Summary: Nines experiences synthetic dermal tone shift triggered by emotional stimuli (aka blushing) when you call him cute for the first time.
Contents: tooth rotting fluff, RK900 X reader, gender neutral reader, any pronouns, android x human relationship, established relationship Slightly Awkward Android Feelings™, not beta read
a/n: sorry americans, but I don't understand feet and stuff. 180cm is around 6 feet if google isn't lying to me.
This is the first time I’m writing him, hope you enjoy:)
It started with a coffee. Or, more accurately, your coffee and his silent observation of it.
You two were sitting in the breakroom at the station, catching a break from the investigation you were assigned to with the android. It was a pathetic effort to call it that, it was more like a sterile conference pod with a coffee machine and a few tables thrown in as an afterthought. However, it had a window which lighted the otherwise sad little room with the colours of the outside world. Pink, yellow and blue neon colours creeped through the glass, illuminating the side of the RK900’s face. He had strict but delicate features balanced perfectly, thanks to the technology and engineering of CyberLife. His light eyebrows always sat stern above his icy grey eyes, as they observed everyone and everything around him. The comfortable blueness of his LED shone through the meek colors of the jumping ads, matching the fluorescent part of his jacket.
Nines didn’t need breaks, he was after all, designed to be the best, most durable and most efficient android Cyberlife has ever created, but for your sake he always sat down with you while you drank your coffee. He would never admit to it but the minor malfunctions your presence caused in his system were … preferable and positive.
It was such a strange sight seeing his nearly 6 feet tall figure sitting inhumanly stiff and perfect across your warm and gentle frame, while you were drinking with all of your imperfections in your posture.
You blew gently on the steaming cup, holding it with both hands, enjoying the warmth and the hot scent of the liquid that washed over you. Cold, grey eyes watched your every move silently and curious from across the table. You suggested he buy thirium so he could also ‘drink’ something on your break but he refused every time, stating that he didn’t need to drink nor eat. So he remained stoic and unmoving every day, as you two sat down together.
“I don’t understand the appeal,” – he started in his monotone, flat voice – “based on my calculations, caffeine has a bitter taste. However, other research supports the fact that humans prefer foods and liquids which are sweet.”
A tender smile danced around the corner of your lips as you answered him – “That's true. But maybe it's not about the caffeine, but rather about the feeling of warmth and comfort it brings out in people.”
“Comfort can be simulated.” – His strict eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly, analysing your words. You found it so endearing about him. Always researching and fact checking then returning back to you asking questions in the way others found intimidating. You knew that he would never reveal such ‘confidential information’ about himself outright, but you saw him tyng to understand how feelings worked. In his own way, he was making tremendous progress. As time went on, you discovered a soft light behind his icy irises every time you praised and agreed to his findings.
“Sure,” – you replied, sipping. – “But it's different when it's real.”
He was quiet again for some time. His LED blinked between blue and yellow, processing your words carefully, and trying to come up with an optimal response probably. You had learned to wait for however much time he needed to ‘think’ about things he’s just learned. It was a fascinating thing to watch him working through these new challenges, as he didn't change at all. His face, no matter what happened, always wore the exact same tone deaf expression as if he was reading a grocery list. The real chaos was buried deep inside him, between the blue wires of his chest and brain, pulsating, running and buzzing with speed and a quite frustrating anger which demanded answers.
After what felt like 10 minutes, his low voice penetrated the silence of the room. – “Every day you spend time with me… I find it agreeable.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
You tilted your head, studying him for a moment. The sharp line of his jaw framed his handsome face as he looked at you seriously. You couldn’t help but get lost in the details of his pale features, the curve of his perfect forehead and the line of his nose as it flowed down his thin lips, then travelling back towards his irises. His expression was calm as usual, but his eyes betrayed the slightest flicker of something sweet. They were swimming in the mirrored lights of the neon ads, highlighted from within with a strange light that wasn’t part of his usual appearance.
He was charming in the way the snow filled Alps are. Freezing at first glance but calm and hiding something pleasant. They sing a sort of quietness into the air, which you have to experience to understand, and even then a few hidden mysteries remain. However, instead of being threatening, it’s welcoming towards you.
How could someone so strong, designed for perfection, could look at you like you were beyond logic?
A soft smile sneaked into your lips and eyes, making them twinkle as you continued to look at him.
