Installing Pop-Up Blocker

Chapter 1

"Alright, come on, off with the shoes and jacket." He mildly commanded as he headed down the stairs to lock the door. On autopilot Connor took off his jacket, placing it atop Markus', and bending down to unlace his shoes, tucking them under the metal frame of the trundle. He sat down on the edge, picking up the stuffed dog, rubbing the corduroy ear through his fingers.

From this angle, Markus looked powerful. Stood at relaxed attention, looking down over his broad chest at Connor. He was eye level to Markus' stomach, covered in a soft worn t-shirt, so inviting to just lean his head against. The storm clouds outside parted temporarily, a strong beam of sun blazing through the stained glass, painting Markus' warm skin in fire reds and honey yellows. "You going to make room love?" He chuckled, the lights bouncing off his heterochromatic eyes.

Connor shifted inwards on the mattress, laid down among the pillows, propping his shoulder up slightly, loosening his tie. With a warm smile, Markus crawled up from the foot of the bed and laid at Connor's side, placing his head on his shoulder. With deft fingers, he hooked the tie and pulled it clean off, draping on the armrest of the couch. His buzzed haircut tickled under Connor's ear as his synthetic breathing made Markus sway.

"Why did you do this?" Connor asked looking at the nest he was centered in.

"You needed to be made to feel safe. Comforted. You are clearly stressed." Markus stated, bringing one arm over Connor's waist. That hand curled around his right wrist and rub circles along the vein. "You were becoming frustrated, and clearly appeared to be overwhelmed by our topic. You've been all afternoon, haven't you?"

Connor's jaw tensed as he felt what he would describe as a hiccup in his therium pump. "How did you..." the question dying on his lips as Markus placed a kiss over his pump.

"You forget I was... am a health care android. I was designed to be a companion who can identify physical, mental and emotional distress." Connor dropped his head down on to the pillows below and clamped his eyes shut, squeezing them a tight as possible. He refused to respond, but Markus didn't need him to. "You love, have always been... reserved with your emotions but I noticed, around last October, that you can become overwhelmed..." October 11th, It was a date burned into Connor's processors. A date he was happy if it never came again.

He knew the significance of October 11th, a data point flagged in his processors to be prepared for. He wasn't though, not really. He rose from recharging early to prepare. He walked and feed Sumo, collected Hank's favorite movies to watch, double checked that he had all the supplies listed on the major of emotional support sites. He took extra time to cook breakfast, Hank's favorites of Bacon filled pancakes and sunny-side up eggs. It was out and ready for consumption 2 minutes before Hank's average wake up time. It was cold by the time Connor went to check on Hank, 45 minutes later. Hank had not so much slept in as he had just decided to not leave his bed. Lights off Connor could still scan the scattered bottles of beers and knocked over whiskey that most certainly was not there the previous night.

Red-faced and inebriated, Hank spent the day oscillating between sleeping, telling humorous stories to a picture of his son, drunkenly screaming at the ceiling and crying over Connor's lap. His moods and actions were quick and violent, much like when Connor first met him. Beating fists against the headboard would turn into gentle caress against the picture frame turned into clutching claws against Connor's suit jacket. Connor just sat in silence. He watched. He provided hugs when they were wanted and did not fight back when he was shoved away. When Hank slept he cleaned up the bottles and stashed away all the guns, being sure to separate all the bullets and keeping them on his person.

The Lieutenant never asked about the gun, which Connor knew was progressing. Yet he felt hollow as he tried to be with Hank. In a fit of rage, he had yelled 'You will never understand. You could never understand how this feels.' and Connor had feared he was right. Connor feared he never would understand. When Hank fell asleep for the final time that day. Connor found himself walking to Jericho.