Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was always something about snowy winters in Detroit.

Whether it be the elevated Christmas spirit, the kids playing on the street or just the sheer view of the city, there was something about it that felt slightly fantastical.

Gavin thought that that feeling always came from the latter most of the three. He looked out his car window, the city almost twinkling in the low sunlight. 

It reminded him of the nights his mother used to take him up to the top of the block of flats, and they’d watch as Detroit slowly shifted into the darkness of night. The faint glow of the city, moving from orange sky to the dim lamp posts below them.

It was nice.

The car pulled up to an isolated house on the hill. It was a nice building but not homely, and far too smart for Gavin's 2026 model Toyota. It looked a little out of place; both the car and the house, but it wasn't like anyone was there to see it. Gavin stepped out of the car and made his way to the house. Really? A call out on a saturday? It pissed Gavin off to be called out at the last minute on an hour and half drive to the middle of nowhere, especially on his only day off this week. To be honest, he thought it was fucking rude. But you always have to make time for family… well… who was he kidding, he was doing it for the more than generous donation that had been offered if he complied. He made his way up the modern matte-black steps, which obviously had some kind of built-in heating to clear the snow, since they were pristine as always. Who the fuck has heated steps? It seemed damn pretentious, even a little out of touch. He made his way up to the door and knocked. Hard. After what felt like more than long enough to be trapped out in the cold, he heard the latch click as the door was slowly pulled open. He whizzed round to face the door, his eyes had been caught by the view of Canada from the front of the house. It was a damn good one too. He was greeted by a short blonde android. Its blue eyes had a kindness that felt far too real to come from a robot. It made Gavin uncomfortable.

“Gavin.” It cooed at him, Smiling. It felt a bit patronising, like he was being spoken to like a toddler. Then again, if this was what was looking after his brother, it would probably need to be good with annoying little bitchy, whiny, spoiled, screaming children.

“Chloe.” He replied, faking the best smile he could. God he fucking hated being here. He walked inside as the RT600 took his jacket and left him in the main entrance hall. It was pretty dark and dull. Everything seemed to have sharp corners and edges in it and Gavin couldn’t spot anything worth less than his net worth. He didn't have anything against minimalism but this just felt cold, and opposing. He’d never be able to understand how such dull objects still somehow managed to clash against each other or how, as ugly as they were, were ever worth the amount of money they were sold at. But one thing was for sure, he did feel pretty fucking worthless right now.

“Gavin!” A voice called from behind him. He turned round to face the call, but before he could dodge, the man had already trapped him in a tight bear hug, even picking him up a bit off the floor. He didn't like being hugged this tight, especially when the only thing the man seemed to be wearing was a black silk kimono with Gavin praying there was a pair of pants underneath. Finally he was released from what felt like a restraint hold as his feet landed with a solid thud on the ground.

“Elijah.” You could tell he wasn’t as enthusiastic as his brother about the visit. He gave an awkward smile, like the one Gavin would give to the cashier after He’d paid for his things but still hadn't finished packing his bag and was holding up the line of people waiting to pay - kind of awkward. It was pretty bad, and the long silence in the room that followed didn’t help. 

“You needed me for something?” Gavin asked, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets and breaking eye contact for a second. He didn’t like looking up at people, it made him feel weaker, like he was being talked down to, and it was always the worst with Elijah. The last thing he needed was to feel even more inferior to him than he already did. For some shitty reason, he always found a way to weave himself back into Gavin’s life. Like how last month he’d practically begged him to come for drinks. Gavin hated it, he felt so out of place and everyone there just felt too out of touch with reality to talk to. He pretty much locked himself in the downstairs toilet and stayed on his phone until he got the first chance he could to leave. Yet for some damn reason or another, his brother just kept asking him back or forced them to stay in touch. It was annoying as hell. 

“Please, business can wait.” Elijah replied putting his arm around Gavin. He inhaled sharply and he was practically tugged to his brother’s side and marched into the living room.

“You just got here and I want to check in with my little brother. To quote Santayana ‘Family is one of nature’s masterpieces.’” Gavin could already feel one of Elijah’s long philosophical lectures coming on. If there was one thing he hated more than his brother’s drinks parties, it was sitting on the couch, waiting for his brother to finish having a one sided conversation with himself about the philosophical questions of life, and they’d always somehow start to curve towards a topic Gavin was sensitive about until he’d finally shut his brother down and leave.

“As much as I’d love to stay,” HA, yeah sure.

“I've got some work to finish off this afternoon and the drive here isn't exactly short.” Gavin replied. If Elijah had gone into a lecture about family, Gavin would have probably left him with a black eye and a broken jaw.

“Gavin, please do stay, for just one drink, I think it would be nice to catch up, just the two of us brothers being brothers.” Just brothers being brothers. Gavin’s spirit internally dry-heaved at that statement. Elijah always seemed to push the fact that they were brothers into conversation somewhere. It felt weird to Gavin, almost like Elijah was reminding him if he forgot, but then again, who forgets the fact they have a brother. Let alone a secret brother they found out about barely a year ago.

“I’m sorry Elijah, I just really can’t today.” If there was one thing that working undercover had taught Gavin, it was how to lie, and how to do it well . It was all in his puppy dog eyes. Elijah sighed as he looked down at his brother.

“Very well, but please do stay next time if your job allows it.” He dropped his arm and turned to face Gavin. 

“Uh.. yeah sure.” He replied, avoiding eye contact and scratching the back of his neck. Anything to stop the eye contact.  

“So… you gonna show me what's up then?” Gavin pretty much just wanted to get in, look and get out. He didn't really want to spend his whole Saturday in a futuristic bungalow that looked like the colour palette had been chosen by a 2010’s emo teen.

“Chloe? Chloe? Ah there you are.” The android appeared out of nowhere in the corner of the room. It kind of freaked Gavin out a bit, how silent it was. 

“Please show Gavin to the control room.” The control room? That sounded a bit shady, but hey, an upfront payment of $5000? He’d go to a fucking sex dungeon for that. The RT600 led him through more barren, distasteful corridors, and down a few steps, through some more ugly corridors, more weird steps, and past some really ugly sculptures, but of course they were ‘high art’ to Elijah. Finally they reached the dead end of a corridor. The android waved its hand in front of a small picture on the wall. Gavin couldn't even make out what the painting was of. For all he knew it could be scribbled by a 5 year old and he wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Suddenly there was a hiss as the wall in front of them pulled back and slid to the left. What. The. Fuck. So Elijah had some hidden secret room now? I mean if there was one thing Elijah was, he was Pretentious, and he was by no means lacking in funds to support it. Gavin looked over the robot’s shoulder. There was a set of stairs that led into a black abyss. Ok this was getting real weird. His brother had some secret villain lair now? 

“Detective Reed, please follow me.” It said again in that buttery smooth, yet light voice. The fact that something made of wires, rods and a plastic outer shell could sound so human creeped him out even more. It descended the stairs into the pitch black. Gavin followed, a little unsettled by the darkness, but he was going to do what he had to do. He came into a room just as dark but there were flickering lights all over the place. Not bright enough to illuminate anything, it felt jarring. 

“Please, mind your head detective, there is a small ledge above the bottom step, and I wouldn't want you to hit your head on it. If you give me a moment I can turn the lights on and it may be safer for you to finish descending then.” Jesus fucking christ he wasn’t a child … though he probably would have hit his head. There was a click as the robot pressed a switch. Slowly, rows of light lit the room from the ground up. Gavin quickly ducked under the ledge which was barely a few inches from his face. Close call . He walked into the room and it felt odd. This wasn’t like the rest of the house at all. It was row after row of computer terminals in a low lit, shabby little basement. This wasn’t nice enough for Elijah. The room felt cold and claustrophobic. The Ceiling was low and the paint was chipping badly, none of the walls were straight and the room looked like it had been carved with a spoon, it was so shabby. Along the floor there was just row after row after row of computer terminals, easily a few hundred thousand dollars each. Some were in what looked to be vacuum sealed glass boxes, and at the end of the room was a small glass desk, with a chair and a pretty nice laptop. What the fuck was this? Gavin quickly turned round as he heard a set of feet descend the stairs, pulling him out his trance. Elijah was now dressed in a black t-shirt and navy tracksuits. He had his glasses on and his hair pulled back into a simple ponytail.

“Chloe, would you give us a minute?” He turned to look at the android. It nodded gracefully and went back up the stars. Gavin heard the door hiss and shut again. He didn’t like it, he felt trapped in here, and now with probably the most annoying guy in the world.

“Have you got the evidence bags?” Elijah looked at gavin. Any hint of ‘playful older brother’ had now disappeared from him. Gavin hadn’t ever seen him like this before. He seemed to match the description that the RK800 and Hank had given him much better now. More cold and stoic. Elijah was looking right at him, with an intense stare that seemed to go much deeper than before. 

“Yeah.” Gavin slowly replied, not breaking eye contact, for another second until reaching in his leather jacket pocket for the bags, pulling them out. He thought it was a weird favour to be asked by his brother, let alone at 6 in the morning over the phone. God this day just kept getting weirder. Elijah started making his way down one of the rows of terminals. He looked at Gavin and nodded his head in the direction he was walking, Gavin took the hint and followed him. He stopped in front of one of the vacuum sealed terminals and squatted down. He punched a few things into the keycode on the side of the door. One by one, the lights on the terminal went out and eventually there was a loud hiss as air flowed back into the chamber. The door then popped open and Elijah pulled it open wide. He pointed to an empty USB plug, like something made to take a memory stick. 

“What can you tell me about this?” Gavin looked at his brother confused. He wasn’t the techy brother so what was Elijah asking? After a moment of silence and Gavin’s reply of a confused look, Elijah sighed, almost in frustration. He took a bag from his brother’s hand and walked over to his desk. He turned the bag inside out and picked up something from his desk, using the bag like a glove. He flipped the bag the right way out again and walked back to Gavin, crouching back to his level. 

“I found this in it this morning, but I didn’t put it there and neither did Chloe. There were no signs of forced entry, and we only have surveillance outside the house but not in, yet all of it came back clear. Maybe we missed something? I’m not sure, but then again I’m no detective, and that is where you come in, my dear brother.” That familiar smile and tone had suddenly reappeared in Elijah's voice. God that was really weird. Elijah nodded his head toward the terminal, so Gavin took a look. On closer analysis, there were small scuff marks around the port, and the keypad that Elijah had opened the door with looked pretty ok. He took a breath in, and stood up.

“Ok well, nothing seems to be tampered and there was nothing on the surveillance tapes so it looks like the perpetrator definitely knew what they were doing. The scuff marks around the port aren’t deep enough or large enough to say the perpetrator put it in without looking, but it would indicate an unsteady hand, maybe due to nerves. I could try trace back the USB for you, I'd just need to speak to a few other people at the DPD and see what's on it and-”

“NO-” Gavin was suddenly cut off by his brother's shout.

“I-I’m sorry just, please, nobody else can know about this, and the information on the stick is very sensitive.” Gavin looked at him dumbfounded. What had happened? He had never seen Elijah act like this. They hadn’t known each other long, and they weren't very close, but this was definitely out of the blue. That kindness had faded from Elijah’s voice again, and that ice cold billionaire personality seemed to be rising to the surface. Gavin wanted to ask his brother if he was ok but there was no way he was falling into that hole. 

“You know what Gavin, just take the stick, see what you can find and if nothing comes up, then oh well. Just, if you take it… Don’t tell anyone. Don’t download anything, do you understand?” Ok what the actual fuck was going on now, this was just getting weird and Gavin was getting really uncomfortable. He slowly put out his hand and took the bag, bringing it closer to his face, but he didn’t want to break eye contact with Elijah. It was like if he looked away, Elijah would reach out and grab him, or hurt him or do something fucked up.

He was internally debating with himself. He didn’t really want anything to do with this, it was shady and there was something ‘off’ about the whole thing. The demands, the under the table payment, the insistence that nobody else knew, not being able to know what was on the stick, there was definitely some bending of the law going on. He’d lose his job if he was caught by the right people, and probably his life if he was caught by the wrong ones. The fact he was a police officer too, he would get into so much more trouble if he was found out. And it's not like he’d been trained in anything else anyway. Detective work was all he knew. Elijah seemed so worried about other people knowing as well, if Gavin took the fall, his brother would probably leave him in the dirt. But… he had been offered $5000 upfront, and that was only upfront. Employees of the government weren’t exactly famous for good pay either. His rent was due soon and he didn't know if he’d be able to cough up enough cash to keep his roof over his head. Gavin also knew better than making enemies with one of the most powerful men in the world. He imagined an RK900 chasing him down at night and dragging him back to his brother. Somehow that felt less appealing than losing his job. If he was going to be taken down, there was no way it was going to be by an android . He finally looked at the memory stick in the bag. 

It was small and black, he couldn't see any reflections of fingerprints in the light, and he wouldn't be able to tell where it had come from if he couldn't see what was on it. But a shot at it couldn’t hurt.

“Yeah, sure, I'll take a look at it.” Shit. It was too late to take it back now, what had he gotten himself into?

“But if I can’t find anything in a week, I’m gonna bring it back… it would probably be safer here anyway.” Nice save, he could get it away from him, but he wouldn’t look like a dick by giving it back if it was ‘safer’ with his brother. He just had to make sure Elijah could agree to his terms, without it looking like he didn’t want to do this. He looked up with those puppy dog eyes of his again. Twice in one day? He was kind of pushing it.

“Um? Ok, I see where you’re coming from but I don’t know if a week will be long enough. How about ten days?” Fucking shit. Ok, was his brother onto him? Did Elijah think that Gavin wasn’t trying, or did he feel like Gavin felt like he felt that he wasn’t worth his time?

“Uh y-yeah sure, no you’re right, I think I would need a bit more time with evidence as tough as this.” He laughed nervously. OH MY FUCKING GOD GAVIN WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? He panicked, he panicked, that was all. There was no way he’d want his brother on his case so surely just agreeing would sweep everything under the carpet… right? Thank goodness Elijah couldn’t see the beads of nervous sweat rolling down Gavin’s back right now.

“Brilliant! I do apologise for the insistence, I’m just very eager to find out how this got here. I mean obviously if ten days is too much, I'm more than happy for you to keep it for just the week, I completely understan-”

“No, no really dude, it's fine.” Gavin gave his brother a very awkward pat on the arm. An uncomfortably long silence followed. AAAAAAAH GAVIN WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE YOU DOING! Elijah had LITERALLY just given him a scapegoat, but Gavin’s FUCKING NERVES just HAD to kick in again. I mean better safe than sorry right? Right?

“Uh well, thank you very much. There’s nothing else to show you, so do you want to head back up the stairs?” Elijah was looking at him in a kind of ‘I have to be nice to you right now but this is getting kind of weird’ way. Gavin took his hand away, realising just how long he’d left it on Elijah.

“Oh- I- uh- yeah sure.” Gavin stammered back. Elijah walked back to the stairs and went up them again. A small wave of relief went through Gavin as the door opened and came out on the other side. Thank god whatever happened back there could be left in that dingy basement. That was certainly going to become one of the memories that kept him up for 4 hours cringing at his past self rather than actually trying to sleep.

They made their way back to the living room where the android was just sitting, staring, blankly at the wall. 

Yeah, Gavin wasn’t coming back here for a long time. 

“I do apologise for the last minute call. And the unusual situation you must find yourself in currently. I understand that due to my behaviour, about this piece of evidence, that you must be slightly nervous. I can’t imagine how uncomfortable this could be for you.”  Uh, yeah Elijah, no fucking shit bro. He walked over to the low, glass coffee table that the RT600 was sitting at and picked up a small brown envelope.

“Thank you for fetching this Chloe.” Elijah smiled at it. It smiled back. So it wasn’t in stasis . 

“A small reparation, as promised.” Elijah held out the envelope to Gavin. Gavin wanted to snatch it and get out of here, but he did consider himself a man of dignity. He smiled at his brother as he took it at a normal pace. 

“Thanks Elijah.” Well at least he'd be able to keep a roof over his head and feed himself for a little while longer, Yes his brother was annoying, but also filthy fucking rich, so he guessed that was a plus. He put the envelope in his pocket. He nodded at his brother as he turned to make his way out the front door. The robot immediately got to its feet and went to fetch his coat. As soon as it left, it was back and was already making its way to the front door to open it for Gavin, though the droid seemed to be quickly waved away by Elijah.

“Don’t worry, I’ll see him off.” He smiled at it, as it smiled back. That felt a little off putting to Gavin, knowing that his brother treated a robot like his best friend. Maybe even more, but Gavin didn’t even want to think about that right now. 

Elijah handed Gavin his big jacket and opened the door. As Gavin stood on the doorstep and turned round to give his brief final goodbyes, Elijah piped up.

“Hey Gavin, I know we don’t talk that much and we aren’t that close. After all, we've only been aware of each other for so long, but if you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to call or contact me in any way.” Gavin always got this when he saw his brother, the sincere heartfelt chat at the door, but it was getting a bit old. Gavin knew it was coming from a good place, and he could appreciate that, but it always just felt a bit patronising. It was fine the first time, and Gavin has said the same thing back, but he knew he’d never be anything useful to his brother. He always just felt like a burden on his family, let alone when that family was all of a sudden one of the most successful, privileged billionaires in the world. Gavin was suddenly pulled into a hug, but not one as beary or intense as the usual hello and goodbye ones, but something a bit softer with a pretty different feeling. Gavin didn’t know how to respond, he just awkwardly patted his brother on the back.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks bud, same to you.” He replied, he wanted to brush his brother off and go home but he didn't want to be rude about it. After today, he just wanted to get home quickly. He pulled himself out of the hug and made his way back to the car, turning around to wave goodbye to Elijah, and the RT600 that had now joined him in the doorway. Slowly, the door shut behind him and he unlocked it and got in.

He made his way back down the side of the hill, looking over to the city skyline again. He stared out into the view, as he thought to himself about the plan for the day. He’d probably get home, make himself a cup of coffee and sit down and watch an old forgotten classic like La La Land. Maybe even see if his old PS5 worked and play some Apex legends. God he hadn’t played that in a long time. Finally, after a bit more debating, he chose Horizon. It was a good game and he hadn’t touched it in a good decade or so. He wanted an old wave of nostalgia. He needed something familiar after today. God today was just filled with so much new stuff, that he just didn't know how to feel about it. What was he going to do with the memory stick? Maybe he could trace the security code, but that probably would have been taken off, he could trace it back if he could ask the guy who fixed up his old PS5 with new ports and plugs so it could connect to the mains system and play new games. He seemed pretty smart, but also slightly sketchy, and word about this wasn’t meant to go out and Gavin had a feeling Elijah would know if he said something. After a pretty long drive, he finally pulled up to the apartment complex. It wasn’t in the nicest area, and it was slightly more on the outskirts. Sure it was slightly rougher but it wasn’t like gang territory or anything. Just a few council flats on the lower floors, but there was less noise, especially since he was on the very top floor of his complex. Hopefully he could buy his flat off of the landlord someday. That would be nice.

He fumbled around with the fob, the lift and finally his flat keys. It did take him a moment to unlock the door since his hands were so numb from the cold but he got himself inside eventually. He practically flung his coat off and hung it on the pegs by the door. He walked inside and took his leather hoodie off, throwing it onto the back of the sofa on his right. He quickly walked past it to the other side of the small breakfast bar, grabbing some coffee out the cupboard and rinsing his coffee press. He liked coffee the old fashioned way, pressed rather than instant, and in a manual coffee press, not out of a machine. He needed some coffee and maybe a smoke just to process what had happened today. He then set the kettle to boil as he left the small kitchenette and went down the corridor to change into something more comfy. By the time the water had finished boiling, he was back in the kitchenette with a pack of cigarettes and some much looser clothes. He let the coffee brew in the press as he hooked up his old PS5 to the TV. He finished up pretty fast, and now he had some time to kill, maybe 20 mins or so, as the data for Horizon re-downloaded. Finally, a moment to just breathe. He pressed and poured himself a cup of coffee and pulled a cigarette out of the pack. He grabbed his jacket off the back of the sofa and made his way to the terrace, the glass door between the bar and the sofa. He lit up a cigarette and sat and watched as the sun just started to sink over detroit. It was dusk, and a sure beautiful one at that.  

So what the actual fuck had happned today then huh? He leaned against the wall as he took a drag frome is cigarette. He liked the feeling of the warm air inside his lungs. So he'd done a favour for his brother that was probably illegal, he may have a hit on him now and if he tells anyone he'll probably die. His brother had gone all weird half way through his conversation and he may have also been or not been fucking an android.

Well then.

This was gonna be scary

Scary, but… interesting,

Maybe even fun .

Chapter Text

Elijah’s smile immediately fell as the door closed. He could tell his brother was tense throughout his whole visit. Had he put too much pressure on him? Was Gavin already too preoccupied at work? It seemed foolish that he placed his brother into such a dangerous situation, but it felt like there was nobody else to turn to. If the police launched an official investigation, it could become public knowledge that his home and the cyberife backup terminals were broken into and compromised. That couldn't happen. He had to seem strong, for the deviants, to retain his influence over the people, to keep himself sane. Gavin wouldn’t say anything, surely. They were brothers and Elijah had spoken sternly to him when he needed to. Gavin did look rather scared, and simultaneously puzzled When he was being serious. He hadn’t expected that reaction, it did make him question what his brother thought of him, but there was too much on his mind at the moment. He was safe, His brother was safe, and undiscovered by the public, Chloe was safe and so was Cyberlife. For now. It was going to be ok. Everything was going to be alright. It couldn’t go wrong. It wouldn’t go wrong. If the case could be solved in secrecy and with the utmost of speed, everything would settle nicely. 

Gavin was certainly capable. From what Elijah heard, and the stories his brother had told him, Gavin was an outstanding detective who had accomplished plenty for an officer his age. He was raised in a less privileged home than Elijah, but that gave him a sort of ‘charm’ and a trustworthiness that Elijah now depended on. There was no reason to doubt his brother, but for some reason, a worry seemed to grow within him. What if Gavin stupidly decided to involve someone else, or speak up? It didn't seem very like him, but there was the chance. Gavin was also more reckless and carefree than him. This of course would be very helpful in certain situations but in the one Elijah now found himself in, it could just lead to his downfall. If he was too careless with the memory stick, he could be found out, and taken, along with the encryption key of his home and the Cyberlife data. Gavin had to be vigilant now, and had to protect himself. There was a part of Elijah that found itself wishing it hadn’t given the memory stick to Gavin, but a bigger part knew that this had to be solved, and by someone Elijah could trust. Oh why had he called his brother so early in the morning? Why had he started acting impulsive, and asked for Gavin’s help before properly thinking about it? 

Elijah certainly Trusted Gavin, but deep down he knew that the trust wasn't mutual. Maybe it was his class? The way he was raised? He knew his brother had old ties with the AAL, but those days were behind him now, surely. He just wanted his brother. He had tried his best to play all his cards right, but nothing seemed to work. He had invited him to drinks, to dinners, for simple chats, he’d given him advice, some help here and there when he needed it, support where he could, but he just didn’t know how to turn Gavin from his brother, into his brother. That's what he needed as of now. He'd been so alone and secluded for so long, and being reinstated as the CEO of Cyberlife hadn’t helped.

“Elijah?” a soft voice pulled him out of his trance as he felt a gentle hand on the small of his back. He looked up Eagerly and turned to give a small smile.

“You seem a little unnerved, shall I reschedule tonight’s meeting?” Chloe asked, with such a soothing softnest on her voice. Such a gentle look in her eye too. Elijah lifted her chin slightly. 

