Press Play (RK800 Connor x Reader)

I Think He Likes You

[Now Playing: Absolutely Smitten (Dodie)]

The first time he saw them, he was completely entranced. It was late, sometime close to 2 in the morning, and he was searching for Hank in a crowded bar. It was stuffy, and too warm for him to function comfortably, but he pressed further through the crowd, scanning faces as he went in the hope that one of the sweaty bodies he was pushing through would be the Lieutenant.

He managed to shove his way out of the crowd, thankful for the lack of patrons towards the back of the bar where booths lined the walls. In one of those booths, was Lieutenant Anderson, nearly falling over himself with the amount of alcohol in his system.

Connor quickly slipped into the booth across from Hank, the Lieutenant's head sluggishly turning so he could face the android.

"Lieutenant," Connor greets, and Hank scoffs at his insistence to call him by his rank, almost like a nickname that Hank was secretly fond of. "I've come to take you home."

Hank grunts, downing the rest of whatever was in his cup before shoving himself out of his seat. Connor was quick to come to his aid, supporting Hank as he stumbled to regain his balance.

Connor escorts Hank to the bar, watching as he waves down the bartender to close out his tab. While he waits, Connor turns to look at the packed room. The scene was unusual to him. To his knowledge, Hank preferred less crowded bars, and the sheer number of people packed into the building should've dissuaded him from taking his drinks here. So why this particular establishment?

"Lieutenant, can I ask you a personal question?" Connor turned back to Hank as he finished paying, and Hank raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Do you ask anything other than personal questions?" Hank shot back.

Connor shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips, "Occasionally."

Hank only rolled his eyes, "What is it this time, kid?"

"What made you come to this bar tonight? It's not very similar to the bars you usually frequent."

"Music's good," Hank answered, jerking his chin to a small stage on the other side of the crowd as a way of elaborating.

Connor followed Hank's line of sight and quickly understood what he was talking about. A live band was performing, explaining the crowd that Connor had to fight through. It seemed they were popular.

Now that it was pointed out to him, the music seemed to come to the forefront of Connor's mind. It was upbeat, almost bouncy in a sense, and he found himself enjoying it quite a bit. It came as a surprise to him that Hank enjoyed it, the sound being nowhere close to the normal death metal the Lieutenant enjoyed.

"I wasn't aware you enjoyed this kind of music, Lieutenant," Connor commented, to which Hank merely shrugged in response.

"They have good presence, kids know what they're doing."

Connor turned his attention back to the stage, scanning over the band until his eyes landed on the singer. Something about them had him hooked, and he just couldn't seem to take his eyes away from them. Their jacket flared out around them as they spun, a smile stretching across their face as they danced along to an instrumental break in the song, and Connor felt like his thirium pump was being squeezed in his chest.

He was so entranced by them, that he didn't notice Hank as he grew increasingly frustrated the longer Connor ignored him.

"CONNOR!"

Hank's hand colliding with his arm broke him out of his trance, and Connor turned to face a disgruntled Hank.

"Wipe that stupid look off your face, let's get going," Hank grumbled, beginning to push his way through the crowd towards the exit.