QUOTE COMPENDIUM ⊳ connor x reader

Ch. IV

"I'm sorry." (Y/n) spoke carefully after a few seconds.

"It's alright." The Android shrugged his shoulders, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. If there was one thing he was not going to do, it was getting emotional. (Y/n) had already seen him cry only 34 minutes ago, and he was not planning on showing his pathetic side again. Not anytime soon, and especially not around her. She had no fault in his current situation, and probably the last thing she wanted to do was provide moral support for an emotionally unstable deviant. (Y/n) had done so much for him already.

"Do you want to talk about it or change the subj-"

"Change the subject." Connor demanded perhaps a bit too hastily. However she didn't seem to mind his tone.

"Okay, let's see. Is there anything you'd like to know about me? If you haven't figured it out with your detective senses already?"

Connor took a deep, calming breath. Trying to chase away all his painful thoughts about Hank, his self-deprecation, his guilt—

"Any detail is fine." He said, looking back at her. (Y/n) had rested her elbow against the car window and propped her head against it. The way she had positioned her face, her hand slightly pressed against her cheek, squishing her lips together as she smiled childishly. Connor didn't have many visual preferences, but this was certainly one of them. She looked positively gorgeous like this—messy and natural. "As trivial or as specific as you want." He added, imitating her words from only a few minutes ago.

Her grin grew even wider as soon as she caught onto it.

"Well, I want to become a (dream job). I came to Detroit for college, and I work at my uncle's diner during the weekends, and on Friday evenings. I like...hmm." (Y/n) chewed on her lip as she began thinking, and Connor had to tear his gaze away from her to focus back on the road. "I like books. The ones made of paper, even though they're rare."

Hank had, too. And to some extent, so did Connor. He didn't have strict preferences about how he received information, but had to admit that there was a certain...something about the smell of old paper and the way it brushed against his fingers when he would flip a page.

"What kind?" Connor asked, without even putting much thought into his sentence. How unusual of him to do so, he remarked silently.

"I'll read anything as long as it's interesting. Thriller, romance, science fiction, fantasy, detective, you name it." She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "What about you?"

"The genre I found myself enjoying the most is-"

"Wait, wait!" She waved her hands, interrupting his sentence. Connor tilted his head. Had he said something wrong? "Can I try guessing?"

Oh.

"Of course." Connor nodded his head, smiling to himself. It was almost endearing to listen to her talk. So human, so uncalculated, sloppy, and yet magical at the same time. She had that certain unpredictability Connor lacked, but he couldn't say he didn't enjoy adapting to her.

"Okay, lucky guess: Detective novels."

"Not quite. Those are my second favorite kind."

(Y/n) leaned back in her chair, brows furrowed. "Spill the beans, then."

Connor revised his words, and the answer he wanted to give. He knew his preference was embarrassing—Hank had told him many times, after all. But there was something about (y/n)...that made Connor unable to lie.

"Drama." He answered.

"Noooo way." She whispered in wonder, bouncing in her seat. "Drama? The ruthless Deviant Hunter, the homicide-solving police Sergeant has a knack for drama. Now that's a plot twist. Why?"

"Why not? They showcase human behavior, though admittedly, sometimes hyperbolically, and make it easy to understand." Connor explained, slowing down the car in the slightest before admitting: "They played a big role in my integration."

"Okay, which one's your favorite, then?"

"The Shakespearean plays were enjoyable, and Hank almost had all of them. Macbeth was...quite engaging to read."

"Oh, yeah, I know that one." (Y/n) smiled, then cleared her throat. " 'Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player'."

Eyes going round, almost like an excited puppy's, Connor couldn't help but gaze at her in awe for a few moments. The fact that she knew his favorite play, and that she actually knew it well enough to recite a short excerpt, it made him feel something. Sweet warmth and fuzziness swelled in his chest as he rushed to complete her sentence.

" 'That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.' Exactly."

(Y/n) was grinning widely, sinking lower into the car seat while still looking at him. She cuddled into her clothes, tilting her head to rest it against the window on her right.

"That's the best Shakespearean quote out there, period." (Y/n) still hadn't stopped smiling, however Connor could identify a certain dreamy drowsiness in her eyes. "I remember back when I was like 16 or something. I would research quotes everywhere I could. Books, online articles, songs—anything. And whenever I found something I liked, I wrote it down on my arm until I got home. After that, I'd take a small slip of paper, write it down there, and tape it to my bedroom wall."

Connor couldn't deny that it sounded like a wonderful idea. Surrounding yourself with words it seemed, well, somehow magical.

"Do you think I could do that as well?"

"What? Tape quotes to your bedroom walls?"

"Yes."

"Why not?" She shrugged tiredly, a yawn following her sentence. "I could write you a Quote Compendium of my favorites. Or we could start looking for new ones right now. You got a notebook and a pen?"

Connor's brows furrowed. Of course he didn't. After all, he had left home in a hurry to get away, and had only taken the bare minimum with him.

"No."

"Hmm, maybe we c-" A yawn cut off her sentence again. "Sorry, I wanted to say that maybe we could buy some. Like at a gas station or something."

Before she had properly finished her sentence, Connor promptly announced: "The nearest gas station is only 7 minutes away. I'll drive us there."

"Traveling with an Android is much more useful than I thought." The young woman giggled to herself.