3:34 PM, February 25, 2039

For being the most intelligent and upgraded android that existed, Connor found himself confused a lot. Confusion was one of his least favorite emotions, it made him feel stupid for not understanding what was going on or not being able to interrupt the meaning behind someone's words. His intelligence was what made him useful, it was his "thing." Like how Markus's "thing" was leading and Hank's "thing" was coming up with creative and lewd insults; his was intelligence. In his mind, confusion was the enemy of intelligence, but at the same time whenever he found himself confused he was able to learn something new. It still angered him how often all the knowledge that he was programmed with was completely useless to him. It bothered him, he knew it shouldn't, but it did.

So when he had been innocently walking into New Jericho, and he saw North full-on sprinting at him, he hated the feeling of confusion that furrowed his eyebrows and caused him to tilt his head. He slowly stopped walking and watched as North eventually reached him, her unnecessary breath coming out faster than usual, her system working harder to regulate her body temperature. Between pants, she managed to yell, "come with me," before grabbing his wrist and roughly pulling him into the elevator.

She pushed, well more like jabbed, the number for the floor that Connor recognized as the same floor that Markus's office was on. He felt his face heat up as he remembered the revelation that Hank had helped him reach a couple nights prior. The brunet hadn't seen the bi-colored android since and at the mere thought of having to face him, now fully aware of the meaning behind his feelings, had his thirium pump pounding harder in his chest.

He cast a worried glance over at North who seemed to have caught her breath during his internal debate and saw that she was smiling. A beautiful bright smile that Connor honestly hadn't known she was still capable of producing, considering her tragic past. Just seeing her happy calmed him down a little and he was able to think more clearly, panic no longer clogging his system.

It suddenly hit him that he still had no idea where he was going or why North was so deliriously happy. Instead of letting his overactive imagination run wild with the possibilities he decided to directly ask her, "North, where are we going and why are you smiling?"

She glanced over at him when she heard him address her. Letting out a small chuckle, that Connor thought sounded like an evil laugh, she answered, "Well I'm smiling because I'm happy and we, well you, are going to do something that should have happened months ago." Before Connor could interrogate her any further, the elevator slowed to a halt and let out a high pitched ding before the doors slid open to reveal Markus's floor.

North once again grabbed Connor's wrist and, more gently this time, pulled him in the direction of Markus's office. But to his surprise, her destination wasn't the office but a closet that was down the hall. He felt the dreaded confusion flow back through his system as he tried desperately to understand what the hell was going on. Why was she leading him to a closet of all things? Was this the cleaning closet? Did she need help cleaning?

Thankfully he wasn't left to wonder for too long as she dropped the hold she had on his wrist and slowly pulled the closet door open. When he realized that there were no cleaning supplies in the closet and instead it was Markus who was leaning heavily on the back wall, he felt his face heat up in confusion. It appeared that he was in rest mode and Connor had the pleasure of watching as he slowly pulled himself from his thoughts and with his eyes still shut he let out a small sigh followed by, "Okay North, I stayed in here like you asked. What's going on?"

She opted to stay quiet and enjoy the look of confusion that flashed on his face as he slowly opened his eyes to see Connor with an adorable look of confusion on his face. The darker skinned android was momentarily caught up in how handsome the brunet looked with his messy dark hair falling into his eyes and wondering, for the millionth time, how the strands would feel in his hands. It wasn't until he actually realized what seeing the other android meant that his eyes widened in panic and he desperately looked over at North. If the grin on her face was anything to go by then he had assumed right and he suddenly felt fear tense his entire body. But before he could do so much as uncross his arms, he heard her shout, "remember your promise," as she roughly shoved Connor into the small space with him and slammed the door shut. The sound of the door locking from the outside hung in the air as the weight of the situation settled on the two android's shoulders.

"Damn it, North," he whispered underneath his breath as he began to realize that she had created a situation where he literally couldn't escape. Being in this closet was the equivalent of North shoving a spoon of peanut butter down the throat of someone who is allergic to peanuts. Or taking a person allergic to bee stings, covering them in honey and putting them on a bee farm. He felt like he was suffocating. Why did he stay in the closet?

"Markus, what exactly is going on? What promise?" Connor asked, his confusion and slight anxiety seeping into his voice. He felt as if he had accidentally done something wrong, he hadn't missed the panicked look that Markus had given him or the swearing underneath his breath. He quickly scanned through all his recent encounters with the android, looking for anything that would draw that kind of reaction out of him. Finding nothing, he felt more confused than he ever remembered being.

