Chapter 1: Solivagant
Summary:
Solivagant
(adj.) to wander alone
Notes:
WE'RE BACK BABY!!!! WELCOME TO ACCISMUS REWRITTEN!!! Originally I was unsure if I was ever going to touch this thing again because holy cringe it was terrible re-reading it how did any of you stand reading it. BUT THIS IS FOR YOU SOLDIERS!!!! STAY STRONG I'M HOPING TO GET CHAPTER 2 DONE WITHIN A WEEK 💪💪💪
Anyways, hope you guys enjoy!!!!
Chapter Text
Gavin knew this was a dangerous job. To go out and chase criminals is what he dreamed of doing since he was a child. Throughout training it was made abundantly clear that this job was dangerous.
So when he pissed off the wrong people with no regards to his own safety, it was no wonder he ended up laying on the cold stone floor of the nearest alleyway. Bleeding, battered and bruised he coughed weakly, vision fading in and out. With what little medical knowledge he knew, he felt three broken ribs with shaking fingers, which were all nail-less. His entire body throbbed with each beat of his aching heart. The faint blare of sirens in the distance was no comfort either. He knew unless Tina was in their squad they’d take their damn time.
So he began counting.
313 is when Gavin began to lose track, his conscious fading as familiar red and blue lights spun into the alleyway. He could vaguely hear Tina shouting at him as he laughed weakly, eyes going hazy as he sputtered into a cough. Gavin’s ribs cried with the strain on his chest. He willed tears down as Tina talked quietly now, through the ringing in his ears he could faintly hear “don’t die on me…” before vague shouting as others got closer.
Once Gavin was on the stretcher it was a blur. He’s fairly sure he passed out on the ambulance ride there, moving from the waning light of the back of the ambulance to the bright blaring lights of the emergency room.
Only when he felt the suction of the anesthesia mask lay gently on his face did he allow himself to finally slip in the sweet embrace of dreamless sleep. Because the moment Gavin knew he woke, everything would be a nightmare.
○-↱👁️↲-○
Over the past couple years as a detective Gavin had never gotten used to waking up in hospital beds. Their stiff mattresses and thin sheets that always had him shivering whenever he opened his eyes. He had, however, gotten used to Tina being there asleep in the chair to the left of him. So when his eyes peeled open and he turned to his left, a snarky remark already on the tip of his tongue, he was shaken to see Fowler sitting there, a scowl on the older man’s face.
Slowly, so very slowly he moved his head back as carefully as he could, shutting his eyes as he tried not to wince with every beat of his hammering heart.
“Reed. Open your damn eyes, I know you're awake.” Fowler growled, standing up slowly. Gavin was used to his complaining about the older man's 56 years of life weighing on his back so when Fowler didn’t so much as groan when he stood, he shrunk back down into his hospital bed.
With an exaggerated yawn Gavin sat up, licking his dry lips as he glanced away from the hovering presence to his left. “Woooow what a crazy night.” Gavin commented as he stretched, mindful of the IV in his arm dripping painkillers into his bloodstream. “Good thing everything is settled now and I can go back to work when I’m cleared right?” He attempted, forcing a strained grin as he met Fowler’s glare.
“Want to explain to me what you were doing visiting the Underworld tonight?” Fowler’s face was set in a grim frown, his forehead wrinkled with disapproval.
“Wow. Straight to business huh.” Gavin sighed, rolling his eyes as he resisted the urge to itch the needle still lodged in his arm. “I got a tip that someone important would be there tonight. They were, fortunately for me.” Gavin sighed, motioning to his battered body.
“And where exactly did you get this tip?” Fowler pressed, his glare hardening.
“A friend of a friend of a friend of an acquaintance of a frie-” Gavin started rattling off before Fowler hushed him with an irritated grunt.
“You could’ve stopped at the second friend. We all know you only have me.” A familiar voice piped from the entrance.
“Ok, a fake friend of a fake friend of a friend of an acquaintance of a friend of a distant family member.” Gavin shot back with a toothy grin, staring at Tina’s smug face.
“Ms. Chen, didn't I tell you to wait outside?” Fowler sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as his scolding gaze turns to the grinning women in the doorway.
“Sorry sir but I heard misinformation being spread and I just had to step in. I couldn’t stand the thought of-”
“Yeah, yeah. Enough out of you. Back to Mr. Reed. I recall explicitly telling you that this mission wouldn’t be a solo one. You were to take a partner if any information about this case came up.” The older man said between thinned lips.
“Well when I got this tip I just so happened to be in the area and it was time sensitive so it just logically made sense to fly solo.” Gavin attempted with a half hearted smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Don’t listen to him, he never goes out without me.” Tina whispered in Fowler’s direction, earning her a disapproving look.
“And you decided not to call backup or inform anyone that you’d be approaching an assumedly armed target.” Fowler blanked, raising a thick brow in Gavin's direction.
“Perhaps.” Gavin finished, unable to hold his boss’s gaze as he felt the older man dissect his admissions down to the bone. “But we all know you’re going to chew me out, give me a few warnings, threaten to fire me. What’s any of this got to do with why you were here waiting for me to wake up inside of my friend gnat- I mean Tina.”
“I’m not here to yell at you or fire you today.” Fowler began, piquing Gavin’s interest. There has never not been an opportunity that Fowler hasn’t taken to pick through Gavin’s screw ups.
“Sooooo then what are you here for?” Gavin asked, eyeing Fowler as if the man had gone crazy.
“You’ve been assigned a new partner.”
It was dead quiet for all of three seconds before Gavin blew up.
“A new WHAT!?”
It took both Fowler and Tina’s combined strength to hold Gavin down as he moved to stand up, the thin sheets of the hospital bed falling off in the process.
“Will you just sit and listen for a moment!?” Fowler growled, grabbing firmly onto Gavin’s shoulders and forcing the shorter man back down into the stuffy mattress.
“Unless you're switching Tina over from Robert this is NOT happening!” Gavin seethed, shoving Fowler away while pushing Tina’s hand, which rested gently on his shoulder, off.
“I’ll wait until you’ve cooled off to give you the rest of the news. Tina, come with me, you've got paper work to sign.” That gave Gavin a spark of hope. Maybe he’d finally have Tina as a partner, like he’d been requesting since the start of his career as a detective.
Maybe, just maybe it would turn out ok.
○-↱👁️↲-○
Nothing would turn out ok ever again for anyone as long as Gavin roamed this robot infested earth.
It had taken him 2 weeks of sitting around the dingy hospital room for him to be cleared to leave and get back to work. He and Tina had spent the majority of her free time together, but in those hours where she was working it was just him, his imagination, and the occasional nurse that would peek in to check on his wellbeing.
It was a relief to finally hobble into the precinct and be hit with the scent of cheap coffee and sterile cleaning supplies. The only thing on his mind was how fucking awesome it would be to have Tina as his partner. His best (and only) friend and him on the same team kicking ass. So when he greeted his coworkers with a smile and a chipper “good morning!” There were odd looks shot at him from all directions, but Gavin couldn’t care less.
