✔️There Will Be Nothing

3^ Tord

I look around, silently panicking. Nine guns are pointed at me, ready to shoot when Tord gives the command. I raise my hands in surrender, not sure what else to do. "P-Please... don't shoot," I beg. "I'll do anything." Of course, I resort to begging, like a fucking dog. I can't even protect myself.
"No chance, Conrad," he says unforgivingly. He shoots at Colin, and I throw myself in front of him. Why? I don't know. The sound of the bullet just told me to do something, and I chose to protect Colin. I yell out as a bullet buries itself in my forearm. Before anything else can hit me, Colin shoves me behind him as he takes an ungodly amount of bullets that should be inside of me. Time seems to slow as I watch him take his gun out of his back pocket and open fire on them. I turn away, refusing to watch people get killed, even if they did shoot me.
     All at once, everything stops. I breathe heavily, aware of nothing besides the stinging of my wounds, the sudden silence, and Colin's back pressing me against the wall. Then, I'm being moved. I look up at Colin's scared face. It's the first time I've seen him look like this. Connor and Hank are there, too. They all look scared.
     "Conrad? Conrad?! Say something!" Colin cries out.
     I blink away the shock, still clutching my arm. "I-I'm... ok," I rasp.
     Colin's face melts with relief. "Good, good. That's good." He slips an arm under my legs and picks me up, bridal style. I don't object. I don't want to walk, anyway.
     I stare at his chest. It looks better than I thought it would. It's not half as bloody as I thought. "You're hurt..." I murmur weakly.
     "I'm perfectly fine. I told you, bullets are only minor annoyances to me." He smirks in an attempt to make me feel better, and it's working.
     I smile up at him and laugh, relieving tension from my body that I didn't know I had. I press myself against his chest, letting myself relax in his arms.
     "Conrad?"
     My eyes fly open at the sound of his voice. I didn't even know they were closed.
     "Please, don't fall asleep, ok?" He sets me down in the trunk of the squad car. When he pulls back, I grip onto him, not letting him go. He takes my hands and gently pries me off of him. "I'm not going anywhere, Conrad. I need to address your wound. Do I have your permission?"
     I nod slowly. "Sure. Do whatever you need to do."
     Connor and Hank stand a few feet away, giving us privacy. Colin lifts my shirt up and pulls it off. I feel exposed, and I try to cover my body with my arms, hissing in pain when my wounded arm moves. "Hold on." He covers me with my shirt. "You can hold it here with your free hand. I need your wounded arm so I can work on it. I'm going to make you feel better, ok?"
     I nod, covering my chest with my shirt and holding my arm out for him.
     "I need to get the bullet out. Please, try not to move." He pulls a pair of tweezers out of the first aid kit I didn't know was there. Slowly, he inserts them into the wound and pulls out a blue, bloody piece of metal. I groan in pain, letting my head fall back. "There! Not so bad, right?" he reassures me.
     I raise my head and smile at him. "Not so bad," I agree with him.
     He smiles warmly. "I'm proud of you. Despite the damage you've sustained, and the blood you've lost, you seem to be taking this well. That's good, Conrad."
     I smile at his praise, slowly growing tired. "I'm glad, I'm doing good. I'm tired. I want to sleep."
     "I promise, you can sleep when I'm done wrapping this up," he promises, taking out some gauze tape. He wraps up my wound, making sure it's nice and wrapped before putting the tape away. I watch him groggily.
     Connor walks up to me, smiling invitingly. "Are you ok, Conrad?"
     "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks to Colin," I murmur, blushing.
     "Let's get you home. You look half asleep," Hank grumbles.
     I laugh breathily.
     Colin picks me up and puts me in the back seat, closing the door when I'm inside. I wait for him to come around and sit in his seat. Within moments, he's sitting next to me. Without asking for permission, I lean over and plop my head in his lap. I can feel him hesitate before he places a hand on my shoulder. He twirls a finger in my hair, and I hum in pleasure from the attention.
     "Conrad?" Connor asks from where he sits.
     "Hmm?"
     "You knew those guys, right?"
     I frown. "Yes. Tord is the leader, the one that was talking. Wes is his brother. He was on Tord's left. Then there's Toby, Malcolm, Terry, Brandon, Darius, Garett, and Max. All nine of them. Did you kill them, Colin?"
     "No... I shot four of them, but they ran away. They might just die from the wounds, but I don't know. Why?" He runs his hand through my hair.
     "You should've killed them."
     Everyone in the car falls silent. "Why?" Connor asks quietly.
     "Because, I'm not safe until they're dead or imprisoned. They're going to come for me. They know where I live. When they find me, I'm done," I explain quietly, fear setting itself in the pit of my stomach.
     "Not if I have anything to do with it," Colin snarls aggressively.
     "Ok, here's what we're gonna do," Hank interjects, taking charge. I always like it when he takes charge. He's wise and full of helpful insights. I always trust him to make the right decisions. "I'm gonna take you and Conrad home, Connor, then take Colin back to the station. I need to get my car, and he uses the charging docks there. I'll come right back home, though. I'll leave you my gun, Connor. I want you to get some rest, ok, Conrad?"
     "Ok, Hank," I reply, blinking slowly.
     "Sounds good to me, Hank," Connor says contentedly.
     Colin doesn't say anything. I look up at him. "Conrad. Why did you throw yourself in front of me? Why did you try to protect me?"
