An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Connor and Markus have been keeping their relationship under the radar to avoid unwanted media speculation for over a month now, but an unfortunate slip up tears their privacy down sooner than they expected.
Meanwhile all Markus wants is to be able to take Connor out on one of their rare evenings off.
My secret santa gift for @friendly-neighbourhood-writer <3 or at least…part one.
I hope you enjoy and I am happy to have been partnered with you for this gift exchange x
Hey, guys! This is my Detroit: Become Human Secret Santa fic for @anataarts and I hope it is even half of the gift they gave me <3 Thank you so much again for your gift, anataarts, and I really hope you like this!!
Read on AO3
“Nines, behind you!” Nines whipped around to face the threat, his crisis sensors telling his finger to press the trigger before he even had time to think. The bang from his weapon echoed throughout the warehouse, and the kid - he was 17 years old, Nines’ facial recognition software told him - and his switchblade dropped.
“Nines!” Gavin skidded over, his hand on his weapon. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” Nines breathed, his thirium pump thudding peculiarly. He couldn’t stop staring at the kid - the dead kid, the kid he’d killed.
“Are you sure?” Gavin’s voice was tinged with worry. “You look like shit.”
“Charming as ever, Detective Reed,” Nines replied.
“Samartass,” Gavin said, rolling his eyes, but a smile tugged at the edges of his lips. “Seriously, tin can. All good?”
“All good,” Nines promised his partner, ignoring the odd way his sensors glitched when he caught another glimpse of the 17 year-old lying on the warehouse floor. “We should radio in for backup.”
Gavin nodded and called it in, giving the dispatcher their location. Almost as soon as he clicked the radio off, another shot rang out in the warehouse.
Nines stumbled, his optical sensors blinking red. He could hear Gavin shouting, but it was as if it was through a tunnel; muffled, distant. He realised, sluggishly, that blue blood was leaking from a large, gaping hole in his chest cavity. It was a bullet hole. Nines had been shot.
“Nines!” Gavin screamed, as if to confirm his suspicions. “Nines!”
Nines stumbled forward, ignoring the red warning message from his optical sensors. Gavin. He had to find Gavin. The gunman was still in the warehouse.
Gunmen, Nines’ combat sensors picked up. He could hear more gunshots, and a few voices that he recognised - Chris, Tina, Hank and Connor. Their backup had arrived. Nines sagged with relief. He wasn’t sure how many hostiles there were, but he did know that he wouldn’t be able to protect Gavin like this. Making sure that Gavin got out alive was all that mattered.
On the other side of the warehouse, Hank and Connor were under fire from three different assailants with machine guns, being backed by Chris and Tina. Gavin knew he should be there, too, but one knowing look from Hank and a motion from Chris alleviated his guilt just enough to leave them and take off after Nines. He was blinded by the sight of his partner with a bullet hole in his chest, somehow still walking towards them, no doubt following the sound of Gavin’s voice like some kind of puppy. Fuckin’ androids. So goddamn loyal they forget to protect themselves.
Gavin raced to his partner’s side, steadying him with a hand on his back and rushing them out of the perps’ line of fire. Nines reached out blindly, seeking Gavin’s hand, his touch, just so he knew that Gavin was alive and okay and unhurt.
“S’okay, tin can,” Gavin murmured, allowing Nines to tangle their fingers together, even as he stripped off his jacket and pressed it to the bullet wound in Nines’ chest. “I’m right here. Not goin’ anywhere, Nines, not without you.”
Nines didn’t know he could gasp, thought it was a purely human reaction to shock, but he found his jaw going through the motion when Gavin started to put pressure against his wound. His hands scrabbled helplessly against Gavin’s, and he heard Gavin swallowing hard.
“You’re fine, you’re okay,” Gavin promised him, and Nines struggled to believe him. He didn’t feel fine. He didn’t feel okay. Even aside from the physical damage, he felt absolutely unhinged, ripped open and bleeding in more ways than one. He’d killed before, of course he had, but he’d never killed a kid before. A 17 year-old with their entire life ahead of them, and Nines had snatched it away in the blink of an eye without even thinking twice. He was a murderer. Just like he was programmed to be.
