From Your Wires to Your Core

The Short Drive Home

"Detective...Detective Reed...You shouldn't sleep here," a gentle voice soothed. The soft tone was somehow annoyingly familiar. Emphasis on annoying. Reed groaned in objection as he turned his face away from whoever it was hovering over his desk. He felt a hand on his shoulder. The grip was strong and firm, but controlled. He shrugged and tried to dislodge the annoyance. "Gavin, you need to go home," the voice insisted in an even softer tone that was laced with concern. Reed slowly opened his eyes. He regretted it instantly. The stinging was unbelievable. He wondered why, but then he remembered being awake for almost two and a half days straight.

"...time is it?" he managed to groan out, turning his face further into his arms as his eyes watered. He could feel the ache in his back already and knew he'd fucked up. He wasn't even sure he'd be able to push himself up in his seat. Five minutes, he'd said to himself. He could tell it had been a few hours. The hand relaxed its grip on his shoulder and rested there, just touching in some strange show of sympathetic support. He could feel the figure leaning down over his shoulder. He knew the person. He knew there was a name floating there somewhere just out of reach in his half asleep state.

"It is eight p.m., Detective," the voice repeated patiently. Reed grunted his tired acknowledgement. That meant his shift was ending. "Captain Fowler said he will let it slide this once, but he expects you to be properly rested in the future." His companion's tone was chiding. Reed let out a theatrical sigh as he waved his hand dismissively. Sure, Fowler would say something like that. He'd say it again the next time this happened, too. And the time after that. And the time after that. So on and so forth. He slowly pushed himself up, whining pathetically as he leaned back in his chair. His back was killing him. Every time he breathed in, he could feel a dull ache that stretched all the way down. From his neck to his tailbone. It throbbed through his chest as he breathed in. Even his ass was aching.

"Phck..." He sighed as he looked down at the messed up papers. The photos were still scattered across his desk. He ran a hand over his face as he shoved them into the file and tossed it aside to be dealt with tomorrow. He wouldn't make the mistake of taking work home again. Not tonight. He was still half asleep as he shut off his terminal and got to his feet, stretching up like a cat. Everything was tired. Everything hurt. His back cracked loudly as he twisted from side to side. A small sigh of satisfaction escaped at the relief. He was completely exhausted. He wasn't even sure he could stumble his way out to his car at this point. The car was a long way. Maybe he could just sit back down and put his feet up on the desk for another couple of hours.

"Would you like me to drive you?" It was that annoying voice again. Reed looked up as if for the first time to peer searchingly at his companion. He wasn't sure if he was really surprised to find that it was Connor. He'd only been back for a single day and seemed absolutely determined to break the one condition he'd had about his return. How phcking hard is it to stay away? I'm enough of an asshole that most people would jump at the chance for a sweet ass deal like that! He really couldn't figure it out. It seemed that every two minutes, Connor was on his ass about something. He'd tried to engage in idle chitchat, pestered him about case details, asked if there was anywhere he could help, and offered insights where he could. Now he was nagging.

"I'm fine, I got it!" Reed replied as he grabbed his leather jacket and shrugged into it. He turned to leave, but stopped short as Connor stepped in his path. Reed clicked his tongue as he almost walked right into him. Connor loomed over him slightly with his extra few inches. Reed found himself speechless for a moment, dirty green eyes barely focusing on his prim and proper figure. He was still wearing his Cyberlife uniform, though Reed didn't get why. It wasn't like the company was still running at the moment. Things were up in the air concerning Cyberlife's future. Connor still had that annoying little curl of hair. Something neatly out of place. Natural but unnatural. Synthetic. Reed was tempted to flick it in annoyance, but he was pretty sure he knew how that would turn out.

"You are severely fatigued, Detective. Driving would be...less than advisable." He stood in the standard Cyberlife at ease position as he spoke. His back was straight, hands lightly clasped behind, legs slightly parted. It was a pose that almost every single android would take up on occasion. Reed was too tired to work up to frustration. His jaw tightened slightly as he met Connor's warm hazel eyes. On a normal day, he would have punched him in his smug face. How he got around was none of his fucking business. It was none of his business, but Reed was tired, and fatigue had made him wiser. He was pretty sure that if Connor knocked him on his ass, he wouldn't get back up again. He may as well use that extra energy to escape the situation and go home.

"What part of stay the phck away from me is difficult for you to understand, dipshit?" Reed grunted resentfully as he ran a hand over his tired face. Something in Connor's gaze seemed to soften at that. He could recognise it. The bone deep exhaustion that weighed down Reed's usually aggressive form. The hint of a smile teased his perfectly sculpted lips. Reed reminded him of Hank when he'd drunk far too much. He was even squinting, like he couldn't focus. It was interesting how similar the symptoms were between intoxication and fatigue.

"It is part of my job to ensure that laws are obeyed, Detective, and that includes traffic offenses. You are physically compromised right now. You would be a danger to yourself and others," Connor reasoned firmly, watching Reed sag a little more. Reed knew he was right. Hell, he could barely even focus on the android, and he was standing right in front of him. Reed held a hand up tiredly, almost wincing at the ache in his tired eyes. Connor gave him the requested time to gather himself. He could almost see Reed processing the problem and solutions.

"Alright, fine. I'll get a cab."

"I am more than capable of driving you," Connor insisted, giving him a look like a wounded puppy. Reed finally sighed. He was so done with the conversation. "And if I drive you, your car will be there for you to drive tomorrow morning." Reed said nothing as he pulled out his keys and slapped them into Connor's waiting hand. It surely couldn't do any harm. If in doubt, he could feign sleeping to avoid engaging with him. Connor said little as they walked, only pausing to compliment Reed's choice of car. It was a fairly modern Mercedes, but not so new that it was self-driving. Reed didn't even have to fake sleeping. He was out light a light almost as soon as he'd strapped in. He'd felt the car turn on and pull out of the parking space, but that was it.

Connor was surprised by the neighbourhood he lived in. It was quite a well-to-do area, one that Reed would have had to save a lot of money to afford. He'd been lucky to snag the place cheap after one of his homicides a few years back. Nothing like a gruesome murder to lower a house price. It also helped that he'd had some money in a trust fund. He'd saved most of it over the years. His mother had never explained where it came from, but he guessed it must have been from whoever his father was. The guy hadn't stuck around. If it hadn't been for the unexplained money, he would have thought he didn't even know he existed. Whatever the case, it had gotten him through the academy and bought him a nice house, so they were even as far as Reed was concerned. The guy could go fuck himself.

"Detective...We've arrived," Connor said softly as he roused him. He was gentle as he shook Reed's shoulder, huffing softly as Reed whined and objected like a child. He finally opened his eyes and looked around blearily, confusion in his eyes as he looked Connor up and down. He winced as he remembered him driving him home. "I'll call a cab and see you tomorrow. Have a good night," Connor said politely as they climbed out of the car. Reed barely grumbled out a thank you as he locked the car and stumbled around the front.

The street was quiet. Lined with quaint suburban houses. It wasn't exactly a white picket fence area. It was mostly smaller houses built for young couples and first-time buyers. It was still pretty pricey, and not too far from the city centre. It's why Reed had chosen it. He paused a moment, wondering if he should ask Connor in while he waited. It would be the polite thing to do. He'd do it with any of his human colleagues. He didn't have to drive me home...Before the thought could truly take form he heard the telltale hum of an auto-car. Looking down his driveway, he saw Connor climb into the cab and raise a hand in farewell. Reed waved back tiredly before stumbling inside.