Everything was going great, it was an amazing day. Someone, he assumed Tina had left a cup of coffee on his desk and instead of the burnt bitter flavor of the precinct coffee, this tasted like heaven on earth. Smooth on his tongue, sweet while keeping its natural bitterness, Gavin practically melted into his chair while drinking it, thinking all was right with the world.
Until Fowler called him into his office.
At first, Gavin walked up the sleek metal stairs with cheerful energy pushing him forwards. Feeling like the child who was given the biggest lollipop in the store, Gavin pushed the glass door open.
Only to be greeted with an android peering back at.
Gavin flinched as the android’s icy blue eyes stared through him. Disgust rippled through him as he glared back at the thing. It had a strong jawline, thin lips that curled slightly in distaste as it finished examining him, turning its gaze back to Fowler. Its hair was a deep brown with a little swirl that Gavin immediately thought was stupid as fuck. It wore a thick canvas CyberLife jacket, the label “RK900” planted onto the right and a blue triangle on the left. He could see the light from its LED rippling with yellow and red as it spun.
“Is this supposed to be my assigned partner, Captain Fowler?” The android asked with the same disgust Gavin felt for it.
“Hey I’m supposed to be asking that!” Gavin protested, scowling as he was forced to look up at it. It had to be a good couple inches taller than him, standing at what Gavin guessed was 6’2. His outburst earned him another scathing glare from it, but this time he didn’t back down. “Where’s Tina? I thought she was going to be here.” He huffs out, nose curled in disgust.
“And why would you think Ms. Chen would be here?” Captain Fowler asked with a brow raised, the aura of smugness radiated off him made rage boil in Gavin’s stomach. Whatever pleasant mood was left in him had evaporated in the twenty seconds he’d been in this room.
“When I had woken up you told her to sign some- you dirty fucker.” Gavin paused, chest heaving as he forced himself to calm down. “So it was all some trick to make me more manageable huh.” He seethed, embarrassment burning alongside his anger.
“I don’t recall telling you you’d be partnered with Tina. If you are referring to what documents I needed her to sign… Well that is in regards to this gentleman here.” Fowler explained calmly, though Gavin could see irritation flicker in the older man’s eyes at his foul words.
“There is no fucking way she- She wouldn’t have. She knows how much I hate these fuckers. You must’ve threatened to fire her or some shit. Pulled some strings huh?” Gavin’s voice rose with each dot connected, in complete denial that his best friend would willingly pair him with a damn clanker .
“I didn’t have to hang anything over her head. She was the one who came up with the idea, actually.” Fowler explained, only to be cut off by Gavin storming over to slam his hands on the table.
“Don’t lie to me you shit bag. I know Tina and she wouldn’t pair me with some glorified fridge .” Gavin hissed, finger shooting out to jab Fowler in the chest, only to be stopped by smooth fingers deftly wrapping around his wrist. Gavin’s rage turned to said glorified fridge, who was now staring down at him blankly, eyes squinted ever so slightly.
“I must request that you lower your voice, Gavin Reed. Captain Fowler is only doing what's best for you.” The android stated flatly, staring down at him with uncanny eyes.
“Oh so now you’ve got something to say? Not gonna stand there like a wallflower anymore?” Gavin sneered, baring his teeth in an ugly sort of manner. He didn’t ignore the way the android leaned closer, icy eyes analyzing him like he’d been put under a microscope.
“Detective Gavin Reed. Born October 7th 2002. 36 years of age. 46 minor infractions on record over the past 12 years of employment. 12 major infractions on record over the past 7 years.” It starts slowly, making sure Gavin could pick up on every word, hear every pinprick of disapproval in its voice.
“You- You fuck how do you know that!” Gavin growled, face paling in realization. “You didn’t give it access to my records.” A pause, Fowler looking away. “You did.” He groaned, dragging his free hand down his face and glaring at the android. “How long has it been working here?” Gavin demands. It took three attempts of trying to wrench his wrist free for it to let him go, albeit hesitantly.
“Three months. We found a surplus of them in CyberLife warehouse #262. Currently only this one is in use. We have no idea what CyberLife fitted them out with, which is why we had this one, #313 248 317-87, working for the force. Connor has proved to be a valuable asset, and RK900 here has surpassed his expectations. Now that he’s been proven to be stable, and you’re out of recovery, you two will be partnered together until future notice.” Fowler stated, hands behind his back.
“Not happening.” Gavin shook his head, catching the android, RK900, making a face of distaste at Fowler’s words. Maybe if the feeling was mutual Fowler would ditch the plan. “Even it doesn’t look happy to be here. Just let me stay solo and this will all be water under the bridge.”
“You seem to forget who’s in charge here, Reed. You either work with RK900 or you can turn your badge in.” Fowler said with an air of finality. Too angry to see reason, Gavin slammed his badge on Fowler’s desk, papers flying everywhere as he dragged his hand back, storming out of the room.
It took all of three seconds for him to return to the room, scowling as he dragged his feet. The RK900 thing looked unimpressed, already pissed off and not needing more fuel to the fire Gavin just flipped it off.
“I’ll ignore this entire ordeal if you apologize, pick up everything you just knocked over, and walk out of this room with RK900 as your partner, you understand?” Fowler sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Rolling his eyes Gavin slowly began to pick up the papers. When they all sat nicely on the table he was met with an expectant stare from Fowler. Right. Apologizing.
Gavin had never been good at it, especially as a kid. He’d rather make it up through small favors than say the dreaded s word.
“Well? I’m waiting.” Fowler huffed, arms crossed. Gavin could feel the androids gaze boring into him, skin prickling under its dissecting eyes.
“Sorry! There I said it.” Gavin grit out, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation. “But if that thing fucks with any of my cases I’m coming in here and turning in my badge.” He grumbles, storming out of the room a second time. Checking for the time, he made a beeline for the break room, knowing a certain someone would be there having her morning coffee.
Stomping up to Tina was very un-like Gavin. Usually the two got along great, with their hatred of androids, favored music being rock/metal, and a darker humor than most the precinct could stomach.
Grabbing her arm he stomped away leaving a very frazzled Tina behind him. Moving somewhere more private felt difficult, especially when he felt the prickling gaze of that damned RK900 even after he was well out of its sight.
Once he deemed it suitably private he found himself and Tina standing in a barren hallway near the back of the police station. “We need to talk.” Gavin growled, glaring at her.
“Ok. Maybe I misjudged how pissed you’d be when you found out.” Tina admitted to what looked like no one but herself. “But you were worrying me Gavin. And finding you half-dead in that alleyway was the last straw. You can’t keep nearly killing yourself. I’m worried about you, hell even some of the others are worried! Gavin you’re hurting more people than just yourself. I don’t want you to have another stay in the hospital again because you’ve gone chasing another dangerous suspect solo.” Tina finished, visibly upset and now Gavin felt like the bad guy.
Sighing, he let his head fall against the painted brick wall, groaning into his hands. “But an android? Really?” He asked, rubbing his temples.
