Tick Tock Part Three - Dock

Anniversary

"What did Elijah say he needed?" Nines asked curiously as they took the lift down to the basement. His silvery gaze sharpened as Gavin shrugged evasively. He was very much aware of when he was lying to him, and Gavin knew it, too. He didn't answer at first. It would ruin the surprise. Chloe had been planning this for days, ever since their trip to town when she'd hounded him about Nines' anniversary. It had actually fallen on their day off, and so far, Nines hadn't mentioned it. Gavin didn't know if that meant he hadn't been keeping track or if he'd just assumed he'd forgotten. Maybe it's not even something he thinks is important...

"I don't know, he just asked us to come ASAP," Gavin replied as he watched the numbers tick by. Luckily for him, it seemed Nines was content to let the matter drop. It had been relatively easy to get him to go with him. All he'd said was that Elijah had called and wanted their help. It wasn't like they had anything else to do. They'd made no plans outside of getting a little paperwork done, and that was how they'd spent the first few hours of their day. Gavin had headed to the bathroom with his phone a few times to make sure Connor and Chloe both knew what they were doing. He was unsurprised to find that they did.

He let the news play on the radio as they drove. News of the Hickory Killer's involvement hadn't been released to the press, so the whole incident had died down for now. It wasn't interesting to keep recycling news of an unknown shooter. Connor and Hank had made no statements about it, and no one had found out that things had quietly been passed over to the FBI. The AHL was still contacting them for updates, but Connor and Hank always put them off with the same spiel about it being an open case and how they couldn't hand out details of an ongoing investigation. The news was strangely quiet and mundane. Business ventures, sports, weather reports.

"You're here! Happy Anniversary!" Chloe greeted brightly as she pulled the door open and dragged Nines into a tight embrace. Nines smiled warmly as he returned the hug, lifting Chloe's petite form off the floor as he stepped inside. Gavin followed with a small smirk and considered his mission complete as Chloe began babbling about how she had lunch all planned out and that Markus and North were already there. She seemed more excited than Nines as she led them both into her conservatory, where Elijah was just placing a final couple of plates on the round table.

"Congratulations on your first year at the DPD," Markus greeted politely as he rose to take Nines' hand. Nines accepted his good wishes and greeted North as well. North was surprised he'd made it through a year without going insane, and Elijah agreed. It took a special person to keep Gavin in check. Gavin himself headed over to knock Elijah's arm in reproach before they all settled down for the afternoon.

It was nice, and a little unusual. Markus and North added a new dynamic to the get together. Markus had this eerie calm and soothing presence that put everyone at ease, and he was absolutely earnest in all of his interactions. North was much sharper, with a rich cackling laugh and a biting sense of humour that rivalled Gavin's. She was like Gavin in that she didn't have much interest in the artsy side of things. She was a much more physical person and was way more interested in what Gavin had to say about his latest training regime than in Chloe's conversation with Markus about art. As the conversation shifted to android rights and Cyberlife, Elijah was much more vocal. Chloe was part of every conversation and kept things moving smoothly. She was an excellent hostess, as ever.

Lunch was fairly simple. She'd made platters of homemade sandwiches, a couple of them tinted blue with thirium so that Gavin and Elijah knew to steer clear. There were platters of fruit, neatly sliced and ready to eat. A few different cold meats and cheeses had been laid out with pickles to sample, and there was a small cake with a sugar icing crest of the DPD on the top. Chloe had made it herself using a photo Gavin had sent her of Nines' badge. It even had his name and number engraved on it. Nines was truly touched as he sliced through the crest and pale blue icing. No one had gone to such efforts to celebrate his achievements before. He hadn't realised how significant the day was considered among humans.