Nines heard, distantly, the gunshots stop, and he knew the others must have apprehended their attackers. Or, well. Nines didn’t think he had the heart to contemplate the other possibility.
“C’mon,” Gavin mumbled, and then he was urging Nines up with a hand on his back, guiding him out of the warehouse and into the light.
The sun hurt Nines’ optical sensors, turning the blood-red of the warning message to a fire-truck-red that made him cry out in pain. He clutched Gavin’s arm, stumbling along next to him as Gavin guided them to his truck.
The ride to CyberLife was short, the waiting time even shorter, and then Nines was on a table and the edges of his vision were going black, Gavin standing over him with a tight smile on his lips.
It’s going to be okay, Gavin was saying. Nines did his best to believe him.
~ ~ ~
When Nines woke, it was to the sound of hospital monitors beeping and the low hum of machinery. “Gavin?” he croaked out, searching for his partner in the darkness of the CyberLife recovery room.
“Right here,” Gavin said from somewhere in front of him. Nines heard him moving around, and then light was flooding the room and Nines was blinking, slowly becoming aware of his surroundings, and he opened his arms for his partner without conscious thought.
Gavin raced to Nines’ side, stepping easily into the android’s embrace. “Nines, I, fuck,” Gavin whispered against his synthetic hair. “Don’t ever do that again.”
Nines grinned. “I’ll do my best.”
They were quiet for a few minutes, holding on to each other and drinking in the calm atmosphere of the recovery room. Nines could hear other people milling around outside, and he concluded that the others must be waiting for Gavin to come out so they could see him, as well. He couldn’t control the way his lips quirked upwards at the realisation that Gavin had first priority and, for the foreseeable future, always would.
“You okay?” Gavin’s voice was impossibly soft, and he brushed a bit of Nines’ light brown hair off of his forehead. The touch of his fingers made Nines shiver, and his synthskin peeled back where Gavin touched, making the older man smile.
“Yes,” Nines replied carefully, but now that he was awake, the memory of the 17 year-old he’d shot was making its way back into his mind, clear and horrible as ever.
Gavin raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. “You sure about that?”
Nines sighed. He could never hide from Gavin. “I was just thinking about that kid.”
Gavin made a small sound of recognition and let his arms fall to his sides. “Oh, Nines. You know you didn’t have a choice.”
“Yeah, I know,” Nines replied. “I just - he was a kid, Gavin. He was just a kid.”
“Yeah,” Gavin murmured. “It’s always hard when it’s a kid.”
“Will it stop?” Nines asked. “The, the guilt. Will it go away?”
“With time,” Gavin promised. “It won’t go away overnight, though. It’ll take a little bit, but I’ll be there. You’ll need somebody by your side the first few nights. You’re bound to have nightmares. Wait, can androids even get nightmares?”
“I guess we’re about to find out,” Nines mumbled, some bitter sadness making its way into his voice.
“Hey.” Gavin reached out and placed his hand over Nines’. “You won’t be alone.”
Nines smiled. “I know, Gavin. With you, I never am.”
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
This is my entry for the #DBHSecretSanta2020! This work is for the amazing @klayr-de-gall! Hope you like it and merry Christmas to you!
Summary:
After an argument Gavin decides to ignore Nines. Of course, Cyberlife’s best won’t let him win, learning to beat him at his own game with the help of his cats.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
This is my entry for the #DBHSecretSanta2020! This work is for the lovely adorkable_anna on twitter! I hope you like it and a Merry Christmas to you!
Summary:
Gavin has a personal vendetta against Cyberlife ever since the mega-corporation killed his friends during their investigation against them. Having left the force he has only one goal: revenge. With his next job he may finally be able to reach that goal, but it has one downside: He has to work with RK900 - an android sent by Cyberlife.
This is for @fandom-necromancer! Hope you like it! 💙💙💙
They prompted “Honestly, anything fluffy would melt my heart. Reed900 […]. Cuddling and trying to find something warm in the cold is my favourite. If Reed900, Reverse AU would be a dream.”
