Detroit: Become Human - Darkened Skies (Reed900)

Chapter Five

Art credit: SofiaLuvsYou. Thanks for such wonderful artwork!

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Gavin woke with a jolt, beads of sweat running down his forehead. He gasped for air and clutched his chest, soon calming down. He took in a deep breath.

He sat up and ran a through his hair. He peered out the window in his room to glance at the digital clock. 4 am. He is awake now, might as well get to work.

Gavin threw his blanket off of his body and stood up, stretching. He tried to shake off the remnants of his nightmare.

He exited his room and looked around for any mess or, well, anything to occupy himself. As Gavin walked around the floor he was on, he looked out the window longingly. The moon was hanging low in the sky an array of stars glittered around it. The moon was misted with clouds next to it, cloaking a the rounded stone which was full.

Gavin yearned to be outside during the daytime, even if just for five minutes, to soak up the sunlight. He had not been outside in two years. There were times when Gavin was press himself against the window, trying to desperately reach the light he needed to feel so badly.

Gavin pressed a hand against the window and continued to stare out. He wished so deeply for freedom. He was nearly on the verge of tears, but the thought of crying made his eyebrows furrow. After crying the other day, he never wanted to shed another tear. Not again. He had always been conditioned that way.

Gavin needed to be tough, but not rough. Strong, but not arrogant. He needed to tone down his personality – which he knew was aggressive, mean, and just the general traits of an asshole.

But right now Gavin was being soft. He had been letting his guard down lately, letting himself show weakness. He refused to show so much weakness.

As Gavin was making a silent pledge to himself, someone came around the corner and came up to him.

"Gavin? Why are you awake?"

Gavin was startled by the sudden voice. It was Nines.

"Nines, ah!"

Shitshitshit.

Well, there goes that thought of acting tougher.

"I..." Gavin thought searched rapidly for an excuse in his mind. He sighed. "I had a bad dream. It's stupid, I know, but now that I'm awake I'm feeling restless."

Nines was silent for a moment. "I see." He sat down on the window sill. He pat the space beside him. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Nines sounded as awkward as Gavin felt. The news of Gavin having a nightmare must have thrown him off. The awkwardness that his companion had nearly made him laugh.

"No." Gavin sat down anyway.

"Bold. I like it."

Gavin managed to smile. Just a tiny bit, the ghost of a smile, but the twitch in his lips was definitely present.

"Nightmares can go suck my ass, honestly," Gavin said. "All they do is scare me." He looked out the window again.

"I cannot say that I have personally had a nightmare, but I know of their nature," Nines replied. "They seem unpleasant and I'm sorry to hear that you had one."

Gavin shrugged. "I'm used to nightmares. It's fine." He looked over at Nines. The android was looking out at the city. From their level, which was pretty high, you could see many streets littered with flickering streetlights.