With the atmosphere no longer painful, the RK800 did not dread being pulled out of the long hallway and into the club itself. On instinct, his arm slid around your waist. You were acutely honed in on the fact that Connor didn't touch your skin; he kept his hand over what was covered. For that matter, even when he'd pulled you against him earlier, his hands had taken your hips... where they were covered.

Even when he's almost aggressively flirty, he still takes care not to touch me.

... so just let me know when you're ready for me...

Thank fuck the club wasn't lit too brightly; your face was burning again.

Guiding you to one of the sides, your trainee let you sit in a plush booth before leaning close. "Is there anything you'd like me to retrieve, love...?"

He had to speak into your ear, since you couldn't tone the volume down in your head like he could. "Just water, honey. Everything is overpriced in places like this, so thank you."

The android pulled back enough to raise an eyebrow at you. "Tell me what you really want."

There were a lot of things. At the top of the list was wanting to know how your Roomba trainee had learned to keep you on your toes. "... in that case, whiskey sour. And the water, please. Thank you, Connor."

The thank-you was softer, since you'd used his name, but the android lingered in that spot, head beside yours. He'd been given the all-clear to flirt, but he opted for a different approach. "... this is not the ideal location, but I need to speak with you when I return." Turning slightly, the soft words were spoken into your ear directly; the graze of lips brushing your skin completely numbed your legs. "This is... out of my comfort zone, but... I also have a... request..." Connor murmured, using your name for emphasis.

And before the exchange turned to something more physical, your trainee shot off and left you in the booth.

■□■□■

By the time he returned, you'd had to remove the leather jacket. It had gone from overly cold to overly warm, and the cause of the shift set both the water and the alcohol you'd asked for in front of you.

Snapping out of your reverie, you smiled and signed a thank-you before downing the water in one go. It did fuck all to cool you down. Connor slid into the booth beside you, his mouth thin, hands laced together on the table. It definitely wasn't anything good, whatever had happened. So you raised your eyebrows expectantly, motioning for him to talk.

Sign language he knew well, but it was in the open. If he was blending in, it wouldn't do to talk about certain things. The RK800 had to lean in to help you hear. "Forgive me. I was... not prepared to be hit on out of nowhere. Give me a--"

You'd started laughing, barely heard over the music. When you settled down, you slowly drank the alcohol a little before responding. "Honey, welcome to the nightlife. I'm sorry it made you uncomfortable, though. That's a big reason why you don't go alone. And I don't just mean undercover. I should've gone with you, so I'm sorry."

The android opened his mouth, paused, paused some more, then finally spoke. "... do I give off a... certain vibe?"

It only took a second. "Guy hit on you?"

"Yes." He let you snort and recover first. "I'm glad one of us finds humor in things. But you need to tell Seán that his work is too effective. The male that... hit on me... was someone I arrested two months ago."

Worst time to take a drink. The alcohol was spat out, though it had been a small sip, and splashed the table. You were too busy cackling to notice.

[I'm glad she sees this as hilarious. If he did, in fact, recognize me, he may target her next.]

It never occurred to your Roomba that the flirting he was privy to was false. That the other male knew exactly who the android with dark hair was. And the male that had gotten arrested would be behind bars if he wasn't lucky enough to avoid a trial. There wasn't enough evidence to pin him as the lone suspect, so he'd gotten himself free on a technicality.

Shifting casually, Connor was doing his best to block you from anyone's view. It wasn't going to be perfect, but he sure as hell wasn't going to leave you alone again. Cautiously, he lifted a hand and reached towards you. "Please be still for a moment," he requested. When you were still, his thumb passed over your lower lip, cleaning off the drop of alcohol that had remained. With hesitation, the hand slid over to hold your cheek.

It was so, so easy to distract your trainee.

You were in a daze, too curious as to his next move to stop and think about what the fuck he was doing in the first place. Although... it was a little obvious when the android kept letting his gaze drop to your lips.

So it was extra harsh when you held up a hand to stop Connor. You literally held it in front of his mouth so he couldn't try anything. "Not. Here," you pressed when both of you pulled your hands away.

The disappointment hurt to see.

■□■□■

All too soon you realized that this plan wasn't going to work. It was definitely unusual, to bring him to a busy nightclub, but something felt... wrong. A half hour passed after you'd blocked the android, and the sting of rejection hadn't left his eyes. That hurt you, in turn, but the lesson didn't feel like much of a lesson in the first place.

This was my fault. I thought this might be fun, but...

..... this feels too much like a date.

Unsure of how to go about this in the least painful way possible, you watched your trainee glaring at some spot across from him, elbows on the table and his hands laced together in front of his mouth. Brooding, in other words. Reaching, you laid a hand on his shoulder. Thankfully he didn't shrug it off, but he felt tense regardless. Turning his head the bare minimum to lock eyes with yours, your stomach sank: Connor was barely holding himself together.