And my brain just went: Okay, ALL of this”
Created for the DBH Secret Santa event 2020. @dbhsecretsanta2020
Please don’t ask me about the meta for this idea. The abandoned amusement Park just seems like the perfect place to get stuck. I bet every second person in Detroit has a story about spending a strange night there, cause the cars always break down near it. Criptid place!
"Connor sighed. His friend looked tired, but happy. In his hands, same as Connor, were beautiful celebrating packets with presents inside. They were standing in front of a coffee shop, waiting for theirs ginger friend. "
"– What time is it now? – Markus asked, wrapping his dark coat. It was cold enough. Little snowflakes were dancing around them, landing on the ground.
Connor looked on his wristwatch, rustle packages.
– Seven o'clock. What is she doing, really?
– She said she had forgotten to buy something important. – Manfred snorted. – As always, Con. Are you surprised?
Android only noded in understanding, gave his friend a little smile. Bright fluffy Christmas tree towered over them. Kids around the couple of friends were playing and shouting, throwing snowball in each others0. Detroit's streets were full of androids and people, walking on the Hart Plaza and talking to each other. It was so peacefully and happily – Markus didn't even get used to such kind of life. It was new to him, but he liked that. Very much.
Finally, after few minutes a loud cry came from behind them:
– Hey, guys! Are you bored? Sorry, just little troubles.
North went to the friends, giving each of them one more packet. Connor and Markus grinned without malice.
– What's inside it...? - RK800 looked into the packet with interest, but ginger devinat, seeing this, slapped his hand with displeasure.
– Auch!
– No-o, Con, it's for Christmas. – she smiled. Light breeze ruffled her hair. The guy sighned once again, breathing in the night air. Streetlights were illuminating his displeased face. – Come on, if you see it now, later you won't be surprised!
"Maybe she is right" - Connor thought. But still muttered:
- Me and Markus have been stucking in the cold for more than ten minutes! We have our rights to know, what's inside, don't we? And-
– Well, quite enough, – Markus decided to intervene, raising his hands in a conciliatory manner. – Come on, we must have time to do everything before Christmas. – his friends were agreed. No one wanted to have some king of argue before Christmas, right?
North pinched Connor's nose as a sign of reconciliation.
– Don't you dare to look at your present, sweetie.
He clicked and rolled his eyes.
– As you wish.
They walked pass the Hart Plaza and up the street, gazing in amazement at the city's New Year decorations. Detroit was really wonderful in that time of year.
Tall dark buildings contrasted with the crisp white trees lining the streets. Signs and banners, Christmas tree decorations and long garlands glittered everywhere. It seemed like a dream. Such a beautiful dream. The atmosphere into which they fell was literally created for happiness and comfort. No one couldn't believe that they were so lucky to have such kind of view.
– When will we come? – Connor asked while they were going past a clozed modern zoo.
– It's over there, don't worry. – RK200 gave him a smile, slapping a friend on the shoulder. – It's our fist Christmas together. Do you think everything will be fine?
– Of course, – Connor chuckled, intercepting packages in his hands tighter. – It'll be totally fine.
– Gu-uys, we've come. – ginger deviant gleefully pointed to a large mansion overlooking the Detroit River.
***
– What do you feel about that, mh?
They were decorating Markus's house now. It was a large, spacious building, having two floors and even its own chimney. Connor liked this house, frankly speaking. It was not uncomfortable or lonely here. (Maybe because his friends were with him now) The mansion was like a big, cozy ship, intended for only them that night.
Somewhere in the kitchen North was preparing Christmas sweets, occasionally publishing dissatisfied statements due to lack of experience in cooking. Connor and Markus were diligently decorating the Christmas tree in the middle of the living room.
– About what? - android slightly surprised.
– About new type of life, New Jericho, alliance with people ...and so on. – brown-hared deviant hung another toy on the Christmas tree, glancing at his friend with interest.
He chuckled. That deviant hit him more and more every second.
– Well... I don't want make plans for the future or something like that, but I think we're going the right way. – RK200 was thoughtfully unwinding a garland, looking at the fluffy branches of a Christmas tree. – I know how do you feel, Con. It's like... change. Big changes, huh?
Detective nodded weakly.
