Bad Habits

January 5, 2032, AM 06:27:36

In the early hours of the morning, you're awoken by persistent knocking sounding throughout your apartment. The sun has just barely risen above the horizon and a soft glow bathes your bedroom. You slowly blink awake, clumsily attempting to gather your thoughts and force your body to get up.

Your steps toward your front door are uncoordinated and you stumble a little as you wipe the sleep from your eyes. You open the door a crack and your eyes meet Gavin's.

You can barely process the thoughts running through your head before you slam the door shut and hurriedly attempt to make yourself look halfway presentable. You freeze as you're running your fingers through your hair. Why were you acting like this? It's not like you cared about what Gavin thought about your bedhead.

You shake your head in an attempt to wake yourself up. He just caught you off guard, that's all. Once satisfied with your rationalization of your actions, you open the door again, calmer this time. Your brows furrow at Gavin's grim expression and before the question can form on your tongue, he's answering you.

"Another one showed up this morning."

You sigh as your heart sinks, all qualms about your appearance quickly thrown out by the dread that fills you. Androids began showing up mutilated and dumped like garbage in early December shortly after the break-in at the Cyberlife warehouse. This normally wouldn't concern you or Gavin, and you'd just brush it off as someone mistreating their android. There was no shortage of that these days. However, the way these androids are showing up isn't normal, and it's too frequent to be pure coincidence.

You open the door wide enough so he can enter your apartment. He wordlessly crosses the threshold, and his gaze immediately darts around to take in his surroundings. The open floor plan of your apartment gives him a view of your living room and kitchen with a hallway to the left leading to your bedroom and a bathroom. 

"Nosey," you tease, grinning despite what waits for you once you leave the sanctuary of these four walls. A small part of you wants to stall— to do anything to avoid the lifeless eyes of another android. 

Gavin immediately moves his gaze to the floor and then to your eyes. He looks almost bashful for a moment, but you wave him off.

"It's okay, I don't mind," you assure before returning to your bedroom to get changed. Your apartment is still sparsely decorated, so it's not like Gavin had much to look at. You haven't exactly had much time to shop for decor while chasing some crazy criminal.

After a few minutes, you're dressed and ready to go. Snow covers the ground outside, and you make sure to grab your good boots. You exit your bedroom and are hit with the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

You raise a brow as you head toward your kitchen island where Gavin has taken up residence on one of your bar stools. A mug occupies one hand and his phone occupies the other.

"You certainly made yourself comfortable," you comment as you lean on the kitchen island.

He slides a travel mug toward you, not looking up from his phone, "I made you a cup."

You hesitantly grab the cup, warmth flooding your cheeks at the unexpected gesture. You take a sip, and your eyes widen. It's perfect.

"Don't look so surprised, sweetheart," he says, sarcasm dripping from his words. "We've been partners long enough for me to at least learn how you like your coffee."

You can't help the flutter in your chest as you take another sip. It takes you a moment to regain your thoughts. "I just didn't think you paid attention to that kind of stuff," you shrug, avoiding his gaze.