An Imitation of Love (A Detroit: Become Human Story)

Chapter 6

"Have you ever thought of a name for yourself?" Sebastien asked the LV. They were sitting in a pub after Sebastien told the android he needed a drink. All of their bags and boxes were stacked neatly on the empty table next to them.

"A name?" the LV asked, his brows furrowed.

"Sure," Sebastien responded. "How do you feel about me calling you 'LV' all the time?" The LV tilted his head as his eyes roamed around never meeting Sebastien's. He was pondering the question.

"I don't know..." the LV answered. "It's part of my model number."

"Well, part of my model number is 'Black man' but you don't see people calling me that," Sebastien spoke as he began to take another sip of his fruity cocktail. "Actually... never mind." Sebastien took a long sip after that realization.

"People call you 'Black man'?" the LV asked.

"Not normally to my face," Sebastien replied immediately and guffawed. "A name is just something to think about. Look through your billions and billions of databases. There's surely a name that triggers the processors in your system so you can feel enjoyment." Sebastien giggled to himself when he said that.

"Alexios." The LV spoke.

"Do what now?" Sebastien asked confused.

"Alexios is what I would like to be called," the LV explained and smiled.

"Alexios?" Sebastien asked and the LV nodded. "Alexios it is then." Sebastien lifted his glass to Alexios and drank to his new name. "Bartender! A round for my friend and I. We're celebrating!"

"What are ya having?" the bartender called back.

"I'm having another strawberry long island," Sebastien called back. "And Alexios will have... wait... can you even drink alcohol?"

"You wouldn't happen to have any... blue blood, would you?" Alexios asked the bartender.

"As a matter of fact, I do," the bartender set to work on preparing their drinks.

"What the heck is blue blood anyway?" Sebastien asked. "I've seen it before but have no clue what it does."

"Thirium 310," Alexios answered. "Think of it as coffee for humans if coffee kept humans alive."

"You've never been to the Pacific Northwest then," Sebastien laughed.

"One strawberry long island," the bartender placed the glass in front of Sebastien. "And one blue blood, no ice." The bartender winked at Alexios and lingered around him before heading back to serve other customers.

"It seems you're irresistible to quite a few people, you know?" Sebastien giggled at Alexios.

"What do you mean?" Alexios looked at Sebastien, amused at his inebriation.

"That rude lady in the store and I'm pretty sure that bartender was just flirting with you," Sebastien began. "He didn't wink at me." Sebastien began to pout.

"I don't think..." Alexios began.

"And who can blame them?" Sebastien asked no one in particular. "Why did Elijah make you so sexy?" He whispered that last part, but Alexios heard him. Sebastien's hand rested at the base of his drinking glass. Alexios gently took his hand in his own and squeezed.

Sebastien's current vulnerability allowed him to share more information with Alexios through their touch. Alexios could feel Sebastien's sadness. He could feel his loneliness. Sebastien didn't feel attractive. In a world where the queer community idolized muscled men with chiseled jaws, Sebastien felt like the dirt beneath their feet. Alexios could see how Sebastien tried putting himself out there for a relationship. He tried going out to bars. He tried the dating apps. He even tried getting his friends to put in good words for him to other men. Sebastien was educated, independent, and he lived comfortably. Regardless of that, he still felt that no one wanted an overweight, Black nerd as a lifelong partner. Sebastien felt defeated. He removed his hand from Alexios's as he lifted his drink to his lips and took a long hard swallow. He shook his head as he retrieved his card from his wallet, scanned it on the table, and paid for their drinks.

"I'm ready for bed," Sebastien began to get up from the table.

"Sebastien..." Alexios tried to reach out to him.

"I'll take some of these," Sebastien grabbed a few of their bags. "Come out whenever you're ready, no rush, I just need some air." Sebastien made a beeline for the door, leaving Alexios to his own processing. He felt a sudden pull towards Sebastien in that moment. He didn't know what it meant. Sebastien was a nice guy and he even stood up for him today. He told Alexios that he didn't want to treat him like an object, but a person. That made Alexios feel... special. His processors were firing at so many odd ends that he was having a hard time keeping up. He wanted to grab Sebastien's hand again and stop him from leaving but something in his wiring stopped him. It was like a barrier was blocking him from doing what he really wanted to do. Alexios was chipping away at that barrier and could visually see it crack. He was sure being in Sebastien's presence would eventually destroy whatever this barrier was.

Alexios grabbed the remaining bags and boxes before heading out to Sebastien. The streets were awfully quiet in downtown Detroit. Sebastien faced the street as he tilted his head up to the dark sky. Alexios was beginning to worry about his new friend. Was he always like this? How has he been able to push through those harmful thoughts and feelings of his? He wanted to do something to make him feel better but he wasn't sure what he could do.

"Sebastien..." Alexios began to speak. Thunder rolled across the sky as a slight drizzle began to fall on them.

"I got a car coming so we wouldn't have to walk back," Sebastien smiled at Alexios, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Alexios simply stayed silent. He felt that Sebastien didn't want to talk, but he left room open for him if he did. As they sat quietly in the car, bags and boxes filling their laps, Sebastien watched the rain fall down on his window. Alexios studied Sebastien intently. The bits of information he was getting from him was helping him get to know him more, but in a way, he felt that he was intruding. Maybe he should keep what he learned today to himself.

The rain began to fall harder by the time they got back to Sebastien's apartment. They were both drenched, but the clothing they carried was all dry. Sebastien noticed Alexios's brown hair was curlier since it got wet. He also noticed the wet android uniform cling tightly to his body. Sebastien shook his thoughts away.

"I'm gonna shower, you..." Sebastien trailed off, "can do whatever you want." Sebastien walked to his bedroom to grab pajamas and underwear.

"Should I wash our clothes?" Alexios asked, wanting to be helpful to Sebastien.

"If you want," Sebastien answered. "Hold on, I'll give you mine in a second." Sebastien placed his change of clothes on the bathroom counter. Turning to shut the door, he was met with Alexios's broad back. He was shirtless and placing clothes in the washer that faced the bathroom door. Sebastien didn't realize how detailed androids were. It was as if Elijah himself based Alexios's body on the sculptures from Ancient Greece. Sebastien immediately felt self-conscious as he shut the door. Taking off his wet clothing, he avoided looking at himself in the mirror. He cracked the door and extended an arm out for Alexios to take his clothes. Respecting Sebastien's privacy, Alexios delicately took the laundry from him and added it to the washer. He listened as the shower turned on and Sebastien sang softly to himself.

Alexios perused the bags on the floor finding a set of pajamas for himself. What he chose were red and black plaid pajama bottoms and a black tank top. He ran his fingers through his hair causing it to dry instantly. He shaped it the way he was accustomed to. It was hard for him to comprehend acting human. He was sure that he would be placed in a closet and only used when needed. His knowledge banks and processes showed the history of how humans treated their androids and most of it wasn't humane. Granted, Alexios was everything but human, however, he felt differently when he was around Sebastien.

While Sebastien was still in the shower, Alexios got to work on putting his purchases away. There was more than enough room in Sebastien's walk-in closet so he picked a corner to begin hanging his clothes. Sebastien turned off the shower and began drying himself while still standing in the tub. The steam from the hot water was soothing to him as he inhaled deeply and exhaled. What a strange turn of events this was for him. He didn't hate it though. It was... nice having someone else in his home with him. Even if it was only for a year.