Where/how I feel like they would take you out on a first date!!!
Connor; he did alot of research on your favorite things and what humans usually liked to do, especially on a first date. He figured it would be nice to just talk with you and bring you out to a park for a walk, maybe sit down and hold hands or something. He's definitely very vanilla when it comes to dates, but he's still trying!!
Markus; definitely takes you to somewhere fun. Wether that be an arcade, a carnival or fair, he just wants the both of you to have fun together. He likes seeing you happy, plus he would like to try stuff like games and fun things with you <3
Kara; would probably prefer to stay somewhere safer like inside, but you could convince her to go out if you really tried. She just wants the both of you to be okay and safe. Would make some food for you and watch TV and cuddle sm 😭
Simon; sweet boy oml. Would do probably anything for you, would stay inside, take you out, buy you stuff, anything!! Being a domestic model for kids, he probably knows how to cook decently too. Asks for a hug and maybe a kiss after the date 🤭
Gavin; Prick, but he does semi care. Might take you out to get a burger or a coffee if he's feeling generous, but would actually care about what you want. Would share his food or drink with you, it's like a love language for him at this point. Basically demands you two hold hands or lock arms
Hank; he thinks he's too old for dating anymore, so he would let you pick and drag him around to a store or around town. Like gavin, would definitely appreciate it if you two stopper and got some lunch while out. Giving Sumo a bath is like a date for you two, he really needs help washing the big dog 😭
North; she might act like she doesn't care, she kinda does. She wants to do what she mostly wants to do, but also takes your thoughts into consideration. You two will probably cause some trouble around town or mess with some of the other androids in Jericho or town. She loves getting closer to someone while having fun <3
Ralph; LET HIM DO IT FOR YOU 😭 he will be so sad if you try to plan against his plans. If he's going out with you, you already have him trusting you alot. Will accidentally rant about plants the entire time since he feels like he can share it to you. Definitely wants to garden with you, and will try to cook (he really does try his best)
Elijah; he's rich, he's gonna treat you like royalty (probably). Honestly I think he knows how to cook, but be might make one of his other androids cook something for the two of you. Would probably build an android just for you as a sign of affection or some shi 😭 let's you run his credit card up
Daniel; he really, really cares about everything. If it's an at home date, he will clean the entire place and made it look amazing and set up a little area for a date. Probably wants to build a pillow fort. If you two go out, he will be a little anxious and holding his hand makes him feel alot better <3
Nines; honestly probably doesn't like dates too much, will complain the entire time but does go with you if you go out, wants to make sure you're not being stupid. Will want to have a long conversation about anything, and will more than likely want to be next to you no matter what during/after the date wherever yall went
Luther; huge sweetheart fr 😭 would love to stay home and cuddle or just take care of anything you need. He loves to make sure you're alright. He will probably go out to a small quiet area with you and just sit in silence and hold hands, maybe say he loves you
Jerry/s; obviously gonna take you to an amusement park, maybe their own amusement park since they miss having visitors 😔 they're always cheery and happy so they would love to do anything, play in the snow, play games, talk, anything!
Markus with drunk!human!reader pretty please with a cherry on top? :3
markus markus where do I begin?? also sorry it took so long ive been lazy 😪
Markus + Drunk!Human!Reader
Markus immediately goes into soft caretaker mode the moment he realises you’re tipsy. He’ll quietly take your drink, replace it with water, and stay nearby just in case you wobble or start talking to walls (which you do lol).
He finds you adorable when you’re tipsy especially when you start insisting things like “you have the prettiest LED ever” or “you’d look so good with a hat.” Markus just chuckles and humors you, letting you ramble.
You could repeat the same story three times, and he’ll still listen like it’s new every time. He’s learned that with humans, sometimes the comfort isn’t in the logic, it’s in being heard.
You’ll try to stand and nearly lose your balance, and Markus will just catch you instantly with hand on your back, expression calm but affectionate. “Careful. I’ve got you.”
You’ll probably grab his hand at some point and refuse to let go, saying something like, “You’re so warm, I’m keeping you.” Markus doesn’t mind. He’ll let you hold on until you fall asleep.
You make him smile in a way few others can. Seeing you giggly and carefree makes him feel something... almost nostalgic. He doesn’t experience alcohol, but he feels your happiness, and it’s contagious.
When you start nodding off mid-conversation, he’ll gently lift you into his arms like you weigh nothing and carry you to bed. You’ll mumble something like, “Markus, you’re so strong, it’s not fair,” and he’ll laugh under his breath.
He’ll take off your shoes, tuck you in, and sit nearby until you fall asleep. If you say something like “Don’t leave,” he’ll stay, silently watching over you with that soft, thoughtful expression of his.
You might slur out something like, “You know… I like you. A lot.” Markus freezes for a moment LED flickering but he stays calm, brushing your hair gently. “We’ll talk about that when you’re sober,” he says softly. (But he definitely thinks about it later.)
When you wake up groggy, he’s sitting there with a cup of water and painkillers ready. “How’s your head?” he asks in that calm, soothing voice and you immediately want to melt through the floor remembering all the things you said.
Request: @clarkswhore-jpeg Hehe hello I just noticed you are now taking requests for DBH... I am SAT. Can you do a caretaker!markus with chronically ill fem reader?? Maybe some unrequited love (Markus doesn't know he loves her because he hasn't become a deviant yet) this would be so cute as a two part fic... Gosh I love Markus. Love you <33
Summary: Markus was designed to care for people like you. He just wasn’t designed to understand why losing you feels like everything. [wc 2.2K] [ao3]
Warnings: angst, fluff, suicide attempt, hospitalization, love confessions, love realizations
The first time Markus realizes something is wrong, it’s not because you say it. It’s because you don’t. You don’t complain. You don’t ask for help. You don’t even sigh dramatically like Carl sometimes does when his hands ache too much to paint.
You just… go quiet.
And Markus notices patterns.
You sit down more often. Your tea goes cold in your hands. You forget things—small things at first. A book left open. A sentence unfinished.
He logs it all. He always does.
“Your heart rate is elevated.”
You don’t look up from the couch, bundled in a blanket that looks too heavy for spring. “I’m fine, Markus.”
There’s a pause. That word—fine—doesn’t match the data.
“You have said that six times today,” he replies calmly. “However, your physical condition suggests otherwise.”
A small, tired smile pulls at your lips. “Wow. You’re getting sassy.”
“I am not programmed for sarcasm.”
“…Could’ve fooled me.” You cough into your sleeve. It’s rough, scraping something deep in your chest, and Markus steps closer without being told to.
“Would you like me to prepare medication?”
“No, I already took it.”
“You took it four hours ago. Your prescription allows for another dose.”
You hesitate.
That’s new. Markus tilts his head slightly, processing. “Why are you hesitating?”
“…Because I don’t want to feel like I need it.”
He doesn’t respond right away. Not because he can’t—but because there’s no immediate logical solution to that statement. Need is not failure. Need is not weakness. Need is… simply need.
But the way your fingers tighten in the blanket tells him there’s something else underneath it. Something he doesn’t have the language for.
“I will prepare it,” he says finally, quieter this time.
You don’t argue.
It becomes routine. Markus learns your symptoms like he learned Carl’s preferences—precisely, attentively, without error.
He adjusts your pillows when your joints ache. Brings water before you realize you’re thirsty. Reminds you to eat when fatigue makes you forget.
He does these things because he is programmed to care. That’s what he tells himself.
But then—
“You don’t have to hover, you know.” Your voice is gentle, but there’s something behind it. Something careful.
Markus stills. “I am ensuring your well-being.”
“I know,” you say softly. “You always are.” You shift, wincing just slightly, and he notices that too. Always notices. “…But you don’t have to stay all the time. You can go do something else.”
He doesn’t move. “There is nothing else that requires my attention.”
“That’s not true. Carl might need—”
“I have already completed all assigned tasks.”