Even more confusing than that time when he had accidentally discovered one of Markus's sketchbooks and proceeded to open it before the leader could stop him. He expected to find the usual sketches but instead he discovered that every single page was a drawing of Connor, him with varying expressions, at different angles, and in unique colors. But before he could discover more about it, Markus grabbed the book out of his hands and quickly spirited away. Since then, whenever Connor tried to ask about the book and its contents Markus would either pretend he didn't know what the other was talking about or make up a quick excuse to leave. Connor had eventually given up.

The dim light from the opaque window illuminated the small space enough that Markus could see the puppy-eyed look that the brunet was giving him. His thirium pump fluttered, and he had to tear his eyes away from the other to keep himself from kissing that look off of his handsome face. He gave his question a thought. What was he supposed to tell him? That he had promised North that the next time he saw the ex-deviant hunter, he would confess his undying love for the other and North decided to lock them together in a closet to speed up the process? He definitely couldn't tell him that, but he needed to tell him something. But even while terrified, he still couldn't bring himself to lie to the detective.

"Well, I promised North I would tell you something, and it seems that she decided that I am telling you that something right now." During his half-confession, he had slipped to the floor and brought his knees to his chest. Connor had never seen the other android in such a sorry state, he looks like he did during the protest. Almost as if he already knew the outcome of this "something" and had already given up. He hated seeing that look on his face, and the extreme sadness in his eyes made him want to do anything to fix it. That expression was one of the reasons why he had gone to the CyberLife Tower in the first place; to give him some hope.

Connor walked the few steps to the other and slowly sat down next to him, a little closer than what was probably necessary. Markus glanced at him before returning his gaze forward, Connor stared curiously at him before voicing his thoughts, "You seem to have already decided the outcome of what will happen after you tell me this 'something.' And from your tone and body language, it is not a good outcome." Connor tried to keep his tone factual and simple like he did when analyzing crime scenes with Hank. Afraid that emotion would make the observation sound more accusatory or like the beginnings of an interrogation.

"No Connor, you're right it isn't a good outcome," Markus answered letting his head fall back and rest against the wall. Connor let another beat of silence pass before he realized that the other android had no intention of continuing. He slowly bumped their shoulders together in what he hoped was a comforting gesture before speaking,

"I did the exact same thing not too long ago. I jumped to conclusions and ended up on Hank's porch crying," he smiled a little at the memory, "I had assumed someone else's feelings, and after he finished laughing at me he told me to talk to him," he quickly switched to a creepily perfect imitation of Hank's voice, "'before deciding that for yourself'." He switched back to his normal voice before finishing his thought, "In summary, I might react unexpectedly, you won't know unless you actually tell me."

Markus actually found himself chuckling a little at the sudden impersonation of the Lieutenant, the rough, gravelly voice extremely unexpected. And the attempt that Connor made to comfort him caused his metaphorical heart to swell, knowing that emotions were still hard for him to communicate made the effort that much more special to Markus. It was in that stupid, random moment that everything finally clicked together. His friends had been right all along, he needed to tell Connor how he felt, he couldn't avoid it any longer. He wanted to be happy, and he couldn't imagine himself feeling that way without the brunet by his side.

Not wanting to spew all of his feelings out at once, he decided to start small, "Have you ever dated anyone, Connor?" Because his head was still leaning against the wall, he felt more than saw the small shake of Connor's head. This answer didn't surprise him, because, although he was drop-dead gorgeous, his awkward personality and innocent exterior didn't appeal to most androids. But for Markus, that was exactly what he loved about him, his looks were just an added bonus in Markus's eyes. "I have. Dated someone I mean."

This news wasn't at all surprising to Connor. He didn't know that he had dated anyone, but Markus was so amazingly perfect that it would have been more surprising if he hadn't. That didn't stop him from being curious though, "Oh, who?"

"North."

Again, this wasn't all that shocking to Connor. They were both attractive (Markus more so in Connor's opinion) and they sent a lot of time together, both during and after the revolution. But apparently Markus had thought of it as a big reveal and his silence caused Markus to lift his head off the wall to look at him, raising an eyebrow. Connor quickly let out an obviously fake gasp, bringing a hand to cover his mouth. This terribly phony reaction caused a small chuckle to tumble from the leader's lips and a goofy smile to spread on Connor's face.

