Accident Prone - Becoming Human

Bonding

It was surprisingly routine as usual for Connor and Hank as they sat at their desks completely exhausted after enduring a nightmarish day filled with overdue paperwork, a loud belligerent drunk yelling slurs from the drunk tank, the remaining violent anti-android gang members screaming about their rights from the holding cells and two week's worth of late reports to file before the end of day. Hank, still relying on the sling to keep his healing left shoulder from aching too severely, used one hand to begin typing up the last report for the day as Chris escorted an unexpected visitor over to Connor's desk while the deviant detective across from him finished his own report for the evening.

Chris lightly put his hand on the studious deviant's shoulder to get his attention without startling him in the process. The last thing he wanted to do was potentially disturb Connor while he was nearing the end of his lengthy recovery and recalibration process after the car accident.

"Connor," Chris spoke in a level tone from just behind the deviant. "you have a visitor."

Turning around quickly Connor was a little shocked to see Markus standing beside his desk with an enthusiastic grin plastered over his face.

"Markus. It's nice to see you." Connor stood up quickly and faced his friend with genuine curiosity. "What brings you by?"

"I needed to see you in person. Do you have a minute to talk?" The deviant leader's mismatched eyes were bright with enthusiasm and there was a genuinely happy aura emanating from his person. "I want to speak with you in private."

"Uh..." Looking toward Hank for a second he was relieved to see Hank wave him off dismissively with his good hand without a care of the two deviants' having a private discussion. "Yes. I can talk. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I just needed to ask you an important question and I didn't want to do it cybernetically." Markus explained casually as he and Connor exited the bullpen together and headed back toward the front doors of the precinct through the receptionist area. "This needs a more personal touch."

Stepping out into the fresh chill in the winter air as their feet crunched along the icy snow of the previous week's blizzard, the two deviants paused to speak to each another as they rounded the corner of the precinct to duck away from nosy people seeking gossip fodder. It wasn't uncommon to see deviants speaking to one another discreetly, but having a deviant show up to meet a friend at work rather than keeping their conversations cybernetic was a tad unusual.

"What's on your mind?" Connor asked coolly as he stood before his friend and wrapped his arms around his himself to try to stave off the cold as much as possible. "I'm always happy to help."

"Well, it's really as simple as this." The bright gleam in Markus's mismatched eyes seemed even brighter as he happily spoke with his friend. "Last night I asked North to... bond with me."

In a flash Connor's L.E.D. shifted to yellow then back to blue and his facial expression was that of contained excitement. "You're now engaged?"

"Yeah!" Beaming with pride Markus confirmed the good news. "We're getting bonded this upcoming Friday!"

"Congratulations, Markus." Connor Managed to give his friend a true smile, not his faint grin or awkward smirk, but a real smile. "I'm truly happy for you. What can I do to help you and North prepare for your bonding ceremony?"

"We already have so much covered, but there's a few things we still need to get taken care of." Giving his friend's arm a light pat Markus confirmed that he did in fact need Connor's assistance. "And that's why I'm here."

"Oh, of course. I'll do anything I can to help you. Name it."

"Well, we have Josh officiating the bonding ceremony, Simon will take care of the legalities and watch over New Jericho Tower while we're gone and North has already chosen her maid of honor to act as a witness... but I still need my best man."