent message so quickly. He was also grateful that they'd returned to the precinct when they had. Tina would likely have gone there herself had they not shown up. Gavin nodded his understanding. It made sense that Connor would put two and two together. He and Colin were the only active RK800 models, as far as they knew. They hadn't been produced in large numbers, and most of them were still sitting in pieces at Cyberlife Tower.

"When I got to the tower, he was holding Con-Colin...He had him on the edge of the bell tower. He said he'd let him go if I could tell him his serial number...It wasn't fair! I don't know even Connor's serial number! Why the phck would I? I have no idea how many times he got replaced during the revolution! I remember hearing about it one time when Hank got back from Stratford Tower, and that's it! I was pretty sure he'd started at fifty-one, but..." Gavin griped bitterly, and Nines agreed that it had been an incredibly unfair game the Hickory Killer had played. He'd clearly misled Gavin by making him believe that he'd captured Connor. Even if he'd memorised Connor's serial number, and there's no reason he would, he would have been wrong anyway.

"You are correct. The challenge was deliberately set up to ensure your failure. There is no reason you would have Connor's serial number memorised, and in dressing Colin to look like Connor, he clearly intended for you to mistake his identity." It should have made him feel better, but it just didn't. Surely there had been clues. Surely there had been some way of knowing that it wasn't Connor. They looked the same, sure, but Colin was different. Maybe if I'd just looked harder I would have noticed...Colin was phcking terrified! Connor wouldn't have acted like that! He would have fought back! He was sure of it. Being held by a psychopathic killer was scary, sure, but he still thought Connor would deal with it differently. He had a stronger personality. He wasn't so soft and easily led.

"I got it wrong...He p-he-p...He pushed Colin off the edge and left his power core at the top. I didn't even know how much time he had, I just phcking ran. I tried! I really phcking tried! I got the core, and the fucker was still there! He was up on the roof! Left a way up and everything. He was phcking playing with me! He said I could either chase him or try to save my friend...I couldn't leave Colin like that, so I ran back down and...I was too phcking late! His LED was still red when I got there! It should have worked! I tried to make it work! I must have been just phcking seconds too late!" Gavin cursed as he remembered the fading light of the core as he'd slotted it into Colin's leaking cavity. He also remembered the sickening slick on his hands, fingers slipping and sliding on the curved edges as he'd tried to insert it again and again. Nines' hands were on his in an instant, holding them securely to stop him from rubbing them together.

"I know...I know...Colin's body was severely damaged in the fall. It is unlikely he would have successfully reinitialised, even if you had returned his power core in time...It isn't your fault, Gavin, and Colin will be fine once his body has been repaired." That somehow made it seem worse. All that stress and anguish, and he was supposed to just accept that Colin would come back good as new? I watched him phcking die! He phcking died! He knew Nines and Chloe often said it was different for androids, but he still didn't believe it. It wouldn't be Colin who came back. It would be a copy of Colin. He may have all the memories intact, he may act exactly the same, but the Colin who'd fallen from the belltower was gone. He'd died. "You still have doubts, I see," Nines murmured with some fondness, unsurprised as Gavin nodded his agreement. He'd told him his thoughts on this before. Nines didn't argue. He didn't want to press him unnecessarily. Not now. They could speak of it later. Perhaps once Colin had recovered. It would likely be an unpleasant shock, waking in Elijah's home with his most recent memories missing.

"Are you angry?" Gavin asked in a small voice, looking at the water as the bubbles slowly shrank and disappeared. Nines sighed softy as he pulled him back against his chest. He understood the reason for the question. They had discussed his habit of running into trouble with no regard for his own safety on more than one occasion. They were partners. They were supposed to have each other's backs.

"No. I was...concerned...afraid, worried, scared...I returned to find you gone, and you didn't answer my call...I thought I might lose you..." Nines murmured his own vulnerabilities in Gavin's ear as he held him close. Gavin reached up to grip the arms that rested across his chest, the gesture somehow both apologetic and reassuring at the same time. "I understand your reasoning. Although I don't believe him entirely capable of infiltrating the DPD network to the extent you suggest, I understand your concerns. You took steps to ensure someone was alerted to your whereabouts. That is preferable to simply disappearing without a trace." Nines bumped Gavin's head with his own.

The water was getting cold. They climbed out and dried off quietly. The water had done its job. Gavin was warm and somewhat relaxed, though still stressed from the experience. He froze as Nines' hands rested low on his hips, gently pulling the towel free to leave his skin bare. Gavin stood still as Nines gently dried off his hair and tossed the towel aside. Silvery eyes roved over his musculature as long fingers toyed with his damp locks and brushed them into place. Gavin waited, unsure what Nines was planning. He seemed indecisive himself.

"Do you want to wear clothes this evening?" That was more or less code for asking if he wanted to take part in some sort of play. Gavin nodded. He was worried he was letting Nines down, but he just wanted something a little more equal. Being Nines' pet human and getting fawned over was great, but he didn't want to be just a pet right now. Nines' eyes softened as he tilted his chin up and pressed a gentle kiss of understanding to his lips. "Then we'll go to your room and find you some clothes...and then I'll heat some soup for you and put on a movie." Nines watched for any sign of objection. He was pleased as Gavin nodded his compliance.

Gavin remained close, and it didn't go unnoticed. He waited patiently as Nines grabbed some of his own leisure clothes before they stopped by Gavin's room to dress. As Nines reheated the soup and buttered some bread, Gavin remained with him in the kitchen. He followed him closely on the stairs and sat right next to him on the sofa. The moment he'd finished eating, he was almost sitting in his lap. Nines huffed as he finally moved them so that they were lying down on the large sofa, Gavin's head resting on his bicep like a cushion. He wasn't even facing the right way to watch the old movie playing. He was more than content with burying his face in Nines' chest and breathing his scent. It was definitely becoming more distinct to Gavin's nose. Somewhere along the line he'd added in a light cologne, probably a gift from Chloe. The three scents mingled together into one singular recognisable aroma that was just Nines. Gavin was content to close his eyes right there on the sofa, and Nines wasn't about to rouse him to move to the bed. He set his own stasis cycle as Pipsqueak hopped up and joined them, somehow managing to curl up on Gavin's hip without slipping off.