Thirium Heart//Reed900

Chapter 5

I tried to sneak in the door quietly, but it was like Dad had placed a silent alarm on it. He paused the movie and turned to me expectantly. Connor did the same.

"So, Nines, where have you been?" He crossed his arms over his chest, his stained T-Shirt reading "#1 Dad."

"Gavin's. Didn't you see me leave?" I said neutrally. I didn't want to get on Dad's bad side. He had taken me in and had Connor train me. Without them, I'd still be a mindless machine.

"Gavin's?!?" He exclaimed.

"Gavin's?!?" Connor mirrored, throwing his hands up in surprise. Dad placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Son. I can do this." Connor nodded vigorously and went back to staring me down. He looked like an angry puppy. "Connor," Dad said more sternly, "that means go to your room." He nodded sadly and slumped off down the corridor to our room.

"So," he said, standing up. I was two inches taller than him and much more muscular, so there was no way he could intimidate me. But he was still my dad. "Nines, why don't you have your jacket?" I fumbled with my fingers. "Why is your shirt covered in brown stains?" (I don't actually know if coffee stains black clothing but for the convenience of the book it does.) He poked my thirium pump, causing me to shudder and step back a little. Dad grabbed my shirt and pulled me down to his eye level.

"Kiddo, just tell me what happened. Did he hurt you?" His tone of voice was surprisingly soft and caring, something different and unexpected due to his aggressive action the moment before. I took a deep breath, (which was weird because androids don't need to breathe,) and almost begin telling my story. Dad held up his finger and whipped around his head. I saw it too. A tuft of brown hair, a blue LED, and a bought of childish laughter.

"Connor," He said in the same calm and gentle tone of voice, "'Go to your room' means go to your room." He whined and pouted loudly, his LED whirred yellow, and he stomped off into our room. "Scan and make sure he's still in there." I scanned, looking for the special heat signature that only androids can detect and give off.

"Clear."

"Go ahead, since we aren't going to be interrupted," Dad emphasized the last bit as if speaking to someone who might be listening down the hall."Tell me what happened," he breathed. I told him what had happened, down to every little detail. I even told him about what happened in the parking lot, and where my jacket was. Dad sighed heavily and clamped his hand down on my shoulder.

"Look, Nines, you're a smart kid. You should know what you're getting into. Gavin is... a piece of work. He's very rude, and inappropriate. He's not a good dresser, he doesn't eat, doesn't sleep, and doesn't drink anything but coffee. He's an efficient worker, and passionate, motivated. But Reed, he hates androids. He hates them with a burning passion. He hates them more than I did."

"But I don't doubt that you can help him. Connor helped me. Having an android while hating them, it really did me some good. Being with Gavin, it will most definitely help him. Especially an android like you."

"I-I wasn't programmed to work with humans like Connor was. I don't know if I could help him."

"But your programming doesn't matter now. You decide how well you can work with him." I nodded seriously, and Dad gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Go grab your brother, let's finish this movie."

*Timeskip brought to you by Ryan Reynolds and Tom Holland*

Dad was in the middle of a 2016 movie called Deadpool. It was very sexual, and Connor didn't enjoy it very much. The poor innocent boy spent most of the movie with his face burrowed into Sumo's fur. Dad thoroughly enjoyed it though, laughing every five minutes. I didn't pay much attention to it. At the end of the movie, Dad chose another in a similar or the same franchise, called Infinity War.

"Just a warning, boys, I'm probably going to cry a lot at the ending." And cry a lot at the ending, he did. I had watched the movie in interest, despite not knowing very much about the movie or the franchise itself. When we got to the ending, Dad wept openly.

"Dad, what's wrong? What is causing you distress?" Connor stood worriedly over Dad, waving his hands frantically.

"Damn Russo brothers!" He cried, wiping away his tears onto his sleeve. It was almost midnight, and I had gotten two warnings on my power level already.

"I'm going to head into rest mode," I said, getting up from my place on the couch.

"Me too," Connor said happily, jumping off of the couch.

" 'Night, boys," Dad said waving us off.

" 'Night." We replied tiredly. I moved slowly down the corridor, and into our room. I collapsed into my bed, and into a low power/slow charging mode. Connor launched himself into his bed, Sumo bounding in after him excitedly.

GAVIN INTERLUDE

"GET OUT!" She bellowed, slapping me across the face. The force knocked me to the floor. "GET OUT! NO SON OF MINE WILL NOT BE APART OF THEIR KIND!" She kicked me in the side, launching me out of the front door. "YOU ARE NO LONGER WELCOME HERE. I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" She slammed the door, startling me right out of my nightmare.

I woke up in a cold sweat, tears pouring from my eyes. My face and side stung from the phantom pains. Hands shaking, I reached out for my medication. I uneasily took two pills, and sat up in my bed, waiting for the relief to kick in.

Conan jumped on to my bed and nuzzled against my clammy hand. I wiped my tears away from my face, my chest heaving. I couldn't seem to catch my breath. I leaned back into my headboard, closed my eyes, and counted to ten, just like the therapist told me too. My breathing returned to normal, and my hands stopped shaking a few minutes after.

I pulled my blanket up to my chest, shivering into it. I shoved my face into the soft, thick fabric before realizing that it wasn't my blanket. Nines' jacket? I pulled the coat away from me, and sure enough, the blazing blue armband and triangle were there, and the RK900 identifying his model number.

It was warm and smelled vaguely of alcohol. Nines can't drink, he's an android, I thought, slipping on the jacket and tip-toeing into the living room. To my dismay, he wasn't on the couch. Why are you disappointed? I asked myself, He's just a stupid fucking bot that takes jobs without mercy. I slunk back into my room, my thought echoing back in the back of my head. Completely covered in Nines' jacket, I fell back asleep in no time. 

send help user72994052 has me locked in their basement so thats why there are two updates two days in a row. its very cold down heere send blankets and juice boxes.

Devotedly,
Devo