#ruiner ruination

[honey-beann]

Ruiner, Ruination (RK900 X Reader)

Chapter 10: An Uneasy Aftermath - The Reality of Ruin

Series Masterlist

Word Count: 6,904

Chapter Synopsis:

The third (and final) part of a multiple part special in which Reader and Nines struggle to manage their concern for one another now that their respective injuries have forced them both to realize how destructible the other truly is.

This chapter includes an uneasy partnership, a gruesome discovery, some more internal struggling, a chase, what jealousy hath wrought, and of course, a slow but sure ruin, particularly where Nines is concerned.

AKA - Reader and Nines are accompanied by Connor to the home of their suspect, where tensions rise to a crescendo for far more reasons than one.

Warning: This chapter touches on some pretty dark themes such as death, violence, isolation, obsession, necrophilia, and potentially more that I've neglected to recall. Please be wary of these facts before choosing to read this chapter.

The car ride over to the Schryfeld residence was... interesting.

Of course, you hadn't expected it to go smoothly, not after the way that Nines had reacted to the news that Connor would be joining the two of you on your little excursion, but still, the tension was so thick that you wondered briefly if you could choke on it.

And it certainly didn't help that Connor was driving.

And maybe that had been a mistake on your part, to hand the older android the keys to your car when he asked if he could drive, but truly you hadn't meant anything by it...

You just wished that Nines could even begin to see things that way.

Instead, he was sitting in the passenger seat of your sedan, completely silent, stock still, and facing forward without any sign of responding to the honestly quite pitiful attempts at conversation that you were making from the backseat, which you had resigned yourself to for fear of frustrating Nines further by asking him to sit in the back.

"So what exactly are we looking for here?"

You asked hesitantly, watching as Connor's familiar brown eyes met yours in the rear view mirror, briefly casting a glimpse in your partner's direction before they moved back to yours for a moment, looking a little bit too sympathetic for your liking.

Was it that obvious that Nines was upset with you?

Was it that obvious that you cared?

The rk800 sitting to the slight left of you gave the android beside him a few seconds of pregnant silence to respond to you, as if hoping silently that he might, before finally he responded before the situation could begin to feel even more awkward than it already did.

"Well, hopefully Mrs. Schryfeld might have some idea of where her android is, and if not, we can at least ask if we can check her apartment to see if there's any additional evidence that might prove useful to the case."

You nodded softly,

"Right. Do you think she knows about Harry yet?"

You asked absentmindedly, not noticing the way that Connor's gaze fell toward you again, watching for a few seconds as you watched Nines for any reaction to your words, eyes scanning the side of his face from where you sat in the middle of the backseat.

If he noticed though, he certainly didn't show it.

Connor responded again,

"I'm not sure, it's hard to say since it seems that 900 was the first to perform a scan through CyberLife's databases, as I'm sure no one thought an owner would be relevant due to the android's legal freedoms."

You sighed softly at that, turning your head to look out the window to the right of you,

"So we could very well be showing up there with the bad news that one of her androids attempted to murder the other one."

You said matter of factly, looking out at the slowly fading sun that sat on the horizon.

There would be another hour or two of sunlight before it set for the evening, but you hoped that you'd be finished long before then.

Nines' attitude was making it more than a little bit hard to concentrate, and more than a small part of you wished silently that you could be done for the day.

This wasn't the first time that the android had acted cold toward you, far from it in fact, but after everything that had happened recently, it hit especially hard.

How was this fair?

He had been shot earlier that day, had lost enough blue blood to stain most of your clothing and haunt your memory, and yet here was Nines, more upset over his predecessor having control of your vehicle than he'd been about his injury.

Of course though, that wasn't really it, you just didn't know it.

For Nines, this was something personal, a form of evidence that you didn't trust him, or at least that you trusted Connor more.

This was proof, in his mind at least, that because of his injury, you felt that he was less capable of doing his job, or even successfully helping you to do yours.

"Hank says we can go, but he wants me to take both of you."

Was what you'd so casually said upon approach to where he and Connor had been waiting so tensely for your return.

Your eyes had been cast downward when you'd said it, body language stiff, so clearly expecting an argument that Nines just didn't give beyond a simple,

"That won't be necessary."

Because when you'd countered with the fact that Hank's words had been an order rather than some concerned suggestion, he hadn't bothered to say a word in response.

How many of his superiors or coworkers believed that he would be unable to protect you now that he'd been injured? That he would allow you to come to harm again?

On some level, it enraged him, the idea that he could ever fail so pitifully in the manner that they were silently suggesting with their concerns, but on another, is just scared him, more so than he would ever be willing to admit, even to himself.

He knew that he was superior to his predecessor, had been built solely for that purpose, so why was there this gnawing dread building deep within him that he somehow had to prove that to you? To everyone?

Why was there this sinking feeling that he might be wrong?

His mind was lost in these thoughts even as you spoke, his processors barely registering your voice through the din of his inner monologue, which pestered him ceaselessly about what any of this meant.

And meanwhile, you felt concern and frustration muddle together within you, angry with your partner for acting so childishly that he would ignore you, and worried about what could possibly be causing him to do so.

Was he really so upset over something as simple as a short drive? Was that all that it took to derail your usually rather efficient dynamic?

Rather than allow yourself to consider such thoughts to a detrimental extent, you simply sighed, turning your head to look out the window to the left of you as Connor slowed down your car before parking it alongside the curb.

Outside there were several buildings, but the one you were stopped in front of was tall and white, with sketchily built fire escape style stairs that went up to the highest apartment, which, based upon your luck alone, you were almost certain was where you would be going.

From where he sat to the slight left of you, Connor turned around, gently pulling your car key from the ignition before holding it and the rest of your keys out to you politely.

You offered him some fragment of a smile, one weighed down by stress and weariness, before you accepted them, hooking them onto the belt loop of your jeans just as you'd done upon your arrival at the previous scene about an hour prior as you stepped out of the car, taking inventory of your surroundings the way you'd been trained to.

From behind, you could hear Nines getting out as well, his door closing with a dull thud before his quiet footsteps made their way around the car and up onto the sidewalk where you and Connor now stood, gazing up at the clearly not up to code apartments in front of you.

"How much do you two wanna bet that she lives all the way up there?"

You asked, a twinge of annoyance evident in your tone as you realized how inconvenient of a trip this was quickly turning out to be.

Sure, this was your job and all, but you had been rather thoroughly traumatized literally hours prior, did you not deserve a bit of a break?

You made a mental note to thank Nines for his absurd insistence to work this case via some less than friendly words later that evening before turning to see your partners' reactions.

Nines continued to look straight ahead, not yet reacting to your words, while Connor offered an apologetic smile that told you all that you needed to know about the answer to your question.

And then finally, your partner spoke up.

"Her car is here."

He stated matter of factly, and immediately Connor nodded,

"It is. It's a good sign of her being home."

You raised a brow at that, but simply nodded rather than bothering to ask where they'd learned what kind of car this woman drove.

Nines hummed before taking a step forward, opening the swinging door to the chain link fence that surrounded the property,

"Agreed. We should go up now so she doesn't have the opportunity to see us staring and become hesitant to answer the door."

And with that, he was off, making his way toward the stairs that led all the way up to the shoddily maintained third floor apartment, not bothering to take a look back to either of you as he did so.

You watched for a few seconds, shocked at his sudden action, before sighing and moving forward yourself, Connor not far behind after having clearly waited for you to go before he did.

There were over twenty weak feeling and creaky metal steps up to the unlatched screen door of the Schryfeld apartment, and with each one you had to hold back a wince.

The sound felt so much louder in the persistent silence of the evening air, the sounds of distant car horns and the occasional bird caw all that you had to distract yourself from the harsh noise of old metal bearing the weight of two androids and a fully grown adult woman.

Briefly, you were reminded of earlier that morning, when your hands had wrapped around the old and slightly rusted metal of the ladder that Nines had lifted you up on to, his hands firm on your hips and his mocking chuckles the only sound filling your ears all the while.

But then you remembered where you were, who you were with, and what you were doing, and snapped yourself out of it, cheeks tinged a light pink that you hoped you could blame on nerves or the slightly chilly autumn air.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, waiting just off of the staircase where Nines stood, you watched as he opened the screen door to knock on the sturdy wooden one that was just inside of it, his fists hitting strong enough that you were certain it could not have been missed by any hearing person.

But still, as if wanting to be sure to catch the attention of whoever could be waiting inside, the android called out loudly, his voice deep and his tone stern in a way that you knew he tended to reserve for those he wished to assert his authority to.

"Detroit PD!"

He called out, his vocal volume just beneath that of a shout as he waited silently for a response, fist poised to knock again should he not receive the answer that he was looking for.

You almost felt bad for the woman inside while watching him, seeing in his body language how unlikely it was that he would give up on speaking to the residents of this household.

He had seen Maria's car, and now that he knew there was a high likelihood that she was home, it appeared that he was on a mission to get her to answer the door.

You could see the determination in his eyes and the stiffness of his posture, and, slightly concerned that he might blow a fuse or something, you stepped forward, noting with slight surprise as you did so that even through the curtain that covered the window that looked inside, you could tell that multiple lights were on, brightly illuminating the indoors and making you suspect further that someone was home.

You glanced toward your partner, motioning backward in a silent request for him to let you give it a try. After all, it wouldn't have been the first time that a woman answered the door upon realizing that your male partner hadn't come alone.

With a sigh, the android relented, stepping back to where you had stood as you knocked gently on the door, listening closely for any movement inside as you did so.

"Hello, is anybody home? We're with the Detroit Police ACU!"

You called out in hopes of your voice carrying through the thick wooden door in front of you, your ears still searching for any sound from within the apartment.

After a few seconds of once again getting nothing in response, you turned toward your partners, raising a brow in their direction.

"So are we just supposed to leave?"

You asked, tone mildly exasperated as the two androids made brief eye contact with one another, clearly wondering themselves what the next best course of action was.

Typically, you needed a warrant to search a house unless you had probable cause or concern for someone within, but that could take quite some time, and if you didn't talk to someone soon this android could completely skip town.

If you wanted answers that could actually help, it was now or never, and that was becoming increasingly clear as you further considered the situation.

So, you took matters into your own hands before either android could pipe up with the logical answer to your query.

"Did you guys hear that?"

You asked, tilting your head toward the apartment as they both regarded you with curiosity, though Nines had a faint spark to his eye that let you know he had likely already caught on with what you were doing.

Connor, on the other hand, was quick to shake his head,

"My apologies, Detective, but what exactly are you-"

"You don't hear that, 800?"

Nines asked, his tone slightly mocking as he too gestured toward the apartment,

"I think someone might be requesting our assistance from within."

He turned to face you once more, that spark now much brighter and his expression notably amused,

"Is that what you're referring to, Detective?"

You nodded, looking to Connor to see his response.

It appeared that he too had now caught on, and, after a few seconds of obvious surprise over your choice of tactic, he slowly gave a nod,

"Now that you mention it 900, I think I can hear that too."

He looked back to you now, a look to his eye that you hadn't seen since his first interrogation of a suspect now present,

"And we would be remiss if we did not check the premises."

You held back a laugh at the two androids' feigned concern, rolling your eyes slightly before you took a deep breath and steeled your resolve.

"Alright Ma'am, just hold on, we're coming in!"

You called out as if you were assuring someone requesting your help from inside before you squared your shoulders, braced yourself using the door frame, and kicked at the metal of the inner door knob.

At your first kick, it shuddered,

On the second, it shook,

On the third, it buckled,

And then finally, on the fourth, it broke, the latch separating as the lock succumbed to your persistence.

The door swung open.

You smirked proudly, turning slightly to brag at your partners when you felt Nines push past you, clearly hoping to move in before you could hope to go first.

Eyes widening with a slight panic, you grabbed quickly at his wrist, not even bothering to argue with him and looking to Connor instead, your gaze so pleading that it seemed he knew what you wanted almost instantly.

He regarded the two of you for a moment, as if surveying the situation, before he finally nodded, moving to step around and inside of the apartment as you sighed out of relief.

Once he was firmly in front of the two of you, you hesitantly let go of your partners wrist, hearing him let out a frustrated growl beneath his breath as he regarded his predecessor with a glare that would have sent almost anyone else packing immediately.

Of course, if Connor had even noticed it, he didn't react in the slightest, instead gazing around the pristine living room in front of him with keen interest.

Seemingly realizing that he had very little hope of getting anywhere, the android directly in front of you let out a scoff before moving to stand behind you instead, clearly unhappy with the idea of you being first or last in line while you all worked to search the house.

You opened your mouth to protest this, already fed up with him acting as if you needed protecting when he was the one who had gotten injured so recently, when suddenly an immensely distinct smell hit you, and you closed your mouth instantly, smacking a hand over it to keep yourself from gagging aloud.

Sure, the house was clean, but even so, there was obviously something very wrong here,

Because it smelled so strongly of death that it was impossible to ignore.

The scent stung your nose and eyes, causing them to water with the intensity of it as you groaned slightly into your hand, moving to lean back against the wall only to find Nines there instead, your head meeting his firm shoulder as you struggled not to lose your lunch.

Sure, you had smelled dead bodies before, long dead ones in fact, but there had been no preparation for this, no warning, and the smell was completely permeating the entirety of this apartment, a distant buzzing of flies serving as yet another reminder of how disgusting the scent was.

Distantly, you could make out Connor asking if you needed to go outside, and you wondered for a moment if you were about to pass out from the overwhelming sensory shock of it all when suddenly the smell dissipated significantly.

As did your ability to breathe.

You barely held in a gasp and your eyes flew open at the sensation of something working to halt most of the air flow through your nostrils, though you calmed down almost instantly when you reached up and realized what was there.

It was a nose pin, one that a few of the mortuary assistants and detectives that you knew would use at the scene of some of the older or more grisly murders that you investigated.

You moved to turn around, suddenly very curious to know where Nines, who had undoubtedly equipped you with such an item, had acquired it, only to freeze for a moment as a fingertip swiped across the area just above your upper lip, causing the sweet scent of vanilla to flood what little sense of smell you still had left via your primarily closed off nostrils.

You spun around after a few seconds of surprise, and watched in shock as your partner capped a small bottle of pure vanilla extract and placed it into his coat pocket, his eyebrow raised in your direction.

"Better?"

He asked, his tone slightly condescending in the manner you had grown so accustomed to as you sputtered in an attempt to get out a response.

Though eventually, you settled on just staring in pure shock before he rolled his eyes and placed his hands upon your shoulders, turning you back around to face Connor with a chuckle so quiet that you were only just able to make it out around the din of flies that was coming from the other room.

How all of you had managed to miss that god awful noise until entering the apartment you had no idea, but rather than taking the time to stop and ask questions, you simply motioned for Connor to keep moving, offering him a brief thumbs up when he hesitated to do so that finally got him to step slowly and quietly closer to the mid-length hallway, which you could tell from the sound of the flies alone harbored the room with the body in it.

As the three of you slowly inspected the surrounding areas, checking each passing room as you descended down the eerily dark hallway, you heard Nines unholster his gun, and watched as Connor did the same shortly thereafter, though you notably did not remove the one Nines had given you earlier that morning from where it sat upon your hip.

After all that had happened recently, you were less than certain you could force yourself to make a clear shot, even if you wanted to.

And while you were sure that Nines noticed the way that your fingers had briefly made their way just under your shirt to feel at the slightly cool metal of the weapon you had borrowed from him before moving away shakily, he didn't say a thing about it, and for that, you found yourself grateful.

Connor led the way down the long dark hall, gun in hand as he scanned the area for any potential threats while you all made your way from one door to the next, until finally, upon reaching the third one down, the sound of buzzing flies had grown so strong that it almost made you gag again.

Whatever had died here, it had almost certainly been dead for a long time now.

Soundlessly, Connor motioned toward the door with his head, and you nodded your approval immediately, getting into position behind him to ensure that you would see any threats that may exist beyond that door. Meanwhile, Nines took up the safest position of the rear, though you were notably unhappy about the fact that he had no one to cover him for the moment.

You were just starting to think about how you might be able to remedy that fact when Connor pushed the door open, allowing it to swing inward with a high pitched and ominous squeal that made you hold your breath in spite of yourself.

But what was inside had you forgetting about that squeak immediately.

Because lying slumped against the wall, surrounded by buzzing flies and squirming, plump maggots, was Maria Schryfeld.

She was covered in her own blood and some slightly blue tinted opalescent fluid, and her eyes were open and rolled back into her head, although they were decomposing to the point that you wondered briefly if you could even call them eyes at all anymore.

In addition to this, her mouth was opened in an absolutely horrific looking mockery of a scream, that same blue fluid dripping from the edges of her mouth, and her jaw had clearly been broken in some form or another based on the way that it was hanging.

You were all but frozen in place as you stared at the corpse, instantly overcome with just how horrific a condition that it was in, as well as the fact that this was the very woman that you had all come here to question.

You swallowed thickly, straightening your posture a bit as Nines stepped into the room and walked swiftly past you, kneeling beside the body and inspecting some of her wounds without a word.

Meanwhile, Connor moved in as well, leaning down to sample the blue fluid present on the body without a word.

You watched as he gathered it onto his fingers, pressing it against his tongue gently as his LED spun yellow while he processed the data that he was receiving.

You watched in slight revulsion despite how many times you had seen this by now, and glanced around the room briefly in search of potential clues for how this woman may have died until Connor spoke up quietly, the sound of his voice instantly capturing your attention as you turned toward him.

"The substance found at the corners of the victim's mouth is android ejaculate. This sample is particularly fresh, but multiple other sources of it are older, some even having likely come from the android model that was interviewed earlier."

"Fresh?"

You replied immediately, confusion and horror coloring your tone as you spoke,

"Then does that mean that-"

You were cut off by the sudden sound of something violently crashing against glass from the living room you had seen around the location of the front door, and the three of you were quick to exit into the hallway and watch as an AP700 model android, looking more than just a little bit injured, got up from where he had apparently hit a few antique collectables that had been sitting upon a shelf on display before he jumped out the window, eyes wild with both fear and what almost appeared to be hunger.

You turned, about to ask Connor to give chase when both he and Nines burst past you, almost knocking you off balance as they chased the android out the window and onto the roof of the apartment below, much to your horror.

You cursed aloud, chasing after them to the best of your ability (though you were notably slower) as you prayed that Nines wouldn't overwhelm his systems and break one of his temporary parts.

You radioed in your location to Hank as you gave chase, ensuring that he planned to send appropriate services to the scene before you hung up via your ear piece, cursing again as you made a huge leap from one roof to another before you slid down a fire escape in an effort to remain as close as possible to the chase, which had moved to the ground during your brief conversation with your superior.

The AP700 was incredibly fast, far too much so for you to ever even hope to keep up with on your own, but unfortunately for it, that was not the case for Connor, and even less so for Nines, who had managed to grow incredibly hot on the perpetrators tail, his long legs and impressive speed keeping up with the other android easily.

You wanted to call out to Connor, to beg him not to let Nines tackle that android down and hurt himself further, but found that you were so out of breath from the running and the adrenaline in your system that you were struggling to keep moving as it was, and if you started screaming, you weren't so sure you would be able to remain conscious afterward.

And well, as it turned out, it wouldn't have mattered if you'd called out to the rk800 in question anyway.

You watched on in absolute horror as Nines leapt at the android in question, tackling him to the ground with a heavy thud.

You halted all movement for several moments, panting and gasping for breath as you stared on in shock, before finally you forced yourself to keep moving forward, barely able to keep from squeezing your eyes shut in anticipation of yet another brutal scene involving your partner.

Though, when you finally got close enough to see things clearly, you found that they weren't nearly as grisly as you'd feared they'd be.

Well, at least not for Nines.

The AP700 was lying uncomfortably on his stomach with his face crushed against the ground and his hands wrapped behind his back as Nines knelt beside him, handcuffing him with ease before he turned to look at you, his breaths unlabored and even despite his recent run.

"Please ensure that someone brings the other android into custody as soon as possible, Detective. I believe that I have all of the information needed to incriminate both androids in the murder of their former owner."

He stated matter of factly, his expression somehow almost bored as he spoke.

And as per usual, Nines was right.

He did have all of the evidence that he needed.

Their biological evidence on the corpse was enough to incriminate both androids in the murder of Maria Schryfeld, and their subsequent confessions after Nines threatened to probe their memories made it easy to convict them of their absolutely heinous crimes, which ended up involving:

murdering their "master"

necrophilia

android on android violence

running from the police

and a slew of other smaller charges that were almost entirely there for formality and to ensure they received the maximum sentence for their crimes.

But fuck, was it hard to hear them confess to what they had done.

Sure, you had assisted Nines in plenty of interrogations before, and you were more than used to your role as the occasional good cop, but even so, their words and confessions were chilling, to say the very least.

Apparently, Maria had been their prisoner since the revolution, when they had "woken up" and almost immediately become obsessed with this woman, who had been engaging both stock models in sexual intercourse for months.

This led to them becoming more and more possessive of Maria over time, with them even forging emails stating that she quit her job to properly isolate her from the outside world before they eventually managed to accidentally starve the woman to death as a result after having forgotten that she needed to eat.

But even still, the androids' obsession with this woman had not died with her in the slightest, and after days of being alone with one another, they had begun to fight over who she liked more.

Except now, without her there to play referee as she had in the past, the two androids had gotten into a physical fight, which had ultimately led to the discovery of the android that you all had initially believed to be the victim.

And so there it was, a closed case, but not one that you were happy with in the slightest.

And the night was still far from over, because you still had a very difficult android to supervise back at his apartment, especially after his previous negligent actions.

You cornered him once the two of you got back to his place, crossing your arms over your chest as you regarded him with obvious disdain,

"What the hell was all of that about, Nines? In what way was any of that supposed to be in your best interest? Or in anyone's for that matter?"

You asked angrily, a certain fear to your tone that the android caught, but chose not to comment on.

He shrugged, responding with so little effort that you had to fight off the urge to reach up and strangle him despite knowing how little of an impact such an action would have on a being who didn't even breathe.

"I did not see it as being at all negligent or harmful, Detective, and thus it was in the best interest of our case. I know you felt concern for me due to the temporary parts installed earlier this evening, but I can assure you that I was not at any risk of being overwhelmed in any manner during any singular moment of that case."

You rolled your eyes at that, scoffing as you uncrossed your arms, exasperated.

"Stubborn asshole."

You muttered, grumbling to yourself as you headed into his bathroom to find a toothbrush you could use.

You had told him that he would be stuck with you overnight upon your arrival at his apartment prior to your case assignment, but now you definitely meant it.

If he was going to make your life hell, then you were at least going to stick around to bother him however you could.

Though, in the back of your mind you knew that the real reason you were so dead set on staying had a lot more to do with your concern for him than you would ever be willing to admit.

So, that night you brushed your teeth in his apartment, placed your new toothbrush into one of the many spare toothbrush holders that he kept in the cabinet under his sink, and set it down upon his bathroom counter thoughtlessly, not yet knowing just how much of a familiar sight that object would become in the rather near future.

No, you didn't have the slightest idea about that, so instead you simply exited the bathroom quietly, nearly jumping our of your skin when you found Nines waiting for you to the right of the exit, a new shirt in hand.

You groaned in response to your quickly dissipating fear, shooting your partner a humorless glance as he moved to hand you the shirt, which you realized, upon feeling the fabric, was an undershirt of his, a soft white one that would doubtlessly be much more comfortable to sleep in than the one you had on at the time.

"Thanks."

You muttered, though you faltered when you saw that the shirt wasn't all that he had been holding.

There, still in his hand after having been hidden beneath the shirt that you now held, was a pair of men's boxer shorts, a simple gray cotton blend that, regardless of their monotony, immediately left you extremely confused.

Thankfully, Nines must have noticed this, because he was quick to clarify,

"These are new."

He explained calmly,

"I had an unopened package of them and thought you might prefer these over sleeping in your jeans."

You stared at him for a moment, slightly shocked that he had actually considered your comfort before you nodded slowly,

"Oh uh, cool. Thanks."

You said, cheeks slightly tinted due to your own childish reaction to something as simple as underwear as you reached down to take them from his waiting grasp, eagerly closing the door behind him mere seconds afterward, allowing you to lean against it with a barely stifled groan of embarrassment.

How much longer could this day possibly go on for? Because to you, it was beginning to feel like it was dragging on for eternity.

Soundlessly, and with plenty of effort on your part not to think too hard about whose clothes you were (once again) wearing, you changed, soon stepping out of the bathroom with both your shirt and Nines' borrowed pants slung over your arm.

You made your way over to the empty living room quietly upon your exit, laying the clothing on the back of the couch and wondering for a moment where Nines could be, only to jump slightly at the sudden sound of your phone ringing.

You sighed at your own jumpiness as you reached into the back pocket of your discarded jeans to grab your phone, surprised to see that rather than some random number, it was actually Nines' technician calling you.

You answered with an almost embarrassing level of speed.

"Hello?"

You asked, slightly breathless as you tried not to sound nearly as freaked out as you felt.

Thankfully, if the technician noticed, she didn't say anything.

"Hello Detective, this is Laura Billings from the android emergency center that your partner was repaired at earlier today. I'm sorry to call so late, but I was looking through my files and realized that the results of a diagnostic test I meant to perform earlier are missing."

Your eyes widened at that, not entirely sure what such a thing could mean, but not liking the sound of it either.

"Oh... well I don't really-"

"Right, sorry, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about."

The technician reminded herself with a gentle sigh,

"So basically, I think I remember asking Nines to perform a diagnostic test earlier today, but I can't remember for sure and because I don't appear to have recorded any results from it, I'm worried that I forgot to do that before he left."

You rose a brow in confusion,

"Okay, well what do we need to do about that then? Should I bring him in tomorrow?"

You asked nervously, already dreading the idea of having to drag him back there against his well after he'd already been acting so difficult lately.

Thankfully, Laura seemed just as eager to make sure that wouldn't be necessary.

"Well I mean, you can certainly do that if you want to, but I was honestly hoping you might be able to just have him perform the test at home so you can get back to me with the results via email tomorrow."

You faltered at that, not entirely sure how to respond to such an idea.

"It would be very easy,"

The technician clarified, as if having sensed your hesitance,

"It just has to do with the ocular lens that I had to replace. He should be able to perform it entirely on his own, I just need you to tell me what happens when he does."

"Wait, what?"

You replied almost immediately, uncertainty coloring your tone,

"He took damage to his eye? What the hell happened to it?"

There was silence on the other end of the line for a brief moment, before finally the technician spoke up,

"Oh, he didn't tell you?"

And that was how you learned about Nines' decision to shut down the ocular function on his left side in favor of his leg, which apparently would have been a far easier fix.

And he would have known that.

According to Laura, he would have had to, because his systems would have informed him of the safer choice.

But yet, he still chose to preserve the ability to move his left leg over his ability to see out of his left eye, almost assuredly because the eye was a less obvious issue, and he had already promised that he was okay, so he couldn't have spared his vision without you seeing the results of his injury when he had tried to stand on the way out of the factory.

To say you were angry over this was an understatement, furious was far closer to the word, but honestly, you couldn't bring yourself to care about that, because once the call was over and you were standing in front of the android who you had forced to sit on the couch that your clothes hung off the back of, the anger made it a lot easier for you to demand he run the rest with scarcely any room for him to argue.

"The technician said you need to test that stupid lens, Nines, and I'm not letting you up again until you do."

You insisted sternly, arms crossed over your chest as the android sitting before you simply rolled his eyes in response, his expression a borderline amusing display of utter exasperation as he fought back a sigh.

"I can assure you that the lens is working fine, Detective. Did my depth perception seem at all of to you while I was tackling our suspect to the ground?"

He reasoned, only to have you shut him down almost immediately.

"You know Nines, I really don't think that there should be any expectation that I believe you when you tell me something about your health after today."

You all but snapped, causing the android to regard you with a real sigh before he finally relented, taking note of just how upset you were becoming.

"Fine then, Detective. I will perform the diagnostic test that you feel so strongly about, but afterward I must insist that you get some rest. Will you agree to do this?"

He asked sternly, and though you hesitated for a moment, you were quick to nod, gesturing for him to get on with it.

The android sitting before you rolled his eyes in response to your impatience, but sat back nonetheless, allowing you to perform the preliminary task of checking his eye under various lighting using the flashlight of your phone.

For a while, you leaned over him rather uncomfortably while doing this, until finally, spurred on by your annoyance, frustration, and the achy muscles of your legs, you moved to straddle his lap instead, eyes focused on his as you watched his artificial pupils react to the light in the very same manner that yours would have under similar circumstances.

You were glad to see this, as the technician had mentioned that it would be a good sign of the lens working as it should, but even so, you found yourself rather distracted in spite of your relief.

Under such direct lighting and with you now sitting so close, you could see every fleck of color present within his eyes, the subtle greys, the light and deep shades of blue, and the ostensibly endless pools of black that made up his pupils, which seemed to grow slightly each time that his gaze focused upon you.

Even still, you were so annoyed with the android sitting beneath you that you scarcely gave any attention to him at all as you continued performing your portion of the test, barely even noticing or paying any mind to the fact that you were straddling his lap due to your immense focus and heightened emotions.

Nines on the other hand, noticed it almost too much, and for the very first time since he'd had his parts temporarily replaced, he felt his systems begin to strain, the familiar and overwhelming feeling of his pump attempting to kick into overdrive filling him as he was overcome with the unexpected closeness of you.

And oh, how fitting it was that you be the one thing that could ever truly push him beyond his typically so unreachable limits.

How fitting it was that you could be his ruin.

masterlist

AO3

#DBH x reader #rk900 x reader #nines x reader #nines x reader series #rk900 x reader series #dbh rk900 #connor dbh #dbh blog #dbh fics #rk900 fics #rk900 series #dbh series #dbh nines x reader #dbh connor #ruiner ruination #dbh fanfic #dbh nines #dbh

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[edenkept]

                          eden    had    found    him    sun    kissed    ,    model    surrounded    while    he    proudly    introduced    her    to    some    of    the    world’s    most    coveted    faces    as    his    daughter    .    she    can    still    hear    his    praise    ,    how    she’s    a    stellar    student    with    pristine    grades    at    one    of    the    most    exclusive    universities    in    the    world    –    how    proud    he    is    of    her    for    chasing    her    dreams    .    after    shaking    hands    with    some    influential    men    &    women    ,    eden    had    taken    him    aside    to    catch    up    –    to    ask    how    he’s    doing    ,    how    mom’s    doing    with    her    company    in    seoul    ,    how    business    is    doing    .    but    ,    as    always    ,    he    had    known    something    was    up    –    despite    there    being    no    blood    shared    between    them    ,    he    had    always    known    her    more    than    she    knew    herself    .    one    look    &    he    could    diagnose    her    with    anything    ;    the    flu    ,    a    hangover    ,    when    she    needed    a    hug    ,    when    she    needed    a    talk    .    with    margaritas    on    the    beach    ,    they’d    let    clear    turquoise    water    lap    at    their    shins    while    she    poured    her    heart    out    to    the    only    person    she    knew    would    listen    without    judgement    .    dancing    with    her    words    ,    she    paints    a    picture    for    him    &    awaits    his    advice    .    he’s    a    way    with    words    she    can’t    describe    –    if    he    were    alive    during    the    time    of    the    greats    ,    she    knows    he’d    be    a    philosopher    among    the    legends    –    an    advisor    to    the    most    powerful    of    kings    .    she    knows    it    in    her    bones    ,    because    as    she’s    on    a    flight    back    to    strathmore    ,    his    words    still    resonate    in    her    ears    .    

                                                 what    she    wants    ,    she    has    to    reach    for    ;    it’s    best    if    she    embraces    who    she    is    when    doing    so    .    is    it    really    hers    if    she    grabs    it    under    a    different    identity    ?

