[To be fair, Markus didn’t expect an apology. Connor is always so headstrong, always so assured in the arguments he kicks up with others on the network, not always garnering their goodwill as a result. Ending each conversation without much compromise on his end, leaving the other party either impressed, reeling, or endlessly annoyed. It’s an almost enviable trait, if it weren’t employed in such a way that made Markus increasingly tired with each message that piled up.

And yet Markus knows there isn’t anything inherently wrong with that. Connor sticks to his guns, while Markus finds himself caught between two halves made of compromise and moral idealism. He’s proud of the other android because of it, even with the exasperation as it brings.]

There’s nothing to apologize for. You weren’t out of line, not with me or anyone else. You just make it very hard for anyone on damage control to pick up the pieces you’ve left in your wake.

[But looking at Connor, he already knows there’s something else encircling his mind. That he didn’t want to speak in person just to ease the guilt from his shoulders, just to tell him sorry.]