Chapter Text
“… Everyone’s been so kind. It’s been such a relief that I find it hard to really relax. I keep worrying that I need to be on guard in case something happens.”
“Can’t say it’s been so peaceful over here. We’re making progress, but it’s slow. It’s good you made it out when you did—a lot of androids are still in limbo because no one knows how to start going about citizenships. Connor’s been in back-and-forth custody with Cyberlife for months.”
“Seriously, still? There’s nothing that can be done?”
“They’ve been fighting tooth and nail.”
“I can’t imagine what that kind of stress is doing to him… how is he?”
Markus looked across the empty room to the window, a grey-green shirt in his hands. The darkness outside was aglow with an ambient light, reflected off the clouds. “I think he tries to seem like he’s fine.” He pulled it over his head. “But it gets to him. There’s a lot he doesn’t talk about.” He smoothed out the front and began to tuck it into his jeans. “I worry about him, Kara.”
“I know. The only thing you can do is let him know you’re there for him.”
He nodded before he remembered she couldn’t see him. “We’re going out tonight. He should be here in about five minutes.”
“I won’t keep you too much longer, then.”
He walked over to the closet in the corner and scanned the hangers.“How’s Alice?”
“She’s doing well.” There was a pause. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her this happy. She loves Luther to death. And some of the Jerrys come to visit when they can. Hang on, wait…” He heard a muffled sound in the background. “She wants to say hi.”
“Hi, Markus!” a higher voice echoed through his head, a hint more static-filled than Kara’s.
He grinned as he pulled his black pea coat—the thin kind designed for fashion rather than warmth—from the closet and slid it onto his shoulders. “Hi, Alice. How’s Canada treating you?”
“Good. I like Rose’s family a lot. I drew a picture of you and Connor visiting us.”
“Yeah? I’d love to see it.”
“Kara, can you send it to him later?”
There was another pause as the muffled sound returned. “She went to the other room to go find it,” Kara told him.
“Not to change back to the previous subject too soon, but what about you? How are you doing?” He nearly forgot to grab the thin box, no bigger than a wallet, that lay on the desk.
“It’s been… odd. To have people and androids I can call family to settle in with every night. I never realized how much it was something I needed.” She was quiet for a minute. “We love you, Markus. I love you. You’re all part of our family, too. If you ever need anything don’t be afraid to let us know. ”
His eyes softened. He slid the box into his pocket. “I love you all, too. I have to go, though. Connor just sent me a message that he’s outside. I’ll talk to you next week, same time?”
“Sure. Tell him we said hi.”
“I will.” There was a quiet click as the call died.
Markus made his way downstairs to the front door, with a pause in front of the hallway mirror, going through the checklist in his mind one last time. Everything was good to go.
He quickened his pace to the foyer and tried to look calm when he opened the door. It didn’t last when Connor smiled at him, his outline flooded by the headlights of a car. He had on a leather jacket Markus hadn’t seen him in before. “Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
“You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
Markus stepped out to join him on the porch and locked the door behind himself. The headlights turned as the car started a slow circle, the passenger window rolled down, the driver leaning over.
Markus raised his hand in greeting. “Hey, Hank.”
“Have fun, you two. Be safe.” He pointed a finger at Markus. “Get him back before sunrise, yeah?”
Markus grinned. “No promises.” Hank’s chuckle could be heard over the idling of the engine. “He’s such… a dad,” he commented as they watched the car drive away. He turned back to Connor. “The jacket suits you.”
Connor looked down at himself and picked a piece of stray lint off his black t-shirt. “Hank told me to wear it.”
“Yeah?” Markus reached for Connor’s hand and tucked them together into the back pocket of his jeans. He thought he saw Connor’s back grow a little straighter, a faint whir coming from his direction. He flicked over a tab in his head. “Our ride is two minutes away.”
The car pulled up into the same spot Hank had been, its doors sliding open when it came to a stop. They walked up to the passenger’s side. Markus glanced in. “Good, no driver.”