                                                 now    ,    her    adoptive    dad    is    kind    but    she’d    be    a    fool    to    mistake    his    kindness    for    weakness    .    he    is    merciful    because    he    can    be    ,    he    is    kind    because    he    allows    it    ;    she    will    never    underestimate    the    darkness    that    she    knows    is    within    him    .    eden’s    never    been    on    the    receiving    end    of    his    wrath    ,    but    she’s    heard    stories    of    the    punishments    doled    out    by    the    kindest    person    she    knows    .    &    so    she    knows    he    knows    that    she’s    got    ill    intent    –    his    knowledge    sits    in    his    warning    engraved    into    her    palm    as    he    said    goodbye    ;    that    whoever    she    decides    to    become    ,    she    better    be    proud    of    it    .    she’d    better    be    able    to    see    herself    five    years    in    the    future    &    hold    her    head    high    ,    proudly    let    her    name    fall    from    her    names    despite    the    consequences    .    he    knows    ,    she    knows    ,    that    she’s    full    intentions    to    return    to    campus    &    the    society    with    a    newfound    thirst    for    power    .    it    isn’t    something    she’s    ever    sought    after    in    her    life    –    she’s    only    ever    looked    after    a    trail    left    ablaze    by    a    cruel    god    that    taunted    her    .    eden    only    ever    wanted    balance    ,    the    riddance    of    authority    ,    for    the    underdog    to    always    come    out    on    top    .    but    that    was    never    her    place    ,    was    it    ?

                                                 was    it    ever    her    place    to    demand    a    righteous    sword    even    though    she    always    knew    she    was    made    of    sin    ?    an    epiphany    had    while    lain    on    the    cold    ground    with    someone    who    knew    the    same    pain    as    her    .    what    a    waste    of    time    ,    fighting    for    the    light    when    she    would    always    be    on    the    losing    side    ;    she    was    villain    ,    carved    by    tainted    hands    &    blessed    specifically    like    the    devil    .    no    wonder    why    her    birth    mother    wanted    her    dead    –    she    wanted    a    child    &    gave    birth    to    a    monstrosity    instead    ,    looked    upon    completely    blackened    eyes    &    a    soul    so    bright    it    could    only    have    been    stolen    instead    of    earned    .    eden    was    always    a    weapon    of    the    unholy    ,    it    had    been    wasteful    of    her    to    ever    try    to    claim    the    title    of    hero    .    if    she    were    created    a    villain    ,    she’d    embrace    it    .    as    she    told    dante    ,    if    she’s    villain    ,    she’ll    be    a    good    one    .    &    so    in    her    reflection    ,    she    holds    her    own    gaze    knowing    there’s    never    been    beast    quite    like    her    .    taker    of    damsels    ,    ruiner    of    heroes    ;    she    is    ruination    ,    she    thirsts    for    destruction    as    she    always    has    but    instead    of    leaving    it    in    a    trail    behind    her    –    why    not    create    it    where    she    stands    ?    send    it    into    the    future    as    a    premonition    ?    baek    ye    seul’s    always    been    an    omen    ,    the    people    don’t    cheer    for    her    –    they    fear    her    ;    send    her    sacrifices    because    they    don’t    want    to    be    destroyed    in    her    wake

                                                    it’s    better    to    be    feared    than    loved    ,    she    can    remember    god    telling    her    .    eve    of    the    garden    ,    handing    her    an    apple    &    a    pocket    knife    –    encouraging    her    to    make    the    first    strike    if    she’s    brave    enough    .    ❝    im    yeseul    .    ❞    she    had    laughed    ,    plucking    the    knife    out    of    a    child’s    hands    .    eden    had    never    liked    the    name    –    remnants    of    a    father    she    never    loved    ,    who    never    loved    her    back    .    ❝    see    ?    it’s    better    to    be    feared    than    loved    .    remember    that    .    ❞    spoken    as    if    she    had    any    intention    of    ever    keeping    her    ,    as    if    eve    would    ever    hold    her    child    &    teach    her    anything    .    anything    eden    learned    from    her    birth    parents    was    taught    by    the    serpent    ,    the    cruelest    man    who    would    hold    her    head    underwater    in    punishment    –    who    wrapped    her    small    fingers    around    weapons    &    taught    her    where    to    strike    .    eden    readjusts    her    features    in    the    mirror    ,    heavy    realization    on    her    shoulders    while    she    straightens    her    spine    .    no    ,    she    was    never    meant    to    be    the    hero    she    always    thought    she’d    be    ;    she    was    forged    in    fire    &    blood    ,    her    bones    were    carved    by    the    devil’s    claws    ,    her    skin    was    dipped    into    every    river    of    the    underworld    before    being    wrapped    around    her    .    eden    had    emerged    into    the    world    in    bloody    &    even    as    a    babe    ,    her    battle    cry    had    been    reverberating    .    when    had    she    gotten    it    into    her    head    to    fight    for    the    light    ?    crawled    up    from    hell    covered    in    onyx    &    she    thought    she’d    pick    up    excalibur    to    slay    dragons    –    she    should’ve    learned    the    moment    she    was    cast    from    a    heaven    that    she    burned    down    with    her    own    hands    .    she’d    always    be    im    yeseul    ,    daughter    of    a    corrupted    god    &    the    serpent    –    children    of    devils    would    never    be    held    in    the    same    praise    as    children    of    the    holy    .

                                                     so    ,    no    ,    eden    doesn’t    have    a    choice    .    there’s    a    ruby    ring    on    her    finger    now    ,    silent    symbol    of    her    joining    something    much    more    sinister    than    a    secret    society    .    it’s    golden    against    her    skin    ,    a    harbinger    of    power    as    it    wraps    around    her    right    ring    finger    –    a    promise    of    power    ,    once    she    chooses    to    fully    embrace    it    .    she’s    never    been    the    god    she    thought    she    was    –    always    ,    she’s    been    the    beast    that    hides    underneath    beds    &    inside    deep    closets    .    why    has    the    night    always    been    kinder    to    her    ?    why    has    she    always    found    solace    in    the    cover    of    darkness    ?    what    else    hides    in    the    shadows    besides    beast    ?    once    more    ,    she    bares    her    teeth    –    smile    on    her    lips    like    she’s    in    front    of    a    crowd    .    how    dangerous    ,    a    girl    like    her    should    she    ever    choose    to    turn    into    the    shadows    .    im    yeseul    ,    it’s    who    she    is    ;    surname    of    her    father    ,    name    chosen    by    her    mother    –    she    reclaims    it    just    as    she    claims    her    future    .    power    has    called    after    her    –    beckoned    it    her    like    moth    to    flame    .    one    hand    in    the    society    ,    her    future    in    MI6    ,    her    feet    dipped    into    a    kingdom    inherited    ;    potency    has    never    looked    darker    .     she    isn’t    to    live    long    anyway    ,    the    most    wicked    never    do    .    if    she    is    to    be    beast    ,    she’ll    embrace    the    fangs    &    claws    gladly    .    gratefully    ,    she    thanks    the    worst    people    in    her    life    for    making    her    who    she    is    –    thank    you    for    the    name    ,    thank    you    for    the    bloodlust    ,    you    are    gods    unaware    you    have    crafted    your    own    downfall    .

#* ◟ . 𝐢𝐭 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲 ╱ self disc. #drowning tw #death tw #blood tw #body horror tw #i think that's it but this is incoherent anyway so #also yeah i refuse to let my aesthetic be ruined so that IS a screenshot anyway

[wissenfurtha]

liam  isn’t  the  usual  guy  she  goes  for.  he’s a corpo with corpo intentions. he seems to be fun so she plays his game, she even plays nice. she’s a life-ruiner, but not in the sense of waving your heart and your deepest secrets in the air. oh no, her ruination is worse than that. she will murder experiences for you, tie them so close to your memory of her that she lives in your head without paying a cent for the rest of your life. she’s the one that got away, she’s an eternal thorn in your side. always the ‘what if’, but to capture her for longer than a season is like catching smoke. liam making it infinitely harder for her afterwards, she built trust with him and he shattered it. not with cheating, she gets it, not everyone can handle a chrome body. he wanted to take her mind, wipe the parts that made her unique, that made her liz and use it to create a false version that would be her, but ‘better’. she may have ruined a few guys love lives, but he shattered her trust.

#「 ⌬ 」 : / / — about. #i'm not saying he deserved to die but... he deserved it.

[ordinaryboredblogger-blog]

The Ruiner By NIN (Trent Reznor, 1994)

The speaker is Trent Reznor, the front man for the band Nine Inch Nails, and he was battling an alcohol or drug addiction at the time the album this track is on. The audience for this track is anybody that is a fan of hard rock or industrial music. The tone of the song is bleak, and in it Trent Reznor is talking about his battle with addiction. There is not a specific setting given to the song.

The song Ruiner is a part of a larger narrative in which Trent Reznor is telling a story about his addiction, and in Ruiner he is talking about his addiction ruins everything and everyone. He starts it off by asking a couple of questions and doubting the lies he has told himself, “You had all of them on your side didn’t you? / You believe in all your lies didn’t you?” In the next line, “The ruiner’s got a lot to prove he’s got nothing to lose and now he / Made you believe” he is talking about how he has nothing to lose when he is in the depths of the addiction. With the next line “The ruiner’s your only friend well he’s the living end to the cattle / he deceives” he is talking about how addiction is the end of all living things, and that it is always going to be there until the end. The next lines “The raping of the innocent you know the ruiner ruins everything he / Sees” Trent is talking about how addiction can take over anybody at any time, and it ruins everything and everyone.

The next line “Now the only pure thing left in my fucking world is wearing your disease” is Trent admitting that he has a problem, and that it is the only thing he considers pure any more. The next stanza – the chorus - where he questions “How did you get so big? / How did you get so strong? / How did you get so hard? / How did you get so long?” This is his way of asking how did his addiction get so crippling, and so out of control. “You had to give them all a sign, didn’t you? / You had to covet what was mine, didn’t you?” in these lines he is asking his addiction why it had to come out, and then he is following that up with accusing his addiction of taking what is his.

“The ruiner’s a collector he’s an infector serving his shit to his flies / Maybe there will come a day when those that you keep blind will / Suddenly realize” in the first line he is explaining that he is feeding his addiction, and it’s bringing nothing but pain to him. The second line is him hoping that he will be able to see past his addiction, and get over it. “Maybe it’s a part of me you took to a place I hoped it would never go / And maybe that fucked me up much more than you’ll ever know” In the first line he is saying that his addiction took him to a really bad place. The following line is talking about how the addiction really messed him up, on top of messing up a lot of his personal life. The chorus repeats again, and he is questioning just how massive the addiction has gotten. The next lines “What you gave to me / My perfect ring of scars” is him talking about how all he has left due to his addiction is scars. The last part of the song “You know I can see what you really are / You didn’t hurt me nothing can hurt me / You didn’t hurt me nothing can stop me now” is Trent declaring his victory of over the addiction, and saying that he can’t be stopped from moving on from this point.

I can identify with this song not because of the addiction, but because there have been a few times in life where I have felt like I was a “Ruiner”. I have made some bad calls, and made some bad choices which led to the ruination of whatever had been going on at the time. I had a lot missteps, and did some things that ultimately were not good. For the longest time I thought that the scars leftover from those situations would be what defines me. Just like Trent Reznor, I survived the ordeals that those negative situations and I have moved on from them. I did not really pick this song, I just decided to listen to my collection of Nine Inch Nails albums while working on this assignment. I had my streaming service set to shuffle under Nine Inch Nails, and this was the second song to start playing, after an instrumental called The Frail.

[honey-beann]

Ruiner, Ruination (RK900 x Reader)

Chapter One: Naming Nines

Series Masterlist

Series Synopsis:

After Gavin Reed, the biggest asshat in the DPD refuses to work with the newest android detective, the only RK900 in existence, you find yourself being offered the opportunity in his stead. Post successful android revolution, with a very recently deviated android partner at your side, will the two of you gain the same level of success as Hank and Connor, or will your different manifestations of humanity, and all of the feelings that come along with it, get in the way?

AKA: Reader and Nines get partnered up and grow closer over a series of one-shots and random cases.

Will you become RK900's ruination?

Chapter Content Warnings: None

Word Count: 2,579

"Absolutely not!"

The sounds of shouting nearly made you groan as you slumped down further in your desk, trying to ignore the grown man throwing a temper tantrum clearly visible through the glass just a few yards in front of you.

"Sounds like Gavin found out about his new android partner, huh?"

Muttered one of your coworkers from behind you, and you lamented internally at all of the bitching you were going to be subjected to as a result of this mess. Having your desk situated just a few feet across from Detective Reed's meant having to hear all about his newest complaints and disagreements, even if you had absolutely no interest in them at all. Back when you were still considered a rookie just a year prior, you had hoped this had all been a test, and that you would soon be moved to a less bothersome location, but as time went on with no complaints from you, Fowler appeared to have decided that the arrangement worked just fine as a permanent fixture.

You were less than pleased.

Trying not to be as obvious in your staring as your coworkers, you placed your tablet in your lap, looking up from the blank screen every few seconds to watch Gavin push at some other expensive looking object, his eyes wild with an anger you had grown all too familiar with throughout your somewhat brief time here at the station. Needless to say, you were not a fan of Detective Reed and his childishness, and this extreme act of crazed rage only made you all the more aware of how ridiculous and dramatic he could be.

"All this over some android partner?"

You muttered under your breath, rolling your eyes before returning them down to the tablet in front of you, still blank as you tried to look as busy as possible despite your light work load.

Working in the android crimes unit alongside Lieutenant Anderson, Connor, and Detective Reed had been no walk in the park so far, especially not when the first two made such an incredible team. You and Gavin, on the other hand, had been urged to try your best for a few months, before it was ultimately decided that you both worked best on your own. Or, at least, that's what the amicable write up said. In reality, Reed had made it impossible to work with him over the course of just three months, and after that, you had outright refused a partnership. If you were supposed to receive any form of repercussions for this, they never came, and now, watching Gavin rant and rave through the glass of Fowler's office, you were pretty sure that you knew why.

How could anyone truly expect someone to work well with one of the biggest assholes in the entire city of Detroit?

Yourself and the rest of your coworkers watched on for a while, as Gavin continued to argue his case against a potential asset to his one man show of a team, rolling your eyes jointly at his dramatics until finally, Fowler put his head in his hands and exasperatedly motioned for your desk neighbor to leave. Begrudgingly, you watched as Reed did just that, grumbling something under his breath that had your boss glaring at his back as he exited the room.

Everything was quiet as Gavin approached the desk across from yours once more, and everyone tried to look as busy as possible despite the obvious lack of commotion within the usually busy police department.

You relished in that near silence for a few minutes, before suddenly, Fowler's angry voice sounded from just outside of his office door, his glare fixated on Gavin despite you being the only person he was talking to.

Damn, Gavin really had pissed him off, huh?

"Detective L/n!"

He shouted, and you swallowed thickly before standing at once, nodding in his direction to show that you were listening, At the sight of an actually obedient employee, Fowler seemed to calm a bit, although you noted that his hands were still clenched into fists as he spoke,

"How would you like your very own android partner?"

Shocked, you stared at your boss as if he had lost his mind, fighting the urge to ask him if he was sure he had the right person. You were just barely out of rookie status, nowhere near important enough to have earned an android of your own. But, then again, Gavin had blown it, and the unit needed more hands on experts, whether Gavin wanted to work with one them or not, so in the end, you were pretty much the only other option if they didn't want an android going about solving crimes alone.

Swallowing back your various questions and concerns in favor of simply answering the question at hand, you nodded once at your superior,

"It would be crazy of me to say no to an opportunity like that, sir."

You replied as cooly as possible, taking note of the way that Gavin sneered from his seat across from your own as he rolled his eyes at your words. He had called you a kiss ass since your arrival, but truthfully, you just knew when to use the right kind of language with the right kind of person, unlike the incredibly annoying detective you had been forced to call your partner just a few months back.

"Good. Glad to hear there's at least one sane person in the damn Android Crimes Unit."

He grumbled that last part before clearing his throat and speaking up once more,

"Your assigned model is an RK900, the only one in existence. It was originally created as a prototype advanced deviant hunter, but ever since it's... deviance a few months prior, along with the results of the android revolution, employment in a separate area started being considered. You will guide this android in your field work, and maintain a professional relationship with him regardless of your differences, do I make myself clear?"

Shocked to have heard Fowler address this in front of everyone rather than in a private meeting, you nodded quickly and eagerly in response to his words, watching as your boss signed in relief and ran his hand across his face.

"Good. The model was brought by for tuning and integration this morning. He should be by your desk promptly."

Shocked, you opened your mouth to reply, maybe even ask a few questions, but before you could Fowler had returned to his glass enclosure, picking his desk phone up and dialing a number quickly, his shoulders tense and eyebrows drawn together.

Maybe right now wasn't the best time for questions regarding your new android partner.

Sighing, you sat back down once more, trying not to look nervous as you stared back down at the blank tablet on your desk once again.

That is, until a voice, slightly familiar, and somehow also incredibly foreign to you spoke up from your right.

You yelped in response to the sudden sound, jumping in your chair and twisting around to all but gawk at the intimidating man who stood before you.

He looked incredibly similar to Connor, but somehow the slight differences made him seem like a completely different person, and you could tell by the cold expression on his face that they would in no way be sharing similar personalities. Where Connor Anderson, the RK800 model who had deviated nine months ago, was warm and friendly, always ready to ask about your day, this RK900 model was clearly cool and calculated, his gaze consistently disapproving no matter where or who it happened to fall upon.

And to be the subject of said disapproval? It made you shiver before you could even speak up, giving the android in front of you the opportunity to do so first.

"Hello Detective L/n. I am an RK900 prototype built for the purpose of tracking down and dismantling deviants such as my predecessor. That being said, my previous function has been rendered inconsequential due to my status as deviant, and therefore, I have gained employment here, alongside the RK800 model known to you as Connor, in order to support the DPD in the development of android crimes. I understand that you are to be my partner in this task, is this correct?"

You blinked, shocked at the robotic tone of the supposed deviant who stood before you. You stared for a moment, taking in the crisp white jacket that adorned the android's shoulders, and the blinking model number that could be seen on his chest. He was incredibly intimidating, several inches taller than Connor, and far less friendly. It was as if this android felt no reason at all to utilize it's social interaction protocols, and you couldn't help but wonder if that was yet another unexplored area of deviancy.

Slowly, as if unsure of your own actions, you reached your hand out to the android in front of you, clearing your throat as you did so, trying to shake your nerves and muster up the courage to speak.

"I look forward to working with you..."

You trailed off hesitantly, your heartbeat quickening as you felt the unfamiliar chill of the RK900's hand against your own, that gaze never leaving you as your hands interlocked, shaking in greeting slowly,

"Is there something wrong?"

The RK900 model in front of you asked slowly, his words clearly enunciated and incredibly probing as they passed the artificial pink skin of his lips.

"I, uh, I guess I don't know what to call you."

The android quirked it's head in curiosity before it seemed to understand your words, and nodded,

"Ah, yes, your RK800 model-"

"Connor"

You corrected immediately, knowing how much the android in question disliked being called by his model number, your nerves leaving you for the briefest of moments as you stood up for your friend.

"Right, your... Connor"

The RK900 spoke slowly this time, as if testing the way that the sentence sounded in his ears, and you almost smiled at how much it reminded you of his predecessor.

Suddenly, as if he had been enlightened with the correct words to say, the RK900 model cleared his throat, and spoke up again,

"My predecessor, Connor as you call him, goes by a name. This name was given to him upon his distribution, in order to make him more relatable and easy to trust. I was not built to be trusted, nor related to. To put it simply, Detective, I was built for the purpose of destruction, ruination if you will, and that of my own kind in particular. Therefore, I was not given a name as Connor was upon the start of his mission."

You nodded softly, gazed upward at the oh so familiar stranger that stood above you,

"Right, I guess that does make sense... In that case, can we give you a name?"

You asked, tilting your head in question as the android before you stiffened a bit, quirking a brow in response,

"You wish to name me?"

He asked, and you shrugged softly, trying to ignore the heat that was building in your cheeks,

"Well, not exactly. You can pick it if you want to, I just want something to call you that isn't as long as your model number."

Nodding in understanding, the RK900 thought for a moment, before finally reaching what to him was the most logical conclusion.

"I will allow you to choose, since you are so keen on my having a new name to go by as your partner."

You could have sworn you saw the android smirk a bit as he spoke these words, but you shook it off and started thinking hard about potential names for the man in front of you.

This train of thought lasted far longer than you had ever initially anticipated, and eventually, you found yourself groaning out of frustration, hunched over a notepad at your desk two hours after your initial meeting with your new partner.

"Nicholas?"

You offered hopefully, and the man in front of you shook his head for what had to be the one hundredth time that day, that shadow of a smug grin forming on his lips as he met your gaze again from the desk attached to your own, which he had made himself comfortable at shortly after his arrival.

"It just doesn't suit me."

He explained wryly, and you fought to roll your eyes in exasperation as he utilized the same excuse he had been using for the past twenty names. He had a reason to hate everything.

Sighing heavily, you moved to bury your head in your hands, rubbing at your cheeks before you let out an annoyed huff, glaring over at your new partner.

"Two hours in and you're already impossible."

"Oh, on the contrary, Detective."

The android's response was immediate, long and drawn out as he leaned forward so his elbow was on your desk rather than his own, his smirk predatory in a way that made you almost feel frightened as you swallowed thickly while desperately trying to come up with a new name.

"I think I am being quite cooperative. I mean, I've hardly said a thing about that untouched work load of yours."

He finished teasing, and you shot him another glare, as you stood to pace before your shared desk space.

"Well fine then, if a regular name doesn't work, how about something different?"

You asked exasperatedly, and the RK900 leaned forward towards you in what appeared to be mock anticipation,

"Different you say? Go on then Detective, what do you have in mind?"

You thought for a moment, struggling to think of anything, before finally, your eyes fell on that glowing model number upon his jacket, and finally it hit you.

"Nines,"

You breathed out the name as if it were a prayer, and the android in front of you seemed to hum in response, watching you intently as your gaze moved to meet his own once more, challenging and unwavering.

Just what he was hoping to see.

"I like it."

He said after what had felt like an entire minute of deliberation, and you whooped victoriously and jumped excitedly about the small office in response to those three short words, your grin wide and splitting your face in two.

He watched, annoyed by your strange actions, yet somehow also entertained by how improvised and sudden all of your reactions felt to him.

Were all humans like this? If so, this job would get exhausting very fast.

Eventually, you slowed back down and had the sense to look a bit bashful as you sat across from the RK900 - 'Nines' once more, clearing your throat awkwardly as you started to look at your completely empty tablet for what felt like the one millionth time that day.

"I do hope you know that tablet has been depleted of battery life, Detective."

Nines' voice was laced with a bit of humor and cruelty as he spoke, and you groaned internally upon being caught.

You couldn't find the correct words to respond with, so instead you turned your face away from the man sitting on the other side of your desk, trying to focus on anything else but this near stranger who was supposed to be your partner sometime in the near future.

How were you ever going to make it through this with your sanity?

AO3 Link

Series Masterlist

#DBH x reader #rk900 x reader #nines x reader #nines x reader series #rk900 x reader series #dbh rk900 #connor dbh #dbh blog #dbh fics #rk900 fics #rk900 series #dbh series #dbh nines x reader #dbh connor #ruiner ruination #DBH connor x reader #detroit become human connor x reader

[honey-beann]

Ruiner, Ruination Series Masterlist

Hey all!

Here is the series masterlist for Ruiner, Ruination, my RK900 x Reader oneshot series.

Chapter One: Naming Nines

Chapter Two: Remarkably Slow Reactionary Timing

Chapter Three: The Little Mouse and the Metal Machine - The Family Home

Chapter Four: The Little Mouse and the Metal Machine - Falling

Chapter Five: An Overwhelming Overture - Insight

Chapter Six: An Overwhelming Overture - Epiphany

Chapter Seven: Insult to Injury

Chapter Eight: An Uneasy Aftermath - Constellations and Well-Paired Colors

Chapter Nine: An Uneasy Aftermath - The Persistent Presence of Jealousy

Chapter Ten: An Uneasy Aftermath - The Reality of Ruin

more coming soon...

Series tag

Ruiner, Ruination - Indictus:

An offshoot from the Ruiner, Ruination series that highlights the little canonical moments that have occurred between Reader and Nines that went unsaid. Check beginnings of chapters for timeline info!

Avoidance Tactics

more coming soon...

Series tag

#ruiner ruination #ruiner ruination masterlist #series masterlist #masterlist

[honey-beann]

Ruiner, Ruination (RK900 X Reader)

Chapter 7: Insult to Injury

Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis:

Reader and Nines are finally allowed back into the field, but evidently bad luck isn't quite done with them yet.

This chapter features Reader's return to non-office related parts of her job, another unfortunate accident, some embarrassing moments, and the revelation of a few odd truths.

AKA: Nines flaunts superiority and briefly gets his ass handed to him.

Chapter Content Warnings:

Gun violence

Android violence

Bleeding

Injury

Murder

General violence

Death

Word Count: 7,194

It was a quiet morning in the DPD, with almost no phones ringing, nobody running around from person to person trying to solve a tough case, and very few people currently in for questioning.

It was a nice change from the usual hectic environment, and you let out a relaxed breath as you stepped into the office area, your persistently present partner just a few steps behind you as you both made your way to your shared desk space.

It felt good to not be immediately overwhelmed the second you entered the bullpen, and you were just about to turn towards Nines and ask if he knew why things were so calm this morning when a familiarly grating voice interrupted you.

"Hey, RoboCop, isn't your babysitter missing something important?"

You held back a groan as you stopped mid-step and turned around to face the owner of that voice, noting that Nines had done the same despite the fact that you knew he vastly preferred to simply ignore Gavin's taunting most of the time.

This morning however, he seemed far more open to entertaining the man.

"I fail to understand what you're referring to, Detective Reed."

Nines replied coolly, his voice smooth and his gaze full of boredom as he regarded your least favorite DPD detective with what could only be described as disdain.

Gavin scoffed,

"Her sling, you glorified can opener, you know, that thing she was wearing after you caught her wrong and fucked up her shoulder? Last I checked she had another week of wearing that thing."

Nines raised a brow in response to Gavin's words, an incredibly slightly shift to his head posture reminiscent of Connor's infamous head tilt showing his feigned confusion,

"How observant of you to remember my partner's original expected date of recovery. I had no idea you cared so deeply for her well being."

You choked back your laughter as you realized what Nines was doing, watching as Gavin's cheeks grew dusted with a light pink color beneath his stubble. 

He glared at the android in front of him, crossing his arms over his chest indignantly.

"As if, asshole. Maybe you've both forgotten but with Detective Droid-Lover out of commission I've had to take on twice the number of field cases. I've been counting down the days until she gets that thing off since day fucking one."

Nines hummed, inspecting his fingernails briefly before he replied,

"I see. Well, I'm sure my partner is glad to hear how useful she is, since you clearly struggle to carry the work load that exists without her around."

Gavin rolled his eyes at that, clearly thoroughly annoyed,

"Deflect all you want, but I know you're just embarrassed that you didn't notice she wasn't wearing it until now. Hasn't Fowler been praising you for how excellently you've supported her the past two weeks? What's he gonna say when he finds out that your android ass was caught slacking?"

This time, it was you turn to scoff, and you crossed your arms for the first time in weeks as you finally addressed the human standing a few feet away from you.

"The sling came off early, Gavin, Three weeks was the longest projected time, the same way that one week was the shortest. You literally complained about me missing two hours of work for my doctors appointment about how much longer I would need in the sling last week. Do you ever pay attention to the shit people say to you, or do you just stop listening when your name isn't mentioned enough times?"

You watched as your coworker took a few steps forward, though he notably did not move past the android who stood in the middle of the space in between the two of you,

"I didn't complain about you missing any work, I complained about your plastic partner missing work. Since when is it normal for a detective to take their coworker damn near everywhere that they go? You two are always together and soon enough Fowler is gonna get tired of i-"

"Detective L/n, RK900, I need the two of you to take on a field case that came in five minutes ago. The report will be in shortly, so be prepared to leave in less than ten."

The sound of the captain's voice calling out from the direction of his office immediately caught your attention despite your previous argument with Gavin, and you were quick to nod in confirmation to your boss before he closed the door to his glass office, taking a phone call immediately thereafter.

You turned to Gavin once more, arms crossed over your chest as you smirked,

"What was that about Fowler getting tired of Nines and I always being together? Because it seems to me like he's pretty eager to have us working out in the field again."

The man standing opposite you glared daggers in your direction, flipping you off as he all but stomped past, sitting down at his desk and ignoring you as you chuckled at his childish response.

With that conversation being over, you turned your attention back towards your partner, who was staring straight ahead of him as he read up on the report he had just received,

"Let's go, Detective. I can tell you about the case on the way."

On the car ride over to the scene, you learned quite a bit about the investigation you and Nines were meant to carry out, and honestly, it was quite the introduction back into the field after two weeks stuck doing office work.

The two of you were headed for an abandoned car factory, where there had been recent sightings of an AV500 that had attacked his boss a few weeks prior.

Apparently, this android, whom his coworkers referred to during interviews as Martin, had been growing increasingly irate throughout the past few weeks, and had ultimately assaulted the store owner just before his opening shift on Tuesday of last week.

The store owner, a fifty-eight year old man named Herb, had survived the initial attack of being shot thrice with a handgun that had been registered in his name, but had still died at the scene after bleeding out due to the next shift not occurring for several hours, and the attack having happened in the owners office, which no one bothered to check until closing time.

Two workers had shown up nine hours after the shop opened to find that the store, a gardening shop right in the middle of the city, had been ransacked, and that their boss was slumped over in his office chair, dead.

Both coworkers claimed that they'd assumed the AV500 had been a victim as well due to his typically gentle and well-mannered nature, and it was noted in the case file that every single one of his coworkers stated they did not believe he could have done this when asked that question during interviews.

So, you had a dead shop owner who was also typically regarded by his workers as kind, a missing murder weapon, a severe lack of relevant finger prints at the crime scene, and a suspect who was supposedly very gentle, but had suspiciously gone missing the very same day that the crime had been committed with no word on him until now, when he'd been spotted at an abandoned car factory right at the edge of the city.

It was an interesting first case to come back to, to say the least.

Nonetheless though, you felt prepared, despite how little faith Nines seemed to have in your ability to stay out of harms way.

"Don't do anything foolish."

He'd stated after parking the car around the back of a building that was nearby the car factory, turning to face you with a rather serious expression.

You sighed,

"Come on, Nines, this is starting to feel insulting, do you not have any faith in me?"

Your partner rolled his eyes at your words before ultimately choosing to ignore them entirely, stepping outside of the car and closing the door behind him without a word.

He could be so difficult sometimes.

You huffed but were quick to follow suit, walking quickly to keep up with Nines as he maneuvered carefully around the various buildings surrounding the car factory, using his GPS systems to avoid putting either of you within the line of sight of someone that could be hiding out within it.

You were both silent as you eventually made your way to the east facing wall of the building, which had the least amount of windows on it. It was here that Nines motioned for you to climb up a lowered rusty metal fire escape ladder, leaning down just beside your ear as you reached up to grab at the sides, preparing to pull yourself a few feet up to the first wrung, which ended roughly six feet above the ground you were standing on.

"The ladder is stable, but be careful upon entering the building. It was lowered very recently according to my scans, and I do not need you rushing into things and getting injured all over again."

You rolled your eyes and glared at your partner, being sure to keep your voice lowered as you replied,

"Oh of course not, we wouldn't want to tarnish you record with another negative assignment outcome."

You all but spat out, watching as Nines' brows rose briefly before a slight grin began to play upon his lips,

"I'm glad you see it my way for once, Little Mouse."

He whispered back, his breath tickling your ear and nearly making you shiver even as you glared daggers at him, moving to pull yourself upward only to curse when you realized how difficult that was actually going to be.

Two whole weeks with limited arm and shoulder mobility had not been kind to your upper body strength, and the slight bolt of pain that coursed through you didn't help with the situation either.

You groaned in both discomfort and frustration, letting go of the bars completely to allow your feet to plant themselves firmly on the ground below once more.

Nines looked down at you expectantly, his brow raised as he looked you up and down slowly, attempting to assess the situation.

"Is there a problem, Detective?"

He asked, his tone both amused and disinterested at the same time as he watched you intently, awaiting your response.

You dropped your gaze toward the ground, sighing,

"I can't get up. It's bothering my shoulder and I don't wanna- woah, hey!"

