Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Suckiness

[8- nines really likes waffles, goddammit]

---------- NINES----------

"There are too many factors that need looking into. What with this other murder, we'll be here all night-"

"We already have."

"-I guess we should start looking into the connections between our two victims, if there are any connections-"

"We already have."

"-And the water samples have been sent to the forensic toxicologist, so we're not going to see the results until tomorrow but until then we should work on-"

"Detective!" I finally snap, standing up from the chair I was sitting in. We're in the conference room once again, and it's just us here. He jolts from the sudden forcefulness of my voice, and I soften a fraction following my next statement. "It is 1 am. I advise we go home and continue this tomorrow."

Gavin opens his mouth to protest with some bullshit like 'we need to progress this case' but I cut him off again.

"This case can wait until tomorrow. You need to sleep, recharge. We can't have the best detective in the precinct short of exhausted now can we?"

He blinks, dumbfounded. "You-what? You think I'm the best detective in the precinct?"

Something presses against my cheeks. Warmth, I realize. I am blushing, and when I look at him, he's blushing too.

"Well," I let out a raspy cough. "Look around. There's no one else here but you, me, and the janitor.

The janitor waves from out in the hall and Gavin smiles sheepishly, giving him a little wave, "Hi, Steve."

"I don't know any detective who stays as late as you working on a case. You're-you're dedicated."

"Well, someone's gotta do it," He grumbles, "And the only other person I trust to do this kind of work is you."

That heat rises in my face again and there's a moment where I just stare into his eyes, where he stares into mine, but then he looks away.

"Um, so where were we? Oh, right. We should work on following through with our new lead. The victim, Korbin Sabot, has a girlfriend who works as some kind of water filtering employee-"

"Okay," I clap my hands together. "We're going home."

"This case-!"

"Can wait. I'm going home and you can come with me and drive or take the bus."

"Fine," He lets out the longest sigh ever. "Let's go."

----------GAVIN----------

We're in the car, driving home when it hits me.

"SHIT!" I accidentally say out loud and Nines looks at me, bewildered and completely confused.

"What?"

"Oh. It's nothing."

Oh nothing, just that your prescription ran out this morning and you were supposed to refill it today, only that its stupid case got in the way of your plans and now the pharmacy's fucking closed which means you have to wait until morning to get it.

The pharmacy opens at 8 o clock and it's one-thirty.

When was the last time you went without your prescription, Gavin? When?

Oh, THREE. FUCKING. YEARS!

REMEMBER THAT? THAT NIGHT. YES THAT ONE. DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE-

A violent shiver runs through my body and it takes a second to realize Nines is talking to me.

"What?"

"I asked if you want to stop for dinner."

"It's not exactly eating hours-" I cut myself off when a rumbling echoes through the car and I know it's my stomach. Damn my appetite. At least then we can pass the time until the pharmacy opens because there is no way in hell I'm sleeping tonight.

"It sounds like your stomach begs to differ," Nines raises an eyebrow at me, enjoying this situation a little too much.

"Okay, yeah sure. How does breakfast food sound?"

Something warm stirs in me when Nines' eyes light up. "Waffles?"

A funny thing I figured out some time ago: Androids don't need to eat, but the newer versions can process food and you can get a food processor installed nowadays so you can feel more human, it's great. Nines, as the most advanced android, already has this, but before he met me, he never ate anything. One day, I wanted food so we went to a restaurant on our break(which was at like nine at night) and I urged him to try food and ordered him waffles with icecream.

The look on his face...I'll never forget it. Pure joy and wonder. For a second, he looked...well, he looked human. He glowed. And it makes me feel all fuzzy inside when he does.

I let out one of my true, genuine laughs. "Yeah, waffles."

And for that hour, I forgot about who I was, what I'd done, and the terrors that haunted my shadow.

--------------------

We get home around 3 am when I remember how the rest of the night is looking. It's only five hours, Gavin. Five fucking hours and then it's back to drugged bliss.

"Are you okay?" Nines looks at me, trying to analyze me, and probably scan me as well which is annoying as hell, but I don't bring it up, my mind is a bit occupied.

"Yeah. Just peachy," I snap a little harsher than I mean to and my eyes drift to the floor. "Sorry. I'm just tired."

"If you're tired, I suggest resting-"

I let out a huff of air and kick off my shoes, flopping down on the couch. "Not sleepy. Tired."

"Gavin," The android sits down next to me, his voice slightly softer. "I do think you should go to bed, you as a human need your rest. If proceeding with the case is a problem, allow me to continue working while you sleep-"

"Nines. Not tonight. Please not tonight."

I feel his eyes on me as I turn on the tv, scrolling through the list of channels before stopping on a channel playing an old black and white detective movie. I pull the blanket from where it was folded onto the arm of the couch around me, making sure Nines is covered too.

I let the world drown out and let myself fade into the numbness of the movie.

What's shocking is Nines doesn't say a word, not one word.

Quiet.

For once in my life, the quiet isn't terrifying. 

A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry this is a day late-- I had to do a Chem assignment that ended up taking several hours longer than I expected it to.

I also have an announcement. 

Unfortunately, I'm moving this story to Ao3 exclusively and will be continuing to upload chapters there! I know! I'm sorry, and I wish you all the best! 

If you'd like to keep up with this fic, the title is still Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Suckiness and I hope to see you there!

Thanks so much for all of your support and love! It truly means the world to me and I love you with all of my heart! 

xx B