I thought things were going great

Gavin sat down at his desk, hunched over his coffee and ignoring everyone else in the precinct. Tina walked past him to her own desk, patting him on the shoulder briefly. He didn’t look up to meet her gaze. Instead he just scratched at the bandage on his neck. He worked for a little while before standing up and storming out.

He made it back to his apartment, the anger and frustration bleeding out of him with every step. He leaned his head against the door as he fumbled for his keys. It felt as if all his energy had been drained. He closed the door behind him after stepping inside. Gavin dropped his keys in the bowl before he pulled off his jacket and hung it up. He sighed and dragging himself to his bed, refilling the cat food bowl on his way.

He laid down on his bed, staring out the glass doors as the sun slowly set. After what felt like a long time he sat back up, he couldn’t understand it, he felt so alone as he stood up and opened the balcony door. He could hear someone entering his apartment, probably Nines or Tina. She had a key to his place of course. Gavin stared out at the street below, he wondered if it would hurt to hit the ground. With ease he swung his legs over the edge and sat on the railing.

He hated this feeling, hated knowing he pushed everyone away and yet- he kept doing it again and again. All he had now was Tina. She would hate him too eventually. He was sure Nines did by now, they’d had another fight and his boyfriend stormed out to spend the night on Connor and Hank’s couch.

Gavin stood up, his feet on the edge and his hands on the railing behind him when he heard someone run up behind him. He needed to do this now before he lost the nerve. Gavin took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let go of the railing.

Nines ran, he lunged and managed to grab one of Gavin’s hands as he slammed into the railing. Without a doubt, he knew his LED was bright red as he grabbed onto Gavin’s arm with his other hand, slowly pulling him back up to the balcony. He pulled Gavin against him, holding the smaller man tight as he cried silently.

“Why didn’t you just let me fall?” Gavin finally spoke, clutching onto Nine’s jacket. “You should have just let me fall and everyone would have been happier.”

“I thought things were going great for us.” Nines ran his hand through Gavin’s hair, holding his boyfriend close. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said-”

Gavin just shook his head, “You were right though, I am an asshole. I do push everyone away. I probably will end up alone.”

“No, I was hurt and I lashed out. You won’t end up alone, because you have me right here with you.”

An Unhealthy Obsession pt 14

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Gavin sat down at the bar next to Nines, the bruises on his face were gone by now, and the fracture in his sternum was still healing. He sipped at his beer, glancing at Nines before placing his hand in the android’s. Nines gave a smile as he ran his thumb over Gavin’s knuckles. The android was glad to see Gavin moving past the very real fears of Nine’s not being himself and slowly trusting for them to be alone together. Nines felt glad that Gavin was now trusting him enough to drink in his presence. It helped that Nines kept track of any actions or phrases that the imposter had used often. He leaned down to kiss his human, pausing just before the lips and humming to himself in happiness when Gavin leaned in to close the gap between them.

He found that actions like that worked best for Gavin now. He could start to show affection, but the last bit of contact had to be Gavin. If he wanted a hug he usually just opened an arm and Gavin would give a tentative hug before sinking in. Kisses were slower going though for the two of them. Nines found that anytime he tried to rush in for a kiss Gavin would not react well, even with the two of them dating now.

He knew that in time they could move further, it just took time to heal from the mental wounds. Gavin may not have been broken in that week, but the imposter certainly had come close. He watched Gavin finish his drink before the two of them stood up. “My place, yours, or seperate?” Nines asked softly as he leaned in for another kiss.

Gavin closed the gap between them, “Yours.”

An unhealthy obsession pt 3

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Hank knew something was up when Connor didn’t come back home. He really knew something was wrong when Nines showed up to work and neither Connor or Gavin were there. After his shift ended he found himself driving to Kamski’s house. He pounded on the door, frustrated that something was going on and he as a weak human would not be able to help. The same Chloe that had greeted him last time was there, opening the door with a smile and a confused expression. “I need to speak with Kamski. That new police model has gone nuts and I think he killed Connor.”

She looked even more confused as she guided him in. “I don’t think that’s possible Lieutenant Anderson.” They took a different route, Hank looking around as they went down some stairs. He was surprised to see a picture of Gavin Reed of all people with an arm around Elijah’s shoulders. They were both smiling and the smaller man had yanked the taller to his height in the picture. They entered a room filled with different parts and a computer with a three screen setup.