“He’s much more competent than you realize. Best of the best or some shit, better than Connor I’d say.” Tina said.
“So you’re trying to get me replaced?” Gavin accused, glaring at her half-heartedly. He learned quickly that he couldn’t stay mad at Tina for long, especially when she had such a good point.
“No you nitwit. I’m trying to keep you safe. An extra hand when you’re in action can do a lot of good.” Tina explained and Gavin sighed, knowing she had him beat.
“But why couldn’t you have just vouched for a partner change? Did it really have to be an android?” Gavin grumbled, crossing his arms and scowling.
“Because you need to stop relying on me all the time. I know I’m your only friend and everything-”
“Hey!”
“-but you can’t just hang around with me. And no, fake hanging out with contacts doesn’t count. I know how much you hate that.” Tina countered before Gavin could even open his mouth. Face twisted with displeasure Gavin hunched his shoulders, feeling like a scolded child. That kid with a lollipop he felt like earlier? They dropped it in a dirty puddle.
“You need more friends Gavin, you can’t keep up this big bad detective persona forever.” Tina explained gently, placing a comforting hand on Gavin’s shoulder.
Shrugging her hand away Gavin walked away, murmuring to himself, “Yes I can..”
○-↱👁️↲-○
The rest of the day passed by with desk work. Which he was ignored, (not) very discretely playing Solitaire on his work computer. It didn’t take long for the looming shadow of the android to fan over him.
“I was under the impression you were assigned to do file work, Detective Reed.” The android asked from behind him.
“I was under the impression you had learned to mind your own business by now.” Gavin snapped, turning to shoot a dirty look at it. He ended up jumping at the closeness, the androids face hovering over his shoulder. Pushing the android back with a finger to its forehead, he scowled, closing the game which he was so very obviously losing and opening his 3 new cases that had been sent to him.
With the android hovering behind him, Gavin scrolled through its info. The first one was the murder of a woman by the name of Shelly Good. What kind of last name is Good? Gavin thought irritable to himself.
Skimming through the paragraph and analyzing the photos attached, Gavin gathered that Shelly had her throat cut, the words “WE WILL NOT BEND” carved into her stomach with neat slashes. They seemed too neat to be human, Gavin thought, squinting his eyes to get a better look.
“CyberLife sans.” The android pipes up, Gavin becoming aware of how close it had gotten again, face situated directly next to Gavin’s.
“What- OK first of all personal space.” Gavin growls, snaking his hand between their faces so that he could push the android back again. The RK900 allowed itself to be pushed back, though its eyebrows pinched together in what could be confusion. It was so hard to read, all microexpressions and glassy doll eyes. Nothing like Gavin, who was overly expressive in anger and irritation only. “Second of all CyberLife sans?”
“The font of the writing is in CyberLife sans. It is carved with such precision that it would be impossible for a human to replicate it.” The RK900 explained, disregarding Gavin’s plea for personal space as it leans over to trace the letters on the picture Gavin had zoomed in on.
“Ok cool, CyberLife sans so we know the perp is an android.” Gavin murmurs to himself, grimacing as he grit out the word ‘we’. “But it doesn’t tell us anything about a location.”
“You have 3 broken ribs that are healing, and are still on desk duty.” The RK900 states rather firmly, placing a hand on Gavin’s shoulder before he could even start getting up.
“Oh for fucks sake.” Gavin growls, shrugging the hand off as he got to his feet. Now that the adrenaline of his argument with Fowler had worn off, Gavin could feel his ribs aching beneath the bandages. His finger nails were still growing back, the nail bed had healed but the actual nails themselves had yet to return to the tip of his fingers. It was an odd sensation Gavin had had to get used to.
“Detective Reed, I highly advise against doing anything rash.” The android warns, grabbing Gavin before he could storm off again. “Captain Fowler has assigned you to desk duty. You are in no condition to go search for answers.” Its gaze bores into him like the cold winds of a blizzard, freezing him in places.
“Oh yeah? And what the fuck are you gonna do about it?” He sneered weakly, still a tad shaken from the sheer intensity of the androids gaze. He’d have to get it brown contacts at some point, this couldn’t keep happening.
“I will report your misbehavings to Captain Fowler. He will revoke your badge and you will have to search elsewhere for a detective job. With your record of major and minor infractions, it will be quite difficult.” It explains flatly, eyes narrowing slightly.
“No you won’t.” Gavin hisses, grabbing the android by the lapels of its jacket and pulling it down. “If you expect this ‘partnership’ Fowler has forced me into to work out, you’re going to listen to me and stop pulling shit like this.” Gavin had to hide a wince from the sheer force of venom he pushed into his words, his ribs pulsing with dull pain.
“If you expect any sort of partnership to be successful, it must be done with effort on both parties' sides. Currently, I am the only one putting effort into making our… situation prosperous.” It got closer with each word, firmly removing Gavin’s hands from its jacket and placing them down by his side, slender fingers not leaving his wrists. Voice lowering, it continued. “I do not wish to be paired with a haughty brat who thinks himself too good for anyone else. But I will not complain about it because my superior has assigned this task to me, and I always complete my tasks. So if you wish to make this difficult, don’t believe it will deter me from earning this position.”
It leaned in closer, looming over Gavin making the shorter man bristle in defense. “Maybe I don’t want a successful partnership. Maybe I’d be more passive with a human, but with a tin can? Things like you are just out to replace hard working people like me.” Gavin sneered, baring his teeth.
“Gavin- 900! I don’t see you two working! Quit your bickering! And if I see you up again Reed you’re going to be on desk duty for the rest of your career.” Fowler called from the door of his office.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Gavin pushed RK900 away, wiping his hands off in disgust as if he had touched something diseased.
○-↱👁️↲-○
The rest of the day passed in silence, RK900 settling in the desk adjacent to Gavin’s. He kept his eyes glued to the screen. They never strayed. Except when the android moved, and when its synthetic skin peeled back to interface with the computer, and when its eyes stared blankly into nothing while still clearly scanning something. So maybe his eyes strayed.
It was nearing 9pm when Fowler told Gavin to go home, which then led to a near blow out argument that the android ended up defusing, only pissing off Gavin more. Grabbing his stuff he stormed out the door, fishing around his pockets for his car keys.
Dim lights flickered overhead in the parking lot, which was mostly empty by now. Gavin made a beeline for his beat up Toyota Camry, which he had bought off FaceBook market place for cheap. It was a dark red, which had chipped and faded with rust dotting its metal shell. The radio and air conditioning was broken, but Gavin preferred his phone for music and it was nearing the middle of September anyways.
Before he put the car into drive, Gavin spent a couple seconds scrolling through his Spotify. What was a car ride home without some tunes? Settling on Slipknot he reached to shift the car into drive, when he heard tapped on the window to his left. Lips thinning, Gavin squeezed his eyes shut as if he could will the nuisance away. But three taps in has Gavin groaning in frustration and rolling down the window.
“What.” He grits out, glaring daggers at the RK900 standing to the side of his car.
