Lacuna [Reed900]

5: Quid Pro Quo

Aspectabund
(adj.)
letting or being able to let expressive emotion show easily through one's face or eyes
•••••••••

Gavin returned to his room that evening after a lengthy discussion with Markus about Richard Perkins. Gavin didn't fancy the idea of being that person who gives the opposing side information willingly. Markus understood this perfectly well. The deal they agreed on was that if Markus used any of the information to his advantage, he was to ensure that the source - Gavin - was to remain anonymous. Markus was grateful for the intel, and Gavin was happy to give it as long as his identity remained secret.

Upon entering the apartment, Gavin noticed, for starters, that the RK900 was still missing. His attention was piqued to a box sitting on the glass coffee table, with a red ribbon tied neatly around it and a note placed underneath. The box wasn't too large, about half the size of your average shoebox.

Gavin approached the gift skeptically, wondering if it was some sort of prank North decided to pull on him while he was away. Removing the ribbon tied around the box, Gavin opened the lid.

Inside was a mixture of chocolate truffles and an assorted array of saltwater taffies. The sweet smell that tickled his nose was tempting. Gavin realized he hadn't eaten anything sugary sweet like this for quite a while.
He blinked, slightly confused about the purpose of the gift, until he picked up the note accompanying it.

____

I apologize for my behavior earlier.

RK900 #313 248 317 - 87
____

Gavin scoffed in disbelief, looking from the card down to the candies. RK900 was responsible for the gift because it felt bad about what it... he did. This was physical proof that North could be wrong. That the RK900 could deviate. The way the machine had looked at Gavin after nearly choking him, the way that he had run off specifically to avoid Gavin... it raised the possibility that the RK900 might not be as cold-hearted and unfeeling as most would believe.

And Gavin was determined to explore this. To what extent did the RK900 feel?

Gavin stayed up for a long while, taking his time with the sweets while he browsed random channels on the TV. The candy was a nice touch to things, a privilege considering he wasn't allowed to have anything he wanted to have.

It was well past 3:00am when the door to the apartment cautiously opened. Gavin whipped around, instantly alert. His years on the street made him paranoid, ready to jump into action any time he noticed something off. But the thrumming in his chest eased as he saw the familiar cyberlife jacket and the blinking LED.

It seemed the RK900 didn't realize the Detective was still up until his pale eyes darted to the flickering television. The light in his head spun red, the RK900 and Gavin locking gazes. The Android tensed for only a moment, before straightening out again. Its eyes shifted down to the box of sweets sitting half-eaten on the coffee table. Gavin followed it, then looked back up at the RK900.

"Thanks for the gift," Gavin said uneasily. It was a good choice, the taffy. Truffles too. It's like you knew what I might like."

The RK900 didn't reply, but it looked like he wanted to. His temple glowed a pale yellow as if he wasn't entirely sure how to respond. An awkward tension-filled in the silence. Gavin fiddled mindlessly with his hands as the RK900 stood seemingly frozen in place.

Gavin wondered if he should put together a list of tips on "How To Connect With A Murderbot That Has Been Assigned To Watch You But Also Apparently Is Emotionally Unstable." Tip one: don't.