Resolutions

Chapter 5: How Lovely Are Thy Branches

Two days after the office party failure, Connor still had one more trick up his sleeve. Unfortunately, traffic seemed determined to stop him from checking the last item off his list of Connor Everson's 3 Step Guide to Giving Your Robot Boyfriend the Greatest Christmas Ever...

After they came to a complete stand still in the middle of Ambassador's bridge for the fourth time, Connor slammed his head straight into the steering wheel. The horn drowned out the 50th rendition of Happy Xmas in a long, groaning beep that screamed throughout the small car with deafening strength but was lost in the sea of other angry horns droning on. The human slowly drug his eyes back up from his floorboards to let them cast out across the open water, trying to distract himself from the abominable butchering of John Lennon's masterpiece with the soothing scenery surrounding them on all sides.

The world around them was dark, the sky black as sin and inking across the clouds like someone had laid a blanket over the city and left it to fend for itself against the creeping night. However, the valiant cityscape had yet to succumb to that darkness, a thousand street lights shining out against the impending gloom and a billion glowing windows casting a fighting firelight around the city so it became a beacon of light in the dark night. The light reflected off the black water, distorted in a mirror image to create a surreal twin city that wavered in the dark river's drowning depths.

Connor had spent his fair share of time perched at the edge of the metal railing staring down into that mirror city. It wasn't like the movies. No one walked there that time of night and the drivers racing by just stared on with the same dumb, "Oh shit, is he really gonna do it?" look before remembering to watch the road and swerving back into their lanes. Nobody stopped and nobody came to save you.

But the word freefall echoed in the back of his mind and drew him down every time. The thought of not having control of his body terrified him.

Right now, the guy was seriously considering driving them over the edge out of pure irritation alone. Another rendition of Last Christmas blasted through the speakers as they painstakingly crawled forward another coveted inch, his old car snarling dangerously under his hands and rumbling vengefully along its grumbling way until Connor was sure it would shake itself to pieces under his fingertips.

"Please try and relax, Detective." Mace's deep tones soothed from the passenger seat, a heavy hand coming to rest over Connor's where the human's pale fingers gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles. The android's huge fingers rubbed gently along his partner's tensed digits, tracing over tight knuckles and brushing along long fingers near trembling with pent up rage - Or maybe it was anxiety, Connor really didn't know at this point.

"We're gonna miss it." Connor argued, voice tight and edged as he let his gaze slowly pull away from where it stuck like glue to the taillights of the car in front of him, the red lights glaring back him like the burning eyes of Lord Lucifer his fucking self. Instead he opted to let his eyes rest on Mace, the android's ever handsome face a perfect picture of calm against his storm and his steely eyes warm and content when they met Connor's own frazzled gaze.

"I am perfectly content as it is, Detective." Hand reassured steadily, rumbling voice a gravelling baritone that soothed over Connor's prickling anxiety like sandpaper over a rough piece of wood, leveling and smoothing in the most assuring of ways. The android's face spoke of genuity, lips curled up in the faintest of smiles and muscles as relaxed as they could be in the cramped little space the human's car had to offer the machine's hulking body.

"I'm sure you're just having a great time staring at this guy's bumper." Connor snorted snarkily, far from convinced and well aware he wouldn't actually be calming down until he pulled their damn car into a parking spot at the park and had a tree in front of his face. He'd be lying if he said Mace's calming tones hadn't eased him any but at the same time they'd only made him want to give that perfect Christmas he had far from provided as of yet. He'd nearly had an anxiety attack in the dressing rooms when they were supposed to be picking out sweaters, the office party had been a huge bust... This, final event he had to get right.