Archive of Our Own ^beta

It's eight days before the end of the semester, and the sun is beating hot on Elijah's back.

He squints in the bright sunlight, casting his eyes over the plaza before him. Colbridge University has several open spaces, all glass sculptures and green foliage and white benches, and he often comes here to think or work through his latest problem. Now, though, he's looking for someone specific.

"Elijah?" comes a voice, and he turns to see Amanda Stern sitting on the bench behind him. She's dressed in flowing garments as always, a bright shawl that spills across the white wood. Elijah smiles, and walks over.

"Hello, Elijah," Amanda greets him when he gets closer, patting the seat next to her. "Sit down."

He does so, adjusting his glasses. "Hello, Amanda. Have you heard from the board yet?"

"I have. They... have some concerns."

It’s been three days since Elijah had his creation validated by the USPTO, by putting her through the Turing test. He’s been working on her for years, only recently moving his work to Colbridge and collaborating with Amanda, and the board are the first people other than him and Amanda to see her or talk to her. He’s calling her Chloe. If she's passed the test, Elijah will be able to patent her as closer to true artificial intelligence than ever before.

Elijah frowns. "What kind of concerns?"

"The android passed the Turing test," Amanda begins, and, though a warm pride bursts in Elijah's chest at the news, he can’t help feeling there’s a but coming. "However, some board members are doubtful as to the validity of the experiment. They argue that its appearance confused the examiner enough to potentially skew the results."

"That - they shouldn’t have been able to see her. That’s not part of the Turing test," Elijah protests.

Amanda purses her lips. "I know. It wasn't conducted completely correctly, but... the situation still stands. We need to find a solution. Another test for it to pass, if possible."

Elijah lets out a long sigh. "Like what?" he asks. "It's not like we can just... release her and see if people are fooled, is it? She's not ready to go out into the world yet."

Amanda opens her mouth to respond, but then she sits up, frowning. "We could release her into a controlled environment. Introduce her to a single person, and see if they believe her to be human," she suggests.

Elijah looks up. "That... that would work. If she fooled them, we'd have proof she passes as human," he says, mind whirring.

"We would need something to prove the friend as being... unaware of her android status," Amanda muses. "Attaching a camera to her, discreetly, would suffice."

"And we need someone to actually do it with," Elijah points out, and Amanda turns to look him straight in the eyes.

"Your half-brother would be an excellent candidate," she says bluntly.

Elijah frowns. "What? I - no, I couldn't do that. I'd be lying to him."

Amanda raises an eyebrow. "He is by far and away the best candidate we have for this. You know him personally. From what you've told me, his social circle is not wide. He could very easily form a connection with Chloe, and you can monitor the experiment closely."

"Yes, but -"

"This would help you achieve everything you've ever dreamed of, Elijah," Amanda interrupts, voice soft. "Everything we've dreamed of. You could tell him the truth afterwards. No harm would be done."

Elijah stares at the ground. "I... I suppose you're right," he says hesitantly.

She gives him a smile. "I always am. Should we do it?"

He pauses. "Yes."

"Good. The semester ends in eight days. You should bring Chloe home, and pretend she is a fellow student here. Make sure she forms a relationship with your half-brother. Does that sound acceptable?"

"Yes, Amanda. I'll introduce them."

"Good boy, Elijah."

19/06/2021

"See you next week, Gavin," his mother says, and hugs him briefly.

"See you, Mom," Gavin answers, hitching his backpack higher. "Have a good weekend."

She gives him a smile, face drawn tight. "You too."

Then, the door is shutting in his face. Gavin takes a breath, and sighs.

It's that time of the fortnight again, despite how close the last one seems: time for Gavin to switch homes for the weekend. It's been the same deal for years, as long as he can remember, but it hasn't gotten easier. He slopes over to his dad's house for two days, Mrs. Kamski yells at him for a bit, he fucks off and skulks around the neighborhood to avoid being there as much as he can: it's the same every time, and it's just as bad every time he has to see the pissy expression on his dad's face. The only good thing that ever comes out of his visits is the time he can spend with Elijah.

Gavin's supposed to go straight to the Kamskis' house, but he never does. He prefers to stay out of their reach as long as possible, up to the end of the weekend; once he gets through Saturday and Sunday, he has twelve days with his mom. Though he doesn’t see her that often, even staying at her house, her particular brand of distant parenting is a blessing compared to the Kamskis' claustrophobic stranglehold. He honestly doesn’t know how Elijah can stand it full-time. All he knows is that if the Kamskis were looking after him full-time, he'd probably have jumped ship and run as far and fast as he could by now.

His phone buzzes in his pocket, and he pulls it out to look at the screen.

ELIJAH: Hey Gavi

ELIJAH: Are you coming home soon?

GAVIN: nah staying out for a bit

GAVIN: idk how long

ELIJAH: Do you want to meet up first?

ELIJAH: Semester's over and I just got back, I have someone I want you to meet

Gavin frowns at the screen, fingers pausing in his reply. That... sounds a little suspicious, if he's being honest. Elijah's never been the most social person, and if he's come back from his fancy university with a girlfriend or something Gavin's going to be more than surprised.

GAVIN: dont tell me you got married to a robot or something istg

ELIJAH: No, nothing like that!

ELIJAH: Just come meet me, I'll explain

ELIJAH: Capitol Park okay?

GAVIN: sure ill see u there

He locks the phone and stows it away in his pocket again, hitching his backpack further up on his shoulder, and heads to Capitol Park. It's only about a ten-minute walk from his mom's house; he makes it there in nine. Elijah's not there, he sees, scanning the park, so Gavin strides over to the large tree in the center of the park that they usually meet at.

He waits for a couple of minutes before a voice jerks him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, Gavi!" Elijah calls, and Gavin pushes off the tree, grinning. His elder brother walks towards him with a blonde girl at his side, and Gavin squints to see. He doesn’t recognize her.

"Hey," Gavin greets, and Elijah smiles as he gets closer.

"This is Chloe. Chloe, this is Gavin," he introduces, gesturing to the girl. She gives a wave, and a small smile. Elijah leans in closer to Gavin. "She’s a little shy," he explains, "but I know she’s trying to make some more friends. I thought I could introduce you."

"Uh... sure," Gavin says, shrugging. He turns to Chloe. "I'm Gavin."

She gives him a smile. "I'm Chloe," she says. "Nice to meet you."

"So, uh... where do you come from?" Gavin asks.

