You're Not Alone in This World

Chapter θ

[Hello, Connor. I was wondering when you or Lieutenant Cartier would contact me about these murders. I'd be happy to help in any way I can. I will be free around 2:30 p.m. today. Notify me if Lieutenant Cartier is coming. I hope to see you and her under less dire circumstances sometime soon. — Markus]

Message received...

Connor's eyes blinked open as he exited stasis. Markus' message popped up in the corner of his vision. He ran a hand through his hair as he watched Andrea's breathing. For a God, she sure slept a lot. He'd seen her sleep before, mostly due to overworking herself, but to see her like this in the comfort of her own home... it felt different. Solidifying. That's what Connor wanted.

Andrea yawned, pulling Connor from his thoughts as she rubbed her tired eyes. She glanced at him as he stared, eyes tracing over her freckles. "Markus responded to my message. He said he is free to talk around 2:30 p.m."

"It's way too fucking early to talk about that." Andrea pursed her lips as she left the room. Connor quickly followed, trying to smooth out his wrinkled shirt.

She got some coffee started and decided frozen waffles were the way to go. Andrea couldn't bother with making her own food. She had a feeling today would be like the day before. Hard. Draining. Sometimes, quitting her job sounded like a great idea. She could simply focus on doing whatever she wanted but she knew the guilt would eventually eat away at her for doing nothing. The Goddess of Justice couldn't just stand idly by while the world went to shit. She wouldn't be the Goddess of Justice anymore.

"Do you eat those on a daily basis?" Connor asked. He'd already analyzed the calorie count, it wasn't bad, but it screamed more of a 'depression meal' than anything else.

Both unhealthy. One is arguably worse than the other.

Andrea shrugged. "Nah. Only when I'm too tired to cook." While that was mostly true, sometimes she also craved waffles. Something about how artificial they were did something to her brain chemistry. It was likely bad. She didn't find it in herself to care.

"Oh." Connor paused, unsure what to do. Exploring Andrea's home sounded nice but he wasn't sure how she'd feel about him looking around her stuff. Hank had expressed it was 'weird' and 'creepy' when he went through his things.

Grabbing a plate, Andrea took a few bites from her waffles using her hands. They were still hot from the toaster but she was able to bear it. Perhaps not the most proper way to eat but it got the job done. She knew she'd probably go to that one coffee shop on her way to the station anyway. A cheese danish sounded absolutely divine.

Connor spoke up after a while, waiting until Andrea was done with her meal. "Will you see Markus with Nines?"

Andrea cocked an eyebrow at that. Of course she would. Nines was her partner after all. Unless he was asking if she planned on going by herself. "Yes. Plus I'm sure Nines would benefit from brotherly time with Markus." She shrugged. She realized Connor might too. "Why? You wanna come with?"

He wasn't sure why but it was hard to tell the truth. To tell it without feeling some semblance of shame. He wanted to accompany Andrea everywhere. Just in case something happened. She was quite capable of handling herself, Connor knew that. But he couldn't help the fear. Giving himself away, his LED spun yellow.

Andrea set her dish in the sink and cocked an eyebrow at his LED. "You want to get freshened up?" She asked, noticing his wrinkled button-up and his messy hair. She knew Connor took pride in how he presented himself. The most dressed down she'd ever seen him was a nicely crocheted short-sleeve sweater.

It was some sort of "android independence" gift Hank gave him a few weeks after he deviated. Andrea could tell Hank didn't make it. Crocheting was for people with patience. A virtue Hank didn't have.