His Full Attention (Almost Human)
Title: His Full Attention
Author: Allie
Fandom: Almost Human
Characters: John Kennex, Dorian
Pairing: None
Rating: G or PG, something like that :-)
His Full Attention
hutchynstarsk
aka Allie
Dorian sighed. “John, you’ve got to help me out here. What are some good books to read? I’m running out. I’m down to twentieth century paperback romances, man.”
He snorted. “Wait, you read romances?”
“I’ll read anything.” He turned a casual, calm, interested and friendly expression on his partner. “I need to do something. It gets boring up here.” He tapped his head, then turned again to face the front and watch the world through the windshield. “I’ve already listened to all the music in the world.”
“Wait, what?” Kennex gave half a laugh, incredulous and smirking. “You mean you get so bored, you listened to all--”
“Yes, John. All the music.
You can’t expect someone with my processing capability to do nothing. I get bored, man. It’s not like you even talk to me most of the time in the car. I have to do something.”
“You’re reading in the car? While I’m talking to you?”
“Don’t look so offended, man. You have at least fifty percent of my attention.”
“Fifty percent!”
“Come on John, don’t be like that. I barely register on your attention most of the time. Besides, I can do so many things at once. Right now I’m monitoring police frequencies, going through old unsolved case files, talking with you, and reading a novel. There, I just finished one. Let’s see how ‘The Billionaire’s French Bride’ goes. Ooh.” He made a wincing face. “Looks like it’s going to be a bad one.”
“Would you stop reading romance and pay attention to me?!” demanded Kennex.
“Sure, John. Of course I will.” He turned blinking and calm attention on his partner, his eyes cool and attentive. “What would you like to talk about?”
Kennex sighed. Made a face. Tightening and twisted his hands on the wheel, and then made another face for good measure. “Nothing. I can’t think of anything I want to talk about with you. But do you have to be so cavalier? People are more important than books.”
Dorian stared at him for a moment, completely expressionless for a moment, then turned to face the front again. The blue lines on the side of his face lit up.
“Are you reading again?” demanded Kennex.
“Yes, John. I just pulled up another book. If you’re not going to talk to me, I’m reading.”
Kennex sighed, a very put-upon sigh. “If I talk to you, will you give me all your attention?”
“If that’s what you want.” He turned to face his partner, calmly waiting.
Kennex grimaced, his face working as he ran through possibilities for conversations. There was no case they were on at present, which took away his usual topic of conversation, not just with Dorian but with anyone.
Could one talk with an android about the weather? Dorian would probably start yammering about cloud patterns and the wind speed over Hong Kong. He probably knew all the weather in the whole world, damn it.
“I’ve finished ‘The Billionaire’s French Bride,’” Dorian informed him softly. “It wasn’t very good. I think I’m going to move on to motorcycle manuals. There’s plenty of them.”
“You said you’d give me your attention.”
“You said you’d talk to me.”
“You are a pain in the ass, you know that?”
“I’ve been told.” He smirked a little, that soft lift of his mouth, and looked away.
John rolled his eyes. “Fine. Read if you want to read. Just don’t expect me to give you any of my attention from now on, either.”
“Oh, I don’t. Half the time you’re no more aware of me than you are of the car. And you take better care of the car.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? I do not!”
Dorian jerked his head in an emphatic nod. “Mm-hm. You do. You check on the car’s maintenance yourself, but you never even ask me how my maintenance is going.”
John gave an exasperated sigh. “Aren’t I lucky? I get to work with the emotional android,” he growled.
“I ask you about your health.”
“Yeah, and that’s another thing. Stop doing that.”
Dorian shrugged and looked out the window again. “That’s the tenth overdue meter we’ve passed. Where are the tickets? You know, I could die of boredom talking to you.”
“Androids can’t die of boredom.”
“That’s what you think.” He started tapping his hands on his thighs and whistling, bobbing his head in time.
“Dorian!”
“I miss you, John. When you’re away.”
The back of his neck prickled, and he turned an appalled look on Dorian. “What?!” He hadn’t gone anywhere for ages. He’d been to work every day, even when he got a cold--which caused Dorian to keep an eye on all day, suggesting remedies and asking him how he felt, and teasing him gently when he said he was doing just fine, thank you, in a hoarse growl.
“Away, in your head,” explained Dorian. “You grip the steering wheel like this, and you get that frown on your face…” He held his hands out stiffly and twisted his features into a grim frown. “And you’re thinking about things and I’m not even on your radar, man. I miss you.” He looked away again.
Kennex felt torn between irritation and appreciation. As annoying as Dorian could be, his mixture of vulnerability and honesty were somehow childlike. And like children, that was sometimes infuriating, sometimes endearing.
“I’ve just got things to think about,” John said gruffly. “Work. Life. Why am I telling you this?”
Dorian was watching him. “Because I’m your partner. I want to have your back. But if I’m just a toaster to you…”
“You know you’re not,” said John, his voice low and gruff.
Dorian turned away, his smile wide and utterly thrilled at that almost-compliment, the closest John could come to expressing his appreciation for his partner.
Dorian started tapping his thighs again. “Benny. B-B-B-Benny! Benny and the Jetts…”
“Would you stop singing that?”
“Sorry, man, I can’t help it. I sing when I’m happy.”
“Would you read a book or something?”
“Out loud?” asked Dorian, and then without waiting for a reply, he began to read in a dramatic tone, “The Honda RX2083 Manual, third edition, copyrighted…”
“Stop that! At least read something good!”
“Oh?” Dorian stopped and turned a hopeful smile on him. “What do you enjoy?” His eyes were wide and his smile keen.
Well, why not? He couldn’t be any worse than the thoughts rumbling around in John’s brain, and he might be as good as an audio book. “I...I like biographies,” he said gruffly.
“Wow. Okay. I can do that. Do you feel like some Nelson Mandela? No, too serious for a Monday. How about a music biography?”
“Fine. Whatever.”
“The Beatles? I’ve found approximately two hundred biographies of the Beatles. I’ll start with the most highly rated one. Just tell me when to stop.”
“Okay. Okay, but one question first.”
“Anything.” Dorian turned his gaze to John, blinked once, and waited.
“Do I have your full attention now?”
“Yes.” Dorian smiled, his soft, slightly teasing, full-lipped smile, the one that touched his gentle eyes.
Damn it, what were they thinking making androids this emotional? It was downright cruel. Dorian was not equipped to deal with a world that thought of him as nothing more than a machine, and Kennex’s attempts to toughen him up hadn’t so far helped.
John sighed. “Okay. Start reading, then.”
“You got it.” Dorian launched with a perfect announcer voice into a book, and then touched the car’s music system and turned on background music of Strawberry Fields Forever playing softly.
Kennex listened with half an ear, enjoying the song and Dorian’s soothing voice more than he liked to admit.
When he wasn’t being difficult, contrary, or feisty--or unwholesomely jokey--Dorian seemed to wear his heart on his artificial sleeve. It was both exhilarating and terrifying to realize that he would do absolutely anything for John.
John didn’t want that. He didn’t want that responsibility. It was a heavy thing, even from Dorian.
But he listened, all the same, as Dorian read to him in the car, filling in his knowledge of twentieth century music with that competent, beautifully-modulated voice.
And giving John all of his attention.
//end//
Author's Note: I love this show. I love this show. I love this show. <3 And I love Dorian.
Also posted here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/1088923