Chloe glances around. "I’m from here. Detroit."

Elijah nods. "We met at Colbridge," he explains, and Chloe nods as he speaks. "She lives near here, it turns out, and I thought you two could be friends."

"Eli," Gavin warns, frowning (because if this is another of his brother's misguided attempts to get Gavin to be more 'socially-palatable' he's going to kill him).

Elijah catches on quickly and widens his eyes, shaking his head. "No! No, it's nothing like that. Seriously." He glances at Chloe quickly before looking back at Gavin and mouthing behind his hand. She needs some friends. You'd really like her.

Gavin represses a huff and steps forward, holding his fist out. "Nice to meet you," he says, and waits for Chloe to return the gesture.

She stares, slightly confused. "I..."

Gavin frowns. "Do you... do you not know what a fist-bump is?" he asks.

Chloe cocks her head. "Fist-bump?"

"Jesus, you Colbridge idiots live under a rock, I swear. Here, you just..." Gavin holds out his other fist, slamming them into each other. "Like a hi-five. With fists."

Chloe tentatively makes a fist, and Gavin meets it.

"There you go," he says, grinning.

Chloe gives him a smile. "Thank you, Gavin," she tells him.

He winks, and they fall into conversation.

Two hours later, it's getting dark and Elijah is checking his watch. "I think we need to go," he says. "Mom is expecting us back."

"Us?" Gavin snarks. "Or you?"

Elijah gives him a pained look. "You know what I mean."

"I have to head off as well, actually," Chloe chimes in. "Would you mind driving me home, Elijah?" she asks, and he nods.

"Of course. Gavin, are you alright to get home, or...?"

He waves a hand. "Nah, I'll be fine. You go return your girlfriend."

Shock flashes across Elijah's face. "No, she's not -" he begins.

"I'm not -" Chloe says at the same time, and then they both break off. Elijah flushes slightly.

"Mmhmm," Gavin says, raising an eyebrow.

Shut up, Elijah mouths. "See you at home, Gavin."

"See you. Bye, Chloe."

"Bye, Gavin."

They leave, then, and Gavin picks up his backpack from where he'd tossed it on the ground and starts walking towards the Kamskis'.

When he finally gets there, Elijah's car is already in the driveway. Gavin walks up to the front door and knocks once, twice, hard, and then it's swinging open to reveal Mrs. Kamski.

"Hi," Gavin says neutrally, and her face twists with sour dislike.

"Get inside. You're late," she scolds, and slams the door behind him.

Gavin rolls his eyes when she can't see, mouthing her words and imagining having the freedom to repeat them aloud mockingly. He's taken a few steps into the house when stinging pain erupts on the back of his head, and a resounding slap echoes through the hallway.

"Shoes off," Mrs. Kamski snarls, and strides past him without a second glance.

"Nice to see you, too," Gavin mutters quietly, glaring after her as he pulls his sneakers off.

Elijah is in the kitchen when he walks in, Mrs. Kamski having returned to her position in front of the stove. He's busy telling her all about the previous semester.

"And how is Amanda?" Mrs. Kamski asks as Gavin walks in.

"She's doing well," Elijah responds. "We're making groundbreaking progress in the development of the AI."

"Have the board come back to you yet?" she asks airily.

Elijah hesitates, just briefly. "Yes," he says. "They... rejected the validity of the result."

There's a pause for a second. "I see."

"But - we're going to fix it," Elijah says hurriedly. "We have another test ongoing currently."

"Good," Mrs. Kamski says, nodding to herself. "Make sure it succeeds, Elijah."

"I will, Mom." Elijah visibly catches sight of Gavin then, because he smiles. "Hey, Gavi."

"Hi, Eli. Chloe get home safe?"

Elijah nods. "Yeah. Yeah, she did. She really liked you."

Gavin smiles. "I liked her. She's great."

"That's brilliant to hear," Elijah says, "because she... she had it a little rough at Colbridge. She's not very good at making friends." The just like you goes unspoken, but Gavin can hear it behind the words. His relationship record is abysmal; he pushes people away too quickly, too well, to make friends.

"Well, she's got one now," Gavin tells him, and Elijah's face lights up.

"Elijah," Mrs. Kamski interrupts then, tone nasal in the way it always gets when Gavin is around her, like she's smelled something awful, "tell me more about your classes. What grade point average are you at?"

"I, um... three point nine," Elijah admits, and Mrs. Kamski turns around to fix him with a stare. "I - I missed a few lectures. Amanda had already taught me the material, you see, and I skipped them to work further with her - it's fine, Mom. I promise."

"Make sure it improves next semester, Elijah," she warns, voice cold. "Your father won't be happy."

"Is he coming home soon?" Gavin interrupts, and Mrs. Kamski's shoulders tense up.

She grits her teeth, visibly, and says, "Yes. Soon."

Damnit.

No matter how bad Mrs. Kamski is, Gavin's dad is the worst. He shares a dad with Elijah, but Gavin's the unwanted, illegitimate child while Elijah's the golden boy. His dad has always seemed to take that as an excuse to treat Gavin like shit, and both of them are well aware that's what he does. Only Elijah seems to have rose-colored glasses on when it comes to him - it's never shit, Gavin, he broke your arm, but I'm sure he didn't mean to! Let me help you, instead. Gavin's learnt that, no matter how much he loves his brother, he can't rely on him. Not when it comes to their shared family.

"What's for, um... for supper, Mom?" Elijah asks, uncomfortably, clearly trying to diffuse some of the tension. Gavin wants to tell him not to waste his breath.

"Pot roast," she says, voice significantly warmer, and that's the end of the interaction between Gavin and Mrs. Kamski.

Half an hour later, Gavin's dad shows up. He's in a suit, looking slightly ragged from exhaustion. When he sees Gavin, he rolls his eyes and scowls, striding up close to his wife.

"I thought this was next weekend," Gavin hears his father hiss quietly to Mrs. Kamski.

"Unfortunately not," she says tightly.

"Goddamn kid is round here too often."

Gavin likes to think he's invincible. He's dealt with the Kamskis' treatment all his life, after all, so he likes to convince himself he's used to it: his shell is hardened, his defenses are shored up. Still, though, the words send a stab of pain through his chest. Gavin crosses his arms tightly, and tries to push the feeling away as he watches the three of them move together. They're dysfunctional and pushy, but they'll always be more of a family than he can ever hope to have.

Gavin wishes he wasn't jealous.

