Resolutions

Part 1 - Chapter 1: 'Tis the Season

November had been a whirlwind.

One second Connor had been dragging his ass to work three hours late, the next he was thrown smack dab in the middle of the android revolution. He'd gotten a partner, been thrown out a window, got the shit beat out of him, and helped free an entire race of people all in the course of about a week. Somehow, he'd come out of it all with a hot hunk of mechanical manliness though so hey, that was something.

But, the rush and tumble of the autumn was over as quick as it had begun and that roller coaster ride from hell spat him straight into a whole new nightmare...

December.

The moment the first note of Jingle Bells blasted through his car radio Connor felt it.

That old feeling.

It wasn't a fast thing. Or a loud one. No, it was quiet. A quiet, creeping thing that slowly sunk into his veins like spilled ink creeping across a sheet of paper until he could feel it in his bones.

"Detective, you've moved exactly three inches in the past five hours." Mace's familiar voice drew the human out of his thoughts and when he slowly drew his eyes up from where they'd been uselessly resting on the floorboards he saw the android standing a few feet away, giving him a flat look. Three inches? What a feat. Considering his arm had fallen off the couch hours ago and he still really hadn't gathered the motivation to pull it back up yet, the android ought to have been impressed if he'd managed to move those wondrous inches.

"And you're not wearing sweatpants." Connor pointed out in retaliation, jabbing an accusatory finger at the android's beefy legs, currently clad in crisp dress pants. "It's Sunday, Mace. We wear sweatpants on Sunday." The human reprimanded, gesturing down at his own legs splayed out across the couch in a baggy pair of gray sweats, white drawstrings drawn in a loose bow and plush cloth sagging low to reveal pale hip bones. He briefly considered waving a scolding finger at the droid but, honestly, that just felt like it would require way too much effort.

"It's Monday, Detective." Mace corrected flatly, expression deadpan in a way that could only be described as human.

"What?" Connor barked incredulously, scrambling upright in a half formed flail, body not quite in line with his lagging thoughts as the robot's words washed over him and slowly translated through his fogged head. He floundered for a moment before he remembered how to work his own arms and grabbed his phone off the coffee table, snapping it up to his face and staring blearily at the numbers blazing across the screen, vision blurred where he'd let his eyes linger half lidded for so long. 4:46 in the afternoon. Fuck.

"Shit, Mace! Why didn't you say anything?" Connor balked, tossing the phone away from him as if not seeing the numbers would make them go away. "Aw, fuck. Aw, fuck! The captain's gonna kill us!" The man panicked, jolting up of the couch like someone had shoved an electric baton up his ass but he moved too quickly and only succeeded in tripping over himself, sending his lithe body flying. His long legs tangled with themselves, dragging each other down and sending the rest of him face first off the piece of furniture with a squeaky yelp that was anything but manly - Or attractive. His face hit the rug, nose plowing straight into the carpet.

Truly, he was the epitome of grace. No wonder RoboHunk3000 wanted a piece of this.

"I called and got us the day off." Mace explained calmly, his gravelling tones sounding a lot closer than they had a moment ago and a pair of black work shoes soon appeared in Connor's line of sight.

Connor removed his nose from the ground with a low groan to find Mace's large hand taking up most of his vision, fingers extended and large palm curved. He grabbed the offered limb and let himself be hauled upright, more than a little grateful he didn't have to go to the effort of pulling his body off the floor himself. The human got his legs back under him but didn't let go, wrapping his lithe fingers over Mace's and tugging the robot forward with him onto the couch, patting the spot beside him.

Mace lowered himself down beside the human, the cushion sinking under his mechanical weight, and Connor leaned into his shoulder the moment he was settled, a soft hum brushing between his lips as he let his head fall heavily against the arch of the android's fabricated skeletal structure. A lock of curling hair fell into his face but he didn't bother to brush it away, having little energy to do more than rub a thumb over the back of his companion's large hand and marvel at the sight of his own fingers all but vanishing under the machine's huge palm.

The detective loved the feeling of his own hand in the robot's. That Mace's hand was so much bigger than his. The heavy weight rested over him like a blanket and made him feel safe in a way. Fuck yeah, holding hands was awesome.

He should probably ask why Mace got them the day off.

He really didn't care enough to put forth all that energy.

"Sounds good. You can watch these shitty Hallmark holiday specials with me then." The human invited easily, letting the tension drain out of his body so that it sagged bonelessly against his companion. "I'm placing bets on blondie getting with broody beefcake." He informed, gesturing vaguely at the screen where some chick with long hair was currently screaming at a dude with an evening shadow. He'd screwed up and was overreacting. Just like the last seven movies he'd watched.

"Doesn't the blondie always get with the broody beefcake?" Mace pointed out, squinting at the television like it was some kind of puzzle. The circular LED  fit into his right temple spun a confused yellow as he fought to solve it, a bright, shinning hue that reflected off his silver hair where a few stray strands fell out of the tight ponytail he had it drawn back into. Kinda cute, really. Connor would definitely have smiled if he had the motivation.

"That's the joy of it, Robocop." Connor explained vaguely, waving one hand around in the air between them. Long fingers soon fell back in his own lap. Geez that was tiring.

"Predictability?" The android quipped incredulously, dry disbelief forming over his features. Props to whatever android designer crafted such a perfect reflection of snarky incredulousness.

"Yeppers." Connor snorted tastelessly, slumping back against the couch. "Us humans take comfort in it." The detective elaborated lightly as blondie stupidly called her ex. He wouldn't last a half hour, Connor had watched enough of these movies to know.

"You don't display the tendency often, Detective." Mace commented jokingly, a small smile creeping across his features. It was... nice. Unprogrammed. Real. "Maybe watching popular holiday media will broaden my knowledge of the subject." The android went on to add after a moment and any minor peace Connor had slipped into evaporated in an instant.

The human's stomach lurched and ice poured into his veins. Guilt, nauseating and gut wrenching, stormed over him. He'd been so wrapped up with work, and the revolution, and all that he hadn't really realised this was Mace's first Christmas. The android had only been activated a month or so ago - And here Connor was spending it lying on a damn couch.

No.

No, it was only the like, the 23rd or something like that. He could pull this off. He could get his shit together and give his amazing android boyfriend the spectacular first Christmas he deserved.

He could do this.

Three hours of holiday traffic later, Connor realized he could not, in fact, do this.