A/N: Due to ffn's awful formatting restrictions and frustrating methods of posting and updating chapters, I'm forced to abandon this site. Find me on {archiveofourown . org} and on Tumblr under the same username!

Edited and updated versions of all my existing fic can be found on ao3. I strongly recommend reading there instead, as the versions here are the raw first drafts. As of now, 2/17/20, I'm still posting new fic there. I love you guys, thank you so much for your reads and reviews, and I adore the DM system in which I've had a lot of great conversations, but this site has given me one too many headaches to keep up with it. Hope to see you around somewhere soon!

*ping*

A quarter was set spinning: a metallic flicker, a hollow whir on the wood.

It caught the glare of the light over the kitchen table, long shadows cast in its wake.

In the next room, the television murmured in the dark - haunted the walls with its soft shifting glow.

['... I'm here with Markus, a man whose name alone has become synonymous with peace, freedom, and hope for the android people. He was the hero that led androids - and the world - into a new era, when his efforts and those of his supporters led to the Senate and President Warren's historic declaration last month: that androids, long considered mere machines, are in fact intelligent life to be considered equal to humankind. Markus, thank you for being here!'

'Thank you for having me - but I have to object to being called a hero. The true heroes died for the sake of our people's freedom.'

'What only a month ago was considered mundane recycling has now been rightfully defined as a massacre. The androids' memorial at city square is certainly a moving sight to behold - though it has become a topic of contention as of late.'

'The memorial for fallen androids has been a constant target for hate groups - but every time it's attacked, our people and our supporters band together to make it even more beautiful than it was before.']

The quarter wobbled, clattered flat. Hank dragged it off the table, pinched it between his fingers again.

*ping*

['As of three weeks ago, following rigorous contention in the Senate, androids have now been granted constitutional rights as people - but we understand your work has only just begun.'

'That's right. Jericho is a movement for the equality of androids and humans. We provide support and resources to our people while they transition to their new free lives. We rally and petition for new laws and amendments. We provide legal support and representation to androids who otherwise might be judged unfairly by the legal system. We advocate for equal and unbiased media coverage.'

'We've heard reports that Jericho has provided private security to androids in danger of violence. Is this true? And if so, how are these Jericho agents different from vigilantes?'

'You heard right. Our private security team is developed and maintained completely according to the law - all security assistance is documented, and we take full responsibility for our agents.']

The quarter clinked against Cole's picture, clattered still.

Hank tipped the whiskey bottle against the rim of his glass.

It'd been a month since the androids had earned their hard-fought freedom - and nearly three weeks since he'd seen or heard from Connor.

That last time - in the snow, the city around them empty and shuttered - Connor had told him there was work to be done. Lives to be saved. Mistakes to make up for. He'd said they might not see one another for a long time - but that he credited Hank for his freedom, and by extension the freedom of his people.

You taught me to think for myself, Connor had said. I won't ever forget that.

And then he'd left - gone to stand at Markus' side to weather the storm to come.

Jericho was the herald of a new and better world - and Connor was there at the heart of it, striving at full capacity night and day, making history.

Hank felt like shit for feeling like shit.

He knew it was inevitable that Connor would go on to change the world without him.

He'd just thought that, maybe, he might have had a little more time.

"Fuck it." He grabbed his phone - set to Connor's number hours ago - and punched call before he lost his nerve again.

[Hank! Are you okay?]

Connor had picked up immediately, his voice quick and anxious - as if he expected news of mortal danger.

Hank had never called before.

"Yeah calm down, everything's fine." A smirk pulled at Hank's mouth. He leaned back in his chair with a creak, his shoulders relaxed for the first time in weeks.

[You've been drinking.]

Hank dropped a hand on the table with a quiet thunk and a scowl. "What's that supposed to mean?"

[I can hear it in your voice.]

"Listen, asshole, I didn't call you for a damn lecture."

[Okay, Hank.]

Hank could almost seethe way Connor's eyebrows raised, face open and honest, attentive to Hank's every word. He could hear that stupid expression in Connor's voice. He grinned a little. "So, hey …" He'd only gathered the determination to interrupt Connor's work to hear his voice - but hadn't actually considered what he would say. "... How are things going?"

[Since I've obtained my attorney certification I've taken sixteen cases -]

"Sixteen?!" Hank sputtered, leaned forward on the table in shock. "Connor it's been three weeks!"

[Yes.] Hank could hear it in his voice: Connor had no concept that there was a problem here. [I've been on four security details, seven private investigation cases, and the DPD called me in as a consultant last week.]

"Last week?" Hank stared, confused, at the silent quarter on the table. No one at work had mentioned Connor's presence - though, Hank had missed more than a few days lately.

[I tried to find you but you weren't at your desk.]

Hank still struggled to catch up with this news. "With who?"

[Detective Reed.]

"Jeffrey put you with -" Hank's voice escalated before he cut himself off, heaved a sigh. He jammed the heel of his palm against his throbbing head. He could only imagine that shithead Gavin tripping up Connor at every slight opportunity - he hoped to hell Connor had ripped him a new one. Maybe that was why he'd been left in the dark. "Connor. When was the last time you took a fucking break?"

[The last time we met.]

Hank huffed a long, hard breath. "Connor, these are inhuman conditions," Hank growled, bristling.

[But I'm not -]

"What the hell are you fighting for?" Hank cut him off in a low voice. "All you've done is work your ass off for everyone else -"

[Hank, after what I did while I was -]

"How can you really help them if all you've ever known is how to be a machine?"

The stunned silence on the other end told Hank he'd hit a nerve.

Hank drew in a long breath. Dropped his hand on top of the coin. Slid it noisily toward him. Pinched it in his fingers, set it spinning again.

*ping*

"Look." Hank laid his elbows on the table, the phone pressed against his ear, scowling at the whirl and spark of the coin. "I'm going to the Gears game tomorrow night. You're coming with me. You're not getting out of it."

Hank promptly ended the call, tossed the phone on the table with a clatter. Connor's debate and negotiation skills were useless if he was never given the opportunity to argue.

He grabbed the whiskey - poised halfway to his glass, head bowed in defeat.

With a hiss under his breath he got up, away from the bottle and his doubts.

While he shuffled into the hall, Markus' voice echoed behind him.

[... We're working tirelessly for the safety, the security, and the wellbeing of all our people. We will ensure androids, like humans, have the freedom to make their own decisions, to live their lives as they choose, to experience the world as creators of their own destiny.

To be … happy.]