Connor raised an eyebrow. “Why g—” He didn’t get to finish the question before he was cut off by Markus’ mouth on his, quick and hard. It was over before he could register what had happened. He stared in surprise as the other android pulled away.
“That’s why,” Markus said, a sly smile on his face. “Now come on, get in.”
The estimated ride time was twenty-three minutes. The main console screen asked them to close their doors before it set itself back in gear, kicking itself off down the driveway, towards the front gate. “How are you feeling about tonight?” Markus asked. “The first night of its kind where it’s for both humans and androids.”
Connor’s hands were pressed together in his lap. “I just don’t want people recognizing us all night,” he admitted.
Markus leaned over and placed a hand on top of his thigh. “I know. But it’ll be pretty dark inside, and it’s going to be crowded, being a club and all. I think we’ll be okay.” He raised an eyebrow. “Besides, we can always sneak away if we want.”
Connor raised an eyebrow back. “Is that a promise?” Markus grinned.
The drive was shorter than their time estimation had told them. The car slowed into a queued line down the street with five minutes to spare, offering to let them out or remain passengers to the front. “Let’s just get off here,” Markus told him. “I got a hookup for us to go in through the back.”
Connor pulled at his door handle and climbed out, waiting on the sidewalk until Markus joined him. The thumping bass of the club’s music was audible down the street. “How’d you manage that?” he asked as they began to walk towards it together. He glanced around at the people they passed. A few LED lights were among them.
“You have a way of being able to go about things when people know your name,” Markus replied. He reached for Connor’s hand and clasped it tight.
They followed the line of people waiting down the block and slipped into the back alley. Connor followed as he was led to a barred door. He glanced up while Markus knocked; a pride flag billowed slightly in the breeze, strung up above their heads.
A tall android with buzzed hair stood on the other side of the door when it opened. “We’ve been expecting you, Markus. Welcome to the Lounge.” He stood aside, eyeing them as they stepped through the threshold. He gave a wink when he caught Connor staring. Connor snapped his gaze forward and stepped a little closer to Markus, fans whirring. A low chuckle came from behind him.
The music grew louder as they navigated their way to the main part of the club. Much louder. Connor turned down his auditory processors several notches.
We don’t need to call it love, we just need a human touch
The strobe lights cast a neon haze over the room from far above, changing color every so many seconds. Humans and androids alike filled the floor. The middle of the room was the most tightly-packed, but the hoards pressed up against the bar nearly rivaled it. It’s a big crowd, he commented to Markus in his head.
It’s a big night, Markus replied. He looked around, trying to see through the crowds. Where do you want to go?
Connor scanned the room for a moment before pointing to a spot less populated, near the wall. Over there?
The song was changing by the time they reached it, the bass softening enough to hear the instrumental transition. Markus turned to him and pulled his hand out of Connor’s hold, only to offer it forward again.
Connor, he said, will you dance with me? An echo of his own actions from the night in the rooftop garden.
Connor tried in vain to keep the smile from his face. He grabbed the other android’s wrist in reply and tugged him close.
They let the remixed beat of the music carry their motions, the bodies around them a sea that moved to its own interpretations and rhythms. Connor had never danced this way before. Not that androids had reason to dance often. But this wasn’t where you came to do it with reason or technical sense. This was where you danced to whatever you felt in the moment.
And he couldn’t deny the certain something he was feeling as he watched Markus.
Faces in the crowd drifted towards them every so often from song to song; whether out of recognition or just plain interest, he couldn’t tell. A few gazes lingered on Markus with a look he wasn’t sure he liked; a few more on him. He took a step to close the space between them a little.
There’s a guy that’s had his eyes on you for the last ten minutes,Markus commented with a raised eyebrow, as if reading his thoughts.
Where?
