Chapter Text
The days after the revolution had been troubling for Connor. He had struggled to find where exactly he belonged within the grand scheme of things. For the first few days, he had stayed with the Lieutenant in his home, which he had graciously offered to the android. He still remembered what it felt like to come home that first day.
“It ain’t much,” Hank had uttered as he fiddled with the key on the damaged lock. Connor had made a mental note to replace it, in order to ensure the Lieutenant's safety. Once inside, Hank paused in the middle of the living room as he bent down to greet his Saint Bernard. “But it always has this old softie waiting for you,” he finished with a smile as he pet Sumo right behind the ears.
Connor couldn’t help but smile at the endearing sight before him. Not a week ago he had been there to save a broken man from drowning himself in alcohol, the stench of old leftovers and vomit permeating in the air. Yet, now he stood in that same home, invited to stay for as long as he liked, watching that same broken man play enthusiastically with his two hundred pound dog.
He had smiled softly when Hank met his gaze again, nervously shifting from one foot to the other, almost as if he was unsure of something.
Software Instability^^
“I don’t know, Lieutenant. I think that this house has an excellent potential to become a home.” Connor had stated firmly, though to this day he didn't understand what had possessed him to say those words.
Months later, he was still in that house. Though now it didn’t quite look or smell the same as it had before. Connor had helped Hank settle into a routine again, where every day he would help clean or tidy just one area of the house. At first the Lieutenant had grumbled that Connor wasn’t his android and didn’t need to be acting like his nanny. Yet, he had assured him that his only interest was “in maintaining an orderly environment they could both share”. Hank had rolled his eyes at the wording, but Connor spotted his small smile nonetheless. No one ever admits it, but everyone gets lonely sometimes. Connor supposed that he could be Hank’s company as much as Hank was his.
Before long, they rarely had much left to clean. Just a few dishes or the rare forgotten laundry here and there. Keeping Sumo fed, and the house clean had turned into the android’s hobby, now that he had been out of work due to the revolution. Androids were declared people that night in November, but it had still been a long way from being granted the right to property or fair compensation. The laws were changing, but slowly enough that Connor had to find other ways to engage himself while Hank left for work every day.
After the harsh winter had begun to thaw around March, Connor had asked Hank permission to start a small garden in the backyard. “You don’t need my permission for this stuff Con, mi casa es tu casa, and all that” he had grumbled back as he ruffled his hand through the android’s hair. Connor had smiled warmly at him and within the week he had been planting different sorts of fruits and herbs in the yard.
It was April now and he was in the middle of tending to his garden when Hank came home from work. The Lieutenant had called for him as he stepped through the front door, and eventually found him out back.
“Hey, Con,” he greeted as he stepped aside to let Sumo out into the yard too. “Got anything ready for harvesting yet?”
Connor smiled and nodded towards the small basket on the ground next to him which held a bundle of ripe stalks of asparagus. “Any suggestions on how I should make our first asparagus?” the android asked cheerfully, his hands occupied pruning his small mint plant. He loved working in his garden, it kept his intricate, mision-based programming occupied through these unemployed months. What were once case file folders, now held information on each of his cherished plants, from recommended water intake to the amount of sunlight each should receive per week.
“You are the chef here, Con, you know I’ll eat whatever you make.” Hank chuckled and went to grab the small basket to bring it inside. As he approached, Connor took him in for the first time that day, and was surprised to find that he had an unfamiliar, yet pleasant scent on his clothes.
“Are you wearing a new cologne?” Connor asked, curiosity getting the best of him and his detective programming.
“Nothing gets past ya, huh kid?” Hank joked, “It's not cologne, come inside and I’ll show you.” He took the basket and called Sumo to follow him inside. After finishing up in his garden, Connor followed him inside as well. He found Hank at the kitchen table, fiddling with a brown bag. He smiled and waved Connor over once he heard him come in and pushed the bag towards the android.
Connor scanned the contents and was amused to find that the Lieutenant had bought several incense sticks that the android had expressed an interest in earlier that week. He picked up one of the small sticks and brought it to his nose, analyzing its scent.
Olfactory Chemical Analyses:
Linalool, perillyl alcohol, linalyl acetate, limonene, tannins, triterpenes, flavonoids:
Analyzing……… Lavender (98.5% match).
Hank was rubbing nervously at the back of his neck, watching as the android took in the different scents. “You, uh, mentioned that you wanted to get something to make the house smell nice and this shop was on the way home… I can take them back if-” he froze when Connor placed a hand on his arm and flashed him a sweet smile.
“These are perfect. Thank you, Lieutenant” the android said before dropping his hand and moving to organize the new incense sticks into a small vase they had come with. The pleasant scent was already spreading through their living room.
“I told you to call me Hank,” the old man grumbled fondly before moving to grab a drink from the fridge.
Connor chuckled, “Of course, Hank”, which only made the Lieutenant roll his eyes at the tone. “How was work today?” Connor continued as he started to prepare the kitchen for dinner. Hank handed him the asparagus stalks to wash at the sink, and then settled at the table with the water he had gotten from the fridge. They never talked about the way the alcohol in the house had slowly started to disappear the longer that Connor stayed.
“My day was fine” Hank shrugged nonchalantly, “mostly spent the day doing paperwork, reviewing some statements, talking to Fowler about hiring you again, bantering with Chris-”
“Wait, what did you say?” Connor stopped and turned immediately towards Hank, his eyes wide in shock. Hank grinned and made his way to Connor at the sink, trying to control his excitement.