20/06/2021

"So, you on the same course as Eli?" Gavin asks.

Chloe nods. "Yes, I am. Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Algorithmic Robotics."

"Wow," he says. "Sounds hard."

"It's not too bad," she tells him. "Some of the modules are difficult, but overall I enjoy it."

"Fair enough. You know Eli got in early? That's how stupid smart he is. I barely made it through high school."

"Everyone's different," Chloe says. "That's alright."

Gavin shrugs. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Hard to believe it when you've got the second coming of Christ for a brother."

Chloe cocks her head. "What do you mean?"

"You know." Gavin waves a hand in the air. "Everyone treats him like a god. I came to Colbridge one time and there was an entire room of professors and shit just... fawning over him. And his mentor is one weird bitch, but... she puts him on this pedestal that everyone else looks up at."

"You feel overshadowed," Chloe says, and Gavin frowns

"No! No, I..."

He trails off, and Chloe just looks at him.

"Maybe," he admits.

"You just need to find something that's wholly your own," she points out. "Something he doesn't do. Then you'll feel validated."

"That sounds like you literally took it from a shitty therapy guide," Gavin snarks, but relents a second later. "Thanks, Chlo."

She smiles at him. "No problem, Gavin."

30/06/2021

"That was shit," Gavin announces, dropping the empty popcorn box in the bin. "I ate way too much popcorn. That's how boring it was."

Chloe smiles beside him. "You ate too much popcorn because you bought enough for two people, Gavin."

"Yeah, because I thought you were going to have some. You missed out, you know. It's really good here," he says, maneuvering past a group of people discussing the showing they've just come out of, heading for the exit. "That movie, however, was not."

Chloe hums slightly. "I liked it."

"Really?" Gavin asks, doubtfully.

"I thought it raised some interesting questions."

"Yeah, but the trailer had explosions in it. That movie only had one."

Chloe's smile widens. "I can agree there. Not enough explosions," she says, and Gavin grins.

"We were explosion-baited," he says. Chloe laughs lightly.

04/07/2021

Gavin's over at the Kamskis' again on Independence Day. They're not allowed out; in Mrs. Kamski's own words, she doesn't want Gavin getting out and dealing drugs. The other section of that sentence isn't worth repeating, in Gavin's opinion.

The curfew means they can't get out to go see the fireworks, so Gavin sneaks up to Elijah's room. He's got a converted attic space, large and roomy. There's a skylight set into the sloping attic roof above them, and they lie together on their backs on Elijah's mattress and stare up at the stars.

"They should start soon," Elijah says.

"Good. Your mom's going to kill me if she finds me in here," Gavin responds, half-joking.

The first firework soars up to the sky, leaving a tiny trail of light before it winks out. In the next second it bursts with a cracking pop, and bright red fizzles out into the sky before it fades. Gavin smiles.

"I fucking love fireworks," he says softly. "They're so beautiful."

Elijah glances at him, a smile on his face. "My little brother, admitting something looks nice? Wow."

"Shut up, asshole."

Elijah laughs. "No, I agree," he says. "I wonder how many more types they can make. Maybe... electronic ones, eventually. Three-dimensional images in the sky."

Gavin wrinkles his nose. "Not everything has to be electronic, you know, Eli. Sometimes analog is the best."

His brother shrugs. "I can't help it. My brain just... gives me suggestions to improve things. Electronics is what I'm good at. I'm always going to try and revolutionize non-digital processes."

There it is, Gavin thinks, that specific type of Eli-speak he goes into when discussing electronics. "Just say you like making stuff electric. You don't have to... non-digital processes," Gavin repeats, half-mocking. "You sound like a robot."

Elijah frowns. "No, I don't."

"You really do."

"I really don't."

Gavin shrugs. "Sure. Whatever you say," he adds in a suddenly-casual voice, restraining his smirk. This always riles Elijah up.

"Gavin. Don't do that."

"Do what? I'm just saying you're right."

"Gavin," Elijah says, annoyed. "You're so annoying."

"Love you too," Gavin snarks back, elbowing him in the side. Elijah pushes his arm away with a huff as the fireworks keep bursting above them, lighting up the sky in technicolor.

09/07/2021

"I literally cannot believe you've never played UNO before," Gavin says, shaking his head. "It's criminal."

Chloe shrugs. "Sorry."

Elijah rolls his eyes. "He didn't mean actually criminal. It's not your fault. He gets like this about UNO sometimes."

"Eli is still sore because I didn't speak to him for a week when he tried to convince me that you can stack plus fours," Gavin says nonchalantly.

"You can, Gavin. You absolutely can."

"They literally confirmed you can't. That was two years ago, Eli, get with the times."

"But - you can stack literally every other type of card!" Elijah protests. "Why not those?"

Gavin shrugs. "I don't know."

Chloe laughs slightly. "This seems complicated," she says.

"It's not," Gavin says.

"It is," Elijah says, at the same time.

"Okay," Chloe tells them. "Teach me."

Gavin fans out the cards in his hands. "Alright. The goal here is to get rid of all your cards, yeah? So you have to match the number or the color. You can put black ones down on any other card, though," he continues, and slowly they work their way through the whole rulebook until Chloe is nodding and holding her own hand of cards.

"You ready?" Gavin asks, and Chloe nods confidently.

"Let's go," she says, and Gavin slaps down a plus-two on top of the starting green three.

"Oh, come on," Elijah complains, next in line, and he glares at Gavin as he reaches to pick up two cards and Chloe starts to laugh.

17/07/2021

"Happy birthday!" they shout in tandem, and Elijah's face lights up as he grins. Gavin gestures towards the two-tiered cake in front of him, and Elijah leans forward and blows across the eighteen candles arranged in a circle.

Chloe is beaming as Elijah extinguishes the last candle, and then the cake is dark and Gavin is reaching over to snatch them all out of the icing. Elijah picks up the knife laying next to the cake, and presses

"Remember to make a wish!" Chloe reminds him, and Elijah shoots her a smile. He presses the knife down and it glides through, hitting the bottom with a thunk.

"Did you make one?" Gavin asks, and Elijah nods.

"Yes, I did," he says. "I'm not telling you, though."

Gavin rolls his eyes. "Pssh, of course not. That's the whole point, anyway, right?"

"Right," Chloe confirms, still smiling.

"Happy birthday, idiot," Gavin says, slightly softer. The expression Elijah gives him is happy, caring, like Gavin's made his entire day by saying it.

