Thought this was perfect for Father’s Day. So, here ya go. I vaguely wrote something for it but meh. At least I’m trying. XD
….
“Lieutenant!” Connor’s voice suddenly tore through whatever trance he’d been under. Staring off into space on his porch in the chilly autumn air where he’d been waiting for Sumo to finish his business.
Hank visibly flinched but straightened quickly under the concerned Android’s stare. “Oh. Ugh, yeah, Connor. Back from work already?”
Connor nodded in affirmation, “Yes. I clocked out at precisely at 5:07. Did you enjoy your day off?”
Hank shrugged, glancing over at Sumo who spent his sweet ass time sniffling around the yard and looking for a suitable place to take a piss. Damn picky as fuck dog. “Eh. It was alright, I guess.” Hank finally answered after a long pause, “Fuckin’ boring as usual but at least I’ll be able to catch the game tonight.”
“I’m pleased to hear that. I’ll be sure to stay out of your way tonight while you enjoy your game.”
“Mm-hmm, damn straight you will,” Hank grumbled, eyes averting from Connor for a moment as he turned, about to yell at Sumo to hurry the fuck up, but before he could, a sudden movement from Connor caught his eye.
The RK800 Android, who weird and quirky per usual, was acting even stranger than normal. Hank was accustomed to the Android always having his hands either rubbing together, playing with that damn coin Hank reluctantly returned months ago, or stoically at his side were now both buried in the pockets of his jeans.
Lifting his brow and giving the Android a pointed look, Hank muttered out, “Ya got something to tell me, Conn?”
“Hmm? Oh. Um, nothing of crucial importance, Lieutenant,” Connor replied but Hank caught the flinch of his mouth and sudden furrow of his brow. Those small idiosyncrasies Hank picked up from the past year of knowing him, and the six months Connor had lived with him, told him the Android was lying – albeit badly.
“Bullshit.” Hank’s curiosity grew as he stared at the puppy-eyed Android who suddenly looked more nervous than Hank ever saw him. “What is it?”
“It’s nothing. Really. Your game, or rather the Pregame, starts in less than three minutes, so I suggest–”
“Fuck your suggestions! Just fackin’ spit it out, Connor!”
“I have nothing in my mouth to spit out, Lieutenant,” Connor said with the barest hints of a smirk that made Hank scowl.
“Connor…” Hank stated in a masked warning – not in the mood to deal with Connor’s off-brand sense of humor tonight.
Pursing his lips, Connor nodded before pulling his wallet out of his right pocket.
It may have been Hank’s tiredness or alcohol withdrawal he’d been going through for the past five damn months already, but he swore Connor’s hands were shaking. Nothing he could have imagined possible for the best equipment Cyberlife ever made but he suspected it was the deviancy responsible for the uncharacteristic tremors in Connor’s typically steadiness.
Hank watched Connor as he hesitated for only a split-second before opening the black trifold wallet and showcasing to him the last thing Hank expected.
It was a Detroit Police Department badge.
Gold, polished, and obviously new and Hank’s heart fucking thudded painfully seeing the name ‘Connor Anderson’ neatly inscribed underneath the larger DPD logo.
“W…What?” Hank uttered out; having to clear his throat to even choke out the word that hung in the air.
“Captain Fowler gave it to me today,” Connor clarified, “ – only an hour after the law was finally passed and finalized.”
Hank’s heart lurched in something he could only describe as overwhelming relief. It was a fucking uphill battle during a torrential hurricane even getting Connor back on the force. The laws were slow to change and for awhile, Hank feared it would never happen.
Yet, there it was right in front of him…
In his stunned silence, Hank hadn’t noticed how nervous Connor had become from his lack of verbal confirmation to this piece of shocking news.
Finally able to lift his increasingly blurring vision to the RK800, he swallowed back the lump that formed. Connor’s russet eyes were large, brows lifted slightly and fuck, was he pouting? The boyish expression and the protective feelings he hesitantly harbored toward Connor within days of meeting him hit Hank all at once like a ton of bricks.
There were simply no words he was able to physically utter to showcase what he was feeling right now – so he did the next best thing.
Without warning, he’d grabbed Connor’s shoulder and pulled the unsuspecting Android into his chest; one hand firmly grasped between his shoulder-blades and the other cradling the back of his head.
“…I’m so fucking proud of you, son…” the words came out breathy and slightly broken; his throat tight and fuck, why were his eyes burning so badly?
The Android flinched much like the first time Hank had embraced him. A machine who was so unused to any sort of gentle affection who awkwardly hugged him back; Connor’s cool hands hovering before gently resting on his back in a returned embrace.
“Thank you…” Connor replied before a few moments later continued. “…Dad.”
Hank’s world froze for a second as that word left Connor’s tongue, voice synthesizer shit or whatever the hell he called it.
Dad. A title Hank thought he’d lost permanently when Cole died – a title Hank knew he never deserved. But hearing it come from the most unlikely source. An Android Hank had hated and loathed once upon a time and now couldn’t live without. Hearing Connor say it with all the confidence in the world repaired something inside of the gristled Lieutenant; a part of him he thought far beyond reparation.
Hands shaking as he better cradled Connor’s head, Hank let out something akin to a laugh or sob, he didn’t know or didn’t care which at this moment. Sinking his chin into Connor’s strong shoulder, he allowed himself to cry for the first time in years.