“I talked to Fowler about bringing you back in.” Connor was about the protest, but Hank raised his hands defensively “I know, you told me that it wouldn’t matter until androids were allowed to work in government, but then I realized that there was a loophole to that.”
“I’m not going to risk your job or the Captain’s by engaging in illicit activities, Hank.” the android protested, his thrium pump giving out errors of exertion at the mere thought of going back to work.
“It wouldn’t be anything ‘illicit’,” Hank teased, using air quotes, “you are already considered a civilian, right?”
Connor’s brow furrowed, “Yes, but I don’t see how that- Oh” Hank grinned as he saw Connor slowly piece together what the Lieutenant had earlier that morning. “You want to hire me as a civilian consultant.” The android added with breathless wonder. How had he not thought of that?
Hank smiled openly now and nodded. “It took some groveling and promising that I will go show up for work early for the next month, but Fowler agreed to hire you.”
Connor let the words wash over him as they slowly settled into his rapidly beating thirium pump. He met Hank’s gaze, the pure happiness he felt reflected in his friend’s features. Before he realized what he was doing, he jumped into the Lieutenant’s arms and hugged him close to his chest. Hank stumbled slightly against the unexpected attack, but then chuckled and wrapped his arms tightly around the android.
“Thank you” Connor muttered softly against Hank’s chest, fighting back tears that threatened to spill over. “Thank you so much Hank.”
Hank’s chest warmed at the soft words and he held the android a bit tighter against him. “Anything for you, Con”.
***
They stayed like that for slightly longer than was possibly normal for two roommates, but Hank supposed that nothing was ever normal between him and Connor. They eventually separated as Connor muttered something about needing to start dinner. Hank ruffled the android’s hair, not bothering to fight against the smile that seemed to have found a permanent home on his face whenever he was around Connor.
“Actually, let me help you with dinner tonight. We need to celebrate.” Hank suggested, moving to help gather some spices from the pantry.
Connor hummed appreciatively “What do you have in mind?”
“I am going to teach you how to make the world-famous Anderson surprise” Hank grinned and pointed at the asparagus as he handed Connor a cutting board and knife. “Cut those into half slices, and some onion too.”
They fell into a companionable silence, with only the occasional instruction of what ingredients to add or what temperature to set the oven to. The asparagus Connor was cutting occasionally threatened to roll away from him on the cutting board, much to Hank’s amusement. It was tender and would surely be delicious. Sometimes Hank wondered if Connor longed for the ability to taste, his complex forensics lab of a mouth did not lend itself to the subtle sense of taste. The android could tell the exact chemical composition of anything he licked (much to Hank’s chagrin), but that would never extrapolate to how humans tasted. Hank wished he could give him that.
They placed the asparagus into a casserole dish along with some chopped onions, sauce, chicken and cheese. Hank placed the dish in the oven, a strained smile on his face.
“Now we just need to let that bake for 40 minutes” Hank mumbled, moving to start washing the dishes left on the sink.
Connor was keeping a close eye on him, he could practically feel the android’s intense gaze weighing on his shoulders. He was waiting for Hank to acknowledge the elephant in the room, the reason why his smile wasn’t quite meeting his eyes anymore.
With a sigh, Hank relented “I used to make this whenever Monica won a case at her practice, it was a little bit of a tradition.”
Connor nodded, fixing his gaze to the Lieutenant's face, partly obscured by his hair. “Monica?” he questioned, though they both knew he was aware of who she was. He could easily look up everything about Hank in an instant, but they had come to an unspoken agreement; They would learn about each other at their own pace. Not through databases or user manuals, just through them.
Hank grimaced as he washed the dirty plate he was holding a bit more forcefully than necessary. He wished he could bury the memories, but he was a man of his word. “My ex-wife, she uh, she is a criminal defense lawyer” he replied.
“Hmm. Interesting.” Connor added thoughtfully after a small pause, finally shifting to start drying the dishes Hank kept stacking next to him.
“What is?” Hank asked with a raised brow.
“Well you are a police lieutenant and she is a criminal defense lawyer” Connor paused to put away the dish he had been holding, “Your professions would have cancelled each other out” he finished with a small grin, meeting Hank’s gaze once again.
Hank snorted and tried to hide his amusement, but failed miserably. “Yeah, well she knew how to keep me in check.” He was thoughtful for a moment, his gaze softened as he felt a strange warmth settle in his heart. “It's been years since I made this for anyone. Though I guess you can’t really enjoy it huh?”
Connor stopped what he was doing and stared at the lieutenant with an unreadable expression. “Why wouldn’t I enjoy it?” the android questioned, his voice small.
Hank hesitated, trying to choose his words carefully. He couldn’t afford to say too much and risk this comfortable companionship they had settled into in the last few months. How could he tell his android roommate that usually his dinners with his ex-wife ended in the bedroom for dessert, and that the thought of going there with Connor seemed even more attractive than it had ever been with her? He couldn’t tell him. Not without assuring that the android would run for the hills the moment he did.
“Well, you can’t eat, so you just have to watch me, it must be pretty boring.” he settled on lamely.
Connor’s gaze remained firmly on Hank’s chest, a confused furrow in his brow. “But I do enjoy it, because it allows us to spend time together,” Connor began before meeting his friend’s eyes, “I really enjoy our time together, Hank.” he finished earnestly with a small smile that met his eyes and absolutely melted Hank’s heart.
Hank cleared his throat and put some more space between them as he turned to go shower while the dish baked, but he stopped in the kitchen doorway. He half-turned to meet the android’s gaze again, a small smile betraying his features, “I enjoy our time together too, Con,” he admitted in a rush before striding down the hall, leaving a blushing android in his wake.