Time That Tears Us Apart (BoyxBoy/Android)

Chapter 1: Loops Let Time Go By

Loop #251
November 9, 2038

Gavin used both of his arms to drag himself along the cold floor. His right leg was dead weight and left a line of red trailing behind him.

His hand felt around until he found Connor's elbow. Using all his strength, he gripped the android's jacket and hauled himself up, pulling the android into his lap.

Gavin grit his teeth and groaned, rolling until he was sitting against the wall and Connor's head was properly in his lap.

He took a moment to breathe through the pain before returning his attention to Connor.

Blood covered them both. Bright splashes of blue and red.

"Connor?" Gavin tapped his face, cupping his cheek when those brown eyes turned to him.

"C'mon, talk to me your plastic prick." He groaned.

"Detective Reed, I have about five minutes and twenty-three seconds until deactivation, and your-"

"I'm fine," he lied. "It's fine. Don't worry about me, everything is going to be just fine."

Gavin was running his fingers through the android's hair now, blatantly ignoring the purple smudges where their blood mixed.

His eyes found his wrist, to the two lines there peeking out in perfect, blue, CyberLife Sans. A name and a serial number.

In a little more than five minutes, those bright blue letters would become cracked and gray. This was the sign of a soulmate who's passed on. Gavin knew this. In fact he expected it, even.

His eyes burned, but still, he swallowed it down and painted on a grin.

"Tell me something? Anything. Please just keep talking to me, yeah?"

Connor looked confused, but Gavin expected that too. Everyone at the precinct would agree that he's been acting out of character the last few days.

But he hasn't, not really. If only they knew.

None of them truly knew. No one understood that it's been so much more than just a few days.

It's been so many weeks. Months. Years?

Honestly, Gavin's lost count.

Yet it always ends the same anyway.

"What-what do you want to know?" Connor asked him, his voice going static.

Everything, Gavin wanted to say.

But they never had time for that. Hell, most times they didn't have time for anything.

He pet Connor's hair again, thinking. "Tell me . . . tell me about your first mission. Something that wouldn't be written in any stupid report. You saved two lives, right? Wilson and the kid. Tell me about that."

"Three."

"What?"

Connor gave him a thorium-stained smile. A closed mouth and a small twist of lips.