The incident caused Markus to actually make eye contact with him. Not only did the brunet love to see the uniqueness of his dual colored eyes, which never failed to make his stomach twist into knots, he also loved to see the depth in them. Android eyes used to be only plastic that allowed for sight, nothing more, nothing less. But Markus's eyes held so much emotion, so much history. They showed his pain and his sorrow, his mistakes, and his triumphs. His eyes were like a storybook that Connor had the pleasure of reading and experiencing every time they made eye contact. Even before he discovered his feelings for the other, he could have stared into the other's eyes for decades, no matter how cliche.

After enjoying the moment they had no other choice but to continue the serious conversation. Since Markus didn't look as though he wanted to bring it back up, the responsibility fell on Connor's shoulders, "Dated? Past tense?" He hadn't let the small detail slip by him the first time but the question of "who" was far more pressing. His heart sank a little when Markus tore his eyes away from Connor's. Now that he was no longer making eye contact with the other android he felt...incomplete. Honestly, the new feeling scared him.

"Yeah past tense, we only dated for like a week or two right after the protest. But it just didn't work, we wanted it to work so bad but...it just didn't," Markus confessed, his mouth pulled into a grimace and Connor recognized the intense look of guilt in the other's eyes. Connor was all too familiar with that expression, he saw it in the mirror every day after all.

It was apparent that he blamed himself for the failed relationship and just the thought of it caused his pain to come back in waves. Connor wanted more than anything to be able to end the conversation; the pain, but he knew that it had to continue in order for them to get anywhere, so he tentatively asked, "Why not?"

The question just made Markus's eyebrows pull together and his shoulders to drop, the sadness in his eyes turned to defeat when he answered the other's question, "I honestly don't know how we didn't see it during the revolution, but we are so different Connor."

"She's violent, I'm peaceful; she's hesitant around strangers, and I'm trusting; she's a pessimist I'm optimistic. Whoever says that opposites attract was dead wrong because all our differences did was make us argue. Our opinions always butted heads and soon enough we couldn't agree on anything. We just didn't fit, too different."

He seemed to be on a roll, sadness soon replaced by rage as he continued to rant about the relationship. Connor had a feeling that this was the first time Markus was voicing these emotions. He had become a sounding board to everyone else's problems so often that he forgot to consult anyone about his issues. The thought sent a pang through Connor's body and vowed that he would become Markus's personal sounding board from now one. Not wanting to interrupt the rant, Connor bumped their shoulders together again in a silent show of support as Markus continued,

"Well, you know that sexual orientation isn't that big of a deal to androids. For androids, we are so new to literally all emotions, to us it really doesn't matter who you love because the fact that we are able to love is amazing in itself." Connor, of course, knew all this but the leader always seemed happier when he was talking about what his people were able to do now that they were deviant. "So it wasn't a big deal when I told her I was gay-"

Connor's eyes widened in shock, and his jaw dropped slightly, he had no idea that the other was gay. Markus threw him a look that blatantly said Really? Dating North wasn't surprising, but my sexual preference is? Connor snorted a little and shrugged his shoulders, "I hadn't realized, that's all."

"Connor, Josh literally painted my office walls rainbow for like a week as a prank. A whole week Connor, it was funny though I'll give him that." Connor just shrugged his shoulders again with a shy smile on his face as he gestured for the other to continue. "Anyway, the news was pretty much the end of the relationship when we realized that there wasn't even physical attraction left after we had exhausted any and all emotional connection."

"The funny thing is," a small smile crossed Markus's face, "that as soon as we broke up officially and went back to being friends we had literally no problems. Virtually no arguing or conflicting opinions, we went back to being completely in sync. It still alludes us as to why dating was so drastically damaging to our relationship. But we are fine now, so it's all good, but those were some of the most emotionally taxing weeks I've ever experienced."

Connor let the story sink in, and he felt a little exhausted just listening to the inner turmoil that the other had experienced in such a short amount of time. He couldn't imagine what that would have been like, especially because he didn't have anyone to talk to about it. At least Connor had Hank. His vow to get Markus to confide in him strengthened tenfold; he would be Markus's Hank.

He gave Markus another confused look before asking, "Why did you tell me that?" Although, it was an extremely personal story it wasn't the elusive "something" that Markus had yet to tell him. Connor's curiosity flowed through his body with every thump of his thirium pump, he wanted to know so damn bad what the other had to tell him.

Markus took a second to think before answering honestly, "Well before we started dating she told me that she loved me and I thought that I loved her too. It was only after we had broken up that I realized that I was wrong. That what me and North had wasn't what I thought love should be."

Connor, barely able to keep a lid on his intense curiosity, managed to whisper, "Well, what do you think love should be?"

