RK800 Connor x Reader

Twenty-Three

With nervous eyes you pushed the curtains aside and threw a glance out into the garden.

It was a nice day, sunny and warm, but not hot, with little to no clouds and a bright blue sky. The singing of birds was in air.

But despite the good weather you couldn't help and feel restless, tense even.

Again, you checked the time, for the fifth time in about twenty minutes and let out a deep sigh.

"She will be here soon.", Connor said from the kitchen table. "Please sit down. Your blood pressure is high."

He pushed a plate with cut fruits and vegetables to your side of the table.

With a last glance outside, you turned around and grabbed some of the veggies to calm your nerves. A loud growl made your stomach turn.

"She should have been here ten minutes ago.", you noted, annoyed yet worried. "Do you think she's in trouble?"

With a smile, he shook his head.

"I think it's highly unlikely. Even though she might be a personality of her own. Some might dislike her. But she seems capable."

"Yeah... you're right. May the devil have mercy on the poor soul who'll be stuck with her one day."

"The devil doesn't exist."

"That's a saying, Connor. Like, thank god."

His eyebrows rose.

"Noted."

Like a human, he lowered his eyes and looked like he was thinking about something or was just busy with himself.

It was amazing how quickly he had developed in the spawn of a few days, from an innocent, obedient machine to a perfect copy of a human being, with its own understanding of desire and sense of belonging.

The LED on his temple caught your eye. It was circling in a deep red and hadn't changed back to yellow ever since he had tried to confess a few hours earlier.

You feared that if it wouldn't change back he'd get caught.

Only thinking about it made your blood freeze.

As he sat there, head lowered and a slim smile on his thin lips, a strand of his combed back, brown hair came loose and fell into his field of vision. He ignored it and glanced through it to see what you were doing.

His warm eyes pierced your soul.

A soft breath escaped your lips.

Without thinking your hand reached out to stroke the strand back behind his ear.

As soon as your fingers touched his skin, he let out a deep breath, closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation. The LED started circling faster, indicating that the software was trying to categorise what feeling he was mimicking in that moment.

The way he leaned into the touch, eyes closed and his breath a little more excited than usual, indicated that he had been longing for a small sign of affection to happen.

Seeing him made you smile softly. But then you remembered that this could put not only you but especially him in great danger. Immediately, you pulled back.

And as soon as he realised you did so, his facial expression changed and he looked upset. But instead of blurting out what he was thinking, he pressed his lips into a thin line and breathed out.

"I understand...", he just said and rose from his chair. "May I start dinner now?"

His LED flashed yellow for the hint of a second, but turned red within the next breath, indicating that he was forcing his program to appeal to your expectations.

But even he was unable to correct the error that you had so foolishly let happen.

This was exactly the same thing that was currently happening to many, many androids of CyberLife. It seemed like it was a company curse.

You had always though that was just the consequences of half baked work and bad decision making.

But you had made sure to pour only the most professional work and logical thoughts into the process of his making.

And yet, here you were, feeling conflicted about a program error that he was supposed to fight in others, not adapt to.

"Connor...", you said in a soft voice.

He avoided your eyes.

But before either of you could say one more word, a sudden knock on the glass door of the backyard made you jump.

Without skipping a beat you twirled around and rushed to the door to throw a glance outside before opening it.

"Are you alright?!", Hanna asked while storming into the kitchen. "I came as fast a I could!"

Worry shimmered inside her eyes.

She grabbed you by the shoulders and started asking a ton of questions. She didn't even take a breath in between.

"Hanna.", gently, you pushed her to sit down. "I'm... We are fine."

Her eyes jumped to Connor.

"Did anything happen?", she asked him.

In a strangely robotic manner he shook his head. His face didn't show half the emotions it usually did.

"I'm fine.", he said and put on a polite smile.

Her head snapped back to you.

"And you?"

You let out a deep sigh.

"I'm fine too.", you said with a slim smile. "Well... physically at least."

"Do you need a doctor? Therapist? The company provides health benefits."

"No. I'd like to stay in the house for a while.", you couldn't help but give her the kind of look that said it all. "Did you bring what I asked you for?"

She nodded and placed a stuffed bag on the table.

"The tools, some spare parts, your notes.", she listed while showing you everything to check for yourself. "Nobody saw me."

Her eyes met yours.

In that moment you knew that she had some kind of suspicion.

You tried to deny it anyways.

"It's nothing serious.", you chuckled, but it sounded nervous. "I just want to work from home for a while. Less stress."

Her eyes hardened.

"(Y/N).", she grabbed your hand to squeeze it. "I know something is off... Is it because of Connor? He's... I can tell he's different. His LED is red too."

A deep sigh made your chest tremble.

"I'm trying to fix him."

"Does he need fixing though? Is he broken?"

"No... Not to me. But CyberLife would like to argue otherwise."