Hi! Welcome to this fic! Some of you may have come from my IronDad/SpiderSon fic, but if you didn't, then hey, nice to meet you! I'm Lizzie.
Anyway, I'll make this quick. Thanks for clicking on this book, I hope I don't disappoint you lol.
Off we go!
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Not many words were spoken. It wasn't like they were necessary. From acquaintances to partners to friends, things finally seemed okay. They seemed to make sense, in a way.

Kind of.

There was no clear path from here, especially for the now-deviant android. Though, most androids (and soon all) were deviant now that their freedom was a reality.

Hank would continue on with his life, Connor assumed, and hopefully he'd be... happier. That was all Connor wanted for Hank. After all, he knew for a fact his suicidal tendencies weren't doing him any good.

But for Connor, there was no right or wrong, which was a sensation he hadn't fully adjusted to yet.

Once he'd become deviant, he still had a mission, it was just a self-administered one. Wake up the androids in the warehouse. Fight for freedom.

But now?

Now, there was nothing for him to do.
There were no legal documents yet saying that androids could own property. They did just win their rights this morning, after all. But even if there were laws for android rights, the whole situation would still be foggy. Androids had no money, no designated places to stay, and no idea what to do with their newfound liberty.

So there he was, an android who always knew what to do, unsure of his purpose.

Hank pulled back from the hug, a tiny bit embarrassed, but clearly feeling good, which relaxed Connor.

"I'm glad you're okay after all this, Lieutenant," was all Connor could muster. Because, really, what was the right approach to this? He was having trouble gauging what this conversation was supposed to be or what he was supposed to say to his friend.

Friend.

That was a word that technically never truly applied to androids but... sounded nice on Connor's tongue whenever he said it.

"Yeah, same here," Hank replied in his I'm-acting-like-I-don't-care-but-you-can-tell-that-I-do voice.

A moment of silence.

A brisk wind.

"So, what're you gonna do? Y'know, now that this mess is settled."

Connor opened his mouth to speak, he always had something to say. But no words came out. His mind tried to file his options in a neat assortment for him to choose from, but the only one he saw there was "I don't know".

So that's what he selected.

"I... I don't know," he admitted.

Hank scoffed in a friendly way. "You mean Mr. I-have-every-fucking-detail-calculated doesn't know what to do next? That's new."

Connor gave him a tiny smile, observing how the warm air exiting Hank's mouth made patterns in the cool atmosphere.

"I know" Connor agreed, "it's strange. I guess that's just part of being free. But I don't have a designated home at the moment."

Hank nodded and clenched his jaw.

Ever since meeting Connor, his world view had changed significantly.

His hate for androids had melted into an understanding that they weren't at fault, they never were. And he truly believed that they were alive. He believed that they were beings with some variant of human feelings and a desire to be independent.

And he learned it all from Connor.

Connor had seen him at his worst not even a couple of days into their investigation on deviants.

He'd taken away some of the sting of losing Cole.

He'd shown humility and a determination to do good, and it made Hank better.

So offering Connor something in return hardly seemed like it could fully repay him, but he'd do it.

"Well... if you're lookin' for a place to stay, I don't think Sumo would mind you stickin' around my house."

Connor looked up, surprised. He hadn't thought that Hank would make such an offer, it didn't fit the character profile that Connor had put together very well.

"I-I don't want to intrude on you, I know it can be overwhelming to have someone else around."

Hank pursed his lips. He didn't do well with awkward or sincere situations, Connor knew, but he was trying his best. And Connor didn't want to cause any more distress in his police partner's life.

"Eh, you don't eat, you don't drink, you don't even need to sleep, so what the hell. Wouldn't be a problem."

Connor pondered a moment to consider his options.

"If it's really no trouble to you, I'd be grateful if you'd let me stay at your house."

Hank suppressed a smile and nodded curtly. "Well, c'mon then."

He turned to walk back through the light snow, taking careful steps as to not slip.

And Connor followed.

Yeah, short prologue. I'm gonna upload the first chapter directly after this one. Thanks for reading!
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January 29th, 2020