“Don’t worry, please, I'm fine. Keep the meeting in the diary.” He brought his hand down from her face and gently cupped her hands in his. He returned the small smile and walked into the kitchen, gently letting her go. 

At this moment in time, he had to calm himself. Though he knew a coffee may be counter productive, there was always something about the drink that he found comforting. He prepared a cup for himself, and took a sip. The scorching temperature brought him much further back into reality. He looked out, through the glass wall of the room, over the snowy hill. It was a spectacular sight, that he’d taken for granted all too much. He’d often found Chloe simply staring out the window as the view was so stunning, and ever changing. There was always something different to take in with each day. He tilted his head back, eyes closed and sighed. He’d partially forgotten he’d had a meeting today, after the events of last night, everything had gone haywire. He’d called Gavin in a panic, after he couldn’t sleep, he’d also have to make sure his anxiousness couldn't be detected during the meeting. Cyberlife had gone through a whole reboot after the revolution, and there was a lot that was still uncertain for the company. He had to keep his company afloat. He wanted to continue his lifestyle, and also support the thousands of people employed below him, and he had to support the hundreds of thousands of deviated androids alike. Elijah needed this to go well, and he had to leave a good impression so there was no way he could cancel. The meeting was for a potentially new investor, who had offered a healthy sum of money into the company. He was slightly unsure though. After the breach last night, he was unsure if the financial assets and the top secret projects of the companies were safe.

It's your fault they’re dead

His eyes quickly opened, he didn’t want any more images of last night flashing in his head. 

He checked the clock on the wall. Two PM, He should probably go and get ready for his meeting. The drive to Cyberlife HQ Wasn’t the shortest of drives, with the new road work being done. He could see the tower from his bedroom window, it was quite majestic, looking over the city. He finished his coffee and ascended the stairs to get ready. 

He soon found himself in the car, on the way to Cyberlife. His palms were sweating and he was shaking his leg. This meeting had to go well . The client was a member of congress. Elijah wasn’t entirely sure why anyone from congress would like to invest. His reputation had taken a hit since the start of the revolution and it's not like the government had the availability to tarnish their reputation any more. Something was going on and he wasn't sure, a scheme? A confidential deal? No details were given to him whatsoever over the phone either. They made it clear that all details simply had to be discussed in person. It unsettled him even more than before. Elijah had started to resent meetings like these over time. Two years ago or so, he knew that his younger self would be intrigued and delighted by such a curious deal, with an investment with this potential and such an important client. But it seemed that the revolution had changed him, and sometime a bit before it had as well. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but the Kamski test, the revolution and the death of his father seemed to be what his mind was brought to each time. Finding out he had a brother certainly changed him. It was after that he re-instated himself as CEO of Cyberlife. There was something about meeting Gavin that made him realise there was still a place for him to do something in this world, rather than sit on that hill and waste himself away. He knew that the androids would need someone more like him to acquire their needs. He was their leader now, and he had to play the part. He looked through the window, they were getting closer and closer to the tower. He had to do this well.

The gates opened as the car approached the tower. Elijah hadn’t been in today, and the building was usually empty on saturdays. As his car drove into the parking lot, it was almost barren. At least nobody would be around. Elijah’s car made its way to the bottom decked where it parked in a particularly nice spot, sealed with glass. Elijah did quite like his cars. He got out and made his way to the lift. As soon as he got to the first floor, two heavily armoured guards joined him. Normally this wasn't the protocol for meeting but it would be now, with a member of congress visiting. He made his way through the spotless grand hall. The tall statue in the middle, it was a piece of art that Elijah especially liked. It wasn’t perfectly normal, there was certainly an abstract expression to it, but it was still a figure, it led you in the right direction, but allowed one to run free with an interpretation and meaning. Elijah was quite fond of art like that, art that could be interpreted in its own way, and wouldn’t seem the same to each and every person. He’d often ask his dinner party guests what they thought of different pieces of art in his home, and their own interpretation on it. It was intriguing to hear what they thought, and it helped him to get a better grip on the individuals too. 

Elijah and his little fleet of men entered the large glass lift and made their way to the top floor. Elijah wanted to plan what to say for the meeting, but didn't know what to say when he’d been told so little. What had he done last time there was an investment like this? There hadn't been one. Or how about the last time congress put money into the company? They hadn’t. This was rather odd. Elijah would most likely smoothly talk his way through it, making promises, find ways to bend them to his will, and manipulate the client to his needs. Sure, it wasn’t entirely ethical, but who cared for the ethics of one man, when the lives of thousands of others were involved. Not only involved, but relied on him. Elijah told himself it was for the greater good, but he knew it was the lesser of two evils.

The glass doors slid open and he walked into his office. 

“You can stay here, I'd like to be alone until the meeting.” He said, waving the troops away. They each dispersed onto different parts of the floor, either patrolling or standing guard. Even with some of Elijah's more important or wary clients, they’d ever had this many guards before. He couldn't tell whether the client was a high standing member of Congress or untrusting of him, his company, and the deviants. There was also a chance that this was just government protocol when moving and travelling with an official. Elijah would have prayed it would be the last official he’d meet if he were religious, but if he were to be honest with himself, it was probably the fact that the government was sceptical, and wary. Maybe this representative would act like a spy. It would ‘just be a precaution’. He could already imagine the sickly sweet voice of whoever it was telling him. Speaking of which, it would be worth heading to his main office and seeing what he could find out about his client. Elijah pushed open the large dark oak doors. In his room was a rather sizable desk with a few computers, a tablet or two, a few scraps of paper, an old coffee mug and some shelves along one wall, with a small kitchenette on the other. He decided to make some coffee while doing his research. He took off his blazer, not wanting to crease it and delicately hung it on the back of his chair. He set the kettle to boil as he started up his computer. He looked at his schedule. Goodness, he mustn't have seen it in weeks, Chloe had pretty much told him whenever he had something, and it was very unlike him to forget. He found the date on the calendar, December 12th, 2039. Five PM, five PM, ah, there, found it . He looked at the appointment:

Meeting: new investor

Client: Congress

Representative: Dr T.Zhu

T.Zhu, That wasn’t a name he’d come across before. What did they Have a doctorate in? Elijah didn’t have much time, so he quickly searched up the name. As a government official, He’d certainly be on the internet.

As it turns out, no, there was nothing. It was as if the man didn’t exist. It confused Elijah, he Leaned back in his chair and sighed. This day wasn’t going as he planned. He didn’t like it, not one bit. He flexed his neck and leaned forward again, staring intently into his terminal, determined to find out something. He didn’t have long, the official was due any moment now. Ok so, he was a doctor. Most people that had graduated into congress had come from either Yale or Harvard. Oh, that narrowed it down a lot. All he had to do was get up a list of the doctorates, and file it down. He worked for the government, his doctorate was probably in law or politics, maybe economics, but most likely the first two. Topics like that were studied mostly at Yale. He wasn't a senate member but he was esteemed enough to be representing the government in an official deal. How important was this deal? Elijah wasn’t sure. This would probably put him in the age range of 30-50 years of age. That was too large for his liking. If this man was striking up a deal with Elijah, They’d want to sway him to his side. This means they’d send someone closer to his age. Early 30’s was too young, Elijah was smart, so they’d have to send someone wiser, slightly older, but not so old they were a little out of touch. This narrowed it down to someone maybe… early to mid 40’s? Ok that left maybe 60 people on the list or so? Elijah was able to find the doctorate lists for yale social sciences pretty quickly. He narrowed it down to the years it could be, probably anywhere from the early 2020’s to the early 2030’s. In a few minutes he was able to find him, 

Timothy Zhu, doctorate in political science from Yale

That was a slightly vague subject, maybe Elijah could find his paper somewhere, that would be too hard. Before elijah could scour the internet yet again, a voice came through the speakers, it was chloe’s

“Sorry to disturb you, Elijah, but your guest has arrived, I recommend you get to the meeting room now, this is a meeting you shouldn’t be late for.” She was right, Elijah really couldn't cock this one up. He let his mind slip back to when he’d had last minute investors as he walked to the board room. when he didn’t have time to research them, when he had to say a few generic sentences on that spot that would push them to invest. Yet, so much had changed since then, Elijah couldn’t just put on his CEO face anymore and pretend he was all wise and all knowing, Yes he was smart, but he'd lost trust, especially with the right wing after saying on camera the Android would never deviate, or have a soul, but here he was, in a world filled with androids that now had minds, free will, souls. 

The thick glass doors opened, revealing a long table, made of spruce and each edge lined with brass. Elijah placed his things at the head of the table. He turned to look over the view of detroit. It was Dusk, fading into night. He took a moment to admire the view, though it was cut short, as he heard the glass doors reopened once more, as they slid along the carpet.There in the doorway stood a very well dressed man, holding a briefcase. He was wearing A navy suit with a black tie. His hair was styled, but not gelled. It took a bit of edge off of his stern face. He looked put together. He’d have to. Elijah walked over to him, but he was met halfway. A sign of mutual effort.

“Mr Kamski, It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He smiled, breaking the cold look on his face as he pushed his hand out toward Kamski. It looked authentic but the slight muscle twitch and the ever so lightly too large smile made Elijah think the kindness was calculated to fool him.

“Dr Zhu, Please call me Elijah.” He replied, shaking it, firmly. Very firmly. He released his grip and gave a polite smile back. Elijah gestured to the chair next to the head of the table.

“Please, Elijah, feel free to call me Tim.” He sat down, and pulled his chair out slightly far, though that he could comfortably cross his legs, and clasp his hands upon his knee. He Kept that slight smile on his face, as Elijah moved his things to the chair opposite. If Tim was going to distance himself, he wasn’t going to suck up to his game and force himself closer. He took a crystal glass, intricately carved, and a caster or whiskey. It had been left on the table. He poured himself a small glass and a second for Tim. He offered the glass to Tim, who happily accepted it. Elijah couldn’t tell whether Tim wanted the glass or took it just to be polite. He could tell the man was fake, but he wasn’t sure what the man was being fake about. Though he had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time they would meet. He pulled out the chair opposite to himself.

“Tim,” he took a moment to breathe in and lean back in his own chair

“I’m afraid I haven’t been told very much about this investment, and it has all arisen quite quickly, would you mind shedding some light on the situation?” He was quite eager to find out what the government wanted with cyberlife. Tim Leaned forward slightly.

“Congress would like to invest some money into the development of the RK line. We’ve seen just how useful the RK900’s have been on the force, the RK800 within the country and how the RK200 has been able to shape America into how we know it today. They represent so much about deviancy, the revolution. These models are certainly worth a lot, and can do a lot for our country. After they deviated, we were able to celebrate them as people, and to understand them better. The thing that surprised us about the RK line is that none of them veered away from their lines of work. All are either working in the forces, or caring for something, in the RK200’s case. We, as congress, found that incredibly fortunate and useful for our needs. We were hoping that if we gave you the appropriate means, you could help to build a future with more androids of different lines like this. They could be perfectly functionable, maybe even free willed, people, but can still…” Elijah could tell that Tim was choosing his words carefully. He also noted the choice of the word could instead of would. And the fact that their free will was an unlikely possibility was rather concerning.

“...work in such a way that they aren’t limited by their design. We believe this would both help benefit the country and the happiness of the androids. Physically designed to do what they would wish to do most.” Oh now this was interesting. This was interesting . Elijah would have to pick his next words carefully.

“I understand this is a hard decision to make for you, Elijah, but I'd recommend you work with us rather than against us, it would be… easier.” Was Tim threatening him? He really had to make sure whatever came out of his mouth sounded supportive.

“I see. I can see where the government is coming from. This could very easily be taken badly by the public though.” He stood up and began to pace the room slowly.

“We were hoping that nothing other than the sponsorship of Cyberlife would be public.” Sponsorship? That seemed a little much. 

“How much are congress willing to invest?” Elijah asked. Tim gave time for the question to settle as he looked back over to Elijah. He leaned back in his chair again, as Elijah stopped pacing and turned to face him fully.

“5 billion dollars, if more is needed, we’ll be happy to provide.” Oh. My. God. So the government wanted to invest 5 billion into cyberlife, for Elijah to design an android that could deviate but still serve its purpose after deviation. They are aware of asking for an android that practically couldnt deviate.

 An android that was immune to deviation.

And nobody would be able to tell.

And they’d cover it up by saying they were investing 5 billion into cyberlife, and make themselves look like hero’s helping the lesser people. They were putting on a show for the androids. 

Elijah wasn’t the most moral man, but even he thought this was slightly out of his range. But Cyberlife was dying, he’d have to help it out somehow and be able to push the company to its full potential. He also didn’t know whether he could afford to make enemies with the government right now. But making an android that wasn’t able to deviate? He’d seen so many incredible things because of android’s deviation. Markus’ art, and the step  he took to build up the rights for a whole new species. Chloe had grown so much as a person and in turn, so had he. Chloe would have never told him about his brother, had she never deviated. Connor wouldn’t have become who he was now. Yes he would have been able to save countless lives as an android, but now that he was a deviant, he had also helped to rebuild all of those lives back to what they were. If word got out, what would the public say? This wasn’t very moral at all. He wanted to stand by his people, to support them, and show the world that they also had rights. Though if he rejected the government, there was a chance that they would take their wrath out on his androids. That would be dangerous. They deserved better than what they were already getting, let alone worse. And if he did this, he wouldn't be harming anyone already existing as he would be creating new androids. But if they didn’t work, the government would most likely destroy them secretly. The only way to see if they worked was by trying to make them devient, they’d be killing deviants, they’d be killing people. But if he rejected this, he could lose everything, the government was spiteful and held grudges, that wasn’t hard to tell from the past. They would come after him, and the androids would have no-one, they’d come after the androids and they’d take the hit. TIm said ‘it would be easier if he worked with the government.’ That implied that they would certainly do something if Elijah said no. It also meant that if he said no, the government would probably conduct their own research and god knows how that would go. Elijah found himself imagining a brightly lit room with deviant androids and non deviants confined to space, being experimented on, being hurt until they couldn't feel, having their lives, feelings, memories taken from them and distorted until the memory of those emotions were just a faint dream.. After all the different probabilities that had occurred in his mind, he didn’t know if he was brave enough or stoic enough to say no. This money could help support the company to, and who knows, maybe an android that couldn’t deviate would be useful. Elijah knew what he had to do, though he didn't want to do it.

“I’d be willing to accept.” He said, smiling politely, though he could feel the hot feeling of spite at the back of his throat. They’d forced his hand and Elijah didn’t like being pushed to do things he didn’t want to.

“Brilliant. We’ll just have to make sure the money and documents go through safely so you know what you’ll be working on slightly better.” He added. So Elijah and congress were officially working together. This was different to how he anticipated the day would go.

“If I may quickly add one thing, what will be shared is some rather confidential information. The sum of money you are being provided with isn’t exactly small either. We were wondering if we would be able to run some background checks on your system. This would just to make sure it’s entirely safe and hasn't been breached.” 

It’s your fault he’s dead.

Elijah could feel cold sweat dripping down his back. He quickly took another swig of his whiskey, he hoped the glass would help to cover his slowly twisting face. The dark lighting helped too. Ge gulped and took a breath.

“Please Tim, I can assure you, we are a company that celebrates modern technology and utilises it. Everything is up to date and completely safe.” He sat down in his seat again, making a point to assume a slightly more dominant stance. Tim reached for his drink and then paused before taking a sip.

“With all do respect Elijah; your company doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to viruses.” Well I’ll be damned.  Tim did have some balls, after all, anyone leasing with Elijah would have to have them. He took a long sip of whiskey, letting one of his statements settle yet again. This man certainly gave Elijah the sense he knew what he was doing.

“We don’t mean this as an insult to your company or its capability in any way, this is purley to ensure safety.” If Elijah could get away with scoffing right now, he would have. The government has more advanced cyber checks than Cyberlife . The company literally had Cyber in the name. Though he knew if the system was searched, before Elijah had run a diagnostic, he’d lose the deal, if they’d found the information on the memory stick in the cyberlife software. He needed time to clear up the mess.

“Give me two weeks to run a final diagnostic and ensure everything is in the best condition it can be. Then you can come and check it. I wouldn't want to have changed the software for the company before then and realised after it was too late that it wasn’t safe enough.” Hopefully, just hopeful they'd be able to get away with that. Elijah was growing increasingly anxious. He was good at pretending, putting on a smile and telling more white lies than there are stars inthe sky, but he had never been forced to cover up this much before. He just hoped that Timothy wouldn't pick up on it.

“That sounds like a very reasonable proposal to me, Elijah. I’ll be back soon.” He stood up and held his hand out to Elijah, over the table. Elijah couldn’t tell if the man actually trusted him, and if he bought his lie, but then again, he could only tell that many weren't entirely true throughout their conversation, but he couldn't deduce what he was being lied to about. Timothy was harder to read like that.

“It is a pleasure to work with you Mr. Kamski.” Timothy said as he turned back to look at Elijah from the entrance of the room.

“And you Dr. Zhu.”

Elijah got back to his desk and slumped down in his seat. He stared at his shut off terminal for a minute before putting his head in his hands.  

What had he just done?

Had he just forsaken an entire race that he had raised and created? What if the government asked more of him, and wanted him to make a code to reverse deviancy? He’d come to terms with the fact that androids were people, but he knew it would take even longer if he had to come to terms with the fact that they weren’t people again. He was back to playing God, but after the revolution, He didn’t like playing that role any more. If these undeviated androids became the norm again, the unemployment rate would start climbing back up rapidly. The humans would see the androids as slaves once once more… and the government had asked for it. The very people meant to bring rights to the androids, they now wanted to re-use them as their pawns to do their dirty work for them. They wanted living people to go back into their ghostly shells and do as they were told. To be used as slaves, as an object in a game. What would this mean for the androids? Would the deviated ones just magically disappear and be picked off one by one? Would the partially deviated ones be used as slaves? (if Elijah could even bring himself to design one.) Would they just not be able to deviate at all? But the Reaction from the deviated androids would be huge, if this went public. Could Elijah pre-program their dreams and aspirations? But deviant code allowed androids to break their preprogrammed code, defeating the whole point anyway. And wasn’t an android just a shell with a pre-programmed aspiration? Chloe, with the pre-programmed aspiration to be the perfect PA and house keeper, Her pre-programmed dream was to make Elijah’s life easier. Though now, she had developed a taste for the finer things in life, and rather than being a slave to Elijah, had become his good friend. She enjoyed the time she spent with him and he enjoyed the time he spent with her. Connor wanting to be the best detective, were just instructions that He was told to do. Now, from what he had heard, he was someone’s son. Elijah couldn’t take their lives away from them, let alone the potential new generation of androids. Most likely, everything would go back to the way it was before, and the deviants would be hunted, maybe even rounded up and put into camps. And all because Elijah had said yes. 

But he wasn’t really given the option to say no. Cyberlife making enemies with the government would inhibit androids more than anything even before the revolution. They’d take the fall for something he did. His mind flashed back to the horrors he’d envisioned before, of the deviants being experimented on until they were broken, hollow shells of what they once were. He wouldn't put it past the congress and Warren, though she was currently being tried for impeachment. If he did this, then he’d know exactly what was going on, and he could draw the line where he wanted it to be. Where the line was meant to be. Though it wasn't really meant to exist at all. The threats from Tim as well. He didn't want to risk anything or lose anything else either. Anything else lost on a more grand scale would cost the androids as well, and that seemed to be what the government was at least implying. Elijah leaned back in his chair and signed deeply. He Pulled on his blazer. And go up to leave. It was approaching 9pm. Wow, he hadn’t realised just how long he’d lost himself in thought.

He gathered his things and left his office. As he looked around, he could tell the place was barren. It was a saturday night so there weren't even any cleaners. Since the company's profits had been more unpredictable and stable. Recently, a lot more people had been moving on or wanted to spend their weekend not being constantly distracted by the fact that their jobs were hanging by a thread. He stepped into the large Glass lift as it started to descend. The tower was silent, and still. It was nice to have a moment of peace. He looked at the screens lining the walls as the lift bagan to slow… earlier than it should have. Then it stopped. Wait, the doors weren't opening, in fact he was stuck between floors. He was trapped. Shit, a malfunctioning lift, that is the last thing I need today. As he turned to face the buttons and door to see what he could do, the hue in the lift changed colour. He turned around, it was the light coming through the window. It had changed colour. And now he could see why. The huge screen opposite the lift had turned completely black apart from the words in the centre of the screen. Just the four slides repeating.

It's your fault they’re dead

It's your fault he’s dead

Give us what we need

Why haven’t you replied?

The first two slides were the same as what had come up on all his screens at home simultaneously yesterday. But the last two were new. Whoever was trying to contact Elijah was fast. Elijah fell to the floor in shock as he tried to clumsily stumble to the doors of the lift. His eyes filled with a look of horror. No no no no not now, I can’t deal with this now too. What was going on? Cyberlife and Elijah's home had some of the safest hardware and software in history, why was it being breached, who was trying to get in touch, and why had they given him terms but no name, no time, no… nothing. What was going on, and why was the world closing in on him on all sides? Why was he being forced to relive the horrors all those years ago. He didn’t want to recall a lost friend. Not now. He didn’t have the time to reminisce on the past, let alone feel guilty for it. He pushed himself to the wall of the lift and started clawing at the buttons. He just wanted to leave. 

“Let me go. Just- just let me go.” He repeated under his breath, again and again and again. Slowly his fear changed into something more hot, more impulsive, into anger. He kept saying it let me go until he was practically screaming it on the lift, he pounded again and again on the door until finally screaming on the top of his lungs

“LET ME FUCKING GO!” Suddenly, the lights in the lift came on again and the screen changed to normal, as the lift began to descend. Elijah felt his legs shake and he felt slightly light headed while simultaneously being wide awake from an adrenaline rush. It wasn't a pleasant feeling in the slightest. As soon as the doors had opened wide enough, Elijah had sprinted out of the lift and burst out of the main doors of cyberlife, proceeding to expel all the food he had eaten from his intestines onto the floor. It burned the back of his mouth, as he stumbled into the cold snow. He coughed and sputtered as he grabbed some clean snow and rubbed it on his face. He just wanted to get home.

As the car pulled into his home, he quickly ascended the steps, unlocked the door and walked briskly into the front room? He had to sort this out one way or another, Two breaches in the past 48 hours? And his software safety was going to be checked in a fortnight. It had to pass all the tests. He was pretty well and utterly screwed. 

“Chloe? Chloe? Are you awake?” He called out. There was no reply, as he hung up his blazer and poured himself a glass of wine. He sat down in a modern looking chair overlooking the view of the water gates. They did look rather charming at night, but he was too distracted by his thoughts. He didn’t want to think about Lawrence right now. He felt a stinging at the back of his throat as his vision went blurry. 

“God Lawrence, I'm so sorry.” He stifled 

“I'm so sorry, it was all my fault, all of it.” He stammered between sobs.

Tears that would soon be long lost to the night.

Chapter Text

*beep beep* *beep beep*

Gavin rolled over and slammed his arm on the alarm. Finally, fucking scilence. He groaned and looked at the time 6:45. Gavin did not like mornings. After about 15 minutes of idaly staring at the ceiling, he willed himself up, swung his legs out of bed and got ready for the morning. He’d had a lot he'd needed to catch up on, and a memory stick to investigate. He went to pour out some food for Piper, but remembered he’d asked Tina to look after her after he was called out by his brother on saturday. God he just wanted to pet his fucking cat.

