detroit: become human oneshots

rockin' around the christmas tree - hank/connor/nines

SUMMARY: Nines is dragged into decorating for Christmas with Connor and Hank.
WORD COUNT: 1364

Nines really should have been able to predict the exact way it would have gone when Connor asked- no, he hadn't asked, he'd pleaded with Nines to help with Christmas decorations. Nines hadn't any other plans and couldn't escape it anyway, given that he lived with his two partners, so he gave in quite fast. If not for that, Connor's puppy eyes would have done him over anyway.

Plus, Connor seemed really happy that Nines agreed, even though both of them probably knew it was inevitably going to happen anyway.

Nines had been out the Saturday they planned on decorating with Simon, one of the Android revolution leaders that he had become close friends with. They hadn't done much, just Nines relaxing at Simon and Markus' rather large scale apartments they'd built in a rather run-down area in Detroit. He could see why; the budget was low as it was and the takeover of CyberLife had yet to be truly successful. It was only a few hours he was there, though, and he got back in the afternoon. He'd left early given that both Simon and Markus wake up early, and he'd left Connor and Hank in bed entangled together to sleep in. He had to admit that the sight of Hank in Connor's arms was one that was hard to leave behind.

They were awake when he got back, and he was surprised to see the boxes out. It'd somehow slipped his racing mind that today was the day they were decorating for Christmas. It was Nines' first actual Christmas, since the year prior he'd hardly existed and Connor was far too busy with Jericho to celebrate, Nines remembered when Connor was entangled in Jericho, stressed to no end. Politics hardly seemed to be his calling, but he felt as though he owed it to them after everything he had put Androids through while he was under CyberLife control. Nines had failed to see the logic in it at first but realized quickly that emotions were hardly logic-based and trying to use reason would only lead to more questions. He'd learned that from Hank.

"Oh, you're home," Connor said, seeming to perk up at his entrance. Hank turned groggily and a sleepy smile spread across his face. From the look of them and their position by the coffee machine, Nines could see that they had just woken up, and it was obvious that Connor had been the one to move the boxes. Hank seemed hardly in the state to do so, though Connor's hair was still even more messy than usual, his curls sticking up in some places.

"Hello," Nines greeted, returning their smiles with one of his own. It was slightly off and he was aware of it, but his smiles came most naturally when he was with them.

"Where've you been?" Hank asked groggily, peering in interest with a small smile on his face. He slowly reached for the coffee cup on the counter and Connor swatted his hand away, to which Hank grumbled. Nines could tell with a simple scan that the coffee was far too hot to drink and his smile widened slightly with fondness.

"I was with Simon," Nines said, setting down his jacket over the couch and walking over to them. "I opted to leave you two to get some more rest."

"Mm, appreciated," Hank said quietly and reached for the coffee. Connor didn't swat away this time, but his eyes narrowed and watched him lip the cup to his lips. Nines knew that the cup wasn't safe to drink, but he noticed the smirk on Connor's face and he said nothing. Hank sipped it for a moment, but set it down immediately and swore.

"Connor, why didn't 'cha tell me that it was going to goddamn burn me?" Hank grumbled, though all three of them wore expressions of amusement.

"I'm sorry, Hank, I thought you knew," Connor replied, the shit-eating grin growing on his face.

"Bastard," Hank said, grinning along with him and leaning against the counter.

"Shall Connor and I start taking out some of the decorations?" Nines asked, glancing over at the boxes piled in the middle of the living room. Sumo didn't seem to mind that he lost his spot in front of the fireplace, instead taking it upon himself to lay on the couch. Connor usually kept him off of it if it could be controlled because of the dog hair, but he didn't seem to mind this morning.

"Yeah, that'd probably be best," Hank nodded, eyes on the black coffee that was laying on the counter and teasing him. "I'll just be here trying to wake up." Hank rubbed some of the sleep out of his eyes for emphasis, leaning further back on the counter.

"Alright," Connor said cheerily, seeming excited to be able to fully celebrate his first real Christmas. He and Nines walked over into the living room, looking around at all of the boxes. "I say we start here, hm?" Connor's eyes were on the box with the Christmas tree.

"Oh, god, I've gotta see this," Hank said from the kitchen and his smile was audible through his voice alone. Hank joined them in the living room, drinking the coffee that was probably still burning him.

"You think we can't do something this simple?" Nines asked.

"Maybe you can," Hank answered and shrugged, but his eyes were challenging.

"You underestimate us, my love," Connor laughed, opening the box. He began pulling out parts of the tree from the unlabeled cardboard box. "Um... Hank?"

"Yes, my dear?" Hank said, stealing the grin Connor wore earlier.

"What... What is this?" Connor's LED flashed yellow and he almost looked genuinely distressed, but Nines could see the amusement underneath it.

"It's the Christmas tree, Connor," Hank answered simply.

"Why is it... I expected it to be more..."

"Modern? Yeah, I know you did," Hank said. Nines had expected it, knowing that Hank was not exactly the most modern person. Two examples of this were the manually driven car he wouldn't let go of and the records he still listened to often. Speaking of...

"Do you have any Christmas records?" Nines asked suddenly, eyes looking around and spotting some before Hank could even answer.

"Yeah, I've got a few, though my... Okay," Hank trailed off when he noticed that Nines had already plucked one from where Hank kept them. It was the Christmas album from Elvis Presley, and Hank smiled. "Good choice."

"Thank you," Nines said and put on the record. Connor smiled, stopping for a moment when the music started playing. One thing he'd really come to enjoy was music, especially from older times. Nines joined him by the tree, squinting at it. "Hank?"

"Hmm?"

"Is there any chance we could get some help with this?" Nines asked, not because he couldn't do it himself but because he knew Hank was waiting for it.

"Oh, I thought I was underestimating you," Hank said, raising his hands and glaring playfully.

"Yeah, yeah, Hank, your coffee is almost empty, get over here," Connor said exasperatedly, earning a laugh from Hank.

"Alright, alright," Hank chuckled, setting his near-empty mug onto the coffee table. "Was just getting some payback is all."

"Mmhm," Nines hummed, giving them a headstart on the tree. Connor moved to set up the rug where it was going to be in the corner and Nines easily started setting it up. He stopped when he noticed Hank standing in front of him and staring with raised eyebrows.

"I'm sure you can get the rest...?" Nines realized he had gotten ahead of himself. He'd hardly left much else to be done in the few minutes he'd had with it.

"Uh, yeah, alright," Hank agreed and Connor rejoined them by then. Hank fumbled with it a bit but then seemed to remember just how to assemble the damned Christmas tree. Connor and Nines waited patiently, and it was only a couple of minutes before it was done.

"See? There you go," Connor snickered. Hank rolled his eyes, but again, all of them were smiling, and Nines was glad he'd gotten roped into decorating after all.