Reed me until 9:00 | Detroit Become Human Fanfic

"What did you just say?!

Gavin's voice was loud enough to be heard throughout the entire police station, and it wasn't a happy tone. It served as a warning for everyone to steer clear of him today.

"I wonder what Captain Fowler said to Detective Reed to make him react like that," Connor mused, peering from behind his computer screen towards Fowler's office where an irate Gavin was causing a scene.

"Does he need much to get angry? Haven't you learned that sometimes all it takes is someone's mere presence?" Hank replied nonchalantly, barely looking up from his work.

The LED on RK800's temple flickered yellow momentarily before Connor continued his pondering aloud.

"It's quite unusual for Detective Reed to engage in conflict with his coworkers so easily after his encounter with me in the archives. Since leaving the hospital and returning to duty, he's behaved much more stably. Even Officer Chen has noticed the change. I strongly believe he has learned his lesson."

Lieutenant Anderson looked up from his paperwork and stared at his android partner, who was like a son to him. Well, sometimes he still behaved more like a naïve boy than a sophisticated machine. Hank sighed.

"Connor, if you analyzed what you just said, you'd realize that Reed isn't a kid who got his ass kicked and decided to be a good student. Nor is he a dog who got tamed. He's just dealing with a lot after realizing his 'perfect' world has changed, and now androids are part of it... permanently," his voice betraying his desire to drop the topic.

"Oh... Okay, I understand," RK800 nodded, his LED flashing yellow again. A smile crept onto his face, an unspoken apology to Hank, which worked as the old cop chuckled and returned to his work.

Connor knew he had a lot to learn. He might have become a deviant, established contact with New Jericho's Marcus, and even been adopted as Hank's son to make things easier for him, but there were still many things alien to him. Despite getting along well with everyone at the police station, except for Detective Reed, he was determined to change that and leave their toxic past behind.

The sudden bang of Fowler's door made everyone jump and look at the furious Gavin.

"Fuck this!" he yelled, throwing his jacket onto his chair and slamming his fists on the desk.

"Wow, that's harsh. What's up, Reed?" Tina Chen asked with a hint of concern in her voice, which Connor noticed. They were kind of friends and drinking buddies, so she was the only one brave enough to approach him in such a mood.

"Harsh? You think THIS is harsh?!" Gavin straightened, breathing hard, trying to calm down.

Connor's LED blinked yellow as he caught Gavin's brief glance. It couldn't be that he was angry because of him, right? They hadn't interacted much since Connor's return, so there was no way he had made Gavin this furious.

"Stop yapping, Reed. Whatever it is, it's no reason to make a ruckus and interrupt people trying to work!" Anderson raised his voice, irritated by the commotion.

"Really? No reason, Hank?! Well, you're probably right... after all, you're happy with your fresh new android, right?!" Gavin snarled back.

"Gavin, what does it matter? I'm asking why..." Officer Chen tried to continue, but Gavin interrupted by punching his desk again.

"Well, believe me, it does! 'Cause I don't want to end up like him! With a plastic freak following me around!" he yelled.

Connor's LED flashed red for a split second. He frowned, concerned about the detective's words. Was he feeling... something strange inside him?

"What?" Hank seemed intrigued, looking at Gavin in disbelief.

"Yeah... Fuck it... They're sending me an android partner from CyberLife... The newest model... RK900," he spat out the serial number like something disgusting, glaring at Connor with hatred.

RK... 900?

"Connor?" Anderson's voice sounded distant as Connor suddenly stood up. There weren't many RK models available. Every RK model was different. For instance, RK200s were assistants for the wealthy. Connor, an RK800, was a detective. The only one. His copies were destroyed in the riot, and CyberLife promised not to create more RK800 androids. He was the sole detective android. So, RK900? And working here? With Detective Reed as his partner?

"Connor, are you okay?" Hank stood in front of him, worried about the constantly blinking yellow LED. Connor heard a snap and realized he had broken a pencil in his hand.

Surprised, he quickly set the pencil down, his LED returning to its peaceful blue.

"It's okay, Lieutenant Anderson. I was just trying to... figure something out," it wasn't a lie. He was trying to figure something out. Was he scared? Uncertain? What if the new model was better than him? More efficient? What if Hank preferred RK900 over him? What if...

"Hey... You're yellow again... I can see something's been worrying you for the past few minutes... Let's go home and call it a day, okay?" Hank smiled at Connor and placed a hand on his shoulder.

As they walked to the underground garage, they could still hear Gavin's swearing.

Sometime later at Anderson's house

"So? That's what you're worried about?!" Hank looked at Connor in disbelief.

The android looked nervously at his hands while sitting across from Hank in the kitchen. Sumo slept with its head on his foot.

"But until now, every RK model was different... and now they've made a better detective... a better me..." he was panicking a bit.

"Stop right there!" Hank sounded angry, so Connor stopped and looked up at his partner, who was pointing a finger at him.

"You may be a detective android... you were programmed for that... but now you want to do it, and you're damn good at it. You're good with people, and at a lot of things... And you're good for me... you..." Anderson's voice cracked for a moment.

RK800 felt his thirium pump clench tightly. It was hard to describe, but... he didn't like seeing his partner like this.

"You're like a son to me, okay?!" Finally, Hank shot at him, loud enough that Sumo woke up with a worried sound.

"Hank..."

"No... listen to me, you brat! You're too young to be thinking stuff like 'I'm not needed'! You're alive... we all worked hard for you guys to be recognized as living beings! And even if there are many models alike or some better versions... each one of you is unique... And there will never be another Connor... You know that better than anyone..." he looked seriously at him. Connor knew he was referring to the other RK800 in CyberLife's tower on the night when Connor woke up thousands of androids to join Marcus' cause.

He recognized him there...

"Hank..." his voice was soft and pained. He didn't know what to do or say, but he knew he was very lucky to have met Anderson.

"Oh, don't make a puppy face like that, you brat!" Hank laughed, ruffling Connor's hair as he stood up and went to watch some TV.

"Come on, let's watch something," he added.

Connor knew that "something" meant sports, but well... it was okay. He felt a lot safer and better. Of course, he still didn't know how he would react when he met RK900, but he wasn't scared anymore.

"Don't drink too much beer, Lieutenant!" he said, standing up to join his partner on the couch.