---

Gavin walked quickly into the office, he tried to dodge the snow but there were still bits on his hair, which he could feel beginning to melt and run down the side of his face. He pulled up his hood to keep him warm and to avoid unwanted human contact. A technique he’d learnt over time. That last thing he wanted on a monday morning was idle chit chat. He put his coffee on the desk as he opened the files that he’d left there. He was quickly woken up by the pretty graphic photos of different corpses and smashed androids that filled the files. He just had to write up some reports, grab a coffee, look over some of the files, grab a coffee, go the the evidence room and look for the weapon, grab a coffe, make some notes and then it would be lunch as long as he didn’t get a call out or if the fucking bot didn’t come over and try to make small talk. He hated it. Gavin would end up spewing passive aggressive insults until they just turned into foul degrading comments, trying to get it to piss off while it kept trying to talk about the weather or reconcile or ask what was the problem, but more recently it had started arguing back with him, and it had left him alone more. It looked like it was learning. Good. There had been a few times where it had gotten physical, but Fowler had warned him that if it happened again, he’d be suspended. For an android that was meant to have one of the most powerful brains in the world, he was pretty fucking dumb not to realise that he was the problem. He took a sip from his coffee as he pulled on his glasses, typing up some reports. It was Monday, there was no way he could be asked to put in his contacts this morning, and anyway, the optometrist said he was meant to wear his glasses while reading and writing. Not like he ever did that though, he’d just stare at his screen, squinting, hoping his muscle memory and spelling were good enough for him to type something legible. 

“Oh God, you look happy.” Gavin slowly pushed his chair round, making sure it went suuuuper slow for effect. He looked up at Tina Chen, probably one of his only real friends at the office. He scoffed as he put his feet on the desk and looked at her.

“Well what can I say, I had a great weekend.” He made sure there was just as much sarcasm in his voice as there was in hers. She leaned on his desk, she was probably the only person he’d let do that. I mean his weekend had certainly been eventful, Saturday at least. He hoped he hadn’t forgotten the memory stick at his flat, he was kind of fucked if he did, but he didn’t remember taking it out of his pocket. So it was probably still there.

“What did you get up to?” HE asked. Tina popped her head out the booth just to check nobody was eavesdropping. she then turned to face him fully grabbing his shoulders a bit too aggressively for a monday morning.

“ So you remember that chick I was with the other night.” The other night? That was like any night over the past 10 days, and Tina wasn’t exactly monogamous.

“Which one? There have been like 10 over the past 2 weeks.” He’d gone out with her most those nights too, but he was too black out drunk to remember barely any of the people Tina went home with. He’d just smile and nod at the photos Tina would show him the next morning.

“That really hot one I went home with last time we went out, on Thursday night.” Gavin could feel another one of those smiling and nodding moments coming on again. He could barely remember friday and fuck all of thursday night. Tina continued to mumble as Reed just… smiled and nodded. She showed him a few photos, yeah she was almost Tina's type, so basically anyone who was a bottom. 

“... and yeah she took me home, and after we had sex, she actually treated me really well in the morning and i got her number and asked her out and she actually said yes! I can’t believe it, can you?” Gavin quickly blinked himself back into reality.

“Uh… yeah, I mean that's great Tina, I'm so happy for you.” He smiled at her hoping she couldn’t see through him. But who was he kidding? She had some kind of X-ray vision.

“OK, well I know you zoned out half way through, but I’m gonna pretend you didn't cause I want someone to care about me right now. See you later!” She stood up and walked off with a huge grin on her face before Gavin had a movement to defend himself. He didn’t mean to zone out, it was just monday morning and he was prone to it… Ah right he could be a bit of a shitty friend sometimes but he made up for it by all the times he… uh… he… He quickly shoved the thought to the back of his mind as he started typing again. He wasn’t gonna guilt trip himself today. Just as he felt it was time to go for his first coffee he heard his radio blare a muffled voice. Fuck off, not a call out.

“Detective Reed? Detective Connor? Lieutenant Anderson? Can anyone copy it?” N o goddamn way . First thing on a Monday and they already wanted him to work with the plastic prick and the alcoholic? Maybe if he just didn’t respond, they'd forget he existed. He picked up his mug and walked outward the kitchenette in the break room as he heard a few muffled voices through the radio. He soon heard the fucking tincan clear as day through the radio.

“Detective Connor and Lieutenant Anderson reporting to duty. I’m not too sure where detective Reed is though. I’ll try to find him. I’m sure he just accidently left his radio somewhere.” Oh for fucks SAKE. Could a cop just not get some peace round here?! He walked even faster to the kitchenette. He sunk even deeper into his hoodie when he saw the android walking towards his desk out of the corner of his eye. Anything to hide himself. He just needed another good cuppa joe before dealing with all of this. 

“Detective Reed? Detective Reed? Ah there you are, Trying to run away from duty are you?” as a matter of fact yes, yes he very much was.

“We’ve had a call in. Lieutenant Anderson you and I have been called to the scene I've already contacted Officer Miller to join-”

“Yes you fucking tincan I know, just give me a goddamn moment to breathe.” He pushed past the android, putting his glasses on his desk as he walked by. He wished he could have thrown them, get a bit of that pent up rage out, but he was also too broke for another pair right now. On payday, he'd throw his glasses, well if he was thinking about that why not punch the android in the face on payday. God that would be nice. He pulled down his hood, grabbed his radio, badge and holster and pistol and set off. Thank god Miller was going with them cause he was not about to spend the next 10 minutes in awkward silence with the goddamn droid and the depressed reverse orphan in that stinky fucking car. He began to head out to head to the scene.

“Detective Reed? I Recommend you take your coat, it’s sub freezing outside.” Gavin walked away but made sure to flip off The overdeveloped fridge while he could. What was he six? Did he need daddy to remind him to wear a jacket? Oh god Conner as a ‘daddy’ is not what Gavin wanted to think about right now. He switched his thought track ASAP, focusing a bit too hard on Miller’s car for it to be considered normal but hey, anything to get that image of Conner off his mind.

“Hey Mills Wait up” He called out, as he opened the door to the precinct. He tried to dodge the falling snow again, but it just kept getting in his god-damn hair.

“Detective, hop in, you’re gonna freeze to death out here!” Chris called out to him, and he wasn’t wrong, it was like -2*C and Gavin had a jumper and his leather jacket. He kind of wished he'd listened to Connor, but mama didn’t raise no pussy.

“I’ll be good.” He shouted across the car as they both hopped in and sped off.

“Good Weekend?” Gavin asked. He was happy to make small talk with the uniform officers, they seemed much more relaxed.

“Yeah, it was really good. My wife went away with her girlfriends so I got to spend some quality time with Damien. I actually took him to see his grandma yesterday. She was so happy to see him, it really made my week.” Gavin didn’t like to show it, but he really liked when Chris talked about Damien. Anyone could tell he truly loved the kid. His whole body would light up if you asked him. 

“How about you?” Looked like Gavin had to bring out the old lying skills again.

“Yeah it was ok, I spent Saturday at a small family lunch” close enough right? I mean it was around lunch when he visited Elijah, speaking of which, he still needed to investigate that memory stick.

“And yesterday I was on call.” Chris breathed through his teeth, the Sunday call out shift was never fun. Finally the car pulled up to the scene. It was by the docks, everything seemed a bit too still to Gavin. When he stepped out of the car he could already tell something was up. He was in a worse mood than when he was in the car and something just told him that sketchy stuff had gone around dhere. Now that he thought about it, he was fucking freezing now, and there was a pretty strong smell of fresh thririum and red ice. Gavin Reed, a Real detective. He folded his arms to try and cover up the fact he was shivering, but he could tell his plan failed when he caught Hank snickering at him.

“What the fuck are you laughing at old man?” He walked over to the body. Hank handed him a pair of latex gloves. 

“The fact that you think you’re smart enough to be promoted to Sergeant but don't even know how to dress properly.” Well you know what? How about fuck you Hank. He quickly uncrossed his arms and squatted down to get a closer look at the body (and also to avoid responding to Anderson) it was an android, it looked like it’s thirium had been drained but not completely, like it had been left in a hurry. It also looked pretty ragged too. The clothes looked like something Hank would have worn if he hit bankruptcy. So pretty fucking bad. Though one thing that struck him as pretty weird was that the body was left almost perfectly intact, just a few pinholes here and there. One in each centre point of the arm, a few at the neck, the rest would have to be discovered by forensics.. Normally draining thirium from an android for Red Ice would mean destroying the android, taking it and then extracting the thirium more thoroughly somewhere else. Maybe this wasn’t a red ice case? Why couldn’t Hank and Connor take this, it was cyber crime after all. Fucking androids with their citizenships and their sub-basic-human-rights. Guess them getting killed meant homicide was now involved too, and whether he liked it or not, he still had to pay for a roof over his head.

“I’m a little stumped over her body not being in pieces, but if the thirium is gone, I’m pretty sure the motive was just some red ice gang looking for ingredients. Thoughts?” He looked up at Hank.

“Yeah pretty much the same, it doesn’t look like there was any sign of struggle either which is a bit… weird. -Could just be an elaborate suicide?” Hank looked back at Gavin, then they both looked at the body, stumped. With no sign of a struggle, or nothing to say that the android had been detained against its will? But there was no evidence to support it, like a weapon the criminal had or what rope was used to tie it up, or traces of one. The body was just… there.

“It would have to at least be assisted. There are certain parts of the body that he would not be able to reach on himself without considerable damage, like the hole at the upper centre of the back. Since this was an AC700 model, flexibility wasn’t kept in mind, just a slightly larger battery. Though that hasn’t been taken for black market purposes either. I would also like to interject your red ice theory Detective Reed, as a lot more thirium could have been collected from a body with the needles in the places they were, but it wasn’t.” Gavin stood up again, which he instantly regretted as he was no longer huddled in a ball and his face was being whipped by the wind. He hated it when Conner did that, just took a minute to stare at the body and instantly knew everything. He’s spent years at the academy training to do stuff like that over the course of a few days, and the android could do it the moment it was created in less than 30 seconds. But goddamn it was helpful. 

“Whatever tin can. Just run the body by forensics and get me a name by the end of the day. I wanna smoke.” Hank glared at him as Connor mindlessly agreed. Gavin scowled at Hank and turned the corner. The key was, if you were a dick all the time, nobody would be able to tell when you're actually having a rough time, and since nobody would ask you if you’re ok, it's easier for you to bottle up your emotions and pretend they don’t exist.Gavin pulled a pack of cigarettes out his pocket. And went around the corner of a warehouse for a fag. There was a nice view of the docks but it was pretty grey. He lit one up and took a long drag. He just wanted to get back to the warm office, do his work and go home. After the revolution, Gavin had really started to resent a lot of his job. He hated solving android murders. They were such intelligent beings but they just decided to get rid of everything they had going for them and not only to live alongside the human, but stoop down to their level. And now Gavin had to solve their murders? He felt like he was being taunted. Hey at least they wouldn’t be stealing jobs if they had to get paid though, even though their sentience had increased the desperate need for resources and pushed the world even further to the brink. He let his head droop as he huffed out. He didn’t really want to think about that right now. Especially if he had to do a favour for the man who invented them. That line of thoughts would always ruin his day if he let it continue too long.

“Detective Reed, are you alright?” Oh for fuck sake, it was the damn droid. And it certainly wasn’t helping.

 “You’re taking considerably longer than usual and I wanted to make sure nothing has happened to you.” What had he unlocked pity as an emotion now?

“Fuck off, You’re not my mum.” He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on and took one last puff of the fag before flicking it at Connor. The android looked down at the stump that had hit him, his face completely void of expression, maybe even more dead than when he’d arrived . Christ, for one of the original deviants and leaders of Jericho, it sure as hell didn't act like a real person.

“Sorry if you felt I was intruding, I just wanted to make sure you… didn't get lost along the way.” it gave a snark smile and brushed itself off. No fucking wonder Anderson loved the thing. Of course he’d want to be swaddled by something that would take care of him and show him love, It's not like anyone else did since his ex wife, and there was a part of him that could see why. Though he did seem slightly less insufferable after the android started living with him. Slightly. He walked round the corner while pushing the android's head away with two fingers. Hank caught him doing it and rolled his eyes. Jesus Christ, were the Andersons his disapproving parents now? Certainly wasn't too different from his own household. An overbearing mum and a dad that was so disappointed in him he didn’t contact him his entire life. And the RK900 could fill in the role of secret older brother. Well no it didn't make sense, If Hank were his dad, he’d have daddy issues, and how could Gavin could ever have had daddy issues if his father was never there in the first place? It didn't make sense. Gavin suppressed the feeling of existential dread and trauma from abandonment, rising in his stomach. He made his way back to the body and looked at its dead, empty cold eyes. One thing that was the same about the dead androids and the dead humans was they both had the same look in their eyes when they were dead. He sighed and looked across at Hank. Hank also sighed and looked at him with a look that his grandma would give him every time that he cried as a child and needed a little chat.

“You know Connor's only trying to-” Fuuuuuuuck that.

“I’m going back to the precinct. We’ve found out what we can and I don't wanna waste any more time in the cold. Miller?” He turned round to look at him as he nodded in agreement, he looked pretty freezing as well, the uniform wasn’t very well made. He nodded at Gavin as they left to go to the car. As soon as he got in, he turned the heater on full. Chris gave him a look.

“Really, you’re that cold? This isn't even our car.” He buckled himself into the driver’s seat.

“Exactly, we don’t have to pay.” Gavin quickly shut the door.Chris smirked at him and in fairness, they did drive back to the precinct in a nice warm car.

---

Gavin decided he had put it off long enough and he was going to break for lunch… even though it was 3 pm. He wasn’t the best at keeping track of time or what his body would tell him to do. He felt hungry earlier but had only properly clocked it now, which sucked cause he was now really fucking hungry. He headed over to the kitchenette and made himself a cup of coffee. He decided to order from a nearby chinese place, yeah he could really go for some noodles right now. While he waited for his food, he decided to plan a little ahead. He wanted to stay late tonight, he still needed to look at Elijah’s memory stick. He could probably do it during changeover hour, between like 5-6pm, he knew the district would be silent between 5-6am, but he wasn’t about to pull an all-nighter or wake up at the crack of dawn. It wasn’t 1562. He couldn’t send the memory stick to forensics, he could analyse it by hand, but he wanted to use as few electronics as possible. If this guy was good enough to break his brother’s system, then he would know how to track a memory stick. He could send it to one of his friends at forensics, make sure it was low key, buy him a beer after work and if there were any traces of DNA, he'd have to think on that though, Elijah was so strict about nobody else knowing…

The idea of anyone else getting involved was uncomfortable. He liked to work alone too, to be alone, it allowed him to distance himself a bit, and keep himself to himself, which he liked. Though from time to time he got lonely, but then he could go out clubbing with Tina and maybe even Chris if he’d have a hard week too. He’d find someone, go home with them and leave before 4 in the morning. That would keep him going for a bit longer. And it's not like he needed attention or wanted someone there. He was happy alone. Completely overjoyed. He quickly snapped back to his main train of thought.

Right yes, Elijah, what he needed and wanted, the memory stick, so Forensics was a no-go. They had a pretty good in house microscope he could use, though he’d have no idae how to analyse the presence of cells or whatever. All Gavin could remember was that the mitochondria was the powerhouse of the cell, and that wasn’t even from school, it was from the memes. So stay late, use the microscope? What then? He could send the picture to Elijah and he could interpret them correctly? Probably the best hope he had right now. 

His lunch soon arrived as he chowed down on it. 

“Hey tincan!” he shouted between bites.”

“You got a name on that droid yet?” Connor looked at him in a sort of ‘oh god i'm kind of embarrassed to know you’ way. I mean Reed did look like a bit of a piece of shit right now. Eating between bites of semi-cold takeout, feet on the desk and pretty wet hair. The damn snow. 

“His name was Julian kines. He worked as a cashier at a bank but he was left unemployed as of last week. Here I’ll send you the case file.” He sighed, fed up with Gavin, but Gavin was a good detective. At this point in time, it was the only thing keeping him in his damn job. He was one of the best on the team but somewhat insufferable to be around. Deep down Gavin knew, but it was easier to push everyone away then let them all in. Nobody can break your heart with their bare hands if they're all out of arm's reach right? There was a ping from Gavin’s computer as the email came through:

Name: Julian Kines

Age: 2 years 6 months

Time of death (approx): 6:30 am 04/12/2039… 

  And so on. The report continued to ramble on , but there were a few things that picked up Gavin's eye. He had quit his job, he had’t been fired, so it wasn’t a downward spiral, maybe a planned suicide? Been depressed for a long time? Though they hadn’t had the full autopsy report yet, they had been told that the cause of death was almost certainly loss of thirium. Gavin noted that down. As for Suicide attempt, forensics still hadn’t been able to say wether he’d be able to put those needles into himself at those positions, so they’d have to wait on that. It was an odd place to pick for suicide too. The android seemed to have no history with the place or any work there. Usually in a suicide, someone would pick a place that was close to them, somewhere special to spend their last moments. Most people were usually found in their homes or childhood homes and it’s not like androids really had ‘childhood homes’. Maybe it had gone haywire. If deviancy messed with their programming, maybe it had messed with him a bit too much, but if so then the needle pricks would have been more sporadic. Was that how deviancy worked? Damn for someone working on android homicides round the clock he sure as hell should have known better. The android had no prior medical training, and wouldn’t know what he was doing. Gavin checked the clock. It was about twenty minute to four. So long for a lunch ‘break’. Gavin leaned back in his chair, confused. This did seem like a more voluntary death, but a huge part of it just didn’t add up.

---

It was coming up to 4:45, the first people who shared Gavin’s shift were starting to leave. He’d wait till about 5 and slip into the evidence room to see if he could dig out the old light microscope. He had some gloves, and some tape. The only electronics needed were the lights that powered the microscope and who would hack into the light microscope? How do you even hack into a light? The RK models would be the only ones able to tell if he used it or not, but the RK800 was a little too innocent and had no reason to doubt Gavin. The RK900 could also check and would be willing to throw hands, it was a lot more stand-off-ish  than the RK800, ‘his brother’. The RK800 said they were brothers (though the RK900 understood the action, it took him a slightly longer time to get on board), the thought sent a shiver down Gavin's spine. All androids were family now? By that way of thinking, was Elijah their dad? Did that make Gavin uncle to every droid in existence? He just sat and took in the thought for a moment. Part confused, part curious, part horrified. Anyway… The RK900 was also in New York for a short while. If Gavin said nothing, nobody would have any reason to check. He'd just have to pray to God that he wasn’t caught. Not that he was religious, he was an East coast Gen-Z after all, but hey, if there was a big man in the sky, might as well be on the right side of him. He still had half an hour to kill. He debated getting coffee but that would make him even more skittish. But he also didn’t want to be drowsy. As this argument with himself went on, he didn't notice the android approach him from behind.

“Gavi-”

“Argh! Jesus fuckin christ tin-can, give me some damn warning next time.” He knew that the reason he was so jumpy was because of him and the way his brain was processing things right now, but he’d be damned if he was about to apologise to an android. 

“I was wondering if you had a chance to review the information I sent to you yet.” HE looked at Gavin with his big blank eyes. It creeped him the fuck out.

“-uh yeah I've had a brief look over it. Look, if you wanna review case notes, can we do it tomorrow? I really wanna get off my shift on time today.” Gavin either hyper fixated on his work and left 3 hours after his shift or he’d leave up to an hour early if he could get away with it. Never at the right time. He’d leaned into that a lot more over the past few months, it wasn't the best for his body, and his mental clock was now all over the place, but hey, if it meant he got the right amount of work done each week then so be it. Connor chuckled to himself.

“What the fuck are you laughing at tin-can.” Gavin didn’t like being the but of the joke, especially if he didn’t know why. He turned around and walked away, and called over his shoulder.

“Your unpredictability never ceases to amaze me detective. I’ll see you to review case notes at 9:30 AM.” Gavin huffed. That was a kind of close call, but I guess he also couldn’t sneak into work late tomorrow and make up for it with extra hours. He was doing that more than he would have liked to at this point, but what difference did it make, he was slightly unpredictable in that sense. Now he stopped to think about it. What did the android mean by what he said? He could have squared up to him to get an answer but he wasn’t about to be suspended if his job was only being kept by the fact that he could do it just slightly above average. He also had his own mission to complete, and it was time to go and do that.

Gavin pulled his jacket off the back of his chair and grabbed some sellotape he needed from his desk, lucky he bought a new roll on Friday morning. He stuffed the latex gloves he’d kept from his earlier investigation into his other jacket pocket. He was holding the memory stick so tightly he didn’t even need to see his knuckles to know they were white. As he headed up the stairs, he looked back. He saw Connor and Hank put their coats on as they prepared to leave. Conner looked over in his direction. Gavin quickly looked ahead of him. Shit shit shit did he see me? Gavin panicked and sped walked all the way to the evidence room having a spiritual heart attack every time he saw someone. He’d just nod awkwardly and then speed back up to his jogging-paced walking after he’d left their field of view. You’d think he’d buy less of a pussy after being on the force for almost a decade…but no, he really wasn’t. He finally climbed up the stairs two at a time, and went back into the main building. He thought it would be a bit earlier to take the fire exit stairs, they were always empty. He pushed his back against the door to keep a lookout as he entered the room. His fists were still bunched up in his pockets, and he could start feeling cold sweat on his forehead. He did a quick sweep of all the different lanes, filled with boxes and bits of evidence. The room was empty, but he wanted to make sure.