     I blink a few times, frowning in embarrassment. "It's obvious, Colin: I care about you. I guess... despite knowing that you're immortal, I still didn't want you to get hurt. Look, just forget it, ok? I saved you from one bullet; you saved me from, like, 40. My little sacrifice doesn't matter."
     "I'm not immortal. Don't be humble, Conrad," Colin murmurs soothingly. "I appreciate what you did. I won't forget it."
     "Well, at least, don't mention it," I mutter stubbornly.
     He laughs lightly. "If that's what you want, then I won't say a word."
     The car falls silent, and I'm ok with it. I reach up and take his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. I feel so gushy and stupid doing this, but it feels good, so I don't stop. He takes it a bit further and removes his skin, leaving me holding his pale, naked hand. I hesitate when he does this. Usually, it's a sign of affection between lovers when Androids remove their skin while holding hands or something. He senses my hesitation and starts regenerating his skin.
     Fuck it.
     I hastily remove my skin, suddenly craving the feeling of his naked hand. He stops regenerating and removes his skin again, holding my hand tightly. I stare at our hands, blushing slightly. I try my best to calm my racing "heart." He caresses the back of my hand with his thumb. The more I stare, the more this goes on, the happier I feel.
     It's only now that I realize that this is what I've wanted, all along. All those times I've sat there watching Hank and Connor cuddle or kiss or whatever they wanted to do on the couch, I've seethed in jealousy, because I wanted what they had. But, now... maybe, I could have it. Maybe, I could have this with Colin. Maybe, he wants it with me. But, I don't know for sure, so I'll wait. I'll wait for him to make the first move, if he wants to. I'm not going to risk making the first move and getting rejected. And, I barely know Colin. It's a good idea to get to know him, first. For now, I lay on him, hand in his, and enjoy the feeling of his presence.
     Before I know it, Colin is shaking me awake. I blink groggily. "Wha-?"
     "You fell asleep," Colin explains. He holds me close to him and picks me up as he gets out. Gently, he sets me down on the ground, feet first. I hold onto him for stability before transferring over to Connor. I look back at him longingly. "Goodnight, Conrad," he says softly, getting into the passenger side.
     I watch him for a moment before yelling after him. "G-Goodnight, Colin! Be safe getting back to the station!"
     He smiles and nods, then shuts the door.
     "I'll be back in a few, sweetie," Hank murmurs to Connor, putting his gun in Connor's hands. "Be safe, ok?" Connor leans in and kisses him passionately.
     "Don't be too long," he whines worriedly.
     Hank laughs. "I'll try my best, but speeding is illegal." He winks. They both smile before kissing again. Hank pulls away first and walks to the car, starting it and driving off. This time, I don't feel that jealous of them.
     Connor helps me inside, shutting and locking the door behind us. He helps me over to my room and sets me down on my bed. "Long day, huh?"
     "That's a goddamn understatement."
     "Tell me about it." He sets Hank's gun down and turns to me. "Fill me in on what's going on between you and Colin," he requests lightheartedly. "I saw you two holding hands back there. Your skin is still removed."
     I look down to see that my hand is still pale and naked. I blush softly, but I don't regenerate anything. "I'm not sure." I fall back on the bed. "It's been a long day. First, I get dragged into working some job I don't want, then I meet Colin, and I go on an investigation, where I find a dead body and a murderer's trail. I break down in front of Colin, get shot while protecting him, and fucking fall for him."
     "It has been a long day!" he announces cheerily. "I hope you don't hate this job as much as you did, this morning."
     "Actually? I kind of like it. Despite the dead bodies and getting shot, I don't mind it," I remark. "And... then, there's Colin."
     "How do you feel about him?"
     I sigh softly. "Look, you know I've always been a lone wolf. I've never been in love before, but I've always wanted to. Thing is, I'm afraid to get close. I guess... I just don't want to be alone. I want what you have with Hank. I want to feel alive. I'm tired of being used," I confess. "I don't know if I love Colin, yet. I know, I feel something for him, but I wouldn't call it love. And, besides, he says we're just friends. I'm ok with that."
     "Just friends?" He looks down at my naked hand accusingly.
     I caress it with my skinned hand. "I like the feeling of it... when he was making sure I was alright after getting shot, I looked up at his face, and I saw genuine fear there. He was scared for me. Then, he picked me up and carried me to the squad car, and he fixed up my wound. It's then that I truly felt something for him. It's then that I truly felt... loved. Wanted. Cared for. And, that's all I've ever wanted."
     "I knew things would turn out good for you." He kisses my forehead.
     "Connor!" I whine in complaint. "You're so sappy!" I wipe off my forehead, though nothing is there. He just laughs at me. I frown at him.
     "Let's get you to bed, ok?" he murmurs.
     I nod tiredly. "You'll stay, right?"
     "Of course."
     "Listen, Tord and his buddies? They're like a pack. They live and fight together. If four of theirs are wounded, they won't attack unless those four feel up to it. Otherwise, they'll put it off, so they can attack together. That's how they work. If one of them is hurt, the others won't do anything without him."
     "That's good to know," Connor nods. "So, they won't attack?"
     "There's a very low probability, but I doubt it. We should be safe tonight, but it's better to be safe than sorry."
     He nods. "True. Well, I'll stay, and you go to sleep, ok?"
     I nod, already letting my eyes droop closed.