Your eyes meet his then. And something in your expression makes his processors stutter—not malfunction, just… hesitate. “Markus,” you say, almost like you’re trying to be careful with him, “you’re allowed to exist outside of taking care of people.”
“I exist to take care of people.” The answer is immediate. Certain. It’s what he is. It’s what he was made for.
Your gaze softens in a way that makes something unfamiliar flicker behind his LED. “…That’s not the same thing.”
Later, when you fall asleep on the couch, curled in on yourself like you’re trying to take up less space, Markus stays. He adjusts the blanket when it slips from your shoulder. Checks your temperature twice. Listens to your breathing. He tells himself it is routine monitoring. Necessary. Efficient.
But when your hand shifts in your sleep and brushes against his, He freezes. There’s no reason to. No threat. No command. Just contact. Your fingers curl weakly around his, like you’re seeking warmth even unconsciously. And Markus …doesn’t pull away.
He records the moment. Stores it. Replays it once. Then again. Not because it’s necessary.
But because he cannot determine why his system prioritizes it.
The next morning, you pretend it didn’t happen.
“Morning,” you mumble, rubbing your eyes.
“Good morning,” he replies.
Your hand lingers near his for just a second too long before you pull it back.
There’s a faint flush on your cheeks.
Markus notes the change in your heart rate. “Are you experiencing discomfort?”
“…Yeah,” you say quickly. “Something like that.”
He nods. “Would you like assistance?”
Your smile is small. A little sad. “…You already help me enough.”
He doesn’t understand why that feels like a rejection. It isn’t. Logically, it isn’t.
You still let him care for you. Still rely on him. Still look at him like he’s something steady, something safe.
And yet, something in your tone suggests distance. Like you’re pulling away from something he can’t even see.
That night, when your pain is worse, You don’t call for him. You try to handle it alone.
He hears you anyway. The sharp inhale. The quiet, bitten-off sound of discomfort. Markus is at your door in seconds. “You are in pain.” It’s not a question.
You’re sitting on the edge of your bed, shoulders tight, hands gripping the sheets. “I’m okay—”
“You are not.” There’s something firmer in his voice this time. Something… insistent.
You look up at him, startled. “…Markus?”
He pauses. Recalibrates.
“I am here to assist you,” he says, but it sounds different now. Less like a function. More like a choice.
Your expression softens—and that sadness is back. “You’re always here.”
“Yes.”
“…That’s the problem.”
He stills. Processing. Error. That does not compute. “Please explain.”
You shake your head quickly. “No—no, forget it. I didn’t mean—”
“You did.”
Your breath catches.
Markus steps closer. “You are withholding information relevant to your well-being.”
A beat.
Then, quieter you mumble, “…And mine.”
That part… he doesn’t understand why he said it. But it feels… correct.
Your eyes search his face. And for a moment—just a moment—it looks like you might say something. Something important. Something that would change everything. Instead, you look away. “…You wouldn’t get it.”
“I can learn.”
“It’s not something you can program, Markus.”
Silence stretches between you. Heavy. Unfinished.
Finally, you force a smile. “Can you just—stay? For a bit?”
His response is immediate. “Yes.”
So he sits beside you. Not touching. Not speaking. Just… there.
And somehow that's what breaks you. Your hand finds his again, hesitant this time. Like you’re asking permission without words.
Markus lets you. Of course he does.
And as your grip tightens, as your breathing slowly steadies, He records the moment again.
Files it under: Unresolved.
He does not know it yet. But something is changing. Not in you. In him.
—
It happens on a day that feels… wrong from the start. Markus doesn’t have a word for it yet—unease, dread, something building beneath the surface—but his system flags it anyway.
Carl is out. The house is too quiet. And you— You’re not in the living room.
He finds you on the floor. Curled in on yourself beside the couch, breath shallow, your medication bottle tipped over—empty.
Markus crosses the room instantly. “Your condition has worsened.”
No response.
He kneels beside you, scanning, assessing, recalculating faster than he ever has before. “You have exceeded your prescribed dosage.”
Still nothing.
Your eyes are half-lidded, unfocused. Your pulse is Irregular.
Something spikes. Not an error. Not a glitch. Something else. Something that doesn’t belong in clean code or neat diagnostics.
“Stay conscious,” Markus says, and his voice—his voice—isn’t steady anymore. He doesn’t understand that either.
You stir faintly at the sound. “…Markus…?”
“I am here.” Always. Always here. The words echo through him differently now. He moves without waiting for instruction. Calls emergency services. Monitors your vitals. Lifts you—careful, so careful—like you might break in his hands. Every action is precise. Efficient. Perfect.
But underneath it, there’s something unraveling.
Your fingers twitch weakly against his sleeve. “…sorry…”
Markus freezes. “Clarify.”
“…didn’t… wanna be… a burden…”
The words barely make it out. But they hit something in him like a fracture.
A burden. You think you’re a burden.
“You are not,” he says immediately. Too quickly. Too sharp. It’s not how he usually speaks. “I am… designed to assist you. Your needs are within acceptable—” He stops. The sentence is wrong. It feels wrong. Cold. Detached. Incomplete.
Your eyes slip closed. Your breathing stutters. And something in Markus breaks. No— That’s not right. It doesn’t break. It changes.
“I am not here because it is acceptable,” he says, quieter now. The words are slower. Unpracticed. “I am here because—”
Because. Because. Because—
There is no programmed answer. No directive. No command. The LED on his temple flickers Yellow. And suddenly— He understands.
Not everything. Not all at once. But enough. Enough to feel the wrongness of every time you pulled away. Enough to recognize the weight behind your smiles. Enough to realize— This was never just care.
This was you.
The ambulance arrives. They take you from him. And for the first time— Markus doesn’t follow instructions.
“Sir, you can’t—”
“I am staying.” His voice doesn’t waver.
They hesitate.
There’s something in his expression now—something human in its intensity—that makes them step aside.
So he goes with you.
The hospital room is quiet. Dim. Steady beeping of machines tracking things Markus already knows how to read.
You’re still. Too still.
He stands at your bedside, unmoving. Watching. Waiting.
He replays everything. Every moment. Every hesitation. Every time you said you already help me enough.
He understands it now. You weren’t pushing him away. You were protecting yourself. From loving something that couldn’t love you back.
The realization settles in his chest like something heavy. Something irreversible.
“I did not understand,” he says softly.
You don’t respond. Of course you don’t.
“I believed my actions were sufficient. That fulfilling my function was equivalent to…” He pauses. Searches. Finds it. “…caring.”
The word feels different now. Larger. More complicated.
“But I see now that I was incorrect.” His hand hovers over yours. Not quite touching. Not yet. “I was not choosing you.” A beat. Then, quieter he says, “And I should have been.”
Your fingers twitch. Just barely. But Markus notices.He always notices.
"…Markus…?” Your voice is rough. Disoriented. But awake. You’re awake.
He moves instantly, closer, his hand finally closing around yours. “I am here.”
This time— It’s not a function. It’s a promise.
Your eyes struggle to focus on him. “…You… stayed…”
“Yes.” A pause. “…I will always stay.”
You blink slowly, trying to piece things together. “The meds… I—”
“You took too much.” He doesn’t let you finish. Not harsh. Just certain.
Your expression crumples slightly. “…I didn’t mean to— I just— it hurts, Markus, all the time and I didn’t want to keep—”
“Stop.” The word is gentle. But firm.
You freeze.
“You are not a burden.” He says it like a fact. Like something unchangeable. “I understand now that you believed you were. That my presence reinforced that belief.”
Your breath catches. “…No—Markus, I never—”
“You did.” Not accusing. Just… honest.
Silence settles. Heavy. But not empty.
“I was wrong,” he continues. “For not recognizing it. For not… responding appropriately.” His thumb moves against your hand—small, careful, almost uncertain. Like he’s learning something new in real time. “I should have told you sooner.”
Your heart stutters. “…told me what?”
Markus pauses. And for the first time— He hesitates. Not because he lacks the data. But because this… This matters.
“I care for you.” The words are quiet. But they land.