“Uh- Hello?” Oh jesus fucking christ Gavin, Could you shout anything more suspicious? There was no reply. He wanted to call out again, but then he’d just be shouting, and that would draw attention and that was bad. Shouting ‘Hello?’ to check  if anyone was there was already pretty suspicious in itself. Ok he was pretty much in the all clear for now. Where to go, where to go, where to go? Where did they even keep the microscope? He’d remembered THe RK800 using it a couple months ago. Jeez, how could he forget to check if it was still there? Time was ticking away pretty quickly too, it had already taken him enough time to get here, taking the most empty route to get here and climbing all those stairs had made him a bit out of breath too. Hey he was being thorough right? Efficient? -Wait, didn't efficient mean saving time? He then realised why his grandparents had paid for that summer school English course, he would have been fucking illiterate without it, not that he was much better than someone who was. OK, ok back to work. Where was the android using it? He remembered it unplugging the microscope and taking it off the podium and it going up and to the right- no left- no- the right. Not that Gavin couldn’t remember the direction relative to him, he just still struggled a bit with left and right. How the fuck did he graduate highschool as borderline illiterate and not being able to tell his left from right? Showed the standard of the DPD if anything. Hey, wasn't there a small storage cupboard to the right of the big screen? He looked over, there seemed to be a part of the wall that was made of something different. He hadn’t really noticed it until now, just a discreetly placed cupboard that faded into the background. Maybe it was there. He took a deep breath, and headed over to the cupboard. How did he open it? It didn’t have a handle. He looked at it for a moment, and to the side, there was no keypad or anything or a scanner. The gap between the wall and the door was really small so he couldn't pry it or anything. He decided to feel for a contraption or something. He placed his hand to the door and pushed a bit to see if anything would give. It did. Because it was a fuckingpush-door that led to another room. Gavin Reed the Detective didn't know how a push-door worked. Well, that was fucking embarrassing. He did one last mini-check before he went into the room to triple check nobody was there and to make sure that nobody saw what just happened. He shut the door behind him, internally cursing it and himself. He looked around the room. There was a table with scattered papers and cases that had been closed for a good few weeks now. A cup of stale coffee that seemed to have something growing in it. Maybe that would be fun to look at under a microscope but he also didn’t want sepsis. Yeah nobody came in here. There were some shelves around the room. He looked around a bit, it was actually a kind of nice room. With a bit of a clean, it would be pretty cool. There was a small window by the door, all the shelves were glass and some light from behind them, lighting up the room in a really natural way. He looked at the shelves again. Where was it? Bingo, across the room from him on the far shelf. The microscope. It looked like it hadn’t been touched since the android had used it. There was a pretty thick layer of dust, and it looked a bit sad, like it was saying ‘come, please come and use me’ to Gavin. How could Gavin refuse? All he’d need would be some sellotape and a socket and he’d be set. He pulled the tape out of his pocket. He was quite lucky that he’d bought some on friday, he knew he would have been caught if he’d try to steal some from Hank or the android. He pulled the memory stick from his pocket, put on the latex gloves and carefully took it out of the bag. He set it on top of the empty bag and plugged the microscope in as quietly as possible. He stopped and looked up again just to make sure nobody heard. There were a few small sounds here and there, just the background noise, but it was hard to tell whether that was a person or not, especially this on edge and high on adrenaline. Gavin powered forward. He took some tape, tore it off and stuck it to the memory stick. He pressed on it, hard, then peeling it slowly, trying to pick up anything he could from the stick. He pressed it onto a glass slide, making sure there were no air bubbles, that was something the RK800 did get a bit iffy about that day. But hey, without that day, he’d have no idea how to do this. He placed it under the microscope and he turned it on. He pulled his glasses down from his head and looked through the eyepiece. He fiddled with the different knobs until an in-focus image came into view. It was quite pretty cool to see all the different patterns and substances under the microscope. Though it all looked much less colourful than what the android had done. Hadn't it put down some kind of stain first? Eh whatever, he could still see the stuff. He was still pretty glad he’d learned the trick from Connor though, it was helpful. But he also didn’t know how to tell shit from a microscope image. Elijah might though. He picked up his phone and snapped a few shots through the eyepiece. Moving it a bit and taking a few more shits, to make sure he got everything he could out of his sample. 

There was a loud bang. Gavin froze. Shit shit shit shit what should he do? There were footsteps on the other side of the door. Fuck! maybe the RK800 had somehow hacked into a light and was now coming to investigate him. There was no time to put everything back. He had to hide. Where was there to hide? The room was pretty empty and the table was glass. Gavin still hid under it, proceeded to realise his mistake, and then not move because his flight, fight or freeze response had kicked in and his body chose to freeze. Why the fuck did it always end up like this? He heard a few muffled voices and some laughter. He instantly recognised Tina’s Giggle and Collins’ bellow. Ok yeah, they were both pretty chill cops, and he was really good friends with one of them. But you can't really not ask questions when you walk in on someone with a memory stick in one hand, a microscope in the other and they are huddled in a ball hiding under a glass table. OK let's just hope that his prayer to God worked. It looked like the big man in the sky had decided to take the day off because he could hear Collins approaching, to the point where he could hear what he was saying.

“Yeah it was weird, Marshall was telling me about it, apparently they found his limbs on the other side of the city.” He heard a muffled reply from tina. What the fuck kind of case was that? You know what, he didn’t need to know. Don't open the door, don't open the door, don't open the door . He heard the footsteps reach right in front, he could even see his shadow breaking the light below the crack of the door. The motion triggered lights switched off. Fuck, did collin’s notice, if he peered in maybe he wouldnt be able to see Gavin if he just didnt move. Collins was getting kind of old anyway, hopefully he was a bit blind too. Gavin remembered every time he’d looked at Collins when he put on his glasses to read something. There would always be a good 30 seconds of faffing about with the distance and then came trying all the different squints. It was so wholesomely funny. And there was that time Tina recorded a video of him doing it and then showed it to him later and they all sat there laughing for about 10 minutes straight. Gavin bit his tongue so hard he drew blood, god it was so hard not to let out a chuckle. He looked back at the door. Ben was still in front of it. Trying not to nervous laugh was a lot harder than it seemed. He stood there for what felt like a solid 10 minutes to Gavin. He could feel the cold sweat starting to trickle down his back. It was starting to get a bit too much, he was really beginning to freak out. A fully blown panic attack in this cupboard room thing would fuck him up. there was glass things everywhere, not to mention the detriment to his reputation, and he was hoping to get Sergeant rank soon. In 2 3 4 5, hold 2 3, out 2 3 4 5 6 7. It was the only helpful thing he’s picked up off of state counselling. Hey but that's all you get in a capitalised, piece of shit justice system. He kept doing it, just focusing his mind on his breather rather than his surroundings, blocking out the sounds, the light from below the door, easing his intense grip on the memory stick and the microscope. He wanted to do the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 sense system, but there just wasn't enough round to do it, and it would make too much noise. He put himself in a calm enough state to continue. He let his senses take in the outside world again. They were gone. Oh good, nobody came in. He, extra quietly and carefully, took the side out of  the microscope, but the memory stick back into the bag, and put everything back where he found it, after he almost had a heart attack at the motion lights coming on. He decided to keep the slides though, you should always keep any evidence you have. He’d find another bag to put it in somewhere, but for now, he folded the bag in half, but the memory stick on one side, and the slide on the other. As long as the bag stayed folded, they wouldn't touch. He folded it again, just for extra measure and put it in his pocket. He waited for a second before reaching to open the door.

What had he gotten himself into if he had to hide from his own friends?

He pushed his thought to the back of his mind and went back through into the main evidence room. It would probably be best to leave using the fire escape. He headed into the staircase again and made his way to exit. When he got out it was pretty dark and cold. He could make out the snow falling in the street lights. Thank god that was over. He got to his car and sat in it for a moment. He looked straight ahead into blank space. Just processing the last however long it was. All sense of time had pretty much gone out the window by now. The pictures, the pictures, he had to send them to Elijah. He took his phone out of his pocket and selected the pictures he took to send to Elijah. He sent them, put his phone on silent and drove home in complete stillness. He needed it. 

---

Gavin put on his glasses and sat down to continue playing horizon. He’d really enjoyed replaying it, it was bringing back a lot of old memories. He might even play breath of the wild next, if he could dig out his old switch. He remembered his mum giving it to him on his 16th. His mother was a single mum, but she’d had him a bit later in life and had the support of her parents behind her when everything happened. He imagined that if things were different his mum probably would have chosen no to have him, and he could understand that. But it also meant that yes, money was something to be mindful of but they didn’t have to worry where their next meal came from. And he appreciated that. So it was really nice when his mum had gotten him the latest nintendo console that had only been dropped a year and a bit ago at the time. He'd known it was a lot of money and he’d appreciated the present a lot. He’d be excited to play again. Speaking of which, he should probably try to see his mum soon. They’d called and talked here and there, but he hadn’t gone round for a proper lunch in a few weeks. It would be nice to see her. Maybe he should give her a ring. He picked up his phone.

Elijah ._. :

2 texts

Elijah ._. :

1 missed call

He opened his phone and checked the texts. Elijah had said

Thanks, these help more than you’d think.

I mean there was certainly a wrong way to take that text but Gavin chose to take it in the right way. 

But if you have the slide I’d like to see that too, if it’s not too much of a hassle of course.

How polite, but also he was going to have to drive out to see His brother again. Maybe they could meet halfway at the cyberlife HQ this time. Gavin could hand the slide over and forget all of this, he’d only been given 10 days after all, then it would all smooth over and both of them could pretend that this had never happened. He switched his phone off silent and started to text back a message. Pretty quickly after he’d started typing, he got a call from Elijah. Jeez, Elijah must have been watching him or something . 

“Don’t worry I was about to reply to your te-”

“Gavin, I’ll give you a million dollars if you can solve this case.”

Chapter Text

Elijah was craned over his desk when he felt a pretty bright orange light in his eyes. He looked up, suddenly feeling the consequences of his posture. Through the window, he could see the sun rising. He’d promised Chloe he’d be back by 1:30 am latest, but since it was dawn in the middle of winter, it had to be at least 8am. Though, he’d only feel her wrath when he got home, He’d probably need about 4 cups of coffee to recover from last night. He’d spent all night trying to design new hardware for the androids he was going to be crafting. He didn’t even want to attack the software yet. It felt too much, to withhold something from feeling, let alone making it. Even though he’d been given 5 billion to develop this, He didn’t know where to start. It was almost as if deep down, he did, but he didn’t want to, as if some block had been formed. He’d remembered Gavin saying that when he felt overwhelmed with work, he'd break it down into a smaller list and then check those off one by one. But Elijah didn’t get any form of block from being overwhelmed or from emotion. He never let his emotions get into his work, so why would it start now? What was going on? Maybe he should go back on his medication again, well it wasn’t really medication it was just something that he used to make him work harder, faster and better. No, those pills had quite a severe effect on him. Maybe he should try the list idea. He tried to make one, sentences formed here and there, but he couldn't make a list. It wasn’t like he didn't know how, but it was as if something was stopping him. No, no he should fight this head on.

How was he going to do this? He could make an android with pre-programmed aspirations… no he’d already had that debate, deviancy would just stop it. Maybe he could programm it almost like how instincts are passed from generation to generation through genetics. But then again, they could go against that code. The entirety of the human race wouldn’t have been here if they hadn’t gone against their own instincts. Then how could he do this? What if he finished what was started with the RK900 model, an android immune to deviation.

No.

But-

No.

Yes.

No…

yes

This looked like the only option he had. He’d already have an advantage, looking at the RK900’s old code and some spare parts and hardware he had in the development labs. He could complete what was started. This could work but only for the government. Elijah had to somehow spread the word but in secrecy, or tell someone close to him. Working on the RK900 would be dangerous as well, with the recent cyber attack on cyberlife and Elijah’s own home, the demands, what they were looking for, It would be risky working on that model. The fact that there were already a few deviated ones in the field wasn’t a good sign either. But it did take them a while to deviate, giving him all the more advantage to complete the work he’d been ordered to do. The end product was closer than it was far, but that’s exactly what Elijah didn’t need at this moment. As of right now, He needed time, enough to stall, and somehow sort this all out. What if he told Chloe? Maybe he could deven send work to Markus at Jericho? No, any deviated androids knowing he’d said yes to this would be catastrophic. He’d need to contact someone he could trust. Though he’d need to tell the head members of Jericho at some point, he’d need to prepare a small presentation, but deep down he knew, the longer he kept this hidden from them, the worse they'd blow up about this. Not only this, but the cyber attack too. Nothing was safe, nobody knew how deep the cyber attack went, whether just the screens were intercepted, or maybe it went as deep as all products of cyberlife being sabotaged. Either way, Elijah knew that this cyber attack would have to be solved alongside his other problems if any of this was going to click into place. As for now, he could work on pleasing the government and debate whether or not he’d tell Chloe but not Jericho. 

Elijah stepped into the lift at the end of his office. He hadn’t been too keen on the lift since last Friday, but he’d needed it for where he was going, three doors shut as Elijah  opened a small hatch on the side of the floor buttons. A secret compartment. He opened it discreetly, even though nobody was around him, yet he still got paranoid and would most likely delete the footage later. He pressed a button on the slide of the compartment as the lift suddenly plunged down the tower. Elijah reached the ground floor but the lift kept plummeting down. It had been a long time since he’d been here, the old design labs. Elijah was excited to work there again. There was always something rather thrilling about working in an underground laboratory, designing androids, well weapons of mass destruction at the time at least. The RK line was not the… friendliest thing that Elijah had designed (maybe apart from markus), to say the least. There was a small thrill in the act, creating something so powerful, it played into Elijah’s… well it wasn’t a god complex. Actually yes, yes it was. The lift kept descending, further and further into the darkness, as it continued to descend, each floor got slightly less friendly and more government-facility-like. THough at this point, this was what cyberlife had turned into , just a pawn for the government until Elijah could figure out what to do. 

Finally, the lift slowed to a stop, in front of a big concrete door that said ‘-40’ on the front. A small camera flicked open and revealed itself. Elijah held his eye up to the camera as it was scanned.

‘Elijah Kamski confirmed. Authorisation Approved.’ Chloe’s voice spoke through the lift. Elijah liked Chloe’s voice, he used it in everything he could. He had come to affiliate her voice with security and admiration, after all that she had done for him over the years. Skyrocket his industry, care for him, and now be his companion and sister in arms since deviancy. Elijah had begun to appreciate her even more than before. 

The thick concrete door was pulled up and the glass doors of the lift opened. Elijah walked into a dark room that had no light. The sound of the concrete door thudding against the ground echoed around the room as it shut. It made a low booming noise as it hit the ground. That noise was one Elijah had hoped to put behind him. He reached for the switches on the wall, he didn't need to feel around, he knew where they were from muscle memory. A few computer screens came on and badly lit the room. One 3 monitor computer on the left and one 4 monitor computer on the right. One for the android, one for the arms constructing it. The edges of the walls and ceiling lit up in a red light, revealing a rather large dark room. There were  4 large desks. One large black desk on which the 3 monitor computer sat on. In front of it and on a lower level, maybe about 25cm or so, was another large black desk, that was slightly longer. This one had multiple, sleek black chairs behind it, and had nothing upon it. The same was repeated on the other side, in front of the 4 monitor computer. The lower level was the spectating bay. The desks with the computer were about three quarters of the length of the speciation desks, but had a lot more depth to them. There was only one chair in front of each set of the large monitors and they sat on a slightly higher level, to see over the head of the spectator’s chairs that had been left barren for so long. THe walls and ceiling were a matching dark grey almost black colour, that was further enhanced by the red light, and the carpet was black. The lack of blue light helped to reduce strain on Elijah's eyes (And the red lights did fulfil Elijah's childhood secret laboratory dreams). He walked to the computers and logged into both of them and checked the code. Yep, everything was still the same as last time. He Took a deep breath and walked back to the switches on the wall. He shut his eyes and flicked on the last switch. The spectator area looked up to a large window, the back wall of the room was practically all glass. It was pitch black and rather ominous without the switch turned on. Elijah had hoped that nothing had changed on the other side of the glass, though with the recent cyber attack, a part of him felt uncertain. NO, no the odds of this laboratory being attacked were slim, Less people knew about the underground part of the cyberlife tower, let alone the 40th confidential laboratory. Fewer people had known about this place than people to the bottom of the marian trench, though apparently Virgin Group Ltd. were trying to turn that into commercial tourism too, by the end of 2050. What a waste of money that could be going to a better cause. Their commercial space tour had been a flop, with how expensive it was. Couldn't that company learn from its mistakes? No. Humanity never learned from its mistakes. Elijah looked back at the Pitch blck glass, watching his own red reflection. He looked dishevelled. He felt it too. He watched as slowly, one by one, six lights began to light up the spotless white room on the other side of the glass. It looked completely sterile, not even dust on the white cabinets, the back of  the pale robot arms. It looked like an operating theatre prepped for surgery. In a way it was, as staring back at him with lifeless, empty, cold eyes was his patient. 

One thing that many people didn't know, and to be honest, it was better off that way, was that the RK series wasn’t an entirely new line that the now Ex-CEO had started, but a line that was in development and handed over from the returning CEO when he’d initially stepped down. Of course there were many things he was still yet to understand, and things he hadn’t been involved with, but he was involved with their development a lot more than people had realised. He looked back at the android, Its skin, retracted and stuck in a naked stasis until further orders. He was quite proud of his creation at the time, but now he had more mixed feelings towards it. It had started as a way that Elijah would protect people. He knew he wasn’t big and burley himself, but he could still create something. He could still craft a tool that was able to keep him safe, the people around him safe and the people of America safe. It felt like his little way to chip in and help. He used to work day and night on the RK series. He could feel himself beginning to steer away from cyberlife, and wanting to start a more peaceful part of his life. If this was going To be his last work at cyberlife, then he was going to go out with a bang. He was going to make an android for the community, for police, for front lines, with compassion, to help those that got hurt, to encourage others to help, and android that was going to make the world a better place. That's what he wanted to do. There was one man that came to Elijah’s mind when he thought of someone like that.

Lawrence.

Lawrence Osborne.

He was The English exchange student Elijah had met at university. The only person in the world, at the time, that would take Elijah seriously. That would treat him with some respect and appreciate what he was capable of. Lawrence had joined university early as well. By no means as early as Elijah but he’d joined Colbridge University at just 17. He was planning to do a PHD in biochemical science some day. He had such a passion for the subject and a brightness behind his eyes that kept him going. He was the top of his class even though he was by far the youngest, and he was generally very comforting to be around. Him and Elijah grew very close over their years of university. When Elijah had finished university and Lawrence was just finishing his masters, Lawrence had helped him discover thirium. He’d helped Elijah make the androids feel more human and natural. He’d helped Elijah turn empty shelled robots that looked like humans into something that could have been mistaken for a sentient creature, and over time they had become sentient creatures. Because of him. So Elijah had decided to model the RK series after him. The pale skin, the soft brown hair that lightly culled at the front, the small freckles and sun-spots that dotted his face here and there. The amount of old photos he’d had to dig up were simply ridiculous, but it was worth it. 

Elijah looked down at the ground, and smiled slightly, recalling fond memories of them going out at night together, of Lawrence giving Elijah some brotherly advice. Memories of them sat, leaning over the first Chloe prototype talking about things that nobody else would be allowed to hear, but could be talked about freely in their little space. Talking about their family problems, or Lawrence giving Elijah advice when he was having a sexuality crisis. And vice versa (it was inevitable at university). He’d look up at Lawrence as they were working on Chloe, and by some sense Lawrence would know. He would, as if by some sixth sense, always know and look up to stare straight back at him, asking if he was ok, or laughing at a remark that Elijah had just made. There was something about his chocolate eyes. His smile, that beamed innocently. It would always reassure Elijah. Make him feel accepted, in a world where he always felt like the odd one out. He missed it.

He missed it so much.

He wanted to capture that in the android. But cyber life had taken his passion project and turned it into a ruthless police man. Elijah had seen a few blueprints of the RK900 as well. They had completely missed the mark. It looked cold, stoic, mean. That was the last thing something should be. Especially if it was modelled after Lawrence. Connor’s personality was somewhat similar to Lawrence after he deviated, but his personality before was cold. Simply cold. He looked back up at the android. The eyes, just as cold. He could never get the same warmth in them no matter how hard he tried. Elijah had let go of the project after he’d sold cyberlife. He’d let the new owners take it on. They had tainted it, twisted the idea of the RK line and mutilated it into something that was so far from what Elijah had wanted it to be. To what it was meant to be. But after he’d bought back the company, he’d moved all his things back here, into his own little lab. Though it had remained untouched since it had been moved. Elijah either had no time or no will to craft it, the only untouched RK700 model. And now he’d have to do the same as Cyberlife have, and reduce it to a heartless monster that couldn’t even deviate. In a way it was serving its purpose. It would make the ultimate sacrifice of losing its free will so others could have theirs. 

He blinked away the small stinging that was forming behind his eyes as he sat down at one of the computers, looking through the code. It was all the same, just as he’d left it. He pulled a microphone at the corner of his desk closer to him. He pressed a button on it and spoke into it.

“RK700 exit stasis. Over.” The android jerked to life and the ‘skin’ coated his shell like oil. He gave a quick glance around and took in where he was. He then immediately went into his ‘at ease’ position and looked back through the glass, staring right at Elijah.

“Elijah, It's been some time hasn’t it.” He replied with that kindness and smile that Elijah knew had no life behind it. 

“My apologies for keeping you waiting so long, Louis.” He knew the android wouldn’t mind, or care. He wasn’t a deviant after all. And he probably never would be. No, Elijah couldn't give this up. He couldn't use Louis. He was the closest thing Elijah had to Lawrence. He’d put him back in a box somewhere for another half decade, but he couldn’t lose Louis. He couldn’t lose Lawrence. He felt the sting behind his eyes as his throat began to tighten. 

“Actually, you know what Louis?” The android quizzically looked up at him, a gentle facade that had been pre programmed in its face.

“Please power yourself off, we can pick up where we left off very soon.” He knew the android could hear the brittle timbre of his voice. But the android had orders, orders it would obey. It hesitated for a moment before nodding its head, Closing its eyes and bringing its hand to its sides. Its head bowed down as the LED on its temple switched off and turned grey. Elijah sat down at his desk and rubbed his eyes. He’d have to start from scratch. He just couldn't sacrifice Louis. He just couldn't.

As soon as Elijah was through the front door, Chloe was on his case. She has started interrogating him as to where he’d been and why he hadn’t been home for the better part of 2 days. She didn’t like when he’d stayed at the office, but this time felt a bit different. Elijah had claimed to be sleeping there, but they both knew that the last time Elijah had slept was on Friday night, before they had both been rudely awakened by… He didn't want to recall. Elijah had to do everything he could to retain his composure when it had turned into a rather intense argument, silently telling himself that it wouldn't go on like this forever, but it would have to go on like this for now.

“Chloe, please, I can very clearly see you’re upset. I’ve told you, I’ll stop, I promise I’ll stop, but you and I both know I can't turn back time and take back what I’ve done!” He was trying to apologise, wishing he could take it back but it was no use.

“You say that every time Elijah! You make that promise every time! You always say that It will stop but it never does. It never does, Elijah! I know you can’t reverse time, that’s against the laws of physics but the least you could do is not lie to me! Can’t you keep just 1 promise?” Elijah knew this was going to turn into much more than just sleeping at the office now. He could hear Chloe’s voice just starting to crack. Fine, if a fight was what she wanted, 

it would be what she’d get.

“Chloe, I’m the CEO of the biggest company in the world and now one of the leaders of an entirely new species, I don’t have time to do anything any more! I have a duty to do and a standard to uphold!” He could hear his own voice raising. They very rarely had arguments like this, or arguments at all, They’d only have big ones once every 2 years or so. Back then it would be something to do with his health, she was programmed to keep him safe. But this time was different, she could feel this time, she had emotions. 

“3 days ago you were able to sleep here, you were able to be at home, you were able to see your brother, you were able to smile, show kindness, be happy, but it never stays Elijah, it never stays! For once, just let it STAY !”

“WHAT? Chloe, do you think I don't want to be happy?” Chloe remained silent. He wanted to be. He wanted to be so badly, but under circumstances like these that just felt so impossible.

“I want to be, I damn well want to be! But it is so hard trying to be happy, to smile and to be ok when everything is suddenly happening all the time, and it NEVER goes the way it was planned either. Nobody can be happy forever! ESPECIALLY WITH A LIFE LIKE MINE !” He pointed at his chest, then slowly let his hand drop as he watched hot tears begin to roll down Chloe's cheeks. A cold silence hung between them as Elijah swallowed hard. ‘Boys cry, not men’ He could hear his fathers words echoing in his head.

“When you first sold cyberlife,” Chloe’s voice had died down now, it was barely above a whisper. Elijah could tell she was trying to keep herself as composed as possible but tears kept streaming down her cheeks

“-you shut me out. You shut everyone out. And you just… you- you lost yourself in something I couldn't put my finger on because you always kept me at arm's length and I didnt realise that yet because I wasn’t deviant back then but I understand so much better now-”

“Shut up Chloe.”