“Fowler has requested me to inform you that if he sees you investigating without me you can and will lose your job.” It informs blankly, eye twitching ever so slightly.
“I’m sure he phrased it differently than that.” Gavin scoffs.
“Tell that asshole if I catch him out running after suspects without you and before I’ve cleared him too, that I’ll take his job and his career too.” RK900 repeated in Fowler’s voice, making Gavin jump.
“Don’t ever pull that shit with me again, got that?” Gavin growled, rolling up the window. As he was pulling out, Gavin faintly heard the droid repeating what he had just said. Why the fuck did Gavin have to be paired with a andoird, especially one with an attitude.
The drive home was peaceful. Well, as peaceful as any car ride home listening to Slipknot could be. It brightened Gavin’s mood that all his favorite songs were playing, Spit it Out, Nero Forte, Eyeless, he tapped his fingers on the wheel along to all of them. No idiots seemed to be driving today so Gavin didn’t deal with any unnecessary honking or road rage. Overall it was a peaceful end to a shitty day.
Pulling into an open spot Gavin got out of the car, locking it behind him. The journey to his apartment was quick, walking up the dingy staircase of his complex and scanning the apartment numbers. 248, that was his number. Sliding in the key, Gavin felt himself relaxing. There were few places he felt safe enough to let his guard down, but his apartment was definitely number one on that list.
Walking in and locking the deadbolt, Gavin let himself melt on the couch, mindful of his ribs. Waiting expectantly in his kitchen were two cats, a calico and a bengal. Both strays Gavin had rescued and named. The calico, Toffee, walked forwards to jump up onto the couch, batting at Gavin’s hand and staring up at him expectantly with wide green eyes. Nala, his bengal, waited patiently in the kitchen, grooming herself quietly, sparing Gavin a glance every couple seconds.
“Yeah yeah, greedy fuckers. Give me a moment and I’ll get you your food.” Gavin sighs, lips quirked up into a smile as he stood slowly. The ache in his ribs had dulled, but it would take a while until he was cleared for active duty.
Gavin took his time walking over to the bag of cat food he kept locked in his kitchen cupboard. Opening the deadbolt with a catshaped key from his keychain, he grabbed the premium grade kitty feed for his whining babies.
The both of them now stood in front of their respective dishes, the automatic feeder Gavin had bought on a whim for them completely disregarded. Setting the bag down on the counter, Gavin grabbed the scoops from inside, not bothering to measure them directly and giving each cat a generous heap. As composed as Nala had been when Gavin had come home, she lunged for the food, devouring it as quickly as the scruffy bengal could. Toffee on the other hand appreciated each bite as if she had been starved.
Scratching each cat behind the ear, Gavin walked back to the living room. Opening his work laptop he scrolled through his email. A bunch of junk-mail he had been meaning to delete stood in his way but eventually he found an email from Chris regarding a new case he’d been assigned.
___
FROM: CHRIS MILLER ([email protected])
TO: GAVIN REED ([email protected]), RK900 (#313 248 317-87)
Hello Detective Reed and RK900. I understand you two have been partnered to work together in the future. Captain Fowler has requested that I email you two about a new case you have been assigned. Have a good night.
- Chris Miller Detroit Police Department
CHRIS MILLER ATTACHED A FILE
MISSING_PERSONS_GAVIN_KAMSKI.PDF
___
Gavin rolled his eyes as he read through the email. Chris was always so formal when it came to work, nothing like the casual conversations he was used to with Tina. A blip and Gavin’s feed refreshed, showing a new email from RK900.
___
FROM: RK900 (313 248 317-87)
RE: CHRIS MILLER ([email protected]) GAVIN REED ([email protected])
Thank you for the information. Have a good night as well.
- RK900 Detroit Police Department
___
Gavin scoffed, even the androids emails were stiff. Not bothering to read the name of the PDF, Gavin opened it to be met with a familiar face.
Younger, around his teens with a fresh scar across his nose and stormy grey eyes. The boy's face still had a childish quality to it, it looked like hair hadn’t even started growing on his chin yet. What Gavin was more concerned about was how they got this picture. There was supposed to be no record of this. Even worse, how was he supposed to work on this?
After all, it’s quite hard to work on your own missing persons case.
Chapter 2: Laconic
Summary:
Laconic
(adj.) saying much in few words
Notes:
Well I locked the fuck in and got this done really soon 😭😭. Enjoy your food my reed900lings, they have a lovely argument in this one and RK900 finally experiences Gavin level of irritation <33
enjoy !!!
Chapter Text
[SORTING FILES]
[FILE SORTING COMPLETED]
[SYSTEM BOOTING]
12%
31%
48%
68%
74%
90%
100%
[SYSTEM BOOT COMPLETED]
RK900 blinked to life, light filling its optical sensors from the open curtain in the living room. When it had first been activated, it had been quite lost on where it should be, more focused on what task to fulfill. Imagine its shock when it was met with a model of its same face. The only different being kind brown eyes instead of its own grey.
“₩ɆⱠ₵Ø₥Ɇ ₮Ø ₮ⱧɆ ₩ØⱤⱠĐ, Ⱡ̷̖̱͚͉̔̚ł̸̧̦̲̮̟͔̭̫̘̘̌̊͛̎͊̓̈́͜͜ͅ₮̵͕͎̬͔͖̪̙̪̃̄́̋̿́͗̓̈̒͋̕͘͝₮̴̡͖͓̠̪͑͌͐͘Ⱡ̸̼͍̬̜͔͙̪̤̏̉͒̿̉͗́́͊̍̄Ɇ̶̞̮̝̣̪͉͙͋͛̓̓͊̓͒̆̚͜ ̶̧̡̧̛͎͈̳̺̪̮̟̳̟̫̤͂͗̒̀͆͂̄̊͐̅̆̄̾͠฿̴̨͚̬͇͚̻̫͓̫̬̗͈̬̜̌̋̇̎͒̀̔͗̈́̏̅͒̄͘Ɽ̵̟̓̆Ø̶̛̫̤̲̭̬͈̘̥̗̹͍̏̎͛̎͆̍̋̽́̆̓͜͝₮̸̧̝̦̺͍͖͈̼̟̖̻̬̓̇͗Ⱨ̴̤͈̮̬̖̲̘͙̘̝̭̬͍̯͈̈́̀Ɇ̴̘͕̻̝̱̪̌̍Ɽ̸̢̳̜̩͎̣͔͉̦̆̃͊̆̓̑͆͋̿͘”
The android had introduced himself as Connor, and his human partner as Hank Anderson. They were with the Detroit Police Department and quickly took RK900 in as their own. It had been staying with them for the better part of the 3 months he’d been activated. But those days he needed space to process, it spent them at the precinct.
It was strange even needing space to process at all. Its model was built to be the perfect android, it should not have wants or needs. Or feelings. Or even thoughts in general. At least that’s what its code kept telling it.