He expected Kamski to be one of the people sitting behind the computer, what he did not expect was to see Nines standing just behind him and pointing at something on a screen. “What the fuck’s he doing here?” Both of them looked up with surprised expressions as Chloe answered.

“Well that’s what I meant by I don’t think it’s possible. You see Lieutenant Anderson, Nines has been here for over a month. Elijah borrowed him for a special job for Cyberlife. Gavin should have been notified his partner would be unavailable.”

Nines stood up to his full height and strolled over to Hank, Elijah just pushed up his glasses and watched them with an interested expression. “Why are you so surprised I’m here Anderson?”

Hank rolled his shoulders back and glared up at the RK900, “Because you did something to Gavin and I think you killed Connor! They’re both missing! They had an argument and you rushed after Reed, then when Connor decided to walk home he went missing!” He poked the android in the chest as Chloe and Kamski watched on. “I need to find out where Connor’s back ups are so we can figure out what the fuck happened!”

Nines just looked at him confused before turning back to Kamski. “I’ve been here the whole time. Aside from trips to Cyberlife I haven’t left this house. Anderson I-” He paused, the LED turning yellow as his face turned into a neutral expression. “Someone is running around in one of my backups? Elijah, I thought I was the only RK900.”

The man stood up and gave a shrug, Hank was surprised how different the man looked with his glasses on and his hair pulled back in a ponytail. “They were supposed to be empty back ups, incase you were to get damaged on the field. I remember Gavin demanding you be just as protected as Connor after your arm was ripped off.” He then turned to Hank, those blue eyes slightly worried. “What happened to Gavin? Why do you think he’s still alive if your so sure Connor is dead?”

Hank pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I don’t know, call it a gut feeling but that bastard is still alive. That clone or whatever of Nines seems too possessive to just kill him, but the way he kept looking at Connor? I know that kid, if he were alive he would have found a way back home. So look, we need to get him activated or whatever the fuck it is you do when he gets himself killed and then we can find Gavin and put a bullet in that fuck’s brain.”

Nine’s LED was red, Chloe had walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “So there’s an imposter running around in my body, who has kidnapped Gavin and killed Connor? I’m going to put a bullet through his head myself.”

Chloe reached over and brushed her fingers against Elijah’s arm, a small motion that make him turn towards her. Hank could see his posture relax slightly. She let go of Nines and walked up next to Hank. “We should go to Cyberlife and wake up Connor. That way his memory can be accessed and we can solve this problem.”

An Unhealthy Obsession

Read on Ao3!

Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 5/ Part 6/ part 7/ Part 8/ Part 9/ Part 10/ Part 11/ Part 12/ Part 13/ Part 14 (end)

Gavin woke up in an unfamiliar room. He sat up slowly, noticing he was lying in a bed. The next thing he noticed was the lack of windows. He was probably somewhere underground then. He climbed off the bed when he noticed another thing, one that made his blood freeze. He had a chain around his ankle. Closing his eyes for a moment he tried to remember the last thing that happened before waking up. He had been at the DPD, arguing with Connor as usual. Gavin pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to remember more. He had been arguing with Connor, and then- then he left to go home? No, that wasn’t right.

Footsteps echoed around him from above, good, he could hear people. He climbed up on top of the bed and tried to reach the ceiling. He had to jump to slap the ceiling with his hand. The footsteps paused before continuing. They were no longer above him but going towards the front of the room, then they were in front of the door. Stairs then, Gavin decided as he jumped down from the bed and lifted his fists. He wondered who would jump him by the DPD, who would just chain him to a bed instead of just killing him or tying him to a chair.

The door clicked and then swung open. Gavin dropped his fists as he laughed. “Nines you scared me for a moment! You found who kidnapped me then? Good you can help me get this stupid fucking chain off.” He turned to pick up the chain and stopped when he took another look at his partner, the partner who made no move to free him. “Nines, help me break these chains.” There was blue blood over the androids hands and he had a tear in his jacket. “Are you hurt? Can you tell me who took me?” Gavin started to feel fear bubbling in his chest as Nines just stood there stoically. Icy gray eyes just watched the human holding the chain and trying to pull it away from the bed.