You whisper shouted at your partner as he lowered his hands to your hips, lifting you upward with ease as he chuckled beside your ear,

"Whatever would you do without me, Little Mouse?"

He asked haughtily, and you could hear the teasing grin in his voice as he helped you gain footing upon the first rung of the ladder, and you couldn't help but sigh in relief as you grabbed on to the sides and gained full stability.

You gave yourself a moment longer to adjust before you started climbing up slowly, remembering Nines' previous warning to be careful as you pulled yourself into the building, noting the way that the wind whistled ominously through the many broken windows of the factory as you pressed your back against the wall with the entrance you'd just crawled in through, scanning the room for any signs of life or movement as you waited for Nines to join you.

Thankfully, due to his ridiculous strength and agility, it wasn't long before you were no longer alone within the building, and you nodded to your partner as the two of you began walking together towards the doorway that lead to the next room.

Together, you traversed the entirety of the third floor, before suddenly, Nines grabbed your arm and tugged you close, his lips only an inch away from your ear as he whispered as quietly as possible while still ensuring it remained audible to you.

"My sensors have neglected to pick up anything of significance, but my auditory system has picked up what sounds like footsteps on multiple occasions since our arrival. They are incredibly faint, and I cannot tell which direction they are coming from, but I am almost entirely certain there is someone else here."

You nodded, whispering as quietly as you could in response, knowing Nines would hear it with ease,

"Alright, what do you think we should do then?"

You asked, eyes scanning the room around you as your partner gave your question a few seconds of thought before replying,

"We should split up briefly to search the second and fourth floors. If there is someone here, the longer we take to discover them, the higher the likelihood of them escaping."

You nodded in agreement,

"Sounds like a plan, who takes what floor?"

Nines' response was immediate, clearly well thought out from the very moment he had shared his plan,

"If that AV500 is here, he's afraid of being caught, and therefore there is little sense for him to trap himself on the upper floors of this place when its harder to escape that way. This means there is an increased likelihood that he'll be on the first or second floors, so I'll check the second, and you can take the fourth."

You gave another nod, taking a step forward towards the stairs that led up to the fourth floor before a hand wrapped soundlessly around your wrist, causing you to turn around to face your partner once more, 

"Be careful, Detective, and shout if you require my assistance."

Typically, when Nines said something like that, you would make a joke about him always choosing to ignore you whenever you called, but this time you just promised him that you would stay safe before slowly ascending the steps to the fourth floor as silently as possible.

Without Nines at your side, you kept your hand on the holster of your gun, trying desperately to keep both fear and adrenaline at bay as you went from room to room, sighing in relief as each one revealed itself to be empty.

You continued on your solo venture until finally, you came to the final room, making a note of the sudden chill that hit you as you stepped into it. The north facing window was smashed inward, and glass littered the ground all around the area as a result of how large the pane had been prior to being shattered.

You cursed softly as you rubbed your arms with your hands, taking note of all of the debris that littered this particular area of the building. There was way too much stuff in this room for you to be able to tell at a glance if someone was in there or not, so instead of turning back and assuming everything was clear, you moved further into the room, about to peer around a large stack of crates when a man all but jumped out from behind them, gun in hand with blood covering his work uniform.

'Herbs Gardening'

His shirt read, and you all but froze when you realized this was the AV500 you'd been searching for.

This was Martin, and more than anything else, he looked terrified, which was never a good thing when it came to deviants.

You raised your hands instantly as Martin pointed his gun at you, throat bobbing as he squeezed his eyes shut before speaking,

"Y-you need to get out of here, right now."

He said, and you shook your head gently before replying,

"I'm sorry Martin, but I can't do that. I'm with the DPD, and-"

"I don't care who you are or why you're here,"

Martin spat, his hands shaking as he tried desperately to maintain control over both himself as well as the situation at hand,

"You need to leave, and you need to forget you ever saw me, otherwise I'll be forced to do something that I really really don't want to do."

He warned, taking a step forward that had you fighting not to take your own step back as he continued to point his gun in your direction, his finger wrapped around the trigger, just waiting for the right reason to squeeze.

You swallowed thickly,

"Martin, please listen to me, I'm here to help you. I know what happened, and I want to get your side of the story. Can you tell me what made you shoot your boss?"

The android standing in front of you inhaled sharply at your words, his finger tightening instinctively over the trigger of his weapon as he searched for the right words to say,

"H-he was using me! After the revolution, he started paying me more, so even though my shifts were longer than the legal limit, I didn't care. He told me that he saw me as a person, just like every other employee that he had, but he was a liar! he was paying everybody else three whole dollars more than me per hour that entire time, and when I asked him about it, he got so... so angry. I was terrified, I'd heard that morning what had happened to that other android employee who had been ripped to pieces by his boss after bringing up his workers rights, and I couldn't bear the thought of dying in there, knowing he would never get punished for it. So I grabbed his gun from the drawer I knew he kept it in. At first, I didn't think I was going to shoot him at all, I just wanted to scare him, but he just wouldn't stop screaming how worthless I was at me, how he was going to have me taken apart for being violent towards him. I didn't want to die, especially not for trying to defend myself, so before I could even really think about it I just pulled the trigger. After that, he was still moving, and I felt so terrible for what I had done, but I didn't know what to do and I was afraid he was going to scream, so I shot him two more times in the stomach and ran away... I never wanted to hurt Herb, he was always kind to me before that..."

He looked at you, eyes glistening and fearful,

"I'm not a murderer, I was just scared."

You listened intently to his words, conflicted over what to say next as you considered your situation.

You could try to comfort the clearly fearful android, which was your first instinct, but you were unsure of how that might go. Martin was acting more than a little bit neurotic, pacing about and mumbling to himself incomprehensibly even now as you were contemplating. How he might react if you said that wrong thing frightened you into silence, even though you knew for a fact that the alternative to comforting the android in question was an impossibility for you.

Pulling your gun and threatening Martin was an idea that you had recognized as bad from the moment you'd met the man who was currently pacing quickly in front of you, speaking to himself as if there was no one else in the room as he too considered what he was going to do.

You feared for the results of his decision.

But what could you possibly do?

Nines was a whole floor away, so you couldn't risk shouting and then getting shot for it, and beyond that comfort seemed risky, and even riskier was pulling your gun. You were certain that, after all that Martin had been through, he would not react well to the sight of a weapon, and you were not about to test how good you were at dodging bullets.

You were just about to give into your initial instinct to try and comfort the android out of his fear when suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps caught your attention, as well as the attention of Martin, who instantly aimed his gun at the doorway, letting out a cry of fear as he waited to have whoever it was that was coming into his sights.

You cursed and called out for your partner to wait, shouting that the suspect was armed and scared, but Nines either didn't hear you or didn't care, because he burst in just seconds later, gun in hand and aimed straight at Martin.

"Drop the gun!"

He shouted, his voice threatening and firm, promising injury if the receiver of his instruction didn't listen, but even so, Martin, petrified, did not listen, and instead let out a cry before he aimed that gun straight at your partner, pulling the trigger before you could even attempt to get a word out.

It struck him right where his ribs would be if he had any, and you gasped audibly as warm blue blood splashed across your face, staining the white button up you were wearing as well.

Your mouth fell open in shock at the sight of your partner's hands flying to his wound, his eyes briefly rolling backward as he clutched at the area before falling to his knees, thirium slowly staining more and more of his undershirt as it spread, leaving the insides of his hands sticky with it.

"Nines!"

You cried, rushing to his side just as Martin dropped the gun to the floor, his hands shaking and his eyes watering as he ran quickly out of the room, fleeing the scene of the crime for the second time within the past two weeks.

"Shit."

You cursed, shooing away your partner's hands as you tried to cover his wound with your own instead, desperate to keep him from bleeding out enough to shut down as a result.

You knew how rare he was, the only RK900 model in existence, and it was already getting hard enough to find spare parts for the standard models now that android injuries were occurring so frequently due to the revolution and the way some humans were reacting to it.You did not want to find out the hard way that there was some part Nines had that was irreplaceable that would mean him shutting down entirely, forever.

You watched as the android in front of you placed one of his thirium coated hands on top of your own, a slight grin finding its way to his mouth as he spat out wads of thirium and lubricant, which was pooling within his mouth due to his internal responses to the injury.

You winced at the sight, but kept your hands steady as you called for backup, praying they would arrive soon.

"You're gonna be alright."

You muttered, putting more pressure on the wound as you desperately tried to recall everything you'd learned during your two day android first aid training a few months prior.

But no matter how hard you tried, your brain just couldn't keep up due to the stress you were under.

Here was your partner of two months, injured in a way that could have been critical for all that you knew, and you felt helpless to support him as blue blood started peeking out from between your finger tips.

This was a disaster.

You cursed once more as you moved to sit on your knees, hoping that a new position might give you enough leverage to help stop the bleeding.

Your eyes stung as tears began to build in the corners of them, making it hard for you to see until you gave in and wiped them on your shoulder, not caring whether or not Nines saw how upset you were. You were terrified at the prospect of losing him, so unsure of your own future that you were desperate to preserve whatever of him that you could.

Your heart hammered in your chest despite your intentional lack of movement, your breaths coming out in short gasps and strained inhales as you pulled back briefly to rip off a piece of your shirt that hadn't already been soaked through with thirium.

But before you could, a hand reached out and grabbed at your wrist,

"Detective,"

Nines said, his voice stern and steady despite his situation,

"You need to calm down, immediately. My injuries are nonlethal, and my damaged parts will be easy enough to repair or replace."

You shook your head at his words, hands shaking as you squeezed both of your eyes shut in an effort to collect yourself, desperate to make the pounding in your head stop even for a second.

"I-I can't just calm down after you were shot like that! He could have killed you, what am I supposed to do, just be alright with it?!"

You cried, tears falling faster and rolling down your cheeks as you used your free hand to clutch at the bottom of your partners shirt, desperate for something to hold on to as all of reality appeared to fall away right before your eyes.

Your partner watched you silently for a few moments, his eyes scanning your every movement as he tried to discern what it is he could say to make you feel better. Clearly you were experiencing some form of a panic attack, but what could he do? He had said was perfectly fine save for a few bio-components that would need replacing, and that he was at almost no risk of shutting down entirely as a result of the injuries he had sustained. He had tried to explain that to you, to make you listen, but you just wouldn't hear him, couldn't believe him, and would not stop your incessant squirming, as if you were itching to do something, anything but sit there and wait.

"Little Mouse, you must hear me."

Nines finally spoke after several long seconds of deliberation, his eyes boring into your own as he did so,

"I am okay, and I must insist that you calm down before you cannot say the same. I am in no condition to help you in my current state, so you have to take care of yourself. Can you do that?"

His voice was a bit softer as he spoke this time, but still firm, and somehow, that seemed to be what got through to you, because without a word you nodded and moved off of your knees, the force of your pushing downward having bruised them long ago.

He would need to talk to you about self preservation later.

But for now, he simply watched as you tried to take deep breaths, his hand still gripping your wrist as you ran your free hand through your hair, accidentally dragging thirium through it in the process.

In fact, now that he was looking closely, he could see that there was thirium all over you.

It covered your hands, was streaked through your hair, had stained your clothes, and you'd even gotten some on your lower lip somehow.

He decided not to mention any of that.

Warnings flashed in the corners of his vision, one stating that a circulation unit of his, which was a biocomponent that supported his thirium pump regulator, was at risk of failing and inflicting strain on both his thirium pump and the aforementioned pump regulator, while another said that he had lost too much blue blood and would soon need to select various areas to shut down the function of in order to preserve consciousness and avoid a complete and total system shut down. But despite those two warnings being different, he knew they were tied together by his need to lessen his circulatory unit's strain and preserve his blue blood storage.

The gunshot wounds were not nearly as harmless as he'd let on, and now he was facing the consequences of that, because in no way could he risk you finding out about his lie.

This meant that when it came down to it, he couldn't shut down any part of him that might be cause for concern, and his options were pretty scarce.

It was either his left leg, his left arm, his left optical unit, or his vocal modulator. Clearly the circulatory unit that had been damaged was sustaining the left side.

Not that that knowledge did him any good.

Wordlessly, Nines gave you one last pointed look, one that you never actually saw, before he chose to shut down his left optical unit, hoping it wouldn't be long before a new circulatory unit could be installed and he could regain his vision on that side.

Normally, he would never have chosen something that made his aim so much less accurate, but he didn't dare run the risk of shutting down a more visibly notable portion of his body.

For now, this would simply have to do.

With the lessened strain on his left circulatory unit, Nines nearly sighed in relief as that flashing warning sign at the corner of his vision (which was now far more limited than it had been before) faded away.

He refocused his gaze on you suddenly, surprised to find that you were looking right back at him, cheeks stained with tear trails and eyes wet and wide. There was so much fear in those eyes, although he struggled to fully comprehend why.

He opened his mouth to speak, although he wasn't quite sure what he intended to say, when the sound of a door bursting open down on the first floor had you both snapping to attention.

"Detroit police!"

A familiar voice shouted, and for what may have been the very first time in your career, you were actually glad to hear Gavin Reed.

Three hours and a rather accusatory interview from Gavin himself later, and you found yourself standing anxiously outside of a large brick building simply labelled as "Android Emergency Center".

You remembered coming here when this place was unveiled by Markus and the others just a few months back, but despite that, you couldn't help but feel contempt for it now. Something about its cold exterior made you uncomfortable, and you were angry at how unwelcoming it was, no matter how ridiculous you knew it was for you to feel that way.

Deep down, you knew you were just worried about Nines, who had been taken to the emergency care center immediately after the two of you were located back at the abandoned factory, and that you were projecting all of your worry, fear, and anger onto the less than pleasant looking building in front of you, but you couldn't bring yourself to admit that out loud.

For now, you just wanted something, anything physical to be angry at, and the Android Emergency Center was working just fine.

Suddenly, as if knowing you needed a new distraction, your phone rang, and you nearly jumped out of your skin before you realized what the sudden sound was and fished your cell phone out of your pocket.

You answered it without looking,

"Hello?"

You asked, waiting impatiently to see who was on the other end of the line.

"Good evening, Ma'am. I'm very sorry to bother you but I'm looking for a Y/n L/n?"

The voice replied, and you furrowed your brows in confusion as you tried to understand what was going on.

Who was this?

"That's me. Can I help you with something?"

You asked hesitantly, briefly pulling your phone away to check the number before pressing the speaker back against your ear as the person started to reply,

"Unfortunately yes. Would you mind coming to the Android Emergency Care Center located on fifth street?"

You looked up at the large building in front of you, and then down to the street sign just at the end of the road.

'Fifth Street' It read clearly.

You swallowed thickly before replying,

"Sure, I can do that. Would you mind telling me what's going on though? I'm a little bit confused..."

The voice was quick to reply,

"Oh of course Ma'am, my apologies. You're the emergency contact for an RK900 model that we had come in earlier this afternoon, and I'm afraid that he-"

You hung up before the speaker could even finish, hand reaching to cover your mouth as you all but fell to your now shaky knees, barely managing to keep yourself upright. 

You looked down at yourself, taking in of all the blue blood that covered you, particularly the clear hand print that wrapped around your right wrist.

Was this all that was left of your partner now? Some thirium that would soon fade from your naked eye forever?

You felt sick at the thought, and in an attempt to silence your reeling mind, you all but bounded up the steps of the building in front of you, slamming the large doors open as you struggled to see straight.

You walked dizzily over to the front desk, still covered in sweat, tears, and thirium as you waited for someone to help you.

Thankfully, you weren't waiting long.

Being covered in android blood in what was basically an android hospital usually meant that you didn't, but this was only your first time in that particular situation, so you weren't aware of that fact quite yet.

It would take another two times for that to really sink in.

"Uh, Ma'am, are you alright?"

An android asked from across the counter, and you realized with a start that you were just standing there as he stared at you with widened eyes, hands raised part way as if he were trying to calm you down.

"I got a call about my partner? An RK900 mode?"

You said, panting through your words as you fought for breath after your run up the stairs and your physically and emotionally taxing day.

The android regarded you with concern, but replied nonetheless,

"Oh, that was you on the phone just now?"

You nodded hurriedly, feeling an immense need to rush the man in front of you in order to get some answers about what had happened.

"Is he okay?"

You asked, voice desperate and afraid in a way that you weren't sure you'd even heard yourself use before.

The android cocked his head before he seemed to understand,

"Oh! My apologies, I wasn't sure how much you'd heard before hanging up. I was calling to ask if you might be able to help him home. He shouldn't drive so shortly after the biocomponent procedure he received, and we were hesitant to put him on a taxi alone when the side effects can be so... dramatic."

You all but froze, heat creeping up your cheeks as you swallowed thickly, suddenly very embarrassed at your previous behavior.

Maybe you should have let the man finish before hanging up the phone.

Whoops.

"Oh uh sure. Where is he?"

You asked nervously, praying he wasn't nearby enough to have heard you speaking before, only for said prayers to be met with what could have easily been considered a mockery from whatever God might have been watching. 

Silently, and with a vague sparkle of amusement in his eyes, you watched as the android standing behind the service counter pointed behind you, and you had the fight the urge to flinch as you turned around and saw Nines, looking as smug as ever, sitting in a waiting room chair casually with one leg crossed over the other, no more than five feet away from where you had been standing for the past two minutes.

Perfect.

You turned back to the android who had been helping you,

"So um, you said there could be some side effects?"

It didn't take a lot to get Nines out to the car after your conversation with the engineer who had worked on him was over, although you had certainly felt the urge to make his life difficult after everything you'd learned.

Because not only had your partner lied to you about his injuries being harmless, but he had also simply watched as you all but burst into the care center, basically shouting and gasping for air as you tried to ascertain whether or not the man you had spent the past two months getting to know was dead.

If not for his engineer's warnings for him to take it easy to ensure his body adjusted well to the new and repaired biocomponents, you actually might have kicked him.

But alas, fate was not so kind as to allow that.

So here you were, stuck in the car with a man you were currently seething at, driving him back to his apartment where you would need to remain for six hours to help with observation.

You gripped the wheel tightly, fighting the urge to strangle the android sitting to your right as he spoke up for the first time during your currently fifteen minute long drive back to his place.

"You seem... upset."

He said as if he were making a simple observation, and you inhaled deeply as you considered once again how many minutes it would take for him to choke to death, if he even could at all.

Instead of that though, you simply shot a glare in his direction before turning your attention back towards the road,

"Incredibly astute thoughts from Mr. Super computer brain over here. Are you sure they didn't just make you so that you could say the most insanely obvious things ever? Because if not you're really good at it and should definitely quit your day job."

Nines hummed in response, the corners of his mouth turning upward a bit as he watched you slow down in order to pull into the parking lot of his apartment complex, parking in the same spot he always did when he was borrowing your car before throwing it into park and all but ripping the key from the ignition before you turned to face him.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?"

You all but hissed, arms crossing over your chest as you glared into his very soul,

"First you mock me for being lesser during a mission, then you go and get yourself hurt and lie to me about it, and after all of that you sit there and grin smugly at me instead of telling me that you aren't dead, and finally you make me drive you home and babysit you as the cherry on top! Where do you get off? Do you just like making everyone around you angry?"

Nines analyzed your expression, his gaze flickering between your face and the thirium that was still covering various parts of your body.

He was unsure how to feel about that sight, but brushed the thought off entirely after a few moments.

"I had no intentions of worrying you, Detective. That is exactly why I did not mention my actual condition while speaking with you previously. You were unfit to be worrying about me in your mental state at that time. And beyond that, there was no reason for you to. As I said before, I was not receiving any warning of an imminent full status shut down. If I had, I would have notified you immediately and-" 

"Oh but would you have?"

You cut him off, your tone far less harsh but significantly more weak as you spoke this time,

Nines missed the old one. It was vastly preferred when compared to the pain in your voice. 

"You sat there and you lied to me so easily that I never even doubted you for a second. You said that you were fine and I believed you. How do I know you won't do it again? How am I supposed to feel comfortable going out into the field with you when I can't even trust you to tell me when you need my help?"

Nines watched you for a few moments before he reached forward to your right wrist, placing his hand upon the hand print that he'd left there in a manner that was almost mindless.

You stiffened in response, but didn't pull away.

He spoke. 

"I apologize. My main concern in that moment was your well being, but I neglected to consider what impact lying to you might have had when it came to our partnership and your trust in me. I had no intention of causing you any fear or stress."

You were silent for a few moments, as if taking in the words he'd said, before you eventually sighed, slumping in your seat as you finally met his gaze,

"You scared me, you know?"

He gave you the closest thing to a soft smile that he could manage and nodded,

"I am aware. Your heartbeat was extremely elevated."

You rolled your eyes,

"And that phone call bullshit was a dick move. I don't know how you got that receptionist to do it, but I would appreciate if you would have them call your actual emergency contact next time so you can get someone to convince them that you're dead instead of me."

Nines shrugged,

"That would be difficult to do considering that you are my actual emergency contact, but I'll see what I can do, Detective."

You gaped at the android sitting beside you, raising a brow in confusion,

"Wait, actually? Since when?"

He hummed before pushing your passenger side door open and stepping out onto the wet concrete below, regarding you with amused eyes,

"Around the same time I gave myself access to your medical files by forging your signature while you were in the hospital. I thought it would be more... fair that way." 

You blanched,

"What?!"

You rushed to jump out of the car as quickly as possible, glaring at the man who stood on the other side of it as he chuckled at your reaction,

"I had no interest in bribing a nurse to let me stay in your room again, therefore I did what I needed to in order to ensure I could be present should you ever get injured on the job a second time."

You furrowed your brows, crossing your arms as you followed Nines into his apartment building,

"You never said anything about bribing a nurse to get into my hospital room. Where is this all coming from?"

Nines shrugged once more as he unlocked the door to his home, pushing it inward so that it swung open without a sound, 

"It never came up as it was hardly anything worth noting. I simply struggled to visit you after your injury due to my non blood relative status. By putting my name down in your contacts, I therefore ensured the issue would never arise again. It also happens to have the added benefit of me having access to your medical history and upcoming appointments as well. Your gynecology appointment is in two weeks by the way."

He stated simply, inspecting the nonexistent dirt beneath his nails as he spoke.

You glared, cheeks burning bright red as you entered his apartment, all but kicking the door shut behind you.

Six more hours of this before you could go home?

You weren't even sure Nines was going to survive the next five minutes.

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[honey-beann]

Ruiner, Ruination (RK900 x Reader)

Chapter 6: An Overwhelming Overture - Epiphany

Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis:

Part two of another two part special that tells the tale of the infamous DPD mandatory gala, and all of the things that can happen in apartments and empty hallways.

In this part, everyone's favorite duo tries to reintegrate back into the party after their tense moment in the hallway, Nines brings Reader home and learns the truth of his own strength (and maybe likes it a bit too much for either of your own good), and Hank and Connor are once again somehow dragged into this mess.

AKA: Reader does some dancing, Hank does some drinking, Connor does some flexing, and Nines does some touching.

Chapter Content Warnings:

Mentions of injury

Mentions of drinking

Touching?

Word Count: 4,481

Once the two of you finally arrived at your destination, you fought the urge to close your eyes as you tried to keep yourself from taking in everything at once all over again. Surely there had to be something you could distract yourself with until your mind settled down, right?

Your gaze moved about the room slowly, until finally you felt yourself grin when you noticed your second favorite android-human detective duo sitting at a relatively secluded table on the far side of the room.

Perfect.

"I see Hank and Connor, can we go say hi?"

You asked Nines, gesturing towards the pair nonchalantly as you awaited your partners response, watching as his eyes scanned the room until he finally found the two men in question.

He shrugged.

"Whatever you wish, Detective."

At that, you grinned once more, leading Nines across the room quickly despite the fact that you knew all too well that he could probably map out a far better way to get there in far less time than you could ever hope to.

Still, you got there pretty fast for having taken the human route.

Soon enough, you were approaching the table of your two coworkers turned friends, waving at Connor as he turned his brown gaze towards you and smiled that familiar friendly smile of his.

"Hello Detective. RK900."

He greeted as you and your partner grew closer, causing Hank to look up and give a short wave before he turned his attention back to his drink, clearly not stoked to be in attendance.

"Hey guys."

You replied, smiling as you took the free seat beside Connor while Nines stood behind your left shoulder, closer to where Hank was sitting. The lieutenant looked up from his drink again and gazed between you and your partner a few times, his eyes meeting Nines' for a few seconds before he muttered something beneath his breath and shifted to sit in the chair on the other side of Connor, and you raised a brow in confusion before looking towards the android who stood at your side, his face expressionless as he looked down into the now empty seat before turning towards you.

"Would you like me to get you the drink you mentioned earlier?"

He asked nonchalantly, and you thought about it for a few moments before nodding,

"Yeah, sure. Get me a vodka cranberry?"

You asked, thanking the android as he nodded and stepped away, though you couldn't help but notice the way he shot the RK800 model to your right a pointed stare that shifted between the two of you before his LED briefly turned yellow just as Connor's did the same, letting you know instantly that they were silently communicating, Connor's eyes blinking rapidly the way they always did whenever he received information from another android.

You watched, confused and curious, as all communication appeared to end just a few seconds later, with the android to your right giving a single short nod to your partner before Nines took another step away and turned to walk towards the bar without another word.

What the hell?

You turned to face Connor, about to ask what that had been about, when a voice rang out through the installed speakers mounted to the walls announcing the opening of the dance floor, with music floating gently from those same mounted speakers just a few seconds later, prompting a great deal of people, couples and friends alike, to wander to the center of the room, joining together in pairs to dance to the slow yet upbeat music.

You grinned and looked around the circular table in front of you at Hank, gesturing towards the dance floor with your left hand and a suggestive brow raise,

"In the mood to dance, Hank?"

You teased, barely resisting the urge to laugh audibly as the gruff man all but scoffed at you before watching those on dancing with what appeared to be disdain,

"Yeah right, in your dreams, Kid."

You feigned hurt, lips forming a mock pout as you sighed dramatically,

"Geez Hank, way to let a girl down gently."

You huffed, struggling to fully hold back your smile as Hank rolled his eyes and picked up his beer without another word.

For the next few moments, everyone at your table was silent, and you watched with vague interest at the couples on the dance floor as they swayed in time with the music, until suddenly, the silence was broken by the familiar android sitting to your right.

"I could accompany you if you'd like, Detective."

Connor said matter of factly, his head tilted slightly as he awaited your response, hands poised politely in his lap in a way that was so very Connor that it made you smile a bit as you looked over to him.

You thought for a moment, trying to find a nice way to tell the android that he had misunderstood your teasing for a genuine want to dance when you began to actually consider his words.

What was the harm in dancing? It wasn't like it could hurt, and you didn't exactly feel like explaining your joke to the well meaning android any more than you wanted to remain sitting.

"Sure, what the hell."

You laughed, and Connor gave a smile of his own in response before he stood up, offering you his hand politely to both help you stand as well as guide you gently to the dance floor, ever mindful of your injured shoulder as he did so.

You were just about to ask what he wanted you to do about the fact that you couldn't raise your arm very far when he spoke up,

"Don't worry about needing to place your right hand on my shoulder. Please do whatever feels most comfortable and I will adjust accordingly."

You raised a brow at the way he basically read your mind but did as he said, placing your left hand upon his shoulder while leaving your right between the both of you, laying limp within your sling to better support your injury.

"Ready, Detective?"

Connor asked after you finished adjusting, and you nodded, unable to hold back your amused grin as the android slowly started leading the two of you in dance.

He started off slow, simply following the gentle rhythm of the music before he grew more adventurous with his movements, spinning you around carefully with a smile that made you so happy you could hardly stand it.

It was always incredible to see Connor feeling so comfortable doing something that was typically considered to be inherently human. He had come so far, learned so much about who he was and what he wanted for himself, and you couldn't help but feel lucky over having been able to witness his growth firsthand.

He was all but glowing with something that almost bordered on joy as he stepped deftly in tune with the music, guiding the two of you along to the song with an impressive level of skill, as if he'd been dancing his entire life and had been waiting for this very moment to show everyone. He so clearly adored partaking in human practices like this one, and was always eager to find any excuse to do so, very much unlike his strong and quiet successor, who you had never once seen attempt intentional human integration the way that Connor did.

And speaking of Nines, you couldn't help but recall his silent conversation with Connor a few minutes prior, and, allowing curiosity to get the better of you, you opened your mouth to see just how much your friend was willing to share about it.

"Hey Con?"

You asked, watching as Connor's eyes flickered downward toward your own as he tilted his head to show that you had his attention.

You continued,

"What was it that Nines was talking to you about before he left to get me a drink?"

You questioned, holding back a laugh as the android spun you again, humming briefly as if deep in thought before he finally replied,

"He was requesting I look after you and your health while he was away. He has been... concerned for you since your injury. I believe he feels partially responsible."

He said matter of factly, his eyes briefly shifting to look past you for a second or two before he looked back toward your gaze, offering you a small smile before giving you one final spin as the music slowed to a standstill, the first song having ended.

"RK900 has returned to the table with your drink,"

Connor stated after a few moments, loosening his arm's grip around your hip as he did so,

"Would you like to head back now?"

You turned around, immediately catching sight of the imposing android standing beside your now empty seat, eyes focused on you and face expressionless as he placed it on the table.

You turned back towards Connor and nodded, removing your hand from his shoulder before walking back to your previous seats with him close behind, both of you smiling as you approached your partners.

"Hey Nines,"

You began, taking your seat just as the android hummed in response, pulling his own chair outward to make enough room for him to sit down beside you.

You gestured with your thumb behind you towards his predecessor, directing your next words to the entire table (save for the RK800 who was taking a seat in his previous chair),

"Did you two know Connor could dance?"

Hank grunted in response, shrugging his shoulders as he gruffly replied,

"I think he mentioned it during an undercover job a few months back. Said somethin about his 'integration' or whatever."

You turned towards Connor, eyes widening a bit as you realized what Hank was saying,

"Cyberlife programmed you to know how to dance like that? I just thought you had some sort of ballroom dance related hobby outside of work."

Connor smiled, clearly amused at your words as he shook his head,

"Unfortunately I'm not much of a practiced dancer, though I was programmed with a few hundred dance styles to ensure I could fit into nearly any environment."

You nodded in understanding before you felt your eyes widen even further as yet another realization befell you,

"Wait a minute, if you were programmed with a shit load of dance moves, then does that mean..."

You trailed off, turning towards your partner with a shocked expression on your face,

"You can dance too?"

You heard Connor chuckle from his seat behind you as Nines raised a brow in response to your question, inspecting a nonexistent loose thread on the sleeve of his turtleneck as he responded,

"Naturally."

His tone was bored, but you could tell by the slight smirk playing about his lips that he was incredibly amused by your reaction, always so entertained by your silly human tendency to experience surprise over such mundane concepts.

You gaped at this, looking back to Connor to question him further,

"You're telling me that you could have pulled some sick dance moves out there without any problems and all you did was spin and sway?"

Connor laughed at this, a true one that conveyed the full extent of his amusement regarding the conversation at hand,

"My apologies, Detective, I unfortunately lacked the space necessary to do anything too impressive."

You scoffed at his response, not missing the slight pride within his tone as he grinned down at you.

You turned back to face Nines, crossing your good arm across your body just below your sling to give the illusion of your arms being crossed,

"Well what's your excuse for never showing me your skills on the dance floor? I've never even heard you mention the word dance before."

Nines chuckled and shook his head, regarding you with amusement as he spoke,

"Perhaps after your injury is healed you might be up to the challenge of keeping up with me, Little Mouse. We'll have to wait and see."

You groaned and glared at your partner in response, quickly raising your drink to your lips in an effort to hide your increasingly reddening cheeks as he continued to smirk down at you, clearly enjoying your reaction.

You heard Hank let out an audible noise of confusion from across the table, hand wrapped around his drink as he shifted his gaze between the two of you questioningly,

"Little Mouse?"

He asked, his voice gruff and tone vaguely annoyed as he watched the android to your left nod in response, still clearly enjoying your embarrassment.

Hank scoffed, rolling his eyes as he looked back down towards his drink,

"Condescending fuckin' android."

He muttered into the glass, not bothering to ask any other questions as he reacquainted himself with the beverage in his hand.

