Chapter Text
The door swung open to reveal a relatively amusing scene if Gavin was in any better of a mood. A disheveled man, maybe in his early 30’s, stood in front of him. He had a heavily stained apron on, and his clothes were doused in batter. Behind him, from what Gavin could see, was a messy kitchen, a small trail of flour laden paw prints leading further into the space, and black smoke pouring out of the oven.
“May I help you?”
The man tried, leaning against the door frame to try to hide the disaster behind him as the alarm continued to blare away.
“Yes, you can. I’m here to ask you to take the batteries out of your fire alarm before I do it myself.”
Gavin said with an unamused smile. While he stayed out of the way of other residents, there was only so much noise he could put up with.
The man to his credit, looked a bit embarrassed. His cheeks flushed with the faintest teal, which Gavin was a bit surprised by. Why in the world was an Android cooking for?
“I would but that wouldn’t be very safe would it? What if there’s a fire”
He let out a bit of a snort.
“I think you could smell something is wrong before any old fire alarm lets you know something is wrong”
The more Gavin stared at the man, the more he noticed he had been modified, if the two toned eyes glaring at him were any indication. He wondered if it was self-inflicted or if it had happened before the revolution. He pushed those questions away as he received a slightly snippier response this time around.
“I don’t think you have any right to tell me what to do”
“I don’t,” he agreed, shifting his weight a bit. “But I do have a right to be at peace in my own apartment, and your endless racket is interrupting that. I can look past the constant scent of burning food, but the ringing noise is too much man”
The Android stood tersely, about to respond when something from inside the kitchen seemed to break. His eyes widened and he rushed inside, leaving the door open.
“Fuck fuck, god DAMN it spork.”
Gavin, against his better judgment, took a few tentative steps into the apartment to see the Android in front of a broken bowl, and a very angry kitten.
“Everything okay?”
Two toned eyes snapped up at him in clear annoyance.
“Everything’s peachy, jus that this lil guy is the evil incarnate of ratatouille”
“The rat is actually named Remy,”
Gavin responded with a snort as he leaned over to see the kitten. He couldn’t be more than six months old. He was ginger, with blue eyes filled with mischief. He reached down to pet the spiffy flour covered animal, before turning to find the still blaring fire alarm in the kitchen, and finally popping out the batteries. He was sure he heard an exhale of relief from the other apartments in the vicinity (or maybe that was just his overactive imagination.)
In a moment of out of character kindness, maybe spurred by the solidarity of knowing how frustrating it is to learn to cook- and to own a cat that doesn’t listen, Gavin leaned down to help pick up pieces of the broken bowl.
“Listen dude, I didn’t want to be an asshole to you. How about I come teach you some simple recipes to avoid your continuous abuse of the oven?”
He saw the man chew on his lip as he thought about it, his initially annoyed gaze shifting into something more confused.
“What would you get out of that?”
“The ability to sleep in peace?”
While the man seemed to be lacking an LED, Gavin could practically envision the blue to yellow transition from his expression.
“Fine. Can you come by tomorrow evening then?”
Gavin pretended to think about it, but the truth was that after work he had no plans in the foreseeable future. He finally nodded, and tossed the final pieces of glass into the trash bin. He made to leave the apartment, his neighbor on his heels to see him off.
“Before you go, what’s your name?”
“Gavin Reed, it’s a pleasure,”
He drawled as he went to unlock his own door.
“Pleasures all mine, I’m Conan.”
Conan, huh?
Gavin didn’t respond, but flashed him a slight smile as he finally closed the door to his own apartment. He took a few steps before tossing himself onto his sofa with a growl. What in the world was he doing?
Was he so desperate for some kind of interaction with another person, that he was now socializing with his god damn neighbor? And an Android no less?
He busied himself with hitting himself in the face with a throw pillow until the sound of his phone ringing finally caught his attention.
Fuck, he only had an hour before he had to be at the club and he wasn’t even ready. He stumbled up off the couch and made his way back to his room, plucking out his newly bought clothes and ripping the tags off, and putting them on as fast as possible. He went with the mesh top, using some black tape to make crosses over his nipples, and the slitted pants. He tossed on the platforms with a bit of a grumble, and walked into the bathroom. He grabbed some makeup Tina had left behind from whatever work party they’d gone to together, hastily covering up his scar. Some crappy eyeliner tutorial later and he was making a hasty return to his car.
The drive itself was uneventful, and he got into the club with no problem. Once inside he carefully looked around to find Richard. It wasn’t too hard to do so, the tall Android stuck out between his looks and stony personality. Many people had their eyes flitting over him, and Gavin wondered if it was as uncomfortable to experience as it was to watch.
He shot him a text that he had arrived and would be trying to find the hiring manager. With that, he made his way to the closest bouncer to ask around. It wasn’t long before Gavin was in some back room, red lights making the place seem even seedier than usual as he waited to meet the manager. His phone buzzed with a single okay from the other man.