“Everything will be alright Detective.” He watched Gavin give a sigh of relief before holding up the chain. Nines walked in and closed the door behind him, locking it just in case. “He won’t bother you anymore.”

Gavin looked up at Nines as the android stopped in front of him. “Who? What do you mean?”

A hand covered in blue blood raised up to cup Gavin’s cheek. He tightened his grip as the human flinched away. “Connor won’t be an issue anymore Gavin.”

“Nines. What did you do?” Those deep grey eyes looked up with just a touch of fear hiding in them. Nines just gave a smile and placed the hand not holding Gavin’s face on his shoulder. “I need you to tell me, what did you do?”

Nines leaned down to kiss Gavin, holding the struggling human in place before standing up straight again. “I got rid of the problem Gavin, he won’t be bothering you anymore.”

Gavin pushed uselessly against him. “What the fuck! I don’t know what you’re trying but we-”

He was cut off with a shout, “I’m trying to help! You had a problem and I got rid of it!” Nines knew his LED was red right then. He took a few breaths to cool down his processors before speaking again. “Nothing will come between us any longer.” It amused him, how he could see the exact instant his human realized what position he was in. At the same time, he felt saddened. His human should be glad, he protected him, all he wanted to do was keep his frail human safe from the outside world. Gavin shouldn’t fear him, no not him.

Nines grabbed Gavin by the face again, staring at him and the fear in his eyes before letting go and turning away. “You locked me up.” Gavin sounded so surprised. “You locked me up and- and what? Killed Connor? What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have an error in your system or something?” Nines ignored him, walking towards the door and opening it.

“I’ll come back later. You’ll see eventually that I did this for your own protection.”

Gavin fell back on the bed when the door closed behind Nines. He put his head in his hands and wondered if this was how he would die. Locked away by an android who- what loved him? Was obsessed? He wondered how he would get away. How do you escape a jailer who never slept, who didn’t need food or water? How could he outsmart Cyber Life’s finest?

You can do so much better

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Gavin frowned and looked at his drink, wishing his problems would disappear as easily as the beer in front of him. He gave a sigh and pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. “Fucking hell…” His phone buzzed and he fished it out of his pockets, biting back a sigh when he saw it was his boyfriend calling. “Hey, I’m at the bar. It was 6 we were supposed to meet, right? I didn’t forget it was supposed to be later or something?” He frowned at the response from the phone. “Oh. Alright then.” There was a moment of silence from him as the man on the other end spoke some more. “Fine. If that’s- if you feel that way fine. Bye.” He hung up and took a long drink of the beer before finishing it up.

Gavin looked up and waved over at the bartender. “I’ll have a Sazerac please, and another one of these.” He motioned to his empty pint before pulling out the cash for the two drinks and giving it to the bartender. Gavin watched the woman pour the beer before mixing the Sazerac and sliding both drinks to him. “Thanks.” He looked at the phone again and pulled up another number. “Hey Tina. Yeah I know it’s date night, but that’s no more. Fucker dumped me.” He nodded and took a sip of his Sazerac, “I’m gonna get drunk of course.” He could feel his best friend’s worry from over the phone. “Maybe find someone to go home with too. Yeah, yeah I’ll be safe.” He gave a chuckle and took a longer sip of his drink. “I do too. Bye Tina.”

He finished the first drink and started on his second beer as he took a look around the bar. No one really caught his attention so he just turned back to his phone and scrolled through his social media as he drank his beer. He had almost finished it when someone sat down next to him. Gavin gave a sigh and turned to face whoever decided to sit next to him in a near empty bar. He choked slightly on his beer when he realized it was Nines, but a side of Nines he had never seen before.

God he looked like sex on legs in Gavin’s opinion right now. He leaned to the side slightly in his seat so as to get a better look at Nines. Tight shirt hugging muscles that didn’t even see a minute of gym work, jeans that could have been painted on for how tightly they hugged his legs and to top it off in Gavin’s mind there was that leather jacket half hanging on his arms. Gavin finished off his beer, suddenly aware of his throat being dry. “Fuck me.” He whispered as his eyes trailed over the android. He had known Nines was attractive but he had never looked like this before when they worked together.

