ANGELEYES, dbh connor

TWENTY-FOUR

UNLOCK IT
━━━━━━(●'ω｀●)━

HANK LETS OUT AN Eath-shatteringly loud belch and sighs heavily into the wind. Snowflakes latch onto his greying eyebrows and he scratches at them with mild irritation -- the same level of annoyance he typically directs at you.

Connor stares at him in disbelief, "Jeez, how the hell do you make that noise?"

Hank's lips tilt upwards and he takes a long, drawn-out sip of his beer instead of answering.

Chicken Feed's outside dining area is completely empty apart from you, Hank, and Connor, something that seems to be a constant for the diner. The snowstorm pounds heavily against the small caravan, and yet both of your partners seem perfectly happy to drink and snack outside in the torrential weather.

Even your temperature gauges warn you of the cold weather, but it seems that as long as they've got a beer in their hand, humans are immune to mostly everything.

But... Looking at Connor, you see that his cheeks and nose are lightly blushed from the cold (and, maybe a little from the alcohol, too).

You pause. He's susceptible to catching illnesses in rainy weather so you're worried about what'll happen to him in snowy weather like this... Would it be possible for him to get so sick that he'd need to go to a hospital? You grimace at the thought.

"Mmm," Connor hums, "this burger is really good, are you sure you don't want any, Y/N?"

Hank snorts loudly and coughs as he swallows his beer through the wrong pipe, "Shit, kid," he splutters as you stare between them confusedly, "maybe you should quit drinking."

"...Why?" Connor frowns.

Hank also frowns. "Uh, news flash, she's an Android? She can't eat."

You interject, "Actually, Lieutenant, I am capable of ingesting foods but only in small quantities-"

"Yeah, whatever, I don't care," Hank grunts and you frown. You look at Connor again and see that his expression is slightly embarassed. His eyebrows are furrowed, his pink-flushed lips are parted, and he looks very muddled.

"Huh," he says and looks down at his can of beer. "I seriously forgot."

Hank stares at him for a long moment before he lightly pats Connor on the shoulder, "Cheer up, kiddo. Your burger will be frozen through soon if you keep moping."

Smiling lopsidedly, Connor nods and takes a big bite of his lukewarm burger. Snowflakes pepper his rich brown hair and rest on his broad shoulders. You admire how they look scattered on him, how he shines so effortlessly despite being dressed casually and holding a half-crumpled beer can-

Oh.

Suddenly, he's looking at you and you're staring into his eyes. Not at them. Deep brown, rolling waves of darker color, like the rings on a tree stump. He's caught you looking-...

And although the pink tips of his ears turn a deeper shade of red, he greets you with a calm smile.

But, you, well, you can't smile back and-

You quickly look down at the table, your systems whirring as you lose control of your mind for a fraction of a second. For a short second, your LED flashes amber. But then you blink and everything is under control again.

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ⍓...

Why did that happen? Is there... Something wrong with you?

You frown, "I think... I should go to Cyberlife... after this..."

"Huh?" Hank frowns. "What, you got a dry-cleaning appointment or somethin'?" Connor, on the other hand, looks a little concerned.

"No, I..." you pause. "I was thinking aloud, my apologies. But I believe I may need a system reboot."

Connor's frown deepens.

"Shit," Hank raises a scruffy brow, "being an Android sounds like way too much effort... I mean, you self-destruct when you're stressed, you gotta make sure you're maintained, and the government has a say in if you die or not. Shit sucks."

"Hey," Connor smiles slightly, and it's almost ironic, "isn't it the same for us humans?"

Hank tips his head, "Good point," and takes a gulp of his beer. In the silence, with the distant wind howling, you hear Connor's teeth chattering.

You hesitate...

His jumper is very thin but you're not wearing your uniform so you cant lend him any clothes of yours and Hank's jumper is too thin to keep out the cold on its own. But if he continues to shiver without gaining warmth, he'll catch a cold in no time.

That only leaves one last option...

"You're cold, Connor," you say, and you furrow your eyes determinedly, "allow me to warm you up."

He stares at you curiously, "Oh?" while Hank side-eyes you. He seems curious, too.

You stand up from the bar seat you're sitting on and stand next to Connor, who's still seated and just about your height. You roll your sleeves up to your shoulders, put an arm around Connor's tense shoulders, and focus...

"Um-.." Connor stutters, stiffening. But then-

In an instant, you feel it happening.

The snowflakes on Connor's shoulders and the ones falling from the sky around the two of you melt into watery nothingness. Steam rolls off your body, sizzling in the air like a hot breath.

Connor's tightly-coiled and lightly shivering body quickly relaxes as you manually raise your body temperature. He snuggles into your side gently, his shoulders bumping against your side.

"Woah," he breaths, surprised, "you're so... Warm. And cozy. Like a big dog."

You pause. A big dog?

Connor clears his throat and you turn your head to face him despite the close proximity, "I- yea... I'll shut up now, sorry."

Hank snorts from behind his beer. And you... You bark out a quick, abrupt laugh. It tears through the chilly (slowly warming) air and startles both of your partners with its suddenness. What's even more startling is that it came from you.

"That's the first time I've heard you laugh," blurts Connor and you quickly glance away. He nestles further into your warmth.

Hank scoffs, "Jesus Christ, I can't believe I'm third-wheelin' right now."

You blink. Another relationship term? Quickly, and maybe a little too quickly, you change the topic of discussion. "I'm inbuilt with the ability to adjust my body temperature depending on the weather, quite like a heater."

Connor laughs, a sound so sweet and pure that you stiffen, "Thanks, Y/N. I can always count on you, huh?"

"... Of course."

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ⍓...

"Well," says Hank abruptly, "how bout you two head over to mine after we finish here? Sumo'd love to see ya, Con. We can drink for a bit, keep watching the game, play a couple video games, yea?"

Connor smiles brightly, "Yea."