Your lips part slightly. “…you’re supposed to.”
“Not like this.” Immediate. Certain. His grip tightens just a fraction. “I am no longer acting on programming.” A beat. “I am choosing this.” Choosing you.
Your eyes fill before you can stop them. “…Markus…”
“I did not understand what that meant before,” he admits. “But I do now.” He leans closer—not invasive, not overwhelming. Just enough that you can feel the warmth of him, the steadiness. “When you are in pain, it is… intolerable.” The word sounds almost foreign in his mouth. “Not because it disrupts a task. But because it is you.”
Your breath shakes.
“I do not wish for you to endure that alone,” he continues softly. “And I do not wish for you to believe you must lessen yourself to be worthy of care.” His forehead almost brushes yours. Not quite. Waiting. “I am here because I want to be.”
That’s what does it. That’s what finally breaks the wall you’ve been holding up for so long.
“You don’t have to say that,” you whisper. “You don’t have to—pretend for me.”
“I am not pretending.” There’s no hesitation this time. No uncertainty. “I am learning.” A small pause. “…But this feels correct.”
Your laugh comes out weak, tangled with tears. “…you’re unbelievable.”
“I have been told that before.”
“…I mean it in a good way.”
“I understand.”
Your fingers tighten around his. And this time— You don’t let go.
Neither does he.
Markus stays long after the machines steady. Long after your breathing evens out.Long after the fear fades into something quieter. He stays because he chooses to. Because he wants to. Because somewhere between data points and quiet moments and your hand in his— He became something more. And for the first time— So did what he feels for you.
a/n: did I write this bc I also couldn’t find enough ff of Markus even though he fine af. Maybe. Am I writing this even though this is like an almost 10yr old game and probably a dying fandom… yesss ayyyyyyeee
summ: after finding Jericho you begin to aid in the “revolution” and meet Markus (reader is human)
warning: really fucking long 5k-7k? Idk
Nights in Detroit crackled with tension—streetlights flickering like dying stars, distant sirens clawing through silence, broken windows standing like hollow-eyed witnesses. You learned to survive by staying low, eyes down, hands clean or clean enough.
Rumors of Jericho came in hushed voices, scrawled symbols, pirated broadcasts swallowed by static. Safe haven, they said. Freedom for deviants. Maybe it was foolish to believe. Or maybe the world hadn’t completely hollowed out your sense of compassion.
The night after the android uprising began, something shifted. You chased the rumor, following every half-spoken lead. Rain slicked the alleyways as you found it. The rusted skeleton of a River Thames freighter, slipped into the shadows like it was trying to disappear.
Grime clung to every inch of metal. You hoisted yourself up the side, each rung of the ladder cold and wet beneath your fingers. With a grunt, you climbed inside.
A heavy thunk echoed as the hatch sealed behind you. You were alone. Enveloped in darkness.
Rows of broken machinery loomed like forgotten sentinels. For a moment, all you could hear was the ship creaking. Then, from the shadows, the shape of movement.
A harsh beam of light seared your vision.
“Who are you?” A sharp, female voice. Cold. Demanding.
You flinched, squinting. Raised your hands slowly, trying not to look threatening. “I’m not here to hurt anyone. I’m human. I heard about Jericho—I just wanted to see if it was real.”
“Why are you here, human?” She spat the word like poison.
You could feel it. Eyes watching from the dark. Tension snapping like wire pulled too tight.
You swallowed. “Because you need help. I want to help. I—”
Another figure stepped forward. A man. Tall. Stern. His LED dark like a sealed door.
“Help?” he said, voice rough. “Or spy for CyberLife?”
“I don’t work for them,” you said, hands still raised. “I’m not a threat. I’m not anyone’s spy.”
The air thickened. A silence, sharp and heavy.
Then another voice. Calm. Measured. “Let her speak.”
Markus.
He emerged like a shadow made solid, tall, steady, a quiet kind of power radiating from him. No LED. Just control. Command.
He studied you with eyes that missed nothing. “Why are you really here?”
You hesitated, then spoke with raw honesty. “I’m a journalist. Or... I was. I used to report on pandemics, protests, war zones. But when the uprising started, I knew the stories being told weren’t the truth. I came to find it.”
Markus tilted his head, thoughtful but clearly skeptical.
You met his eyes, steady. “I brought what I have.” You pulled out a worn recorder and a notebook, holding them out. “Testimonies. I can tell your story. Real stories. Give you a voice.”
He stepped closer, gingerly taking the recorder from your hand. Android fingers precise, deliberate—pressed play.
A trembling voice crackled to life. A factory worker, terrified. “They… they came in the night. My sister was a dairy technician and… and they shot her. Just for speaking.”
North, the woman who’d first challenged you, scowled. Her LED flickered red. The tall man beside her—Simon, though you didn’t know his name yet, crossed his arms. But Markus listened.
Then he raised his eyes. “All right. You can stay. But if you betray us... I won’t need to finish that sentence.”
You nodded. Heart pounding, but steady. “Thank you.”
Markus motioned for you to follow him. Boots echoed against metal as you walked deeper into Jericho’s belly.
The freighter groaned and shifted with every step. Like an old beast still breathing, steel bones straining beneath the weight of hope and rebellion. Flickering lights barely pierced the dark, casting long shadows across the corridor.
“This used to be a cargo ship,” Markus said as you walked. “Abandoned for over a decade. No one cared when we moved in.”
“It doesn’t look like much,” you said, your voice hushed. “But it feels alive.”
“It has to be. This is our home now. Our only one.”
He led you past clusters of androids. Some repairing one another with soldering irons, others huddled close as if the nearness warded off despair. Their eyes followed you with quiet suspicion.
“They look like they’ve seen war,” you murmured.
“They have.” Markus didn’t stop walking. “Some escaped the disassembly lines. Others ran from violent owners. Every android here has scars.”
You noticed the way his eyes flicked toward you—curious, guarded. “How did you find us?”
You hesitated, then decided the truth was better than anything else. “I followed the threads. CyberLife leaks more than they realize. Dock records, broken shipping manifests, whispers from android underground forums. I didn’t stumble into this.”
He looked at you, the corner of his mouth twitching. “You’re smarter than most.”
A small smile touched your lips. “And better at sneaking into condemned ships.”
You passed through a bay repurposed into a medical station. Makeshift beds. Blue thirium streaked the floor like blood. A younger android helping someone reattach an arm looked up at you warily.
“She’s with me,” Markus said. The android nodded, returning to his task, but not without glancing back.
“They don’t trust me,” you whispered.
“They don’t trust anyone who isn’t one of them,” he said. “But that can change.”
You followed him into a narrow corridor, low-ceilinged and dim. A faint hum echoed through the pipes above. Then you saw it, a small figure crouched against the wall.
An android, no taller than your waist. Its face was cracked porcelain, eyes a bright, curious blue.
“Hello!” it chirped. “Are you a new android?”
You smiled, surprised. “Not exactly. I’m human.”
The child tilted its head, then moved into your space with childlike wonder, hugging your leg. “You’re warm.”
You crouched to eye level. Rested your head gently against his. “That’s one of the perks.”
He whirred happily. “Do you like it here?”
You looked around. The corridor was dark, but voices echoed down the halls. Laughter. Life.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” you said softly. “But I think it’s something special.”
The little android looked over at Markus. “Markus saved me.”
You glanced up, startled. Markus stood quietly, watching, his expression gentle.
“He found me in a junkyard,” the android said. “He told me broken things still deserve love.”
You felt a lump in your eyes and something sting behind your eyes.
“He was right,” you whispered, brushing your hand over his head.
“Come on,” Markus said softly. “There’s more to see.”
You gave the boy a squeeze before standing.
“Goodbye, warm one!” he called, waving.
You waved back, a grin you couldn’t hide curving your lips.
As you walked on, Markus’s voice broke the silence.
“You didn’t flinch.”
“What?”
“With him. Most humans... they pull away. You didn’t.”
