The miracle of being a detective in the holidays.

Another empty lead, another dead end. In the heart of winter, everything fell silent. Around this time of year, the planet could catch a break. Well, mostly. Unless you're working for DPD, then you find yourself out in the cold, freezing to the core while the android detective stood beside you, utterly unfazed by the temperature drop.

Under different circumstances, the snow covering every fallen leaf, every tile of the neighborhood's roofs, would've served as a blank canvas. Yet here you were, stumbling on wrong pieces of evidence over and over because everything had been coated in a soft layer of white.

"Fucking hell." You caught Hank's voice in the distance, words would fall short on how pissed he was being dragged out here in general, but this was holiday season.

While other people threw wishes around and went in a circle to open up presents, your hopes of solving this would've faltered if it weren't for the android brought along.

Teeth gritting, hands shoved in pockets and breaths coming out in foggy clouds that faded into the thick air. "Your temperature is low, detective." You could recognize that voice anytime, anywhere. For a mere moment, you thought he was referring to Hank, Connor was signed to the lieutenant after all.

You turned around, mostly to see Hank's reaction to being babied, by an android nonetheless. Your eyes registered his staring at you before your brain ever did, and you instinctively jolted.

"Your body's temperature is 34.7°C, bordering hypothermia." Connor spoke, warm, brown eyes focused on you. "This could cause confusion, and it would only slow down the investigation. More layers of clothing could assist."

A roll of your eyes, a reaction you couldn't resist. "Do you think we carry extras around, tin can?" The rough hue coloring Hank's voice was all it took for you to snap out of it. Connor had two available options; reply to the lieutenant's snarky remark or focus on the task at hand.

His hands met the softness of your face, hotter than the freezing snow falling around and gentler than most. Every touch was calculated as he tried to process your temperature. Tracing his fingertips over your cheeks, then moving to your nose. The warmth melted away the snowflakes upon your skin along with your resolve.

A bitten-back excuse; all you could manage just before his lips met your temple – a gesture so human for someone who wasn't.

In a blink of an eye, the lieutenant's face had already morphed into one of pure confusion and disgust. "Connor. The fuck are you doin'?" He grumbled, he had witnessed the android take samples and test them in live time, so this wasn't anything major in his books.

Connor only pulled away after extracting his results, the LED next to his eyebrow flashing a calm blue once more, the only thing that betrayed his nature. "My visual and thermal sensors can't give accurate readings under these weather conditions and prolonged exposure, lieutenant."

The sensation lingered, and so did the churning feeling in your stomach, "And you checked... what, exactly?" Hank couldn't hold back a disappointed sigh. The things he had seen with his newfound partner didn't make this situation any less strange.

"Body temperature...?" Connor shrugged, slightly confused by the reaction he got – and as if on cue, a scoff left Hank, throwing his hands in the air and letting them fall to his sides.