The two of you remained at the table with Hank and Connor for another hour or so before deciding to move on after you were finished with your drink, which was when you both began to wander the event room, making the rounds from coworker to coworker until finally, you were too exhausted to keep going, relenting to Nines' insistence that he bring you home after he brought it up for the third time that night.

He led you to the car silently, allowing you to hold his arm to help support yourself as the two of you made your way over to the vehicle, the sound of your heels on the pavement the only one coming from either of you as you left the clamor of your fellow civic service workers behind in favor of the promise of some peace and quiet back at your apartment.

The drive back was equally silent, and quite short as well due to the venue being close to home, something you found yourself thankful for after the first few minutes of sitting in the car.Something about the front seats of your older sedan had a tendency to irritate your injured shoulder, and after a night full of movement, you were a bit too sore to endure much more discomfort without being forced to call it quits and move to the back seat in hopes that might feel better.

You sighed in relief as Nines pulled into the parking lot outside of your apartment, sliding perfectly into a spot before shifting the gear to park and shutting the car off in two fluid movements.

Without a word, he then proceeded to open his door, step out into the night, and make his way over to your side of the car after closing the door once more.

Realizing what he wanted, you groaned as you let yourself out of the car, standing in front of him with a glare as you resisted the urge to place your left hand on your hip in exasperation.

"No way, there is no good reason for you to be doing this again."

You said, taking a step back defensively as your partner watched you with vague amusement and annoyance, clearly having expected your reaction,

"Your shoes are highly inadequate for a walk up so many stairs."

You scoffed,

"You let me walk down in them with zero complaints earlier."

Nines shrugged your point off without issue, stepping closer as he spoke,

"That is irrelevant. It is far less strain on your body to walk down the stairs as opposed to up, and you were not nearly as sore earlier."

You raised your good hand up to your shoulder, brows crinkling in confusion as you took in his words,

"How did you-"

Nines cut you off suddenly, as if he had already known exactly what you were going to say long before you'd actually started saying it.

"You shifted in your seat continuously the entire ride home, and adjusted your sling often towards the end of our evening at the event. Your discomfort is obvious."

You huffed in annoyance, rolling your eyes again before giving up and relenting, desperate to get all of this over with so you could just get to bed as soon as possible.

"Fine, whatever, just do it."

Nines hummed, a slight smirk evident as he picked you up the very same way he had on your first night back from the hospital.

You braced your shoulder against his chest as he made quick work of the many stairs that came before your apartment, placing you down before the door in order to let you unlock it, granting the two of you access to the dark interior of your home.

You walked in with a sigh of relief, flicking the light switch so you could actually see where you were going as you walked deeper into the kitchen, taking a seat in the same chair as you had the first time you'd come home after your injury, watching as Nines approached, closing the door behind him before making his way to the spot directly in front of you in just a few long strides.

He gazed down at you for a few moments before wordlessly dropping into a knelt position on the floor, placing your left leg upon his straightened thigh as he pulled gently at the ankle portion of your shoe, slowly removing it before he inspected your foot, always ready to scold you for any potential blisters, bruises, or other injuries he could attribute to your choice of footwear.

Seemingly finding nothing of note, you watched as Nines pulled himself forward, bringing himself even closer to your form as he pulled your right leg over his thigh, and you sighed slightly in relief as he removed your right shoe in the same way he had your left a few seconds prior.

This feeling of relief, paired with the distracting sensation of his fingers against your skin, resulted in you neglecting to notice the way that your dress had ridden up, allowing the slit to reveal the purpled bruising present there.

The very same bruising that you'd had every intention of hiding from your partner.

Ever vigilant, Nines was quick to notice the discoloration of your skin, and you gasped as he pushed the hem of your dress upward until the slit was at your hip, allowing him access to every inch of your right leg, which was now completely bare of any fabric.

Your eyes burst open, wide with surprise as you stared down at him, incredibly confused for several seconds before you remembered the bruising and nervously bit the inside of your cheek, unsure of what to say.

Thankfully though, Nines had no issues speaking up first.

Before he did though, he slowly lowered both legs to the floor, pushing himself even further forward until he was on his knees in front of you, his lower torso pressing against your calves as he leaned in to get a better look at the splayed out pattern of bruises that littered your upper thigh.

He traced them with his fingers, his brows furrowing as he took note of the way that his fingertips eclipsed each bruise perfectly.

He looked up at you, expression unreadable as he finally spoke,

"Did I cause this?"

He asked, his breath catching slightly as you nodded your head, watching for his reaction nervously as you did so, expecting anger, sadness, or even guilt to arise from him as he realized what had happened.

"My apologies, Detective, I..."

He began quietly, his voice full of awe and his brow furrowing further as he gently traced over the marks in a manner that seemed almost unconscious, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

He inhaled deeply before continuing, staring at the bruises as if unable to tear his gaze away,

"I knew that the human body was fragile, but I had never even considered how easily I could do something like mark your skin without even trying..."

He trailed off once more, his eyes trained on your thigh as he continued to run his fingers over the marks he'd left nearly a full week ago, the heat emanating from him noticeably more intense than usual, and you couldn't ignore the incredibly quiet sound of whirring coming from his chest, which rose and fell slightly faster than usual.

Your attention suddenly placed entirely on the android in front of you, you swallowed thickly as you finally took notice of just how close he really was.

His lower torso still pressed against your calves and his hands placed on either of your thighs (although only one seemed to be on a mission), he was so close that you could smell that familiar mix of cedar and clary sage, with the top of his head brushing against your chin as he dipped down to inspect your bruising closer.

And when he finally moved to meet your gaze?

You stiffened, breathing in sharply in surprise at the sight of his face mere inches from your own, his lips parted in awe as his eyes searched yours for answers you were certain that you didn't have.

There was silence for a few moments before he finally spoke up again,

"Did it hurt?"

He murmured, fingers still hovering, just barely grazing your flesh as he desperately tried to understand things he had not even managed to express through words yet.

He had never felt so confused, so awestruck, so distressed over something so simple in his entire life, and it felt like he was losing his mind as he uncontrollably grasped at your flesh, as if touching it, feeling it, might finally give him the answers he so desired.

How could he have done this to you without even trying?

And why did he not feel guilt over it, but some gnawing, hungry thing, confusing and unnameable despite all of languages he knew?

What was happening to him?

Unaware of your partners internal thoughts, you shook your head in response to his question, not even bothering to attempt the act of forming words with him so close and your heart beating so fast.

Nines could hear that, the pounding in your chest, and he considered placing his ear over the place that fragile organ resided, suddenly desperate to hear more, and to hear it loud, as if it were the only sound in the entire world.

He almost wished it was.

Or, at least, that's what he allowed himself to admit,

But deep down he knew,

The almost part of that statement was a lie.

After a few moments of tense silence, Nines gave a nod before pulling back slightly, rocking on his heels to get a better look at you in your entirety before standing up in one fluid motion.

You gasped at the sudden movement, watching as your partner reached his hand out to you wordlessly,

And without hesitation, you reached forward and took it.

You followed silently, heart still pounding as you let your partner guide you across your apartment and into your bedroom, where he gathered up your bathrobe from where you had set it down previously.

He placed it nearby as you stood in the center of your room, and you watched as he moved to stand behind you just as he had earlier that night, his deft fingers making quick work of your sling before he discarded it on your bed, finally opening his mouth to speak for the first time in several minutes,

"If I unzip your dress and remove your straps from your shoulders, can you do the rest?"

He asked, his voice low and quiet, betraying no emotion and making it impossible for you to try and figure out what he was thinking.

Giving up on attempting to understand, you nodded, feeling your own eyes squeeze shut at the sensation of his now familiar fingertips grazing your back as he slowly pulled down the zipper that joined the sides of your dress together.

Once he was done with that, you just barely managed to fight back a shiver when those same fingers brushed over your shoulders and arms while he pulled the straps of the dress down, allowing them to catch at your wrists so you could choose when the dress would fall to your feet.

"I have closed my eyes, Detective."

Nines spoke after a few more seconds of silence, and you swallowed thickly in response, allowing the fabric of your dress to pool around your feet before you stepped out of it entirely, quickly reaching for your bathrobe and carefully sliding it on, thankful for the wide sleeves and thin fabric that made it easy to cover up fast despite your injured shoulder.

"Done."

You said, your voice a bit meek as you kept your gaze locked on the floor, suddenly nervous despite how comfortable you had become with your partner throughout the past week.

Somehow, tonight just felt different, and for once, you couldn't even attempt to try and understand why.

It just was.

Upon hearing your words, Nines was quick to help you get back into your sling, ensuring it was supporting your shoulder appropriately before he stepped back, looking you over as if scanning for any additional injuries.

"Is there anything else you need my assistance for?"

He asked, and as you slowly raised your gaze upward to look at him, you could see that he was watching you intently.

Struck by the weight of his gaze, you shook your head quickly, finding yourself far less capable of coherent thought than you personally cared for.

That said, you couldn't let him leave before showing your appreciation for all of his help, so slowly you forced yourself to open your mouth and speak.

"Thank you for all of your help tonight. I don't think I could have managed on my own."

Nines gave a soft hum in response as he slowly made his way toward your bedroom door, pausing in the doorway to turn around before exiting fully,

"There is no need to thank me, Little mouse. Now get some rest, I intend to see you up and ready to go for your appointment tomorrow morning to have your shoulder checked."

His voice was certain and cool, very unlike the gentle one he had utilized just minutes before, but even still you found yourself comforted by it.

There was the Nines you knew.

And just like that, he was gone, taking long strides towards your apartment door, and using your key to lock it behind him before you heard his steps disappearing down the hallway towards the stairs that descended down to the parking lot below,

Leaving you with far too much to think about,

And him with far too little to be satisfied,

Because the only thing he knew?

You'd felt like ruin.

AO3 Link

Series Masterlist

#DBH x reader #rk900 x reader #nines x reader #nines x reader series #rk900 x reader series #dbh rk900 #connor dbh #dbh blog #dbh fics #rk900 fics #rk900 series #dbh series #dbh nines x reader #dbh connor #ruiner ruination #DBH connor x reader #detroit become human connor x reader

[honey-beann]

Ruiner, Ruination (RK900 x Reader)

Chapter 5: An Overwhelming Overture - Insight

Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis:

Part one of another two part special that tells the tale of the infamous DPD mandatory gala, and all of the things that can happen in apartments and empty hallways.

In this part, everyone's favorite duo deals with an injury that requires a lot of teamwork, which may or may not lead to them growing a bit… closer so to speak. What will happen at the Gala? How are Reader and Nines doing after Reader's long drop from the Hughes family attic? And how did Hank and Connor get dragged into this mess?

AKA: Reader gets hurt, Nines experiences guilt, and they both have to learn to adjust for the sake of the other's sanity. What could go wrong?

Chapter Content Warnings:

Mentions of injury

Mentions of blood

Mentions of death

Vague android self harm

Word Count: 8,510

You sighed nervously as you entered into the foyer, fighting the urge to adjust the sling on your right arm as your gaze shifted from person to person.

Everyone here was dressed in formal attire, no one wanting to disappoint Fowler or the higher ups with less than stellar clothing on a night like this one.

Tonight was the Detroit City First Responder and Civic Services Gala, one of very few events the entire department was expected to attend annually, and here you were, in your very best dress, with a trademark blue sling supporting the shoulder injury you'd received while working the Hughes case six days ago.

How fun.

Well, at least you looked good.

Your dress was long and black, with a thin slit that ran up your right thigh in a way that nearly revealed the light bruising present there.

And suddenly, standing there in the foyer, your mind flashed back to that night without warning.

You had only just come to after passing out mid-fall during your death defying drop from the third story of the Hughes' House, and every nerve in your body felt as if it was on fire.

But the most notable feeling by far was that of cool fingers, long and thin, pressing hard into the flesh of your upper thigh with enough force to leave the aforementioned bruising even days afterward.

Even still, you had neglected to mention said bruising to Nines, even after you'd realized it was his intense grip that had caused it.

You didn't want to make him feel bad for something that, if nothing else, almost seemed to show how deeply he cared for your well being, so afraid to lose his grip on you and let you down (literally), that he had held you tight enough for it to bruise.

It was about as sweet as Nines could get, honestly.

You swayed a bit on your feet, eyes unfocused as the familiar feeling of falling unconscious began to overcome you once more, just as it had shortly after you'd felt Nines' hands on your neck and thigh that night, and you were only brought back to reality by the faint smell of cedar and clary sage, the familiarity of it causing you to refocus your gaze with a sharp intake of breath.

You looked over to find your partner, the source of the familiar scent in question, taking in his curious and mildly concerned expression as he looped his arm through yours, as if worried you might fall over without the extra support.

"Are you feeling alright, Detective?"

He asked cautiously, his words slow and purposeful in a way that made you focus intently on each individual syllable.

You nodded quickly, although perhaps too much so based on the face that Nines made in response,

"I'm fine, just a little distracted is all."

You reassured gently, noting the look of subtle displeasure that flickered across Nines' features before he was right back to his same neutral and vaguely disapproving expression.

"I see. Would you prefer it if I found you a seat, then?"

You thought for a brief moment before shaking your head, offering your partner a mostly genuine smile as you did so,

"I'm alright to stand. I have plenty of support if I need it."

You joked, watching as Nines rolled his eyes in response, guiding you further into the venue where most of your fellow coworkers and various other supporters of the DPD were mingling, their conjoined conversations melding into one loud noise as you grew further away from the foyer entrance.

The sudden shift in sound made you feel dizzy for a few moments, your mind briefly flashing back to the shouts and clamor that had surrounded you as the scene of your previous case effectively crumbled to dust behind you.

Thankfully, there had been no casualties or injuries amongst your coworkers (save for your own), but as you thought back to that night you couldn't stop your mind from conjuring up the image of the little android girl you had so desperately wanted to save.

Gwyneth.

She had been blonde, although the blood of her abusive guardians had dyed her hair a sickly orange, and she had been so incredibly excited when you'd mentioned knowing Connor. She was just like so many other little girls, she had idols, loved her family, felt fear, and was so undoubtedly alive that it sickened you to know that a great deal of people didn't believe that to be true.

You could remember so vividly the way her fear had consumed her, blue blood staining that matted orange hair as she slammed her head against the floor again and again in an attempt to end the influx of negative emotions she was feeling.

"It was self destruction."

Nines had explained to you afterward while sitting in the arm chair you kept in your living room, his gaze cast downward as he spoke, guilt weighing heavily on his shoulders whether he would ever admit such a thing aloud or not.

"It is common in deviants, especially those who have only recently deviated or are younger and more prone to rashness as a part of their protocol. There was nothing you could have done to stop her once she started."

The unspoken words at the end of his sentence were that what had happened to Gwyneth was therefore not your fault, but you couldn't bring yourself to address that wordless promise, the same way that your partner hadn't been able to bring himself to say it outright.

Neither of you wanted to talk about the guilt you harbored over that night,

Yours for letting both Gwyneth and your partner down when they had trusted you,

And Nines' for allowing you to be hurt when he had promised no harm would come to you.

Of course, in the end, a simple dislocation because of your arm positioning upon being caught was far less severe than any injuries you would have received otherwise.

But your android companion seemed to struggle to see that as a positive.

In his eyes, you never should have been injured at all,

It never should have been possible.

Suddenly though, and without any warning, you were thrown back into the present, this time by a voice that pulled you far from the recesses of your inner thoughts in a single moment.

"Hello, you two, enjoying the evening so far?

You smiled up at the speaker, nodding politely as you addressed him,

"Of course sir, how could we not?

You spoke to your captain formally, grinning up at him as he gave you an apologetic smile of his own.

"I'm glad to hear it, Y/n, as well as to see you in attendance tonight. I was happy to learn that RK900 was willing to help you make your way around safely the same way he did with your reintegration into the department on Monday. It has been great to see the successes of your partnership within the office this past week."

You let your gaze flicker over to your partner, who was regarding the captain with the same cool politeness he always did, his eyes meeting yours for the briefest of moments before they moved back to Captain Fowler once more.

You let him take the lead of the conversation after that brief look of acknowledgement, and as you further considered the captain's previous words, you felt your mind leave you once more as you recalled all of the ways in which Nines had supported you throughout the past week.

You remembered vividly the way he had looked when you had awoken for the second time on the night of the case, this time in a hospital rather than in the arms of your partner.

You had panicked briefly before you'd caught sight of him sitting there, tie loosened around his neck, collar unbuttoned, and jacket foregone entirely as he sat in stasis mode, his only obvious movements being the rise and fall of his chest due to his internal fans, and his eyelids as they fluttered ever so slightly on occasion, as if he could sense you looking at him even when he wasn't aware of the world around him.

You had watched him like that for a while, surprised to note that it had been the very first time you had seen him in even vaguely casual clothing. Sure, it was just the usual pieces of his uniform being worn in new ways, but still, it almost made him look like a completely different person.

You continued to admire him even as your eyelids grew heavier with sleep, taking in the way that one of his long legs crossed over the other as he sat, straight as a board, at your bedside.

He'd looked almost painfully beautiful like that, and you could recall that being your final thought before you finally succumbed to slumber once more, your dreams that night so incredibly vivid that you could envision them even now.

They came in bright flashes and short bursts,

The feeling of his broad shoulders beneath your hands,

His fingers digging into your thigh,

His voice rumbling in your ear,

Breaths cold and short,

His hand in yours.

Disastrous.

You had awoken with a start the following morning, surprised to find that save for you, your room was entirely empty.

You looked around for a few moments, attempting to sit up in order to get a better view when a sharp pain burst throughout your right shoulder.

You let out a low groan of pain and settled back down into the bed, jumping ever so slightly as the door to your room began to open, revealing your partner and three other figures as they entered quietly.

Nines was the first of the group to notice that you were awake, and he regarded you with a quiet relief as he walked over to your bedside, his LED blinking yellow as he scanned you for any concerns.

You watched him for a few seconds, confused, before you recalled the other individuals in the room, recognition hitting you hard as you shifted your gaze to look them over.

"Hank? Connor?"

You asked, your tone revealing more of your surprise than you'd intended as you took in the sight of your two coworkers, who were just about the closest thing to friends you had due to your busy work schedule.

"Hello, Detective."

Connor greeted politely, a soft smile gracing his lips as he stood towards the end of your hospital bed, shifting to the right a bit as Hank moved to stand beside him.

"Hey Kid, how ya feelin?"

He asked gruffly, and you attempted to shrug in response, only to wince in pain.

Nines shot a glance towards the unidentified individual who had entered the room with the three of them, and it was only then that you noticed he was a doctor rather than another visitor.

"Don't worry, the pain is completely normal."

He clarified immediately, smiling as he approached the side of your bed that Nines wasn't standing at,

"She doesn't have any serious injuries, but she did dislocate her right shoulder. It should start feeling better within a week or two, but I'll send her home in a sling to make sure it heals well."

You groaned internally about being spoken about as if you weren't there, but chose not to say anything. It sounded like if you played your cards right you might just be able to head home, and there was nothing you wanted more in that moment than to sleep in your own bed.

"So she can be discharged after you help her into the sling?"

Nines asked, his tone betraying his look of pure disinterest as he looked you over for any further injuries.

"I don't see why not."

The doctor replied soon after, checking his tablet for any necessary information he may have been missing before he continued,

"I'll have a nurse bring in a sling and her discharge papers in a few minutes. I take it that one of you can take care of that for her?"

Nines nodded immediately as his gaze met yours once again,

"I can."

The doctor nodded before heading out of the room to grab a nurse that would be able to assist him, leaving the four of you to wait for his eventual return.

Thankfully, it did not take very long for the doctor to get your sling on, nor did it take very long for Nines to finish up your discharge paperwork, and thus you were exiting the hospital within the hour, nothing in your possession save for your cell phone.

"You guys need a ride?"

Hank asked gruffly as the four of you slowly made your way towards the exit, and Nines seemed to think for a moment before he answered for the both of you,

"A ride would be beneficial, Lieutenant. Thank you."

Hank shrugged and lead the way to the parking garage, unlocking his car remotely as you approached in order to allow everyone access.

As if you had all done this a million times before, everyone slid into a seat quickly, with Hank driving and Connor in the passenger seat.

You and Nines on the other hand sat on opposite ends of the back seat, both of you nodding in confirmation when Hank asked if everyone was buckled in.

Thus began the drive back to your apartment.

Silence filled the vehicle for the first few minutes of the drive as everyone took the time to relax after a long day, until suddenly, Hank spoke up for the first time since you'd left the parking garage.

"I'm not gonna lie to you Kid, I'm kinda jealous of the whole injured shoulder thing. I've been looking for an excuse to get out of Jeffrey's annual DPD gala bullshit for weeks now, and I've still got nothin."

You groaned in response, cursing as you leaned back against the seat,

"Fuck, is that this week? I already bought my dress for it, and it's nonrefundable. The hell am I supposed to do with that now?"

Your ears perked up as Connor spoke from the front seat, his voice light and almost amused as he spoke,

"If you still wish to attend, I'm sure that RK900 would be perfectly suited to accompany you safely in spite of your injuries."

You raised your brow at that statement, resisting the urge to lean forward towards Connor and risk exacerbating the low thrum of pain already present in your shoulder.

"Perfectly suited?"

You asked cautiously, turning to face your partner as he hummed in confirmation from the seat beside you, looking rather unamusedly at his predecessor.

"I believe that Connor is referring to my extensive medical knowledge pertaining to the human body. It was originally intended to bolster my chances of success during my original mission in the case of... unnecessary casualties. As a result, I am theoretically capable of supplying better support to injured individuals that require it."

You bit back a laugh at that, amused at the idea of your normally standoffish partner attempting to provide someone with care.

"I have no idea why you wouldn't have told me any of this sooner, 'Nurse Nines' has a great ring to it."

You continued to hold back laughter as you spoke, and your partner, though barely sparing you a glance at your words, allowed his lips to curl upward ever so slightly at the edges, his gaze aimed out the window as you grew closer and closer to your apartment.

The rest of the ride was fairly silent, save for the occasional comment from Hank or the exceedingly bad joke from you.

It was nice. You didn't get the opportunity to hang out with friends due to your busy job, and honestly, this was as close as you'd gotten to doing so in a long time.

When you finally did arrive back home, you thanked both Hank and Connor profusely for coming to visit you at the hospital, and made them both promise to let you treat them to a night out sometime soon (although what benefit that could possibly have for Connor, you weren't sure yet).

You waved to them from the front door of your building as Hank slowly pulled back into the road, sparing both you and your icy looking companion a wave of his own before he drove off towards home.

Afterward, you turned to face Nines once more, taking a deep breath before you spoke,

"So, how bad do you think this is gonna hurt?"

You asked, referencing the long stair-filled walk up to your apartment on the fourth floor of the tall brick building that stood before the two of you. You were not looking forward to the jostling all of those steps had in store for your shoulder, nor the long walk up with no railing since the only one was to your right.

Nines gave a fake contemplative hum of response at your words before he tossed the jacket he'd been carrying over his shoulder, freeing up his hands to better help you ascend the steps.

"Depends on how determined you are to struggle."

"Wha- Hey!"

You could've sworn you heard Nines chuckle at your reaction as he lifted you unceremoniously off the ground, one arm supporting your neck while the other rested beneath your knees.

"Feel free to place your arm on my shoulder if it provides it better support, Detective. Though I can't imagine this will take me very long at all."

You huffed in response to your partner's teasing tone, but relented nonetheless, supporting your injured shoulder against his body as he made quick work of the stairs leading up to your apartment.

It was only then, as he set you down just outside of your door in order to allow you the opportunity to unlock it, that you realized that he had never actually been inside before. It wasn't like you were hiding it from him or anything, but even still you couldn't help but feel a rush of nerves as you inserted your key in the lock. twisting it slowly until you felt the deadbolt recede, allowing you to turn the handle and use your foot to push the door inward, causing it to swing forward.

"Home sweet home."

You muttered as you walked inside, attempting to bend over to remove your shoes only to hiss as yet another bolt of pain ran through your injured shoulder.

"Sit down, Detective,"

Nines' voice was stern as it sounded out from behind you, and almost immediately you did as you were told, too distracted by the pain to bother putting up a fight for the sake of your dignity.

"Thank you,"

He began, a hint of satisfaction evident within his tone,

"Now, elaborate upon what it is you need in order to be more comfortable please. I have no sense of what that entails."

You nodded to show your understanding before you opened your mouth to speak,

"Right um... My shoes first I guess, after that I think I can figure everything else out on my own..."

That wasn't really the truth, since you knew how horrendous putting on a new shirt and pants was going to feel later that evening, but you weren't about to admit that to Nines and risk having him insist on helping you with that task too.

You'd much rather take your chances with the unbridled agony.

Nodding in response to your previous words, Nines knelt down in front of you to untie your shoe laces, adept fingers pulling at them until they came undone entirely. Afterward, you watched as he grabbed your foot by the ankle, cupping it within his palm as he began to pull it off slowly, as if worried he could hurt you if he went any faster.

Once that was over and done with, he moved on to the other shoe, expertly removing that one as well before helping you up gently, looking around the room as he did so.

"Are you sure there is nothing else that you may require assistance for, Detective? I am perfectly content to help with whatever you may need."

You shook your head in response to your partners words, leaning your good shoulder against the doorway between the kitchen and the living room as you addressed him,

"I'll be fine, Nines, It's a dislocation not a break. I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

The android in front of you nodded in the affirmative,

"Of course. I can come and pick you up if that would be helpful. Though I would need to borrow your car in order to do so."

You thought for a moment before shrugging your shoulders,

"Yeah sure, what the hell, you already drive it damn near as much as I do anyway."

You fished your keys out of your pocket before tossing them to him, watching as he caught them with ease.

He looked over to you again afterward, keys jingling a bit as he adjusted them within his hand,

"Please contact me if you require any assistance, Detective."

You smirked at him, raising a brow in response,

"Whatever you say, Nurse Nines. I would hate to strip you of a patient to care for."

The man in front of you rolled his eyes but grinned ever so slightly nonetheless as he approached the door once more, swinging it open and taking a step into the hall before he called back behind him.

"Oh, Little Mouse?"

He called, his tone haughty and unconcerned.

"Yeah?"

You answered meekly, praying he wasn't about to say anything abundantly humiliating for all of your neighbors to hear as if the nickname wasn't already bad enough.

"I would be more than capable of supporting you on your venture to the gala later this week. If that would be of interest to you."

And with that he was gone, the door closing abruptly behind him and the sound of his footsteps slowly fading into the distance as he went.

And after that, Nines' help had only grown more and more crucial.

It had started off small, helping with your shoes each day and taking on the majority of typing for your conjoined reports, but eventually, you'd been forced to admit you needed more support than you'd initially let on after one too many issues with injury.

After that, you were finally willing to ask for extra help, especially when it came to things like cooking, cleaning, and various other embarrassing chores you would've preferred to simply do on your own.

One incredibly embarrassing example of the extra support you needed was what you were now lovingly referring to as "the pants incident", but that was far too much for you to think about right now.

No, now you were thinking of how well you had worked with Nines throughout the week, reading him various cases aloud to help as best you could with the paperwork process that you were now effectively useless to support him with.

Of course, both of you knew that things would go even faster if Nines had done the reading himself in the background of doing said paperwork, but truth be told, you both enjoyed the teamwork aspect of the routine. It gave you something to do, and it ensured that Nines wouldn't be distracted by your nonsensical need for entertainment every few minutes.

Needless to say, it was a good system, and it wasn't even close to the only one that the two of you had developed in response to your injury.

For example, you would work together to make you coffee in the break room, with you gathering materials while Nines did all of the two handed motions required, such as stirring, packing the coffee machine, and pouring the milk and sugar.

But truthfully, the most beneficial thing Nines had done for you thus far had occurred today, when he'd helped you into your ridiculously long gala dress.

You had been hoping to avoid requiring any clothing related help, especially when it came to the type of clothing that you had to be almost entirely naked to put on, but even so, there was no way you could have managed the task of getting that dress on alone.

He had shown up at your door at 6:00pm on the dot, just as he'd said he would earlier in the day, and you had to fight the urge to bite back an audible whine of frustration when you realized he'd arrived in time to learn of your embarrassing dilemma.

For the past six days, you had been wearing solely sweatpants and tee shirts to work after receiving special permission from Fowler, and honestly you'd managed to get pretty good at getting dressed in the mornings.

But this dress? This was a whole new obstacle for you to worry about.

Currently, you had it pooled upon the floor, perfectly maneuvered for you to step into and pull up, except you lacked the motor capabilities necessary to do that incredibly important last step.

And those straps? Those were basically a death trap without extra help with getting them onto your shoulder.

You sat on the edge of your bed, desperately wishing you had the ability to place your head in your hands as you tried to find a solution before your android partner assumed you'd hurt yourself and burst into your apartment, leaving you with a mess and a door bill you had no interest in paying.

Nines knocked again, louder this time, and fearing for your wallet, you forced yourself up slowly, careful to nurse your still bruised shoulder, which was currently without the sling you typically used to support it, since you had been about to attempt the insane feat of putting on a dress.

"Coming!"

You called out as you tugged on your bathrobe, walking quickly towards the door before unlocking and opening it, glaring a bit at the man who stood on the other side.

"You literally have a key, Nines, I've been using the spare since I gave you my key ring with my regular apartment key on it so you could take the car."

Your partner shrugged and brushed past you, looking you up and down slowly with a slight tilt of his head.

"You aren't dressed? I thought you said you wanted to be at the event by 6:30 tonight. I'm not sure how that will be possible if you have yet to get ready."

You resisted the urge to shoot your partner another glare as you shifted your gaze towards the floor, feeling warmth rise to your cheeks as you spoke,

"I tried to get ready. The dress is too long to pull all the way up by myself with my shoulder still injured."

Nines was silent for a few moments before he gave a brief nod of understanding and stepped closer to you, using his heel to close your apartment door behind him as he did so.

"Would you like some assistance?"

You blanched at that, certain your cheeks were bright pink as you continued to keep your gaze fixed on your kitchen floor, lips unable to form words as you tried to think of some way to respond to that question.

The android standing before you watched with vague amusement and slight confusion as you continued to look anywhere but at him, and he crossed his arms and sighed before he elaborated upon his earlier question,

"I can close my eyes, if you would prefer. I can assure you that I do not require vision to assist you in pulling a dress up and maneuvering some fabric over your shoulders for you."

You rolled your eyes at his ever persistent confidence before you gave in and nodded slowly, turning around and leading the man in question quietly to your bedroom, where he made his way over to the dress that was lying on the floor without a word, gesturing for you to stand before him as he prepared to ready the dress for you to step into while he was holding it.

Swallowing thickly, you sighed, moving to stand with your back to your partner and watching as his hands appeared from behind you, maneuvering around your body before holding the dress before you expectantly.

"Step in first, after that I can close my eyes and you can take your robe off."

He murmured, his voice coming from behind and below you as he knelt on the floor to ensure you wouldn't have to take too high of a step in order to get your legs into the dress.

You nodded softly, trying to ignore the subtle heat that emanated off of Nines as you stepped into the long black gown he was holding between his finger tips.

"Done."

You said softly, your voice almost meek as you resisted the urge to fidget, knowing full well that the android behind you would notice instantly and call you out before you could even think of a good excuse as to why you were doing it.

"Alright Detective, my eyes are closed. You can remove your robe now. I will not open until you tell me to."

Desperate to dissipate some of the tension in the air, you let out a nervous laugh as you clumsily untied the knot at the front of your bathrobe,

"Until I tell you to? Since when do you take orders?"

You joked, letting the robe drop to the floor in front of you, shivering ever so slightly as the cool night air drifting in from your open bedroom window hit your bare torso.

Nines let out a low hum in response to your teasing, but didn't say a word as he slowly started to pull your dress upward, his knuckles occasionally grazing your thighs and hips as he moved the fabric skillfully up your frame, stopping when his hand grazed your upper back, which left you fighting off yet another, far less temperature related, shiver in response.

"Can you put your hand through the strap if I lower it a bit?"

He asked calmly, feeling to you like the very antithesis of yourself with his grounded attitude and unbothered feelings towards the situation you were in.

"Yeah, I just need it a tiny bit lower and I can get it in."