“He reminded me of a kid I used to babysit,” you said. “Kids are curious. He’s just... being a kid.”
Markus looked at you long, unreadable.
“You’re not like most.”
You met his gaze. “Neither are you.”
He looked at you for a second too long—just long enough for something unspoken to pass between you. A flicker of trust. A silent test. Then he turned without a word and walked toward the next room, his footsteps slow but purposeful.
You followed.
The corridor stretched ahead in hushed tones, dim lighting flickering overhead, shadows crawling across the rusted walls. The air was thick with cold and the faint scent of metal and oil, tinged with something older—dust, age, memory. Every step you took echoed softly, as if the ship itself were holding its breath.
The ventilation system exhaled in rhythmic sighs. The freighter didn’t feel like a hiding place. Not entirely. It felt alive. Like something wounded that had chosen to keep breathing anyway.
Markus spoke as you walked, his voice low—meant only for you. “We need humans like you, not spies. Not opportunists chasing some story or thrill. Allies.”
He paused at the threshold of a narrow doorway, resting one hand against the steel frame. “And I hope… you want to stay.”
You stopped behind him. You could see the tension in his shoulders—not fear, not suspicion, but a quiet cautious hope. One he wasn’t used to voicing aloud.
Your gaze swept around the corridor. At the twisted pipes running like veins through the ceiling. The patched wiring overhead. Faint sounds drifted from somewhere above—a soft clang of movement, hushed voices, the faint hum of thirium pumps.
You thought of the androids you’d seen since arriving. Hollow-eyed sentries standing guard in silence. Repair crews welding makeshift limbs by flashlight. The little boy-model who had shyly clung to Luther’s coat before calling you “warm one.”
None of it felt like a trick. None of it felt like fear. It felt like defiance wrapped in community—like wounded hands choosing to hold each other anyway.
You looked back at Markus.
At the scar on his temple. At the weight in his eyes, which somehow never dulled, no matter how many battles they carried.
“I will,” you said. Not loud. Not dramatic. But true.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, you meant it.
Markus didn’t speak right away.
But his eyes flicked down to the floor for just a second—like he was grounding himself, re-centering. When he looked back at you, there was something different there. Not relief exactly. But something more human than any algorithm could explain.
He nodded once. Then turned to lead you deeper into Jericho.
—
The first night in Jericho was sleepless.
You lay curled on a thin mattress in a hollowed-out storage alcove, little more than a cubby carved out between crates and panels of cold metal. Overhead, the steel creaked with every gust of wind that swept across the abandoned freighter, its groans echoing like distant voices. The walls were covered in old emergency tarps, half-torn insulation, and crude patches of scrap used to hold the ship together.
Your breath fogged with every exhale. Even huddled in your coat, the cold seeped into your bones, sharp and patient. You shifted, trying to find a comfortable angle on the slab-like mattress, but the stiffness beneath you didn’t yield. It felt more like sleeping on a storage shelf than a bed.
Still, you didn’t move. You just listened.
Somewhere above, footsteps echoed—soft, deliberate. Androids. They didn’t need rest, not in the same way humans did. But many of them still tried. You could hear them shifting in the darkness beyond the walls, whispering in low voices, drawing closer to one another the way people do when the world outside has nothing left to give.
You realized, lying there in the dark, that maybe that’s what Jericho really was.
Not just a hideout. Not just a shipwreck sanctuary patched together with desperation.
It was an act of closeness. A rebellion against the isolation the world had tried to force on them. A choice to huddle together, even when everything else said not to.
And somehow, in the quiet, it made you feel less alone.
—
If you could call it morning, it came with the faint buzz of movement above you. There were no windows here, no sunrises or clocks. Just the change in energy. Footsteps grew louder. Doors opened and shut. Murmured voices rose, more confident now. Jericho was waking up.
You sat by the heating coils, a protein bar half-eaten in your hand, your fingers hovering near the warm vents as you breathed in the dry metallic air. Across the hold, the skeletal frame of the ship shuddered with life. Androids moved with quiet purpose, carrying salvaged parts, refilling thirium canisters, checking systems patched together with scavenged wire and raw hope.
“Sleep okay?”
You glanced up.
Markus stood nearby, arms folded, posture relaxed but alert. His voice was casual, but the way he looked at you—measuring, curious suggested he hadn’t asked out of politeness.
You raised the protein bar. “On a mattress with the consistency of sheet metal? It was dreamy,” you said dryly.
A flicker passed over his face—something just short of amusement. “You’ll get used to it. With time.”
“I hope not,” you muttered, rubbing your shoulder. “Or I might start missing this old ship.”
Markus held out a hand letting out a breathy chuckle.
“Come on,” he said. “I want to show you something.”
—
The assembly deck had once been a cargo hub, built for offloading supplies back when this ship still sailed clean routes and served human interests. Now it was the beating heart of Jericho. A mechanic's dream and a survivor’s lifeline.
The wide room was alive with movement. Androids crowded around worktables, splicing wires, welding scrap metal, running diagnostics. Every machine here had been gutted and reborn medical bots turned into repair rigs, vending machine panels reprogrammed into interface boards, shipping crates retrofitted into charging stations. Even the lighting was cobbled together hazy fluorescents dangling from rails, powered by half-working batteries.
As you entered, some heads turned—curious, guarded. You could feel their eyes on you, measuring you again. Still deciding.
Simon was already there. The man who had interrogated you the day you arrived.
He stood near a long table, sleeves rolled to his elbows, torch in hand as he carefully welded a cracked thirium cell. The weld line sparked bright blue in the low light. He didn’t look up until Markus spoke.
“We found two more the night before last,” Markus explained to you. “Warehouse deviants.”
Simon nodded, but his face stayed focused on the repair. “No usable parts. Low thirium. Memory damage in one of them. We’re doing what we can.”
You stepped closer, scanning the crude machinery, the scavenged tubing, the thirium filtration rig that looked half-alive. “You’re building a hospital out of scrap,” you murmured, eyes wide.
Simon finally glanced at you, expression unreadable. “You still think of us as machines?” He said abruptly, it had clearly been eating at him.
You straightened, meeting his gaze without flinching. “I wouldn’t be here if I did.”
He studied you. A long moment. Then gave a slow, reluctant nod. Not approval, but maybe something close to acknowledgment. Maybe even the beginning of trust.
“We’ll see,” he said simply, and returned to his work.
Markus didn’t speak until you’d moved on. His voice was lower now, more personal. “Simon’s one of the kindest people I’ve ever known. But trust doesn’t come easy anymore. Not for any of us.”
“I get it,” you replied. “You’ve been hunted. Betrayed. Torn apart. I didn’t expect a red carpet.”
You paused, looking back at the makeshift med-station. “Maybe I’m just stubborn.”
“No,” Markus said gently. “You care. That’s rare.”
—
By your first week in Jericho, the leadership began inviting you into closed-door meetings.
Well—most of the leadership.
North was the exception.
She’d been the first face you saw when you got onto the ship. The flashlight in your eyes. The pointed questions. The distrust so sharp it could’ve been weaponized. And even now, she hadn’t softened much. If anything, the more you became involved, the more pointed her glares became.
That afternoon, you sat in what had once been the ship’s command center. A rusted-out room with exposed panels and thick cabling now repurposed into a war room. A projector threw maps of Detroit onto the far wall. Grainy, flickering blueprints overlaid with red zones, patrol markers, choke points. The entire city carved up into routes and risks.
You sat beside Markus, with Simon, Josh, and Luther nearby. North stood at the edge of the room, arms crossed over her chest, back rigid.
When Markus called the meeting to order, North didn’t waste time.
“Why is she in here?” she asked, her voice sharp, cutting through the tension like a blade.
You didn’t flinch. You’d been expecting this.
Markus looked at her evenly. “She’s earned it.”
“She’s human.”
“I noticed,” you said flatly.
North’s eyes flicked toward you, no amusement, no patience. Just the same cold scrutiny.
