Need Me, Crave Me

Understanding

The station was frozen in silence as other officers stared in Connor's and Hank's direction. Connor was desperate to move, he did not like all these eyes on him. He was an android, he was not suppose to be the center of attention. The silence was unbearable, he hated it.

But he could not move. He pushed and pushed as hard as he could against these invisible restraints, but he couldn't move. His programming was glitching out, he was unable to process what was going on, why he couldn't move. His vision was blurry, he couldn't make out the shapes of the people, or the desks around him. It felt like he had been stuck in that frozen position for hours.

Connor's body lurched forward suddenly as he collapsed to the ground on his knees, at the same time a distinct sound of skin hitting skin rang in his ears. He struggled to get his bearings as his body processed what had happened, the ringing still loud in his ears.

"-ell Hank!" Connor heard in between the ringing, struggling to stand up and finding he was unable.

"I...I did not mean to." Hank's shocked and concern voice spoke.

Connor's vision slowly came to, and with a shaky breath, he turned his head to look towards the voices.

Jeffrey was standing next to Hank, a hand slightly raised as if to smack him again. Hank looked worried, but his eyes were not on Connor; they were towards Jeffrey.

"You know you can't release your glare in the station!" Jeffrey roared, scowling at Hank before continuing, "Much less towards your co-workers!" Hank nodded, pressing a hand to his forehead.

"I was... I was only trying to tell that android to stop, he wouldn't listen to me. He just kept walking away. I didn't realize I released it until it was too late. But I didn't expect him to react! He is an investigator android for god's sake!" Jeffrey sighed, turning his attention towards the rest of the employees.

"Get those three into the cells with free beds, they need aftercare." He spoke loudly, Connor followed his gaze and noticed three employees were slumped to the ground much like he was. Realization hit in. There were subs working at the station.

There was no law that forbade subs from getting certain jobs, but in a job that required ones life on the line and definitely confronting dangerous criminals who could be doms, it was rare to see them. At Connor's previous police station there had been no subs, and he had only become aware of that when an arson was brought in and had tried using his glare. It had affected no one, and Connor now wondered why it had not affected him, when he clearly was now.

The three subs, two males and a female, were gently lifted up and lead towards the back of the station. It was draining when one was affected by a glare, so as to not put too much emotional strain on the body, it was crucial that subs got the aftercare and rest they needed to slowly leave that state.

Connor tried to stand up again, and was able to, though he still felt a light shaking in his legs. He reached out and used a nearby desk to help stabilize him.

"Are you OK?" Jeffrey asked, moving towards Connor. "I am.. fine, do not worry." Connor spoke slowly, still feeling an odd churning in his chest.

"I didn't think the goddamn thing was a sub! Why the hell is he allowed to work here?" Hank growled. Connor felt a jolt of pain at Hank's harsh words towards him, feeling himself unbalance again as he tried to regain his composure. He had never felt this way, and racked all the resources he had at his disposal to understand what was wrong.

Sub androids were built differently than their human counterparts. When a glare is used on a sub, it hits a switch in the sub that flares up inside them, urging them to obey and consent. If a dom leaves a sub in that state, without satisfying the sub's desire or ending the play properly, the sub can fall into a sub-drop. This happens much faster if the sub is hated by the dom in control. A dom who refuses to accept the sub will send them spiraling in depression, anxiety, guilt, and every harmful conditions possible. The only way to stop this is by the dom stopping the play properly, by providing aftercare for the sub, even if nothing sexual had occurred, the switch had still been hit. Other doms can come and end the play themselves, which is incredibly helpful when there are doms that use their glares just to cause trouble for others.