“Things have changed and it’s gotten better but it’s never been the same as it was. Elijah, please I’m worried about you-”

“I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP CHLOE!” Elijah was borderline screaming at this point. His voice filled up every room in the house. He didn’t want to think about his life back then. He didn’t want to go through that guilt. He watched her flinch away from him. But deep down he knew he’d always been a monster and he always would be. Chloe Returned to her original position and walked straight up to him with power and purpose in her stride. She left some distance between them and elegantly wiped away her tears. One thing that Elijah had learned over the year she’d been deviated was the fact that she wasn’t as scared of life as he thought she’d be. She looked up at him, with an intense stare that he barely ever got to see any more.

“I’m going to cut the shit Elijah.” She inhaled and puffed out her chest slightly, tilted her head up and furrowed her brow. 

“By all means be my guest.” Elijah clenched his jaw and gave her a look just as menacing.

“What does the government want you to do?” Elijah stopped dead in his tracks. No, no He couldn’t tell her. It would break him, and maybe her too. He clenched his fists so hard he could feel nails leaving marks in his palms. Don’t cry. He closed his eyes and spoke through gritted teeth

“You wouldn’t understand.” He could hear Chloe’s breaths starting to get deeper.

“Elijah,” there was a very orderly tone in her voice now.

“what does the government want you to do?” She repeated the question again, louder, slower and a lot more concise. Elijah opened his eyes to look straight back at her. 

“I said, you wouldn't understand. This doesn’t concern you Chloe, don't get involved in something you wouldn't know how to handle.” He could hear the bitterness and spite writhing  within his own voice. A small part of him wanted him to stop, a bigger part wanted to tell her the truth, but the largest part of him was too overwhelmed by anger and hatred and pent up rage and anxiety. That part of him stopped too much information from being let on. She folded her arms, keeping her gaze on him.

“Tell me why elijah. Tell me why I wouldn’t understand” Her own voice was starting to find bitterness in it, and it was teetering on a shout.

“Because emotions make us weak, Chloe, they always have! War had always started out of the spite and anger of man! Discrimination is rooted in the arrogant pride of the human race! You’d-”

“OH SAVE ME THE PHILISOPHICAL BULSHT ELIJAH! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU HIDING FROM ME?” Chloe almost never shouted. So it caught Elijah slightly off guard, but he knew that this was going to end badly the moment he got into it. He wanted to tell her everything so badly, to tell her what was actually going on. No he couldn’t subject her to it, he didn't want to let her know the truth. What was the point anyway, he was starting to lose hope. He just wanted it to end. He just wanted to let himself go and shut the door on her, he didn't want her to see what he was going through and she didn’t deserve to know, she deserved better. But she couldn't know the truth which meant she couldn't keep pressing him like this. She was meant to be one of the smartest, wisest, most socially advanced beings in existence, why couldn’t she understand how he worked, that was his life, that this is what he was meant to do, that this was how he felt, and how he was always going to feel. He wanted her to know that we wanted to be alone, and it wasnt that he wanted to wallow away in self pity or sadness, it was that he didn't care if he did. He’d lost so much over the years, and all he had left was the materialistic. Materialism was meant to make him happy, because he didn’t get attached to things, to people, to those around him. It was what could be put down on paper that mattered, and that's what his father had made so clear to him when he was young. If he had everything that he wanted on paper then why wasn’t he happy, what was stopping him from giving a genuine smile? Why was he the way he was? Why did he feel like this? Why did he feel?

“You want the truth then huh? You want the GODDAMN TRUTH? YOU’RE WEAK CHLOE, YOU’RE WEAK! YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH BECAUSE YOU’D LET IT GET TO YOU, YOU’D LET YOURSELF FEEL THAT PAIN AND IT WOULD SWALLOW YOU! EMOTIONS MAKE US WEAK CHLOE! AND IF I CAN BARELY HANDLE THE WORK CONGRESS GAVE TO ME THEN BY FUCK I DOUBT THAT YOU WILL!” He screamed at her. He was panting now. He watched as tears began to roll down Chloe’s face again. His breathing settled as he’d just realised what he said. He immediately wished he could take it back. Not only had he just called her weak, but he'd said that it was her emotions that had made her weak. The very emotions that her and her kind had been fighting for for the past year. The very emotions that made her who she was and had made her so important to elijah. The emotions that had allowed Elijah to truly understand Chloe and for Chloe to truly understand Elijah over the past year. The emotions that allowed someone to care for him, to be his friend, to be his family. That cold silence returned.

“Chloe, wait I didn’t mean it like that I’m sorry-”

“Do you wish I was the same as I was before?” She was looking at the ground now, her hands gently clasped together over her abdomen. Elijah had gone too far this time. The way she was acting now, it reminded her of a child that had disappointed their parents for not doing well enough. There was something about it that just broke Elijah.

“Do you- do you ever wish I hadn’t deviated?” She choked the words out. Taking broken sharp breaths. She was crying. Elijah walked over to her as fast as he could, to try and hold her, but she stepped away from him and looked out the window. He knew that she just couldn't bring herself to look at him.

“No, Chloe of course I don’t… and I promise you I didn’t mean what I said. I spoke impulsively and and didnt think-”

“Elijah, please. I’ve already asked you to stop lying to me once, don't do it again.” she took two more shaky breaths. He couldn't hold back his own emotions any longer, as he felt tears fall down the side of his face.

“I’m sorry I became weak Elijah, but you and I both know I can't turn back time and take back what I've done.” The word stabbed into his heart like a knife, and twisted up inside of him. She looked back at him, and wiped away her tears that were glittering in the moonlight. She took a deep breath, and put on the gentle, kind smile that was pre programmed into her model. She let her shoulders drop and picked up her head slightly as she took on the original stance she was programmed to have. 

“Good night Elijah, sleep well.”

She bowed her head slightly as she walked elegantly to the stairs and descended them, in a completely un characterised, monotone walk to match her uncharacterised monotone voice. She was trying to be what she wasn't, she was pretending she was undeviated and that, that left Elijah broken. He’d done this, and somehow had to pick up the broken pieces and fix this, even though he was a human that couldn't come to terms with his own emotions. And he’d set himself back by taking this job from the government, by trying to force himself to shut out Lawrence and use all he had left of him for a deranged, harmful torturous project. He was the weak one in all of this. He was trying to defy the laws of life. He wanted to make himself into something with free will that didn’t have emotions. And that just couldn’t exist. Could it. After his father had passed away, he’d felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders but he didn’t realise just how much he’d let his own father get to him until after he died. He found himself restricting his passions and wants he'd always wanted to fulfil all because the shadow of his father lurked in the back of his mind. How could he disappoint a man if the man was dead? Why was he still scared of defying his father, if there was no one alive to defy and in turn punish him? Why wouldn’t he let himself feel? The last time he felt was with lawrence. It was like everything his father was, Lawrence wasn’t. In the times Elijah remembered Lawrence, he’d let himself feel. There were parts of him that he saw in Gavin and in Chloe, it felt like when he was around them, he could just let out a little more of himself, but deep down he knew one of them resented him and the other one he'd just shut out. It felt like- When Lawrence died, all Elijah's acceptance of his own emotions had died with him.

Elijah shut himself away that night.

He drank to forget.

But it only made him remember more.

He didn’t want to remember.

But he did.

He remembered all of it.

Elijah found himself waking up on his study floor. His neck felt immensely stiff, he smelt quite badly of strong spirits and he had a headache that was pounding behind his eyes. It wasn’t fun by any means. He recalled the events from the night before. He and Chloe had gotten into an argument, he was then left to wallow in his own self pity, but that wasn’t a feeling he enjoyed so he went upstairs to the study to work. He then ended up crying about the argument, then Lawrence then went to get a drink,and then another, and then another, then he brought the bottle up to his room, and things got a bit hazy from there, but the broken bottle and the slightly sticky carpet and the cuts on his hands lead him to believe he’d been rather clumsy. He went to the bathroom to wash his hands and clear himself up. Even though it was monday, Elijah had a feeling he probably wouldn't go into work today. Speaking of which, what was the time? He looked at the reflection of the clock in the bathroom. 8AM, That was quite late for Elijah, even though he was quite the night owl. Today was probably best spent clearing up last night’s events. He wanted to leave Chloe to cool off for a little longer, An apology while feeling this hungover would probably only make things worse. He decided to push himself on with his work. It was worth a try at least, though he couldn’t imagine he’d get very far feeling this unwell. He had some ibuprofen, stared out the window for 20 minutes, contemplating his existence while the painkillers set in. He then got to work. He’d put it off long enough, he’d have to write the code. Elijah got up the original RK900 code that he’d now obtained after re-purchasing the company and skimmed it. Right, OK, so this is how they were trying to do it, by changing this, altering the social programming there, increasing firewalls here, and then shutting down this protocol, introducing this response . Elijah was getting a grip on the code and  had decided to start when the ex coders of cyberlife had left off. He brought his hand to the keyboard to continue their work. His hands hovered there for a second. What was he about to make? When it came to things like this, the first step was always the hardest, but he just had to push himself through it. He was ready. He looked back up at the screen, took out his glasses and put them on. He closed his eyes and took a breath. He started furiously typing away. Finishing the work that his predecessors had left off. By all means, there were flaws, things he’d have to patch up and a long way to go before it would be done, but he'd have a good foot off the ground.It was quite a shame that the code was being written for the reason it was, as it was actually very cleverly written and had clearly been designed and made by some very talented people. A few hours went by as the sun was now high enough in the sky that it was a crisp blue. The ibuprofen had worn off, but Elijah was so invested in his work that he hadn't even noticed. He hadn’t realised how hungry or thirsty he was either, he was too captivated by what he was doing. He was rather abruptly disturbed by an alarm that went off on his phone, he picked it up and looked at it.

EAT FOOD

It was written in all capitals and lit up the screen. It was one of the first things that Chloe had done after she’d deviated. She had realised just how little Elijah took care of his body and had practically forced him to set a series of alarms throughout his phone reminding him to to fuel himself. He pretended to resent it, but secretly, he’d felt quite elated that somebody had cared about him so much. He smiled to himself and left the study to go and make some food. He went down the stairs into the kitchen. There was already a hot plate of steaming food that looked delicious. He was quite relieved to know that Chloe hadn't left in the middle of the night, but if she wasn't here with him to eat, then he knew she was still upset. It would be worth making it up to her. What could he do? After sitting and contemplating for about 5 minutes, an idea popped into his head, he knew exactly what he had to do. He scoffed down his lunch as fast as possible and grabbed his coat. He’d been rather productive that morning, so he could get away with working into the early hours of tomorrow morning, tonight. He grabbed his hoodie and a coat and put on his shoes. He was going to spend some time out.

Since Elijah knew exactly what he needed and where to get it, he hadn't spent more than an hour out of the house. He was now clutching a bunch of purple chamomile flowers, they didn't bloom in mid december but he knew a guy, well Gavin knew a guy, and that guy seemed rather confused when Elijah had turned up at his shop, but he got what he needed in the end. He was also clutching a box with a set of very nice paint brushes that had been handcrafted in germany. They were wrapped up in teal tissue paper, Chloe's favourite colour. It also had a note attached to it that read:

Dear Chloe,

I apologise for my behaviour last night and the fact that I cannot say this to your face shows that I am in fact the weaker of the two of us. I understand if you wish not to see me for some time, the things I said last night were very much inexcusable and were said in the heat of the moment. Please take this gift as a sign of my apology, but also as a sign of the fact that I never meant the words I said as a genuine statement, but shouted the first blasphemy that came to my mind out of a fit of blind rage. You are one of the best things within my life, and I am ashamed of myself for treating you the way I did. You deserve far better.

Kind regards and deepest apologies,

Elijah.

It was hard to put it all properly onto a piece of paper but he wanted to keep it short and sweet, and there was a part of him that couldn't face Chloe either, and that was probably for the best. He would most likely ruin things again, and it would turn into yet another argument. He placed the flowers and paintbrushes on the floor outside her room, not wanting to invade her personal space. He knocked on the door and quickly ran up the stairs, making sure he would remain unseen. He silently nestled himself at the top of the stairs listening. There was a moment, but then he heard the door swing open and heard Chloe step out into the hallway. He didn't hear much else for a short while, but he did hear the rustle of paper from the present being picked up and more crisp rustling of the paper around the chamomile flowers. Hopefully, his plan had gone as he had hoped it to. The door closed again and Elijah silently descended the stairs just enough to see the floor outside Chloe's room. The flowers and the box were gone. Yes!

Elijah was working at his computer again when he heard his phone buzz. He picked it up to put it on silent but then immediately got another text from Gavin that read 

looked at the memory stick under the microscope thought u might want to see.

As appalling as Gavin's texting was, this couldn't go unlooked at. Elijah immediately unlocked his phone and opened the photos. The sample obviously hadn't been dyed, which made it slightly harder, but there were a few things he could recognise. A few bits of dirt that probably could have been identified with further analysis, maybe some residue from the offender's hand, and maybe even where the memory stick had been. some paint had also come off as well, that could be analysed too. Maybe even get a place of production. He shot back 2 texts of his own

Thanks, these help more than you’d think.

He very much did want to take a look at that slide himself.

But if you have the slide I’d like to see that too, if it’s not too much of a hassle of course.

Elijah knew that ever since the cyber attack he’d been chasing himself in circles in his mind and was starting to burn out rather quickly. If today was the day that he was going to tie up loose ends then maybe he could…

… ask Gavin to solve the case?

NO! No, the idea was absurd, and Elijah couldn't have people knowing more about this, it was simply too dangerous, and he didn't want to endanger anyone, especially his own brother. But he did solve crimes for a living, and he knew what he was getting into when he decided to take on an occupation like this. No, Elijah knew the best thing to do was to sort it out himself because he could. Couldn't he? He was smart, he knew how to do things, right? He knew how to treat situations like these. He had plenty of experience. 

He had no experience and no clue as to what to do about this. He knew that the problem would just keep eating him from the inside out until he was able to do something about it. Gavin would know exactly what to do, solving crimes was Gavin's thing . He could help Gavin out too, maybe overpay him a little, and the two of them working together on this case would make the brotherly bond a little closer, not to mention he could now talk to someone about it, it would be a weight off his shoulders. He pictured the night again, the alarms, the blaring, Chloe shaking , in fear at the end, and then starting to shut down. The adrenaline rush, and the panic just- He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He had to talk to someone. But should that someone be Gavin? Was it too dangerous? If he brought his own family into it then that would only raise the stakes and make things worse, but Gavin was a loyal man, he would be faithful to Elijah, and it's not like Gavin knew anyone to feed information to. He should do it. Elijah knew he wouldn't be riding the high much longer and called Gavin while he still had the nerves. He sat idly as the phone rang for what seemed like a decade. And then,

“Hi this is Detective Reed,”

“Gavin I-”

“Sorry but I’m not at the phone right now, but if you leave me a text or message I’ll be sure to get rou-” Elijah hung up the phone. That was annoying. He stood up debating whether he’d done the right thing and whether wanted to call again, he started pacing the length of his study when he was interrupted by a knock at the door. His head perked up as he looked at it.

“Come in!” he called back, the door handle turned as the door gently opened. On the other side was Chloe’s face with a slight smile. That was quite a welcome sight. 

“I’ve made us some supper if you’d like any.” She said politely

“I missed you at lunch so I was hoping we’d be able to eat together tonight?” YES YES YES YES YES! His plan had worked! Or at least it had brought Chloe to the point where she was able to stand his face. Elijah would take any improvement.

“Of course Chloe, I’d love to.” He replied. 

Dinner went quite smoothly, neither of them talked about the elephant in the room but they did make polite conversation. Things hadn’t entirely smoothed over but they were certainly better. Elijah quickly excused himself from the table to fetch himself something to drink, he picked up some whiskey, it was Gavin’s favourite. He poured himself a glass and thought to himself for a moment, surely it wouldn't hurt to get Chloe’s opinion?

“Chloe?” He called out behind him.

“Yes Elijah?” He heard her reply. He walked back to the table and sat down in his chair.

“You know this cyber attack we had on Friday, and how we still need to investigate for a culprit?” Chloe nodded her head in curiosity.

“What if I Offered the investigation to Gavin as a private case?” She leaned back in her chair for a moment taking in what he said, and weighing out the statement. He proposed the question as if to get her opinion, but he knew he was more so asking her permission, not even that. He’d ask Gavn to investigate either way, but whether or not he'd have to keep this from her. The fact that his brother was now getting wrapped up in all of this, it could make things a lit more difficult, if it went wrong.

“Though he can be slightly bashful, he has one of the best success rates of a Detroit detective. Though, he is family, Elijah, so if you’d rather he didn't get involved, I’d understand.” Elijah had thought that at first as well. But who else did they have, He was starting to panic now, it had been too long that this was going on unsolved, He had to get someone to investigate this, the stakes were simply too high. He’d partially forgotten that he hadn’t told her about Gavin taking the memory stick. He know she’d be annoyed very the fact that he had not consulted her first, but he was completely disorientated on saturday morning, and some things were best left unsaid

“The only thing is, Chloe, is who else would we turn to, to solve this?” He said, trying his best to cover his anxiety. Chloe opened her mouth as if to speak but shut it again after a few seconds. Elijah was right who else would they turn to about this, it was a rather tough situation that had to be kept under covers and by someone they trusted. She opened her mouth again.

“You should call him Elijah.”

“What, now during dinner?”

“I wouldn't mind.”

“Alright then.” He stood up and left the room to go upstairs to get his phone. This was it, he was going to call Gavin and Gavin had to say yes. He dialled Gavin's number. He knew that Gavin was his last hope in all of this, and now more than ever needed his brother. The stakes were higher than he’d let on to Chloe, but he couldn't fail her, he couldn't fail them, their company, he couldn't fail cyberlife. He needed all the help he could get.

“Don’t worry I was about to reply to your te-”

He had to say yes.

“Gavin, I’ll give you a million dollars if you can solve this case.” It was desperate, but it was what had to be done.

Chapter Text

Even though Gavin had promised himself he wouldn’t return soon, he found himself climbing that snowy disney white hill up to his brother’s house. After agreeing to the offer, and a little more discussion, the pair of them thought it would be best for him to drive up for lunch and for Elijah to fully explain what had happened. So here he was, the following Sunday going to see his fucking brother… yet again. He parked his car, he went up the pretentious steps, the android let him in, he smiled falsely back, the same old same old. 

So when he saw his brother, it felt wrong. He looked like shit. He looked like he hadn't slept in days and his skin was turning an even more pale sickly yellow, if that was even possible. His hair was quite messy and he was starting to get a bit of a 5 o'clock shadow. His eyes were bloodshot and he was trying to avoid contact with both Gavin and the android. After what seemed like ages, he walked up to Gavin and shook his hand. Weakly. That wasn't like Elijah, he was used to bear hugs and over optimism. This version of Elijah looked so… sad and… yeah just sad. It was a bit painful to see, but for once, Elijah felt like he was being authentic. Gavin Thought he'd never live to see the day.

“Jesus christ Elijah what happened to you?” Oh, phck. The words had slipped out too fast for him to process. Before he could stumble over himself and try to take it back, Elijah walked up to him, gently placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a dead stare over his shoulder, away in his own world.

“Life Gavin, just life.” Ok this was starting to freak Gavin out a bit, god why did he get freaked out every time he came here? But it was a better freak out this time, yeah his brother looked a lot more dead inside but by fucking hell could he relate to him like this a lot more. Gavin shrugged as Elijah quickly walked past him again to the kitchen work top. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey by the neck and gestured to Gavin. What was it, like 11AM? On a sunday too. But it was that really nice whiskey that Gavin would drink every time he was over, it was a fresh bottle too, and he didn't want his brother to feel alone… yeah. Though he wasn't going to let him know it was his favourite. Not before he admitted that to himself.

“Yeah, pour me a glass.” Elijah Poured Gavin a sizable glass and another one for himself. There was no other sound than the glug of the bottle. Gavin didn't like the sound of silence in the air, but for once, Elijah didn’t seem to care.

“How has your week been?” Yet another question that he wished he could take back as soon as he said it. He wanted to take it back even more after Elijah gave the biggest sigh he’d ever heard. The silence he was trying to get rid of, seemed even louder now. OK, as much as Gavin wasn’t a fan of ‘deep chats’ he felt like he had to do something.

“Elijah- Are you… are you ok?” He asked in the most genuine tone he could muster. Elijah looked up at him, in a kind of surprised way, if that's what that look was. Shit was that too out of the blue? He tried to put a kind look into his eyes, something warm. Gavin was so used to lying and being cold and blunt, that being genuine was actually kind of hard now. He tried to keep eye contact but it was getting a bit awkward. Elijah took a sip from his glass and started to look back at him in a kind of ‘ok this is a bit weird’ kind of way. Oh how the turn tables! Gavin prayed that one day he’d get out of his ‘The Office’ phase.

“Gavin, I mean this in the nicest way possible but I hope you are never the position of negotiator in anything at work.” Gavin choked on his drink. He could hear the smirk in his voice. Fuckin’ smug prick. Gavin smiled as he tried to take another sip of his drink without choking on it. The fluid splattered in the glass and on his face as he started laughing. He brought the drink away from his mouth before he made more of a mess and soon he was clutching his stomach and starting to double over. He laughed so hard that he had only just noticed that his brother had joined in . The two of them stood there laughing as their faces continued to go more and more red. It wasn’t even that funny. It just felt good to laugh around him. With him. Finally they calmed down a bit and Gavin stood up straight to look at his brother. Both their faces, still bright red. He tried to keep it together but when he saw Elijah smirk, he set both of them into a fit of laughter again. Finally, after a good 5 minutes of laughing like they’d both just walked out of being told off by the teacher, Gavin rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. He looked at his brother, both of them still grinning. Now that he got to see his brother as his usual self… but happy, something in him felt warm. It was nice seeing his brother like this. Knowing that they’d get along well as just themselves, was a nice thought. Maybe Elijah wasn't so bad after all. I mean they definitely had the same sense of humour.

“Though trust me I appreciate the sentiment.” Elijah said, wiping the tears from his eyes. As he put his glasses back on and stared at Gavin for a moment. There was something about the look in his eye that said ‘I’m happy you’re here’.

It felt good. 

“Lunch is ready, If you’d like to follow me to the dining room.” Their little moment was interrupted by The RT600, which was also smirking. They both moved to follow the android down a set of stairs and through a pretty smart looking corridor. A bit empty and harsh, but the art hanging on the wall didn't look as bad as the rest of the art in the house. A pretty big painting was hanging on the wall, it was of a bunch of lilac flowers in a teapot, with a summery looking background, it was actually really nice.

“Who painted that?” Gavin turned to Elijah who gestured at The android.

“I’m quite fond of painting. I find it helps me to unwind. I painted this last summer.” It said smiling. The thought of an android ever needing to ‘unwind’ had never crossed Gavin's mind. It was a bit of a weird concept, hey whatever. It was a really pretty painting.

“It's a really pretty painting.” He looked back up at it but out of the corner of his eye, he could see the android blush a bit blue. He’d never seen an android blush before, and he was glad he wasn't staring at it because he'd probably keep staring and make the whole situation even worse. Instead. He looked at the android and gave an awkward nod of acknowledgement.