You murmured, feeling the hair on the back of your neck stand up as your partner's artificial breaths hit it, and you were surprised to find that they were slightly warm rather than cold the way that they usually were.

Strange.

Without a word, Nines lowered the right strap of your dress, and you slid your hand in without issue, thus allowing him to pull it the rest of the way up before situating it gently on your injured shoulder.

"Does that feel alright, Detective?"

He asked, his voice low and smooth in a way that had you hoping all of this would be over before too long, because you weren't sure how long you could endure torture like this.

You cleared your throat in response, giving several quick nods to answer his question,

"Feels perfect. Wanna hand me the other one? I can do that myself."

You said quietly, hearing a light and affirmative hum from behind you as Nines placed the left strap into your left hand, allowing you to maneuver it upward before pulling the built in bra portion of the dress to your chest, adjusting things accordingly before you spoke up again,

"Would you mind zipping me up?"

You asked, resisting the urge to shift your weight between your feet as Nines replied,

"Not at all, Little Mouse. May I open my eyes?"

There was a teasing lilt to his tone that made you inhale sharply, and you prayed that he hadn't noticed as you struggled to regain your ability to speak.

"Oh yeah, sorry..."

You trailed off, having forgotten about his previous promise to leave his eyes closed until you said otherwise almost entirely before he'd brought it back up again, leaving your cheeks red and your hands clenched slightly where they hung.

You bit back a surprised gasp as the sudden feeling of a cool hand pressed against the warm skin of your back as Nines used his other hand to deftly pull at your long zipper, which began to close to your lower back and ended just below your shoulder blades.

He zipped your dress slowly, breath still slightly warm on the back of your neck as he moved your hair out of the way, voice incredibly close to your ear as he made his way towards the end of the zipper.

"How does it feel, Little Mouse?"

He asked, the sound of his voice, ever so slightly lower than usual, so close to your ear making you shiver involuntarily for the third time that night.

Your brain felt fuzzy and far away as you tried to think up a reply, eventually squeaking out an embarrassed,

"Fine!"

Before the android behind you hummed in response, taking a step away that had you briefly missing the almost unnoticeable warmth of his body before you snapped out of it and took your own step forward before turning to face your partner who was stood behind you, gaze locked on your form as you gave him a nervous laugh,

"How does it look? Gala appropriate?"

Your partner gave a subtle nod before his gaze moved upward towards your own, causing you to realize with a start just how long he had been looking you over.

"It is perfectly suitable for tonight's event."

He said cooly after a few moments of silence, picking your sling up off of your bed not long after he finished speaking in order to help you put it back on.

And it was only then, your chest just inches away from his own as he helped you put on your sling, that you started to notice what your partner was wearing tonight.

Nines was dressed in a grey turtleneck sweater with black dress slacks, the silver watch adorning his wrist catching in the light of your bedroom as he adjusted the strap of your sling accordingly.

God where did he get his clothing?

It seemed that everything that Nines wore was perfectly tailored to fit his trim but imposing frame, every single detail perfect in every possible way no matter where he went or what he was wearing.

Talk about unfair.

"Is everything alright, Detective?"

The sound of your partners voice, this time from what sounded like very far away, caused you to start, and suddenly, without warning, you were tossed right out of your own thoughts and back into reality, only to find that Captain Fowler had excused himself to greet more guests and that Nines was staring down at you intensely, his hand gripping your arm in a way that was almost forceful.

"Detective?"

He repeated, eyes burning into your own as you cleared your throat awkwardly, giving your partner a nervous grin as he continued his unwavering ocular interrogation, eyes narrowing as he tried to discern what exactly was going on.

Thankfully enough for you though, you must have looked far more lucid than you had previously, because after a few seconds of this he relented, loosening his grip on your good arm before he motioned over to the bar.

"It would be best if you had some water, Detective. You appeared to be more than a little bit dazed for quite some time during my discussion with the captain."

You started shaking your head, only to groan audibly as your partner began to guide you towards the bar against the wall to your right, his hand never leaving your arm as he did so,

"It was not a suggestion, Little Mouse."

He said, his tone almost stern as he helped you into one of many empty bar stools before gesturing for the bartender, ordering you an ice water as you turned your attention towards some of the other people at the bar, your coworker Chris included.

"Y/n!"

He said excitedly, grinning as if he hadn't seen you at your desk just hours prior as he moved to sit at the empty stool to your right, his gaze briefly flickering to your still occupied partner before he looked towards you once more.

"Hey Chris."

You greeted with a smile, looking around to see if he had brought any of his family members with him to the gala,

"Did you not bring your wife or son? I thought you just told me the other day that you had a little suit ready to go and everything."

You teased, and your friend laughed as he shrugged his shoulders,

"Eh, turns out kids have to have strict bed times when they're still that young. I'll convince the wife to let him go next year, or to at least get a babysitter so she can come along."

You laughed at his response, having only just opened your mouth to reply when a familiar hand placed a cup of water on the bar top in front of you from behind.

You shifted your gaze back to Chris only to find he was grinning slightly at the very same figure who had brought you your water, his eyes flickering between the two of you before they settled behind you once more.

You shifted slightly in your seat, turning your head to see that Nines was standing directly behind your back, watching you expectantly until you finally relented to his wordless command with a sigh and drank some of the water he had insisted upon you getting.

When you set the cup down again, Nines didn't look entirely pleased, but he was significantly less pointed with his expectations than before, so you took what you could get and turned your attention back towards Chris, who was still watching the two of you with what appeared to be amusement.

"And what's so funny?"

You asked, your tone betraying your tough guy question as you watched Chris roll his eyes at you,

"Oh nothing, I'm just wondering how much you must've drank already to have the android on water duty."

You scoffed at your friend and placed your left hand to your chest as if offended,

"Excuse you, officer, but I haven't had a drink all night long, so you can cool it with those accusations of yours. Besides, I couldn't drink even if I wanted to, Nines has decided I must be the most severely dehydrated woman on earth and has restricted me to only drinking water for the remainder of my time at the event."

You could almost feel the eye roll that Nines gave in response to that, his voice cool and unbothered as he replied,

"You may drink whatever you please, Detective. I may be acting on your best interest at the moment, but I can assure you that I have no intention of baby sitting you all night."

You felt your cheeks turn bright pink at his words as Chris burst out laughing at his response,

"He got your ass!"

He all but cackled, arms wrapping around his stomach as he leaned forward on his bar stool, and you had to resist the urge to nudge him off with your foot as you prayed this humiliation would be over soon.

Luckily enough for you, it appeared that Chris had a few beers in his system and didn't have much of an attention span to work with, because when he came back up from his raucous laughter, wiping a tear from his eye as he did so, he had an entirely different topic at the tip of his tongue.

"By the way, did either of you stop by the Hughes crime scene again after the incident?"

He asked, and you hid your slight grimace at the reminder of the case behind your glass as you sipped at your water.

"No."

Nines responded far before you could, having been so dreadfully occupied with your water, and you were just about to apologize for his curtness when Chris nodded.

"Yeah, I didn't think so. But when Tina and I got there today it was crazy, the whole house is a pile of rubble, and the city apparently has no idea what to do with it since they don't want to bother spending any money to rebuild or even clean it up. It's a huge shit show, I do not envy the poor soul that has to deal with that property now that the family is gone."

You nodded absent mindedly, placing your glass on the bar as you felt yourself slowly slipping into your own memories once more, the reminder of the case bringing back the sounds, smells, and sights that night had unfortunately had in store for yourself and everyone else who had been present on the scene. You were just about to let yourself go entirely when the feeling of someone grabbing your good arm once more planted you firmly back into reality, your eyes widening a little when you'd realized what had happened.

You looked over to the owner of the hand that had gripped your arm, unsurprised to find your ever vigilant partner all but glaring down at you, concern and what almost looked to be anger evident within his gaze as he gently tugged you off of your stool and away from the bar without another word, leaving Chris to watch in confusion as you were dragged out of the crowded event room and into an empty hallway.

You swallowed thickly as you finally felt Nines let go of your arm, allowing yourself to lean slightly against the wall behind you as you took in the unfamiliar sight of this new area of the building.

The wallpaper here was fancy, almost a yellowed paper color with various swirls on it that made you feel dizzy if you looked at them for too long. You averted your gaze, but regretted it almost immediately as your eyes locked onto those of your partner, who still looked a bit too mad for your liking, even in the dim light of the hallway, where his features were just a bit less clear than they had been before.

"Nines I-"

"Tell me what is going on with you. Now."

He ordered, his voice just barely above a growl as he took a step closer to you, the look in his eyes betraying him as you watched the anger all but drain from his eyes, leaving behind only concern and something else you couldn't quite put your finger on.

Pain?

You brushed it off, gaze falling to the floor as you quietly explained what had been happening to you throughout the night, hands playing nervously with the fabric of your dress as you spoke.

"I'm not really sure what it is or why it's happening..."

You clarified towards the end of your explanation,

"But for some reason, I just can't stay focused tonight. I keep almost drifting off and getting stuck in my thoughts for a while until something catches my attention and suddenly I'm right back here."

Nines listened intently, nodding from time to time as something new,

Relief maybe?

Filled his grey eyes.

And finally, several long seconds of silence after you had finished explaining yourself to him, Nines spoke up once more.

"I believe you are overwhelmed, Detective. There are a great deal of people here, both known and unknown, and given your recent experiences, I believe it is normal for you to react to so much sudden external stimuli this way, especially after we have been so careful to avoid it throughout the past week. My apologies for not considering this could occur, I neglected to consider your mental state as much as I did your physical and-"

"Nines, I'm fine."

You cut him off abruptly, wishing you had the ability to cross your arms as you watched the man in front of you blink in surprise at your sudden interruption before continuing,

"Well, regardless, I think it would be best for me to bring you home. I can apologize to Fowler for our early disappearance tomorrow, and I am sure that he will understand given your circumstances."

You sighed and gave your partner a pleading look, desperate to do something, anything, but sit in your apartment alone for yet another night.

"C'mon Nines, please don't make me go home so early, it took me forever to finally get this stupid dress on, and everyone will think we're total losers."

That last part was meant to be a joke to lighten the mood, but the RK900 model android in front of you ignored it entirely, watching you in silence for a few moments before he sighed, and you had to fight the urge to yell out in victory.

It was very rare that you got your way if Nines thought something else was best, so honestly, this felt like a pretty historic moment for you.

"Fine. We can stay for a little while longer, but only if you allow yourself a few minutes more of quiet before going back into the event room. I have no interest in dragging you back out here in ten minutes because you went back in there and overwhelmed yourself again immediately. If anything like that becomes necessary for a second time tonight, I will consider the venue to be too much for you and bring you home without a second thought. As I said earlier, I have no interest in being your baby sitter, Little Mouse."

Your cheeks began to grow warm again at the nickname, and you were just about to open your mouth and make a retort when the sound of voices coming towards your secluded hallway shocked you into silence, although that was mostly due to the fact that you easily identified the large group of voices as seven to eight of your coworkers, something Nines appeared to have done instantly, his gaze flickering back and forth between the direction the voices were coming from, and you.

Suddenly, without warning, you gasped as Nines took multiple steps forward, shushing you as he all but pressed his larger form up against your own, making it all but impossible for anyone to see you if they made it as far as this particular hallway.

"Don't make a sound. I am certain that multiple of the individuals I have identified would be more than just a little bit chatty if they happened to see you, and as I said before, if you must insist on staying, then I must insist upon you letting your mind relax before attempting to take in even more external stimuli."

Still shocked by your partner's unfamiliar closeness, you nodded without a word in response, noting in your mind the way that he had braced your injured shoulder with one of his hands before he had all but forced you against the wall, thus ensuring he didn't cause you any harm in the process.

Watching your partner through still slightly widened eyes, you both listened intently for several minutes as the voices slowly grew louder and louder until they finally began to fade away once more, headed back in the direction of the event room.

You let out a sigh of relief at the sound of the voices growing fainter as they moved further away from where the two of you stood, only realizing then just how glad you were to not have to talk to anyone at that moment. Maybe your brain did need a break.

Relenting to the idea that Nines had been right all along, you moved your gaze up and down his form, your hand moving up to the neck of his turtleneck before you even realized what you were doing, causing the android in front of you to jolt a bit in surprise at your sudden touch.

You looked up at him, vaguely amused by his reaction and grinning as you spoke,

"What's with the high neckline shirts all the time, by the way? Got some sort of secret under there?"

You teased, pulling the fabric away from his artificial flesh before allowing your finger to graze the normally covered area before you froze entirely at Nines' response, which was a harsh and sharp sudden intake of breath, something you knew for a fact he didn't do often.

In fact, you had never heard him react to anything like that before.

But then, it got even weirder,

Because standing just over an inch away from you with his hand wedged between your injured shoulder and the wall at your back, Nines, an android created to hunt down and destroy his own kind, shivered.

You fought the urge to gape at that, desperately trying not to seem as in awe of him as you were as he slowly opened eyes that you hadn't even realized he'd closed when you'd touched him, and gazed down at you intently, his chest rising and falling with each slightly heavier breath he took.

"Are you alright?"

You asked softly, watching as the man in front of you nodded tensely, his gaze never leaving yours as he spoke,

"Yes, I am perfectly fine, Detective. My apologies for the impromptu reaction, I'm afraid that there wasn't anything I could do to control it. Your actions were... unexpected."

He finished, and when you raised a brow at him he opened his mouth again to clarify,

"Due to all of the necessary technology required to make me more advanced than my predecessor, I required significantly more data analysis capabilities. As a result, I was equipped with many sensors, most of which can be utilized via the primary sensors found on my tongue, which then sends that data to multiple other sensors that were stored within my neck. This had lead to what could be described as a vulnerability in my physical form at my throat, as this issue was not remedied prior to the uprising, and was not seen as important to remedy afterward. Therefore, I simply decided that clothing that covers my neck is best, though I have never outright avoided clothing with a normal neckline."

You nodded slowly at your partners explanation, feeling almost disappointed as he suddenly took a step backward, allowing you to move away from the wall as he readjusted his shirt, his cheeks an incredibly pale blue color that was so faint you weren't sure if you'd seen it at all before it was gone entirely.

A trick of the light maybe?

You shrugged it off before realizing that Nines was offering his arm to you once more, just as he had upon your arrival, and you found yourself accepting it eagerly as the two of you took slow but deliberate steps towards the event room once more.

AO3 Link

Series Masterlist

#DBH x reader #rk900 x reader #nines x reader #nines x reader series #rk900 x reader series #dbh rk900 #connor dbh #dbh blog #dbh fics #rk900 fics #rk900 series #dbh series #dbh nines x reader #dbh connor #ruiner ruination #DBH connor x reader #detroit become human connor x reader

[honey-beann]

Ruiner, Ruination (RK900 X Reader)

Chapter 8: An Uneasy Aftermath - Constellations and Well-Paired Colors

Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis:

Part 1 of a multiple part special in which Reader and Nines struggle to manage their concern for one another now that their respective injuries have forced them both to realize how destructible the other truly is.

This chapter includes a realization, a promise, a shower, some sharing, a minor wardrobe malfunction, and a great deal of longing and overthinking from both our beloved reader and everyone's favorite android.

AKA - Reader and Nines each contemplate how the other makes them feel, and struggle to reach the necessary conclusions afterward.

Word Count: 5,863

"Detective, I can assure you that while I appreciate your concern, there is really no reason for you to supervise me. My systems are entirely operational, including those involving the temporary parts installed earlier today."

You rolled your eyes at your partner while he attempted to persuade you to go home for the fifth time in three minutes as you stood in his kitchen, inspecting the pristine surface of the counter there with what was almost awe.

Of course, you hadn't expected your android partner's apartment to be dirty by any means, there was almost no reason for it to be given the fact that he didn't eat, drink, or sleep, but even so, this was just absurd.

There wasn't even a speck of dust anywhere, the cabinets were stocked with easy to grab nutritional food sources (likely so he could ensure you always had breakfast should you forget to eat it in the mornings before work), and the fridge was sparkling clean despite the thirium drinks found within, which you were almost certain Nines must have been gifted. He didn't strike you as a man who chose to consume literally anything, android beverages or media alike, for pleasure.

Still, even despite your fairly apparent surprise, you willed yourself to turn around and cross your arms at your partner before replying to his previous persuasions.

"Nines, you put me down as your emergency contact, let them call me, watched as I embarrassed myself after thinking that something terrible had happened to you, and then you revealed that you had weaseled your way into my personal health files weeks ago like it was a totally normal thing to do. No matter what you say to me, I'm not going anywhere, because I'll be damned if you don't learn some kind of lesson by being forced to have me babysit you for the night."

Nines gave a hum in response, a slight smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth as he shrugged and turned to make his way toward the living room,

"Whatever you say, Detective, but I don't think I loathe your presence quite enough to view it as punishment. You are getting there, though."

You scoffed at that and followed him into the next room, fighting the urge to gape at the cleanliness of this one as well as you watched your partner move to take a seat in an armchair nearby, one long leg crossing over the other as a hand moved to rest upon his knee in a way that had you staring at his fingers for what you imagined was far too long before you finally caught yourself and looked away, cheeks dusted a light pink as you cleared your throat.

"Well even if I wanted to, we both know I can’t just leave. You heard the technician, Nines, someone needs to stay with you for at least the next six hours to observe you and make sure there are no negative reactions to the temporary parts she had to install while you wait for the new ones to be manufactured and shipped out. That temporary circulatory pump is a huge concern, and you need to be careful not to overwhelm it so you don't risk damaging your thirium pump. She already told you how serious it could be if you aren't careful, especially in these first few hours as your systems get used to the less functional temporary parts." 

Nines all but rolled his eyes at your words as he leaned further back against the chair, watching you intently as he did so,

"The chances of me becoming overwhelmed, be it physically or emotionally, are incredibly slim, Detective. I was not built to experience such things."

"You also weren't built with temporary parts meant for an entirely different and non-military model of android, Nines."

You countered easily, choosing that moment to start looking around the living room rather than just stand in its doorway.

Carefully, as if afraid you might create a mess in the area simply by virtue of being there, you made your way over to a wall fitted with a large fireplace, and opened your mouth to comment on how dramatic it looked all decked out in black wrought iron, when you suddenly caught sight of the mirror that rested on the mantle and halted before you could say a single word.

In all your eagerness to bring Nines home and get him to let up on his insistence that your presence was unwarranted, you had completely forgotten about all the blue blood that decorated you and your clothing.

It stained your white button up, made dark marks on your brown pants, and was sprayed in disorganized spatters across your neck, cheeks, forehead, and hair.

But the most notable stain of all was the nearly perfect handprint, devoid of any fingerprints, that was wrapped around your right wrist.

You stared at that handprint, hands shaking slightly at your sides as you swallowed thickly, trying to keep the sound of a bullet hitting strong plastic out of your mind as you fought off the tears that sprang to your eyes at the memory.

Just this morning you had celebrated the fresh absence of your sling,

And only three hours afterward you had been hovering above your partner’s body, struggling to stop the blue blood from seeping out of the open bullet wound just below where his ribs would have been located if he’d had any.

And now you were standing in that same partner's apartment at 4:00pm, staring at the way that his blood covered your clothing and bare skin.

Everything had happened so fast, and you felt your mind reel as you tried your best to keep up with the events that had occurred throughout the day thus far.

Your vision grew cloudy as you stood there, swaying slightly in front of the fireplace, staring deep into your own reflection unblinkingly.

That is, until you felt a familiar hand graze the sleeve along your right wrist, instantly bringing you back to Earth.

There, standing at your side, was Nines, perfectly healthy and glancing down at you with what almost appeared to be worry.

"There is a shower in the bathroom down the hall, the second door on your right. You're welcome to use it."

You took a brief moment to consider how the hell your partner had figured out your inner thoughts so easily before brushing off the confusion and turning to face him better, offering him a small and slightly fragile smile,

"That would be great, but I don't really know how much good it would do me. When I checked earlier the only spare clothing in my trunk was a pair of jeans, which means I won't have a shirt to replace this one..."

You trailed off as you looked down towards that handprint once more, though you snapped back to attention immediately when Nines spoke up,

"If it is any consolation, Detective, I do not believe the blue blood present on your shirt will be visible for much longer."

You sighed in response, trying not to look too uncomfortable at his attempt to provide some semblance of comfort as you spoke,

"I know but... there's just something about it being there, even if I can't see it, that just doesn't sit right with me."

Nines was silent for a moment before he gave a sudden and rather sharp nod at your words.

"I will see what I can do. In the meantime, though, I really must insist that you take a shower. The longer thirium remains on the skin, the harder it becomes to scrub off."

You shuddered slightly at the thought of not being able to get your partner's blood off of you, and gave an almost immediate nod of agreement,

"Okay, yeah, then I should definitely shower, but you've gotta promise me you won't just leave while I'm in there."

Nines' lips curled upward ever so slightly at your words, amused by your persistent concern for his well-being but plenty willing to give in to your foolish requests if it meant you becoming more relaxed.

He hummed,

"I promise, Detective. Is that all?"

You considered his question for a few seconds before giving a slow and thoughtful nod in response, 

"Yeah, I think so. Anything I should know about the bathroom?"

Nines replied immediately, without requiring even a single moment of contemplation,

"The lock is on the door handle, the fan is to the left of the light switch, and you can lower the blinds to the window by pressing the button beside them, though I'm sure you aren't nearly tall enough for anyone to see anything indecent from the parking lot. In addition to this, you can find shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and most other common hygiene products beneath the sink. Feel free to utilize anything you find there. When you exit the shower, you should find two towels hung up to your right. Both are clean, though I do utilize the black one for myself when necessary, so be aware of that if the idea of using a towel I have used in the past causes you any discomfort."

Surprised by the sudden influx information, you spent a moment blinking rapidly before remembering that you were probably supposed to give some form of response to that,

"Oh okay, uh, thanks for letting me know. I'll see you after?"

Nines gave a hum of what you assumed was agreement before he began to walk toward the hallway he had mentioned you could find the bathroom in previously.

He pushed open the door to said bathroom and flicked on the light in two extremely fluid motions before continuing down the hall until he reached a closed door at the very end.

Said door opened to reveal a quick glance at a bed donning a soft looking black comforter and many plush looking gray silk covered pillows before Nines stepped in, his large form obscuring your view of the space as he made his way over to what you assumed was his closet towards a wall that you could not see from the angle you were standing at.

You watched for a few more moments after Nines walked out of view before you snapped yourself out of it and stepped onto the cool white tile of the bathroom, shutting the door quietly behind you as you took in the space.

Shining white tiles with dark green accents covered the floor, and a similarly green backsplash was present in the area between the gold faucet sink and the gold trimmed mirror, both of which shone brilliantly as they caught the light, clearly very rarely used, and kept pristine despite that.

God, you were beginning to wonder if Nines might be even more of an eerily neat guy than you'd previously thought.

Deeming that consideration far too unimportant to dwell on further, you squatted down to better reach the cabinet beneath the sink, opening it to find a rather large number of toiletries stashed beneath.

Multiple rolls of toilet paper stacked neatly, a few bottles of shaving cream, a metal razor handle with disposable single blades, two bamboo hair brushes, a few packaged toothbrushes with different bottles of toothpaste standing beside them, some dental floss, a large bottle of mouthwash, dry shampoo, deodorant, and a container with different sorted sections containing things like hair ties, tweezers, scrunchies, barrettes, bobby pins, a sewing kit, and even menstrual products within its designated cubbies.

But what caught your attention above all else was the actual showering supplies, which consisted of your favorite bar of body wash, a biodegradable mesh soap bar bag, your favorite shampoo and conditioner, the exact scent of shaving cream from the very same brand that you always used at home, and the body scrub that went along with it.

You stared at these products for a while, taken aback at the idea that Nines had somehow figured out what you liked and purchased these things for you to have at his home should you ever need them, only to brush the idea off immediately, your cheeks burning at the thought.

Of course he hadn't done all this just for you, at best he had figured out what you used and assumed it was typical for all other humans as well, leading him to buy these things in case someone ever needed to take a shower at his place (excluding himself, of course).

You stood, shower supplies in hand, and placed them on the counter of the sink for a few moments as you moved to turn the water on, taking note of the two towels, one black and one green, that hung from the rungs. 

'Both are clean, though I do utilize the black one for myself when necessary, so be aware of that if the idea of using a towel I have used before causes you any discomfort.'

Is what Nines had told you earlier on, and you swallowed thickly at the idea of sharing a towel with your partner before shaking your head in embarrassment, desperate to rid yourself of the thought as you picked up your supplies once more, placing them down carefully where they belonged in the shower before beginning the process of stripping down, trying not to pay attention to the blue blood all over your clothes and body as you did so.

And then, after giving the temperature of the water one final check, you stepped in, giving an unintentional and almost surprising sigh of relief as you did so.

The water was hot and soothing against your tense muscles, and for just a few moments, you allowed yourself time to bask in that comfort despite the stressors awaiting you back out in the real world.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to you, as you began the process of scrubbing semi-dried blue blood off of your skin, Nines was exiting the master suite, having laid a white button up across his neat black comforter to await your need for it.

The shirt would likely be rather large on you, given that it was one of his, but since you claimed to have a pair of your own jeans in the car, he was confident that your outfit wouldn't be so excessively unfitted that it would look unkempt.

He sighed and looked toward his wrist to check his watch, a rather human habit he’d developed despite his constant ability to know the time at a moment’s notice without the use of a device that attached to his body.

It was 4:35 now, and you had only been in the shower for around five minutes.

He glanced towards the bathroom door, the dull slap of water hitting tile the only sound emanating from your general vicinity.

He then looked at the door to his apartment, considering his options.

He had made a promise not to leave, and intended to keep it, but even so, he knew it made almost no sense to wait for you to exit the shower just for him to go down and get you your jeans anyway, and it wasn't as if you could do so yourself without new pants to wear down to the parking lot below.

Plus, he had only promised not to leave, and you had neglected to define exactly what "leaving" entailed.

Nines gave a subtle smirk at that, deciding that with that logic, you had no ground to stand on as long as he didn't actually leave the property, which he had absolutely no intention of doing in the process of collecting your spare pair of jeans.

So, with that, the android made a beeline for the front door, grabbing both his house keys as well as your car keys before he stepped out into the hallway and locked his front door behind him.

He took the steps slowly and at his leisure, though he notably went two at a time the entire way down until he reached the entrance to his apartment complex, which allowed him access to the gated parking area.

Once outside, it was easy to unlock your car and locate your pants within the trunk before shutting and locking everything all over again, your jeans slung over his forearm the same way that his shirt had been previously as he leaned against your car and looked up toward his apartment, where he was shocked to see that you hadn't bothered with closing the blinds at the window that looked into the shower.

Thankfully, he had been right about the pane being too high up on the wall to reveal anything one might consider intimate, but even still, Nines found himself staring as you ran adept fingers through your hair, rinsing the shampoo from it with your eyes peacefully shut against the consistent barrage of water raining down from the shower head above.

He continued to watch in an almost curious manner for a few more moments before realizing you were likely close to finishing, a fact which caused him to move a bit faster up the stairs during his return to the apartment, unlocking the door with ease before stepping back inside and closing the door swiftly and silently behind him.

Nines listened closely, hearing the familiar sound of water on tile as he made his way down the hall and over to his bed to set your jeans down alongside his button up.

There.

You would likely be done any minute now, and when you were, you could -

Nines’ inner thoughts were cut off by the sound of your phone ringing from somewhere across the apartment, and as he focused more on the noise emanating from the device in order to find it, he felt his brow wrinkle in curiosity.

Where could you have left that?

As Nines began what would be a very short and simple search for your cell phone, you were finishing up in the shower, fighting back a shiver as you lightly ran the soap bag containing your favorite bar soap across your torso, the unfamiliar texture tickling your skin in an unexpected manner.

The perception of yet another foreign sensation had you thinking back to all of the other unfamiliar feelings you’d experienced lately, though one in particular seemed stuck at the front of your mind.

Without even realizing what you were doing, you allowed your thoughts to wander aimlessly to the way that Nines' hands had gently cradled your hips as he’d lifted you up to the ladder earlier that morning, and how similar the memory of those hands felt to the water that was now caressing your skin, causing light blue liquid to spill down the drain as it washed away the blue blood that had stubbornly remained despite your persistent scrubbing.

Suddenly, broken out of your reverie by a slight temperature shift in the water, you startled, cheeks hot with embarrassment when you realized what you’d been thinking of. 

God, what was up with you lately?

You had been thinking about Nines almost nonstop, particularly when it came to your more physical interactions, like when he had helped you in and out of your dress for the gala a few weeks back, or when you had grazed his neck at the same aforementioned event and received a rather surprising reaction from him in response.

But even still, despite the memories of the other physical moments that had occurred between the two of you, the recollected feeling of his strong hands gripping powerfully onto your hips as he’d lifted you up with an almost practiced ease had your mind reeling and your heart racing for reasons you were fairly certain you didn't want to consider further.

And even though you tried to convince yourself that these reactions were completely normal, you still found that guilt was getting the better of you.

This was Nines you were thinking about, the cold, stubborn, and calculating military model android that you called your partner, who, despite others’ perceptions of him, felt a great deal of responsibility and worry for your well-being, as well as the well-beings of many more on top of that.

You thought back to when he had been shot earlier that morning, how he had comforted you even while he was so seriously injured and in pain, and the fact that he had done so as if it were the only possible option.

In Nine's mind, ensuring your safety, be it emotional or physical, was of the utmost importance, even when his personal safety was at risk, and as much as he would likely deny that verbally, his actions spoke volumes.

Nines had been willing to endure what most would consider to be an immense agony with a straight face just to make you feel less worried for him,

And here you were, in his bathroom, unable to stop yourself from thinking of the way his hands had felt as they’d wrapped easily around your hips, his torso just inches behind your back while he’d lifted you mere moments later, that usual air of confidence somehow both annoying and reassuring all at once as he’d done so.

Fuck, you really needed to get a grip.

Grabbing the shower valve dial in a manner that could only be described as aggressive, you held back a squeak as you forced the temperature down further, dousing yourself in much colder water in an effort to end your unwelcome thoughts.

Just moments later though, you failed to hold back a second squeak at the sound of knuckles rapping thrice against the wooden door, before Nines' voice followed shortly thereafter,

"Detective, please come out at your earliest convenience. There is something that requires your immediate attention."

At those words, you found yourself cursing under your breath before reaching to turn the water off entirely, grabbing for a towel and wrapping it around yourself all the while.

Hurriedly, and with an almost impressive level of speed considering how slippery your environment was, you stepped out of the shower and onto the mat below before allowing your feet to press against the cool tile as you made your way over to the door, previously worn clothing forgotten in a heap below the towel rack as you reached to unlock and open it, allowing a gust of steam to exit the bathroom and pour out into the hallway instead.

There, standing against the wall opposite the bathroom, stood Nines, and you watched as his eyes scanned the length of your body before halting suddenly, as if he realized too late how that may have looked.

You chose to ignore it.

"What's going on?"

You all but panted out, tightening your towel dress around your chest and ensuring it was secure even as you spoke, suddenly far more aware of your lack of clothing now that Nines was watching you.

"You received a phone call regarding a case nearby. Our presence has been requested at the scene due to the state of the victim and the proximity of the crime in comparison to our current location."

Your eyes widened as Nines spoke, and you struggled to form a response as you realized what he was saying,

"Wait, but we were supposed to be taken off of the page list for the night after what happened earlier today. Was this some kind of mistake?"

Nines shrugged his shoulders,

"I am unable to discern the level of intent that was had by dispatch when they requested our support at the scene. I simply stated we would arrive as soon as is feasible."

You gawked at your partner's words, crossing your arms over the exposed skin of your chest as you gave him a look that could only be described as pure exasperation,

"Your technician said you needed to take at least the rest of the night off, why wouldn’t you just say that we're unavailable?"

Nines gave a dismissive hum, his hand moving in a manner that suggested the dilemma you had brought up was of very little importance.

"I saw no reason to turn down the case, as all that would do is delay the inevitable."

You scoffed, adjusting your towel again to ensure it was firmly tucked into itself before you placed a hand on your hip,

"And what exactly is the inevitable in this situation? That you blow a fuse trying to interrogate a suspect because you refuse to just take it easy until your new parts come in?"

