Tick Tock Part Two - Dickory

Renunciation

The next week or so passed much as Nines had expected. Gavin had insisted on returning to his apartment the next day, likely concerned he was expecting too much of Elijah and Chloe. Though they'd both insisted he was welcome to stay as long as he liked, Gavin didn't want to impose. Once at his apartment, he'd tried to shoo Nines away, insisting that he was fine and that he could take care of himself. That had quickly proved to be untrue, even with Nines there to redirect his attention.

He could no longer sleep unless he was physically coerced or passed out from exhaustion. He'd tried to combat the fatigue with coffee, but Nines had removed the ground beans from his reach and prioritised Fowler's orders to care for him above his own wishes for the time being. That meant he could refuse Gavin's demands to make excessive amounts of coffee, and he was more than strong enough to physically remove him from the kitchenette. He wasn't eating anywhere near enough. He simply didn't feel the desire to eat. It seemed this was a common indicator of grief, but Nines did sometimes coax him into eating a little here and there. He'd also confiscated Gavin's nicotine supplies after seeing him attaching three patches at a time to his skin in lieu of having access to cigarettes. His moods went up and down. He was angrily yelling or quietly sobbing at any given moment, unless he fell into one of the lengthy periods of numbness and silence that came in between.

Nines had kept his superiors and Dr Marr apprised of Gavin's daily habits and condition. For now, Dr Marr assured him it was more or less normal for someone with Gavin's history and temperament. She'd also warned him to expect pushback and emotional withdrawal over the next few days. Nines hadn't understood what she'd meant at first, but after the first two days, it started. The warning should have prepared him, but his internal systems weren't designed to process emotions. He couldn't help feeling...hurt. — Upset? Sad? Angry? Abused? Inferior? Damaged? —

It had started with small things. Gavin had stopped looking him directly in the eye. He responded less when he spoke, unless it was a direct question. He griped at him about being too friendly and told him not to use his first name again. The banter they'd developed over the past few months quickly dried up. Old phrases that had once been laced with affection started creeping out in harsher, more biting tones. Terminator, Tin Can, trash can, plastic prick, phcking android. Don't act like you're a real person when you're not! You're just a phcking machine designed to take orders, and you can't even do that right! The words were cruel. Hurtful. They made Nines' LED spin red even as his face betrayed nothing. Whenever Gavin noticed, he cursed and stormed off into another room. They hadn't come to physical blows yet, but Nines had noticed his fist shaking more than once as if thinking about it.

Despite not directly confiding in his brother, Connor had picked up on something. Perhaps it was how his tone had reverted to something more machine-like, or that his vocal patterns had returned to the clipped Cyberlife standard. It could have been that he was more emotionally withdrawn and only answered direct questions on the case or Gavin's health. Whatever the case, Connor knew something was wrong, and he had the feeling it was linked to Gavin. He'd gently suggested checking in, but Nines had refused, knowing the mood Gavin would be in. He didn't want to upset him further or put Connor in the line of fire.

Gavin had withdrawn from contact with everyone. He'd refused calls from Tina, Hank, Connor, and Fowler, and was ignoring their text messages. He wasn't reading any personal emails, though he still monitored case related mail. The only person he didn't lash out at was Elijah, who was keeping a respectable distance and only checking in vaguely every few days. Nines would have liked it to be more often, but perhaps it was better this way, considering Gavin's increasingly bitter temper. It was probably a promising sign that he wanted to protect his brother from his self-destructive behaviour at least.