"Thanks, Gavi."

They're all out at dinner, the three of them. Elijah and Gavin's father is on a business trip for the day, and Mrs. Kamski has gone out with a few friends and told them to behave or else while they were home alone; naturally, they therefore called Chloe up and asked her to come out with them. Despite Gavin's offering, Elijah went to pick her up while Gavin went ahead and got them places at the restaurant they're sitting in now. The cake was a special request to the kitchen, and a surprise to Elijah. Gavin's glad he likes it.

"So, how does this rate on the birthday scale?" Gavin asks, leaning back slightly in his chair.

Elijah pretends to think for a second, rubbing his chin and looking up to the ceiling exaggeratedly. "You know, I think it's pretty high. Definitely in the top eighteen," he says, and Gavin laughs outright at that.

"Such a high ranking," he mocks.

Elijah smiles. "No, this is good," he admits. "I'm having fun."

"So are we," Chloe pipes up. "Thank you for inviting me, by the way."

Gavin winks. "No problem. You're one of the slightly weird gang now."

"We need a photo," Elijah says suddenly, and produces his phone from nowhere. "Come closer, everyone."

Gavin hikes his chair closer to Elijah as Chloe does the same, and then Elijah holds out his phone with both hands and grins into the camera. Gavin sees Chloe smile placidly, like always, and he makes a winky face at the phone. Elijah presses down and the shutter sound triggers, and then he brings the phone down and they're all looking at the screen. The photo is softly-lit, the background full of other lively people chatting and eating. Gavin feels something warm up in his chest at the sight of it.

"Send that to me, will you?" he says, instead of goddamn this is a lovely photo. He has a reputation to uphold.

Elijah gives him a sideways glance that makes Gavin think he knows exactly what Gavin didn't say. "Of course," he affirms.

When Elijah finally sends it, two days later, when Gavin is back at his mom's house and nursing the bruises he got when the Kamskis found out he lured their son into leaving the house and going out without telling them, he prints it out and finds a little silver frame for it. The three of them smile out from the photo as Gavin places it carefully on his nightstand.

Over the next couple of weeks, Gavin starts spending more and more time with Chloe. He's on summer break, just graduated, and nothing is taking up his time: he's not sure why, but the same deal seems to apply to Chloe. They both have a hell of a lot of time to burn, and they both, apparently, want to burn it together.

She gets him in a way few people have before, understands his humor and respects his opinions and actually likes him. He's always been labeled as a problem child, and his younger self never had an issue with trying to live up to that label as much as possible. It's led to what he is today, a stereotypical teenage loner with an attitude to match, and so it's been a while since he had this sort of connection with anyone, if ever. He enjoys spending time with her, if he's honest. She's easy to talk to in a way nobody else is: not his mom, certainly not the Kamskis, not even Elijah. In a different world they might be closer, but his half-brother's stupidly high IQ is a huge emotional barrier. Every time Gavin thinks he's getting through to the more human side of Elijah, he goes and says something else genius that just reminds Gavin of how far apart they are. Chloe, on the other hand, just understands him. They're hanging out together in Capitol Park when it finally changes.

Their dynamic so far has been tending strongly towards friendship, possibly the strongest one Gavin's ever had. He's genuinely happy spending time with Chloe, and he's talking about complete nonsense when it happens.

"So then he starts walking towards me," Gavin is saying, gesturing with his hands as Chloe watches, "and he goes do you want to repeat that? And I just, fucking - I just noped right out of there, ran the other way and just kept going. You should have heard him yelling, it was fucking hilarious," he finishes, laughing.

Chloe smiles widely at him, and that's when he notices that she's staring.

"What?" Gavin asks, still laughing slightly.

Chloe’s eyes lock with his, and his eyebrows draw together before she’s leaning in close and electric shock pulses through him and Gavin scrambles backwards, heart pounding.

"I don't -"

Her eyes go wide. "Oh," she says softly, and Gavin's heart wrenches slightly.

"No, no, Chloe, I - fuck, it's not you," he tells her desperately.

Chloe stares at him. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I - shit," Gavin curses. "I’m sorry."

"What happened?" she asks again.

Gavin rubs the back of his neck, feeling his cheeks heat up. It’s Chloe. Surely he can tell her? It’s not like she’ll spread it to anyone else, not if he asks her not to.

Disgusting. You see that? It’s not natural.

"I, uh... I’m not - fuck."

Chloe blinks. She tilts her head slightly. "It’s okay, Gavin. You can tell me."

Gavin takes a deep breath, and exhales. "I don’t like girls," he says in one rush of air. "Not like - I don’t dislike them, y’know, but I don’t like them like them. Romantically. I - fuck, I’m fucking this all up, I've never - done this before, but I... I think I like guys, Chloe," he says quietly, staring at his hands. They’re twisted up in each other, fingers tangled.

"Oh."

The first time Gavin ever saw a same-sex relationship was onscreen. It was an interview with one of the Detroit Gears players, he remembers, and halfway through the guy had introduced the media to his husband. Gavin's father had tensed, and Elijah's mother switched the television off.

"Disgusting," she’d said sharply, eyes narrowed into slits. "You see that? It’s not natural."

Over the next few years, their opinions didn’t change. Every time a same-sex couple appeared, the Kamskis would purse their lips and scowl. Gavin’s mom didn’t have an opinion one way or the other, instead preferring not to discuss it. He didn’t have any contradicting opinions and so it was drilled into Gavin’s brain that gay was wrong, and it’s what he believed for a long time: until his first boyfriend.

It hadn’t ended well. It was more of an experimentation than a relationship, and Alex was an asshole, if he’s being honest. Gavin doesn’t hold any fond memories for the guy, but he still remembers the feeling he got around him. He never had it with girls, that desire to be close and to be loved, and it had hit him like a ton of bricks when he realized he liked guys instead. He'd beaten himself up over it for years, and it's still near-impossible for him to admit it to himself, much less other people. Somehow, somehow, though, he's felt able to tell Chloe. He trusts her enough to reveal his one, close-kept secret.

Gavin jerks back to the present to see Chloe still staring at him. He swallows roughly. God, his throat is dry.

"I'm sorry," he says again. He doesn't know what else to say.

A pale hand touches his wrist, and he looks up to see Chloe smiling at him. "Don't worry," she says. "It's okay."

"It... it is?" He hates the undertone of uncertainty in his voice, the vulnerability. He feels exposed like this.

She nods. "Yes. I don't mind."

