Chapter Text
Gavin poured himself yet another cup of coffee before going back to his desk. He sat down, looking around the mostly deserted precinct before bringing the drink to his lips. It was lukewarm at best but it was still better than the piss poor alcohol-free eggnog someone had brought in to try and liven up people’s spirit. Sipping on it, his gaze wandered, as it so often did lately, to the Andersons’ desks. He found himself wondering how the pair was celebrating.
Many of the androids now working in the force did not express much interest in the holiday, others didn’t have anyone to spend it with. They were, with a couple of rookies, the only company Gavin had on that lonely night. Despite the radical change in the way androids were treated and considered by society, there still needed to be a higher ranking, human, officer present at the precinct at all time.
Unlike what it might have seemed like considering his current mood, he’d volunteered for the shift. Like he did every year. He didn’t have anyone to spend the evening with. The man wasn’t known for his social skills and the few friends he did have were either in another state or busy with their family. His was dead, or might as well be for all he cared about most of it.
Setting the mug down he unconsciously adjusted it to make the toad look his way. He cracked his neck before facing his computer and diving once again in his paperwork.
When he felt someone gently tap his shoulder, he couldn’t tell if thirty minutes or two hours had gone by. Work had always been his way of escaping whatever shit was going on in his life and right now there wasn’t a whole lot of good.
As he turned around and saw Connor standing there, he tried to hide his surprise behind a frown. He took a proper look and the android and -
“The fuck are you wearing tin can?”, the words left his mouth without him even realising it but they lacked the usual bite he’d put in them. It was probably the first time he’d seen him wearing something else than a shirt and he understood why. Connor was way too cute in that jumper to be taken seriously during work hours.
Connor looked down, a crestfallen expression on his face. His hand that wasn’t carrying the huge bag than Gavin only just noticed grabbed the hem of his sleeve. Such a human thing to do, how had he never noticed all of those quirks before. Feeling guilty, Gavin quickly added, “It makes you look even goofier than usual but somehow it suits you.”
The compliment shocked him. He never expected Gavin of all people to tell him that Hank’s gift looked good on him. Connor felt heat rise to his cheek and bit down his lip when he felt his face switch up in a smile. He brought his free hand to his face, still gripping his sleeve, and gently rubbed his cheek before talking.
“I knew you’d be working tonight and figured you wouldn’t have a proper Christmas dinner so I thought I bring some of what I cooked for Hank and me,” as he mentioned the food, Connor handed him the bag. Their hands brushed for the shortest of time when Gavin grabbed it. He was surprised by the weight of it and the number of boxes he saw inside. This was far too much for one person to eat.
Gavin’s head snapped back up, his brows half-raised, half-furrowed, “Can you eat?”
Once again, the Detective’s reaction caught Connor’s reaction off-guard. He’d only expected to drop off the bag before going back home. Even if he hadn’t said it, the rest of the question was obvious and Connor never would have expected that Gavin would offer him to stay.
“Yeah, I - I can. The ability to eat and drink was one of the earliest updates released after the revolution,” he found himself explaining.
As soon as Connor was done talking, Gavin got up and started walking towards to the break room. Not hearing the other moving he shot “Are you coming or what?” which seemed to have brought the other out of his thoughts.
Gavin sat the bag on the first table, slowly taking out the numerous boxes. He realised he’d probably have enough leftovers to last him a couple of days, at the very least. When Connor arrived he helped him open them and took a seat.
It felt weird having dinner, on Christmas of all nights, with a person he despised not so long ago. He tried out a few of the starters before starting to feel the heaviness of the silence hanging between them weigh on his shoulders. Connor didn’t seem to mind, his LED still spinning a lazy blue. It made him feel good to know that Connor felt comfortable enough in his company that he didn’t mind staying quiet for a little while.
“I’m assuming the jumper was Hank’s idea of a gift?” Gavin asked, his tone teasing. It really didn’t seem like Connor to get something that rude even if he did swear now and then.
For the second time that night, Connor looked at his outfit, but this time he was smiling. “Yes, that’s one of the gifts he got me.”
“What were the other ones?”
Connor felt himself blush lightly. He felt a little bit embarrassed at the idea of sharing what had happened earlier that evening, afraid that Gavin would laugh at him. He stared at the other’s face for a few seconds. All he could see on his face was genuine curiosity. He took a deep breath, his LED flashing yellow before answering, “Just the one, he offered me Cole’s old room. I’ve been staying with him ever since the events of last month but now it won’t feel as if I’m a guest anymore.”
Gavin hummed at that. “It’s good to see the old man finally getting back on track. It fucking sucked to see a legend of the DPD go through this before deciding to see how long it’d take him to drink himself to death,” realising what he’d just said, Gavin added quickly, “Don’t tell him I said that though, he’d never let me hear the end of it.”
Connor laughed at that, the sound sending warm feeling running down Gavin’s spine. He’d never heard him laugh before but in that moment he found himself wishing that he’d hear it again. “It’s okay, I promise I won’t tell. We couldn’t have your reputation tarnished after all.”
Gavin chuckled at that before grabbing a piece of the pecan pie he’d been eying ever since he’d gotten it out of the bag. He was still intrigued about what Connor said earlier. He wondered for a second if it’d be rude to ask but eventually was too curious to care. “So, what other new features did you guys gain after the revolution?”
Connor smiled at the way the detective talked around his mouthful of pie, clearly enjoying it far too much to stop eating to ask his question. “Like I said, I can eat and drink although alcohol doesn’t really have an impact on our system. We can go into sleep mode. The latest update was the ability to feel pain, and other physical sensations.”
Gavin scowled at that, “What kind of sick fuck would make you feel pain if you could avoid it?” He paused for a second before looking at Connor, a wolfish grin spreading his lips. “Wait, what do you mean by other physical sensations?”
Connor’s face became stark blue, it had nothing to do with the faint hue that had coloured his cheeks earlier. He couldn’t bring himself to look the other man in the eyes as he answered. “Amongst other things, pleasure and arousal.”
Gavin tried to reign on the laugh that was bubbling in his throat but cracked up at the poor android’s expression. After reigning himself in his very important interrogation. “So, have you tried it?”
Gavin never would have thought it possible but Connor’s face became an even brighter shade of blue contrasting with the yellow that had just appeared on his temple.
“I-What?-No- This seems like a highly inappropriate question Detective.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” With a wink, he added, “You won’t even have to tell me who it was about for me to keep quiet.”
Taking pity on the other, and not actually wanting his stress levels to get too high, Gavin let the subject rest before getting himself a second helping of dessert. They ate silently, Connor stealing glances at the man seating in front of him every now and then. Once they were done and everything was cleaned up, Gavin’s low voice cut through the silence.
“Thanks for doing this Connor.”
Connor gave a tentative smile, unsure of how his following words would be taken by the unpredictable Detective. “I felt bad thinking of you here alone. Plus I wanted to thank you for the book.”
It was Gavin’s turn to blush. The same warm feeling filled him up once again. Connor had spent the evening home with Hank and Sumo and had still thought of him. He cared. “It was a gift dumbass, you didn’t have to pay me back for it. But I appreciate it.”
Connor’s smile widened. “It’s getting late, I should probably head back home. Have a good night Detective.”
Gavin watched him leave before going back to his desk. He didn’t feel so miserable anymore.
This art was done by the lovely sholtooxenstierna and I'll eternally be grateful for it, thank you so much.