From Your Wires to Your Core

Jitters

Nines opened his eyes with a blink. The end of his cycle had arrived as planned, and Gavin was still sound asleep in his arms. He'd moved, or had been moved, during his cycle. He was lying on his back. Gavin's body was pressed against his chest with one leg hooked up so high it was almost hugging his waist. In response to the movement, Nines had wrapped his arms around Gavin's smaller body. One had looped around his waist, while the other rested on his upper arm.

Moments like this were precious. The times when Gavin was completely unaware and at peace. Nines allowed his fingers to trace patterns on Gavin's soft, smooth skin, trailing light touches over the small pores and bumps. He found a circular dip and teased it gently, recognising it as a bullet hole. It was an entry wound. Someone had once shot his human in the back. It was hard to believe it was possible with the way Gavin seemed to tackle life head on. How had anyone ever managed to get behind him?

"...time is it?" Gavin murmured tiredly as he slowly roused. His breath was warm against Nines' pecs. He moaned softly as Nines' hand reached up and stroked through his thick locks. He was too tired for anything more. Despite his words, he wasn't ready to move yet, for which Nines was grateful. He was also content, lying peacefully with Gavin's weight pressing down on him. Measuring the heat of his body, he found he was hotter than the night before. There was a clamminess between their bodies, making Gavin's skin tacky.

"Five thirty seven...Go back to sleep, Gavin." Nines was pleased that Gavin didn't feel inclined to argue with his gentle urging. He sighed softly in response as he nuzzled the warm synthetic skin of his chest. Short brunette locks tickled the freckled surface. Luckily, androids didn't experience tickling the way humans did. Nines could recognise the brush of the hair, but it didn't produce a physical reaction. It didn't irritate him. Nines stilled his hands, thinking perhaps the movement would bother Gavin and keep him awake. Instead, he closed his own eyes, running through their schedule for the day.

They would meet Elijah downstairs that morning at an unspecified time. Depending on the time, they would likely have breakfast before Elijah began his work. The procedure that day should be simple. Elijah was to remove his tracker in order to assess its condition and get it in working order. Installation, or reinstallation, wouldn't happen until tomorrow or the day after. While Elijah was working on the tracker, they would return to the precinct to update Hank and Connor, and pin down the final details. They needed to choose one of the three sites, perhaps the one with the most foot traffic. They needed to ensure that there was a reason for him to linger in the area alone and that he would be spotted. If he didn't get noticed, the operation was pointless. After that, they had a few other cases to work on. Just minor offences. Mostly paperwork.

It was a further one hundred and twelve minutes before Gavin roused himself again, having experienced another full sleep cycle. They didn't have a set time to get up since they were technically going to be working that morning, but Gavin was never one for sleeping in. He was barely one for sleeping at all. At least, he hadn't been before Nines' appearance. It had been a long time since he'd had anyone to wake up with, and he was slowly realising that he'd missed it. There was something comforting about waking up in a tangle of limbs and sheets, safely tucked in someone's embrace.

"Shower...downstairs..." Gavin groaned in objection as he pushed himself up and away from Nines, noticing the way his arms momentarily tightened before they releasing their hold. He tried not to notice the way Nines' blue eyes followed him as he crossed to the ensuite. While he showered, Nines set about dressing and making up the bed. When he returned, it was like they'd never slept in it. The duvet was neat and unwrinkled, and each pillow had been perfectly placed. Nines occupied himself with looking through the huge glass wall while Gavin dressed, examining the rear gardens with interest. There were many flowers in the beds, offering an array of colours. The Chloe androids clearly took good care of it.