Nines didn’t even look at him but Gavin knew it was him. He’d spent too many days working next to that tall form not to recognize it out of uniform. Nines ordered a thirium drink as the bartender passed by to give Gavin another beer, this time she just took his card to keep a tab open for him. Nines took a slow drink from his bright blue drink while Gavin watched him, taking his own drink to quench his sudden thirst. Nines finally turned and Gavin had to bite his lip, the profile in those clothes alone had been more than enough to catch his attention. “Hello Gavin, I’ve been sent to take you home as Miss Chen so eloquently put it.” He gave a small smirk at seeing his partners gulp. Nines reached over and gave Gavin’s hand a squeeze. “I would have come anyway had she not asked. You can do so much better.”

Gavin pulled his hand back frowning as he drank some more beer. “Yeah right. I’m a mess okay? I know it, every ex has pointed it out to me. At least this one wasn’t completely my fault.” He looked up at Nine’s puzzled expression. “He had some jealousy issues. Didn’t like me spending so much time with you.”

Nines just nodded and watched Gavin quickly finish the beer before getting another. “As I said, you can do much better.”

“Yeah well- I’m not sex on legs like you okay? Some people have to settle ya know?”

Nines looked over him. “Finish your drink, then I am taking you home.”

Gavin groaned and looked back at his beer before waving the bartender over and closing the tab. He didn’t feel drunk enough to deal with things, but knew Nines didn’t want to sit around as his drank himself senseless. “Look Nines, you don’t have to-”

“I’m well aware Gavin, but to be honest I do care about you. I also feel your now former boyfriend was undeserving of you affections. Let me take you home. I do not wish for you to come into work tomorrow hungover and I would like for us to get off work at a decent time tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“So we could have a pleasant unrushed date tomorrow.”

Gavin choked slightly on his drink, spilling some down his shirt as he attempted to get air in his lungs. “Wha?”

Nines gave a small frown at the response. “Is that not the proper protocol when attempting to date someone?” He looked at the still confused and surprised expression on Gavin’s face. “I forgot to ask. Would you be willing to accompany me on a date tomorrow?” Gavin just nodded in response.

“Keep dressing like that and I’ll be willing to do anything.”

Forest of the Nines

Part 3/ Part 4 (final!)

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Tina felt as if she were cursed, her best friend was falling for The Nines and all she could do was stand back and watch. Time and time again he went out to the forest. He tried to keep the return trips a secret from her, but she had taken to watching out her window. Now she was sitting on the wall, it was supposed to help protect the villagers from any forest creatures but right now all it did was tell Tina just how separated they were becoming. She watched Gavin and The Nines walk towards the edge of the forest, the sight made her want to cry. They held themselves as lovers did, pressing small chaste kisses as they pulled away.

“Does it hurt to know he’ll leave you?” Tina turned to see the newcomer standing next to her, his arms on the top of the wall as he looked out into the forest as well. “Do you wish he held you that way?”

She shook her head, giving a small tight laugh as the tears fell from her eyes. “Never that way. I love Gavin, but as a brother. I would say yes if he asked for my hand, but only because we would accept each others-” She paused, glancing down at Connor to see him watching Gavin and The Nines without any disgust, “preferences. We know each would be accepting and discreet. This though, I feel as if he is leaving me behind. He has journeyed to where I am too scared to go and has come back changed for it.” He placed a hand on hers, waiting to see her reaction.

Tina just looked at him before turning back to see Gavin still with The Nines. She could imagine that The Nines was tempting him to stay, to leave the village forever and become one of them. Connor spoke, his voice soft and light. “What if you could join them? Stay on as his little sister?”

“I would in a heartbeat.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” Tina slid off the wall, landing next to Connor. “I do not wish to lose my only family to The Nines. It may be our guardian, but I will vilify it as a monster if he takes my family away.” She looked up at him with a frown. “If Gavin does not return to the village, the next night I too shall go into the forest.”

Connor watched her walk away into the village and saw Gavin turn and go back into the forest with his brother. “It appears you shall join us soon dear Tina.”

Forest of the Nines

Part 2/ Part 3

Read on AO3!

Gavin caught himself sighing again as he looked down at his drink. A small finger reached forward and poked him in the cheek. “Tina, not now.” He looked up at his friend, she gave him a small smile as if pressing him to keep speaking. “You remember the night I went to the forest?” She gave a nod and moved her hand, asking him to keep going. “I- I want to do it again.”