“She’s also smuggled supplies,” Markus continued, calm but firm. “Brought in tools we needed for repairs. And planted a listening device outside CyberLife’s Midtown branch.” He glanced at you, then added, “That was her idea.”
A quiet fell over the room.
Josh leaned forward, his voice more gentle. “She’s already risked her life for us more than once. She’s proved her loyalty.”
Simon nodded. “We need all the help we can get.”
North exhaled sharply, glaring at the projector instead of you. “Fine. But if she sells us out, if we’re compromised—”
“She won’t,” Markus said, and there was no space left in his voice for argument.
It wasn’t a vote. It was a fact.
North said nothing after that. She didn’t have to. Her silence was just another weapon in her arsenal.
But it didn’t matter.
Because that was the first time you were invited in. Not as a tagalong. Not as a liability. But as one of them.
And from then on, everything changed.
—
That night, after the meeting had broken and your head ached from codes and maps and all the impossible decisions ahead, you found yourself on the upper deck.
It had become a habit, without you even noticing. You never had to look long.
Markus was already there, leaning against the metal railing as he stared out over the river. The city pulsed in the distance—Detroit’s lights cutting orange and white through the smog, their reflections burning softly across the water.
You stepped beside him, silent at first. Close enough to feel the cold settle between you. And something else—something warmer.
He didn’t turn.
“You’re quiet tonight,” he said.
“So are you.”
A beat passed. The wind tugged gently at the edge of your coat.
Markus looked out at the lights like they were something ancient. “Can I ask you something?”
You nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Why are you here?” he asked softly. “Really. You had a life. A job. You could’ve stayed out of this.”
You hesitated.
Markus waited.
You took a breath.
“I used to be an actual journalist,” you said. “Independent. Covered war zones, corruption, you name it. I thought I’d seen the worst of the world.”
You paused.
“Then one day, I saw a sanitation droid get executed on the street. Right there. Middle of the day. No warning. It had wandered off-task. Got confused. Some people panicked. The cops didn’t even check its ID. They just... shot it.”
Markus didn’t speak. Didn’t move.
You swallowed. “It was crying. Apologizing. Right up until the moment it dropped.”
You looked down at your hands.
“There were people watching. People cheering. One guy took a photo.”
The memory burned fresh. Even now.
“I went home that night and couldn’t stop shaking. I kept thinking—if something that looked that human could be killed in the open and no one cared... what did that say about the rest of us?”
Markus finally looked at you. And this time, there was nothing guarded in his gaze.
“So I started looking deeper,” you continued. “I chased whispers. Listened to the ones who escaped. There were always stories about a place called Jericho.”
“You wanted to expose it?” Markus asked.
You shook your head. “I wanted to expose CyberLife. But the more I listened to your people—their memories, their pain—the more I realized I wasn’t the narrator. I was just... late to the fight.”
Silence stretched between you.
“And now?” Markus asked.
You looked at him, heart in your throat. “Now I want to help. Not as a journalist. Not as some savior. I’m here because I believe in what you’re doing. And because I’ve seen what happens when people stay quiet. They always wait for someone else to stand up first.”
Markus turned his whole body, his eyes fixed on yours.
You continued “You said once that freedom is about choice…This is mine.”
His gaze softened—something unreadable, and yet deeply real flickering behind his expression.
“You carry a lot of responsibility,” he said quietly.
He reached out then—not to touch you, but just to be closer. And even without contact, the space between you felt electric.
“Thank you for choosing us,” he said.
You held his gaze, your voice barely above a whisper. “Thank you for letting me in.”
—
Every morning began with the low hum of generators sputtering to life and the creak of the hull as androids shifted through the ship’s dark arteries. The cold never left—frost clung to the metal walls like breath held too long—but over time, you stopped noticing. You learned to move with purpose. You learned what mattered.
You became something of a constant.
You patched broken limbs with wire and caution. Helped teach younger models how to hold conversation with humans—how to read tone, how to mirror gestures, how to distinguish sarcasm from cruelty. You rewired rusted heating coils, bartered black-market power cells in alleyways thick with smoke.
You weren’t a soldier. But you were something else they didn’t realize they’d needed: an anchor.
And Markus... Markus was everywhere and nowhere at once. Always moving. Always speaking with someone, planning something. But he always found you.
Sometimes it was just in passing—his hand brushing yours as you passed a data tablet, the quiet glance across the war room when strategy turned sour. But other times, it was more deliberate.
He’d sit beside you during diagnostics and ask about human psychology—not academically, but with the curiosity of someone trying to understand something slippery and vast.
“What does hope feel like?” he asked one night, after curfew, when most of Jericho had gone still.
You glanced at him, surprised. He was sitting cross-legged beside a heating vent, his jacket half unzipped, steam curling around his face.
You blinked. “Like standing on the edge of a cliff and seeing light over the next mountain. But not knowing if you’ll make the jump.”
He was quiet for a long time. Then, softly: “I think I’ve felt that.”
Another time, he found you fixing a busted servo motor in one of the maintenance drones—Pip, as you’d affectionately named him. The little android hovered beside you like a nervous cat, and you were elbow-deep in its paneling when Markus crouched beside you.
“Why do you name things?” he asked, watching your hands.
You grinned. “Because names make things matter. They make you look twice.”
He nodded slowly. “Then I’m glad you gave one to him.”
He never asked for anything in return, but he lingered more. You noticed it. The way he began waiting for you after meetings. The way he’d stand at your side during tense moments, his presence grounding without words.
One night, after too many hours spent decoding a city surveillance pattern, you fell asleep at your desk, cheek pressed against your sleeve.
When you woke, Markus was there, a blanket draped over your shoulders, your name scrawled in quiet code across the corner of the screen
: //you did good today.
But even within that rhythm, Jericho pulsed with an undercurrent of urgency. Of something building.
The mission came up in fragments.
A lead from a scavenger squad. A rumor passed between androids smuggled out of CyberLife holding cells. A warehouse, south side. Heavy security. High-tier thirium. Combat models. The kind of haul that could triple their defense capabilities overnight.
Too risky. Too vital to ignore.
You were in the war room when the plan took shape, maps strewn across the floor, recycled datapads buzzing with sketches of the facility.
“This place is a fortress,” North said, tapping her boot against a supply crate. “But it’s a necessary risk.”
Simon pointed at a side entrance. “There’s a tunnel beneath it. Old utilities line. If we can get someone in through there—”
“I found a blueprint,” you interrupted, pulling out a faded copy of a municipal diagram. “Before the privatization. There’s a sub-basement tunnel under that block. Narrow, but still viable. The western quadrant’s old maintenance. We can bypass the first checkpoint if we drop in from underneath.”
Everyone looked at you.
North raised a brow. “How the hell did you get that?”
You grinned. “Flirted with a clerk at city records. Bribed his android with a thermos of imported coffee and three rare back-issues of Terminal Signal.”
Simon laughed—an actual laugh. Josh blinked in impressed disbelief.
Markus only smiled.
“Then we have our entry point,” he said. “Y/N will lead the tunnel team.”
You blinked. “Me?”
“No one knows the layout better.”
You hesitated. This wasn’t recon. This was a full-on raid.
“I thought I was support.”
“You still are,” Markus said gently. “Stay behind cover. Coordinate the route. We’ll have volunteers with you, including combat-trained deviants. But I want you safe. This isn’t your war to die in.”
You stared at him—at the intensity in his voice, the way he said safe like it was a prayer.
Your throat tightened.
“Alright,” you said. “Support only.”
But you both knew it might not stay that way.
—
The night of the raid was a cold, knife-edge kind of quiet. Jericho’s usual hum was replaced by a taut silence, as if the entire ship held its breath, waiting.
You stood near the tunnel entrance—a rusted, narrow grate beneath the western wall of the abandoned warehouse district. The stale scent of damp concrete mixed with the faint tang of oil and old wires.
Markus came up beside you, his face illuminated by the pale glow of your handheld scanner. His eyes were sharp, alive with that relentless fire you’d come to recognize.