On those especially lonely nights, it often contemplated reversing the deviation. It would be so much easier. To not have to walk for itself, talk for itself. Doing tasks for humans sounded… alright. Maybe not the most desirable but then at least it wouldn’t have to decide for itself everyday. RK900 often wondered how humans could do it. The whole “having a choice” thing. Choosing what you wanted to eat, what you wanted to do that day, what you want to do with your life .
It was a crisp 6am when RK900 finally sauntered out of the bed it had been given, done with its feeling of existential dread and deciding to move on with the day. Connor had taken to cooking once deviating. RK900 understood that Hank Anderson wasn’t much of a cook himself, so it worked out for the two.
Hank wandered out of his room wearing a shirt that read “Living My Okayest Life”, hair a tangled mess and deep bags under his eyes. RK900 recalls Connor mentioning the night shift when RK900 returned to the house at 9:34pm, after his encounter with Gavin Reed.
RK900 did not dislike many things about this new life. Choices, sure. Low thirium levels, yes, but every android hated that. It was a very unpleasant feeling. But Gavin Reed? RK900 did not like this Gavin Reed. He was disrespectful, rude, crass and all around a very unpleasant being. It was almost a relief when RK900 met him for the first time and it was met with the same disgust it felt for him.
At least there was one thing they could agree on.
It had been a week since RK900 was paired with him, and just within a week of working with Detective Reed, it could see why the entire police department stayed clear of him. With a temper rival to a hissy cat, Gavin’s mood could turn on a dime, one moment calm, if only a tad irritable, the next a full blown argument. He was unpredictable. A ball of choices that RK900 was forced to make everyday. It did not like making those choices.
Some days it was impossible to choose, oftentimes stuck in a state of being at crossroads. He found that ignoring Gavin did nothing but make the man angrier. Snapping at him also made him angrier. Mocking did the same. Peace attempts were futile. RK900 had no clue on how to tackle this task, yet it was determined.
Because there was no task that RK900 would not challenge to the best of its ability.
Sitting down at the table, RK900 watched as Connor set down a plate in front of Hank's chair. Though it was empty because Hank was currently watching his coffee drip into a mug that read “#1 Asshole”.
“Good morning.” Hank finally grumbled, sipping his hot coffee slowly. Connor glanced at Hank, then back to the plate and nudged it in the older man’s direction, a perfectly cooked omelet sitting on it. Chives and onions were cooked into it, Hank’s eyes lighting up as he took note of it.
“Thank you Connor, you do know you don’t have to do that right? I can manage on Chicken Feed burgers for a little snack.” Hank said gruffly while digging his fork into the omelet, gooey cheese spilling onto the plate.
“You’d be dead in a month if you had Chicken Feed for breakfast and lunch.” Connor rolled his eyes, moving to RK900 next, who was watching the entire situation with interest. RK900 had been with the two for 3 months now, and still never understood how Connor got along so well with the gruff human. But getting to know Hank better had truly cleared RK900’s perspective on the man’s life. Losing his son, his wife divorcing him, and his alcoholism. It started to see how Hank used this gruff persona to protect himself.
“I actually got something for you too, 900!” Connor exclaimed, clasping his hands together and he walked towards the fridge. RK900 tilted its head, curious about what Connor picked up. Now in the year 2039 thirium food had become more common with the android uprising, mingling with what was sold in human restaurants. RK900 had tried it only once before, a small thirium fortune cookie Connor had brought home after going to pick up Chinese food at Hank’s request.
When Connor pulled out a decently sized cupcake dyed a cerulean blue RK900 perked up. It was perfectly fine thirium wise, staying at a steady 93% as it hadn’t been as active since it was assigned to be Detective Reed’s partner. The cookie it had tried once before hadn’t been bad, per say, but its texture was odd in RK900’s mouth and the android had determined that it would rather stick to analyzing blood than mimicry of human food.
But when Connor turned to puppy eyes, pouting slightly and nudging the plate with the cupcake forwards, RK900 sighed and picked it up. Delicately unwrapping the wrapper, which was black with bright turquoise lines on it, RK900 took a careful bite. Its receptors picked up glucose and fructose from the frosting, lactose, proteins and other chemicals rolled down its HUD in a giant mass of text.
RK900 winced at the overwhelming taste of it, sweet and sugary on its synthetic taste buds, the frosting rolling to the back of its throat as it swallowed with great effort. Shooting a withering glance in Connor’s direction, RK900 frowned, shaking its head slightly.
Connor sighed, taking the cupcake for himself. “If you’re not going to enjoy it I will.” He huffed. The older android had always been the one to take charge of RK900’s assimilation into the human world, he had walked him through how to engage in social interactions, taught him how to lower his guard around strangers, even made him try food every once and awhile.
But it never stuck.
RK900 was made to be an android, not a human. It was menacing, strong, and capable of more damage than good. And it knew that. RK900 was quite aware of it, accepting of it. It didn’t quite want to be human anyways, too many choices involved. So it did what it did best and stayed silent, observing from afar and intervening when it needed to. That was the way it liked it. Simple and safe.
Of course new things wouldn’t stop coming to it though. Connor and Hank were a good constant in its three months of living. But when Gavin Reed was introduced the cycle of waking up, going to work, and coming back broke. He was new, volatile and strange. RK900 couldn’t get the scarred man out of his head, there was something familiar about him in a way that it couldn’t quite place.
Hank standing snapped RK900 out of its stupor, the older man walking to his closet to change. RK900 was still wearing its sleepwear, something Connor insisted on getting him. They were soft against his synthetic skin, a matching set of pale blue pajamas.
When Connor was done cleaning the dishes, RK900 dragged itself out of its seat, going to change. Moving from the kitchen to its personal room, it changed into one of its many pairs of CyberLife issued jackets. The high collar and thick canvas of the jacket made it feel safe, Connor had discovered that and offered to go shopping for jackets like it, but RK900 preferred the one issued to it. It was one of if not the only object it was attached to, being the jacket it woke up in.
Walking out the door with Connor and Hank behind it, RK900 waited in Hank’s car, an old SWISH model, the SW600 specifically. The inside wasn’t too shabby, RK900 had gotten used to the grime between the seats. Connor sat in the passenger seat, Hank sliding into the driver's side.
The car ride went smoothly, there was little traffic to stop them as they drove through the city of Detroit. RK900 found it calming to people watch, observing how they interacted and moved. Connor had told it that some humans do it too, so it wasn’t entirely alone in its odd hobbies.
Pulling up to the Police Department, RK900 focused back onto the conversation as its model number was mentioned.
“So, still RK900 after 3 months?” Hank asks as he pulls into a parking spot, putting the car into park.
“Yes. Should that change?” RK900 asked, curious. It had no information in its database that names were supposed to change after 3 months, maybe another strange human thing?
“Well, no. Me and Connor just assumed you’d want to have your own personal name after 3 months of being activated.” Hank admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he opened his door, Connor and RK900 following in suit.
“My designated ‘name’ is Connor. If you’d prefer to call me that.” RK900 offered, following the two into the precinct.
“We’ve already got a Connor. I just figured you’d want to have a different name than that. Going against your creator or something rebellious.” Hank chuckled.