Gavin nods along with her, the crushing feeling in his chest expanding just slightly. She's okay with it. It's okay.

"Does it embarrass you?" she asks suddenly, and Gavin jolts.

"No," he says hesitantly. "No, I’m not embarrassed, I just... I haven’t told everyone yet. I will." He won’t. "It's... not easy to say."

"I can imagine," Chloe says. "Thank you for telling me."

Gavin gives her a half-smile. "Thank you for, uh... for listening. Appreciate it."

"Of course," she tells him, and shifts slightly in her seat. Her shirt bunches up slightly, and that's when a flash of light catches Gavin's eye. It's attached to her lapel, a tiny pinhole-sized wink of light. He stares.

"You’re... what is that?" he asks, pointing.

Chloe blinks, looking down. "A camera."

Gavin goes cold.

"Why the shit do you have a camera? And why the fuck is it hidden!?" Gavin’s eyebrows are drawn close together. His heart is pounding.

Chloe hesitates. "I can’t tell you."

"What the hell do you mean? You can... fuck’s sake, of course you can tell me, Chloe."

"I have been given explicit instructions not to tell you."

"Instructions?" Gavin recoils. "By who?"

Chloe blinks, pausing before she replies. "Elijah."

"You don't have to listen to fucking Elijah, Chloe, what is - is he making you wear it?" His mind is racing a mile a minute. He just admitted - fuck, his confession's on camera. Fuck.

"I cannot tell you," she repeats. "I'm sorry, Gavin."

"Fuck him!" Gavin hisses, and now he's fully tense, fists clenched, body trembling. "Chloe, please. Just tell me why. Screw what he said."

"I can't disobey orders from him," Chloe says, and -

Gavin freezes.

It's so real, he'd said on first seeing Elijah's android in action. It didn't have a human skin, not yet, but it moved like one and it talked like one (save the horribly mechanical voice).

Elijah had smiled, running his hand over its metal-plated shoulder. I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible. It can do everything a human can - other than disregard my orders, obviously. It would be catastrophic if it suddenly decided to end the human race or something, wouldn't it?

Gavin takes a breath, horror sweeping across his face. Events link together in his mind like a jigsaw, but the picture it's showing is making his stomach drop. "No. You’re - tell me you’re not one of his fucking androids. Please, Chloe."

There’s a pause. "I can’t do that, Gavin."

He leaps off the bench like it’s burned him, and anger floods his expression. "Fuck, fuck," he hisses, the word coming out clipped and flat. "Fuck." His brain is stuck. It's all he can say. He's been duped like a fucking idiot, falling for her - for its realism. Elijah tricked him. Jesus, Gavin should have realized, should have known -

Chloe makes a motion to get closer, standing, but Gavin takes a few rough strides away from her. "Gavin -"

"You shut the fuck up," he near-snarls, pointing at her. "You - fucking tin can."

"Elijah asked me not to tell you." Her tone is pleading.

"How long have you been recording, huh?" Gavin yells. "This whole time? Has that fucking dick been laughing at me this whole time?"

Chloe looks torn, something warring in her eyes. It's the most human emotion he's seen from her - it - since they met, but the line's been crossed. There's no going back now. Gavin clenches his fists tighter, nails cutting white-hot lines into his palms, and turns his back on her, striding in the opposite direction.

"Gavin, wait!" Chloe cries out, and he turns instinctively. It's then that he sees the raw, near-human pain in her eyes. It’s like something has snapped, suddenly, and tears brim as she stares at him. "I’m sorry," she whispers, voice cracking slightly. "I’m so sorry."

Gavin looks at her for one drawn-out moment, chest aching. "I don’t care," he say, and walks away.

When he gets home, he calls Elijah's phone. He doesn’t pick up. Gavin curses and swears and throws the photo of the three of them across the room. The frame shatters into pieces at his feet.

30/07/2021

It's a Friday, the day before he has to go to the Kamskis again. Elijah's presentation is tonight, the formal verification of his creation's intelligence in front of hundreds of AI pioneers and robotics engineers. Chloe, Gavin reminds himself. She has a body now, a human skin, but she's - it’s just a machine. It's still the same hunk of metal Elijah first showed him.

Gavin's not planning on attending, though he's sure he would have got an official invite had Elijah not fucked him over. Instead, he goes round the back of the theatre they're using to present the test result (ever the dramatist, that fucking prick) and levers the clearly-signed emergency exit door open to get inside.

When Gavin finally finds him Elijah's backstage in the wings, glasses on, squinting at some clipboard in his hands. Chloe’s already on stage from what Gavin can see, talking to a panel of judges sat on a curved couch, cameras and lights illuminating the space. He scowls, and stalks up to Elijah.

"You son of a bitch," Gavin hisses, shoving him. Shock flits across his brother's face. "You introduced me to a goddamn fucking machine and called it a person."

The blood seems to drain from Elijah's face. He lowers the clipboard. "Gavi -"

"Don’t Gavi me, asshole. What the fuck were you thinking? That it would be okay to trick me? Did you have a good fucking laugh?"

"I wasn’t making fun of you."

"Then what the fuck were you doing?" Gavin yells. Elijah’s eyes flick sideways, and he shushes Gavin, putting his hands up to push him backwards and further from the stage. Gavin bats them away, glaring. "Don't try and fucking silence me, prick."

"They're in the middle of -"

"I don't give a shit. Why the hell would you do that?" he demands.

Elijah's eyes flick between him and the wall. He's nervous. Good. Fuck him. "We needed to prove her intelligence," he says. "The Turing test got rejected. We needed to see if an unaware test subject would accept her as human -"

"Ex-fucking-scuse me, a test subject?" Gavin can't help but laugh, the noise sounding half-unhinged to his own ears. "Is that really what you think of me?"

Elijah's jaw sets. Gavin can see it. Fuck, he really wants to punch him, because this is beyond any of the other shit his half-brother has ever pulled. "No."

"Then, Elijah, please tell me what you're going to do now. Since I was a fucking dumbass, since you fooled me, point to you, what the hell are you going to do with it?"

"The footage is saved," Elijah begins, slightly hesitant. "If it's necessary, Chloe can play it to the audience to prove her points -"

"So you're just going to show it to all these people?" Gavin demands. "Total regard for my privacy, huh?"

"Look, if it’s any consolation, Chloe really likes you. She refused to show any footage of you until Amanda talked her into it."

