Angel Boy ;; Connor RK800, Gavin Reed

4

[DISCLAIMER: the opinions and worldviews expressed in the chapter are mine, and I absolutely do not expect everyone to agree with me. I respect everyone's beliefs and an open to having conversations about such things! It is not my intention to offend or disrespect anyone! Thank you!]

•*•Astra's POV•*•

I grabbed my suitcase from the back of the car and waited for Connor to point me to the right place.

"You're in K201, I'm in K301," he said, leading me up the stairs to my new flat. He unrolled his sleeves and buttoned them around his wrists as he walked.

Goddamn android, I thought. The way his body swayed as he led me up the stairs. His shoulders were so broad. His presence so commanding. Why'd he have to pin me to that fucking wall?

"Astra?" Connor's voice broke through my thoughts.

"Oh, yes? Sorry."

"This is you." He unlocked the door and pushed it open, letting me in first.

I looked around. The apartment had an open floorplan, and my god was it massive. The walls were a warm medium-tone grey and the floors were a finished concrete. The place was fully furnished, from the fluffy shag carpet in the living room to the large kitchen stocked with every possible cooking utensil imaginable.

"Jesus, how much is this a month?" I asked, turning to Connor who stood in the kitchen resting against the counter.

"About $3000, before utilities," he replied, seemingly unphased by the price.

"Three thousand dollars? A month?!" I exclaimed.

Connor shrugged. "Cyberlife is covering all of your costs, so there is no sense in stressing over the price."

"Yeah, they're paying for it for six months, but I'll be on my own after that. How... How much will I be making?"

"Probably not enough to cover this place."

"How do you afford it?" I asked, leaning against the counter beside him.

"Cyberlife," he replied.

"Ah."

We leaned against the counter in silence for a few minutes, just taking in the view.

"So how do I deal with these emotions?" Connor asked, breaking the silence.

I set my suitcase over by the couch and took a seat. "Come sit."

Connor sat beside me and tilted his head. "So?"

"So it's sounding like these new emotions are causing your software to become overwhelmed."

"I could've told you that," he replied.

"You did. I'm summarizing as a form of verbal processing on my part. You want stress relief methods, yes?" I asked, looking him in the eye.

"As long as it isn't illegal." He cracked a small smile.

"Oh, speaking of," I asked, standing up and walking to my suitcase. "What does the legislature on marijuana in Detroit look like?"

I unzipped my suitcase and pulled out my glass jar of bud, my grinder, and some rolling papers. I brought them over to the glass-topped coffee table and sat back down in my original spot.

"Marijuana has been federally legal since 2025, Astra, although I'm not certain how the police department would feel about a member of their precinct smoking on the regular," he replied, watching as I started to roll.