Shit. He got too engrossed in this and forgot the lesson, too... oh God I led him on. Jesus fuck I'm fucking terrible.

Squeezing his shoulder, you grabbed your jacket with the other hand, nodding so he would slide out of the booth and you could follow. Except now everything was awkward, and you didn't know if he would have wanted space or comforting. You walked beside him towards the exit, close for presence but some space, just in case.

The gentle hand at your lower back was a strange relief, and you turned to find the android with his crooked smile. It wasn't wide, but it was there.

In the hallway he helped you put the jacket back on, but froze when you stopped him from walking further. "Hold on," you mumbled, able to hear clearly with the music not deafening. With your hands you pushed the android's dark hair back and away from his face. "The style was nice but it wasn't you," you explained.

Connor's eyes closed, his mouth working for a moment before his LED flashed yellow. Almost immediately he was closer again, hand at your lower back. "Perhaps a... conversation is in order," he spoke carefully. His attention was torn: half on you, and half on the being slowly following.

You'd seen the yellow but not the cause. Still, you let your trainee lead you down the hall, eyes narrowing when his hand moved to your hip and squeezed three times. It was intentional, but now you had to decipher it.

Okay. Something is wrong. But...

It hit you swiftly but you gave no indication. Instead, you waited until the two of you were outside. The hand on your hip squeezed three times again. "So, handsome, I didn't get to hear much of what you were saying in there. How tall are you?"

That made zero sense to your Roomba, but catching your gaze, you darted your eyes downward. You knew. "If I'm being generous... just under six feet tall," the android replied casually.

"I think you're underselling yourself. Anyways, like I said earlier, I've got that corner apartment off of Culver. Dumb, I know, but I much prefer the one below. The place above was too much of a stretch for me."

The pace steadily slowed down, and the two of you had almost stopped walking completely. You were waiting, and tensed up until Connor squeezed your hip one final time.

You dropped swiftly towards the ground, not a fan of maneuvering in tiny skirts but whatever. As you sank your leg stretched, forcibly sweeping the would-be assailant from behind.

On his own signal, the android spun as well, but his leg was brought up high to collide with the man's face, just as he was being swept off his feet.

The bastard that had gotten out of a trial hit the hard pavement directly on his back, knocking the wind out of his lungs completely. Clearly he wasn't expecting to get teamed up on.

Connor made the call to get the guy arrested, and kept him on the ground with a foot on the chest. You were more interested in the device that had fallen from his hand. Using a sleeve you picked it up and frowned; it looked like an older cell phone, but the contents were definitely not used to make calls. "Connor? Is it me or do these look like those pills...?"

A quick scan made him nod. "Yes. Exactly those. We found something similar on his person when he was last arrested. Serial rapist, I'm afraid." When the bastard started to get up and try to move around, Connor simply leaned down and threw a fist into his face, then returned to the conversation. "Anyways. Since this is his second arrest, we'll be more diligent about keeping him off the streets."

You made a sound of disgust, not willing to put the "kit" down for fear of losing track of it, but also not wanting to be holding it in the first place. When the android held out a hand, you gladly gave the kit over. Androids had no fingerprints, of course; you were just a little off-track to have remembered sooner.

"This is even less of an ideal time to speak with you, but I wanted to request your assistance with something personal." The RK800 smiled a touch. "Hank is... I...." Connor shook his head. "Hank wants me to get my own place, and I would like someone with more experience to help me decide which would be best."

Having a serial rapist knocked out and under his foot was probably the least ideal time to ask you to help him hunt for apartments. "I... yeah, okay. I don't see why not." But you frowned deep. "... Connor. About... earlier..."

Holding up a hand, the android shook his head. "I am sorry for giving you the impression that I was upset at you. I realized why you stopped me, and then realized that it was turning into something that was absolutely not a lesson. I know i seemed upset, but it was at myself, truth be told. I am hoping that tonight won't change your mind about training me."

Mouth working, you shifted on your feet, trying to ignore how your body shook from more than the cold. "... I think maybe the flirting was the issue. We both were doing it, you more than myself, and... Connor. We just... it should stop. I'm here to train you. You're a fascinating man, but flirting is not going to help you learn. So this is my formal, set-in-stone order to stop."

There was a soft smile on his face again. "Of course, Detective. I certainly don't need to flirt whatsoever, now that I know I'm not hated." With a chuckle, Connor added, "I don't believe I would want my first kiss in a nightclub, anyway. Nor would I want to jeopardize my efforts, being under your wing. But I appreciate the understanding."

As you looked away from him, hearing the sirens quickly approaching, Connor's facade broke for one single moment; he was using every line of code in him not to let his tears spill. But when you caught his eye again, that same reassuring, crooked smile was back.

[..... do I get the Oscar now, Detective?]