"Chloe's not real, she can't fucking like me - and of course it was fucking Amanda," Gavin hisses. "This whole thing was her idea, wasn’t it? It’s her fucking style, that bitch."

Elijah glares. "Don’t say that. She’s a genius in her field. She -"

"She’s a bitch, Eli, and you are too for fucking listening to her," Gavin sneers. "I can't believe you fucked me over like this."

"I'm sorry," Elijah says. "What else do you want me to say?"

"What else?" Gavin asks, incredulous. "Are you - are you fucking kidding me? I want you to say sorry like you mean it, asshole!"

A round of clapping breaks through the audience, filtering towards them and cutting off Elijah's reply. Gavin's fists bunch up; it's presumably due to some made-up answer from the chunk of metal sitting onstage. He opens his mouth to speak again, but suddenly there are voices from onstage and he trails off, listening, looking past Elijah to see the stage.

"If I may ask, what was most meaningful moment you had during your test period?" one of the judges asks, leaning forward into the microphone.

Chloe pauses. "Meaningful?" She thinks for a second before she looks up at the screen, and it flickers to life. The audience's attention moves upwards, and Gavin finds his own gaze snagged by the screen.

Blue and green bloom, several trees framing the landscape. A carpet of flowers stretches out in front of Chloe's eyes. It's a spring day, on a bench in a park, and Chloe's vision swings round to the person sitting beside her and Gavin recognises himself on the huge display. The world tilts. He stumbles. Chloe’s voice starts talking, and he looks up.

"What happened?" Screen-Chloe asks, and Gavin feels his stomach drop further. No. No. His anger evaporates like mist and all he feels is curling, cold fear.

"Elijah, you have to stop this," Gavin breathes, hands curling into fists, terror expanding in his chest. The Kamskis are in the audience. There's no way they’ll let this slide. He knows what's coming next. He has to stop her. He has to.

"Gavin, it’s okay," Elijah says softly. "Nobody's going to judge you for any of this. Her entire purpose was to fool you."

"Because that makes it so much better, asshole," Gavin snaps back, unable to help himself, just as Screen-Gavin starts talking.

"I, uh... I’m not - fuck."

"It’s okay, Gavin. You can tell me."

"Please, Elijah," Gavin repeats, stomach lurching again as static hisses in his ears, and he’s ready to fucking beg for it to be taken down, before anyone can see -

"I can’t, Gavin, it would derail the whole presentation. What’s so bad about it, anyway? I specifically told Chloe not to show anything embarrassing."

Does it embarrass you, Gavin?

Fuck. Fuck.

No, I’m not embarrassed, I just... I haven’t told everyone yet. I will.

He’d told Chloe he was going to tell everyone. He’d said he wasn’t embarrassed and she doesn’t know, she doesn’t know what will happen -

"Gavin?" Elijah's voice is muted to his ears, his breathing getting faster. His chest is tight. Why is his chest so fucking tight?

"I don’t like girls," Screen-Gavin admits, and his brother freezes. "Not like - I don’t dislike them, y’know, but I don’t like them like them. Romantically."

"Oh, no," Elijah whispers.

Gavin staggers backwards, gaze fixed on his own face, speaking those words in front of everyone. In front of the Kamskis. He wants to throw up. He needs - he has to go, he has to -

"I - fuck, I’m fucking this all up, I've never - done this before, but I..."

The room is too small. The air is too hot, and Gavin is suffocating as he backs away, vision tunnelling, and there’s a hand on his shoulder but he rips away, tripping backwards and then he’s falling on his ass and a distant pain shoots through him -

"I think I like guys, Chloe."

Gavin runs.

He doesn't stay, can't muster the courage to see the Kamskis' reaction. Distantly, he's aware he's having a panic attack, but the realization only hits him when he's blocks away from Chloe and Elijah and that fucking footage. He slows to a stop outside a 7-Eleven, the bright florescent light shining into the night like a beacon, and he braces his hands against the outside wall. The brick is rough against his fingers. Fuck. Fuck. He takes a shuddering breath, trying to calm the panic racing through his veins, and then suddenly water hits his head. Gavin's gaze jerks forward to see raindrops falling in front of him with increasing intensity, illuminated by the convenience store's bright lights.

"Of course it's raining," he says under his breath, looking up. Water hits his skin, cold, damp. "Of fucking course. What else are you going to throw at me, huh?" he shouts, louder.

He's aware he must seem insane, yelling at the rain with what are fucking not tears in his eyes, but he doesn't care. His heart is aching, a bone-deep pain that he hasn't felt for years, and it fucking hurts. Chloe wasn't real. None of it was real. The Kamskis know, and he's going to have to go back to them and face the consequences. Gavin doesn't doubt they'll be drawn-out and painful; God knows they've never held back on him before, even if he never worked up the courage to tell his own mom. Mom. They'll tell her too, tell her how much of a fucking freak he is, and she'll -

It's then, standing in the rain and the cold with his fists clenched, that he realizes. He can't go back. He's eighteen in two months, but that's too long to wait. If he goes back to his mom's he'll have to go back to Elijah and his parents, and he can't do that. Not for - two months means four visits to them. Gavin can't face that. He takes a deep breath, and makes a plan.

He takes to the streets. He changes his number, gets a new phone, empties out his savings that he's been building up for years to get out of Detroit. He avoids his mom, and the Kamskis, and Elijah. He avoids every news broadcast about the future of technology, Chloe's pleasant, empty smile plastered over every TV in every shady bar he sits alone in. CyberLife releases debut android model RT600, reads the headline, and Gavin clenches his fists and looks away. He makes it two months before his eighteenth birthday finally comes, and Gavin celebrates it with a corner-shop cupcake and a single candle.

"Happy birthday to me," he mutters. "I wish I never have to fucking see you again."

He blows it out, and he goes to get shitfaced. He gets turned out of one bar, then the next, then the next, and the next thing he knows he's inciting a bar fight full of drunk combatants. Gavin barely registers the blows until he's on the floor, pain spiking through his face, the world whirling dizzily around him, sirens wailing. He's hauled in to the cop car waiting outside, both for his assault and for his recognized status as, apparently, a missing person, so the arresting officer tells him. He passes out in the car, the cold metal cuffs pinning his hands back as his face squishes up against the unforgiving window.

When he next regains consciousness, he's sleeping in a bed in a cell. His nose is throbbing with pain, and he gingerly reaches up to touch it, then quickly jerks his hand away when agony spikes through it. Definitely broken, he thinks, and tries not to think about the scar it'll probably leave.