“You are cute Nines.”
His head jerked up in the tiniest movement, surprised eyes locking into yours as his LED started to run around in yellow. He blinked once, twice , thrice.
“Cute?” — he echoed the word, which felt strange on his own tongue. His emotionless voice was quieter than usual, as if even uttering the word itself could bring danger with it.
“Yeah,” — you said with a shrug, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. — “In a ‘deadpan robot boyfriend who pretends he doesn’t care about human things but definitely does’ kind of way.”
Now he froze. His already motionless structure became, if possible, even more still and stiff. The flicker of yellow at his temple increased, became rapid, almost frantic in its blinking, urging a response. He dropped his gaze to the table, then to the floor , then back at you, as if trying to locate the correct social response and failing miserably. Into the pale canvas of his cheeks, blue thirium started to slowly drip into, dying it the lightest of azure.
“I… do not believe I was designed to be… ‘cute’”. — he said awkwardly and roboticly in a way that was ridiculously charming.
“Maybe not,” — you said, leaning forward just a little with a teasing grin on your lips. — “But you are. Especially when you make that face.”
“What face?” — he shot back immediately, blinking again.
“That one.” — you said pointing. — “The one you are making right now. All confused and blushing.”
Upon your words, the azure deepened, creating a deeper ocean across his handsome face. He looked utterly scandalised like a Victorian man seeing a bare ankle the first time. — “I’m not blushing. My internal temperature regulator is functioning within normal parameters.”
You raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. — “Then what’s with the blue cheeks, big boy?”
He glanced away, clearly at loss. You thought he looked completely and irresistibly beautiful like this. His LED becoming one yellow circle from the constant flickering, his averted grey eyes running softer checks and searching for an answer and of course, his light skin flowing with his cobalt shade. For a moment, the always composed RK900 looked … shy. And of god, if that didn’t make him even cuter.
“I am… experiencing an unfamiliar psychological response.” — he admitted, voice barely above a whisper. — “… possibly triggered by your compliment or your proximity.”
You blinked, confused for a second, decoding his response then laughed softly. — “You really don’t know how to take being called cute, don't you?”
“No,” — he stated plainly. “But… I don’t object to it.”
Your smile softened as you looked at him affectionately. “Good, because I mean it.”
Silence entered the room again, but it wasn’t an awkward one. It was filled with soft glances and unspoken thoughts. You placed one of your hands onto his stretched ones, petting them slowly with your thumb.
After a while, his thrirum levels recovered into their normal measures and his paleness returned. As he looked up, his chilly eyes had a gentle look to them and his LED faded back to a calm blue.
“You are… cute too.” — he said, like it was the bravest and most challenging thing he’d ever done.
You couldn’t help but laugh again. However this time, you were the one blushing.
synopsis : being the resident “ human nurse “ [medic for human officers] means you're on-call 24/7. except no one really needs you and they let you know that.
cw : imagined nines a little monstorous so hes really big and noticeably non-human ; medic!reader except idk anything abt nursing ; cussing ; gavin is mean sorry if hes your fave </3 , a lot of mentions of guns nd violence
song inspo ; run2u by stayc
if you have a blank blog [no bio, no user, no header or profile pic, nothing reblogged, etc] do not interact with my content. you will be blocked.
hiring you wasn't the smartest idea, hank thinks. you were sweet ; kind and soft and too nice to deal with the assholes on this team. inviting you to active crime scenes was beyond stupid. allowing you to sit in the back of a car, small, useless medkit in your lap as you wait for the okay.
it's safe — the lost, wild deviant has either run off or is dead! hank shakes his head — they're lucky no harm, has come to you. yet.
gavin scoffs, shoving past you harshly as you hold a chilled ice pack out to him. blinking, you drop the pack, opting to grab a stained cloth instead.
hank smiles stiffly, allowing you to wipe the blue blood off of his face. you let out a sigh as you do so, drooping slightly at the usual mistreatment you recieve. "are you hurt anywhere, lieutenant?"
"not this time," he answers. working with — taking down — deviants was never a clean, easy job. it got even worse when nines joined — he was adament that problems be taken care of. your lips tilt up the smallest amount as you pull the rag away. "thanks, [name]. we're almost done here."
you simply nod, holding in your yawn as the night drags on. heavy, perfect footsteps crunch on the ground until they're standing in front of you. icy, steel eyes peer down at you as nines stares. there's a splatter of blue on his uniform ; on his hands, his gun, his face. you clutch the bloodstained rag in your hands with a gulp, hiding the movement with your bag.
