METAL GUARD DOG ⊳ connor x reader

Ch. XXII

He could certainly get used to tranquility, that much, Connor was sure of. He could get used to watching (y/n) sleep, her nose twitching sometimes, occasional shivers running down her spine. She looked...different like this. A good kind of different.

Connor took out the Memobottle cap and gave it another flick before storing it in his jacket again. He wouldn't want to disturb her.

"Good to know that you like it."

The deviant flinched, his gaze skipping back to (y/n). Increasing heart rate and breathing rhythm.

"Pardon?" Connor tilted his head, processing her words.

"The bottle cap. It's nice to see that you like it." She gave him a worn out smile and shifted on her small bed, sitting up.

Sensing the change of mood, Xylo trotted up to her and jumped onto the bed, cuddling up against her side. (Y/n) squeaked in pleasant surprise and ran a hand over the fur on the dog's head, smoothing it down.

"Would you like me to make you some breakfast?"

"No, I'll do that. But first...Stay with me for a little while." She pat a spot on the bed beside her, then picked up the white fluffy dog, setting him in her lap.

Connor complied, silently sitting down next to her.

Silence settled over the small boat, nothing but both his internal cooling fans and (y/n)'s breathing audible for what Connor estimated to be 2 minutes and 36 seconds.

"This feels nice." (Y/n) concluded.

"Does it?" The deviant asked. "I thought humans disliked silence."

"Depends on who you're with, I guess." She shrugged and ran another hand over Xylo, stopping to scratch his nape. "I missed this."

"What exactly?" Connor shifted in the slightest to be able to look at her face, pleasantly surprised to find out that her eyes were closed peacefully.

"Just waking up with someone around. Someone that's, for once, not a stranger, nor someone I need a favor from." She sighed and rested the side of her head against Connor's shoulder. "Mornings are so lonely, y'know? I try to combat them with music and whatnot, but...an actual person is better."

An actual person?

The term both scared and flattered him. (Y/n) considered him a person. Aside from Hank, she had been the first one to do that. Connor knew he was a deviant, but there still was a difference between having a personality, wishes, desires, dreams, compared to just free will. Free will was just the basic notion every deviant had to work with to reinvent themselves.

"Thank you." He blurted out before he even processed it properly.

"For what, Con?"

His thirium pump seemed to skip a beat at the nickname. And stop besting entirely when (y/n) started tracing patterns over his bare forearm with the fingertip of her index.

"For...considering me a person."

The feathery touches of her fingers stopped, and she instead wrapped them around his wrist, giving it an almost affectionate squeeze. "Of course. It's what I should've done from the beginning."

Connor saw her look at his face, then his neck, and finally at the string that continued under his white shirt. The necklace that held his LED.

"What time is it?" (Y/n) changed the subject, stretching out her legs, muscles trembling for a few solid seconds. The quirks of the human body, Connor noticed with a smile.

"Roughly 7 AM."

"That gives us a lot of time. Do you wanna go out for breakfast?"

"I— Yes, actually."

"There's a bakery nearby, they've got the best pastries I've ever had." She rose to her feet and took out some fresh clothes from her nightstand. "Gimme a few minutes and we're good to go."

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Connor had put on the black coat, to cover up the rather messy state of his other clothes. He had no need to change them, but still wanted to look somewhat presentable.

So there he was, sitting across from (y/n) at a small table in the bakery she had told him about, with her hastily eating up a croissant. He fidgeted with the ripped grey collar of his shirt, and (y/n) was quick to pick up on it.

"We can go buy you clothes too. Tomorrow's payday from Odin, and if we manage to sell a lot, it should't be a problem at all." She explained, gliding her tongue over her lower lip to pick up the crumbs that stuck to it.

"I very much appreciate that." He answered with a smile, then took a cautionary look around. (Y/n) was strangely relaxed for being a criminal that publicly showed her face. "However...do you believe it's wise to make a public appearance like this?"

"Don't worry, I know where patrols usually fuck around, and trust me, this sweet little spot is not one of those places." She took another bite of her croissant, one particularly big crumb getting stuck to her cheek. "Relax."

"Alright." Connor sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in the small wooden chair.

"Besides, who do you think is gonna rat us out?" She shrugged her shoulders. "Everyone's a little illegal around here. They have to be."

"Do you believe that justifies things?" Connor asked thoughtfully.

"What exactly?"

"The fact that you do illegalities to get by. Does survival give grounds for all actions?" The deviant asked, taking out the bottle cap and giving it a flick, catching it between his index and middle finger before shoving it back into his coat.

"Well, Socrates," (Y/n) began with a playful smirk. "I don't know about you, but...my mom always said the end justifies the means. Survival is a fairly noble cause, isn't it?"

"From an individual point of view, it's rather selfish. Biologically speaking however, it contributes to the survival of the human race as a whole, so, perhaps it's more of a blend between egoism and altruism." Connor concluded, and seemed rather satisfied with his answer.

(Y/n) flashed him a cheeky smirk.

"Who knew Androids could be philosophers?"