Love Rivals

Kisses and Bruises

Third *Trigger Warning: Gore*
When Gavin stepped inside he could see the horrified expressions of some of the people. He weaved around them as Nines struggled to keep up with his partner. As he moved further into the house he froze in place, causing the taller male to bash into his back. "Oi!"

He paused when he spotted the glowing red LED of his partner, looking where he saw. Lying there in a puddle of guts and gore was a young woman, who had been torn completely in half. There was another woman under the bed with the same treatment and another hanging limply from the ceiling.

It made the man feel sick seeing this, but knew it was the killer he'd been after. His eyes narrowed and he squeezed Gavin's shoulders harshly, causing a whimper of pain to leave him. "That fucking bastard..."

"N-Nines... It hurts..." He ignores the android's pained whines as the male fights against him, yet fails as he tightens his grip.

"He got another kill... He has to be here still... It's fresh." He tightened his grip to the point the synthetic skin would have a permanent bruise until properly repaired. Gavin let out a loud cry of pain, which finally connected with Nines' brain. He looked down at his hands and realized what he'd been squeezing was his partner. "Oh shit! Gavin, I'm-"

The android shoved him away as harshly as he could, Nines hitting the wall behind him roughly. "You did it on purpose!" He snapped, eyes blazing with anger as he poked him in the chest repeatedly. "You know my past!"

"Gavin that's not... This isn't..." Something shiny caught his eye and for a moment the world went by in slow motion. His heart sank in his chest as he went to grab his partner, causing the android to panic and cower away from him. A gunshot rang in the room, from directly next to them. Nines lifted his head, seeing his older brother aiming a single handgun in his right hand.

Gavin had his eyes tightly shut, curling closer into the taller male's chest as he slowly cooled down enough to open his eyes. His LED remained a blaring red from the sudden noise. Eren turned, his blue and green eyes softening on Gavin and only on Gavin. He pulled the android away from his brother and looked him over for injuries as several other officers raced into the room and dragged out an injured murderer.

"Are you alright Gavin?" He asked, looking over him one last time before sending his brother a small glare. "You bruised him!" With that a punch had been thrown, luckily caught by Eren's temporary partner. The smaller android had his arms hooked around Eren's and was begging him to let it go.

After a moment Gavin grabbed the taller male's left arm and held onto it, also begging him to stop trying to hit or possibly paralyze his little brother. Within a few minutes, he began to visibly calm down, being released to adjust his sleeves and uniform. Gavin sighed in relief and grabbed at his arm sheepishly, catching the agent's eye.

"Yes?"

"Take me home..." He sent Nines a single glance, meeting his eye for a second. Nines' heart broke at the pained expression on his partner's face. This made his features soften further and his heart shatter a hundred times over. He looked away and continued, "I don't want to be here anymore..."

"Of course... Come on." Eren wrapped an arm around his back and guided him towards the front door, starting to leave his brother behind him. Something snapped inside of Nines and he sprinted from his spot towards them, grabbing Gavin's hand.

The trio stopped to look back at him, Gavin having flinched away at the sudden touch. "I'm sorry I hurt you... It's just this scene was caused by the murderer who both shot Connor and had been on the loose for a while... I didn't mean to hurt you..." They exchanged small words through their eyes, seeming to cool down more as Gavin's LED melted into a soft blue.

"Nines..." He whispered, looking away right after. "I wanna go home... I have to repair my arms..."

"Wait... Wait let me do it, please. I caused it... Let me fix it." Gavin looked at Eren for a long while, seeing the male nod as he walked off with his partner to interview the killer. The brunette turned his gaze back to the ice blue of Nines' eyes.

"Okay..." An unknown sigh of relief left Nines as he pulled Gavin tightly to his chest and hugged him close. The android sighed into the warmth and wrapped his own arms around the larger torso of the brunette. He let out a soft breath when he felt liquid hit his neck, confusing him. "Nines? Are you okay?"

He heard a small sniffle and felt him nod, kissing his shoulder with the most tender and loving care he could allow. His fake breathing hitched at the kiss, feeling the male pull away and rub his eyes. "Do you... Wanna drive us back? I need a moment to collect myself..." He wiped away his tears and offered his keys to the smaller android, who took them gently.

But the next action confused Nines when he put the keys in his back pocket and pulled him down gently to rub away his tears. "Why are you crying over a machine?" Gavin asked, drying the rest of Nines' tears with his thumbs before lightly kissing his forehead. They could hear a few surrounding officers whistle at the interaction, which only aggravated Gavin further. He pulled Nines to the car and helped him climb inside, walking around.

In the time it took for him to get there, Nines had touched the spot on his forehead that Gavin's lips previously had been. He looked at the android with love and spoke up. "Hey, Gav?" The android turned his head, feeling Nines' left-hand snap around the back of his neck and pull him into a rough kiss.