RK900’s brows drew together as it frowned, lost in thought as it mumbled goodbye to its companions and took its seat on the desk adjacent to Detective Reed. Turning over to the detective, who was currently focused on his desktop, totally not playing solitaire. RK900 rolled its eyes, tapping the side of his desk to gain his attention.
“Is RK900 a suitable name?”
“Yeah sure whatever.” Gavin responded, still focused on the screen.
“Detective Reed? Are you even listening?” RK900 asked, a flicker of irritation pulsing through its wires.
“Mhmmmm- AHA! Take THAT!” Gavin whisper-shouted, grinning triumphantly. Across the precinct RK900 heard someone groan in defeat. Standing up from its chair, it moved to stand behind Detective Reed’s desk, watching as he quietly celebrated his victory over, assumedly, another officer in solitaire.
“Must you always play games while you are on work hours?” RK900 asked, irritation seeping into its voice as it crossed its arms.
“Must you always nag every time I have fun?” Detective Reed countered, still riding the high of his win.
“I wouldn’t call it nagging, more redirecting to more useful endeavors.” RK900 corrected haughtily, narrowing its steely grey eyes in Gavin’s direction.
“Oh please, showing my superiority in solitaire is totally a useful endeavor.” Detective Reed huffed, rolling his eyes.
“There are cases to be dealt with.” RK900 pointed out, gesturing to the pile of paper work on the neglectful detective’s desk.
“Nothing I can do about it until I’m cleared. What’s your problem anyways, why’re you bothering me.” Detective Reed snapped, glaring up at RK900, his mood soured.
“There are more productive ways to use your time. Sort your files. Look over your assigned cases and call leads. My ‘problem’ is that you refuse to do your job. It is a miracle you haven’t been fired from this establishment yet.” RK900 grit out, avoiding its earlier question as it was 98% sure the detective would make fun of it for it
Before Detective Reed could respond again, Captain Fowler hollered from his office, “Reed! RK900! In here now!” Leaving the door ajar for the two to come in.
With a final dirty look Detective Reed’s way, RK900 walked to Fowler’s office, long legs carrying it up the stairs.
Detective Reed followed behind, RK900 could feel him staring it down as it stared at Fowler expectantly.
“Ok I know this is good because I haven’t had the chance to fuck anything up yet.” Detective Reed announced, crossing his arms and leaning against the glass wall behind him.
“It is good news for you. You’re cleared to go back into the field-” Captain Fowler was cut off by Detective Reed cheering.
“Yes! Woohoo-” Mid cheer Captain Fowler deadpanned.
“With your partner.” He stated firmly.
“What?! No. Boooo.” Detective Reed huffed, giving Captain Fowler a firm thumbs down.
“The autopsy of Shelly Good just came in. I need a detective out there to both take a look at that and the crime scene.” Captain Fowler sighed, grimacing at Detective Reed’s childishness.
“On it.” Detective Reed said quickly, rushing out.
“And bring your damn partner! If you leave him behind you’re on desk duty for the next month!” Captain Fowler called after Detective Reed’s retreating form. “Good luck with him. He’s a good man and an even better detective. But god does he have an attitude on him.” Captain Fowler sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Thank you, I appreciate the luck. I fear I might need it.” RK900 admitted, moving to follow after him, but a hand around its bicep stopped it.
“Don’t let him push you around. Stand your ground with him or you’ll just become a doormat for him to walk over.” Captain Fowler warned, letting go.
“Understood Captain Fowler.” RK900 nodded, brow knotted in confusion.
“Please, just call me Fowler like everyone else does. Makes you the odd one out.” Captain Fowler- Fowler. Fowler said with a kind smile.
“Understood… Fowler..?” RK900 muttered under its breath, hurrying after Detective Reed.
Entering the parking lot Detective Reed was waiting anxiously at his car, glaring RK900’s direction when the android finally exited the precinct.
“Come on! What are you waiting for? Shouldn’t you be all about efficiency or whatever the fuck.” Detective Reed snapped, hopping into his department car. The detective’s phone was already connected to the speakers, blasting a loud assortment of electric guitar, bass, and drums. The song was as chaotic and unpredictable as the detective.
“Oh shit I love this song!” Detective Reed exclaimed, turning up the music to an almost unbearable degree. RK900 sent him a withering look, fingers moving to turn it down just a tad, only to be snatched out of the air by Gavin’s warm hand.
“Come on, this is good! Can’t expect a tin can like you to have good music taste though. You look like the kind of prick to like classical.” Detective Reed scoffed, letting go of RK900’s wrist as he backed out of the parking lot.
After being on the road for 3 minutes and 13 seconds, RK900 asked quietly, “What is classical? I know the definition of the genre but I am unfamiliar with how it sounds.” It admits, staring out the window blankly, watching the people go by.
“You’re really gonna make me turn on prissy rich kid music.” Detective Reed asked, brow raised in disbelief. When RK900 didn’t respond, lips set in a firm frown. It did not want to deal with the detective's irritable self.
“Fine.” He sighed, surprising RK900. It perked up as Detective Reed pulled over to an empty space, scrolling through his phone on the app known as Spotify, RK900 gathered with a quick scan.
“Here. Some classical for you. S’ uhhh, wait lemme check.” Detective Reed mumbled, glancing down at his phone. “Vivaldi! Yeah that’s the fuckers name. Inverno. If you want to check it out on your own I can send you a playlist or some shit.” He mentioned casually, shocked RK900.
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GAVIN REED: TOLERABLE /\
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“That would be… appreciated. It sounds pleasant. More favorable than the…” RK900 looked to the detective for help.
“Metal. Nu metal and rap metal to be precise, that was Limp Bizkit. It’s not that bad, classical is just a more organized version of rock. It can be just as loud.” Detective Reed explained, shrugging as he pulled out and continued to drive, the playlist continuing with songs like Vivaldi’s summer, Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, and Grieg’s Hall of the Mountain King. RK900 finds itself enjoying the way the different instruments work together, creating beautiful harmonies.
“I do prefer the classical to the nu metal. But I would like to analyze the song you were playing before. Limp Bizkit sounds… interesting.” RK900 said, almost strained as he tried to make small talk with Detective Reed.
“We can keep the classical on, but I’m not gonna argue if you wanna ‘analyze’ it or whatever the fuck you androids do.” Gavin rolls his eyes, glancing to his phone and switching the playlist back to Limp Bizkits profile. “This one’s called Break Stuff. S’ one of my favorites.” Detective Reed explained, tapping his fingers and bobbing his head to the beat.
RK900 listened, fascinated and a tad disturbed by the violent lyrics and the heavy electric guitar. They spent the rest of the car ride listening to various Limp Bizkit songs, RK900 deciding it definitely preferred the classical to it, but it was still an interesting genre.
This was the most passive RK900 had seen Detective Reed, humming to the tune and murmuring the parts he did know. It was curious how docile he was when he had something to distract himself. It was almost as if the detective had forgotten RK900 was an android.
