"Last call for drinks," Jimmy announced to the stragglers still inhabiting his bar at five minutes to two. While the others gathered their things, helped their buddies stumble towards the door, Hank remained on his stool, staring blankly at the amber liquor in his glass, at the glass in his hand.

He didn't turn or raise his head when the bell at the entrance gave off a tinny jingle, not until a young man called out tentatively, "Lieutenant?"

Busying himself with polishing his dishes, Jimmy glanced between the pair of them, a question in the arch of his thick brows. Hank groaned, knowing without needing to hear it that Jimmy's feelings towards androids hadn't exactly warmed since the demonstrations, and this was now the second time one had come waltzing in looking for him. Shrugging apologetically at the bartender, Hank managed to string enough words together to ask, "What're you doing here, Connor?"

Either unaware of the glare Jimmy was throwing him or unaffected, Connor approached the counter, losing some of his earlier hesitance as he placed a hand lightly on Hank's shoulder. "I decided to come check on you, Lieutenant."

Hunching, Hank shirked him off. "Don't you and Markus have a revolution to run?"

Connor frowned. It was the closest he ever got to expressing genuine annoyance. "I am fully cognizant of my responsibilities, Lieutenant." Then he leaned down to effortlessly hoist one of Hank's arms over his shoulders, "Come on, let's get you home."

"Home?" The bar seemed to spin when Connor lifted him. Jimmy set down his glass as though to intervene, stopping only after Hank subtly shook his head. "Are you taking me to Jericho?" Connor glanced down at him with evident surprise. "What did I do?"

"No, not…" With a firm tug, Connor resumed his stride, brining them both closer to the exit. "I don't mean Jericho." Hank rolled that over in his head. It distracted him from the chilly embrace of winter when Connor finally got them outside. Hank's truck was the only car left in the lot, and it was blanketed in snow.

If he were just a little bit drunker, he might have suggested they walk. Instead, he made as though to slip into the driver's seat, forgetting for a moment that there'd be a passenger, because of course there would be. He couldn't ask Connor to walk back to Jericho in a blizzard, and more importantly, a quick pocket check revealed his keys were missing.

Before he could turn to duck back into Jimmy's, Connor flicked out his keys, holding them aloft like he'd won a medal or something.

"Looking for these, Lieutenant?"

Honestly. He had the best intentions at heart (thirium pump or whatever) but there were times when Hank would've given anything to knock some of that smugness off his plastic face. Grumbling under his breath, he allowed himself to be guided into the passenger's seat, though he was already shivering by the time Connor had the heater on.

Thinking back to the conversation as they pulled out onto an empty road, Hank said, "Didn't Markus say you could live with him?"

He watched for Connor's reaction in the rearview mirror. "Well, yes, he did offer, and I said I was willing to think it over, but… there was something I was hoping to ask you, first." Hank waited him out, and eventually, Connor sighed. "Could I live with you?"

"…What?"

LED flashing a bright yellow, Connor hastily elaborated, "You don't have to decide now, of course. I can wait, though I must insist on some food and a shower. I've been programmed with several different recipes –"

Hank motioned for him to stop. "I just," he shrugged, "thought you had better things to do than take care of an old washed-up drunkard."

Connor stared at him like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're my partner. Partners take care of each other." Turning his eyes back to the road, he finished, "You taught me that."

It was almost enough to draw a rueful chuckle out of Hank. He couldn't say he'd ever expected to have his own lessons preached back to him by an android. "I'm sorry." It was out before he could stop it, and once it was, he knew he had to explain, because Connor was giving him that confused puppy look he excelled at, and chances were good he wouldn't remember this conversation in the morning anyway, so what the hell? "I decided to drop by the bar just to say hello to the guys, you know? See how they were doing." This time, he did laugh, feeling it scrape painfully against his throat. "Should've known I couldn't stop at one drink. Hell, I did know."

His hands curled into fists in his lap, the tips of his nails dipping into palms. Connor watched the movement in his periphery.

By this point, Hank had no idea where they were. Flurries obscured his vision on all sides. He could only hope that Connor had an internal GPS or something like it that could help him get them home. He didn't expect Connor to pipe up after a long pause with, "Before I went deviant, I'd felt fear, anger, relief… Happiness. You could even say that switching over officially served the purpose of helping me recognize what I was already feeling."

He waited for Hank to comment, but when he didn't, continued, "When we were in Stratford Tower, a cop thanked me for saving his life. And you, Lieutenant. When I found the blue-haired Traci, when I saved you on the roof, when I spared those girls and that Chloe. You showed me there was worth in doing the right thing, even if I had to sacrifice my mission to do it."

Tugging at wisps of his gray beard thoughtfully, Hank admitted, "That was the first time it occurred to me that there might be more to you androids than plastic and programming." His unfocused gaze darkened. "By all rights, you should have just left me to die."

Going rigid, Connor tightened his grip on the steering wheel until it creaked beneath the strain, "I would never do that."

With half-lidded eyes, Hank offered him a tired smile, "And that's how I know you're my partner."

Not long after, Connor pulled the truck into Hank's driveway, only to discover that sometime during their drive, the Lieutenant had drifted off to sleep.

Taking out his phone, Connor typed out a short text to Markus to let him know he'd found a place to stay, then got out of the car to open the passenger side door, wrap one of the Lieutenant's arms around his neck, and carry him to bed.

The rest could wait until morning.

A/N: If you've read any of my previous works for this fandom, thank you so much for your support! I have one more of these planned before I resume my other stories, but I'll also be in Japan for about a week, so that's really exciting^^

Let me know what you think in the comments. There's some subject matter here that I've tried to tackle before, but if you have any advice or constructive criticism to offer, it's absolutely welcome