Don't Get Attached

Chapter Nine

"How was your walk?" You father asked you and Connor when you returned home with Sumo.

"You know, it was dark. Kind of cold from the rain earlier." You shrugged unclipping the St. Bernard from his leash. "Want a cookie, boy?" You asked him, walking towards the cupboard where the dog treats were kept.

"You know, I thought we were past this whole thing." Hank said, taking a sip from his coffee.

"Past what whole thing?" You asked, making Sumo do a trick for his cookie.

"This whole, not telling me how you're feeling thing." He waved his mug at you abstractly. "You haven't done that since you were a kid. I thought you were over it. That's all." He slurped down another sip.

"What are you talking about?" You questioned back. You crossed your arms and leaned your weight on one foot. You looked just like a sulking teenager. It was like going back in time a decade.

"Come on, my generation practically invented the whole fine on the outside simmering anxiety on the inside. You'd never fool any millennial with this act." He scoffed. "What's going on with you [Y/N]? If it's that broadcast today..."

"Yeah, I mean I guess that's part of it." You sighed. "It's just everything about the androids. If it turns out that we're on the wrong side of all of this, that's going to be pretty bad."

"That's what you're worried about?" Your father put his coffee mug away in the sink. "You're worried that these androids might actually have feelings?"

"Aren't you?" You bit your lip, not sure you wanted to hear his answer. It wasn't like Hank Anderson was known for his kindness towards androids.

"Shit, I don't know." He mumbled. "It's too late at night to talk about this. I'm going to bed. Lock the doors and get the lights, will ya?" He kissed you on the cheek and nodded in Connor's direction before going into his bedroom.

You noticed that all the plates, cups and pizza boxes from dinner had already been cleaned up. You made sure the back door was locked and turned off the kitchen light before sitting on the couch. Connor locked the front door and sat next to you without you having to ask.

"Would you like to keep reading?" He reached for the tattered copy of Romeo and Juliet that was still sitting on the coffee table. "It might help keep your mind off of things."

"Okay." You yawned. "I'm not quite ready for bed yet. Where did we leave off?"

"Romeo was listening to Juliet out on her balcony." Connor remembered. "It was Romeo's line. By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am: my name, dear saint, is hateful to myself because it is an enemy to thee. Had I it written, I would tear the word. Is he saying that he doesn't want to tell her his name because what it represents?"

"Exactly. He'd rather not tell her his name for fear that she'll turn him away because of his family." You laid your head on Connor's shoulder, both so that you could see the book better and because it was comfortable. "So then Juliet calls him out on it. She basically says, but you're Romeo Montague, aren't you? And he says that he'll be neither Romeo nor a Montague if that means she won't like him more."

"But if she really loves him, she wouldn't want him to change." Connor insisted. He was suddenly very invested in the story. "Like earlier when you said you would never want me to be something that I'm not."

"Well, that's sort of the whole crux of the story. Romeo is ready to throw his life away at the drop of a hat, but Juliet's not so easily convinced. We'll keep reading and I'll explain."

So, you and Connor continued reading. You explained about Juliet's arranged marriage with Paris and how she and Romeo married in secret instead. You talked about how Juilet's cousin killed one of Romeo's good friends and in a fit of anger Romeo killed her cousin. This leads to Romeo being banished. You then talked about how ridiculous the later half of the story is, where Juliet faked her own death so that she could be with Romeo.

"She could just as easily have left town with Romeo!" Connor complained. "He was already banished, so it's not like he was planning on ever going back. What was the point?"

"I think it's more about the lengths they were willing to go to be together. Which is romantic in a way." You yawned. "But I think it would have been all downhill for me after he killed my cousin. Murder is murder. It doesn't matter what the reasoning is."

"You seem tired, [Y/N]. Maybe you should go to bed." Connor suggested as he watched you rub your eyes.

"Not yet." You argued. "Want to watch a movie?"

"I want to do whatever you want to do, [Y/N]." He told you with a small smile.

"Okay." You smiled back, hiding another yawn. "I'm pretty sure we have a movie version of Romeo and Juliet somewhere. Will you put in on for me?"

Connor easily found the DVD on one of your father's dusty old bookshelves. He started up the TV and the DVD player and the movie was playing within seconds. Without thinking, you laid down on the couch and put your head in Connor's lap. He didn't seem to mind since he didn't say anything. Instead he shrugged off his jacket and placed it over you like a blanket. It was toasty warm from being around the Android all day.

"Thanks, Hon." You yawned again before closing your eyes.