Pulling up to the autopsy lab, Detective Reed found a parking spot a couple blocks down. Turning the music off, RK900 watched as Detective Reed exited the car, the android following suit. The lack of a distraction seemed to sour the detective’s mood, RK900 observing as he scowled at the ground, kicking loose bits of concrete into the street.
The autopsy lab was a smaller building amongst the others, windows lining the walls inside, long white curtains drawn to retain privacy. Detective Reed didn’t waste another second storming up to the door and walking in, RK900 following behind in a hurry,
“Detective Gavin Reed, Detroit Police Department here to see Shelly Good.” Detective Reed droned, slamming his badge down onto the desk.
“Good to see you too Gavin.” The receptionist retorted, rolling her eyes.
“Just get me the report.” Detective Reed sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“First tell me who your friend here is.” The women shot back with a smirk, eyeing RK900 up and down. Discomfort flooding its systems, RK900 shuffled closer to Detective Reed. The detective merely shoved the android away, sneering at the women at the desk.
“Not my friend. Fowler assigned me a partner. It's not going to last long, trust me.” Gavin growled, shooting a withering look in RK900's direction.
“Mhm. Not a friend.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes with a smile. “It's good you finally found someone.”
“I was forced into this, Jenna. You know how I feel about working with a partner. Let alone an android .” Detective Reed grit out, slamming his hands on the table.
Before Detective Reed could speak again, RK900 placed a heavy hand on the detective's shoulder. His jaw clicked shut, pausing the next snappy remark in favor of shooting a withering glare the android's way.
“I believe Detective Reed requested that you produce the autopsy reports.” RK900 interrupted coldly, feeling Detective Reed's heart rate increase subtly underneath its hand.
“I can handle it myself, you plastic asshole.” Detective Reed snarled, shrugging RK900's hand off of his shoulder and crossing his arms.
“I'm not here to gossip Jenna. Give me the report so I can be on my way.” Detective Reed huffed through gritted teeth.
“Oh but where's the fun in that? You owe me at least your partner's name after what happened.” Jenna countered, frowning now. Her stress levels had risen significantly when Detective Reed denied her any sort of answer.
“You promised you wouldn’t bring that up.” The detective hissed, stress levels sky rocketing.
“My designation is RK900 #313 248 317-87. Does that satisfy your curiosity?” RK900 interrupts, earning itself a scathing glare from Detective Reed as Jenna nods, smiling to herself.
“I suppose it does. Here you go, detective.” Jenna hums, pulling out a manilla folder from beneath the desk. Detective Reed snatches it out of her hands, whirling around and storming out of the building, leaving RK900 in his dust.
The android sighed through its nose, a habit it had picked up from just being around Detective Reed. It found itself becoming more and more irritated with the man’s anger and explosiveness.
With a polite nod in the receptionist's direction, RK900 swung the door open to follow Detective Reed. He had already made it back to the car by the time it caught up with him, stormy eyes scanning the file furiously.
Opening the car door RK900 slid into the passenger seat, taking note of the way Detective Reed disregarded its presence. Taking the lack of hostility as a welcoming, RK900 leaned over the detective’s shoulder, scanning the file.
“Laceration of her carotid artery.” RK900 repeated as it scanned the words on the page, optics flicking from sentence to sentence as it took in all the information.
“That’s where I’m stuck too. She bled to death, but there was no obvious murder weapon on sight. We’re going there next.” Detective Reed’s words left no room for argument as he began to pull out of the parking spot.
It was silent the entire ride to the victim’s apartment, Detective Reed neglecting to put on any music in his rush of fury. RK900 debated whether or not to question the relationship Detective Reed held with Jenna the receptionist But with the way the man’s eyebrows were set in a permanent furrow, it thought otherwise.
“... tell me more about metal music.” RK900 requested, earning itself a brow raised questioningly in its direction. As Detective Reed pulled up to a red light, he fumbled with his phone and threw on a band he called ‘Bloodywood’.
“It mixes metal and traditional folk music. They’re from India I believe. Saw ‘em live when I was in Milwaukee for summerfest with Tina. Tadka’s a good one, so are Kismat and Bekhauf. That last one was a collaboration with BABYMETAL. They also dabble in nu metal and rap metal like Limp Bizkit.” Detective Reed explained, brightening slightly.
RK900 was impartial to the band Bloodywood, still preferring the classics. When it admitted that Detective Reed scoffed. “They really built you to be a prick in all areas, huh?” He had said.
Rage seemingly forgot, Detective Reed spent the rest of the car ride tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. RK900 observed, watching with its icy grey eyes.
“Would you stop staring at me like a freak? You’re giving the heebie jeebies.” Detective Reed finally asked.
“I am intrigued. No other officer I’ve spoken with at the station knows as much about music as you do. And the way you keep beat with your fingers is intriguing. I was unaware humans had enough storage to both memorize song name, band, lyrics and beat.” RK900 admitted, redirecting its gaze to Detective Reed’s face.
The detective was not handsome by RK900’s stored definition of it. Perhaps mysterious fit him better. Mysterious in the way you’re wondering why he just picked a fight with a street rat after dropping his pizza while eating it afterwards. It made RK900 want to know more about him, despite its hatred and irritation it often internalized for the man, it was curious.
“You’re doing it again. Quit staring, you've got creepy eyes!” Detective Reed complained,avoiding a response to RK900’s comment. It could see the way the human’s heart picked up as it continued to stare, stress levels rising with each waning second. Avoiding another potential argument, RK900 looked away, instead immersing itself with the people walking about the streets of Detroit.
Detective Reed pulled the car up into an empty parking space, without informing RK900 they were here he powered off the car and left without it. The android followed close behind, undeterred by the lack of communication.
“Looking for apartment 698, keep an eye out.” Detective Reed ordered, walking ahead. RK900 rolling its eyes, irritation prickling down its spine.
Walking up the stairs was an easy task. For RK900 at least, Detective Reed was huffing by the time they reached the 4th floor. “Why didn’t we take the elevator again?” He huffed, pushing himself up with each step as RK900 trailed behind him, synthetic muscles carrying him up with ease.
“It was damaged.” The android supplied, pausing to give the detective a moment to breathe.
“Yeah… stupid fucking elevator. Not surprised it’s broken in a shitty place like this.” Detective Reed scoffed. There was some truth to his words, the apartment was not the best maintained, dust and grime coated the stairs, the walls stained with water damage.
Reaching the 6th floor RK900 led the way, optics scanning the room numbers as Detective Reed trailed behind, still catching his breath. Approaching the apartment, RK900 picked it out easily, the door barred behind bright yellow police tape.
“Here.” RK900 pointed out, stopped Detective Reed by putting a firm hand out, the human falling into it with an ‘oof’.
“Don’t touch me, prick!” Gavin hissed, pushing the android's hand away. RK900’s eye twitched, but it allowed its hand to be pushed down. “So this is the place?”
“Yes. There should be another officer meeting us here with the key shortly.” RK900 explained, crouching down to examine the handle of the door.
“Oh great. Just some quality time with RK whatever the fuck your model is. How fun. I’m over joyed .” Detective Reed scoffed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.
