METAL GUARD DOG ⊳ connor x reader

Ch. XIX

Mikolaj was grinning widely, leaning against the car as he talked to Vader, Pavel and (y/n). Connor had to admit that he felt like more of a bystander than anything, a spectator watching a movie in an almost foreign language. The only things he did pay attention to were all the smiles the young woman had faked, and Pavel taking a small bag out of his shoe. Connor didn't even have to analyze it to know what it was. Axyfomodium.

He opened it, poured some powder out on the back of his hand, brought it to his lips and tossed it into his mouth.

The chubby boy closed his eyes as if he were savoring some kind of rare delicacy, only to be nudged by Vader, who only smirked at him knowingly. Pavel shook his head dismissively.

"(Y/n), want some?" He tilted his head as he looked at the young woman.

As if Connor had just emerged from underwater, that sentence was the first thing he had managed to make out from the cluster of words. The punch of air that brought him back to life and made his processors whir.

She waved off dismissively with another meticulously fabricated smile. "You know I don't, Pav."

"C'mon, just once."

"No thanks."

"You deal the stuff! What's so wrong with having some of it too?" Pavel poured some more purple powder onto the back of his hand and held it out to her.

"I mean, he's right." Mikolaj shrugged. "Never knew why you always refused."

"I just don't go there, boys. Sorry."

"Let the girlie play by her own rules. That jus' means there's more Axy for me." Vader smiled goofily and grabbed a hold of Pavel's hand, forcing it towards his face.

"Hey now, she should at least try it." The chubby boy insisted, freeing his wrist out of the other's grasp, then approaching (y/n), throwing one arm over her shoulders and bringing the one with Axyfomodium up to her face. "Come on, love."

The wires inside Connor's metaphorical stomach twisted in displeasure at both the sight right in front of him and at the fact that (y/n)'s stress levels had increased by 10%.

"Alright, I believe that's enough." The devaint wrapped his fingers around Pavel's wrist, moving it away from (y/n)'s face.

Her stress levels dropped almost immediately.

"Yoooo, Miko, check this out. He's almost acting like your mom's fucking dogs!"

Connor's brows furrowed at the statement, and if he would've still had it, his LED would probably be going red.

What was that supposed to mean?

That only earned a shrug and a small laugh from Mikolaj. "If you say so."

"I mean look at him! Whenever (y/n) leaves, he has that puppy dog look on that perfect fucking face of his. And you can't even touch the girl without him being on your goddamn tail!" Pavel ranted, his gaze finding Connor's and not leaving it even for a second. "It's like he's her guard dog or something."

"It appears that the difference between us is the fact that you believe a good way of socializing is feeding your friends drugs, whereas I try to keep the people I care about in good condition. I apologize if that bothers you."

"Wow, look at him being all smart!" Sarcasm was literally dripping off of Pavel's sentence. "Too bad it's all brains and no guts."

All brains and no guts?

Oh, he'll show this idiot guts.

Thirium pump pounding with anger, blood rushing with hate, Connor tightened his grip around Pavel's wrist, harshly enough for his scanners to inform him he had momentarily cut off blood supply to his hand before slowly forcing it up to the boy's face.

"All of it." Connor growled.

"What?"

"The powder. Snort it. All of it."

"Look, chum, I— I've already had some, and too big of a portion—"

"Do I look like I care for your well-being?" The deviant pressed the back of Pavel's hand to his face, causing the purple powder to stick to his already slightly sweat-slickened skin. He put his other hand on the back of Pavel's head, holding it in place as he continued pressing the drug to his mouth. "I said-"

"Connor, that's enough."

He hadn't even realized how erratically he had been breathing, and completely ignored the various warnings in the edge of his field of vision, announcing his slightly overheating systems.

(Y/n)'s hand on his shoulder, in spite of not being particularly forceful, was enough to make him let go of the shorter boy and back away.

"Thank you for the truckraiding, Miko. I had fun." (Y/n) smiled at him, then at Vader and finally at Pavel, who was holding onto the trunk of the car, still staring at Connor fearfully, vulgar purple smudged over his nose and upper lip. "Vader, Pavel." She nodded at the both of them, then tugged Connor away.

"Hey, Connor." Miolaj spoke up, trotting to catch up with them. "A promise is a promise. Hank Anderson used to live in that house earlier. As far as I've been told, he shot himself right after the revolution, and his corpse had only been found after a few weeks. That's why no-one wanted to buy the house."

Connor had never eaten, nor would ever need to. Yet at that moment, he felt like coughing up whatever his inner components were.

Hank had killed himself. Because of him.

(Y/n) was still holding his wrist, dragging Connor after herself almost carefully, away from Mikolaj.

"Don't you want your part?" The boy shouted after the two of them.

"No, we're fine." She responded, not looking back.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The way to (y/n)'s home had been a daze of harlequin, neon colors, unfamiliar voices and of a setting sun painting the buildings in orange.

Hank had killed himself because of him.

Connor only found himself becoming self-aware the moment (y/n) had opened the door to her boat and looked at him expectantly.

"Con?"

"Why did you bring me here?"

She stopped in the middle of squeezing inside the small space, opting to return outside and look at him questioningly.

"Oh, um...Do you want to leave? You're free to do that, if that's what you mean. I just...I thought...I don't know." She massaged her temples and finally sighed.

"Why are you bringing me into your home after what I did to your friend?" The Android tilted his head, brows furrowing and hands balling into fists. He knew humans were unpredictable, he had experienced it one too many times with Hank, after all, but this was something different. She literally had no reason to be doing this.

"Come on, Pavel being my friend? In his wildest dreams, sure." She scoffed. "I was just thinking that...I don't know. It just feels nice to have someone watch my back."

"What do you mean?"

"You stood up for me, Connor." She smiled, honestly, sincerely, creases forming on the edge of her (e/c) eyes, which had now been turned almost golden by the setting sun. "Thank you for that."

(Y/n) gave him an awkward side-hug, then giggled and looked back at the small door, muffled sounds of a xylophone ringing out from the other side.

"Thank you too." Connor answered, though he wasn't exactly sure what for, aside from the fact that it had been nothing but a whisper, and followed her inside.