"[name]." he holds his gun out to you, the barrel facing him. "dispose of this."
"i don't—" your fingers tangle deeper into the silly medkit you hold. his head tilts, blue eyes held onto yours as his inidicator turns yellow for a split second. "i wouldn't know what to do with it."
nines allows his arm to go limp, the empty gun falling to his side. "what do you do, then?"
you think you can hear gavin snort — can hear the other detectives laugh at your frozen form. what did you do? what use were you as an on-call medic for people who didn't even need you? "um—“
his indicator swirls again, "[name]?"
"i help," you say it weakly, loosening your grip on your bag. your eyes grow unfocused, blurring as you focus on a tree in the distance. hank angles his body to you as another cop talks to him. "when people are hurt. i help."
"okay," is drawled out as hands fall onto your shoulders. nines watches as hank leads you to the back of his car, the door open as you continue to stare at nothing. your heart rate has went down, but you seem stuck. hank goes back to nines, "cool it with the ten degree, okay? kid's jus' doin' what was told."
he upset you. it lingers in nines' head like an echo. something he did or said made you sad, or angry. he wasn't sure of which yet. looking at you as you sulk in the back of the car, nines thinks to earlier. you cleaned deviant blood off of hank — maybe that would make you feel better?
when your vision becomes clearer, all you see is white. a white suit stained blue in various spots. you blink, looking up until you see a poised, structured face. "yes?"
nines crouches, kneeling until his face is in line with your torso. iced eyes peer up at you as his hands fall to his knees stiffly. eyes dig into him, but all the android cares for are yours. "i... require help."
your lips fall open in shock as you watch this prim, postured detective ruin his suit and his reputation for you. clearing your throat, you take the bloodstained cloth from your medkit shakily.
tender, practiced strokes to his face cause nines' eyes to flutter shut. if he had real skin, it would prickle with chills — the heat from your skin was bouncing into his slowly. nines all but sinks into the feeling ; sinks deeper into the dampened ground.
"are you hurt anywhere, detective?" your voice brings him back. the sound of his title on your lips causes another shutter to flow through him. dazed, nines doesn't even realize his indicator slowly darkening, turning orange with the human emotions he feels. "nines?"
and then your bare hand is on his cheek — nines short circuits.
a bright, ungodly shade of blue colors his cheeks ; his nose ; all the way up to his ears. a livlier, warmer shade of blue than his cold eyes. nines lets out a loud, unneeded stutter of breath.
“no,” he breathes, “i’m okay. thank you, [name].”
——♥︎——
how out of character was he nd don’t lie ): hope this was okay, thank you for reading, ♥︎ if you’d like to be tagged / untagged in any dbh content, let me know!!
↳ you're an rk100 and cyber life calls you lovingly patient zero, the first android that has become a deviant. there were probably others who deviated before you but you're the first one that got reported in 2029. but that's another story. five years were you working with the fbi now. five years disguised as a human and no one ever suspected a thing. well, not until your male counterpart, the rk200, thought starting a revolution was a good idea. now you're on the run and the most efficient rk-model ever made is after you. he's the hunter and you're his prey. (one short)
- ,, deviated - by @coming-lieutenant
↳ a short account of how nines deviated. (one short)
- ,, electric soul - by @wolveria
↳ special agent conrad anderson isn't the sort of human to express his emotions easily. he holds his thoughts close, his reactions closer, and gives little away. he's not unlike an android, which is why you're caught off-guard by his reaction to you being damaged. (one short)
- ,, Ruiner, Ruination - by @honey-beann
↳ after gavin reed, the biggest asshat in the DPD refuses to work with the newest android detective, the only RK900 in existence, you find yourself being offered the opportunity in his stead. post successful android revolution, with a very recently deviated android partner at your side, will the two of you gain the same level of success as hank and connor, or will your different manifestations of humanity, and all of the feelings that come along with it, get in the way? (series)
➥ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴇᴛʀᴏɪᴛ ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ
MINORS & AGELESS BLOGS DNI WITH NSFW CONTENT ON THIS MASTERLIST