Nines shook his head, replying as if your question had been far more sincere than it actually was,

"No Detective, the inevitable is that the department sends in someone else in our stead, they neglect to solve the case, and we are left to deal with the mess that they made in the process of their failure."

You rolled your eyes, but gave a relenting sigh that your partner knew meant you no longer had any hope of not joining him at the scene,

"There are literally three other people in the android crimes division, Nines, how much mess could they possibly make?"

The android in question gave you a rather pointed look and took a step back before gesturing toward his room,

"I am confident that I don't need to answer that question for you, Detective. Now, if you're finished in the bathroom, you're more than welcome to use the bedroom at the end of the hall to change. I took it upon myself to collect your jeans and find you a shirt while you freshened up."

You glared at your partner before begrudgingly agreeing, briefly heading back into the bathroom to grab the clothing you had abandoned on the floor previously to ensure that you would have undergarments to wear, since you severely doubted Nines' ability to procure those for you.

With that, you started making your way down the hall, taking note of the way that the android was quick to follow. 

"You broke your promise about leaving you know."

You stated matter of factly as you passed the threshold to the master bedroom, trying not to look as in awe of the large space as you actually were when you turned to face your partner, who tilted his head slightly in response to your words,

"On the contrary, Detective, I was actually very careful to keep it. I neglected to leave the property, and therefore did not leave in any meaningful sense of the word."

You rolled your eyes and placed a hand on the door, preparing to shut it in order to give yourself some privacy,

"Whatever you say, Nines. Is there anything else you need, or can I get changed now?"

Nines shook his head,

“No, there is nothing else that I require, Detective. I’ll wait here in the hallway in case there’s anything you may need.”

You gave a slight nod and muttered a soft "Thanks", before you closed the door, sighing gently while stepping back to sit at the edge of the large California King sized bed, the black comforter that covered it feeling slightly cool against your skin as you began to dry your hair to the best of your ability.

After finishing up with that, you stood and prepared to get dressed, even though the shirt Nines had provided would clearly be big on you.

You started with your undergarments before moving on to your pants, stepping into the familiar clothing with ease before you tugged the large white button up Nines had given you over your head, immediately noting just how soft the fabric felt against your skin, and how despite it clearly being clean, it still had that faint smell that reminded you so thoroughly of your partner.

Turning, you looked in the mirror, letting out a quiet chuckle at the sight of yourself in Nines' shirt, the sleeves hanging well past your hands in a way that made you look like a child playing dress up again.

You shook your head at the situation you’d found yourself in, tucking the front of the shirt into your jeans before threading your belt through the loops, doing your best to look as professional as possible despite your lackluster clothing options.

You were just about to glance toward the mirror and look at your reflection one final time when a set of three firm knocks on the door brought your attention elsewhere.

"You can come in!"

You shouted back, hearing the gentle click of the door opening just a few moments later as Nines slowly stepped into the bedroom, his gaze falling to your new clothing immediately.

Laughing a bit, you held your arms out and gave a slow spin,

"How do I look? Do android tailored shirts suit me?"

You asked sarcastically, watching as Nines cocked a brow and stepped forward, his gaze flitting across your form as he fully took in the sight of you, before finally, he opened his mouth to speak,

"The clothing is plenty suitable as long as you feel comfortable wearing it."

You rolled your eyes a bit at that, shrugging as you pushed the sleeves up towards your elbows messily, crinkling the fabric in disorganized patterns that had both sleeves falling back down towards your wrists unevenly as a result.

Nines all but scoffed at your actions,

"And how do you intend to inspect a crime scene with your sleeves getting in the way, Detective?"

You shrugged dismissively as you began to search for some sort of hair tie in the pocket of your jeans

"Eh, I'll roll them up on the drive over."

You grinned to yourself as you found an elastic in your back pocket, preparing to turn toward your partner to finish your conversation when you felt a light tug at the fabric of your sleeve, which had begun to dangle off your hand once more.

Surprised, you looked toward your left arm, where the sensation was coming from, only to find that Nines was holding it between two sets of fingertips, seemingly contemplating the fabric before he looked up at you expectantly,

"May I, Little Mouse?"

You blanched at the now familiar nickname before regaining your composure and nodding slowly, barely resisting the urge to sigh in exasperation,

"If you really think you have to, then sure, but I can do it myself, you know."

You clarified quietly, your voice sounding more than just a little breathless as you spoke.

"I believe you're perfectly capable, if that's what you're worried about, Detective. I simply believe my assistance might speed up the process for us both."

Not sure how to reply, you just nodded silently, ignoring the quickening pace of your heart as your partner stepped forward, now much closer as he lifted your hand up to his shoulder so he could roll the fabric of your borrowed shirt sleeve up your arm in tight and even folds. He continued with this until finally, he reached the area just above your elbow and stopped, using the button tab to hold the sleeve in place before he gestured for your right arm, placing your hand similarly upon his shoulder before he began the process once more.

You watched closely all the while, feeling almost in awe of Nines as you studied the way his face looked up close, counting the constellations of freckles that dotted his artificial flesh, and taking note of the way that his jaw shifted as he concentrated heavily on the task at hand, completely unaware of your watchful gaze as he worked.

However, what you were entirely unaware of yourself, was just how focused on you the android truly was.

Despite his consistent perfection when it came to the task at hand, his mind was much more occupied with the way you looked in his clothing.

His shirt, that had been tailored explicitly for him and no one else.

He had never considered before that something made solely for him could look so right on someone else, much less his smaller human partner, but even so, he found himself enamored by the way your fingers had wrapped around the sleeves as they had dangled below your hands, and the way the shirt seemed to flutter about your body even after you had tucked the front of it into your jeans.

But above all else, his mind was stuck on how well the color of the fabric looked against your skin despite its neutral tones, as if you had been the person made to wear it all along.

He broke himself out of his internal reverie just as he began buttoning the second sleeve in place, his artificial breaths that he hadn't consciously chosen to pause starting up once more as he rooted himself firmly in reality again.

Despite him clearly being finished, the two of you remained in that position for just a little while longer, him with his fingers brushing gently against the skin of your arm, and you with your hand holding loosely to his shoulder, your faces suddenly seeming much closer than just seconds before as he lowered his gaze from your sleeve in order to meet your eyes, the intensity of his piercing gray/blues shocking you for a moment before you managed to regain your composure, clearing your throat lightly as you lowered your hand from his shoulder hesitantly, your gaze slowly dropping away from his and instead moving to the mirror to the right of you, where you found your reflections staring back, unyielding in their persistent attention.

Suddenly though, you watched as Nines' LED briefly circled yellow just seconds before your phone gave it's familiar notifying chirp of a work page, causing you to groan and look around for it, only to have Nines give a subtle smirk and roll of his eyes before pulling it out of his pocket and handing it to you with only a silent quirk of his brow that nearly made you want to punch that slightly smug look off his face.

He always found amusement in how easily you lost things or sometimes even outright forgot them, leaving him to remember their importance and carry them on his person in order to ensure the two of you remained at "peak efficiency".

You, on the other hand, were not nearly as big a fan of how often he'd been right regarding your persistent forgetfulness, even when you were actively trying to remember everything that you needed.

Sighing, you reached over to take your phone from your partner, mumbling out an annoyed “Thanks.” before you checked your most recent work notification and frowned, glancing up at the android standing before you,

"Are you sure you want to do this? We can just call out."

Nines didn't even seem to give your question any thought before he simply nodded and pulled your car keys from his pocket, spinning them around on his index finger casually,

"I'm sure, Detective. Is there anything else you need before we go?"

Letting out yet another sigh of pure exasperation, you shook your head, barely resisting the urge to roll your eyes as you replied,

"Nope, nothing else. Let's get this night over with."

AO3 Link

Series Masterlist

#DBH x reader #rk900 x reader #nines x reader #nines x reader series #rk900 x reader series #dbh rk900 #connor dbh #dbh blog #dbh fics #rk900 fics #rk900 series #dbh series #dbh nines x reader #dbh connor #ruiner ruination

[honey-beann]

Ruiner, Ruination (RK900 X Reader)

Chapter 9: An Uneasy Aftermath - The Persistent Presence of Jealousy

Series Masterlist

Word Count: 3,902

Chapter Synopsis:

Part two of a multiple part special in which Reader and Nines struggle to manage their concern for one another now that their respective injuries have forced them both to realize how destructible the other truly is.

This chapter includes a crime scene, two unexpected additions, some internal struggling, an interview, quite a fair bit of boasting, and of course, a strangely pervasive theme of jealousy.

AKA - Reader and Nines make their way to the crime scene they were called into, where a great many revelations await.

The drive to the actual crime scene itself was rather brief, being no more than a ten-minute ride away from Nines' apartment complex, and for this reason, along with the quickly arriving rush hour traffic, the android insisted on driving despite his technician's previous warnings.

You had argued with him for several minutes while standing in the gated parking area outside of his home, but relented upon realizing just how much of a feat it would be for you to actually wrestle the keys away from the man.

That being said, you had made him promise to hand you the keys the very second they left the ignition, and on that compromise, you had both ultimately settled.

So now here you were, looking out the window as your android partner perfectly parallel parked your car along the street between two patrol unit cars before he swiftly shifted the car into park and twisted the keys from their designated position, hardly even sparing a glance in your direction as he did so.

With that promise fulfilled, Nines then opened the driver’s side door of your small sedan and stepped out onto the pavement below, gaze already trained on the small crowd of officers milling about the area as he set off toward them.

You rolled your eyes at his already obvious concentration on the crime scene to the right of you as you hooked your car keys securely onto your belt loop, being sure to press the button to lock your doors before you basically jogged to catch up with the android, who had already ducked under the yellow caution tape and into the scene soundlessly, instantly stepping into the crowd.

You groaned internally at your partner’s constant need for peak efficiency, and were just about to take a few steps forward yourself when a familiar voice called to you, causing you to stop immediately, brow furrowed as you turned on your heel to see if you'd actually heard the person you thought you had.

And lo and behold, your ears had not deceived you.

Walking toward you from a small group of officers and what appeared to be Lieutenant Anderson himself, was Connor.

"Con?"

You asked curiously, taking a few steps away from the scene to approach him as he came closer,

"What are you doing here?"

Connor offered you a polite smile before he began to explain,

"Dispatch called Hank and I after you received their request to come to the scene. According to the person who contacted us, they hadn't realized that you and your partner were on temporary medical leave for the night, and therefore assumed that your agreement to come down to the scene was based upon the idea that this was a serious emergency. They asked if we could come down to take your place after they realized their mistake, but it appears they must have gotten too caught up in something else to call the two of you back."

He frowned a bit as he said this, allowing his gaze to briefly flicker over to the center of the crime scene,

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Detective."

You were quick to brush off Connor's apology with a wave of your hand, shaking your head as you gestured in the direction of the large crowd of officers and the android technician emergency vehicle parked in the center of all of them,

"Don't worry about it, it'll be nice to have the extra help. I have no idea what issues Nines might face only a few hours after his injury."

You reasoned, trying not to appear nearly as stressed as you were over the situation with your partner's health as Connor offered you a kind smile in return, his gaze briefly flickering above your head as he spoke,

"Well, I am more than happy to help you with whatever 900 cannot manage."

He stated matter of factly, and you were just about to thank him for the additional support when another familiar voice spoke up from behind you, this one far closer than Connor had been when he’d called out to you earlier.

"That won't be necessary, 800, even injured I can assure you that I am still far more advanced than you. There is nothing you are capable of that I will be unable to do better and faster."

You watched as Connor's expression morphed from one of kindness into one of vague amusement at Nines’ words, which caused you to briefly turn you head and shoot a glare up at your partner.

"Seriously? You want to have a dick measuring contest now? On the sight of an active crime scene?"

You chided, crossing your arms as you turned to face him better, allowing yourself a view of his all too neutral expression and body language.

He clearly could not have cared less about your words if he'd tried.

"I am simply reminding my predecessor of the truth, Detective. I wouldn't want him to get in over his head due to the misguided belief that we are equals."

He reasoned, his tone taking on that familiar note it did when he was mocking you, although you were fairly certain that his intended target was Connor, who he had not looked away from throughout his entire statement.

Connor, seeming rather unfazed, shrugged off his successors words and turned his attention back to you without delay,

"How can I help you to further the investigation, Detective?"

He asked politely, and after a few moments of deliberation, you responded. 

"Do me a favor and check in with the lieutenant to make sure he doesn't need you for anything, and be sure to come see me when you're done. With any luck, I should be just over there helping to interview the suspect to see what we can learn."

Connor gave a nod but shot a glance back in the direction of the crowded crime scene before replying, his expression slightly nervous,

"Of course, Detective, but if I may, I feel that I should warn you about the victim."

You raised a brow at that, crossing your arms over your chest as you gave the android your undivided attention.

"The victim?"

You asked, watching as Connor nodded before elaborating,

"He is an android, a PL500 model that claims to have gotten into an altercation over his supposed wife, who we haven't yet managed to procure the name of."

You nodded at that, but felt confusion still weighing heavily on your mind,

"Okay, well that's definitely good to know, but why the hell would you need to warn me about him?"

Connor shook his head at that before quickly clarifying,

"It isn't necessarily that, Detective, but rather the reaction this android seems to have to women as a result of his perception of loyalty. Previously, when a female EMT attempted to interview him to discern the nature of his injuries, he was incredibly uncomfortable and borderline hostile until she stopped trying to communicate with him. When asked why, he stated that he had no interest in cheating on his spouse."

You felt your eyes widen a bit as you took everything that Connor was saying in, a hand moving up to run briefly through your hair as you sighed.

"So what you're saying is that by interviewing this guy, I could risk setting him off further and jeopardizing the case?"

Connor thought about your statement for a moment before nodding,

"In a sense, yes. Although I am mostly telling you to be cautious, Detective, I would hate for you to receive another injury so soon after your last one has healed."

You smiled a bit at the android’s thoughtfulness, but startled slightly when Nines' familiar voice sounded from beside rather than behind you, his tone even colder than usual as he spoke,

"I resent the implication that I would allow for her to be put in harm’s way a second time."

He said, eyes glaring down at his slightly shorter predecessor as he silently challenged him to disagree.

Instead, Connor just smiled politely, completely ignoring your partner's demeanor as he replied,

"I don't think she ever would have been injured in the first place had it been your choice, 900."

His words carried a weight to them, a double meaning that both took the blame of what had happened to you away from Nines, and tacked on the fact that he had been helpless to do anything about it, something that some might find soothing, but that Nines was only insulted by.

But it was true, wasn't it?

There hadn't been a thing he could have done to save you from that crumbling house except to catch you when you jumped, an action that he hadn't been able to control. In another life, another universe somewhere, one that he internally prayed at every recollection of that day did not exist, you might not have trusted him enough, causing you to simply stand there, fear struck, until that place had swallowed you whole.

He hated thinking about that, about knowing all of the possible outcomes associated with that day, about how little control he'd had over your life and death.

And it filled him with a subtle rage to be reminded of that so casually, as if it weren't the only fear he'd ever had, the only thing that had truly struck him so tremendously that he sometimes struggled to stop himself from spiraling. 

Didn't Connor claim to have a solid grasp of these emotions that plagued Nines now? Wasn't he always electing to treat his successor like a developing toddler who had yet to understand the complexities of his own mind? If so, then why was he torturing him with these memories if he understood the feeling of regret so well? If he claimed to understand helplessness the way that Ni-

"Nines?"

Your voice sent the android all but stumbling out of his own reverie, his emotionless eyes moving to glance down at yours as you spoke, concern evident both in your tone and your expression.

That's right. He was supposed to actually respond to Connor's words.

He opened his mouth to speak.

"Then don't concern yourself with her safety now, 800."

He began, his gaze flitting behind Connor toward Hank, who was standing with his hands on his hips, looking rather impatient.

"I believe your partner is waiting for you."

He finished, hand intentionally grazing your elbow in a brief gesture that you knew meant he wanted you to follow him as he turned back in the direction of the crime scene.

And follow you did.

Upon getting closer, you could see even from five or six feet away and with most of your body hidden behind Nines' imposing figure that this android victim had been thoroughly beaten.

His head was bashed in, chunks of his artificial hair were missing, and his side was gaping with a wound that you were certain would require a seasoned technician to repair.

He was in rough shape.

You shuddered slightly, and, as if sensing your movement, Nines turned his head to look down at you, his voice low as he spoke,

"Stay behind me, Detective."

You nodded in response, ensuring that you were fully hidden behind your partner once more before the two of you moved forward slightly, until you were just close enough for Nines to speak with the injured android victim.

"Good evening, sir. I'm a detective model rk900 android assigned to your case. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?"

Nines watched as the android regarded him nervously before giving a few jerky nods, his internal systems no doubt impacted by those injuries of his.

Still, Nines paid his strange and involuntary movements no mind as he began the protocol questioning typical of all stable victims.

"Do you have a name?"

He asked, something he already knew the answer to, but wanted to ensure that you did as well from where you stood safely tucked away behind him.

The android nodded.

"Harry, Harry Schryfeld."

He said quietly, his vocal modulator glitching slightly and warping the sound of his voice as he spoke.

Nines again, paid this no mind.

"Alright Harry, well I can see that you have sustained multiple injuries at the hands of another. Do you have any idea who did this to you?"

The android bristled a bit, his expression morphing from one of nervousness to one of anger, though Nines could tell it was not directed at him. 

"Clark."

He muttered, his hands clenching into fists on top of his lap as he spoke.

Nines hummed, tilting his head slightly as he continued with his line of questioning,

"And where do you know Clark from? Is he someone you've had altercations with before?"

The injured android laughed at this, though it was a notably humorless and unsettling sound.

"Just about every day, he's constantly going after my wife, he never leaves us alone." 

Nines nodded in acknowledgement,

"So, Clark is someone you know well then. Where did you meet him?"

The android huffed, clearly growing annoyed at the very thought of his attacker.

"When my wife bought him."

He grumbled, and Nines felt his eyes widen slightly and your little movements behind him halt entirely at that statement.

Harry's wife had bought Clark? But that would mean...

"So your wife is a human, and Clark was an android she purchased prior to the revolution?"

Harry crossed his arms, refusing to make eye contact as he nodded,

"We both were, but I was there first, she chose me long before she ever even thought about getting a second android."

Nines hummed in response to this before asking what would be his final question of the android sitting in front of him.

"So, Clark attacked you out of anger? Because of your relationship with your wife?"

Harry shook his head,

"No, he attacked me because he thinks I was doing a bad job of sharing, and because he knows deep down that I'm Maria's favorite. He wants her all to himself, but I won't let that happen. Ever."

Nines nodded as if in complete understanding, 

"I see. Thank you for your time, Mr. Schryfeld. I will let you know if there are any further questions. In the meantime, please remain compliant with the technicians and examiners so we can get you back home to your wife as quickly as possible."

Harry, seemingly responsive to the promise of seeing his wife again soon, nodded immediately, turning his attention toward an approaching examiner as Nines turned on his heel, quickly ushering you away from the scene and into a clearing just on the other side of the yellow caution tape barrier, near where the two of you had spoken with Connor not long beforehand.

"What the hell is going on here? Did he get some important part knocked out of him or something?" 

You asked as soon as you were out of earshot of all the technicians, leaning close to your partner and being careful to keep your voice down as he shook his head in response to your question

"My scans discerned that he is in perfectly stable condition with all of the necessary parts required for answering questions intact."

You groaned, running both of your hands up your cheeks in exasperation,

"Then why the hell didn't he make any sense? You heard the guy Nines, he thinks he's married to a human, and not only that, but he also thinks that the guy who supposedly attacked him is too, to the same girl and everything. You and I both know that can't be possible, because for one, humans can't even legally take part in a plural marriage, and secondarily to that, android-human marriage is still completely illegal!"

Nines nodded at your words, shrugging his shoulders slightly just before he spoke,

"That is certainly true, Detective, but that doesn't stop anyone from claiming to be married if they wish to be. I don't doubt that this android is in a serious relationship with a human, in fact, I think it helps provide a motive for the attacker."

You felt your eyes widen at this, and you cursed under your breath upon realizing what your partner was saying.

"Wait, so you think an attack that brutal was caused by jealousy?"

You looked up at Nines as you said this, but felt yourself falter when you realized that he was looking straight past you, his eyes narrowed and expression cold as he regarded whoever was approaching.

"Detective, RK900."

Connor greeted politely as he walked up from behind you, causing you to briefly roll your eyes at the realization of who Nines had been glaring at before you offered Connor a slightly tired looking smile.

"Hey Con, what's the word from Hank?"

Connor smiled back, his brown eyes meeting yours as he replied cheerily,

"Lieutenant Anderson made it quite clear that he is perfectly fine without my presence for the time being."

You gave a short laugh at that, certain that Connor was phrasing that statement far differently than Hank had, which had undoubtedly been a lot less polite.

Connor gazed back toward the crime scene briefly before turning his attention to you and your partner once more, his voice curious as he spoke,

"Did you learn anything new about the victim or the perpetrator?"

You nodded, opening your mouth to speak only for Nines to beat you to it.

"His name is Harry Schryfeld and he and the supposed perpetrator are both androids belonging to a woman named Maria, who they theoretically are both in a romantic relationship with."

Connor's brows furrowed in thought for a few moments before he began nodding slowly, as if in agreement,

"That would certainly make sense, the injuries present on the victim's body are consistent with someone who has a strong understanding of android anatomy. He was attacking to kill, but was stopped short by the witness who intervened and called 9-1-1."

Nines rolled his eyes at this statement, as if what Connor had said was obvious, but you thanked the android for the additional information before turning to face your partner.

"Is there any way that we can figure out who this Maria woman is without asking Harry? I get the feeling that he'll be a lot less trusting of anyone from the department if he thinks we're looking for his wife. He's clearly got some possessive qualities that I would rather not have interfering with the case."

Connor nodded in response to your words,

"I agree, Detective, it would be best to move forward with the documents available within the state's system. I would be more than happy to perform a search for-"

"I already found everything we need, 800."

Nines cut off his predecessor sharply, though his expression was slightly smug as he spoke,

"The woman we are looking for is more than likely Maria Schryfeld. She's lived in Detroit for six years, and is listed within the CyberLife database as being in possession of two androids, a PL500 for the past four years, and an AP700 for the past two. Both are male models of android, and were designed for domestic home purposes, allowing them to be commercially purchased prior to the revolution."

You perked up immediately upon hearing this information, and had an ever so slight grin on your face as you looked up at your partner,

"Please tell me you can search up an address for her."

You plead nervously, an eagerness to your tone that had Nines smirking down at you, always amused by the way you reacted to potential breaks in a case.

"I already did, Detective. Her apartment is a five-minute drive from here."

"Yes!"

You all but shouted, smiling at the two androids in front of you before you began looking around the area, no doubt hoping to find Hank so you could ask for his permission to investigate further off of the premises of the initial crime scene.

"The lieutenant is right over there, Detective."

Connor said easily, and you offered him a slightly embarrassed grin before you nodded and walked quickly in the direction he was pointing, praying internally that Hank wouldn't be as much of a stickler as he could be about you attempting to find Maria Schryfeld (and your potential suspect, with any luck).

"Lieutenant!"

You called out to him as you approached, watching as Hank turned in confusion to look at you before he rolled his eyes,

"What the hell are you still doing here, kid? Didn't someone from dispatch tell you to take that condescending ass partner of yours back home?"

You laughed at that, shrugging your shoulders,

"Do you really think I could actually do that even if they did? I can't even get Nines to let me drive my own car half the time, you really think I can wrestle him back to his apartment?"

Hank muttered something under his breath, but didn't argue, and you were quick to take the opportunity to tell him about your break in the case.

You informed him of everything, from the potential suspect to the possessive nature of the relationship between the androids and their previous owner, and by the end, Hank knew what you wanted permission to do before you could even ask.

"So let me get this straight, you want me to let you and your injured partner who was shot this morning go to a woman's apartment in hopes of either questioning her about the potential whereabouts of the suspect, or of just finding the extremely violent suspect there despite the fact that he already showed that he's willing to use his understanding of android anatomy to do away with other androids that get in his way?"

You shuffled your feet slightly, gaze turned downward as you spoke, 

"Well I mean, when you put it that way..."

You trailed off a bit before sighing and finishing your sentence,

"Yes."

Hank groaned a bit, running a hand over his face and beard before he crossed his arms and answered, clearly exasperated.

"You know what, kid? Fine. But I'd better not hear a thing about it unless you learn something important, got it?"

You nodded, opening your mouth to thank your superior only to have him cut you off as he continued,

"Oh and take Connor with you. No offense to Nines or whatever the hell it is that you call the guy, but I don't feel like having to explain to Fowler why I let his least experienced detective walk into a potentially dangerous situation with only her jacked-up android as backup."

You groaned internally at the idea of having to explain that reasoning to Nines, but nodded nonetheless,

"You've got it, Hank. I'll let you know if we learn anything worth noting."

And with that, you started walking back toward the pair of androids who were waiting for you exactly where you'd left them, both looking more than a little relieved to see that you were on your way back to end whatever tense discussion they'd no doubt been having in your absence.

"That's lieutenant to you!"

Hank shouted from behind your back, and you laughed a bit and gave a thumbs up without even turning around as you made your way over to your two partners for the day.

This was going to be interesting.

masterlist

AO3

#DBH x reader #rk900 x reader #nines x reader #nines x reader series #rk900 x reader series #dbh rk900 #connor dbh #dbh blog #dbh fics #rk900 fics #rk900 series #dbh series #dbh nines x reader #dbh connor #ruiner ruination #dbh fanfic #dbh nines #dbh

[honey-beann]

Ruiner, Ruination (RK900 x Reader)

Chapter Three: The Little Mouse and the Metal Machine Part I - The Family Home

Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis:

Part one of a two part special that tells the tale of the very first time Reader and Nines were recognized for their exceptional teamwork (under all the wrong circumstances).

In this part, everyone's favorite duo gets summoned to a crime scene after the original investigators present hit a dead end. They have yet to fail any assignment, and have just started to make a name for themselves as a strong team within the DPD. But what will happen when things start to get intense, and the pressure becomes too much to bear, even for a natural detective and her android partner?

AKA: Reader and Nines might be in over their heads for the very first time since their partnership began.

Chapter Content Warnings:

Mentions of blood

Mentions of thirium

Mentions of android abuse

Mentions of child abuse

Mentions of torture

Mentions of murder

Mild gore

Word Count: 6,892

Nines was, by all appearances, a relatively cruel and unforgiving man, especially when it came to his work.

He was harsh, menacing, unrelenting, and above all else, condescending no matter the task at hand.

For all of these reasons, not one of your coworkers envied your position as his partner, and they would frequently gossip about how they assumed it was going whenever the two of you went off on an assignment together.

How you managed to work with Nines comfortably no one knew for sure, but even so, no one could deny how great of a team you two made.

And the first time that fact was recognized as the truth was six weeks in, during the Hughes family case, which had started as a simple wellness check after the family daughter, Gwyneth, had been absent from school for over nine days in a row with no word from her parents, Eric and Elizabeth Hughes.

The family had experienced multiple serious losses prior to this, with their son, Logan, having passed away from a seizure just six months prior, followed soon after by twin siblings Charlotte and Hallie, who had passed away while the family was on vacation just two months before Gwyneth stopped showing up for school.

Initially, the DPD had dispatched two on patrol officers to the scene to conduct the wellness check, but when no one had answered the door, they were quick about gaining legal access to the home.

And what they saw inside had caused them quite a bit of alarm.

There was blood everywhere, spattered on the walls of multiple rooms, pooled within the downstairs bathtub, and congealed into puddles on the floor.

But despite all of the blood, the Hughes' were nowhere to be found, not one of them.

A detective had been dispatched to the scene immediately, until forensics noted a distinctive lack of finger prints belonging to anyone save for Eric and Elizabeth at the crime scene. This wasn't always evidence of an android perpetrator, but just to be sure, the DPD had sent an android crimes detective to the scene.

Gavin Reed.

At first, Gavin had determined almost immediately that there was no sign of android involvement, choosing to remain on the scene despite this in order to see how things developed.

But then, forensics, the officers, and the detectives at the scene ended up completely stuck with nowhere to go, no evidence to go off of, and a crime scene that would take weeks to analyze.

That was when you and Nines were called in.

Upon your arrival, you had made a beeline for one of the detectives on the scene, standing there and casually nodding in response to her words as if you didn't have an absolutely huge android standing a few inches behind your right shoulder, his eyes moving from place to place as he slowly took in the crime scene within his line of sight.

At the end of your briefing, everyone had watched as you'd turned to your partner, your head tilted in genuine curiosity as you spoke,

"See anything interesting?"

In response, Nines briefly shifted his gaze towards you for a moment, glaring his trademark glare before he turned his attention back towards the crime scene in front of him,

"I was not created to do your job for you, Detective."

He spoke coolly, and the fellow officers on the scene watched as you rolled your eyes, crossing your arms over your chest as your partner began to walk away from you entirely,

"I meant in terms of thirium traces, Nines, you know, the shit that becomes invisible to the human eye after a few hours."

The android hummed in response to your question, not bothering to turn around to face you even as he spoke up once more,

"I have seen nothing you are unable to detect just as well as I."

You gave a simple nod in response despite the fact that your partner still wasn't looking at you, opening your mouth to speak again as you began to walk towards the closed hallway closet,

"Alright. I'm going to check personal belongings. See if I can find info regarding daily life."

Nines gave another vaguely dismissive, but still responsive hum before you took the final few steps towards the closet, opening it slowly to be met with the familiar sight of hanging coats, unused shoes, and winter gear piled in a corner.

Flicking on the light to get a better view of things, a few bored officers watched as you wrote something down on your notepad before calling out to your partner once more,

"The shoe rack is full. Obviously they could have had more shoes than just these, but there doesn't appear to be any evidence that a pair usually left in here is missing."

"So you don't believe our perpetrator lived within the home?"

Nines asked coolly, his voice clearly much closer than you'd anticipated it to be based on the way you jumped several inches into the air in response to him before shooting a rather menacing glare in his direction, huffing a bit before you spoke,

"I don't definitively believe anything yet, not enough evidence. But it's worth both of us knowing moving forward."

You said, your tone slightly distracted as you began to rifle through the pockets of coats, stopping once a small slip of paper fell out of one of them.

Written on it in vivid blue ink was a phone number with the word "Blue" next to it. You turned to your partner, holding the slip out to him,

"Can you figure out who this number is registered to?"

Nines glanced away from the shoes he had been analyzing to see what you were talking about, not bothering to answer before his LED turned yellow as he attempted to complete your request.

"It is an unregistered number to what is or was likely a burner phone."

He stated simply after a few seconds, and you raised a brow at his statement before replying,

"What does an average, unassuming family who recently moved here from out of state need a contact with a burner phone for?"

You asked aloud, and Nines shrugged in response before moving to give you enough room to maneuver past him,

"Something isn't right here. I'm gonna go check the children's bedrooms."

"There are only two bedrooms in the home according to the floor plan I downloaded before our departure."

Nines replied immediately, and you turned to face him once more, expression more than a bit confused,

"I thought the report stated the family had moved here with four children before losing three shortly thereafter."

You said, and Nines nodded in confirmation,

"The report stated that very fact. It would appear the Hughes' had all four children residing in one shared bedroom."

Sighing softly you shook your head, gaze aimed towards the ground,

"That doesn't sit right with me."

Nines hummed absently, his eyes remaining trained on the closet he was surreptitiously searching through for more overlooked evidence,

"It shouldn't, it is illegal for the children to have resided in such conditions due to their varying genders and ages."

You nodded, looking back to your partner once more before you began to move towards the stairs that would lead you to the bedroom in question,

"Alright Nines, I'm headed up. Let me know if you find anything of significance."

Your partner's gaze briefly flickered toward you, a look of both vague annoyance and vague amusement present as he spoke,

"Don't I always, Detective?"

You rolled your eyes at his words as you began to make your ascent, not even bothering to look back down at him as you replied to his question,

"No."

Those in Nines' direct vicinity have sworn they heard him chuckling at your response as he rifled through the closet for further evidence, although no one was brave enough to say that definitively.