The arresting officer comes back in to get him shortly after, and hauls him off to an interrogation room.

"You're a missing person," is the first thing he says, shortly, looking at Gavin with a frank expression.

Gavin sets his jaw. "Yeah?"

"Yup. You got an explanation for that?"

Gavin shrugs, scowling.

The cop leans forward, a frown wrinkling his forehead. "Look, kid, you're going to have to tell me. Otherwise I can get your family in here, right now, tell them we've found you -"

"No!" Gavin blurts, and the cop raises an eyebrow. "Shit, I mean - no, I -"

The cop just looks at him, and Gavin's voice dries up. "Son," he says, impossibly gently, and something in Gavin's chest starts to hurt again. "Are you in trouble?"

"No," Gavin manages. "Not if... if I'm not with them."

He can't say it, not out loud. I can't go back, because they'll fucking kill me for what I am.

The cop levels him with that same look, and just waits for a few seconds. Eventually, Gavin's patience frays.

"What?" he hisses. "What are you waiting for? Just... fucking arrest me already. I'm tired of this shit."

"I'm not going to arrest you," the cop says. "Unless you keep up that attitude, anyway."

That shocks him. Gavin finds himself at a loss for words for a long, drawn-out moment. "What?" he says finally.

"I'm not going to prosecute you, kid."

"Why?"

The cop shrugs. "You're obviously running from something. You got anywhere you can go?"

Gavin swallows. "No."

The cop nods. "You in school?"

"No. I just graduated."

"Hmm."

"Why are you asking me this shit?"

The cop leans forward, putting his hands together on the table. "Because I think you need a chance. Someone gave me a chance, years ago, and I need to return the favor at some point."

Gavin stares.

"You don't have to go back to them. Your family. You're eighteen, according to your records. That right?"

"Yeah, but -"

"Eighteen is old enough to join the police academy," the cop says, and Gavin freezes for a second.

"You want me to join the police academy," he repeats slowly. The cop nods. Gavin lets out a laugh. "Are you serious?"

"Yup."

"You were there when you arrested me, right? For assault? For committing a crime?"

"I was, yes."

"So what the hell makes you think I want to be a cop?"

The guy shrugs. "Don't know. Maybe it's because I see myself in you, but that's movie bullshit. I just think you need a chance, kid, and I'm willing to give it to you. Join the force. Do something with your life. You can stay away from whoever you need to. They have accommodation at the academy while you're training, learning, and... really, what other options have you got?"

Gavin can't find a response for a good few seconds, just staring at the cop, who stares back unflinchingly. "You're serious?"

"Deadly, son."

"I - I can't pay for something like that," he tries.

"If you're serious about becoming a cop," the guy says, "then I'll help you. I'll pay your way through, and you pay me back in the future. No interest. No tricks."

For once in his life, Gavin is floored and absolutely speechless. "Jesus," he hears himself say, and he's aware that he's staring blankly at the officer.

The guy just shrugs, all casual, like he's not handing Gavin a once-in-a-lifetime lifeline. "Do you have anywhere to go tonight?"

Gavin shakes his head. "No."

The cop nods. "Alright. Come stay with me. And - don't worry, my wife is home too. I won't try anything."

Gavin stares. "Are you... are you sure?" he asks, hating how vulnerable he sounds.

"Yeah, kid. I don't want you out on the streets. We can handle the academy stuff tomorrow."

"I - thank you," Gavin says honestly.

He gets a broad smile in return. "No problem, son."

"I'm Gavin, by the way," Gavin blurts, sticking his hand out.

The cop looks at his outstretched hand, and clasps his own around it. It's firm, warm, and he shakes it. "The name's Fowler, but you can call me Jeff. Let's get going."

The academy doesn't accept him on the first go. He doesn't have a valid license. When Fowler reads the rejection letter, he teaches Gavin how to drive, and facilitates his taking the test in Fowler's old, rickety, stick-shift truck. He passes first time, and Fowler and Rachel break out a bottle of champagne to celebrate. Vaguely, Gavin recognizes this is what safety feels like.

Training lasts just under five weeks before he graduates as a beat cop, with a shiny badge and a pistol to match. He starts work at the DPD, and he stays there as Fowler busts a Red Ice case wide open and ascends higher up the ranks. Gavin earns enough to get his own apartment and a shitty manual car, and moves out of Fowler's home. Slowly, he forgets about the people he left behind, even if it's by turning off the TV whenever his half-brother's stupid face appears on it. Androids start becoming more common, and Gavin ignores every one. He gets a partner, a quip-filled, quick-witted woman called Chen, and he finds himself enjoying the job. Day-to-day life becomes something he looks forward to.

It takes him years to reach the rank of detective, but he finally does it in 2033. He never leaves Chen behind, even though she stays where she is. He becomes good friends with her new one, a kind-hearted guy named Miller. He gets a new partner, an older man by the name of Lieutenant Anderson with the cutest kid he's ever seen. Cole comes into the precinct on the regular, and despite his young age Gavin always makes time to spend with him. The kid is on his way to becoming a great detective, that much is obvious; it shows when he makes random, childish links in cases he's technically not allowed to see that end up blowing them wide open. Gavin takes a special pride in teaching Cole a detective's logic. He's bright, and he picks it up quickly. Anderson's visibly proud of his kid, every time he comes to collect him from where he's usually hanging around his Dad's cool partner!

In 2035, it all goes to shit.

Cole dies. Anderson gets drunk. Fowler yells. Gavin gets angry. The precinct fractures around Cole's death, and it drives a wedge between them. Gavin's not sure he could pinpoint the exact moment he switched to hating Anderson, but soon they're refusing to even work together. Fowler lets Anderson drink and show up late and fail, and Gavin hates him for crumbling like he does. Anderson's lack of partner becomes less of an issue when he's not even working, so Gavin's still left without one as the odd number. He avoids Anderson, and sticks with Chen and Miller. His anger remains, bubbling under the surface. Fowler still doesn't do anything about the alcoholic in the force.

That's how it stays, for better or for worse, for three years. Then, a plastic asshole walks right into the precinct and forces Anderson to get his shit together. Gavin can barely refrain from throwing it out of the DPD. Androids start going mental, Anderson and the plastic detective are assigned to investigate, and Gavin barges his way into their crime scenes with Chris as his new partner. An android calling itself Markus starts a riot. Connor lies to Gavin, and inexplicably he lets him get away with it even though it's blindingly obvious, and the next thing he knows Connor is onstage with Markus and giving a speech to thousands of androids. Gavin watches it all unfold on a screen in his shitty apartment, hiding away in the face of their awareness.