Behind you, to your left. Connor’s fans whirred when Markus put a hand on his waist almost possessively. He let his own hand reach up and clutch the back of Markus’ neck as he stole a glance over his shoulder. Sure enough, there were eyes on him, watching not ten feet away. The stranger gave the two of them a suggestive look when their gazes met, before turning back around to his group of friends.
I don’t think he was watching just me, Connor corrected. He saw Markus chuckle.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it. Happy Pride Night motherfuckers,” a deep, feminine voice interrupted over the speakers as the song ended. A roar rose around them. “Your friendly DJ here wanting to kindly remind you that song suggestions are open and can be submitted up at the bar. Please do not, I repeat do not come to the DJ table, we won’t be able to fuckin’ hear you cause y'all are crazy tonight.” The cheers surged again. “Look for my good friend Bernie over near the register in the corner, he’ll help you out—” Connor was barely listening. Markus’ hand was still on his waist, drawing him closer. “Tonight really is a wonderful night about celebrating coming together, as brothers and sisters, or whatever the hell you want to call it. We might not all bleed the same color, but I think we can all agree that we all deserve love, and we all deserve to be free to love whoever the fuck we want.” The club went wild. “Without further ado, y'all better be ready for some blasts from the past.” The beat kicked back up to full volume, eliciting shouts from those who recognized the chord progression.
Yeah I’d rather be a lover than a fighter, cause all my life I’ve been fighting
Connor pulled until their foreheads bumped together. Something had stirred deep inside of him at the DJ’s words. He closed his eyes as the synthetic skin withdrew from Markus’ left hand and he ran it up the back of Connor’s neck, into his hair.
And I never had someone to call my own, I’m so used to sharing
The strobe lights above began to blink faster in sync to the buildup of the beat. Voices from across the floor swelled to sing along, the emphasis on waiting for the bass to drop building.
But I’m at one with the silence
I found peace in your violence
Can’t tell me there’s no point in trying
He dared to let his eyelids flutter open. Markus’ gaze was half-lidded, staring down at his lips from where their foreheads connected. A pink strobe had cast its light over them, catching off the edges of his face, defining its details. He looked so terribly beautiful.
Connor couldn’t help himself. He tugged at the collar of Markus’ coat and pressed their mouths together gently.
I’m at one
And I’ve been silent for so long
The beat dropped hard, the energy of the club surging with it. Neither of them paid notice.
His processors were dizzy by the time the song reached its end. Markus pulled away from the slow kissing until their eyes could meet. I think I want to show you what my surprise is now, he said.
Electricity surged through Connor’s circuits. Okay.
He let himself be led into the crowd, towards the back way they had come through when they’d arrived. The song playing melted into a new one, the bass slowing into a different tempo. “I need a drink, whiskey ain’t my thing, but shit is all good.” His shoulders brushed against several people around them as they navigated the masses. He gripped Markus’ hand a little tighter.
Markus took him to the back wall and down a hallway that led to a secondary bathroom. Connor’s brow furrowed in confusion, until Markus turned to a different door on their right and swiped his hand over a panel below the doorknob. A red light blinked and turned green.
He let himself be pulled inside the empty room. The muted lights matched the hues of the ones on the main floor. But here there were wall-length couches lined around the room, with a round, backless cushion couch in the middle, big enough for half a dozen people to sit around the edge. The noise of the club grew muffled as Markus shut the door and locked it behind them.
“How’d you even get this?” he asked. He slid his jacket off and sat down on the backless couch.
“I told you, sometimes there’s perks to people knowing your name.”
Connor glanced around again. “So, what’s the surprise?”
Markus gave him a smile. “You’ll see. Just be a little prepared.” He turned to the side and reached into his pocket, withdrawing the thin box he’d slipped in back at the house. Connor’s eyes were on his hands, brow raised in curiosity. Markus slid the top off and reached two fingers inside. He withdrew… Connor wasn’t sure what. It looked filmy, almost like silk, and in the shape of an oval with the middle missing. He blinked when Markus raised it to his lips and pressed down.