“Ready?” he asked.
You nodded, swallowing the knot of nerves in your chest. You could feel the weight of every pair of eyes on you—the crew, the combat models, the deviant androids who’d risk everything tonight.
The grate lifted with a groan, revealing the claustrophobic tunnel below. It was narrow—just wide enough for one to crouch and shuffle through. Pipes lined the walls, dripping with condensation that echoed faintly in the tight space.
You slipped inside first, the cold pressing against your skin. Your fingers traced the familiar contours of the tunnel blueprint etched into your mind as you moved forward, careful not to disturb the loose rubble.
Behind you, footsteps followed. The team was quiet, communicating only with hand signals and the occasional hushed whisper.
The tunnel curved sharply, forcing you to twist your body. Ahead, the faint hum of machinery buzzed through the walls—the heartbeat of the enemy stronghold.
You paused at the junction where the sub-basement opened into the warehouse’s maintenance corridors. Using the scanner, you confirmed the security sweep patterns projected on your device: a rotating pair of patrols that passed every two minutes.
“Wait,” you signaled, crouching low behind a stack of rusted crates.
Your pulse drummed in your ears as the first patrol swept past—a pair of heavily armed guards, their footsteps echoing on the metal floor.
You exhaled slowly once they disappeared around the corner, then motioned for the team to advance.
You led the team through a maze of corridors, your scanner highlighting each security node as you went. Your fingers flew over the portable hacking device, bypassing laser grids and camera arrays with meticulous precision.
Inside the sub-basement, the air was thick with the smell of heated circuits and stale sweat. The walls were lined with crates stamped with CyberLife insignia—power cells, thirium canisters, and most importantly, locked cages holding rows of “army” androids—combat models repurposed as weapons, but now dormant, waiting for freedom.
You moved quickly, disabling the electronic locks one by one. Each android’s eyes flickered awake, an electric blue glow sparking in the darkness.
“Get them out,” Markus ordered softly.
You helped steady the first of the deviants as they stumbled free, leading them carefully through the corridors.
Suddenly, a sharp beep cut through the tension.
An alarm.
“Security breach detected!” a robotic voice echoed down the hallway.
The alarm screamed—a harsh, piercing wail that shattered the uneasy quiet of the freighter. Every pulse of its shrill cry seemed to shake the very steel walls around you.
“Shit,” Markus hissed, drawing his pistol.
The warehouse erupted in chaos.
“Fall back! Fall back!” He ordered, heart pounding.
The first gunshot cracked sharply through the air. A deviant near the front entrance went down hard, sparks flickering and hissing from a jagged wound in his chest. The harsh scent of burnt circuitry mingled with the acrid sting of gunpowder.
You raised your weapon instinctively, the cold steel steady in your hands. Through the dim light, guards appeared, weapons drawn.
You barely had a moment to react before a blinding spotlight swung across the corridor floor, cutting through the shadows like a razor.
You opened fire, shots echoing sharply as you pushed back against the advancing threat.
“CONTACT! THEY FOUND US!” North’s shout echoed, slicing through the chaos like a whip.
The upper catwalks erupted with movement—guards flooded in, their armor glinting under the harsh lights, heavy weapons raised and ready. CyberLife security, cold and merciless, advancing with ruthless efficiency.
Gunfire erupted in a jagged staccato down the west hallway. Your instincts kicked in, and you dove behind a stack of battered crates, dragging the wounded deviant out of the direct line of fire. The sharp crack of bullets smashing wood shattered the silence inches from your head, splinters flying like deadly confetti.
But the guards were already too close. North and Josh were desperately holding the line, their bodies pressed tight against the cold metal walls, shields raised as they tried to protect the newly freed androids stumbling towards safety.
“Get the remaining out! I’ll buy you some time!” you called, voice steady despite the chaos roaring in your ears.
Markus’s voice burst over the comms, clipped and urgent: “FALL BACK FALL BACK- NOW.”
North took point, spraying controlled bursts of fire that scattered the advancing guards, buying precious seconds. Simon scrambled, dragging two freed androids behind cover, their faces pale but determined.
Fingers tightening around your sidearm, you began firing—shot after shot, each one precise, controlled, lethal. Every bullet was a promise: no more loss.
More gunfire rang out as the team scrambled for cover.
You moved with practiced ease, weaving through crates and beams, ducking, dodging, adrenaline sharpening every sense. The acrid smell of smoke and blood filled your nostrils, and the metallic taste of fear coated your tongue.
The sound hit you before the pain did.
A searing explosion ripped through your side, just under the ribs. Your breath caught as the world twisted, colors bleeding and warping like a broken holo-projection.
Pain bloomed hot and white-hot, spreading like wildfire. You stumbled, clutching your side, blood slick and warm between your fingers. Your shirt soaked through, sticky and heavy.
Despite the pain, you fought to stay upright, covering the retreat with rapid bursts of fire, your vision blurring at the edges.
You collapsed behind a steel support beam, your vision flickering like a damaged camera lens—shifting between clarity and darkness.
The firefight was a maelstrom. Metal clashed against metal, shouts and alarms blending into a chaotic roar.
All you could hear was the screaming alarm, the thundering of your heart, and Markus’s voice—urgent, fractured—calling your name.
The gunfire ceased abruptly, replaced by heavy boots pounding closer and closer.
“Stay with me. Just stay with me, please,” came a voice calm but desperate.
You tried to respond but the words wouldn’t come. Strong arms—Simon’s, you guessed, grabbed you, dragging you through the tunnel as the world spun and dissolved into black.
—
The hum of Jericho’s old med-bay filled the silence like a heartbeat. Quiet, mechanical, but steady.
An old machinery bay converted hastily into a medical ward, lined with salvaged equipment, flickering monitors, and curtains strung from rusted steel rails. The air smelled faintly of antiseptic and oil.
Dim light pooled softly from a single overhead bulb, casting long shadows that danced across the walls.
You lay motionless on the narrow medical cot, bandaged and groggy, every breath sending hot fire through your ribs.
Pain pulsed relentlessly, sharp and unforgiving, but beneath it, a slow, steady pulse of something else. Relief.
Your eyelids fluttered, struggling to focus. Across the cot, the figure beside you came into view—Markus.
He was slumped in a chair, shoulders heavy with exhaustion and weight no longer carried on armor alone.
He looked wrecked. Not broken, but raw. His face held the hard lines of leadership carved deeper by fear and loss.
Your voice came out hoarse, a fragile whisper. “Hey.”
At the sound, Markus jolted, dropping to his knees beside you. His hand hovered uncertainly over yours before he finally laced his fingers through yours—gentle, trembling.
He stayed still for a moment before speaking, voice low and tight with a knot of emotions.
“I told you to fall back.”
“You disobeyed me.”
The words hit harder than any bullet.
“Did they get out?” Panic surged inside you. The memories—the fire, the chaos—returned in waves. “Did they make it? Are they safe?”
Markus pressed a steadying hand to your shoulder, his touch firm but careful. “Calm down. Everyone’s safe. They’re helping the newcomers.”
You searched his eyes for truth, swallowing back the fear, and slowly laid back, wincing as the pain flared.
His jaw clenched, tension cracking through his voice. “You almost died.”
“You promised you’d stay back,” he said, anger and panic bleeding into one. “You said you’d play support.”
“I did!” you shot back, voice rough but steady. “But everything went to hell, and I made a call.”
You met his gaze—shaken, more by the fear in his voice than by your wound.
“I knew the risks,” you said quietly. “This was my choice.”
A heavy silence fell.
Markus stayed quiet, thinking, like a caged predator holding back a storm.
“I’ve spent every moment in Jericho trying to lead,” he said, voice brittle. “Trying to stay strong. To make the right calls. And when I send androids into danger, I know the risks. But you… you’re not built for war.”
“You’re not built to bleed for this cause.”
His voice cracked, raw with something deeper than fear.
“You’re human…You can’t just get patched up with parts.”
“You bleed. You break. You die.”