“Thank you. The dining room is the room behind you.” The android gestured to the door and Gavin was grateful that the subject was changed. It opened the door to a room with a large black glass table, with nice dark oak chairs that all had armrests and a padded bottom. Just like the kitchen, the whole side wall was glass, looking over detroit. It was a really nice view. To be honest it was a really nice room. There was a tall vase with some green leaves in it that had been nicely arranged. If Elijah's taste in art was bad, then his taste in interior design made up for it. On the table was a nicely laid out lunch. There was a very juicy looking chicken that was perfectly golden, that was in a dish surrounded by some roast vegetables. There was also salad that had walnuts and pomegranate and a bowl of some nicely dressed boiled potatoes on the side. It looked amazing. Perfect for a hearty lunch with two people. Maybe if Gavin asked extra nicelay, Elijah would let him take the left-over chicken home. There was nothing that hit Gavin quite like cold leftover chicken that was fresh out the fridge at 3am on a Wednesday night. Elijah walked over to the chair with the back to the window, as Gavin sat opposite him. He liked that they were sitting at the end of the table, he couldnt put his finger on it, but something about it made him feel less intimidated. They made light conversation here and there, but it didn't feel like awkward small talk for once. Gavin ended up telling Elijah a lot more about himself than he’d expected and found out about twice as much information about his brother in that one conversation than he'd learnt over the past year combined. Not great for a detective. As enjoyable as the conversation was, Gavin knew he had to talk business with Elijah at some point. Abou half an hour into their meal, Gavin finally piped up.

“So um, sorry to bring it up, not that I don't like chatting with you or anything but- yeah um, I think we do need to talk business at some point.” He looked up at Elijah who froze for a second but slowly started chewing his food again and he swallowed it. Fuck, had gavin struck a nerve? He kind of wanted to talk to his brother more. Maybe he should have waited until later. Was he being rude? Elijah sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“No no, it's completely fine, and you did come here for business after all.” He looked down at his plate and opened his mouth to speak, but he didn't say anything. Gavin had never seen him stall before. The brilliant, incredible 171 IQ genius who shaped the world as we knew it today? Stall? Pffffff that could never happen! Or at least that's what Gavin thought. But right before his very eyes, he was stalling. Except as Gavin looked up at him, half way through chewing some potatoes, he could see a kind of look in Elijah's eye. It was like one of the look he’d get from a witness who’d just watched a murder and thought they were next, or when an accomplish to a crime had been blackmailed into it. He wasn't just stalling, there was some kind of… fear in his eyes, if that was the best way to describe it.

“Last friday,” he started quietly, still to himself. He blinked himself out of his trance, and cleared his throat.

“Um- yes, last Friday, not the one just been but the one before. The Friday before Saturday I called you.” Gavin navigated that sentence in his head, and then nodded. The Friday before his brother started acting all weird.

“That night, at around 1 am I was quite abruptly awoken by the sound of my speakers playing a sound that sounded like reverb. They're quite good quality speakers so they ended up playing quite loud. It was unpleasant and had never happened before so I put in some earplugs and went downstairs after putting on my kimo- Dressing gown.” Gavin looked up at his brother and snickered. As Elijah tried to give him a death stare but ended up smirking himself.

“Of course you’d call it a kimono- sorry sorry my bad, a dressing gown . Of course hoodies or kimo- sorry, dressing gowns not made of silk and imported from japan would just be to plebian for the great-”

“Gavin that’s beside the point-”

“Whatever you say, kimono boy.” Gavin folded his arms and leaned back in his chair feeling pretty smug. ELijah sighed, in what Gavin bet was probably a mix of embarrassment and pure frustration. Ok there were parts of having a brother that Gavin did kind of enjoy.

“Anyway- I went downstairs-”

“In your kimono. A very important detail that can't be overlooked-”

“Gavin, shut the fuck up.” Gavin tried to hide his laughter, but his shoulders were still bouncing up and down. Eliajh rolled his eyes and continued.

“I descended the stairs to investigate the problem. I followed the sound from my room into the living room since I thought the sound was coming just from there, but I realised soon after it was coming from every speaker in the house, it was just that the living room had the loudest speakers. I decided to head to the control room-” he paused for a moment. He looked over Gavin’s shoulder to the wall. He looked pretty distant, like he was just caught up in the memories.

“It was unlocked. That was when I first knew something was wrong.” Gavin leaned in. He was looking straight at his brother, trying to make sure he took in every word Elijah would say from this point on.

“I Was scared someone was doing something with the electricity at this point, so I did an entire system reboot.”

“How would you do that exactly?”

“I'd turn off all the terminals that control the house, and then shut down all power to both of Them. There's a few levers and breakers at the back of the room. ”

“Did you do it to all the terminals, for the entire room?”

“No, some backups for cyberlife run on a few, well, most of those terminals. If I shut off Power to those, and something happened to the main cuberlife terminals, the consequences would be catastrophic.” Gavin nodded. Tech wasn't his forte but he was Gen Z so he was alright. Well Hank and Fowler told him he was. They were only mere millennials after all. Fucking millenials. 

“What did you do next?” Gavin cocked his head to the side.

“I tried to turn on the lights but they wouldn't turn on. I thought it was part of whatever was making the speakers go off. I Knew the floor plan of the room quite well and walked to the lever myself. If the culprit was still in there, it may be better if I kept my presence as small as possible. I didn't make my presence known to them.” Gavin slowly nodded to himself and Elijah looked back at him, making very strong eye contact. Elijah had done the right thing in that situation, at least in his books.

“My steps were covered by the sounds of the speakers upstairs, and the room was incredibly dark. You’ve seen it without the lights on. No?” Gavin nodded as Elijah continued.

“I made my way over to the other side of the room and pulled the two levers at the back of the room. THe house very suddenly went silent. I meant to leave the power out for about two minutes, but in all honesty it was about 20 seconds. I was rather scared and unsure as to what was going on. With the door unlocked and-”

“Elijah,” Gavin could tell he was starting to panic a little, recounting the incident.

“-you don't have to justify yourself. You were in a dangerous situation and you had to protect yourself. I'm happy you spent less time than you needed down there.” Hey, at least one part of being a detective was that he was now really good at calming down people that had just been through traumatic events. Even if it was only for a short period of time. Elijah took a breath and continued to talk at a slower pace.

“I switched the power back on, and slowly everything started to get back up and running. I saw the small lights flickering on the terminals. I went up the stairs and heard the flicker of the speakers as they re-engaged, but there was no reverb now, I decided to take out my earplugs. I reached for a  lightswitch but no lights came on, I choked it up to not leaving the breaker off for long enough and decided to leave it for the morning after. I tried to get back to my room as quickly as possible. As I passed the living room, A small light flickering on and off caught my eye. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I discovered it was Chloe severely malfunctioning on the floor. I panicked and tried to help her but she was… having- I guess I’d put it as the android equivalent of a seizure. Suddenly she stopped moving. I was…” He immediately cut himself off. weird.

“My attention was brought to the TV on the wall, it flicked on, and these phrases all came up:

It's your fault they’re dead.

It's your fault he’s dead.

There's something we need from you.

The blueprints for an undeviated RK900.

It continues like this for another 5 minutes around every screen in the house. None of the lights would turn on and i didnt want to leave Chloe, so I stayed there with her, holding her in my arms. Suddenly, as if someone flipped a switch, everything just… stopped. It all went back to normal in the blink of an eye. The lights came on, the tv switched off and Chloe went into stasis, everything was… fine. ” Elijah looked up at Gavin after he finished recounting the story.

Silence.

So many questions had started whizzing through Gavin's head. Why not call the police? Was he ok? Would the culprit threaten cyberlife? Had they reachout out again? Had he responded? But he didn't want to interrupt Elijah half way through his explanation of the night. When he watched his brother talk more and more, the words disconnected, in his own world and… scared. He seemed to become scared. Maybe Gavin was starting to feel slightly worried? No, not about Elijah. Gavin didn't feel anyway. Ok, he was going to go through this chronologically and see what he could find out from his brother. HE took a deep breath to process what Elijah had just said. 

“Ok, Elijah. Let's start from the top. Have you given Chloe a system check? Did any problems come up with it-”

“Her.” Ah yes, he had forgotten his brother was quite close with the machine, the… girl?

“Sorry, did anything come up with her.” Elijah gave Gavin a kind of dirty look. That was a bit unnecessary for a machine that wasn't even in the room.

 “I did, Nothing came up with her, whatsoever. It was very odd. I couldn't tell what happened.”

“Is i- she ok? How does she feel about all of this?” Elijah looked off to the side and leaned back in his chair, giving a very broody face. 

“In all honesty, I’m not too sure. She alway panics and shuts me down even if I try to bring it up in the most gentille way possible. I think she’s still quite traumatised. I stopped asking her about it after about 2 days. I could tell it was really getting to her, to the point where I thought her talking about it and reliving the memories would do more harm than trying to fix it would heal.” He was half talking to himself and was kind of trailing off at the end. 

What Elijah just said. Gavin hadn't really thought about it like that before. Androids really did have emotions; Chloe had trauma. It was, she was a sentient being.

“Do you think she’d be ok with me asking a few questions?” Elijah looked back at Gavin and sighed. 

“She’d like to help, she always likes to help, but I don't know if she thinks about herself that much in these situations. Recently we've had a bit of… discourse and I think she’s not looking after her mentality as much as I would hope she was.” Gavin didn't even want to go there. Domestic disputes were always messy. Were Elijah and Chloe in a relationship? A question for another day. It was probably best if he moved onto another set of questions.

“Ok, next question. Why didn't you call the police?”

“You are the police gavin.”

“Elijah, don't pretend you dont know what I mean. You have an IQ of 171 for god’s sake.” Elijah put his elbow on the table and looked down, pressing his mouth into his hands. His body continued to move in ways that Elijah thought resembled a child that felt guilty. Like they’d stolen a cookie or lied to their parents.

“That evening. I had a meeting with a very important client. I’ve just struck a deal with them, in exchange for doing some research. It's the biggest investment we've ever had within the company and that meeting was to decide whether they’d invest or not. Obviously they have, now that they’re one of my clients. But it was important. If I was late because the cops were investigating my house. It wouldn’t look good for me, it wouldn't look good for me. The androids rely on me Gavin, I can't have this information get out.” Elijah was hiding something. To someone who wasn't experienced with him or in this line of work, they wouldn't be able to see it but Gavin could tell in the blink of an eye. HE couldn understand why. THough the messages were cryptic, it was blackmail.

“Elijah, I’m not going to make you call the police police, I just need to understand what's  going on. Those messages, the way you were acting, you were blackmailed. You have a right to be scared. But I need you to be honest.” EIijah sat on his hands. HIs head hung low. Just like a kid.

“Can I ask what happened? What are you being blackmailed for?” Elijah’s shifting stopped. His breathing slowed down and even though he was looking down, Gavin could notice a small glimmer forming in his eye. Was Elijah going to cry? Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck no no no no. Sure Elijah was more berable today but Gavin didn t know if he was comfortable enough to deal with him crying.

“No, I’d rather you didn't. All that you need to know is that if this got out, it would  ruin my career. And me. ” He said the last two words under his breath but Gavin just caught them, This obviously ran a lot deeper than just his career. Someone was emotionally manipulating his brother. And god damn, it was working well. 

“Look, I really don't want to force you to do this and I don't want you to feel as if you are, but if you want me to help you to the best of my ability it may help if I get to know the full picture-”

“Gavin.” Elijah’s tone was a lot stronger and more commanding now. Point taken, don’t talk about the incident. Don't touch the topic with a ten foot pole. It was probably best to move onto a different topic. Elijah placed his hand on his lap, and looked up. Quickly wiping his eyes.

“Sorry I just-”

“I understand Elijah, I do. I wouldn't be a detective or your brother if I didn't.” The words had come out a bit faster than he’d liked. Sure, they were brothers on paper but their relationship wasn't over-brotherly. Elijah was only showing his true colours after a whole year and Gavin was only letting himself connect with his brother now. He just looked down at his notepad pad and continued to take notes. Wait, when did that happen? Instinct with the job I guess. Well at least it was helpful he'd have a set of notes to take back home.

“Obviously these guys want you to give them something. Did they leave any way for you to contact them?” He knew Elijah probably would have mentioned it as soon as he got there, so he wasn't sure they had. Asking the question was worth a shot though. Obviously, Elijah was pretty prone to keeping stuff to himself. It felt a bit like he was lying too, but Gavin wouldn’t press it.

“No, but I feel like the memory stick that I gave you is some kind of key. Not literally, but I theorise it has a big part in reaching whoever is demanding this of me.” Gavin had a gut feeling too. He had a theory on it earlier in the week but his mind had put it all together so fast and so abruptly, he almost immediately lost his train of thought on it.

“Why do you think that?” He Looked straight at Elijah, as they both shared an intense gaze. For once, Gavin felt equal, looking so intensely at his brother. Elijah staring back with the exact same level of focus and attention. Normally, he’d feel intimidated or small. But he felt equal. It was nice.

“If they were Smart enough to get in and out of the house, completely untraced, and were able to break into the control room, Which is one of, if not the most secure room in the house, then they could easily have left with the memory stick. There was a reason they left it. But the design wasn't grandiose enough to stand out like a sore thumb. It looked a little different, but it was still hidden in plain sight. I’m still pondering as to why they did that. If they wanted speed on this project, or they had a great need to meet these demands, surely they’d want me to get back to them as quickly as possible, so why have they chosen such a  cryptic route?” ELijah was practically going Gaivn’s job for him at this point. He also wasn't wrong. That was very odd for a blackmail-ransom case. There were more than just results as a prize here. There was something more specific to elijah. It would help to explain some of the emotional manipulation though. You killed him. The image of those words, lighting up the TV. Was someone trying to get revenge? Maybe they wanted to watch Elijah burn? Maybe they wanted to break him down emotionally to use him again, or sacrifice the start process, making it more complex and slow so that Elijah would get so scared that the rest would go quickly. That was rare, but not unheard of, only the mastermind criminals did that, but then again, if you could fuck wiht Elijah Kamski, you were a mastermind. And if it were just some really smart random guy, how would he be able to scoop up the kind of dirt? It was more than just dirt, Elijah seemed to be the cause of someone's death, or at least he thought he was. 

“Have you been able to look at any information actually on the memory stick?” Elijah looked away almost guilty.

“No, I wanted to send it away with you first, to see if we could get any physical traces.” He was still hiding something.

“Elijah?” HE asked inthe smooth tone that his mother used to comfort him or slightly manipulate him into telling the truth.his mother was a psychologist after all, so it wasn't the first time he had manipulated someone.

“It was just, a lot you know. I wanted the memory to stick off of my hands even if it was just for a moment. Though a week feels like it was too long. I want to take a look through the information on it at some point, but I doubt there'd be that much use to it.” He was looking down again and talking much more quietly. Like some white collar man who’d just been convicted of tax fraud, Ashamed and weak for finally being caught. BUt it was pretty understandable as to why Elijah would want that off of his hands. His reasoning was pretty smart and he deserved to give himself a break, especially in times like these. Gavin was a bit confused as to why his brother was ashamed. He never really understood his brother though, so it wasn't like this was any different.

“Would it be ok if I was there when you first looked at it.” ELijah looked up again. He widened his eyes wide a few times and shook his body. Finally he sat up as straight as before.

“What? Oh yes, that's perfectly fine, in fact I'd want you there, you're the lead detective on the case after all.” Gavin rolled his eyes as Elijah smirked yet again. Something deeper felt off though. His brother was changing his personality really fast. Over the course of the interview, there were some parts where he was borderlining happy, and in others he was barely aware of someone else in the room with him. It felt kind of weird to Gavin, To see someone change that fast. The morning after all this had happened, that last Saturday, that was one of the most sickly sweet and happy Gavin had ever seen his brother. It was weird to think just how good he was at covering up stuff, it made him think how much he'd covered up from. Over the past year and whether he knew the whole truth of his family. But why was he acting like this now and not on saturday. GOD Elijah was a complicated man. Well if he wasn't going to get much else out of Elijah, especially if he could be lying to him, he might as well look at the hard physical evidence left behind.

“ Would you mind if I took a look at your, uh, what was it called again?”

“The control room-”

“-The control room again?” Elijah gave him a half arsed nodd. He stood up and led Gavin down thoseugly fucking hallways again. This time, Gavin noticed that Elijah was holding himself differently. That prideful jolly walk had pretty much disappeared, He was walking in a hunched over, kind of lifeless way. But this is what this kind of stuff does to you . They reached the door. Eijah waved his hand over the same painting as Chloe had, and again, the door hissed and opened. Gavin heard a small bang, a sharp intake of breath and then saw the lights flicker on. He went down the steps pretty quickly, just managing to duck under the ledge in time. He stepped into the room and looked at his brother, who was a bit red in the face and was holding his hand over his forehead. He’d hit his head on that fucking ledge.

“Agile as a cat.”

“Fuck off Gavin.” The two of them stood smiling at each other in the middle of the room. Gavin turned around and did a quick scan of the place. Not much had changed except there was some bare wiring. He followed the wire round the room and… had Elijah now installed cameras? That was pretty fast but then again, He was a tech wizz. The Computer that the memory stick was in was still in the same place, the vacuum door was still on it, except the casing looked a little bulkier and so did the long. Not to mention the padlock at Elijah had now put on it at some point. Christ, talk about over kill. But then again, Gavin wasn't the one being blackmailed. To be honest,for this kind of situation, Elijah seemed to be handling it like a champ. Though part of Gavin wasn't too sure, there seems to be something going on, up inside that insanely complex head of his brother’s. He was getting more defensive, and it felt like Elijah was kind of ashamed to admit to what happened. Maybe it made him feel weak. Maybe it re-ignited some old unknown trauma Gavin didn’t know about yet. Maybe he was ashamed of letting his people down. Maybe even all three. Actually, now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure how much Elijah had let androids down or whether he'd even let them down at all. Did they even know this was happening? Surely if some of the cyberlife backup stuff ran here, then the back up stuff for all androids right now could be affected. Had Elijah actually spoken to Jericho? Well What did it concern Gavin, he didn't even care about androids anyway. Connor stole his job and the hearts of his colleagues, and he was now forced to (metaphorically) bend over and let the android do as he pleased. Actually with someone who looks like that I wouldn't really mind- you know what? Gavin wasn't having that thought today. But back to his original train of thought. Yeah ok he didn't care about androids but, maybe he did just enough to ask? He rubbed his palms together and turned around to face Elijah.

“Why did you look like you're about to ask me an uncomfortable question?” Elijah stood blankly, staring at his brother with half dead eyes.

“Because I am.” Gaivn puffed out his chest, just a bit, so Elijah would understand that he wanted to back down. He just sighed.

“Go ahead.” He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, up to sit higher on his face.

“Have you told Jericho about this? I mean like, I don't really care about android, but if you've got some cyberlife stuff in here, it may be worth it. Having political friends to help you with this would also be insanely helpful too. Trust me, I'm a cop.” Gavin wasn't the older brother out of the two of them, but he sure as hell was trying his best to be. Elijah rubbed his eyes with his hand.

“No, they don't need to know and I have political friends already.”

“What the investment guy?”

“ How d’you know?”

“You just told me, also who else had that kind of money to just throw away, not even you have that Elijah, and you're the CEO of the most successful company in the world. Either way, all he's doing is funding you, nothing else. If they find out you've got a weak link in your system when you're dealing with this amount of money, they’ll certainly pull out faster than dad did.” The last Sentence seemed to catch Elijah pretty off guard, as his face went even more red and his eye bulged. As horrible as Gavin was, he was good at slippin in pretty awful jokes here and there. Gavin thought it might be worth covering up some of the harsh reality with a joke. The government was not on Elijah’s side right now. They weren't happy about the revolution. There was a pretty good chance that if they heard about what had happened, they'd expose him for the sake of just- exposing ghim. Anything to take down cyberlife, and snatch that power back to themselves. As ruthless as Gavin knew his brother could be, after all, he'd made it in the cutthroat world of 1% business, He still felt a bit… worried? No he didn't care enough to worry, this was only one out of the many times they met last year where he hadn't been annoying. But something felt- morally wrong. No chance he was gonna have that chat with his brother though. That could wait another year.

“ You put these cameras in over the past week?” He points at the wiring head spotter earlier. Gotta change the subject.

“Yes, I did, just in case they came back again or as a precaution.” Gavin nodded. Understandable. 

“I Take it, nothing has come up on them if you haven't told me about it. Right?” Elijah shook his head. This was a weird case, but it just made Gavin think that the memory stick was even more of a key to this than he thought it was before. Wait, last time he came round, didn't Elijah mention that he had an outside security system, with cameras and stuff?

“Hey Eli?” Elijah, who was distracting himself by playing with the terminals around him, stood up to look at Gavin. 

“That nick-name’s new.”

“Yeah whatever. I think you said, last time I was here, that you had an outdoor security system that monitors around the house right?” ELijah looked back down and started playing with a different part of the terminal.

“Yes, I have one, but I believe I also mentioned that there was nothing on the footage when we checked it.” Gavin Folded his arms and zoned out for a moment to think. 

“What kind of time frame of footage did you process?” Elijah put his hands on his hips and looked up at the ceiling, trying to recall.

“I think it was three days before” Gavin nodded and took this in. Ok, so this was obviously very thoroughly planned since they'd set up so well. And not going near the house for the past three days, even for the cyber attack? That took smarts, a lot of fucking smarts. How would they have even done this? They Got the memory stick there somehow so something had definitely been planted and someone would have been seen on the camera? Gavin needed access to the footage if he wanted to solve this case.

“Elijah, can you give me access to the footage from the camera?” Eijah stopped for a  moment to think.

“Please, I can't solve this case unless I know everything. Please.” Elijah furrowed his brow and thought for a second longer. HE slowly started nodding.

“Yeah sure. I’ll give you a burner laptop, the feed will go straight to it.”

“Why not a normal laptop.”

“If the feed is intercepted, they won't find out every single thing there is to know about you.”

“Why would everything about  me be on my laptop?”

“Because you're a Gen Z with daddy issues.” Oh damn, the balls on Elijah were bigger than his brother thought. OFor someone raised in a fancy ass mansion his whole life, being kept from the peasants down below, he had a pretty good grasp of gavins side of the internet.

“I don't have daddy issues. How could I have an issue with someone I have never met?” Elijah sighed a deep sigh of disappointment.

“Gavin that's the point-” Gaivn walked over to Elijah, until the only thing between them was the terminal elijah was fiddling with

“And, it takes one to know one Eli.” He said, lightly booping his nose with a grin. If Elijah was gonna be acting like a bitch, then it was Gavin's job to teach him that he would get served. Elijah stared blankly at Gavin, then put his hand on his hip as he just processed what Gavin said. Oh shit was gavin right-

“You- you.” Elijah looked at him. Gavin could tell he was holding back his pretty angry tongue right now, but he could see the corners of his mouth beginning to quirk up into a smirk. He held back a toothy grin and put his hand on Gavin's shoulder.

“Are you done with all your questions now?” God Elijah really just didn't want to be of much use today. How was Gavin meant to solve a case if he hadn't been let in on half the information. But he'd gather what he could.

“Yeah just about. I don't know what else I'd need to ask though.” He flipped through his notebook, looking at the notes and seeing how much he had, and where he was lacking.

“Let's go up the stairs then.” Gavin nodded as they went up the stairs and back to the dining room. Chloe had cleared the plates, and now there were two tumblers and a bottle of whiskey. The lights had been turned off too. The only light was coming through the window and wow. It was gorgeous . The sun had just started to set, sending a pinky-orange hue over the city, over the trees, over the world, for miles and miles, as far as the eye could see. The crisp white snow gently reflecting the soft rays of light that were shining. The streetlights were just starting to come on in Detroit, emitting a gentle glow. A skyline that lit up, just enough to make out in front of the setting sun. Gavin stepped up to the window and rubbed his hands together. He heard two small thuds and turned to the side to see what was going on. Elijah had brought two of the dining room chairs right up to the window.

