detroit: become human oneshots

can you feel (my heart) - connor/nines

SUMMARY: Nines reflects on his first time feeling emotion.

WORD COUNT: 761

Nines was sitting in his usual desk at the precinct, tapping his lithe fingers at the desk absentmindedly. He found himself unable to focus once again, his eyes drifting over to his predecessor. Connor met his eyes and he startled slightly, and he was not sure if it was being caught staring or because Connor's eyes were so...

Nines looked away in frustration, wishing he could find the word he was thinking. He gathered himself and stared at the screen in front of him. As dreadful as the man was, Nines now understood Gavin's analogy comparing desk duty to "dying of boredom."

Nines was awkward by default; CyberLife had compromised the RK900's social relations programming, deeming it unnecessary for his purpose, which was solely to catch deviants. He was not supposed to experience or simulate any sort of emotion besides perhaps mild tolerance.

Which only made it more problematic that Connor had activated and immediately deviated him. As grateful as he was now that he did not have to serve his intended purpose, it was still a lot for him to handle at once. He had not even fully processed his surroundings before Connor had a firm grip on his wrist and he felt everything. After all, unlike Connor, he was programmed by technicians at CyberLife who seemed to lack the slightest idea that he could possibly deviate. And there Connor was, all pretty and looking up at the newfound life in front of him. His eyes had a look so determined that it only made it that much easier for Connor to bypass all of the defense and precautions against deviancy he initially was created to have.

So it was only natural that Nines, cold and relentless deviant hunting machine, would crumple to the floor and sob, LED pulsing a dangerously bright red. His hands jerked and twitched while several warnings appeared in his HUD. It was all so much , ranging from software instability warnings to several of his processes malfunctioning. One of which was his internal cooling systems, and he did not need to see the warning to know so; an obnoxious whirring sound was coming from somewhere deep inside him, desperately fighting to cool him down. It was Nines' first time experiencing emotions, of course, among several other firsts that he experienced that day.

Connor had ushered over to him, lowering himself to hold Nines and comfort him. If you had asked Nines now, he honestly would not be able to tell you whether Connor was communicating through an interface or speaking, but he found his predecessor's gentle voice soothing all the same, and he gradually calmed down. Warnings became scarce and he no longer spasmed as he had when he had first awoken, and soon it was quiet. All that could be heard was their synced, simulated breathing and the sound of Connor's soft whispers of comfort.

"You're okay, Nines, you're alright," Connor had murmured, and Nines found he really liked the nickname that he was almost sure was accidental.

Connor parted from him at that point, and he met Nines' eyes with something Nines' interpreted as uncertainty. Nines was not sure how to express his emotions very well, but he did what he could. He raised his hand, still slightly trembling, and grabbed Connor's wrist. His touch was careful and tender, everything he was designed not to be, and he found that he loved it. When Connor pulled away from the interface, he smiled shyly at Nines, who could only continue to stare into his eyes.

With a slight blush on his face, Nines was brought back to the unfortunate reality of desk work by none other than Detective Reed. Or, rather, the man's fingers snapping in front of his face, at which he blinked up at him, his audio processors only then picking up on the man's annoyance.

"Hey, you got some loose wires in there or some shit?" Gavin barked, and Nines looked back at his monitor, almost choosing to ignore the detective before thinking better of it. (It had not gone very well the last time he had attempted to do so.)

"No, Detective, I apologize," Nines said neutrally, and Gavin grumbled something incomprehensible about androids that Nines could not bother to listen to because he was yet again entranced by Connor. With a rush of warmth to his face and a stutter of his artificial heartbeat, the word he had been stumped on earlier came to him.

Beautiful. Not just his sparkling eyes, but Connor in his entirety, was so beautiful.