Detroit: Become Human - Darkened Skies (Reed900)

Chapter Thirty-Five

Nines' thirium seemed to run cold and he immediately checked Gavin's pulse. Nothing.

"Gavin!? Gavin, oh my God!" Nines screamed out, his eyes flooding and overflowing with tears. He felt his metaphorical heart being shattered into fragments as lover lay still in his arms. He pulled Gavin close, sobbing loudly, as he inwardly refused to believe that he was gone. "No, no, no, no, please, no..."

Refusing to believe any of this, Nines raised Gavin's wrist again and tested the pulse again, and the result made his eyes bulge. An idea popped into Nines' mind, and as a desperate last resort, he set Gavin down so his legs were sprawled across Nines' lap and his torso was on the passenger seat. Tears continued to cascade down Nines' cheek as he leaned forward and placed his hands on Gavin's chest, right over his heart. He pumped down in the correct rhythm for CPR, timing each press with precision. Nines took oxygen into his mouth, which felt unnatural to him no matter how many times he had done it, and leaned down to Gavin's mouth. He tilted his head back and opened his mouth before breathing into him.

As Nines continued his frantic yet properly executed attempts to revive Gavin, one of the back doors of the car opened and Connor got in, holding zip lock bags full of slushies and some bandages. He looked at Nines and Gavin.

"Why are you- Nines, what happened?"

Nines paused momentarily to look at Connor, his tears alarming him. "I need to get him back."

Connor's jaw went slack with shock and his own tears sprung to his eyes. "Do what you must," is the only reply that he could muster. Connor's face reflected his strong sense of shock and grief, and he looked out the window as he tried to distract himself.

Nines wasted no time, pressing down on Gavin's chest over and over and over again. 1, 2, 3, 4 was the only thing going through his mind as he continued the repetitive movements. 1, 2, 3, 4. Gavin, wake up, please...

Just when Nines was starting to lose his spark of hope, Gavin's eyes flew wide open and he gasped loudly. He began to cough again so Nines tilted his head to the side to avoid Gavin choking again, and Nines started to cry even harder as relief flushed through his body. This time, his tears of grief and heartbreak were replaced with tears of relief.

Gavin coughed a few times, successfully dislodging the blood from his throat, and panted as he steadily regained his breath. He tilted his head and looked up at Nines. "Hey, why are you crying?"

Nines held Gavin's face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Seeing Nines break down like this was a shock to Gavin, he didn't believe he had ever seen him crying this hard. What the hell happened? Gavin thought. I remember not being able to breathe, but, didn't I just pass out?

"Gavin, you were dead," Nines whimpered.

Gavin was dead? Like, he died? Actually died? He had no idea how to feel. Sure, it was nice to be back and kickin' and all, but death would have meant sweet relief from his agony and the harshness of living in a world that was against him. Sure, Gavin wasn't actively seeking out death, but he would sure as hell accept it. He knew how dark those thoughts were, but at this stage, it was just his truth.

"Oh," he said quietly. "Nines, hey." Slowly, Gavin sat up, forcing back a pained screech as his wounds sent anguish shooting through his body. He had other priorities. Gavin leaned forward and put his arms around Nines, pulling him close into a comforting embrace. The poor android was still shaking beyond control; thinking that Gavin was a goner must have hit him hard. "It's okay, I'm here. Cry it all out, you strong motherfucker. I love you. I'm alive, you..."

It dawned on Gavin that Nines had been the one to revive him. If he was dead, then there was no other explination.

"You saved my life, Nines," he said softly. "I'm still here, see? I'm right here. You made me better. I'm fine now, because of you." Gavin gave Nines a kiss on the nose. Nines nodded, and slowly but sure, his flow of tears started to cease. Nines took a deep breath with the knowledge that it helped humans calm down. It worked for him, too, and his tensed muscles were slowly relaxing after such a horrible fright.