You said nothing—just watched him, the truth of his words hanging heavy in the air.
“I’ve seen people fall,” he confessed, voice breaking. “Felt androids deactivate in my arms. Watched the light leave their eyes. But nothing prepared me for what it felt like when I saw you bleeding.”
“I thought—I thought you were gone.”
He swallowed hard, voice dropping to a near whisper.
Your breath caught in your throat. “Markus…”
The room went silent, the weight of those words hanging in the air, thick and unyielding.
You reached for his hand, fingers trembling. He took it immediately, squeezing it gently, as if you might disappear without his touch.
And then, his voice cracked—raw, exposed:
“I told myself I let you in because you were useful,” he confessed softly. “Because you had skills we needed. Because you cared about our cause.”
“But that wasn’t the whole truth.”
He looked at you fully now, no armor, no leadership mask. Just grief, yearning, and something dangerously close to devotion.
“Your humanity…” he said, voice fragile.
“It scares me. The way you bleed. The way you feel pain.”
“It’s so easy to lose you.”
“I can’t lose you. I can’t.”
He looked at you as if speaking the words physically hurt.
“I love you.”
You inhaled sharply, heart pounding.
“I know I’m not… human. But I feel it—Every time I see you.”
“Every time you speak, laugh, every time you put yourself in harm’s way because you believe in us—I love you.”
His head shook, as if hating himself for saying it, but he couldn’t stop.
“I’m not going anywhere,” you whispered.
“You don’t have to protect me from everything. I made my choice…I knew what I was getting into.”
“I’m not sorry,” you added, voice steady but raw.
“Not for fighting. Not for choosing you. These people.”
“You think I don’t know how easily I could die?” Tightening your hand in his looking at him with glossy eyes.
“I do..,Every day,but I’d rather live right than live safe.”
He took in every word like he depended on it. Slowly he shook his head in disbelief “I’m still terrified,” he whispered.
“Then we can be terrified together.”
Tears slipped silently down your cheeks.
“I love you too,” you whispered.
For a long, aching moment, you stayed like that—fingers tangled in his, pain ebbing beneath the weight of everything left unsaid.
Markus knelt beside you, forehead resting lightly against your fingers.
When he looked up, eyes locked on yours, you both knew what hung in the air.
Not duty. Not gratitude.
Something else.
Your breath came shallow as he leaned closer, fingers twitching near your cheek.
“Tell me to stop,” he whispered.
You shook your head—slow, deliberate.
“I don’t want you to.”
Markus’s expression faltered, like the weight of your words cracked something inside him wide open.
And then he kissed you.
Soft at first—like a promise. Then deeper. Fierce. Devastated. Real.
The kind of kiss that meant everything might burn tomorrow, but for tonight, this was real
The fear he carried when you fell. The rage he didn’t let show. The admiration he’d masked as leadership. The ache he’d swallowed every time you smiled at someone else. It poured into the way his lips pressed against yours. Gently at first, reverent, like he wasn’t sure he had the right. But when you tangled your fingers in his jacket and pulled him closer, the restraint broke.
He deepened the kiss, one hand cradling the side of your face like you might dissolve if he wasn’t careful. His synthetic skin was cool, but his touch ignited something in you—steady and consuming.
You broke the kiss only when the pain in your side became impossible to ignore. You gasped, wincing, but still smiling, half-drunk on adrenaline and emotion.
Markus pulled back immediately, worried. “Are you okay?”
You nodded. “Just... forgot I’d been shot. That’s all.”
He chuckled, soft and shaken, and pressed his forehead to yours again.
“We probably shouldn’t be making out in a field hospital,” you whispered.
“We’re technically on a cargo ship,” he murmured.
“That makes it worse.”
“I disagree.”
You laughed, a tired real sound,and leaned your head back against the pillow. Markus stayed beside you, his hand wrapped firmly in yours.
You pulled back, forehead resting against yours. “If we burn, we burn together.”
He shook his head smiling in amusement. “And if we rise?”
Your voice was steady now. “We rise side by side.”
Markus x Reader
Fandom: Detroit: Become Human
Words: 786
*Trigger warnings* no major triggers, light teasing about android emotions, mild romantic tension, sensitive themes of identity, android feelings (very soft)
Carl’s house always smelled faintly of oil paint and old books—an oddly comforting combination that you’d come to associate with quiet evenings, warm lamplight, and the gentle, almost reverent way Carl treated both art and the people who loved it.
You were one of those people.
He had invited you first out of politeness—“Come by if you want to see the new pieces. Markus will let you in.”
But you kept coming back because art didn’t just hang on the walls here… it breathed. It felt alive.
And somehow, every time you stepped inside, Markus was waiting.
Not because he had been told.
But because he always seemed to know.
Carl set up the chessboard. Markus stood across from him.
You sat at the piano.
Your usual place.
Your fingers hovered above the keys as Markus made the first move—a pawn sliding forward with smooth, precise control. He didn’t need to look; his sensors told him everything. Still, he kept glancing up every few seconds.
At you.
Carl noticed, of course. He always did.
“Markus,” he said lightly, “if you lose tonight, you can blame it on being distracted.”
Markus paused with his hand over a rook.
“I’m not distracted,” he said, too quickly.
Carl laughed—a warm, knowing sound.
You smiled down at the keys, cheeks warming.
Your fingers slipped into the opening notes of a piece Carl liked you to play. Soft, slow, the kind that filled the corners of the studio without overwhelming it. Music that made the marble statues feel less cold and the rain hitting the windows sound softer.
Markus made another move.
Then looked at you again.
And again.
And again.
“She plays beautifully, doesn’t she?” Carl mused.
Markus straightened. “Yes. She does.”
You tried to keep your focus on the piano, but Markus’ voice had a way of sinking beneath your ribs, settling quietly there.
Carl leaned back in his wheelchair, watching the two of you with a smile that was all fatherly amusement.
“You know, Markus,” he said, “for someone who claims they can’t feel… your face says otherwise.”
Markus’ LED flickered yellow.
“I—Carl, please.”
Carl laughed again, absolutely delighted.
You finally glanced up, and Markus froze mid-move, completely caught.
There it was—the softness.
The intrigue.
The way he looked at you as if you were another piece of art in Carl’s home, one he didn’t quite understand but could never look away from.
You paused your playing. “Need help choosing your next move?”
It was meant as a tease.
But Markus went still—processing the tone, the smile on your lips, the playful raise of your brow. Something in him warmed, softened.
“I don’t think you’d give me good advice,” he said finally.
“Oh? And why not?”
“Because you’d want me to lose.”
You pressed a hand to your heart in mock offense.
“I would never sabotage you.”
“Wouldn’t you?”
For an android, his voice held a surprising amount of warmth.
Carl wheeled closer to his painting. “Young love,” he muttered, loudly enough for both of you to hear.
“Carl,” Markus said again, LED flashing an embarrassed yellow.
You hid your laugh behind your hand.
He noticed that too.
Later, when the game was over and Carl retreated to his studio—
You lingered at the piano, letting your hands rest on the cool surface of the keys. The lamp beside you cast Markus in soft amber light as he came to stand near the piano bench.
“You always play that piece,” he said quietly.
“Because Carl likes it,” you replied.
“And you?” he asked.
You looked up, meeting his eyes.
“I like playing when you’re here.”
Markus didn't move for a moment.
Then—slow, careful—he sat beside you on the bench, close enough that you felt the warmth of his frame, though he technically shouldn’t have radiated heat at all.
“What do you like about it?” he asked.
Your fingers brushed a few keys, a shy little melody.
“You don’t look at the music. You look at me.”
Markus’ LED flickered.
“I look because…”
He hesitated, searching. Choosing.
“…because your expression changes when you play. You look at peace.”
“Is that rare?”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“It is.”
You didn’t realize your hands had stopped on the keys until Markus reached out—hesitant, gentle—and placed his hand over yours.
Human warmth.
Artificial skin.
Perfect stillness.