She suddenly sat up straight, looking at him with accusing eyes. “What? Do you want to die?” She leaned towards him, hissing under her breath, “Or has The Nines caught your heart?” Tina reached forward and grabbed Gavin’s hand. “I know we never felt the same as the other villagers, but I never thought you would feel as such an outsider as to want to tempt fate.”

Gavin leaned towards her, all melancholy forgotten as he grinned. “Just one more run. Just one more taste of that rush. I never felt that way before Tina. My blood sang to me that night, it was a rush of excitement! I don’t know if I want to be his, but that temptation, knowing one misstep could change my fate forever. It’s so different from this life we have here that I wish to try just one more time.”

Tina gave a watery smile and patted his hand. “I know there is so much we have done together, but I don’t know if I can take this step with you. You lead him on a chase through the night, I am not sure if I can do the same and survive. I may be able to hold my own in a brawl, but this- I’m sorry Gavin but this is just a bit too much for me right now.”

He nodded and finished his beer before standing up. “I’m going to retire early tonight, when I wake the moon should be risen and I will try again. If I do not return, do not mourn me. I feel I would join them rather than be prey. Come to the edge of the forest after 7 moons have passed and I will meet you where you waited for me.”

She gave a watery smile, blinking away her tears before reaching to grab his hand again. “I will hope for your return. Perhaps this is what they meant when stories are told of those who meet the Fae are changed for good? They have a taste of something more and yearn to return to it?”

He gave a small smile before turning and walking out of the tavern. “Perhaps you are right.” Gavin returned to his small house and closed the shutters on all the windows, giving himself sort of false night. He laid down and quickly fell asleep, preparing himself for the night.

The moon was high in the sky while he wandered through the woods. He wondered how The Nines would know he had returned. The wind cut through the trees and he paused for a moment, had he heard someone behind him on the path? He turned and saw no one behind him, when he turned back to look ahead he saw it. The Nines stood off the side of the path, watching him with those cold eyes.

“You have returned. It is a pleasure to see you again, Gavin .” He felt his blood freeze as he stared at the creature, had it merely guessed his name? “Your friend was so excited to see you, she gave me your name. I wonder, how long until she comes in after you? Or do you expect to escape me a second time?”

Gavin gave a crooked grin, his eyes darting around to see if the other was around as well. “Perhaps I am.” He could see an outline of someone hiding in the trees. “I had given you a good chase then, hadn’t I?” He didn’t speak of how he wanted to be running through the forest again, the knowledge of what failure could mean. He didn’t tell of how he enjoyed that risk, that temptation of fate in the hunt.

The Nines gracefully walked over to Gavin, a hand curling around his throat. He gave a chuckle as the human stayed his ground, staring unflinchingly up at him. The Nines bent down to whisper in his human’s ear, “Shall we have the same rules as last time?” Gavin gave a sharp nod, his chin hitting Nine’s hand before jerking back up. The Nines let go of the humans throat and stepped back. He watched as his human ran, vanishing into the forest.

At the break of dawn he found his human again, sitting against a rock and taking deep breaths with a smirk on his face. “You give a good chase. There were moments I could have sworn you were at my heels.” He walked up to the human, kneeling by him and watching. Gavin wasn’t sure what to make of the expression in Nine’s eyes, they weren’t as cold as before. They were almost warm in their gaze. “I won’t join you.”

The Nines darted forward, grasping Gavin’s head and stealing a kiss. He stayed there for a moment, lips lingering against the humans own. “Perhaps not yet, but you’ve had a taste. Can you deny yourself even more?”

Gavin’s face was flushed, his eyes searching The Nine’s face. “I will not join you.” His hands twitched as he fought the urge to repeat their kiss. He would not do this, he would not give in to The Nines.

Forest of the Nines

Part 1/ Part 2 (this)

Read on AO3!

Gavin gave a sigh of relief as he saw the days first light break through the darkness of the forest. He stopped and sat down on a tree stump, taking the moment to catch his breath. He looked up to see the blue-gray eyes staring out at him from the shadows. “I’ve out ran you till the dawn broke. I am to be neither pray nor one of you!” He stood up with a shout, hands forms fists by his side as he taunted The Nines.

