Love is a Human Emotion (Complete)

Ch. 4 - Uncertain

He put his hand on Connor's shoulder. "Trust me son." He said knowingly. Then he walked away, leaving Connor with an exasperated look on his face.

"He's a good man." Chloe determined. She met Connor's eyes. "I can tell he really cares about you."

Connor's thoughts got jumbled as he looked into those deep blue eyes. "Yes...he's like a father to me."

Chloe didn't respond, but her LED flashed yellow for a moment. Was she scanning him?

"We should go." Chloe eventually said. Her lips curved into a slight smile. "Unless you'd rather stand here looking at me."

That definitely snapped Connor from his trance. "I-uh..of course."

They sat on a nearby bench underneath a large birch tree. Connor could appreciate the view. White fluffy snow surrounded them in every direction. The pale sky was splattered with gray clouds like freckles. They fit the aesthetic pretty well, with Chloe's white cardigan and Connor's light grey hoodie and beanie.

Chloe explained that she'd been walking down the street when suddenly, a man attacked her. She'd fought him off just fine on her own, androids were a lot stronger than humans after all, until she felt another body slam against her back.

"You're saying that there were two of them?" Connor asked, surprised.

"I'm not sure." She said. "He covered my face with his hand so I couldn't see. I bit his hand to get him to release me, and once I could see again, there was only one other person with me in the alleyway."

Now this was getting interesting. If the bandit was linked to the missing androids, this might prove that there was an accomplice involved. That would explain how the kidnapper was taking androids so quickly.

"So you were fighting a man with a knife all by yourself, when another man jumped you out of nowhere." Connor said. "And you bit him. That's...kind of badass."

Chloe laughed. "Don't let Hank hear you say that word."

When Connor saved Chloe from her attacker yesterday, he'd thought she was in desperate need. Now he knew she was capable of fighting not one, but two guys at once. "I'm just impressed, is all."

"Thanks. You're not too bad yourself, deviant hunter." Chloe poked him in the ribs. "You took a knife for me and shook it off like it was nothing!"

Connor smirked. "That just shows how badass I am."

They laughed, a hearty full laugh that could ease anyone's mind from stress. Once they stopped, he found himself looking into the RT600's eyes. It had started snowing a couple minutes ago and now there was a speck of it on the tip of her nose. He had a strange urge to wipe it off with his thumb. They stayed like that for a while, getting drawn into each other's presence like magnets.

After 5 minutes and 16 seconds had passed, Connor's systems were on the verge of overheating. He coughed to release some heat. Chloe took a shaky breath. The moment had ended.

"Um...do you have any other questions for me?" Chloe asked.

"No, that's all." Connor still needed time for his systems to recover and the awkwardness did not make it any better.

"I should, uh, head back to Jericho now." She sounded unenthusiastic. "North told me she'd show me her favorite bands."

"Oh. That sounds important." Connor tried for a smile. "You should get going then."

"Yeah."

They both stood up and attempted to say goodbye. Chloe extended her hand for a handshake and Connor went in for a hug. They went back and forth a couple of times before settling for an awkward wave.

As he watched her leave, a new prompt popped up on his interface:

[Accompany Chloe]
[Leave her alone]

He considered the options before choosing the second. He watched her walk all the way to the end of the street and until she disappeared around a corner. Their relationship status changed to <Chloe: Uncertain>

Even as he arrived home that night, he worried if he'd made the right choice.