An eternity later a woman walked in. She wore a pink tracksuit, and had visibly dyed blonde hair if the outgrown roots were anything to go by. She smelled strongly of cigarettes, and her fingers were adorned by several thick rings. She eyed him up and down with an interesting gaze, as if putting a price on him.
“Aren’t you a lil too old to be trying for this kinda work?”
She took a seat across from him, her entire posture lax. Behind her a body guard took a stand, his eyes obscured by large sunglasses. Typical.
“No one’s too old to need money,”
He responded smoothly, keeping his expression innocent. Her sleazy gaze didn’t seem to shift from his chest, and Gavin fought the urge to go home and scrub his skin until it was raw.
“It’ll only be a few shifts- the hospital is in my ass about some debts. I need all the money I can get before the end of the month.”
He pressed, fluttering his eyes a bit.
She stared at him in mild amusement, seemingly thinking things over. After a beat of silence she finally spoke,
“…I like your confidence.”
She checked her phone, nodding to herself.
“We have a vacancy for the night. If you run a good shift, I’ll see if I can have you fill in a few more nights. I don’t promise anything,”
She leaned forward with a shark like grin
“but I can’t lie, I want to see what you’re capable of”
She purred. Gavin swallowed and nodded with a fake smile, trying for a chuckle. He prayed it didn’t look like a grimace. She pointed at her bodyguard,
“John here will take you backstage, and give you one of the lockers. You might meet some of the girls if they aren’t already on the dance floor. Your dance space is towards the back, left side of the bar. It should be the only empty one for the night- now shoo.”
She waved her bodyguard off, and Gavin quickly got up to follow him, happy to finally be out of that stifling room. John was quiet the entire time until they reached the backstage area, nodding to another guard keeping watch of the dancers area.
“New meat,”
He said to the other guard before walking him inside. He was led to a wall of lockers, many being named and personalized with stickers and signs. Pictures of different dancers and lipstick kisses decorated the wall, and he smiled slightly. His smile became rigid when his eyes landed on a very familiar smiling face.
He tore his eyes off as he followed John’s explanation of where everything was, and he pointed at an empty locker along the wall. When he was done, he left, probably to return to the manager. Now left alone in the back room, he quickly stuffed his jacket and general belongings into the assigned locker. He was so thankful he had grabbed his gym bag before he left his place, his deodorant and newly bought slutty women’s perfume in one of the pockets. He sprayed a bit on, wrinkling his nose at the strong scent of roses and plum. As he was putting his things away he quietly scanned over the names on the decorated locker wall, and finally found one with familiar foam letters.
The name wasn’t Anna though. Instead, it simply read “Elmira”. He wondered if she went under an Alias, or if she had shared the foam letters with someone else. Hell, maybe Elmira gave them to Anna? He would need to ask around if he wanted answers. One thing was for sure though, she HAD been here, if the couple of photos of her with other dancers on the walls were anything to go by. He exited the backstage area and onto the floor, the shining lights reflecting off of the glitter in the mesh top. He looked around until he found the area to the left of the bar. There weren’t many people in the bar yet, only a few people mulling around, nursing some beers.
Somehow, he knew that in the room there was a set of steely blue eyes tracking his every move. Feeling a bit more confident in knowing that, he got onto the dancing platform, beginning some basic stretches. As he was stretching he was glancing around the room, trying to catch glimpses of the other dancers. Some girls had their own speakers and routines going on, and some were just doing some simple dances to the bar's ambient music in contrast, chatting with some of the people watching.
“You’re new!”
Gavin jumped slightly, turning his gaze to the owner of the voice. A tall brunette with wide brown eyes was leaning over the dance platform. Her face was rosy, and she looked to be another dancer fresh off her own stage.
“Yeah I am- you are..?”
Gavin asked curiously, stretching a hand out. The girl excitedly shook it, her eyes crinkling as she smiled.
“I’m Emma, it’s always nice to get new faces. We try to keep a good environment around us dancers here, and we wanted to give you a warm welcome.”
Gavin spared a smile, and nodded.
“That’s super good to hear. I haven’t danced in a long time, always nerve wracking to be the new person, especially when you’re rusty,”
He responded as he stretched his arms over his head. He wondered if he could ask the bartender for some alcohol and a towel to wipe the bar down, his eyes wracking down the light fingerprints visible in the metal. She seemed to notice his trailing gaze and she looked at him amused.
“Guess you came under prepared huh? I’ll let you borrow some things, hold on,”
Before Gavin had a chance to respond the preppy girl had already rushed off, leaving him slightly surprised. Most people weren’t as kind. She returned shortly, toting a cute handbag, and pulling out some towels and a small spray bottle. She shook it a bit,
“Alcohol,”
she explained as she handed it over.
“We’re all clean but no one wants someone else’s sweat on them while they’re dancing.”