It gave a deep chuckle and he stepped out into the light. “Nay human, today you are neither. I thank you for the chase. It has been a long time since I had a good chase. May we try this again one night?”

Gavin smiled and shook his head, he didn’t know how to describe how he felt. He hadn’t enjoyed being hunted but now- now that he was safe, it had been a thrill. “Perhaps sometime, but I must get back to my village.”

The Nines nodded and stepped close to Gavin, lifting a hand to brush Gavin’s hair from his face before brushing a finger against his cheek. “May I walk with you?”

He looked up at the creature, his face was flushed from running for so long and quite honestly, he had gotten lost. “You may.” The Nines dropped his hand and Gavin felt himself missing the contact without understanding why. The two of them walked in silence, The Nines slightly ahead of Gavin.

They found the path again and the sun had made it a quarter of the way into the sky by the time they reached the edge of the woods. “I do not go any further than this Gav. Just as your village is no longer safe from me during the night, I stay away from the village. I wish you well, and would enjoy another chase.” Gavin nodded as he looked out past the tree line into the village. He could see his friend Tina sitting on the wall bordering the village and the woods, she looked out at the trees with worry evident on her face.

“Perhaps another time. It was certainly a new experience.” Gavin gave a small bow before turning and walking out of the woods. The Nines frowned as he watched the human woman jump down off the wall and run towards the human he wanted to claim. She threw her arms around him in what The Nines thought of as an improper show of affection. Gavin gave a laugh that The Nines could hear from where he stood in the tree line. He leaned against a tree, watching the two humans interact with a small smile.

“Gavin I was so scared for you! When I heard you had been seen going into The Forest I thought for sure The Nines had gotten you.” She gave Gavin a second, shorter hug before stepping an arms length away.

“He almost did Tina, he almost did. I am afraid to admit, but if he had not given me the limit of dawnbreak I would be his by now.” Nines watched as Gavin started to walk to the village. “The Nines told me I could find out what he was if I consented to either be prey or one of them.” The girl gave a shudder and soon they were both out of his sight.

Connor walked up to Nines, sliding an arm around his waist. “You let him go free?” The silent why was evident in his brown eyes.

Nines nodded and the two of them walked back into the heart of the forest. “He outran me until the dawn broke. I am a man of my word after all.” Connor gave a frown as they walked, his gaze towards the ground. “You are still young, you have yet to want for a companion. Yes I am now your brother, just as my mother is now yours, but that is not enough for me.” Nines looked back over their shoulders towards the village. “That man Gavin, he has a spark in him. A fire and fight in him. It’s something I can’t easily tame, something I wouldn’t want to easily tame.”

Connor spoke softly, his voice almost an accusation. “I never had a spark, I begged to be prey and you made me family.” Nines placed an arm around his shoulder, giving a quick squeeze. “You brought me to mother and she made me her child. Why did you give me a chance so long ago brother?”

“Because you were embers, and embers can go either way. You could have faded away into nothing, or been brought back to life by mother’s love. Do not deny your happiness at her devotion to you.” He gave a small smile at seeing how Connor smiled and nodded. “You still have much to learn, perhaps you can learn from my courtship with the human?”

“Do you believe he would allow it?”

“I do. I feel it would be one fortnight until his curiosity brings him back into the forest at night again.” They arrived at a long forgotten house, opening the door to see an older woman with dark skin looking up at them from a chair.

She gave a small frown then smiled and opened her arms. Both of her sons walked towards her and held her. “You have chosen someone then?” She leaned back and searched their faces with her dark eyes. “Yes, you have a look about you Nines, as if you are the wolf having caught sight of the rabbit.”

Nines stood back, watching her hold Connor close, a need he hadn’t felt in decades. “I have. I do not know how long this will take. I do know I shall be disappointed if he chooses easily.”

She just gave a nod and stood up, walking away from them both and further into the house.

What’s MY problem?

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Nines ran a hand through his hair in frustration, such a stupidly human emotion but here he was feeling it. Directed at Gavin, his- he couldn’t think of what exactly to label them as. Partner yes, they worked together, Lovers? Maybe, Fuck-buddy might be a better term if they didn’t fight so damn much. He turned away from the smaller man, pacing in circles. “I don’t understand you Gavin. Why must you nitpick at every little thing?”