– I live with Hank right now and feel safe, but it's seems that I still don't know, what's really going on and... Oh, sorry, I didn't want to ruin everything. Everything was so good and I just got in with my chatter–
Connor felt so embarrassing for himself. He only wanted to talk with someone about all the events that happened, but at the same time he understood that this was not the right time at all. Oh, he is such a fool...
He turned away and was about to bend over the box with toys when suddenly felt someone else's hand on his shoulder. Markus looked at him without anger or irritation, but with sincerity and kindness in the eyes.
– It's okay. I understand. - he squeezed his shoulder knowingly. – That's hard to believe. You just need time to get used to. Everything will pass and fall into place. I promise.
He hugged him, strong and loving. Connor was lost - he knew that. They all were lost for a long time. But now it is in the past. And Connor will weather the storm, Markus was sure.
Without hesitation, Connor hugged his friend back, feeling invisible support.
– Hey guys. – a red crown emerged from the kitchen. – It didn't turn out as disgusting as I thought. At least you can eat it-
But when she saw two friends hugging, all her cheerful mood noticeably faded away.
– Boys... Are you alright?
Markus and Connor pulled away from each other, continuing to smile genuinely. Misunderstanding appeared on North's face, but it quickly gave way to gaiety, as the girl realized that everything seemed to be in order.
– Okay, if you finished, suggest you to finally hang this garland and start setting the table. – RK800 nodded in agreement, as did Marcus. The bad mood disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
***
– 3... 2... 1... Merry Christmas!
Glasses with thirium clinked, joyful cries were heard from living room and from outside too. The girl, screaming: "Merry Christmas!" blew up a firecracker. Bright multi-colored sparkles flew in all directions. Guys were laughing – the most happy Christmas has finally come.
When everything calmed down, they decided to start opening the gifts. Connor looked impatiently under the tree - and found two whole boxes there. Feeling the growing excitement, he placed them in the center of the room and began to open the first. Markus and North with smiles watched the picture.
– So... What is that? New T-shirt and nice black tie, as well as a set of ...coins! – android laughed, looking at coins with enthusiasm. – Aw, thank you, North. I just needed a new shirt.
– Yep, I knew that.
The next box was from Markus. Something inside it rustled suspiciously. Wasting no time, the guy opened the gift and found there a small black puppy, merrily wagging its tail.
– OH GOD!!!
Connor was as shocked as possible. The small animal licked his hand in satisfaction, and the guy could hardly resist bursting with happiness.
– I knew you would like it.
– Are you kidding? It is the most precious little soul I've ever seen, oh god, thank you, Markus, thank you so much!!!
He jumped up and hugged his friends with boundless delight. He definitely liked the gifts.
Now it was North's turn. The girl found two gifts under the tree. The first was from Connor - it was a small box containing sweet perfume, and another larger box containing a set of cosmetics. The second was from Markus. Inside the box, the girl found nothing more than her own portrait in oil on canvas. Deviant looked very belligerent and majestic on the porter, and North could not help but admire such skillful work.
– Oh dear, that's amazing! – in admiration, she could not take her eyes off the portrait. Markus looked embarassed. But Connor pushed a friend on the shoulder with smile.
– It is really amazing, friend.
– He's damn right! Exciting! – North kissed the guy on the cheek, and he felt his cheeks burn.
In his present from the girl Markus found two wonderful books about which he dreamed for – a novel about the heroes of Ancient Greece, and also small maintenance guide for musical instruments.
– Oh my god, North... That's... Oh, I have literally no words to say, – the deviant was unimaginably pleased with the donated items.
– Come on, it's Christmas! I knew you love this kind of books. Frankly, I wanted to buy you a guitar, but it was too expensive, so I decided to give you that... And I wasn't wrong.
Markus's eyes sparkled like two burning lights. He hugged her and buried his nose in a woman's shoulder.
– Tha-ank you, god, it is so wonderful...
In the second box from Connor he found a large canvas for painting and a set of brushes, watercolors, and a whole bag of colored crayons and pencils.
- That is all...for me? - Markus looked very excited. He didn't know that Connor had so much free time and money for his present.
– Of course, friend. Merry Christmas!
It looked like a dream, but it wasn't. They all were so happy. Happy and joyful.