software instability- connor x fem reader

chapter four- sumo wrestling

   y/n knew that she had bit off more than she could chew when she was sitting in the backseat with connor. she had been demoted from passenger seat so hank's dog, sumo, could have priority seating. it really was a beautiful day in detroit, as y/n enjoyed the cold and the chance to bundle up.

  when hank asked y/n to wash his dog for him this weekend, she assumed it would be a quick free meal. what she hadn't put into account, was that sumo needed luxury treatment, which y/n and connor had to provide. hank took a right turn, and y/n saw the place. 'updog' was a local animal supplies shop, but also had private rooms in the back for dog grooming from andriods, or where you could do it yourself. hank had already reserved a private room where connor and y/n would be giving a 170 pound dog a bath. wonderful.

   a worker lead them to the back room, and hank wished the pair good luck, with an oddly placed wink. the room was small, obviously meant to be used by one person and a medium sized dog. y/n had glanced at the rates upfront, and saw that one could book any sized room, but the larger rooms come at a higher price. y/n began to wonder if hank chose this room for the cheaper price, or for some ulterior motive. there were different containers of dog shampoo, allowing the customer to choose a scent. there was also a showerhead to use to wet the dog, and a drain in the center of the room. connor glanced at y/n once they got into the closed room, and nervously shifted his weight between his feet. clenching and unclenching his fists, he began to speak.

   "detective l/n, we should begin by showering the dog in water. since sumo is above average in weight, one of us should hold on to him while the other gets the showerhead. which would you like to do?" y/n tried to think of the choice that would let her avoid the android as much as possible. "i'll hold down sumo," y/n said curtly, still avoiding eye-contact.

  y/n knelt down to sumo, patting his head. she then wrapped her arms around the big baby to keep him in place. connor turned on the showerhead and walked over to the pair. connor tried to avoid y/n with the stream of water, but he ended up soaking the front of her shirt almost immediately.

   "shit," y/n wheezed. connor hadn't turned the water to the warm setting, so y/n was hit with freezing cold water.

   "detective! im so sorry. let me change the temperature." connor moved to the tap.

  "hey, you know what? just let me do the spraying. connor nodded as he looked her in the eyes, but not without glancing down at the clothes clinging to her. she was shivering, a slight chatter in her teeth that she attempted to hide by clenching her jaw. she walked past him to get to the tap. turning the water to a warmer temperature, y/n made her way back over to connor and the dog. she succeeded in getting the dog wet enough for shampooing, without connor getting as wet as she was.

  y/n grabbed the puppy shampoo from the shelf, she turned around to see connor, smiling and petting sumo. he giggled, and for a moment, y/n forgot he was even a robot. he seemed to love living things just has a human would. she began to soften.

   "so, you like dogs, huh?" y/n kneeled down with them and began scrubbing the pup with shampoo. sumo yawned, clearly enjoying the attention.

   "yes, detective l/n! i do like dogs. they are so kind and good. what about you?" connor questioned. y/n didn't even realize the weight that expression from connor held. how can a program like or dislike something?

  "yeah, i like dogs, but cats are more my thing. i have one at home, his name is andromeda, but i call him andy." y/n smiled, thinking of her cat. connor watched her, feeling a bit off.

  "andromeda, like the galaxy closest to the milky way. it is also known as NGC 224, and is 2.537 million lightyears away from earth. the galaxy also has a radius of 110,000 light years. it is about 10.01 billion yeats old." connor voiced somewhat robotically. y/n felt that she was failing at the thing she was meant to do, once again. finishing washing sumo, she went to get the showerhead again, and washed the shampoo off of the dog. connor took notice in the change of demeanor.

   "detective, can you please show me a picture of your cat when we are done?" connor asked, from his lower position on the floor, he looked up at y/n though his eyelashes. he did look genuinely curious. y/n sighed and spoke, "yes, connor, ill show him to you." she couldn't help but smile a little, looking down at the dog in an attempt to preserve some sort of intimidation. it didn't work, and connor smiled to himself as well, but y/n didn't see it.

  y/n finished washing the soap off of the pup, and put the showerhead back in its place. she turned around and had seen that connor had let go of the dog.

    "connor! wait!" y/n shouted, but it was already too late. sumo began shaking its wet fur out, soaking the rest of y/n's clothing, and getting connor wet as well. connor nervously looked over at y/n hoping that the mishap wouldn't make her hate him even more. y/n made eye contact with connor, and doubled over in laughter.

   "he- your face-" y/n couldn't finish her sentence, as she had her head in her hands, giggling hysterically. connor's eyebrows lowered from their concerned state, and he lost the nerves he had felt. he even began to chuckle a little bit as well.

  still giggling, y/n wheezed out something that caught connor off gaurd. "you're- i can't believe im here- im laughing with you- someone who will inevitably take my job- this is all so- so stupid!" y/n's laughter died down, and was replaced by sighs, interspersed with occasional giggles.

   "detective l/n-" connor began, but was quickly interrupted. "please, connor, just y/n is fine."

   "okay- y/n. you really think i'm going to take your job?" connor spoke and took two steps forward, leaving about three feet inbetween them, the small room forced the two together.

   y/n's giggles started up again. "yes, connor, you will take my job. androids will take all of our jobs. you are so much..." y/n paused for a second, at a loss,"better than me. i can't do the things you can. none of us can."

  "y/n," connor paused, making sure to look the girl in the eye, she still had tears on her waterline from laughing, but connor suspected that some of them were new. he began again, "you can do so much i cannot. you can empathize and analyze from a point of view completely separate from mine. i respect you as my superior, but i also respect the way you treat other people, as well as androids." y/n saw connor's android flash yellow. this time, when he spoke to her in a way that was different than when he was reciting facts about far away galaxies. the way he said her name caused a pulling in her chest. she took a step forward as well.

   "thank you, connor. i-" y/n paused as well, taking a second to look down at her hands. she coughed awkwardly. she continued,"i am sorry you had to see me like this. lets just- go get some expensive-ass dinner to get revenge on hank. you in?" connor chuckled, and y/n noticed how close the pair had become. y/n looked at sumo, back at connor, and laughed. they somehow both had the same expression on their faces.

   connor took off his jacket and outstretched a hand, "here, you're going to get cold outside, take this."

...

  y/n insisted on an expensive sushi place in downtown detroit, saying that 'the sushi would be worth hank's bitching.'

   after hank had dropped sumo off at his house, connor noticed that y/n hadn't moved from her position in the backseat. her head rested against the window, eyes closed. this gave connor a chance to really admire, no, analyze her. y/n's breathing patterns and heart rate showed that she was lightly napping. she had semi-circles under her eyes that were darker than when he first met her. 'has she not been sleeping well since the android and i got shot?" connor thought to himself. moving away from her eyes, he watched the steady puffs of air coming from her mouth as she rested.  her lips were round and delicate. he moved on to her nose, which had become red from the cold. she rested with connor's black jacket over her chest, allowing her hands to lay out infront of her. connor noticed the bruising patterns on the back of her hands and wrists, they were no doubt from the deviant incident that occurred earlier that week. the temperature of her hands showed that y/n was pretty cold, but not at risk for hypothermia.

   hank knocked at connor's window, shaking his head slightly. connor saw the smirk on his face, and realized that hank had probably been watching him for awhile. the knock awoke y/n, and she perked up when reminded of the promise of food.

   "sweet, sushi shaped revenge is in order!"