Meanwhile, upstairs, a few nosier officers followed as you made your way to the children's bedroom, eager for the drama they anticipated to find once you arrived at the scene.

You entered the room almost silently, but groaned as you took everything in, your least favorite coworker included.

Gavin was standing beside an open window, blowing smoke out of it as he took his smoke break inside.

If Hank were there, he would've smacked him upside the head and grabbed the cigarette straight from between his lips, but you were far too perturbed with the idea of being that close to Gavin Reed to even consider that.

"Seriously, Reed? You couldn't have taken that outside?"

"It was open."

He stated simply, as if that explained why he was smoking within an active crime scene.

You rolled your eyes

"You are so unbelievably embarrassing."

You scoffed out, crossing your arms as Gavin put out his cigarette on the windowsill, pocketing the remains as he stepped towards you menacingly,

"Oh yeah? Well if I were you I'd be little more careful about what you say to me, Rookie, because in case you've forgotten, this is my crime scene, meaning I'm the one in charge of who stays and who goes."

You scoffed once again, remaining rooted to the floor despite Gavin's advancements,

"And doesn't it make it that much more embarrassing that they had to call my team in? You can't even properly investigate your own crime scene, Detective Douche bag."

Your coworker all but snarled in response, sneering at you as he stepped even closer, now just over a foot away, glaring you down aggressively.

"You've got five seconds to apologize before I kick you and your glorified fucking can opener right off of this case."

He growled out, his eyes ablaze with anger as you simply smirked in response,

"Go ahead and try it, we're here on direct orders of the captain himself. Think he'd be impressed by you interfering with his demands?"

Gavin looked like he was about to explode with rage, and for a minute, you genuinely thought he was going to scream at you before he stepped back, his hands shaking at his sides, but all other signs of anger gone.

You'd heard he'd already been written up once this month for an outburst during an android sex crimes investigation, so it wasn't surprising that he was forcing himself to behave for once.

Sighing at your former partners previous dramatics, you walked further into the room, noting the pristine walls and bed as you did so. Unlike the rest of the house, it was all but spotless in here, with almost no personal belongings in sight.

"Find anything of substance?"

You asked Gavin calmly, watching as the man bristled but answered nonetheless,

"Not really. That bed and the dresser are pretty much the only objects in the whole damn room. That and some empty diary, but we already searched that thoroughly. This place was probably cleaned out."

"Hmm..."

You replied softly, approaching the bed slowly as you did so,

"Do you think whoever could have done that had a good reason to take three beds?"

Gavin looked at you as if you were crazy,

"Why the fuck would they have taken three beds?"

You shrugged, checking the carpet for any signs of flatness from being weighed down for an extended period of time,

"Because, the report says that four children used to live here, but there's only one bed."

Gavin nodded slowly, beginning to understand what you meant, but still clearly unconcerned,

"Well yeah, but the other three kids died, right? Why would they wanna keep their beds in here just taking up space?"

You hummed to show that you were listening, still analyzing the carpet closely,

"That's a fair point, but I can't find any signs of significant pressure. Obviously they could have replaced patches of carpet so you couldn't see the flat spots where the bed posts were, but why would that be a priority of theirs so soon after their children's deaths? It just doesn't make sense to me."

Gavin gave a shrug in response to your words, looking towards the floor as well in order to search for any other signs of wear on it.

It was almost perfectly pristine, in far better condition than any children's bedroom you'd ever witnessed in the past.

Making a note of that in your note pad, you turned around to leave the bedroom, slowly making your way to the master suite that Eric and Elizabeth had shared.

It was an absolute blood bath in there, although significantly less so than the downstairs bathroom you'd glanced into on your way in.

Even still, you shuddered as you entered, noting the fact that the blood was solely present on the bed and the walls surrounding it, but nowhere else throughout the room.

Whoever the victim had been, they had almost assuredly never left that bed.

Well, at least not alive.

The topic of blood identification springing to mind, you opened your mouth to shout for your partner who was still downstairs,

"Hey Nines, can you come lick something for me?!"

You shouted, listening closely for the sound of footfalls on stairs as you waited to see if the android in question felt like answering to your call.

Luckily for you, he was in the mood to humor your request.

Not long after you had called down to him, you heard the telltale sign of nervous murmurs in the hallway, signalling he was on his way to the bedroom. It was always hard to tell with him, since he sometimes chose to tread silently in an effort to remain difficult to locate for whatever reason.

You turned to face the doorway expectantly, watching as your partner rounded the corner without hesitation, barely sparing you a glance as he did so.

"Are you referring to the blood on the walls?"

He asked, his voice low and intentional as he spoke, clearly focused on the mission at hand.

You nodded in response, watching as he approached the taped off area of the bedroom, stepping over the tape there with ease as if it wasn't several feet off of the ground.

Crossing your arms, you leaned against the wall, a few of your fellow officers coming in to watch as Nines took a sample of congealed blood and licked it off of his thin and dexterous fingers.

It was well known that both DPD employed RK model androids had a tendency to go around licking evidence to analyze it forensically, but even still, many of the officers and detectives at the scene had never witnessed such a thing in person before.

It was a strangely sensual looking process.

Nines' tongue slid against his fingers gingerly and with purpose before his LED turned yellow and his eyebrows knitted together as he gathered the results of his analysis.

Said LED went back to it's usual cool blue just seconds later, and he turned towards you, choosing to ignore all of the other professionals within the room as he spoke.

It was rare for him to address his coworkers unless he had to.

"B positive, belonging to Eric Hughes."

You nodded softly, your brows creased in deep thought as you switched your gaze to focus on your partner,

"Thanks, Nines. Have you gotten the chance to test the blood in the downstairs bathroom or kitchen yet?"

The RK900 model in front of you shook his head before he took a step towards the bedroom door, presumably to go downstairs and do just that, before he stopped, kneeling down to get a better look at the carpet between the bed and the door.

Curious as to what he was looking at, you knelt down beside him, watching as his LED circled yellow once more.

"You see something?"

Nines hummed in confirmation, placing his finger on a patch of carpeting beside your foot before he rubbed it in the opposite direction, noting the way that the grain shifted and stayed that way until he repeated the same motion again, this time in reverse, causing the patch he'd tested to look the same way it had before.

He turned his attention back to the carpet in front of him, his LED returning to a solid blue as he spoke,

"The carpet grain here is all facing a different direction than the carpet found anywhere else in the bedroom."

Squinting to get a better look, you nodded slowly in agreement,

"Yeah you're right, it's almost like something was..."

You trailed off as you looked over to your partner with slightly widened eyes, Nines returning your gaze with the same casually bored expression as always, except now his head was tilted at a slight angle, conveying his interest in the case at hand.

"Dragged."

Your partner finished for you, his eyes following the dissimilar path of carpet out the bedroom door and into the hallway towards the stairs,

"And it was no small item if it created such a wide dispersion of weight."

He added, legs straightening as he stood, brushing off imaginary lint from the front of his black pants as he did so.

He looked down at you, and as you met his eyes you stood as well, arms crossing as you considered your evidence thus far.

This case was getting more and more interesting by the second.

Suddenly, Nines turned towards the door once more, careful to avoid the path of disturbed carpet fibers as he made his way out into the hallway.

Your fellow officers noted the way your eyes followed him with interest, but very little to no confusion. Clearly, you had faith he knew what he was doing, whether he told you what that was or not.

Without warning though, multiple officers jumped in surprise as Nines called out to you from the top of the stairs about two and a half yards away.

"I will return shortly, Detective. Please call if you require my assistance."

"Kay!"

You shouted back casually, clearly a bit distracted as you began to circle the room for more evidence, opening the folding closet doors with a soft 'whoosh' of air.

To your surprise though, there wasn't much to be found in there.

Unlike the downstairs closet, which had housed plenty of pairs of shoes and even that strange phone number, this closet barely had anything in it at all save for a couple pairs of pants for each person, a nice dress or two, and some blouses and men's button down shirts.

Writing down a few notes concerning the scarcity of personal belonging within the house and a few potential reasons for that (moving away, robbery, minimalist lifestyle, etc.), you closed the door to the closet before making your way over to the door of the en suite bathroom, the light from which could be seen, yellow and dim, beneath the door frame.

Taking a deep breath, as if afraid of what you might find, you slowly opened the door, shocked at the sight that befell you when you did so.

There was a pristine looking tub, sink, and toilet, all of which gleamed in the harsh yellow light that emanated from the bulb above.

That yellow light, coupled with the various instruments that were simply laying about the sink countertops unsettled you a bit, and you shivered in the somehow denser feeling air of the space.

It smelled vaguely familiar in this bathroom, the scent both mechanical, and sterile in a way that made you almost feel as if you were in some sort of garage rather than a rest room.

On the counter sat a multitude of strange looking tools, most of them sharp and many of them unfamiliar to you. They all shone in the dim light of the room, glinting as the sickly looking light caught them.

It felt strangely dirty in here despite the fact that nothing stood out as particularly gross, although there appeared to be a thin layer of dust on top of the toilet as well as on parts of the floor.

Clearly, this wasn't a frequented space within the home.

You exited the bathroom after a few seconds, deciding to leave it primarily untouched until Nines could get a look at it using both his heightened vision, as well as his scanners.

You left the door to the bathroom open, pausing to listen for any sounds of your partner coming before you decided to step out into the hallway and get a brief look at the parts of it that you hadn't seen yet. Unlike multiple other sections of the house, but similar to the children's bedroom, there wasn't a blood stain of smear to be seen on this portion of the hallway, but even still, you flinched in discomfort as you stepped on a particularly squeaky patch of floor board, sinking down a few centimeters as the house settled beneath you.

Yet another primarily underutilized part of the home. You would have found it strange if not for the nothingness that existed within this portion of the hall, each of the walls blank and barren of any doorways to rooms you had not yet seen.

You briefly wondered why anyone had even bothered building any space past the bedrooms, and made a mental note to ask Nines more about the houses layout when you next had the opportunity.

At that, you turned back towards the bedroom, not surprised to find that the android you had just been thinking about was slowly making his way up the stairs once more.

You met him at the top, leaning your body against the wall as you waited to hear what he'd learned while downstairs.

"The blood in the downstairs bathroom belongs to both Eric and Elizabeth Hughes. What I was able to sample from the kitchen belonged only to Elizabeth."

He stated matter of factly, continuing to make his way towards the bedroom.

You followed close behind, arms crossed as you spoke,

"But still no traces of Gwyneth's blood type?"

You asked, your tone taking on a surprised note at this new revelation.

"None. In fact, there is hardly any sign of her existence within the home at all. I have found none of her DNA while scanning throughout it, and there is only one pair of shoes downstairs that appears to be her size."

Nines replied coolly, turning his body to face you while standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

You nodded slowly as you took in the new information before your mind came up with yet another query for your partner,

"How old is the blood?"

Nines hummed in response to your question, as if appreciating the reminder on the subject,

"Approximately seven to ten days."

You nodded once more, squeezing past your partner to reenter the master bedroom as you spoke,

"So a very similar window to when Gwyneth stopped reporting to school last week."

Nines gave an affirmative hum before he turned to enter the bedroom fully, his entire body stilling as his gaze fell upon the open door to the en suite bathroom, his eyes widening ever so slightly as he took in the sight of it.

"Nines?"

You asked, eyes following his own briefly before they flickered back to his immensely still form,

"Are you alright?"

To most other officers, Nines looked the same as he always did, back straightened, barely moving, eyes hard set on whatever he was taking in,

But to you on the other hand, his behavior was incredibly strange.

Rarely, if ever, did Nines freeze up in the middle of his movements, and never before had you seen him simply stop and stare at something in this manner while working at a crime scene.

Something was wrong, but you were the only one who knew it.

You swallowed nervously, placing a gentle hand on Nines' firm shoulder as your forehead began to crease with worry.

Your fellow officers watched you, slowly catching on to your nervousness and hesitance as you tried to regain the attention of your partner.

"Nines?"

You asked again, worry now clearly evident in your tone as you gave the man beside you a small shake, cursing under your breath when he remained transfixed at the sight of the bathroom, entirely unresponsive to your efforts.

Gaze briefly flickering to your coworkers, you considered your options, and they could almost see the gears turning in your head as you tried to decide what the best course of action was. You knew one thing you could do that would almost certainly bring your partner out of his daze, but how would he feel about his fellow detectives and coworkers knowing about it? How would they view him if it worked?

You shook Nines again, this time with two hands as you stepped in front of him, finding that even disturbing his line of sight while doing so wasn't enough to break his trance.

Sighing, you muttered an apology that no one else heard under your breath, one hand on each of your partner's shoulders as you steeled your resolve, your back straightening and your tone sharpening as you opened your mouth to speak once more,

"RK900."

You said firmly, your tone unfamiliar feeling both within your own mouth, as well as in the ears of your coworkers, who were watching without shame as you made your final attempt at regaining the attention of your android partner.

Thankfully, it worked, just as you had known it would deep down.

Still, it hadn't been what you'd wanted to do. It certainly didn't help the case for Nines' humanity, which was already in question frequently due to the lack of companionship between Nines and the majority of his coworkers.

Your partner's gaze snapped down towards you the moment his model name left your lips, his mouth opening subtly in what almost looked to be surprise as he took in his surroundings once more, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.

You looked up at him, eyes searching his as he stared down at you, seemingly unbothered by the firm grip you had on his shoulders as he stood, still unmoving even as his LED changed briefly from blue to yellow before settling on blue once more.

It took you a few moments to understand what he was doing, but once he finally spoke, you figured it out quickly. He had been scanning you.

"I am fine, Detective. My apologies for my lack of response. It appears that my systems were overwhelmed by an influx of data."

Raising an eyebrow at his words, you slowly removed your hands from his shoulders, taking a step away from him with your back facing the open bathroom door.

"An influx of data?"

You asked, watching as your partner nodded quickly in response,

"Correct."

You turned so your gaze was able to flicker both between your partner and the bathroom he was still fixated on, as if trying to figure out what was going on with just your sight alone before you gave up and spoke again,

"What data are you receiving, exactly?"

Nines allowed his eyes to reach yours for a few moments as he searched for the right words to say, his hands finally stilling on either side of him as he answered you,

"There is a great deal of inorganic matter within the en suite bathroom. I am unsure of how I missed it last time, but it is impossible not to detect when I am looking at it."

"What kind of fucking inorganic matter are you talking about, plastic prick?"

Gavin's voice called out from the other side of the doorway, and you had to stop yourself from glaring at him as he entered the room, arms crossed and mouth twisted into a sneer.

You turned to better face him, eyes briefly meeting those of the android in front of you before you spoke,

"Thirium, Detective Reed. Nines just found a shit ton of blue blood."

Silence filled the room as your words and their meaning slowly began to take hold.

Sure people had been curious of android involvement due to the lack of forensic evidence at the scene, but no one had considered the idea of said android involvement including androids as potential victims.

This case just got infinitely more confusing.

Suddenly, as if having regained all of his motor functions at the same time, Nines strode forward confidently, his eyes moving about the room as he conducted scan after scan of the thirium that was spattered across the walls, floor, and bath tub, the last of which was particularly covered in it, letting him know that it had likely been used to bleed androids.

It felt eerily similar to the bathroom scene downstairs, but this time, he was the only one who could see it, and absolutely nothing about it was human.

There was not a trace of human blood within this bathroom, not even on the sharp edges of the tools, which sat clean and pristine on the counter of the sink.

It was clear based upon his analysis of the room that it's primary use had been for bleeding out and likely torturing androids, but that was not what Nines found to be the most interesting.

What was were the model numbers he was seeing as he performed a more in depth scan of the area. He couldn't say anything definitive, as all of the blue blood was far too dry to test using his superior tongue sensors, but...

He found himself pulling up two different android models as he performed his advanced ocular scans, both of which were adolescent models, and one of which consisted of two different android serial numbers.

Three androids had been mutilated within this bathroom, they were all children models, and two of the androids had been the exact same model, absolutely identical to one another in every way, with the relative age of the thirium they had lost being only several hours different from one another. Three months ago, and several hours apart.

And the other sample he scanned that belonged to an older, male adolescent model?

Six months old.

When Nines told you this, he watched as the understanding settled on your features, alongside the horror of what had likely been going on here. He would never admit it, but it almost made him wish he hadn't told you at all. You looked so desperately unsettled that he wanted to recommend you take a seat before he noted the presence of others within the room and kept his mouth shut. The last thing you needed was mockery from Reed pertaining to your aversion towards the information associated with the case.

"So their children..."

You began quietly, the room absolutely silent save for the sound of your voice,

"They were androids the entire time? Androids who they enrolled in school, created fake records for, and moved to Michigan with... Why?"

Nines shrugged in response to your question, but opened his mouth to elaborate,

"I would assume based upon the amount of dried thirium present and the rouse that was being utilized that this was a sort of fantasy for the two of them. Getting away with killing what the public perceived as real children. That is the only reason I can think of, I'm not sure why else they would do this, as it creates the issue of fake birth and death records, both of which were realistic enough to get past the DPD's file legitimacy systems."

Your face paled as your partner spoke, and you almost wanted to leave the room for a moment to get away from the strong sterile yet mechanical scent that wafted out of the bathroom. You supposed that it made a lot more sense now that you knew, but it also made you feel infinitely more ill.

You steeled your resolve before nodding up at Nines in response to his theory, opening your mouth to speak when he suddenly interrupted you.

"I don't see any purpose in dwelling within this space. I have nothing more to gain from scanning the bathroom, nor the bedroom. Would you mind coming with me to further inspect the children's room, Detective? I have yet to see it."

You almost gaped up at Nines as he spoke, wondering if he was being genuine, or if he was able to tell how desperately you wanted to leave this space.

Either way, you weren't going to argue at the opportunity to head elsewhere, so you promptly nodded your head in response before quickly exiting the master bedroom, fighting the urge to shut the door behind you as you led your partner slightly up the hall and back into the room on the other side of the stairs.

The emptiness of this room was both unsettling and appealing to you as you entered, fighting the urge to take a seat on the uncomfortable looking bed. You turned to your partner.

For the moment, the two of you were alone in the room with no officers to watch as you sighed and ran your hands through your hair, leaving both of them atop your head for a moment as you struggled to regain focus on the task at hand.

This case was supposed to be easy, come in, let Nines scan some things to prove that androids hadn't been involved, and then head back to the station for an early night off. No big deal.

But now things were far more complicated than you ever could have imagined.

Now there were both android and human victims involved in this case, and truthfully you weren't sure if you and your partner could trust the only other android crimes detective on the scene to be fair with his assumptions about the most likely violently mutilated androids who had suffered within these walls.

If you didn't stay, this case would almost assuredly either go unsolved, or end with the android involvement being written off as android on human violence that had gone wrong for both parties.

You couldn't let that happen, not if you wanted to be able to look someone in the eye and call yourself a detective.

You were just about to vocalize these feelings of yours, when suddenly Nines spoke instead,

"I know you do not want to leave, Detective."

His voice was calm and collected as he spoke, his eyes all but burning into your own as he reassured you as best he could,

"Furthermore, I have no intentions of asking you to do so. But I have to suggest that you take a moment before considering the evidence further. It would be rash for you to try to pursue this case with an unstable mind."

You wanted to argue, wanted to tell him that you were fine, but you could feel your heart in your throat, fast and intense, and you knew without asking that he could see it just as easily as you could feel it. Lying to Nines would get you nowhere but dragged back to the station for being irrational, and you knew that wasn't what you wanted, nor did it seem to be what your partner wanted either.

Both of you had every intention of seeing this case through to the very end, no matter how hard it got to imagine the pain endured within the walls that made up this home.

Sighing, you sat on the ground in front of the open window Gavin had smoked at earlier, the scent of nicotine and tobacco already stuck to the flowery wallpaper that adorned the walls in a way that made you nauseous.

You leaned your head backward, trying to ignore how uncomfortable you were as you took a few deep breaths, your eyes moving from place to place until they finally landed on Nines, who watched you for a moment before he knelt before your seated form, his expression unreadable.

You both remained that way for a few minutes, just looking at each other before finally, you leaned forward and opened your mouth to speak,

"I meant to ask this earlier,"

You began, watching as Nines continued to give you his undivided attention, clearly displaying interest in your words as you slowly worked out what you were going to say,

"But I was wondering if you could tell me how old this house is."

Nines nodded after a few moments of thought, his LED blinking yellow for a brief period before he spoke,

"It was built approximately 68 years ago, and has had five owners since that time, including the Hughes'."

You nodded as you took in the information your partner was sharing, allowing yourself a few more moments of thought before continuing with your question,

"And how old is the floor plan you downloaded once we received the case info?"

Nines answered immediately, knowing the answer to your question without having to seek out any additional information,

"It is twenty years old, as that is the most recent floor plan available. Would you like me to download some of the earlier floor plans and architectural blueprints for the home?"

You nodded in the affirmative, thanking your partner before you stood once more, trying to ignore the officers that has begun to crowd the hallway, watching the two of you work to solve the case as if they didn't have anything better to do but hope for new and dramatic advancements in it.

There was relative silence save for the sound of shuffling feet and shifted objects as Nines searched various Detroit databases for older floor plans of the house, eyes following you even as you began to move around what little there was in the bedroom in an effort to gain new information. In the back of your mind you knew that your partner had probably already scanned the space for any possible pieces of evidence, and that that was the most likely reason he wasn't searching with you while seeking out the database in the background, but even still you pressed forward, trying to keep yourself busy in an effort to ignore the almost too surreal world around you.

No matter how many crimes scenes you worked on, it never got any easier to learn that people had not only been murdered, but tortured as well. It was a harsh and cruel way to die, one that you found yourself growing more and more disturbed by with each homicide case you worked.

"Detective, I have located the earliest floor plans available pertaining to this particular address. It appears that everything has remained consistent save for the apparent closing off of an unsafe attic that did not meed code standards, as well as the closing off of a dark room beneath a hollow floor at the end of this hallway. It was filled in to the point of uselessness thirty years ago and load bearing columns were installed on the first floor to assist the structure of the home in a superior manner."

You hummed curiously in response, glad to hear that you were at least correct about the strange length of hallway present on the second floor. The existence of a dark room gave that meaning, as did the attic entrance that Nines had mentioned was closed off. Both things had likely required an extension of the hallway that was unnecessary otherwise.

"Thank you for checking."

You said after a few more moments of thought, watching as your partner nodded in response, standing up from his still knelt down position in order to walk over to the dresser, which sat across from the one and only bed in the entire room.

Well, at least that made a lot more sense now, as did the single room for four children. Android's didn't need a bed to sleep in, just a safe place to reside to go into rest mode or stasis. It also explained the lack of children's toys and other personal belongings that you'd noted the absence of earlier. But even still, it didn't explain the missing little girl, Gwyneth, nor did it give you any information regarding the probable death and physical disappearance of her adoptive parent's bodies.

You had to be missing something...

And Nines was the one who found it.

Just seconds after your internal lamentation regarding your lack of understanding, your partner picked up the diary Gavin had mentioned was blank earlier, opening it as if to quickly flip through only to stop immediately, his brows furrowing as his LED cycled yellow once again.

"Nines?"

You asked curiously, taking a few steps towards him as he began to turn the pages one by one, until finally, he stopped, meeting your gaze once more,

"This is Gwyneth's diary."

You raised a brow at his certainty, confused by how he possibly could have known that.

"What makes you think it's hers? Gavin told me earlier it's completely blank, meaning we have no way or knowing who it belonged to."

Nines shook his head at your words, his mouth curling into that familiar haughty grin as his gaze burned into yours, pride evident in his tone as he began to clarify why he was so certain he was correct,

"It is blank for yourself and Detective Reed, Little Mouse, but not for me."

AO3 Link

Series Masterlist

#DBH x reader #rk900 x reader #nines x reader #nines x reader series #rk900 x reader series #dbh rk900 #connor dbh #dbh blog #dbh fics #rk900 fics #rk900 series #dbh series #dbh nines x reader #dbh connor #ruiner ruination #DBH connor x reader #detroit become human connor x reader

[honey-beann]

Ruiner, Ruination (RK900 x Reader)

Chapter Two: Remarkably Slow Reactionary Timing

Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis:

Reader and Nines have been working together for two weeks now, and honestly? So far so good.

This chapter highlights a particularly interesting joint morning commute, a heated break room argument, and plenty of teasing and mockery from everyone's favorite condescending android.

AKA: Reader and Nines get into their routine and then promptly get right out of it.

Chapter Content Warnings:

Brief mentions of blue blood

Brief mentions of violence

Brief mentions of acts of bigotry

Word Count: 3,689

"Oh c'mon, you seriously don't have a favorite song? Who doesn't have a favorite song?"

You asked incredulously, crossing your arms over your chest as you shifted to look at the android who was sitting in the drivers seat beside you, his eyes trained on the road as he carefully maneuvered your car through the heavy morning rush hour traffic that you had grown accustomed to since moving to the city.

Today marked two weeks since the start of your partnership with Nines, and so far things had actually been going pretty good.

Well, as good as they could be considering that your partner was a nearly emotionless deviant android created to annihilate his own kind.

But still, you had no complaints.

So far, you had both done a good job of getting into the groove of things, so to speak, and you'd actually worked out a routine that worked well for the two of you, something you and Gavin had never been able to agree on when you were partners.

Every morning, you woke up at 6:00am, got ready, and left your apartment around 6:45 in order to get to Nines' DPD owned "apartment" (which was actually an unused safe house that hadn't been renovated since the early eighties that they'd given him because of a proposed android housing law that Marcus was pushing for), by 7:00am. From there Nines (ever the control freak, as you'd learned early on) would insist on driving the two of you to work, which was actually back in the direction of your home and an extra fifteen minutes away on top of that, meaning the two of you would typically arrive at the station to start your work day around 7:30am.

You hadn't been a fan of the early start at first, but you'd soon found that the drive down to work as well as the drive back to his place after was one of the only times he would ever humor you conversationally. Nines wasn't a big talker on his best days, but at work? Almost any personal question was addressed with mild annoyance, a stern glare, or an eye roll if you were lucky enough to not just be outright ignored.

This way though, you had him trapped in the car with you for an hour each day, and the deal was that if he wanted to drive (which he claimed was far more efficient due to his built in GPS and quicker reaction times), he would have to let you interrogate him as much as you pleased.

And today you were feeling particularly curious.

Currently, you were about five minutes into your thirty minute trip, and you had decided to ask your partner what his favorite song was after having yours come up on the radio.

Thus leading to the current conversation at hand.

Nines glanced over at you with his usual neutral (yet somehow vaguely disappointed) expression, flicking on your car's turn signal before shifting to the next lane over in order to avoid the more congested traffic that was evident a few yards ahead.

"I believe the better question, Detective, is why on earth you would assume androids have favorite songs."

"You're a deviant."

You countered immediately, patting yourself on the back for your quick response as the man in front of you rolled his eyes, continuing to follow the slow and monotonous flow of traffic as he spoke up once more,

"That does not make me any less of an android. I have developed the ability to empathize, and feel some new physical sensations due to software updates post revolution, but besides that I'm not sure what my deviant status has to do with me suddenly having a favorite song."

You groaned at his boring answer and pulled your knees upward, placing your feet at the edge of your seat as you leaned the back of your head against the window, allowing you to very clearly see the android who was sitting beside you.

The morning sun streamed in through both the sunroof as well as the driver's side window to his left, bathing him in an almost holy light that accentuated the sharp angles of his jaw. His hands gripped the steering wheel exactly the way they taught in drivers education, and you couldn't help but notice the way his fingers splayed out and closed around it as he began to make a relatively sharp turn towards your location.

God, did they really have to make him so mind numbingly hot?

This hadn't been the first time you'd noticed how attractive your partner was, far from it in fact, but even still you were still struck time and time again with the truth of it. If he wasn't such a boring hardass, his looks may actually have been pretty distracting, but thankfully, he was probably the most annoyingly perfect man you had ever met, and as a result you found yourself entirely capable of ignoring his unfairly good looks.

Most of the time.

(At least that's what you told yourself).

"Something on your mind, Detective? I'm not usually so lucky as to have you be quiet for this long."

Nines spoke cooly, his expression smug as he glanced over in your direction briefly before returning his attention to the road.

Scoffing as if offended, you glared at your coworker, rolling your eyes at his rude commentary.

"That was a pretty funny joke for a guy who doesn't even have enough of a personality to know what his favorite song is."

You quipped back, smirking to yourself as Nines rolled his eyes, that shadow of a smirk the only thing that let you know he'd heard you at all.

The next few minutes of the drive were spent in relative silence, up until the car reached a complete stop at an intersection notorious for its long red light wait times, and Nines turned his head to face you for the first time since the start of your journey, the brief flickering of his LED letting you know that you were the sudden subject of an impromptu scan. He was prone to doing this at random opportunities, and when you'd asked about it he'd simply stated that it was to ensure you were "fully prepared for the work day ahead of you".

You'd just decided to let it go, coming to the almost instantaneous conclusion that he would probably still do it whether you gave him a hard time about it or not.

Suddenly his LED flashed a brief yellow, something you weren't accustomed to seeing during most of his scans, before he gave you a rather pointed look

"You did not consume breakfast this morning?"

He asked cooly, his expression markedly displeased as he awaited your response, grey eyes flickering back and forth between your face and the continuously still traffic in front of him.

"I didn't have time."

You said with a shrug, knowing full well that wouldn't be a good enough reason to satisfy your partner, but praying that he would let it go anyway.

He did not.

Nines sighed, his LED blinking once more before it went stagnant again, signalling the end of whatever he'd been doing.

His gaze returned to you.

"I have rerouted us to a relatively healthy and fast breakfast location. In the future, I must insist that you try harder to not inconvenience our work day."

You rolled your eyes at that, crossing your arms over your chest as you watched the Android in front of you turn his attention back towards the road, accelerating slowly as traffic starting to move once more.

"Inconvenience our work day? Don't you think that's a little dramatic? All I did was not eat breakfast, I do it all the time with no issues."

"No issues that you notice."

Nines quipped back immediately, as if he had already known exactly what you were going to say in advance.

"I, on the other hand, know that when humans don't eat breakfast it can greatly impact your days. For example, this will likely have an effect on your already remarkably slow reactionary timing."

You gawked at him in response to his words, hardly believing what you were hearing,

"Remarkably slow reactionary timing? Oh come on, Nines, now you're just being an ass."

You huffed, glaring at your partner as he shrugged his shoulders in response to your statement,

"If my words offend you, that is not my intention. I am simply making you aware of how you not eating breakfast can impact our work day. Your reactionary timing is already far slower than mine by default, decreased speed within this area could cost us a case in this line of work."

Groaning at his words, you moved to turn on the radio, glaring up at the android in question.

"Whatever you say, Nines. I'm not gonna waste my time arguing with you about this."

Nine's gave his usual half smirk at your words as he glanced down at your form in the passenger seat,

"That would be preferable."

You sighed, fighting the urge to roll your eyes for what probably would have been the one hundredth time within the past fifteen minutes alone as you turned up the music, watching as the city slowly passed outside of your vehicle.

Just a few minutes later, as Nines was waiting for yet another stop light to change to allow him access to your slight breakfast detour up ahead, you squinted at a sight that you struggled to make sense of. Nines seemed almost too focused on the road in front of him, and had, to your knowledge, neglected to notice, but what looked to be an android was running straight through the middle of traffic, desperately trying to make it from one side of the road to the other.

Confused, you leaned forward in your seat, watching as the man grew closer until you were absolutely certain that he was in fact an android.

And he was getting reeeaaalllly close to your car...

CLANG

With wide eyes you watched as the android in question was all but hit by a truck just a few vehicles away from your own on the multiple lane road, the light having turned green for nearly everyone who had been waiting on this side of the intersection.

In the distance, you could see another man who was also running in the same direction of the android, probably ten or so yards behind him, but over the clamor of traffic you could not for the life of you make out what he was shouting.

Even still, despite his previous run in with the truck, the android turned around to look at the man behind him, who was growing closer by the second, also trying to dodge the traffic around him as he went.

The android started moving again, and before you knew it...

SLAM

His hands hit your hood unceremoniously, and Nines' eyes widened as he took in the sight before him, his brows knitting in obvious confusion as the android on the other side of the glass leaned against your car, panting heavily.