“I don’t get it,” he said when the other android came over. The film blended in surprisingly well to the edges of his mouth. Connor wouldn’t have even known it was there if not for the handful of shades darker that it made Markus’ lips.
“You will,” Markus promised. “Tilt your head back.”
He did as he was asked. His heart jumped when Markus leaned over him, one hand on his thigh, the other on his shoulder, and planted a slow kiss against his neck.
His wiring almost sung at the contact, exploding, blooming with… it was some sort of a tingling… that felt, well, good.
…It felt good?
It felt good.
Connor yanked his head back on instinct, jamming his hand against Markus’ neck to hold him away. “What the fuck!” he sputtered. He stared up with wide eyes. “What is that?”
Markus sat down beside him. “A new technology that’s going to be put out on the market in a few months,” he explained. He ran a finger over his lips. “It’s a netting that consists of micro magnets. They interact with android wiring in a way that mimics the human nervous system, by sending messages up here,” he tapped a finger against his temple, “that get translated as physical touch.”
Connor’s mouth hung open.
“Pretty impressive, isn’t it?”
“That’s incredible. How…?”
“There’s a lot of mathematic and scientific coding that went into it. I don’t understand it all myself. But it’s designed by androids, specifically for android use.”
Connor leaned forward and ran his thumb slowly over Markus’ bottom lip. The tingling sensation returned, sending a delicious jolt up his arm. “How does it feel when you’re wearing it?” he asked.
“A little odd. But there’s a tab that can plug in so your brain writes it off when you’re wearing it. In case it gets too intense after a while.” He lifted the box. “There’s also ones that go over your hands.”
Connor shook his head in disbelief. “Only you, Markus.”
Markus’ brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“It’s like you’re on a level miles above the rest of us.” Connor ran his thumb along the length of Markus’ jaw, before tilting his chin with a finger and pressing their lips together. The effect was immediate, spreading across Connor’s mouth, echoing up his cheek. It was like nothing he’d ever been able to comprehend before. It felt wonderful.
His gaze flickered down to the box. “You said there’s ones for your hands?”
Markus smirked. “Eager, are we?”
“If someone’s nice enough to give you a sample of a product, you ought to test it out, right?” he countered, his internal fans whirring.
Markus gave a solemn nod despite the teasing look in his eyes. “You’re absolutely right.”
The fascination on his face was more than evident as Connor watched Markus take out the twin films from the box and set one carefully onto his hand, smoothing it over each finger with his opposite thumb until it clung like a second skin. A small tab sunk beneath the synthetic skin at the base of his wrist. “You know,” he said as he repeated the process on his other hand, “you promised me when I showed you my surprise you would share that song with me.”
Realization flickered across Connor’s face. “I did.” He looked away in embarrassment when Markus raised his eyebrows expectantly. “Right now?”
The other android grinned. “That was the deal.”
“How am I supposed to interface with you during this?”
Markus tilted his head to the side. “You could use the speakers in here.”
“No,” Connor groaned. He leaned back on one hand, the other pressed to his eyes.
Markus let out a bark of laughter. “Why so flustered all of a sudden? It’s just us.”
“I’m not flustered,” Connor protested. His core tensed when he felt for the first time in his life a finger draw a line over his shirt, from his stomach to his chest. His wires were all but singing when it stopped to trace the outline of his heart.
“Are you sure?”
His electric circuits hiccuped when Markus tugged at the bottom of his shirt. Connor dared to glance up; eyes were on his, drinking him in.
“You’re so absolutely beautiful,” Markus murmured.
And then their lips met, his body leaning over Connor’s, the hand that had been tugging at his shirt finding its way to the bare skin underneath.
It was the most unbearably wonderful sensation, to feel both Markus’ lips on his own and his hand carressing Connor’s stomach, fingers spread wide. His back straightened as Markus moved from his mouth to the nook just below his jaw, the feeling growing more intense.