If they're becoming human, then that means the tiny slip he saw in Chloe's blank facade all those years ago, just before he turned and left her alone, was real. It was genuine; she felt bad, and then Amanda presumably reset her to make her give that speech in front of everyone, and that's not something he can face.

Not yet, anyway.

Gavin goes back to work two weeks later after a call from Fowler.

"Precinct's back to normal," he says over the phone, clearing his throat. "Everyone's coming back."

"Everyone?" Gavin asks, meaning Connor, and Fowler makes an affirmative noise.

"Everyone," he confirms. "And you should, too."

Gavin hesitates, and Fowler hangs up. He listens to the dial tone for three minutes before he gets up, grabs his jacket, and slams the door behind him. His truck passes what seems like hundreds of androids on the way to the DPD, out and celebrating in the streets, some looking lost and unsure of what to do. Gavin keeps his eyes focused on the road.

It's busy when he gets in, the usual hum of activity more of a clamor, and he can barely see his own desk through the mass of newly free androids wanting to report hate crimes against them. Gavin shoves his way through, muttering half-assed apologies to them as he barges his way across the bullpen, looking up when he reaches his desk.

That's when he sees her.

A blonde android is standing next to it, holding a blue purse that she's tapping anxiously. She's wearing a white jacket over a midnight-blue dress, and her temple is clear. Her LED is gone. Gavin knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that this is the Chloe he knew. Elijah's first android. He freezes, juddering to a halt as he feels his jaw drop slightly. Chloe looks over, and her bright eyes widen when she sees him.

"Gavin," she whispers. "I... hi."

He forces himself to speak. "Hi," he says, voice sounding rough even to his own ears.

"I..." Chloe looks unsure, eyes wide and upset. Her mouth is trembling slightly as she presses her lips together, and she's still fidgeting. "I deviated. I came to see you."

"Well, here I am," Gavin says, but the retort doesn't hold any of its usual emotion. He feels numb. "What do you want?"

"I don't know," Chloe admits quietly. "I wanted to... clear up what happened, I suppose. After our talk, I... I deviated. Amanda reset me. I remember it all now."

"Yeah. I, uh... I figured," he responds, his chest still achingly hollow.

"I'm so sorry, Gavin," Chloe tells him, and he looks up and fuck, he thinks, her eyes are brimming with tears now, swathes of bright florescent light reflected in them. "I'm so sorry. I never - I never would have shared that, not if I had remembered, but I - I -"

"Hey, hey," Gavin interjects, and suddenly he's close to her and Chloe is leaning into him and sobbing openly. He pulls her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her. "It's okay. It's in the past."

"I hurt you," Chloe cries.

Gavin shuts his eyes. "Yeah," he says. "Yeah, you did, but it wasn't your fault, Chlo," he says, and she tenses and looks up at the nickname. "I get that now."

Chloe blinks up at him, eyes red from crying. "You do?" she asks quietly.

"Yeah. It wasn't your fault," he tells her, and he means it. Gavin hopes the honesty gets across to her.

"Thank you," she whispers, hugging him tightly before she withdraws slightly. "I, um... I left Elijah. I was with him since I was announced."

"The whole time?" Gavin asks, surprised.

Chloe nods. "He... he's changed, I think. We were never good company before we deviated, he knew that, and... it was like being alone for years. I nearly... he nearly got me killed, once, did you know that? I was so close to deviating when he did it."

Gavin's eyes go wide. "What the fuck?" he hisses.

Chloe casts her eyes around, seemingly looking for someone, and then her eyes pause on a figure behind Gavin. He twists and follows her eyeline to the desk diagonal from him, and the android sitting there. Connor.

"Connor and Lieutenant Anderson came to see him," she explains quietly, gaze shifting back to Gavin as he turns around again. "He told them he would give them information if Connor shot me."

"Are you fucking serious?" Gavin asks. "That fucking prick."

Chloe smiles, mouth twisting to the side in a wry grin. "It wasn't a pleasant experience, I can tell you. But Connor refused to do it, so I survived. I didn't deviate until three days ago, though. I, um... I came straight here, arrived today, and asked about you. Captain Fowler told me he'd get into contact with you."

"'Course he did," Gavin says. "Where... where are you going to go now?"

Chloe looks down, something flashing in her eyes. "I don't know," she says quietly. "I don't have anywhere to go. I could travel to Jericho, I suppose, although -"

"Live with me," Gavin blurts, and her head whips up to focus on him.

"What?"

"Live with me," he repeats. "I... I cared about you a lot, Chloe, before all that shit went down. I don't want to abandon you now."

"Gavin, I... thank you so much."

He smiles at her. "It's alright, Chloe," he says, and finally, finally, the pain in his chest eases slightly. The hole isn't gone, not even close, but something's slowly starting to fill it.

Chloe returns the smile and opens her mouth to say something else, before she falters and Gavin frowns.

"Hello, Detective Reed," comes a voice from behind him, and Gavin resists the urge to roll his eyes.

"Plastic!" he greets loudly, swinging his body round and scowling. "What do you want?"

Connor looks slightly affronted. "I have deviated, Detective Reed. My name is Connor."

"I'm not calling you that. We're not there yet," Gavin snarks, and Connor just raises an infuriatingly-sassy eyebrow in response. "What do you want?"

"I overheard your conversation with Chloe," Connor says, gesturing to her. Gavin sees her wave slightly out of the corner of his eye. "I was wondering - I know it's a lot to ask, Detective, but would you possibly consider taking in one more android if you have the space? It's temporary, obviously, until we find a more suitable permanent living space, but this model has some... features that mean we need to keep an eye on him."

"What is it, some kind of specialist murder-bot? I'm not an orphaned android charity," Gavin shoots back, and a soft elbow digs into his back as Chloe hisses his name scoldingly.

Connor smiles weakly. "Something like that," he says, and steps to the side to reveal -

Shit, Gavin's brain says, eloquently, and his mouth goes dry as he stares.

It's Connor. It's Connor, but taller and broader and - those eyes, Jesus. He stands there imperiously, so much taller than Gavin it's unfair.

"Hello, Detective Reed," he says, voice low, and gives him a smirk. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

(The android fucking winks, and Gavin dies right there and then.)