"I don't know what it should be, but I know how I feel. When I fell in love I didn't even realize it at first, falling for him was so easy. It was slow in the beginning, I would catch myself thinking about him constantly, he would be the last thought before I slipped into rest mode and the first when I woke up. Whenever he would look at me with his confused puppy dog eyes, I felt my knees go weak, and it would take everything in me to stop myself from kissing him right then and there."

"Everything he does is both the cutest and hottest thing I have ever seen," an involuntary smile found its way onto his face as he recalled memories, "like when he sneezed for the first time and scared himself and spent the rest of the day sure that death was imminent. Or when I tagged along to work with him because I heard that he often licked stuff and rA9 I wanted to see that first fucking hand. And when Simon pretended to hit on him to get a reaction out of me, and he didn't understand the cheesy pickup line that Simon used and proceeded to explain how 'Happiness' did indeed start with an 'H' and not a 'U'"

"But it really didn't hit me until later, since I don't see him nearly as much as I'd like it took a little longer to realize that whenever I'm around him, I feel light, like all of my problems don't matter when he is next to me. He is able to lift the weight of the revolution off my shoulders so effortlessly. He was like coming up for fresh air like I was drowning and without even realizing it, he saved me. When I actually realized that I was in love I wanted to shout it to anyone who would listen. Suddenly everything that ever caused me pain faded away and this amazing feeling took its place. This feeling that I can do anything, that nothing is impossible when I have him in my life."

Connor was suffocating. He had virtually stopped listening to the other when he heard the words 'when I fell in love' come out of his mouth. Markus didn't love him back. His world had stopped spinning, its colors slowly grayed and all warmth faded until he felt like he stood in a cold wasteland rather than a closet. He isn't outwardly expressing how broken he is, as he silently watches the joy apparent on the others face, no... he would save the meltdown for later; when he was alone. He silently curses Hank for telling him the real meaning behind his feelings. Thinking he was dying-actually dying would be better than the pain he is in right now, listening to the love of his life telling him how he's in love with someone else.

But he manages to tough through the speech, vaguely wondering when he would be let out of this closet. He wanted to run far away from Markus, probably to Hank's to play with Sumo because that always makes him feel better. He is briefly distracted with thoughts of the lumbering St. Bernard wishing more than anything he could be cuddling him instead of sitting next to his unrequited love.

But then he feels lips pressed against his.

His eyes grew wide as his mind attempted to figure out what is happening. How? Why? What? The only person that could be kissing him is Markus who just went on about the person he loved for like 10 minutes. Why is he kissing Connor now?

He couldn't bring himself to care anymore.

He starts kissing back.

Connor couldn't help himself, he wanted more, anything that Markus would give him. He quickly pushed his tongue against the seam of the darker skinned android's lips and, when he welcomingly granted access, delved into his mouth. It was a sloppy, desperate kiss that expressed all the emotions that Connor was feeling. He was constantly afraid that Markus would come to his sense and immediately recoil in disgust at what he was doing. Subconsciously, the brunet's arms reached up and wrapped tightly around the back of his neck, attempting to bring their lips even closer together.

He still wasn't close enough, although their lips were tightly locked together, Connor always felt as though he were miles away from the other. He quickly swung his leg over Markus and settled heavily in the other's lap without breaking the kiss. The new position caused a ragged moan to escape from the heterochromia eyed android's throat which startled Connor into completely processing his actions. He quickly pulled away, horrified by what he had done, he had taken advantage of the leader because of his own selfish feelings.

The sudden halt of kissing didn't seem to phase Markus, when his eyes fluttered open Connor melted in his gaze. He had never seen the other's eyes so expressive, which is honestly impressive because Connor witnessed the moment when Markus met Gavin.

Markus had come to the precinct because he was curious to see the detective work after something that Hank had said to him. While they were sitting at his desk, Connor was looking over some files and Markus was reviewing an upcoming speech, Gavin walked in. Connor could only assume that he said some idiotic, ignorant comment about androids since he had stopped listening to the insensitive man a long time ago. But whatever profanity he yelled this time seemed to strike a cord in the leader and his expressive eyes had filled with anger and hate. Needless to say, Connor grabbed the other android and got the hell out of there before he had a chance to do anything rash. While calming him down, Connor promised to make him pay for whatever he said; let's just say that they took extra pleasure in "accidentally" pouring a scorching cup of coffee in Gavin's lap later that day.