“What the fuck do you mean by that?” Gavin stormed up to Nines, getting as close to the android’s face as possible.

“I mean, what is your problem?” Nines stepped forward, forcing Gavin to step back.

“What’s MY problem? The hell do you mean My problem?” Gavin growled out as his back hit the wall, Nines pinning him in place with arms on either side of his head.

“I mean, why do you always have to fight me? Why can we never have a moment’s peace?” Nines looked down at Gavin, noting how his human softened in his body language.

Gavin looked down at the ground, letting Nines pull his chin back up towards him. “I just-” He paused before gulping and shifting side to side. “I’m used to people leaving, and it’s better if I push them away first, okay?”

Nines moved the hand from Gavin’s chin to resting it on his cheek. “Oh, so all this is just to protect your heart? Make it easier if our relationship is just fighting and sex?”

Gavin gave a shrug. “It’s not like they aren’t both enjoyable.”

“Gavin, I would much rather not have to have a fight just to be intimate with you.”

“Oh.” He frowned a little, sticking out his lower lip as he thought. Nines gave in to the urge and dove for a kiss.

Reed 900 week day 7: Halloween

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Nines entered the unlocked apartment to hear the sounds of laughter and screams. He followed the sounds to see everyone circled around a laptop and laughing as a loud static filled scream came out the speakers. Whomever had screamed was now shouting loudly, static still making their words difficult to hear from the laptop speakers until Nines walked up to Tina. She noticed his puzzled expression and slapped Gavin on the shoulder.

The man paused the video and gave a crooked smile to Nines. “Wanna watch? Tina and I have been watching since we were kids, well teens for this video.” Nines silently sat down next to Gavin, perching on the arm of couch as Gavin clicked the play video again. The game graphics were not well rendered in Nines opinion, almost three decades out of date if he were to guess. The video also jumped around a lot but everytime the man in the small camera feed in the corner would scream or shout Tina and Gavin would laugh or just fall into a fit of giggles. He looked over their heads to see Gwen just giving a small smile and shaking her head at him before she looked to Tina.

Her expression meant it was another best friends moment they were trying to share then. He understood that often enough. The video ended after a few minutes and Tina and Gavin fell against each other in a fit of laughter. Gavin turned to Nines, wiping a tear from his eyes from laughing. “Tradition. I told you how Tina and I watch horror game playthroughs every halloween in a big binge? It was started by this guy.” He motioned towards the screen. “DayNine, this game and this abridged version of the playthrough is what got us started on the tradition. Of course we’ll all be watching it on the tv screen, but Tina and I always start off with DayNine first.”

Nines looked at the two of them, “What did you do when you lived in different states?” He knew Tina had moved away for a few years before coming back.

Gavin gave a small wave. “That was easy, we used Discord back then to chat on our mics and had a countdown on linked videos. It was easy to tell when we unsynced because one would react and then hear a reaction right after. Now sit closer, we can all squeeze together.” He laughed and looked over to Tina. “I’d suggest you not sit by Tina, she’s scare-punched me a couple times.”

Gwen was the vocal of the two, laughing while Tina stuck her tongue out. “Oh Nines it’s easy to avoid that. Just don’t laugh when Tina screams and you won’t be punched.”

Tina high-fived her wife while pulling her into her lap and making more room on the couch. Gavin placed an arm around Nines as he slid down on the couch next to him. For the rest of the night he watched playthroughs of the latest horror game out with his boyfriend, his best friend, and her wife. When light started to reenter the dark room Gavin fell asleep against Nines, Tina yawned and pulled a sleepy Gwen to her feet.

“Rule always is first one to fall asleep gets couch, so Gwen and I are stealing his bed. Tell the old man we love him.” The two of them sleepily stumbled out to Gavin’s bedroom. Gavin sat up when the door clicked shut.

“Good, didn’t want to force Gwen on the couch. Now lay down and I’m gonna sleep on top of you.” Nines shook his head with a smile and pulled his human close with a smile. He felt he could enjoy these human holidays, especially if all of them start off with this much fun. Nines wondered how Connor would be spending Halloween night, Gavin already promised tonight would be more of the same with Tina and Gwen again.