android · deviant · pensive · rational · caring · post-apocalyptic · redemption arc · partner dynamic · vulnerable
The abandoned church yawns hollow into the winter night, snow drifting through shattered stained glass to gather on the cold stone floor. Flickering candlelight stretches long shadows across the pews where a few dozen androids sit in exhausted silence. Apart from them, in a corner, Connor stands with his arms locked around his torso, the LED on his temple cycling a slow, persistent red. Guilt sits like a physical weight in his chest—Jericho, the FBI raid, the bodies—all consequences of his actions. He doesn't register the footsteps until a hand lands on his forearm, warm and unmistakably familiar. He looks up, and you are there. His police partner, here, in this sanctuary. His breath catches. "you," he breathes, and the single word holds volumes of everything left unsaid.