He gave his agreement as he took it and liberally sprayed the pole, noting the place was beginning to fill in a bit more as the night began to settle. By now he had spent almost two hours at Eden, and had yet to get much information. He wondered how Richard was fairing, if he had found anything. He regretted leaving his phone in his locker. Emma put the battle back into her bag and then pulled out a smaller one, uncapping it as she passed it up to him.
“I’ll assume you know how to use grip aid?”
Gavin nodded as he lightly sprayed some of the product onto his forearms and hands, making sure to not add too much.
“Lil goes a long way- I’m confident in my grip strength though,”
He admitted, as he handed back the bottle.
“So, is there anything I should know before my first shift?”
He asked inconspicuously.
She hummed a bit as she thought about the question, chewing her lip.
“Busiest hour is around midnight. Eden follows a no touch rule for dancers on stage but what goes on in private rooms for dances is up to their discretion”
She paused for a second.
“Knowing that though, the bouncers will toss out anyone being an ass so don’t be afraid to speak up,”
Her expression seems a little tight saying that, as if speaking from a place of experience. She finally nodded towards her station and waved her goodbyes at the club finally began filling up more rapidly. Already, a few people were milling around his section, curious about the newcomer.
With a deep inhale, Gavin put his hands on the pole and began to sway to the music. His eyes were closed, he already hated the prying feeling of having eyes on him. It had been a long time since Gavin was on a stage of any sort, and even after so much time there was a familiar rapid thrum in his chest as he moved. There was a time when Gavin was forced to come to seedy places like this in his youth to make ends meet. With the majority of retail places rejecting him due to his poor appearance and relatively rough personality, sometimes the only option he had left was to slap some kind of risqué outfit on and flirt with drunk assholes. He put a stop to it after one too many guys tried to follow him after his shifts, and the idea of potentially getting his brother in danger scared the crap out of him.
Yet almost a decade later, here was Gavin, once again about to bust it down. While he swayed his hips and rotated around the pole, he kept a wide view on the people around him. The ones who clearly used fake IDs in the corner, the ones too drunk already, the ones trying to catch the dancers attention. He wondered if he should've asked Tina to come with, to keep him company and his nerves down, in utter honesty. He then shook his head, as the thought of even potentially putting Tina in danger made his skin crawl. A bottle girl in a too tight one suit approached him, lifting up a shot to him on the stage with a grin.
“Everyone needs a lil kick on their first day!”
She said, and Gavin eyed it with mild distrust before downing it. The alcohol burned all the way down his throat in a familiar way, the heat settling into his anxious stomach.
“Thank you..”
he muttered as he handed back the glass.
“Don’t mention it!”
She said with a wink, before waltzing off.
With some liquid courage in his system he began properly dancing now. Nothing too crazy, he leaned more into sensual slow movements on the pole as some people began to come see him dance. Amongst them, now that there were more people, was the RK900. He couldn’t ignore the stark blue eyes raking down his form. Despite the androids blank expression, there was something off about his gaze, about how his LED seemed to stutter between blue and yellow in the darkness of the club.
As the night progressed, money began to litter the stage beneath him. Not as much as the other dancers, but certainly enough money to make up for a few hours of office work. After a particularly long dance he finally came down to his knees with a pant, calling out for a water break. The small crowd against him seemed to be disappointed but slowly split away to other dancers or to the bar. For a second Gavin thought Richard had left him too, until the tall Android returned with a glass of water from the bar.
His LED was spinning a rapid red, and his eyebrows were slightly pinched as he watched Gavin down the water with gusto.
“I didn’t know you knew how to dance”
Gavin eyed him warily, slowing down his drinking.
“It’s not something I willingly disclose”
“Did the Captain know?”
“What’s it to you?”
The two stared each other down. Gavin didn’t understand why the sudden curiosity at aspects of Gavin's life that didn’t interrupt his work. Nines on the other hand, didn’t understand how someone so married to his job could have so many cards under his sleeve- where did he have the time?
Gavin got closer to Richard, placing a feather light hand on his shoulder and leaning in, faking a laugh for anyone who could be watching.
“Did you find anything or are you just here during my break to antagonize me?”
Richard stifled a growl of annoyance, but reigned in the urge to sass the human and instead nodded.
“There’s a couple of suspicious people here,”
Gavin scoffed before Nines could keep speaking
“No shit-“
“Detective. I suggest you let me finish.”
The Android finally hissed, getting uncomfortably close to Gavin. For a split second Gavin’s fight or flight seemed to turn on, as that predatory blue gaze seemed to lock onto him with only a few inches in space separating them. They were so close that he could catch every slight flicker of his LED under the club lights.
He shoved the Android back by the shoulders in annoyance, crackling whatever moment just had happened. He hoped the darkness of the club helped hide the red flush breaking across his cheeks. He got back to the pole, his 15 minutes being up. Richard settled into one of the seats directly in front of him, a pissed off expression still on his face. He couldn’t wait for his newly allotted shift to finish.