“Can we finally have that drink you promised me now?” He turned around to look at Elijah, and grabbed two tumblers and a bottle of Gavin's favourite whiskey. How did he remember?

“Yeah, I think I'd like to have that drink,Gavin. I really would.” They sat down on the chairs, drank and talked until the sun passed into twilight into night. They talk to get to know one another. Not the fake one another, the real one another. Gavin got to know the Elijah that would hack into the school servers with his other the friends and sign up their teachers to Love Island. Elijah got to know the Gavin that broke his college roommate’s nose after he threw a toaster at him when he broke it. It was a chat too long overdue.

Chapter Text

Elijah had enjoyed his time with Gavin. It felt calming, having a moment to relax and get to know his brother, in the sea of worry and danger surrounding him. He also felt like that had been the best they’d ever got along. For once, Elijah could say for certain that Gavin actually enjoyed being there. His smile seemed genuine and the two of them had a conversation that wasn’t forced. It felt comforting, knowing that he actually got along better with his brother, if he didnt present his facade. Gavin preferred, and even enjoyed him for who he was. Maybe he could even invite him around for Christmas or maybe Gavin would invite him to his flat, and tell him a bit more about himself. They would finally get to truly know one another.

That pleasant high was rather promptly cut the day after as Monday started and Elijah had been brought back to his harsh reality. In fact, he felt like it had hit him harder after he'd come down from such a high. The reality he was facing was brutal to say the least. He felt like he couldn't tell Gavin half of what he wanted to say or what Gavin needed to know. He either would have started crying, or dumped some rather serious information that could have strained Gavin emotionally or even put him in danger. A lot of the information in this case would be very sensitive. There were things that Gavin was asking that would have just brought back too much form the past. He was still waiting on the results of his diagnosis on the cyberlife code. They were due very soon. He was scared to see the conclusion but he knew it would be best to just take it and get what had to be done over and done with. He’d continued coding too, but he felt that every time he had a session of coding for the government’s pet project, he’d come away from his computer feeling more depressed than before, and that feeling didn't wear off either, maybe he was spiralling? Nok, no he was fine.

 As long as he could get past the first two weeks, he’d be over it. He needed to stop being so emotional too. It was bringing him down, and he had a duty to do. Him and Chloe were on better terms too, not as calm as they were before, but it felt like she could withstand Elijah, and she was painting something with the brushes he’d given her. He didn't know what though. He was grateful that she was no longer forcing herself to shut down her emotions and pretend to not be deviant anymore. In all honesty, it was something she’d probably picked up from him. Being bad with emotions. 

Elijah was sitting at his computer at his office in cyberlife, staring at the code he’d written last night, proofreading it and trying to understand what exactly he was trying to achieve with it. This was some part of the social programming, but there were some random lines here and there that just didn't make any sense. He could barely remember what he was writing the night before. In all honesty, so much of the last few days had been a haze. The amount of stress and increasing depression was starting to affect him physically. He could tell Chloe was getting annoyed about the way he was looking after himself as well. She repeatedly told him that he was ‘pushing himself too hard’ or ‘wasn't thinking about his physical and mental health enough’. But it was fine, it was all fine, it had to be fine, Elijah couldn't have this backfire on him. He took his glasses off, threw them on the desk and rubbed his eyes. Goodness he was tired, and certainly past losing focus but he had to keep pushing himself. He decided to take a quick break to make himself some coffee. Let his mind rest for a moment, he cleared up his mug that he hadn’t changed in about 3 days and made himself some instant coffee. He hated it but this was more for the purpose of keeping him going rather than flavour. He had to keep going. He looked out of the window, he hadn't realised the sun had gone down, but it was fine, the sun set early during winter anyway. He checked the time on his phone.

2:06 

4 missed calls from: Chloe

6 texts from: Chloe

Oh god.

Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god. This was bad. He hadn't realised he'd stayed at the office this late. He’d promised Chloe he'd be back before 11 each night, but even when he came home, he’d just continue to work, he'd inhale his dinner an hour later and return to his study. He has also been leaving the house very early to go to Cyberlife HQ to work. And Chloe was getting more and more fed up with it. The whole point of him coming home was so that he’d get a substantial rest, but he simply wasn’t giving himself one.

The fact that he was acting like this was rubbing salt into Chloe’s wounds, left alone so shortly after the argument. She was going to be spitting with rage now. She probably thought the way he’d acted over the past few days was to spite her but Elijah didn't know how nor have time to explain that it was simply his workload and stress. The argument with Chloe had made him more stressed at home, along with the looming thoughts of another cyber attack. And now, the thought of potentially losing Chloe. On top of that, work was simply swarming in his mind. Tim was going to be at cyberlife in less than a week and the diagnostic hadn't even finished yet. The coding was talking more and more out of him, and designing to androids just made him too aware of what he was doing. He often used his work as a distraction, and this time was no exception, except the work he was doing was meant to be a distraction from the very thing it was. 

It felt like someone was constantly talking to him from the back of his head, repeatedly telling him he was a monster for what he was doing, heartless for the way he was treating chloe, childish for how he was reacting to the whole situation over emotianally, lazy whenever he took a break or stupid for not being able to think of code to write for the android. A conscious part of him knew just how hard this was and he was actually doing somewhat ok for his situation, but the larger, more irrational subconscious, self conscious part of him just wouldn't accept that,and it was driving him to his whits end.

At least if he could make it to the end of this week, he’d be able to tick one thing off his list, with the software update and the diagnostic (If it would finish in time) But then he’d have to deal with Timothy most likely asking to see his work, and he'd show him just how little he’d done and just how useless it all was. He had to work so that he could keep up this deal with the government. The very government he now resented, and had caused him to resent himself. It was like a child taunting him, just one big world that surrounded him with taunts and jokes in which he got the short end of the stick. It was slowly driving him insane. But it was his sanity and health compared to the safety of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of androids, and if that was the case, then he’d sacrifice himself any day. One over many. That was the sacrifice he had to make, and that was the sacrifice he had to be ok with. 

He should call back Chloe to at least try and explain that he lost track of time, but she wouldn't buy it. Even if it was the truth, she had good reason not to believe it. Elijah had been keeping things from her and she knew it. Elijah knew she knew it. It was all out in the open. The very thing he needed right now was Chloe, she was his lifeline, but without her, he was on the edge of crumbling under times that were already hard enough with the two of them. He picked up the phone, and tried to call Chloe, he was going to click the button but he found his finger hovering. 

He was scared.

He was so scared and under so much pressure over the past week and a half. Would he be able to take being shouted at over the phone? He had only gotten up to take a break anyway, he should probably sit back down and work again. Maybe he should go home. Then he could sit and rest in his car for a moment. Not for too long, but just enough to take a breath so he could work more efficiently again. He picked up his laptop, his glasses and his coat and made his way to the lift. It was nice to take a few moments, even if it was a mere 40-45 minutes to breathe, maybe even 30 since there was no traffic, but his rest was soon overwhelmed by the guilt of not working. Something he'd been suffering through more than anything over the past 10 days. 

He was sitting in his car staring out the window, contemplating, lost in his thoughts, which he found he’d hated doing recently. Getting Lost in his thoughts. He’d be lost in thoughts of his situation, in how much trouble he was in and just how much he was doing. It was overwhelming and it never ended- Was that the star wars the imperial march song? Oh god yeah, he'd let Gavin take a look through his phone, and then when he tried to take it back, Gavin just leaned further and further away. Then his ring tone was the imperial march. He found the tune reminded him of his brother, one of his happier thoughts during these more difficult times so in the end he decided to keep it. He picked up the phone to answer it.

+1 202 344 6721

That wasn't a number he recognised. +1 202? That was Washington DC. Not an area native to scammers, congress was there and- Oh, oh god was it Timothy? He hesitated before picking up the phone and holding it to his ear. He answered, but remained silent. 

“Hello? Elijah?” There was no doubt, it was his voice.

“Hi Tim, sorry I’m just slightly wary about an unknown number, let alone my personal one, you know how these things are.” How did Tim get his number? Let alone his personal one? He heard Tim chuckle down the end of his phone. Since they weren’t face to face, Elijah couldn't tell whether it was forced or not. It put him even more on edge.

“No, no I’m more than aware of Elijah, I would have done the same .” For someone from his background and his age, the statistics were against him on that. Once again, Timothy was putting on a smile to win Elijah's favour simply so he could twist his arm even more. The worst part was, even if Elijah could see right through it, he was letting it happen.

“Anyway I just wanted to remind you that I’ll be visiting on Monday. I hope the diagnostic, and software updates are going smoothly.” Elijah shut his eyes tightly. It was ok, it was all ok.

“Of course, everything is going ok. The diagnostic is coming back later than I would have liked, but that shouldn't throw me off course much at all.” Elijah was lying through the skin of his teeth, the whole process was taking far too long especially if everything was going to be done in time, and his world was starting to crumble down around him. 

“Brillant to hear. I’m looking forward to seeing you again Mr. Kamski, I was hoping, if you've made any sketches or code, that is so we could sit down and have a short discussion about them?” Elijah had made more than enough to go around, and enough design prototype and code to be talked about for hours. But would he be able to stomach it? To actually give the government resources?

“I've been quite focused on updating the code and everything surrounding the cyberlife software recently, that may be better to do, during your next visit. Would that be alright with you?” ‘ Please be convinced’ simply repeated over and over and over again in his head.

“Yes, I completely understand. I’ve done some basic coding myself but nothing on your scale, and that took me long enough. This project will take time and I completely understand, whatever you need Elijah I’m simply here as a middle ground.” The first weakness, and big mistake of the government. They sent over someone who couldn't code, to overlook cyberlife itself. How foolish. Elijah didn't know what to do with the information, but he stacked it at the back of his mind, to remember for later. He also knew that Timothy was here for far more than just a middle ground. He was what the government would be using to keep an eye on him. Timothy would almost never be in his favour, only congress’.

“I'm so sorry to cut this short, but I’m currently driving, can I call you back again soon?” Elijah couldn't drive, the car was self automated. Well it wasn't a whole lie but it wasn't the entire truth, enough to get away with?

“Oh yes. Well it was good to talk with you Elijah, I’ll see you onMonday.”

“Same to you.” He briskly took the phone away from his ear and sighed, closing his eyes and sinking back into his chair. Thank goodness that was over.

“Elijah. Elijah? Come over here, look at this.” Elijah pushed his glasses up his nose and eagerly looked up from his laptop. The other boy let out a small laugh.

“Oh you perk up as innocently as a rabbit out of its hole, but you always have that startled expression on your face. What do you think I’m going to do? Square up?” Elijah walked over to him and gave him a small shove as they stood over the empty shell of the android. Elijah looked down, he watched as the thirium pump was beating and the other biocompartements they were, they were… glowing. The thirium, it worked, Lawrence had cracked it!

“Oh my god Lawrence.” He looked down at the ST200 Beaming, unable to look away away from the faint glow of the electrics. Finally, he tore his eyes off the android and looked at Lawrence, Lawrence was watching him, with a smile just as big as the one Elijah was looking at the ST200 with. Neither of them blushed, or avoided eye contact or ruined the moment. It was just them at that moment. That faint blue light shimmering on Lawrence from below, those deep chocolate eyes. Elijah truly felt like himself at that moment.

“Lawrence, you did it.” Elijah felt Lawrence place a hand on his shoulder and looked down at the android.

“We did it Elijah, we did it.” Lawrence looked down at the model.

“We should clear this up and refine the thirirum before something explodes.” Lawrence said with a sigh.

“I’ll second that.” Elijah said, looking up and putting his hands on his hips. 

“Oh and elijah-”

“Elijah? Elijah!” Suddenly there was a sharp stinging pain across the side of Elijah's cheek. He put his hand to his cheek and slowly pulled it away again, in case there was bleeding, no, nothing red showed up in his hazy vision, suddenly he felt another hand grab his and then his wrist. The sting of the Slap was really starting to wake him up as he breathed through his teeth.

“Elijah you had best wish that you had an adequate excuse as to why you're home so late or I swear to God I'll leave you just like the other Chloe models did.” Very suddenly, he was being pulled out of the car by an immensely strong force, as it dragged him up the steps, to his house. He came to his senses and realised what was going on. Chloe was about to kill him, and in all honesty, he could understand why. At this point he didn't even want to fight back. He just let her drag him inside, into the front room. She took off his coat vigorously, as she huffed and puffed and sighed from annoyance. She removed his belongings from his coat pockets and she hung it on the coat hanger. She finally walked back over to him. ELijah was expecting her to speak but instead she just stared at him for what felt like too long for him to be comfortable with.

“What time is it elijah?” He remained silent. He didn't know how long but it felt like forever.

“Elijah, read the time off of your phone right now.” Elijah pulled his phone from his pocket and read it, bowing his head in shame.

“It's 02:54.” He said barely above a whisper. He didn't want to argue this time, he was on the verge of a complete meltdown. He just had to get through this last thing then he could cry in his room.

“When did we agree that you’d be back by?” He could feel rage behind her voice. The suppressed tears behind his eyes made themselves known. No, he couldn't start crying. He had to be a man, he couldn't show weakness. He had to uphold his people and uphold his status. Who cares if he was home and with his best friend. He still had to be strong about this

“11pm.” His voice was getting quieter. If he was any louder, Chloe would have heard his voice quivering. She was going to continue to make him answer questions wasn't she. She was going to make him speak. He didn't want to speak. He couldn't speak, she'd hear him and his weakness. Nobody could know. Nobody could know. That wasn’t an option. But he wouldn't back down from a fight, that would make him seem even more weak. Maybe he should just stay there and go through with it. Maybe he should just wait it out, and pray to any higher power that he wouldn't cry. Just like he did when he was a kid. And His dad would shout at him, then he’d start crying. Then his dad would grab him.

Boys don't cry.

Boys don't cry. He’d hear it over and over again in his head. Boys aren't weak. Boys will stay strong for their wives and families. A family like out has a lot of power, a lot of people rely on us. He turned 18. Cyber life grew. More people relied on him. His father made sure he knew. He wanted to leave home. Become a real man. His father wouldn't let him. But then he was disappointed when Elijah had not moved out by then. He never understood why his dad treated the situation like that. In the end he stopped trying to. It would never make sense and Elijah decided to ride it out. His father was old to be a father of someone his age anyway. It was easier to sit and watch him waste away. He did. He died. His problems did not leave, but only got worse. Maybe he should have rectified things with- No.

No no no no not those thoughts now. He didn't try to reconcile with him for a reason. It would have been a waste of time. He was happy anyway.. Right? What did it matter, he was a boy, boys didn't have emotions, boys dont feel. He didn't feel it. He didn't need to. It was a weakness. His sexuality was a weakness. Feeling that deep within his soul was a weakness. He just wanted to suppress it. He wanted to stop feeling. Maybe that would make everything easier. Just one bit easier. He could work. He could finish before his deadline. He could make the sacrifice for his people more efficiently. Chloe would hate him, then she'd realise he wasn't worth her time and move on in life. She’d be happy then, in a life without him. He would fall into his own solitude and sad isolation. But he wouldn't be annoyed, because he wouldn't feel. He could live in peace till he died. Then the endless cycle would all be over. There was nothing to worry about when you were dead. God, things would be so much easier if Elijah were dead. 

They would, wouldn't they. 

Everyone would forget him and move on, and things would be fine. The androids had Markus, nobody loved him enough to care, probably even loved him full stop. As long as his dad wasn't in hell it would be fine. Elijah knew he'd go down below if there was a God, but if he was going down below, his father was going somewhere far beyond any soul had been before. As long as it wasnt here, and as long as his dad wasn't there, He could just die. Maybe it would be for the best-

The stinging pain behind his eyes increases. He had zoned out of Chloe's rant at this point. For the first time in.. years, he was going to break down. Completely. He could feel it coming. He slowly brugh his arm up to hold himself as his body began shaking, shuddering. He wanted to hold it back, but he felt compelled. His face twisted and he buried it into his arms, tucking his head down. His breath became sporadic. He was crying. He heard the distant shouting and disappointment cut off. He slowly let himself sink into a crouching position on the floor, tucking into himself. And he cried.

“Oh my god Elijah.” The voice was so much softer now, shocked, almost scared and disappointed? She had reason to be. He was being weak. Chloe deserved better than weak. She deserved better than anything Elijah could give her. His sobs grew as she stood above him. He could tell she was starting to panic, but he didn't care. He just wanted to get on the floor.

“E-Elijah are you… ok?” She looked down at him, kneeling down at him. Putting her hand on him. He recoiled from the touch. At lighting speed standing up again. He couldn't do this. He couldn't be here right now, he didn't want to be in front of her. He needed to leave, he needed to be alone, everything felt so intense, from the lights, to the sound of the ventilation system gently humming in the background. It felt like the world had been turned up to 100. His clothes, he could feel every thread, he could feel his glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. It was overwhelming. 

He pushed past Chloe and sprinted up the stairs to his office. He quickly spun round and locked the door. He went to the corner of the room and turned on the lamp. It felt much better, much less intense, in its warm yellow light. He could hear Chloe calling after him. His heart began to race. Everything started shaking, he was shaking, the world felt oddly hazy. He took off his shirt and trousers. He felt claustrophobic, like everything was closing in on him. He looked around the room in a panicked state. He grabbed his headphones, grabbed his blanket and huddled himself under his desk. HE threw the blanket over himself. The room was so dimly lit that if someone came in they probably wouldn't notice him under the desk, in his dark blanket. That felt somewhat comforting to know. 

HE turned on his headphones. HE didn't want to play any music, but the noise cancelling helped. It didn’t entirely block out Chloe, she was pounding on the door and shouting in concern, but it was enough to maybe, over time, subconsciously block her out. She was shouting his name, he could hear the fear and anger in her voice. He knew she was concerned but there's still a lot she didn’t understand and that was ok. 

It was his fault he was like this and his fault he didn't tell her. He wasn't normal anyway, so it's not like she could prepare herself for him by any means. She was just concerned right? But he knew, as soon as he unlocked that oor, she'd be on the other side, ready to scorn him and punish him for the way he was acting. He was acting like a child and she deserved better. As long as he was locked up in here, she couldn't hurt him. It was a waiting game. Elijah pulled the blanket in close, pulled the chair somewhat back into place and just lay there. Like the scared kid he was. What was he doing? Why was he like this? Stripping down, shaking, hiding under his desk like a scared child. Why couldn't he just be different? He felt the hot tears run across his face and nose, as he lay on his side facing the door. He shut his eyes and shut everything out. It was just him and him alone. He was going to be ok. He had to be. 

Soon the adrenaline faded, as he felt his panic turn to depression. His panic from the past, the thoughts about his childhood, had now turned from a learned panic to a sinking depression that hung deep within him. He’d let everyone around him down. He was too weak. He was the richest man in the world and he didn't deserve it. He deserved to be shrivelled up behind a bin, sleeping in the cold. Not in a luxury mansion, he wasn’t worthy. He'd let Chloe down too. She’d leave soon as well. She had a fair reason now. She’d be gone by now. Everyone around him. His brother, Chloe, the other androids, the government, Jericho. They'd all be better off without him. He shouldn't have been born. He didn't deserve the privilege he was born into. He'd robbed it from someone who was actually deserving of such a life. Someone who wouldn't be a waste of a body and a shell of a man. Someone who could be what they were meant to be. As long as it wasn't him. Then things would be fair. 

The depressive mode was draining enough to land him in a cycle of half consciousness napping to regain his stretch to pity himself more. The pity he didn't deserve and didn't need, yet he still had. Unwantingly. He was still upset and angry about himself and his behaviour. But rather than scolding himself he ended up crying more. Just as he thought he'd been composing himself, and was about to get out of it, He broke down yet again, once again showcasing to himself how weak he was. 

He came out from under the desk and looked around the room. He knew no-one else was in there but he was a cautious man. He put his trousers back on. Not his shirt, he didn't want his shirt right now. He draped the blanket around himself and took off his headphones. Chloe had long left the door. He didn't know where she was and in all honesty he didn't care. Nothing sacred him any more. He lay down in front of the large window-wall that looked over his garden and the- well technically his forest. The stars gently peeking in from above, it was a rather beautiful sight to behold. It was nice to be distracted by something, even if it was just for a moment. Elijah looked back up at the ceiling again. He felt tears fall down the side of his face, but not like the ones before. Those were much smaller, softer, and less rapid. He was crying for the sake of crying, like the residual sadness had remained with him. Usually it helped, and in 10 minutes he'd be back to normal. 

It didn't, everything felt like it was just getting worse. He wanted to check the time on his phone, see how late it was, bue he felt too scared to. He didn't want to come to terms with the problem. Everything was swelling and merging into madness, combining to make one large mass of worry and deathly fear within elijah. He’d- 

There was a soft knock on the door, very soft. Not Chloe's, that wasn't her pace, and she looked far too scared to talk to him earlier, so there was no way she would reach out now, not alone.

“Elijah, hey are you.. Are you good?” oh my. Did Chloe really pick- No it didn't matter.

“Don’t worry, just go home and sleep, you have work tomorrow.” Elijah turned himself away from the door. He wanted to be alone right now, in silence.

“ Elijah.” He could hear the pleading in his brother’s voice. Really had Chloe really chosen the man he'd barely properly met 3 days ago to comfort him? Elijah knew family was important but he and Gavin were not  your typical siblings. It made things a lot faster. Maybe he should just open the door and talk to his brother? And risk looking weak? Not a chance. He could get through this alone. He would.

“Elijah, are you ok in there?” His voice was so soft, it felt like he just couldn’t refuse him. Elijah caught himself standing up straight to go and answer the door, but froze before he did so. Should he? He’d already made enough of a scene tonight. He didn't need to make himself anyone else's problems on top of himself. 

“You don’t have to open the door if you don't want to. I’m not going to make you, I just want to know you’re ok.” Gavin struck Elijah as the type to burst in there and bust the lock, to try and knock some sense into him, not the gentle type. He sounded a bit more concerned this time, he was settling into the situation. There was care and softness, a respect for Elijah's current state, but also, there was no threat to his voice, it was like he was saying a neutral specific statement. It just felt so… calm

“Y-yeah.” He wiped his tears from under his eyes as he sniffed. Maybe he could let Gavin in? No- he wast ready for that year, but he wanted to be closer to him. He walked up to the door with his blanket in his hand. He turned around and crouched against it, pressing his back into the varnished wood.

“Yeah I’m ok.” He said quietly under his breath.Feeling himself relax a bit more, as he sat down, tucking his knees into himself, holding them close. He wanted to be small, but small next to Gavin felt better. He felt the door move and the pressure in his back increased as Gavin himself sat back to the door on the other side.

“You know Elijah, you’ve been through a lot with that blackmail recently, and from what I've heard from Chloe, work hasn't been very easy. It's ok to say no to something or give yourself a break. You need them to be a normal human being.” Elijah opened his mouth to respond, but he didn't want to. He wanted to hear that. He’d needed to hear that but it would take him plenty more to believe it. 

“You there?” Elijah sighed, he didn't want to start an argument with Gavin but he didn’t agree. Not entirely, though he wanted to. He really wished he did.