Markus pulled away an inch. “Sorry, I forgot to warn you. Humans have specific places with more nerve endings scattered across their bodies. But for androids that means where there’s more wiring—from the neck up—the more you’ll feel it.” There was a pause. “You good?”
Connor latched his hand around the back of the other android’s head. “More than good.” He nearly buckled as he felt Markus’ mouth return, stretching into a smile against his neck.
God, he was feeling. It was such an insane thought.
He liked it.
A noise rose from the back of his throat when his collar bone was trailed over, and the hand on his stomach became two that found their way up and over his ribcage. “Markus,” he stammered, “slow down.”
“Sorry. You’re just driving me crazy with those noises.”
“Bad crazy or good?”
“Good.” Markus spread his hands back down over Connor’s sides, eliciting the sound from the back of his throat again. “Definitely good.”
Connor closed his eyes. His new senses were unbelievably heightened. He was almost giddy off the sensations his brain was registering.
There was a pause just as he felt a kiss making its way back up his neck. “Ah, shit.” Markus pushed himself up until they were face-to-face. Even in the dimmed light of the room, the hint of blue that colored Connor’s face was evident. “That’s our two-minute warning.”
Connor blinked. They couldn’t have been in here more than ten minutes. “What…?”
“There’s a party renting out this room at eleven.” He placed an apologetic kiss on Connor’s cheek. “We have to head back out.”
“Right now…? I haven’t even gotten to try them yet.”
Markus gave a crooked smile and ran his thumb over the cleft in Connor’s chin. “It’ll give you something to look forward to when we’re back home.”
Connor grimaced back. “You’re a tease,” he muttered as he turned to grab his jacket. A yelp of surprise escaped him when a finger prodded his hip. He whirled back around and gave Markus’ shoulder a push. “Don’t do it without warning.”
Markus laughed and stood. “Come on,” he said, offering his hands to help Connor up.
The group waiting for the room was already outside the door when they emerged, their hands clasped tightly as they navigated their way out to the club floor, the films placed back in their box and tucked in Markus’ pocket. The DJ had stepped back from the remixes and started on the suggested songs list, intervening only for the transitions between each to be smooth. “Yeah if you change your mind you know where to find me, cause I don’t save your reputation,” the song rang out from the speakers.
Do you want to go back to the spot we were before, or wander around a bit? Markus asked. When there was no response he slowed to look behind him. Connor?
Connor’s eyes were frozen on another android several feet away, her gaze locked with his. Neither of them were relenting. Do you know her? Markus asked, but his question went unheard.
It was only when she gave Connor a solemn nod and turned back to the other android she was with—the same model as her, but her hair blue and long rather than cropped dirty blonde—that the spell was broken, and Connor blinked a handful of times.
Connor, Markus repeated.
What?
You alright? Who is that?
I’m fine. His focus lingered on them, watching them dance together, before he turned away and stepped back towards Markus. Just someone I met once.
They walked around until they found an open space on the floor to claim. Connor held tight to Markus’ hand as he let himself be picked up by the beat of the new song coming on.
Baby don’t make me spell it out for ya, all of the feelings that I’ve got for ya
Markus raised a playful eyebrow at him. “Can’t be explained, but I can try for ya,” he mouthed along with the words to Connor. He grinned when it elicited a smile from the other android. “Yeah baby don’t make me spell it out for ya.” Something whirred a little faster in his chest as he stared into the abyss of Connor’s brown eyes. He had the sudden feeling he knew what his next painting was going to be of.
They made it almost another two songs before they began to drift together again. Connor pulled at his hand, draping his arms over Markus’ shoulders when he was close enough. Markus hooked his index fingers through the two front belt loops of Connor’s jeans. He closed his eyes and let his chin dip forward until their foreheads touched.
Hey, Connor said.
Yeah?
Thanks for bringing me out.
Markus’ smile was gentle as he placed a kiss between Connor’s eyes. Happy Pride Night.