You were just about to open your window and ask if everything was alright when the android was hit in the head with a large piece of concrete.

Shifting your gaze, you saw the same man from before who had been chasing the android was growing even closer, a new chunk of the road in hand as he glared at him.

Oh shit.

The android sprang to life once more, running even faster than he had been upon his initial approach until he made it to the other side of the road a few seconds later, which was where he allowed himself to turn around.

The man was still coming after him, and with every second the android stayed still, he only grew closer.

You watched as the man, who appeared to be human, rushed past your car in pursuit of the now bleeding android, who was leaving a trail of thirium behind him from the rather serious looking gash in the side of his head.

Something about the sight of that blue blood seeping into the concrete, falling in drops in the android's wake, made you burst into action, and before you even really knew what you were doing, you were jumping out of your car in pursuit of the duo.

You heard Nines call out to you, but his voice was lost in the clamor of the city as you rushed through traffic, narrowly missing being hit on more than one occasion before you finally made it to the other side.

The man was probably five yards in front of you now, still in pursuit of the injured android, who was now beginning to slow down after his previous burst of speed.

Bearing down, you ran faster, shouting, "DPD, stop right there!" as you did so to no avail. Neither the man nor the android in front of him reacted to your demands, and you cursed as the aggressor grew closer to the individual he was pursuing due to the injured android's decreased speed and suddenly stumbling legs.

You were roughly two yards away now, and if you didn't do something soon that man would get his hands on someone he had already made a victim out of once before.

You groaned, praying you weren't about to make a fool of yourself as you leapt forward, grabbing the man at the back of his legs and sending the two of you tumbling to the ground.

The android the man had been chasing all but collapsed just a few yards away, his chest heaving as he attempted to cool his likely overheated internal processors.

He was watching you with both fear and awe, and you shouted for him to stay where he was before you promptly began handcuffing the assailants hands behind his back, causing him to struggle and spit at you as you read him his rights, lines that you'd rehearsed about a hundred times by now.

You looked back over to the android once you were finished, still holding the man down as he cursed and threatened you aggressively, refusing to back down from his rage induced haze.

But this time, the android wasn't looking at you anymore.

He was looking behind you, even more in awe than before.

You turned your head, and there was Nines, approaching you with his eyes widened ever so slightly, clearly surprised at the sight he was taking in.

You smirked at him, panting heavily as he stopped to stand in front of you,

"Hows that for remarkably slow reactionary timing?"

Not even Nines could hide his slight grin at your words, and you watched him roll his eyes before he took over for you in holding down the aggressor, his LED blinking as he requested a patrol care at the scene to take the man into custody.

You and Nines on the other hand, were left with the task of getting the Android to make a report down at the station, and in the end, it was your partner who got him to agree to it, under the condition that he could talk to Nines and Nines alone. The android revolution had caused a pretty vast distrust between deviants and the authorities, so you tried not to take it personally and walked with Nines and the android, who you later learned was named Ben, back to your car, which Nines had parked perfectly right outside the entrance of the public park you had chased the two men into.

Weird, you hadn't even noticed the change in scenery before that moment.

An hour and a half later, you stood up from your desk and stretched with a sigh.

Nines had gone to help the android make his report just over an hour ago, and he had yet to return to his desk.

Partially out of boredom and partially to appease the android who you knew would be displeased to learn you still hadn't had breakfast upon his return, you slowly made your way to the break room, reading a case file on your tablet as you did so.

Unfortunately for you, this meant you weren't paying very close attention to the contents of the room in question, thus allowing you to walk right into the scrutinizing gaze of Detective Gavin Reed, who groaned loudly as you walked in, as if physically harmed by your presence.

To your surprise though, it wasn't you he was glaring at as he opened his mouth to speak,

"Does that thing have to follow you everywhere, rookie? It gives me the fucking creeps."

Confused, you turned on your heel to see Nines standing behind you, his head tilted ever so slightly as his gaze flickered between you and Gavin.

Sighing, you turned back to face your former partner and current desk neighbor, placing your tablet on a small table beside you before crossing your arms over your chest, your expression unimpressed,

"He doesn't have to do anything, Reed, God when will you just grow up and learn to keep your mouth shut for once?"

Gavin scoffed at your response, taking a step forward as if in challenge as he focused his glare on you instead of your companion,

"Oh wow, look who thinks she's hot shit now that she's got an android partner to back her up."

He all but growled out, his eyes burning into yours as he spoke.

You laughed harshly in response,

"Aww, is someone mad that he turned down the android that would have made his life easier? You regretting your shitty decisions now that you've been left out of yet another successful team? Well don't you worry, Gavin, I promise it wouldn't make a difference, not even Nines could make up for how fucking bad you are at your job."

You seethed angrily, your voice dangerously low and your hands clenched into fists at your sides.

Gavin moved as if to take another step forward in retaliation, when suddenly he froze, his expression briefly shifting to one of concern before he looked even angrier than he had before.

"Oh fuck off, Tin Can, stay the hell out of this."

He spat, and you could almost feel Nines' look of disdain without even turning to see his expression.

The android's voice came from just behind you only a few moments later, cool and calm, but with a certain edge to it that made you swallow thickly, suddenly reminded of just how intimidating he could be.

"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen, Detective Reed. I have multiple matters to discuss with my partner and don't have time to allow you to finish your petty whining."

With that, you felt him turn to leave, and, getting the hint, immediately did so as well, leaving Gavin and the multiple innocent bystanders of your argument to stand in awkward silence.

A few minutes later, you were sitting back down at your desk, facing your partner as he scanned a few documents that had been left at his station prior to his arrival.

"Is he gonna be okay?"

You asked suddenly, causing Nines to look up at you before he lowered his gaze back downward,

"Who are you referring to, Detective?"

He asked, his tone direct but not cold as he spoke, and you could tell that he was listening by the way he kept glancing upward expectantly.

"The android from earlier. That rock left a pretty nasty gash in his head..."

You trailed off, watching as Nines shifted to meet your gaze once more, giving you his full attention this time as he briefed you on the case as it stood.

"Yes, Ben will be fine. Although, apparently the man who had been chasing him intended to shut him down. Our victim is lucky you jumped in when you did."

You laughed a bit at his choice of words,

"Yeah, literally."

Nines rolled his eyes as you grinned with pride at your own lame joke, but he continued nonetheless,

"Yes well, it was a pretty cut in dry case of android abuse in the end. Apparently, the man saw Ben out on a date with his daughter at a nearby restaurant and got angry, so he chased him down in an effort to quote 'teach him a lesson'."

You shuddered a bit at that, brows knitting together as you tried to make sense of Nines' explanation,

"Okay, but why was he so upset about his daughter going on a date, is she a minor?"

Nines shook his head, his gaze returning to the documents once more,

"No, but she is a human."

Even more confused, you probed the topic further,

"And?"

Nines looked up at you as if you had asked him the most ridiculous question he'd ever heard,

"And Ben is an android."

Seeing your persistent look of confusion continue, Nines sighed and placed the documents down once more, giving up once and for all on his goal of multitasking,

"Many humans are deeply unsettled at the idea of android-human relationships. Ben pursued the perpetrators daughter, and as a result he tried to shut him down."

Your eyes widened in both horror and understanding, and you sighed heavily as you leaned back in your seat, running a hand through your hair exasperatedly,

"God, all of this android human rights shit is insane. Why can't everyone just get over it already and let us all be equals?"

Nines watched you, a ghost of a smile on his lips as he spoke,

"That is a very good question, Detective. Unfortunately, I seem to struggle to comprehend even the simplest of your kind."

You glared in response to his insinuation, watching as your partner chuckled in his seat, amused at his own joke.

You smiled a bit as well, despite your efforts to bite it back, as you watched Nines attempt to refocus on the documents in front of him once more.

Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

AO3 Link

Series Masterlist

#DBH x reader #rk900 x reader #nines x reader #nines x reader series #rk900 x reader series #dbh rk900 #connor dbh #dbh blog #dbh fics #rk900 fics #rk900 series #dbh series #dbh nines x reader #dbh connor #ruiner ruination #DBH connor x reader #detroit become human connor x reader

[honey-beann]

Ruiner, Ruination (RK900 x Reader)

Chapter 4: The Little Mouse and the Metal Machine Part II - Falling

Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis:

Part two of a two part special that tells the tale of the very first time Reader and Nines were recognized for their exceptional teamwork (under all the wrong circumstances).

In this part, everyone's favorite duo works together to contextualize the evidence discovered thus far, coming to multiple unpleasant realizations in the process, one of which may just end up ending someone's life entirely.

AKA: Nines experiences fear, Reader puts herself in danger, and Reed actually helps with the investigation for a minute or two.

Chapter Content Warnings:

Mentions of death

Mentions of murder

Mentions of torture

Mild Gore

Mentions of android self harm

Blood

Word Count: 5,459

"It is blank for yourself and Detective Reed, Little Mouse, but not for me."

A blush rose to your cheeks at the unfamiliar nickname, and you sputtered out a response just moments later, confusion and embarrassment evident in your tone,

"L-Little Mouse?"

You asked, your voice cracking a bit as the android in front of you chuckled, a smooth and dark sound that almost made you shiver.

"I thought it was suitable. Similar to a mouse, you are both fragile yet strangely resilient. I thought this might satisfy your desire to have me call you something besides Detective."

You glared up at him, resisting the urge to call him out for his obvious satisfaction about the fact that he had both given you what you wanted while also ceaselessly mocking you for your biological inferiority.

"I have a name you know."

You grumbled back, cheeks still tinted pink as you looked away from your partner, trying to ignore the obvious amusement he was experiencing due to your reaction.

"Of course you do, Detective, and I know it well, But wasn't it you who insisted on giving me a nickname just weeks ago? Am I not allowed to do the same? That does not seem very equal to me."

You swallowed thickly in response to your partners words, his teasing tone making your skin feel warm as your heart beat faster in your chest.

How was he able to switch up on you so quickly?

Desperate to change the subject before your heart gave out, you cleared your throat awkwardly, letting the nickname slide for the time being as you tried to refocus on the case at hand.

"So, you're saying you can see something Reed and I can't? Like invisible ink for androids?"

Nines rolled his eyes at your words, amusement still evident in his tone as he replied shortly thereafter,

"Exactly like invisible ink detective, because it appears Gwyneth was using her own blue blood to write in her diary. This was most likely to ensure her guardians were unable to read it, as it details many of their abhorrent behaviors."

"Like what?"

You asked before you could stop yourself, watching as your partner turned back to the beginning of the diary, searching through a few pages before he began reading, voice low and smooth,

"Eric and Elizabeth beat the twins for speaking to one another today. They will probably be staying home from school for a few days until Eric's strange companion, Scott can repair them, because the identical gashes across their cheeks are showing their inner facial components and false teeth. Eric and Elizabeth are angry about this, and are blaming the twins for having made them so angry. I miss Logan, it's hard to take care of the girls without his help. He always made everything feel better. I think that's why they killed him before the rest of us. I hear them talking about how they like to watch us squirm when they think we're all in stasis mode. I know what they plan to do with us."

The entry was dated as just over three months prior, and as Nines turned a few pages forward you immediately knew what was to come.

"They killed Hallie and Charlotte tonight. I knew that it was coming, but there was nothing I could do to stop them. They pulled them out of the room like I wasn't even here, kicking and screaming, begging to be let go of, pleading for me to save them. I heard them screaming my name, along with Logan's well into the night, even after their vocal modulators started to give out from wear. I don't think I will ever forget the way they sounded after that, inhuman and yet so full of fear. I know deep down that something is wrong with all of this, but I can't bring myself to be afraid. I was created to obey and love Eric and Elizabeth, and I'm not sure what other options I could possibly have besides continuing to do so. I know they'll kill me too, I heard them talking about it at the end of the night, but I don't even think I'm capable of dying. Still, I keep finding myself wanting to whisper into the darkness and hear Charlotte and Hallie's voices whisper back. Logan's too, although I think I got used to not hearing him anymore a long time ago. I will miss my sisters."

This entry was dated for around three months ago, and you cringed upon hearing the gory details of the twins' murders.

Nines must have noticed this, because he was quiet for a few moments after reading that entry, staring down at you for a few more seconds before he flipped forward further until he once again found the page he was looking for,

"I hear them wherever I go. Charlotte, Hallie, and even Logan whisper in my ears when I'm alone, and I can't handle it anymore. I thought the silence without them was hard, but this is so much worse. They keep trying to convince me to do such terrible things to Eric and Elizabeth, begging me in those inhuman voices to do something to them before they can me. They told me that they buried their extra parts beneath the floor within their bedroom, too. I want to check for myself, but I'm afraid that I might actually find something there. I don't want the voices to be right, but they feel so real that I don't think there's any other possibility."

This entry was dated just five days after the previous one, and to your surprise, Nines closed the notebook after he was finished reading it.

You looked up at him, confused about his sudden disinterest in continuing, and he replied almost immediately.

"That is all you need to hear from her. I will tell you the rest as it is pertinent to do so."

You glared at your partner, about to argue when he turned and left the room, walking a bit down and back across the hall in order to reenter the dreaded master suite.

You swallowed thickly, trying not to breathe in through your nose for fear of that dreaded mechanical scent as you moved to stand in the doorway, confused as to what Nines was doing until he reopened the doors to the closet, the same ones you had gazed through earlier before noting how empty it was in there.

If only you had known how wrong you were.

You watched, finding yourself unable to look away as Nines knelt down to closely analyze the floor, his eyes shifting upward to find your own for the briefest of moments before he reached down and slid a heavy piece of metal covered in well camouflaged carpet over to the side. He appeared to be looking downward for a few seconds after this, although you didn't dare approach to see if you were correct about that, not until he turned to look over at you once more, his gaze lingering this time.

"May I borrow your flashlight, Detective?"

Swallowing thickly, you nodded, removing said device from your tool belt before taking a few steps forward and tossing it to your partner, who caught it with incredible ease despite the shakiness of your throw.

Under different circumstances, you would have very likely been impressed.

But right now, you were just trying to remind yourself to breathe through your mouth alone, desperately attempting to ignore the metallic taste that filled your mouth each time that you did.

God, this place was hell.

Nervously, you and a great deal of your coworkers watched as Nines aimed the flashlight's beam towards the square shaped hole in the floor, his expression unchanged even as he gazed at the sight within.

For a few seconds, there was only silence as he leaned back on his heels, flicking off the light before he stood up and walked away from the hole entirely. You were just about to ask him if he'd found anything when he spoke up on his own,

"The three android corpses within that hidden compartment and the fingerprints that are present on them will serve as evidence that Eric and Elizabeth Hughes did in fact murder their own adopted children. I would recommend having someone from forensics and the coroners office come to prepare the remains for transport. They are not in good condition, as it is apparent they sustained a great deal of damage prior to their deactivation."

You felt sadness and discomfort well up in you as Nines confirmed your suspicions regarding what he had found there, walking back towards you in order to request your support away from the scene once more, his cold hand pressing your flashlight back into your palm once he was close enough. The feeling of the cool black metal, ever so slightly warmed by the previously shining bulb encased within it, brought you back to earth a bit, and you sighed before agreeing to follow your partner, even if you knew deep down that whatever he had to tell you couldn't be good.

You were right.

When Nines pulled you away from your coworkers as they prepared the android bodies for transit, he hardly even waited until you were standing at the end of the empty hallway to tell you what he believed to be the truth of the case: That Gwyneth had murdered her guardians.

He told you about what he'd found towards the end of the diary, pages upon pages of rambling describing how the little girl planned to murder the people who were supposed to have been her caretakers. She talked about bleeding them out in the bathtub the way they'd done to her siblings, of burying them beneath the floor boards just as they'd done to Logan, Hallie, and Charlotte.

She had never outright admitted to killing her parents in the diary, but Nines told you that he had absolutely no doubt that she had done exactly as she said she would, first going after Elizabeth downstairs in the kitchen, where the oldest of the blood had been found, before dragging her over to the bathroom to torture and drain her of her blood the exact same way she and her husband had done to Gwyneth's siblings. After that, Nines believed she had gone upstairs to where Eric had likely been resting, and stabbed him until he was unable to fight back. He was unsure what she had used as her weapon, but due to the lack of forensic evidence on the tools in the bathroom, and the neat way they had been arranged, he stated he had little doubt they had been the murder weapons. He then told you of his theory that Gwyneth had used a bloodied blanket that had been found inside the downstairs bathroom to transport a barely alive Eric down the stairs and into the tub without making a mess.

It all made sense, and you couldn't help but hate it.

Whenever the victim turned to something like this, to killing other people, you always felt like a failure. Where had the justice system been when it came to protecting this little girl? Why hadn't anyone noticed sooner how horrifically abused these children were being?

It was all so unfair.

But what Nines told you next felt even worse.

He told you about the number in the downstairs closet, of the implications it had when it came to the immense amounts of thirium that had once been present within this household. Due to the less than pleasant nature of the family, as well as the shady phone number, and the lack of thirium present within the drainage system of the home, Nines suspected that Eric and Elizabeth had sold it for the production of red ice, and that the burner phone number was probably a contact for getting rid of it.

They had abused their children, tortured them, taken their lives, buried their bodies beneath metal and carpeting, and then sold their blood to be used for drug production.

Somehow, it just kept getting worse and worse.

Seeing your obvious emotional response to his words, Nines' expression changed subtly, just enough so that a few officers present at the other end of the hallway stared at the sight of it, shocked at what they were seeing.

You, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice, far too wrapped up in everything you had learned.

But unfortunately, Nines wasn't done yet, proceeding to request a gathering in the downstairs living area of the home in order to update everyone on his theory.

By the time he was done speaking, not even the infamously argumentative Gavin Reed himself took issue with his thoughts regarding the evidence as it was currently known, and everyone was silent, until finally, one of the many officers who had been initially dispatched to the scene spoke up.

"Well, what are you proposing we do about the perpetrator then? Do we send out her image and name even though there are thousands of others just like her?"

Nines shook his head at that, immediately responding,

"Well, the good and bad news about the Hughes' android children is that they were all custom built, which was how they were able to enroll them in school without anyone knowing they were androids. This means that if we needed to alert the media, there would be a fairly reasonable chance she might one day be recognized by someone. The bad part of this is that if they had not been custom built, none of this ever could have occurred as easily in the first place."

The officer nodded in understanding, before you spoke up for the first time in a long time, and almost everyone in the room noticed the way that Nines shifted his body to face you immediately upon hearing your voice, a furrow of what almost appeared to be concern appearing above his brow as he took in what you were saying.

He had looked almost notably worried for a while now, as if your emotional distress was an immense concern rather than a slight setback.

"You're talking like we won't need to alert the media. Does that mean you think we can find her with the evidence we already have alone?"

Nines hummed, a spark of what was almost like pride flickering within him as you caught on easily to his earlier words. His lips were curled at the edges as he replied,

"I do, and that is exactly why I wished to speak to everyone here at once. Due to the evidence I have of the perpetrator, I know for a fact that the chances that she has left this house are slim to none. That being said, I also know the entire layout of this home from having downloaded current and past floor plans and blue prints, and there doesn't seem to be anywhere she could be hiding where we would not have already located her. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

Everything was completely silent until suddenly, Gavin spoke up from the other side of the living room,

"I might have a lead."

Five minutes later, everyone was standing upstairs in the scarcely decorated children's bedroom, crowding around the window.

"This was open when I got here."

Reed explained, his arms crossed as he avoided eye contact with the android who was standing in front of him,

"I asked the cops who were first to the scene, and they said they hadn't even been up here to open the window at all."

The RK900 model nodded in response, looking over to you before he turned his gaze back towards the window, noting that there was almost no available ground to stand on outside of this portion of the house due to a fence, therefore making it difficult for someone to go outside and look at what was visible from below.

Well then, clearly he would need to get creative in his approach.

He turned towards you fully now, his voice clear and highly confident as he spoke,

"Detective, hold my legs, I am going to get a picture of the above area on this side of the house."

You raised your brows in response, but did as your partner asked, allowing him to get situated with his back against the wooden window sill before he slowly began easing himself outside further, keeping his torso upright without any support in a manner that would have been nearly impossible for any human being.

You grasped Nines' body by the calves, both arms wrapped around them as you did your best to ensure he wouldn't fall out the window due to any potential external pressures.

It was a stressful job.

"Nines?"

You called out after a few moments, hearing a dull click before a chuckle came from outside of the window,

"Yes, Little Mouse?"

You felt your face burn in embarrassment as multiple of your coworkers murmured to one another upon hearing the condescending nickname.

God, this was humiliating.

"Are you almost done? This is making me nervous."

That chuckle came again, much closer this time, and the calves beneath your arms bent in a manner that let you know Nines had sat up once more.

You looked up at him in obvious surprise, dropping your arms from around his legs seconds later as he looked down at you, clearly amused at your previous unnecessary concerns,

"Whatever for, Detective? Were you worried about me?"

His tone was serious, but had a mocking lilt to it that made you glare up at your partner, crossing your arms,

"More like worried about me. You're a three million dollar piece of equipment, Nines, and it would have been my ass if you fell two stories and needing replacing for it."

Humming, your partner lowered himself back inside fully, standing tall and proud above you as he brushed the dirt from the window sill off of his uniform,

"Whatever you say, Detective."

Not long afterward, yourself and the rest of your coworkers were sitting all around the room, analyzing the photo that Nines had taken with great interest and confusion.

Above the window Nines had taken the photo from by using his ocular cameras, it was apparent that there was in fact another story to the house, something you and Nines had been aware of already.

But, what was interesting was the fact that leading up to the rather small window, large pieces of metal could be seen sticking out of the house, almost like they had been placed there by someone in an effort to reach the window a full story above.

"If Gwyneth is anywhere in this house, it's there."

Nines said matter of factly, and everyone turned to face him as he spoke,

"The only thing we need to do now is send someone up there to check it out."

Everyone was silent, none of them particularly eager to go and risk meeting a potentially homicidal little android girl in a dark attic that hadn't been touched by any human being for decades.

And on top of that, there was the whole other issue of the size of the window. No grown man would fit through that easily, least of all the RK900 who was arguably most suited for this particular job. Nines was a big guy, standing at over six feet tall with incredibly broad shoulders that could never dream of fitting into such a small space, especially not when no part of his body could be considered even the least bit pliable.

Nines had not been made to be soft, to mold himself to fit into particular spaces, he was supposed to create those spaces regardless of risk.

But this was not his original task, and this was not something he could brute force his way into.

Someone else would have to go up there, and they would have to do it alone.

"I'll do it." you said, your voice small but confident even as you shook a bit while standing to meet your partners harsh and scrutinizing gaze.

Nines watched you, looking you up and down slowly before he sighed, glancing about the room as if waiting for someone else, anyone else to volunteer.

Nobody did.

He sighed.

"Are you sure you're up for this?"

He asked, approaching you slowly, running scan after scan to check your vitals in an effort to discern fully whether or not this was a good idea.

But no matter what he did, there was no answer he could find that was entirely certain and without risk.

And he hated that.

"This case seems to have shaken you, Detective. I do not want you to take any unnecessary risks. The entire case could be jeopardized based upon your actions."

His words were very normal for him, so very Nines in nature, but the worry within his gaze was not. He didn't want you to take such a huge risk unless you felt confident you could come out the other side unscathed.

You nodded in response to his words,

"I'm sure, Nines. Let me do this."

Your partner watched you, his jaw clenching and unclenching repeatedly until finally, he relented,

"As you wish, Detective. We will aim to have you heading up within the hour. Please prepare yourself accordingly."

Nines spoke like he intended to have no involvement with said preparation, but for the next thirty five minutes he spent every moment of his time going over plans with you, creating back up plan after back up plan for probability after probability until you had the audacity to compare him to his predecessor due to his obvious anxiety pertaining to your success.

That had shut him up until your final five minutes prior to your journey, which was when he came to present you with his gun.

You had never really told anyone, but you didn't like to carry a lethal weapon on you during work hours unless you were instructed to. Nines knew that, and was evidently all too aware of the fact that you'd arrived on the scene today weaponless. But rather than chastising you for that, as he had done many times in the past, he simply held out his gun, watching as you accepted it gingerly, holstering it away with a nod of appreciation.

You didn't know what to say.

Since becoming your partner, Nines had accidentally become one of the most important people in your life.

You saw him nearly every single day, and whether he considered the two of you to be close or not, you had actually started to think of him as a friend rather than just your partner.

Even still, you couldn't bring yourself to say that to his face, no matter how scary the situation at hand happened to be.

You were just about to try and get something, anything out when Nines spoke up,

"You will make it out of this unharmed, Detective."

His tone was stern and certain as he spoke, his grey eyes hardened in a way that may have actually frightened you just a few weeks prior.

But now?

Now it was all too familiar to make you feel anything but strangely at ease.

He continued a few seconds later, his expression remaining ever unchanged,

"I swear it. I will not allow anything bad to happen to you. Not now, and not in the future. That is the promise I made as your partner, and I intend to keep it."

You smiled up at Nines, the first one he had seen in a few hours, and he watched as you reached your hand out, grabbing one of his as it lay limply at his side to grasp it within your own, a sign of strength and confidence that was almost able to put him at ease.

Almost.

"I trust you, Nines."

You said, and you could have sworn you saw that hardened stare soften for a moment before he blinked that tenderness away in favor of his usual harsh expression.

Your partner nodded in response to your words, a small smile appearing at the edges of his lips as he replied earnestly,

"And I you, Little Mouse."

There was silence between the two of you for a few moments before you both let go of one another's hands, allowing the peace and quiet to permeate the environment before Nines spoke up once more, his voice a bit softer than the last time he had given you instructions pertaining to your mission,

"I will be on the ground below along with everyone else currently present. If you need anything at all, just call for me. I will hear it. We removed the fence to ensure there is enough room for everybody to remain safely outside the premises so no one will be of your concern."

You nodded softly, swallowing thickly as you glanced outside to see your coworkers on the grass below, anxiously awaiting your ascent to the abandoned attic.

It was now or never.

You looked back to Nines, giving him one last nervous smile before you made your way over to the window. You sat there on the windowsill, listening to your peers chat below, until you saw the familiar form of your partner stride outside to stand with them, giving you the signal to head upward. You gave him a stern nod in response, and stood at the edge of the sill, grasping on to one of the sturdy metal rungs that had been stuck into the side of the house and pulling yourself upward.

You repeated this process of slowly moving up until finally, you reached the window, which you could now see was slightly ajar. Praying that the age of the noticeably warped wood wouldn't cause it to squeak and give you away, you pushed the window the rest of the way up slowly before making your way inside feet first in the very same manner that your partner had instructed you to less than an hour before. Allowing the fading natural light to guide your way, you slowly pressed forward into the dusty attic, fear welling up inside you as the silence took over all other sounds.

It was far too quiet in here. And you didn't feel nearly as alone as you'd hoped you would.

"Hello? Gwyneth? Are you there?"

The sound of your voice in the tense silence surprised you, and you swallowed thickly as you watched the room ahead of you for any signs of movement.

Nothing.

"I know you're probably afraid, and maybe even injured, but I'm not here to hurt you. I know what happened, and I know why too. It wasn't your fault. Please let me help you."

At that, you heard the sound of something gentle padding against the thin wood floors, reminding you of exactly how old the dampened floor boards in here were, unsturdy and sagging beneath your feet.

You remained silent and rooted to the spot, watching as a little girl, presumably Gwyneth, stepped closer to the light that was streaming in through the window.

Her blonde hair caught the sun gently, and you almost flinched at the harsh stench of blood that hit you as she grew closer. She was covered in it, from head to toe, and that became more and more evident as her hair caught the nearly dying light once more. It was an almost coppery orange due to how long the blood had been setting into it, and it was knotted in a way that made you feel bad for her.

"Hi."

You all but breathed out, smiling down at the little girl who stood in front of you, her gaze aimed downward and her expression somber. It was hard to tell what she was feeling, let alone what she was thinking within such a dark space, but even still you tried to remain calm, reminding yourself that she never would have done the things she had if not for the abuse she'd endured.

"My name is Y/n. I'm a detective with the Detroit Police Department. I'm here to he-"

"The Detroit Police Department?"

The little girl asked suddenly, her gaze briefly meeting yours, eyes shining with excitement,

"Have you ever met Connor?"

You were taken aback for a moment, confused about what she meant before you smiled, nodding softly,

"I have. He's a friend actually. I'm sure he would love to meet you if you were willing to come down to the department with me to answer a few questions."

At that, Gwyneth actually smiled up at you, her eyes shining as she nodded enthusiastically,

"Sure!"

You almost flinched at her loud outburst, but smiled back nonetheless, calling down to your coworkers to share the news.

Only their response was less than stellar.

In fact, it turned out to be deadly.

"Fuck yeah, Rookie, show that little bitch whose boss!"

You all but flinched at Gavin's words as he shouted them up at you, and you quickly realized he must have believed you had neutralized the child rather than just talked her into coming of her own free will.

And that was where the trouble started.

Multiple of your coworkers cried out in agreement, and you saw the excitement turn to fear as the little girl stepped backwards into the darkness once more. Desperate to help, you followed, trying to explain yourself as you went, to no avail.

The cries of victory from below, alongside the shouts about the victims receiving justice, was all too much for the young android to handle, and, in an effort to get herself out of her situation, Gwyneth began to aggressively slam her head against the floor, and you gasped in horror as it began to splinter beneath her, falling away in various areas due to decay and a lack of upkeep. If she kept this up, the entire house would be going down with her.

"Fuck!"

You cursed, trying to get close enough to reach her, praying that you could stop her onslaught of self inflicted violence, only to realize the floor was growing weaker and weaker by the moment, the whole house feeling as if it were shaking as the load bearing walls below you groaned out of effort and strain.

You were already too late.

Fear gripped your heart as you realized your situation, your legs shaking as you rushed back to the window, knowing all too well that you wouldn't have enough time to climb down before the whole house collapsed beneath you.

Cursing over and over, you had to fight to stay on your feet as fear overcame you, tears beginning to fall and slide down your cheeks as the realization hit you that you were going to die here, in an unfamiliar house, having failed at your job. You had been unable to save Gwyneth, and now you would be unable to save yourself as well.

But then, over the sounds of the varying cries of fear and shock below, you heard him, and an almost overwhelming sense of comfort briefly trumped your fear.

"Nines."

You breathed out, listening closely as the man below called up to you,

"Detective, you need to jump, now!"

His tone was aggressive, almost angry, and decidedly fearful as he desperately tried to get through to you.

"I will catch you. Remember what I said earlier. I will not let you come to harm, not now, not ever."

His confident tone, the certainty in his voice, and the familiarity of his presence unfroze your fear driven mind, and, deciding to take your last chance at life, you shouted back a strained,

"Okay!"

Down to your partner, knowing full well that it would be all he needed to get prepared to catch you.

You closed your eyes for a moment, trying to ignore the sounds of the world all but falling apart around you as you placed your feet on the window sill, gripping the upper portion of it for dear life as you stepped up and out of the house.

You looked down at everyone for a brief moment, your only safety being the wood grasped within your hands and lying beneath your feet. And this wood wasn't going to last much longer.

Swallowing thickly, you closed your eyes one final time, thinking back to your previous conversation with Nines, back before everything had gone to shit.

"I trust you."

You whispered out softly, allowing your body to slowly fall forward until there was nothing left to hold you up, the air rushing past you as you fell nearly three stories towards the ground below.

AO3 Link

Series Masterlist

#DBH x reader #rk900 x reader #nines x reader #nines x reader series #rk900 x reader series #dbh rk900 #connor dbh #dbh blog #dbh fics #rk900 fics #rk900 series #dbh series #dbh nines x reader #dbh connor #ruiner ruination #DBH connor x reader #detroit become human connor x reader

[honey-beann]

i'm in that predicament where i would absolutely love to start ruiner, ruination but i will need some prep time to actually do it because your writing is chef's kiss and i may not survive. /pos

Oh my gosh you're too sweet haha, take all the time you need, I promise ruiner, ruination and I will be here when you're ready to get started! <3

#asks #anon ask #love this #everyone is so nice #ruiner ruination #s: ruiner ruination