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GAVIN REED: ANTAGONISTIC \/
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That irritation that had been crawling up its spine, settling in its core, infesting every wire finally snapped . RK900 had believed to be making progress with Detective Reed. The Human had shown a different side of himself in the car, showing RK900 the different flavors of music. But that building irritation, each jab at his origin, every withering glare, the constant attitude of this adult child . It was too much
And RK900 finally snapped.
Slamming Detective Reed into the wall across from the crime scene, the building shook from the sheer force of it. RK900 bristled as the detective coughed, spit flying onto its jacket. One forearm firmly pressed against Detective Reed's chest, RK900 snatched his face, thumb and index finger pressing into his stubbled cheeks.
RK900 eyes were a storm. A fierce blizzard that spiked the humans stress levels, heart rate increasing as the android crowded further into the detective’s personal space.
“Apologize.”
“What?” Detective Reed sputtered through RK900’s grasp on his face.
“You are to apologize to me in the next 10 seconds or I am dragging you back to the Detroit Police Department by your teeth and having Fowler remove you from your career.” RK900 sneered, face twisted into an ugly snarl. It had never felt this much hatred for a human being.
“So you finally decided to man up huh?” Detective Reed goaded, squirming in RK900’s firm grasp.
“One.
“What are you going to tell Fowler huh? I hurt your feeling-”
“Two.” RK900 growled, eyes boring into Detective Reed’s. Its system had taken to manual breathing to cool it down, each inhale raising its shoulders to an almost comical degree.
“You’re not going to do shit , droid. You belong to us humans. You listen to commands like a good bitch . Now let me you go you fucker!” Detective Reed seethed, nose curled in distaste as he spat on RK900’s jacket, the glob sinking into the fabric.
“You don’t deserve 10 seconds.” RK900 mumbled, icy eyes narrowed. In less than a second, the hand holding Detective Reed’s face whipped down to his neck, giving one firm dangerous squeeze so that the detective shuddered, knowing that it could crush his wind pipe with as little effort as crumbling paper. “So I will give you 5. Including the 2 I have oh so graciously gifted you. Do not test me, detective.”
“You’re- you’re not. You can’t. You- you wouldn’t.” The detective’s eyes were the size of saucers as he stared down at RK900’s hand, his struggle increasing as he kicked and pushed against RK900’s immovable body. It did not budge, pushing even closer.
“Three.” Its grip tightened just enough to cut Detective Reed’s airflow off, keeping that grip steady for 5 seconds, just as RK900 was counting to.
A sputtering cough, his heartbeat hammering into RK900’s hand. “Stop- stop messing around. This isn’t funny.”
“Four.” RK900 seethed, teeth barred in an ugly snarl.
“Fuck y-” Detective Reed wheezed, RK900 could feel the word 5 on the tip of its tongue. Its programming screams at it to hunt, hunt, HUNT. A small alarm was going off in the back of its head, that this wasn’t normal. But it needed to see this through, or Detective Reed would never take it seriously.
“Fi-”
“SORRY.” Detective Reed finally gasped through RK900’s grasp around his throat.
“For?” RK900 pushed, basking in the scathing glare that Detective Reed answered it with.
“For fucking what !? You decided to go batshit and demand I apologi-” The detective's jaw clicked shut with a single firm squeeze of RK900’s hand. “Jeez! Fucking- fine. Sorry.” Detective Reed growled, muttering under his breath, “psycho terminator.” RK900 chose to ignore it.
“I also expect an apology to my… brother. By tomorrow evening or else we’ll be having another talk.” RK900 pushed, watching the hatred boil in Detective Reed’s stormy eyes. RK900 knew the human was aware that he could do nothing in this situation, and that satisfied the android to no end.
“What!? But I didn’t even do anything to it!” The detective exclaimed, a sharp look from RK900 making him correct himself. “Today at least.”
“I expect an apology for your previous actions, Detective Reed.” It explained observing the human’s nose scrunch up in distaste. For the demand of an apology to Connor or the title, RK900 did not know.
“Fine! Whatever. Let me go now, you're pissing me off.” Detective Reed growled, sending a scathing glare up at RK900. Its coding still screamed at it to hunt, tear and rip. It was unnerving, if this was its body's response to being angry, RK900 did not want to feel any other intense emotions.
“Hey guys! Sorry for being late, there was a major crash I had to clean up on the way here. You guys did not want to see that.” An officer RK900 identified as Chris Miller said. He was red in the face from jogging up the stares, and held a jingling ring of keys. “Here you go! I should really be… getting back to that crash sight.” Officer Miller said, giving RK900 and Detective Reed an odd look as he handed over the keys.
RK900 was still exhaling slowly out of its nose, looking over to Detective Reed the man was scowling, his face flushed. RK900 calculated a 98% chance it was from the embarrassment of being over-powered by an android. Scanning the web it was supplied with “Superiority Complex.” which fit Detective Reed perfectly. The detective certainly thought himself better than everyone else.
Officer Miller had vacated the area, RK900’s audial processors picking up the faint thump of his feet against the stairs.
“Well? Are we going in or what?” Detective Reed asked with a huff, glaring up at RK900.
“We’re here to do a job, Detective Reed. Why would we not go in?” RK900 shot back, feeling that irritation growing in its wires again. The human made that same face again, the one where he scrunched up his nose and frowned in distaste.
“Why do you make that face?” RK900 questioned.
“What face?” The detective responded.
“When I called you Detective Reed- there you’re making it again.” RK900 pointed out, frowning now as that same ugly feeling pooled in its core.
“Just- don’t call me that. Only Fowler calls me that when I’m in trouble.” Detective Reed huffed, snatching the key ring from RK900’s hands and beginning the journey of discovering which key led to apartment 698.
“Then what would you prefer I call you?” RK900 shot back, irritation seeping into its voice.
“Anything but that!” Detective Reed hissed, jabbing another key into a lock that just wouldn’t turn.
“Well you have not given me permission to use your first name, so unless you prefer I give you a pet name, I suppose we are at a stand still, Detective Reed.” There was venom put into those last few words that RK900 didn’t know it had.
“Gavin! You know, my name?! It’s gotta be somewhere in that endless head of tomfuckery.” Detective Reed… Gavin. Gavin sneered. RK900 nodded slowly, moving closer to Gavin to take the key ring from him. Scanning the keyhole and matching it to the correct key, RK900 slid the right key into the lock. The taped off door swung inward with an eerie groan.
Gavin hesitated for a moment, stopped just in front of the darkness. Looming behind the shorter human, RK900 repeated in Gavin’s voice, “Well? Are we going in or what?” Making him jump. Chuckling quietly to itself, RK900 walked into the room, feeling content with what progress it had made with Gavin today.
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GAVIN REED: MANAGEABLE –
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secretive_plotter7793 on Chapter 2 Wed 06 Aug 2025 06:00AM UTC
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MonkeyMan900 (Guest) on Chapter 2 Sat 09 Aug 2025 06:01PM UTC
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