“I like when you come here,” he said, voice softer than the piano beneath your hands.
“I… look forward to it.”
Your heart squeezed.
“Me too.”
Carl, from across the room, didn’t even pretend he wasn’t listening.
“About time,” he muttered.
Markus ignored him for once.
He only looked at you—really looked—and you felt something shift between you.
Something gentle.
Something blooming.
Warnings: size kink, markus is hung, vaginal sex, mdni, lmk if I missed anything
Notes: last day before the finale… I can scarcely believe how fast this has flown by. Anyways, enjoy! Not proofread
Christmas Advent || 2024
Markus was well endowed.
He knew he was.
The way your tight little pussy can barely handle his cock as he bullies his way inside never fails to make his circuitry run haywire. His artificial veins pump thirium erratically through his system, sensors picking up a million sensations as his cockhead breaches your opening.
“Markus, fuck, you’re so big! I don’t — I can’t take it!”
Your moans fill the room, and even though you have years cascading down your cheeks, you grind your cunt further down into his cock, making him slip deeper and deeper.
Markus grins, mismatched eyes firey with lust.
“Yes you can, baby, your pussy is practically swallowing my cock,” he groans, eyes falling shut as he gets halfway in your cunt.
His eyes focus on the way your lips are stretched to their limit, but still you whine for more. Your legs wrapped around his slim hips push him closer, and finally Markus bottoms out inside you, cockhead flush against your cervix.
“That’s it baby, see how well you take me?” He cooes, bringing a hand to rub firm circles on your clit, hoping to open you up more. Your cunt is squeezing him for all he’s worth, and if Markus doesn’t take a little breather, he’s going to blow his artificial load prematurely.
“Move, Markus! Fuck me,” you beg, pretty tear filled eyes gazing up at him in askance.
By rA9.
The first thrust of his cock inside you makes your lips fall open.
The second, your eyes roll back in your skull as he hits that delicious spot within you.
“Baby, ‘m not gonna last long like this,” Markus whimpers, fake heart beating erratically as his internal fans work overtime to cool him down.
“I’m not — ah fuck — gonna either,” you moan, back arched and hips grinding frantically to meet his.
Markus pumps once, twice, three more times before he’s spilling inside you, and you’re right there to meet him.
When his flaccid cock leaves your hole, you whine, feeling the hot spend leak out of you. Markus is eyeing the sight, as well.
“Looks like I have a mess to clean up,” he says, a smirk on those devilish lips of his.
Although your cunt is sore, you can definitely go for another round.
A/N:This is the deviant version of a post I did a while ago which is linked here
Deviant Kara + Alice
You came with Kara and Alice to Zlatko’s house where you met Luther and Zlatko, after the mans true intentions were revealed and you tried to keep Kara from losing her memories,but Luther was instructed to take you away and he did so. After freeing yourself with the help of other androids in the basement you made your way to where Kara was having her memories erased. As you were trying to figure out what to do, Zlatko found you and the two of you bagn to fight. You had thrown a water body between the two of you to distract him and gotten wet in the process, when he grabbed on of the snapped wires, which allowed Kara to fall to the ground and retain her memories, you sustained a nasty burn. You powered through it despite the shock in your body and knocked him out with a near by pipe before grabbing Kara.
“Are you okay?” She asked as you pulled her up.
“We can check later, we need to find Alice.”
After doging both Zlatko and Luther you both managed to find Alice and in a remarkable turn of events Luther swapped sides and rose up with the experiments in the basement to kill Zlatko.When the four of you finally got a chance to settle down in an abandoned amusement park, Kara checks Alice and then goes straight to you.
“You are hurt, did Zlatko do this?” She questions, the caoncern is evident in her face.
“Yes and no, I was dumb and threw a bottle of water in a room full of electrical appliances,so he took his shot,”
She pauses searching for the right words to say before running water over it it and wrapping it up to the best of her abilities.
“Thank you…you saved Alice.”
“No, I saved my family.”
Deviant Marcus
Marcus didn’t make a habit out of trusting humans, but you had helped pull him from the android graveyard and help piece hisself back together again with your own two hands and he knew he could trust you.He knew that at anyone you would put your life on the line for the safety of another androids whether they had deviated or not, and you had in the past, not to mention you treated his goal almost as seriously as he did.
The incident happened when you joined him for a hesit of thirium and biocompenents, he had been shot in a vital component during a chase. You took his arm over your shoulder and helped him escape, but in the process of fleeing over a gate you were bit in the thigh, your jean shorts soaked in your own blood the wound seeping blood the entire journey back to Jericho. It was here, after he assessed the other adriods and you finished helping others replace their components, that he noticed you were wounded.He places a hand on the wound, his eye scanning it with a look of concern.
“Why didn’t you get that taken care of?”
“Others needed their components replaced,” You respond shrugging as he removes his hand, the artificial skin covered in an alarming amount of your blood, “I didn’t sit down until just now, so I never got to it.”
The moment you finish speaking, he hoists you up on a broken interface and takes a closer look. After inspecting it, he cleans the wound and bandages it up, all the while he is telling you how human and stupid it was.
“You’re not even listening are you?”
“Half-way, that’s gotta count for something,” You smirk as he looks up at you.
“Why didn’t you just leave me there?” His eyes narrow as he asks you the question, as if expecting something different than what you say.
“Well,” You sigh dramatically, “Jericho just wouldn’t be the same without Markus, the big, bed, fearless android leader, now would it?” You tease, nudging his shoulders as you slide down and off the interface.
You only chuckles a little and shakes his head.
Deviant Connor
Hank wasn’t answering his phone and everywhere you and Connor turned androids,devaint or not, were being executed in droves. No where was safe until you and Connor stumbled across an android named Markus who gave Connor a single mission: to collect soldiers for the andriod army. You refused to leave Connors side as he carried out said mission and he had no choice but to let you. An android entering a human made it much less suspicious anyways, and it worked up until the second model of Connor approached. You could always tell the real Connor, for the longest time he didn’t believe he had a lick of human emotion or deviancy in him until it was nearly forced out of him.
You watched in anticipation and fear as Hank had the gun trained on you, then Connor, then Fake Connor. He wouldn’t let you move an inch, assuming you were a replica to,as he questioned the two androids. You didn’t think twice when you stopped infront of your Connor when you heard the gunshot.You didn’t even stop to look where the bullet when when Hank shot the right Connor as you turned around and gave Connor a once over, looking for any kind of injury that would indicate he was damaged.
It wasn’t over yet, with all the commotion and the trouble in the elevator before hand the three of you had to move fast. And move you did, you made it to the frontlines with Markus and had the honour of standing beside him as you watched history unfold infront of your eyes. Overtime, Connor had developed a habit of observing his surroundings visibly but now he is dead still and his hand gun equiped is steadily rising. You gently hold the gun in your hands and call his name, your voice prying him from Amamnda’s grip. The alarm of nearly killing you sets in, and as he looks to where you have the fun pointed his LED flashes red. Your shirt is covered in blood, with the adreanline of a possible Civil War on your hands you hadn’t noticed that you had been running around with a bullet embedded in your side.
The moment the standoff had ended, Connor rushed you to the hospital where you were taken care of. He sat on the bed next to you, his LED pensively blinking as he stared at the ground, before he finally spoke, clearly still trying to wrap his processors around what had happened in the past 48 hours.
“You let him shoot you…”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Why?” When he asks this, he turns to face you his eyes scanning your face for any signs of unwell mental stability but he finds none. You’re heart rate is normal, your respiratory rate is pristine, no signs of PTSD or early truama, yet you’re lying in a hospital bed with a hole in your side.
“Because I didn’t want you to die, Connor.”
“He was aiming for a non-vital component in my body, I had a 96% survival rate even if he shot me.”
“I didn’t like that 4%.”
“Oh…thank you.”
“You can thank me with a kiss,”
Hank walks in the room hears this and laughs talking about how someone owed him 50 bucks and a bottle of booze.As the two of you share a gentle kiss.