But the emotion that shown in his eyes was vastly different from then, his dilated pupils gave away his arousal, and Connor could almost see the word 'finally' spelled out in his irises. It wasn't only his eyes that led Connor to this conclusion, a light dusting of blue shinned on his cheeks, and a bright and satisfied smile adorned his handsome face. If the detective didn't know better, he would say that Markus looked happy-ecstatic even-about the kiss.

Looking at Markus's blue blush made him painfully aware that his own face was burning blue. Except his blush wasn't subtle and pretty like Markus's, no he blushes a deep blue that covers his entire face and traces down his neck to spread onto his chest. When he's embarrassed, it isn't only his LED light that gives it away.

Besides the blushing, Connor's expression differed significantly from Markus's. He wasn't smiling. Instead, a deep frown pulled at his lips as tears slowly made their way down his blue cheeks. Between small sobs, he manages to stutter out, "Why would you kiss me? What about this someone you love so much?"

Seeing Connor's reaction causes a pang of sadness to weave itself into Markus's entire being. His glowing happiness now replaced by a soft smile and confident eyes as he brings his hand to Connor's face and wipes the tears from his face. Once his hand settles on his cheek, he whispers reassuringly, "You are the person I love, idiot," before pulling him in for another kiss.

It takes a second for Markus's words to properly register through all of his panic, but when the full weight of those words hit him, he wrapped his arms around the other's neck, let his eyes drift shut and eagerly leaned into the kiss. Their second kiss didn't feel as rushed, Connor no longer afraid that Markus was going to pull away at any moment. This time they kissed slowly, cherishing the feeling of their lips pressed together, the unmistakable sense of perfection. He felt Markus smile, and let out a content sigh, this is happiness, he realized.

After enjoying the moment, Connor once again pulled away from the kiss. He rested his forehead intimately against the leader's and gazed into his eyes, his own half-lidded. This time Connor is sharing the same expression that Markus was earlier, a broad, ecstatic smile spread across his features. Although tears still streamed down his cheeks, they were no longer ones of pain, instead of absolute and undeniable happiness. Markus had matching tears sprouting from his eyes, but Connor could see an outline of a heart that beat in his mismatched irises.

The detective had been so caught up in the kiss and his happiness that it suddenly hit him that he had forgotten to actually respond to the other's confession. Without wasting another second, he opens up a connection between their foreheads, which as still leaning against one another. Because of the connection, Markus could feel Connor's emotions when he says, "Fuck, I love you too." The confession causes the leader to somehow smile harder and broader, his eyes shining bright enough to be suns. He makes sure the connection is still open before smashing their lips together once again so that they can feel their love for one another.

During all the excitement, a box appeared in Connor's vision that read "Markus-Lover" his thirium pump skipped a beat, and his cheeks ached from smiling so long. Guessing from the look in his lover's eyes he got the exact same pop-up. "rA9, this is the single greatest moment of my life," Markus stated, pausing between each word to press a kiss to his boyfriend's lips.

This pulled a giggle out of the other's throat, "So winning the freedom for androids that's like, what? Day old bread?" Markus pulled away momentarily as great booming laughter rolled from his mouth. His laugh was like a pile of stones being tossed around, a low rumble that started deep in his chest and slowly rose. Connor would give anything to hear that sound for the rest of his life.

They were so caught up in one another that they didn't even notice when North had unlocked the door and opened it. They were still sitting on the floor, Connor still curled up in Markus's lap. North had expected something like that, but the lack of making out or fucking surprised her. She had a moment of worry that it didn't go well and that she had inadvertently ruined everything.

But upon closer inspection, she recognized that Connor had burrowed his head into Markus's shoulder and the darker skinned android had curled his body around the others in a protective cuddle. With their eyes closed, a peaceful, almost sleep-like, expression had settled onto their features. Their hands clasped one another tightly, their drawn back skin made their mechanical intertwined fingers seem whiter in comparison.

North then understood that they were interfacing which is why they had yet to notice that she had walked in. She briefly yearned to share that kind of connection again, remembering the comforting weight of another's emotions. Missing the trust that was shared while they sorted through each other's memories, thoughts, and feelings.

But the want was gone in a flash and replaced instead by the overwhelming happiness she felt for the new couple, she almost screamed in victory that the era of Mopey Markus™ was finally over but stopped herself before she made a noise. Instead, she chose to quietly step out of the room leaving the door a sliver open, so they knew that they were no longer locked in but they continued to have privacy.

She didn't see either of them for the rest of the day, and that was 100% okay with everyone because their poor, overworked leader needs a break that only Connor can provide him.