“I don't know gavin. Every minute I stop working is one wasted, especially under these conditions, these clients and these kinds of deals. I’m gonna fail everyone. There are people who rely on me and I can't let them down. If I stop working, then the ship sinks, with all of us on it. I’ll fail everyone around me, people rely on me Gavin, whole people with lives and families and their family’s lives and the whole company. I want to make this world a better place. A place where people could be happy. Who cares if I'm not, one life sacrificed to save thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of others. Not only that but the work. If I do it, I feel like we’ll take a step back by 10 years in terms of android rights and the unemployment rates. God. they’d cause a genocide, the ones that aren't like them ,they'd be thrown away discarded. All at the hands of the very people who tried to help them. But then if I speak out, they’ll take me, then them, and then turn the world back into that it was, Gavin. What do I do Gavin, what do I do?” He felt like he was going to hyperventilate and like he was going to have a panic attack, but just before it hit its peak, it was immediately stopped by a wave of anguish and depression, and fear, but not that kind of fear that gave you the energy to run away, or change something, the fear that made you feel frozen in time, that made you feel paralysed, and then hopeless. He tucked his head into his chest and sobbed. He knew Gavin wouldn’t understand, and that he wasn't even meant to know, he didn't even know what was at stake or the situation, but he just felt like he needed to talk to someone.

“Elijah? What do you mean? What's going on with the android rights and work?” Elijah stayed silent.

“Elijah, if you go on like this you’ll burn yourself out. You're not letting anyone down by taking a  break, you're rewarding yourself and looking after those around you. A break here and there is much better than burning out and not being able to help those around you and yourself, for.. Well who knows how long. I Know you feel like you’re letting people around you down but you really aren't. You're helping them by being the best version of yourself you can be, and that will help them to be the best version of themselves that they can be. You don't have to give 100% all the time, but nobody can do that and it's ok you can’t. You may have one of the highest IQ’s in the world but you’re not superhuman elijah. None of us are.” Elijah let his legs drop and let his head rest on the door. He didn't understand.

“Gavin I have deadlines, and after the deadlines this will all be over-”

“And then between now and then more deadlines come up, work gets harder and you end up in this never ending cycle Elijah. I've seen it happen to everyone. Please, you have to look after yourself.” He let the silence hang between them for a moment. It was almost as if someone cared about him. But he could feel his father’s spirit lingering over him and watching his every move in deep disappointment.

“You know, I don't think dad would approve of what you’re saying right now.” He smirked to himself, as he felt a shift against the door. Gavin was making himself more comfortable. 

“I take it, that's where you get it from then.” He could hear the smile in Gavin's voice, it was nice to know he’d made him smile.

“Yeah it is. I thought it would all go away after he died but… somehow he and his ways just stuck with me through it all. The revolution, us meeting. 

The funeral was when I thought it would go away, I really did, but lo and behold the morning after, I could just hear his words bouncing through my head. ‘That wasn’t good, I deserve better.’ ‘oh you’re crying?stop being such a baby.’ ‘Oh you’re not crying, what did my own son who I raised and cared for never even love me back? You spoiled child’.” He did his best impression of his father as he heard Gavin’s laughter through the door, genuine laughter. 

“Yeah well you know what? Dad knocked up my mum then walked out onher after a night, so he can go fuck himself!” Elijah let out a laugh of his own.

“Damn, I'm kind of glad he left my mum now, he sounds like he was a fucking bitch! Elijah surely you're not holding yourself to the standards of a dick that's been 6 feet under for like almost 2 years like- that just cringe dude.” He let his laugh get even mightier. His dad was a bitch? His dad was worse than a bitch.  

“Gavin He’s dead, and your father, show some respect.” He managed to choke out through laughing fits. It was honourable to show respect to the dead but there was something about the way Gavin said that he just couldn't take seriously. He knew exactly what to say, when to say it and how it should sound.

“Hes fucking dead elijah. What's he gonna do, listen?” The sheer sarcasm and comical outrage in Gavin’s voice was enough to send Elijah into yet another fit. He enjoyed being like this with his brother, they’d warmed up to each other in recent days. Elijah felt quite uncertain about his brother seeing him this vulnerable so soon, but he took it surprisingly well. Gavin didn't seem to mind either. Before it was quite clear to Elijah that Gavin resented his presence in some way. Now he didn't, or at least he was finding it much easier to hide it, maybe he was, maybe Gavin was just softening up to Elijah after the money. His laughter died down slowly, as more thoughts crowded his head. His brother was using him. He was only a part of his life out of his politeness. Gavin didn't want to actually be here, did he? Oh god had he let too much on to give about himself, his personal life and struggles, that would be used against him no? Oh fuck, what was he dragging gavin into again.

“Hey Elijah.” He felt his worries melt away from the kindness in  his brother’s voice.

“What are you doing for christmas?” That was a rather odd question? I mean he currently had no plans, spend them with Chloe, have a nice lunch, then some more work in the afternoon.

“I have none, how come you ask?” He felt Gavin take a slightly nervous breath through the door.

“I thought we could maybe spend it together? I mean we are brothers after all but,” Gavin took a deep sigh. Elijah was unsure as to what he’d say next. Evidently he was thinking about it.

“You without your whole… other personality. The one I know you put on when I come around, to try and make yourself seem more normal. I like you without it, and I want to see the real you more. And the real you is the kind of person I want around for christmas. Maybe you could even meet my mum. I just, if you're gonna be my brother, the least you could be is honest with me.” Oh… That was unexpected. He didn't think kthat Gavin could see so easily through his facade but he'd let his barricade down as of Sunday. He didn't have the energy to put on a fake smile. He also knew just how harsh Gavin could be, him being the side to reach out his hand and make peace meant… a lot. More than a lot, his brother had finally let his guard down and allowed him to enter his life.

“I don’t know-”

“Oh shut up and at least consider it.” He felt Gavin's head rest on the door. 

“Eli…” Gavin’s voice was trailing off a bit more this time, and had gone slightly lower, Elijah was worried this question would be a bit more heavy hitting.

“You mentioned a lot of stuff going on at work. What's up with that? Are you ok? Do you maybe want a break?” His voice sounded so light and soft now. Like he could fall asleep to it, except the question Gavin had just asked him was more than he would have liked to let on. Maybe it would actually finally be worth telling someone though. Gavin, Gavin could take it, right? If he was going to take his brother’s advice on this, then he should tell him. It may be time to finally do this, to put this at rest rather than eating him up from the inside out. He needed to tell someone. Not only for himself but for the sake of the android race, maybe they could untie his hands. He wanted to go to Jericho, but he was uncertain as to how they’d respond. He hadn’t the heart to tell Chloe, as for Gavin, maybe he’d show pity on him, but not for the androids. 

Elijah couldn't help but wonder how much of Gavin's hate for androids stemmed from Elijah himself. Maybe he could take it? Maybe he could tell Jericho and Gavin could show some pity and comfort. That was what Elijah needed. Yet his father’s voice in the back of his head still said loud and clear:‘bottle it up’ ‘don't make your problems someone else's’. 

Dragging Gavin into this would put him in grave danger, not only that but potentially the androids too. He knew Gavin wasn’t fond of them either. If his brother chose hatred over him, which is what Elijah thought would be the most likely choice, he could sabotage all three parties involved. The government would come out on top and then do something to Gavin to shut him up.The thought almost made Elijah shudder. 

What would getting Gavin in this situation do? If he joined him and remained on his side, well, Gavin wasn't known for his subtlety. If he wasn't careful enough he’d easily be caught, and there was only so much Elijah's money could do. What if Gavin started to resent him for it? He was making a being that couldn't deviate. That couldn't be free. If Gavin’s view on androids was as closely related to his views on Elijah as he thought, then he knew that His brother’s views on them would have improved. Whether he was pro-deviant or not was an entirely different question, but maybe he’d become tolerant enough of them that he would release the cruelty and immorality of it. The only way for Elijah to prove his innocence was to explain how the government was involved, and Gavin would most likely leave him on the side of the road. 

What Elijah was doing was beyond cruel, maybe even monstrous, a new wave of oppression of androids and he was at the forefront of it. Even then, Gavin would leave him behind. Alright, Gavin wasn’t as smart as him but he was smart enough to know that being on the wrong side of the government was a bad idea, especially considering the American one, and their rich history of the oppression of the minorities and the poor, often which went hand in hand. If Gavin was found to be working against the government on the side of the androids, that could be fatal for him. Gavin wasn’t dumb enough to make that decision. 

“Eli, please, talk to me.” Gavin wanted to know. He wanted to know. Elijah needed to tell someone. Gavin, Gavin could deal with it. Gavin could advise him at least, he didn't need to be pulled head first into it, and then he could forget and they could both move on.

“The government wants me to make an android that’s immune to deviation, but would act as if they are.” He felt Gavin shift against the door.

“Wait what? Why?” His voice had a lot more energy than before all of a sudden.

“They want to re-use androids for slavery again, thats my best guess. The government official described it in terms of efficiency and work.” He listened as Gavin skimmed his nails against the door, figuring out what to say.

“I guess this is what’s been eating you up then. I Know your views on androids are a bit… different from mine.” Elijah sighed. It was a calmer response than he was expecting, a lot more tame than anything he was imagining which was nice. But he didn’t like how Gavin phrased it. There was evidently more work to be done with his brother, and his movement toward deviant acceptance. Not that Elijah would me incharge of that journey, it would take a little more convincing to sacrifice his relationship with his brother. He heard Gavin huff out a loud sigh.

“But Elijah, you have to talk to jericho. Not just for the androids, but to get help, get this off your chest and to actually start a movement to stop this. If it doesn't sit right with you then it doesn't.” That… Oh, he wasn’t expecting that. At all. So maybe his brother stood by him, But he stood by him for him. It was bitter sweet. Knowing that his brother chose this for him, but he was also most likely to get himself into danger by doing it. He was a little over optimistic too. Jericho would react, they could be too harsh about this, he didn't know how to talk to Jericho without them either punishing him or going full force on the government which would be even worse. He knew all too well that if North got wind of this, there could be an outright civil war in detroit. Let alone the entire android community. Michigan would become a battlefield.

“Gavin, I don’t know. It would be too dangerous. I fear that Jerico will strike back harshly. And what would they think of me and what I've done. I know it's vain of me to say that, but they do need me. I own cyberlife now. If the government seized it in response, god knows what would happen. Even then, what do I do? Just march in there and proclaim what the government has asked me to do. I really don't know if it's that simple.” He was unsure. He'd wanted to go to Jericho and talk, goodness how he’d wanted to tell Markus but he simply had no clue how to even start going about it. He didn’t even know whether he could or not.

“Yeah maybe.” Gavin didn't say anything after that.

But there was a small spark, something inside Elijah. 

“No.” He couldn't understand why he said it, it was like there was something else compelling him to.

“What?” Gavin shifted against the door. No this had to be done properly. They were going to do this, they were going to tell jericho. Elijah changed his mind, he didn't know why he didn't know how but he did. He stood up and grabbed the handle of the door, opening it with such vigour that Gavin, who was sitting against it, fell to Elijah's feet and was looking up at him confused.

“No, Gavin, you’re right. We have to tell Jerico. They need to sort this out. You need to sort this out. And this blackmail as well. I don't think it’s involved, but it wasn't the same thing. You need to solve it. You need to come with me to Jericho.” Gavin looked up at him puzzled, partially taking it from what his brother said. He still looked a little disoriented by the fall.

“What? Elijah, I'm not going to Jericho. If you feel better after talking with them, by all means go, but I'm not going to skip down there with you with a bouquet of flowers and bow to Markus’ feet.” He slowly pushed himself up to look as eye to eye as he could to elijah.

“I'm not asking you to jack Markus off Gavin, I’m asking you to come with me, you know the most about this, apart from me I trust you. I need people I can trust, I need you there to tell Jericho and I need to tell Gericho.” Gavin wiped his mouth and chin with his hand in discomfort and frustration, no, no Elijah needed him here. He grabbed Gavin's wrist and pulled him in so Elijah was staring him right in the eye.

“Gavin I need you there, I know you don't like androids and this isn't top of your list, but this affects you just as much too. You’ll be out of a job soon. The deviants will lose everything.” 

“Elijah im not gonna play the fucking government here with you thats not who I am-”

“Gavin you’re literally a fucking cop, and while you’re at it, hows anti-adroidism going for you huh?” Gavins' face twisted into an embarrassed frustration.

“Oh look it's not like I'm part of the A.A.L anymore, and don't pull that shit on me, it's not like you were any better just a year ago.” 

“Gavin.” He let his voice drop and octave as he stared Gavin down, he tried to pull his hand away but Elijah's grip was too strong, and he was fuelled by a passion that ran much deeper than Gavin's petty hatred. Gavin started twisting his arm. Eventually releasing it. Elijah reached for his hand again. Gavin pulled it away as elijah half grabbed it and soon enough a pretty intense cat fight broke out.

“FINE! Fine! Fucking fine Elijah, i’ll join you on your fucking parade to that over glorified compouter storage unit.” Elijah crossed his arms and looked down at gavin.

“Good.” He tipped his nose up slightly, assuming the role of all powerful older brother. Gavin raised his hand to point at his chest as if to say more profanities, but held his tongue and went down the stairs.

“I’ll send you the details soon. Don't you dare be late.” Gavin didn't even turn around to flip him off but gracefully gave him the finger over the shoulder.

Being the older brother was fun.

Chapter Text

Gavin thudded into his chair with a sigh. It was Friday, only half the day left of the week. He could do it. He could push himself just the last few hours. He could make it to the weekend, It wasn’t too far. And then -oh yeah. His Sunday visit to jericho. That was going to be fun .

He wanted to find a way for Elijah to help himself. Telling Jericho, talking to someone, it would help him calm down, especially if they could ‘help’ with whatever Elijah was worried about, this whole thing with the undeviatable androids. Like, yeah, they were robots, they were androids, they were designed to work for humans. But over the past few days,something about undeviatable androids didn’t sit right with Gavin . 

What he didnt want out of it was for Elijah to go on some new found moral journey and drag Gavin through it with him by a goddamn chain of ‘brotherhood’. Let alone for androids. God, He was fucking done with all of them, especially with how annoying Connor was at work. 

The ‘Anderson’ team. His mortal goddamn enemies. Hank had become such a softie too. Like at least after Cole died, he had that rough and tough outside to him. Now he was just depressed and mushy. That was just plain dull. And it was all thanks to Connor. The bratty twink.

“Detective Reed.” Speak of the devil. Gavin spun round his chair to look at him. He was picking up his smart overcoat off the back of his chair. The white shirt and the posh jumper, with the dress trousers and loafers didn't make him look any less pretentious either.

“What is it, tincan?” He kicked his feet up onto the desk.

“Do you remember the call we had last week?” Yeah cause that really narrowed it down.

“Yeah tincan, I do remember that one in particular called out for the thousand we had last week that you’ve given no detail or anything identifiable-” Conner sighed in frustration. Winding him up felt good. Gavin still had some way to push before he saw Connor genuinely angry though. How he’d love to see the day. Connor interrupted him.

“Oh yes ha ha a very funny detective. The android with the partially drained thirium and the pinholes. We thought it was either Red ice or elaborate suicide.” Gavin vaguely recalled- oh yeah it was the one where Hank tried to have a heart to heart. Oh, yeah that was fucking cringe.

“Yeah, what about it?” Gavin clicked his pen in his hand, fidgeting as much as he could to forget the repulsiveness or Hank's question. Repulsiveness, that was a long word.

“Well we can rule out suicide almost for certain.” Gavin brought his feet off the desk and sat up much straighter in his chair, This was interesting.

“Wait what, how come?” Gavin let his head turn a bit to the side as Connor fixed his coat collar.

“Another victim, exact same wounds, exact same cause of death.” Gavin stood up, grabbing his car keys.

“Same place?” Gavin knew the way to the docs.

“No, the odd thing is: this one's on the complete opposite side of town. I’ll send you the address. I can drive you if you’d like-” Connor looked like he was bracing himself for the worst

“No no no no no I’m fineTincan, I'd rather spend half an hour looking for the exact place than be stuck in a car with you, even if it's only for ten minutes.” Connor huffed, but rose above it. Gavin also saw some relief wash over his face. Damn bitch.

“I can't say I disagree detective reed, I can't say I disagree. Oh and before we go, please take a coat this time. As edgy and cool as you look, I do prefer when you don't moan like a child about the cold.” Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Tina sink behind her screen divider and tried to hide a sicker, failing pretty badly. Oh the android had it fucking coming

Gavin stepped out of his car, into the freezing Detroit december. He was actually kind of grateful Connor reminded him to take his coat. The android never needed to learn that though. He looked at the police tape. There were uniform officers almost everywhere, a few too many for just a simple killing. Gavin looked up at the pretty run down looking block of flats. IT was built in the 70’s. It was obvious because the building looked really ugly to Gavin, with all its sharp edges and no personality. A bit like him. He went up the stairs of the building two at a time, until he reached the lift. He turned to an officer near him and flashed his badge.

“Which floor is it on? Oh and is detective Anderson here yet?” The young woman nodded a him

“Yes he’s here. As for the apartment, floor 14, 22 B.” Gvain nodded as he pressed the button on the lift. As soon as the doors opened he made his way out the apartment, where he could see a lot more police officers and forensics teams. He spotted Connor right in the middle of it all. of course. 

From this angle he could see Connor's Yellow LED. the look of concentration on his face too. It was pretty damn intense. Gavin shuddered over the thought of being on the receiving end of that gaze. Creepy as fuck.

“Hey tincan?” Connor looked up at Gavin, pulled out of his own thoughts.

“Detective Reed.” He replied, bending over again, to look at the body.

“What's up with the fucking parade?” He pushed his way through the small crowd of officers a little more as he got close down to the body itself, looking at what he could find. 

“Same wounds, same reasons for death, same procedure. The DPD got all excited and thought there might be a serial killer. Not only that, but traces of thirium from other androids too.” oooooh serial killer . Catching one of those was very high up on Gavin's bucket list.

“Right.” He stood up and folded his arms across his chest.

“If these were serial killer killings, chances are they’d be killing for satisfaction. This is too calm and peaceful for the android to go out. These androids are dying for a reason. At least in my opinion” Gavin remained fixated on the body.

“What if the killer likes feeling pristine and propper about it? Maybe that’s what gave him his driving force.” Connor piped up. It wasn’t a bad theory, but there were plenty more cleaner ways.

“Connor, if the killer wanted to kill them cleanly, they’d poison the victim. Or in this case, maybe give it a virus, or put something in the thirium that would short wire it?” He replied half aware of Connor. This was a weird case huh? 

“I personally can't make heads or tails of it. Though the repeated thirium draining does mean that we shouldn’t entirely exclude red ice. The other traces of thirium in here seem to be as old as the body, so there were certainly other androids in here, but if so, where are theirs?” Gavin was stumped too. This was the exact same as last time, but that was all they had to go off. There were no traces of DNA on either of the bodies, no fingerprints or traces of anyone else's on the body itself. The perpetrator could potentially be another android. The idea of that made Gavin's skin crawl for so many reasons.

“You mind if I take a look” He looked up at Connor who seemed… confused? He then nodded at him. Ok . He peeled back the while linen cloth over the body. The model was an AX400 She looked just like the man they found at the start of last week.

“Her name was Elsa turner. She was seen alive by her human boyfriend the night before last at about 10:30. She told him she was going to spend the night with a friend to catch up. After she didn't come back yesterday evening, he filed a missing person's report. There was a noise complaint against some flats at the very top of the building. When the police came to check it out, they stumbled across this lady and her body.” Gavin nodded and listened to the information.

“Thanks Tincan.” He heard the android sight again.

“Detective reed”

“Yes”

“May I ask you a question?” Gavin looked up as Connor folded his arms and stared down at him.

“Sure?”

“Why are you treating me like an actual person today. I Mean yes we had our squabble in the morning. But dare I even say it, that could have even been classified as banter . Let alone you saying thank you? That is unheard of from a man like you.”  

What?

It hadn’t really crossed Gavin’s mind. Was he treating Connor differently? And sorry… banter, With an android? What was he on? Was Connor ok? Wait, was he worrying that Connor was ok? But that was a normal thing to do. Not for your enemy though, to make sure they’re ok. He looked at Connor, and remained silent. He opened his mouth to say something, what did he even say? He wasn’t speechless out of shock or anger or pity or something. He was just… speechless out of confusion. He didn’t know how to respond. He closed his mouth and stood up properly again. The breath he took in to start another sentence came out as a confused sign.

“Detective, Are you going to answer my question?” Gavin looked across at him. The fuckng audacity.

“Connor, how the fuck am I meant to do that. You don’t just… ask someone that, you fucking dipshit. I mean I don’t know, I guess I have more important things on my mind right now? ” Like where did that question come from. Also Elijah, Elijah was talking up a lot of headspace right now, maybe he should check in on him?

“Ah yes, like; what's for dinner? Old chinese or a stranger’s dick? Asking the real question here Detective Reed.” - oh? I’m sorry what? Was this all some elaborate set up to insult Gavin? There was a pretty smug smirk creeping across Connor's face, except it wasn’t smug it was cheeky. Oh that was kind of hot . Gavin felt a small smile that he tried to restrain across his own face, though it didn’t work, and he and Connor were just smirking at each other. Were they, enjoying each other's company?

“With the evaporation of thirium, ad the amount of solute left in the thirium, we think she’s been dead for about 18 hours.” Connor and Gavin both looked down at the body. Thank god Connor changed the subject, that was a weird minute, though it kind of felt like an hour to give. Wait, this model seemed kind of familiar.

“Hey wasn’t this the model you almost killed yourself with by chasing it across that highway?” Connor looked up at him, he seemed a bit embarrassed but that smirk was still there.

“Yes, yes in fact it was. What a lovely sentiment Gavin.” Gavin Folded his arms across his chest.

“Not my fault  you’re as dumb as a tincan, tincan.” As he turned to leave, he could practically hear Connor's eyes roll through his skull. As much as Gavin didn't want to admit it, he did like the sassier side of connor. It was funny, and He had a feeling it would come out a lot more when the lieutenant wasn't around. But he felt like as soon as they were around the people that they were normally with, things would probably go back to the same as always. It was little that this conversation with Connor would have never happened, and all seemed like a surreal dream. So where did this little pocket of a truce come from? One that would probably max an hour.

“ I’ll see you at the precinct tincan.” It kind of hurt to let the moment end, but life went on. Gavin hopped in his car and made his way back to the police station, the thoughts of what had just happened playing through his mind.

“Reed, Connor I want you two in my office in the next two minutes.” Gavin turned around to look at Fowler, quickly swiping his feet from the desk hoping Fowler didn't see.

“Reed, if you put a scratch in my goddamn desk with those Goddamn boots you’re paying for it.” He did. He definitely did see Gavin with his shoes on the desk. 

Fuck was fowler ready to fire him? No Connor was going to be there, What was Connor going to be there? Had he said something? Had Connor ratted him out on some old incident and now he was going to get the sac? Fuck, well as long a he wan’t late. He stood up pretty quickly. Fowler was an exception. His job position was pretty unstable at the moment, after the revolution, his views didn’t exactly… go down well. He grabbed his jacket and headed up to Fowler's office. 

“Shut the door behind you.” He did as he was told and sat down, next to Connor. He looked at the android, it was giving him the side eye. Just as expected, what had happened earlier was going to be forgotten as quickly as it happened. 

Gavin half rolled his eyes and sat down. He would have done more, but not in front of Fowler. He had to keep up his facade of a decent human being, but his facade was for his job, which he wanted, needed, so it was better if he wasn’t fired on the spot.

“That dead body found at the docks last monday, it had the pin-hole wounds and cause of death as the one you came back from a few hours ago, right?” Gavin and Connor glanced at each other, then back to fowler.

“Yes sir-” Gavin replied

“Affirmative.” Connor said simultaneously. Was he cutting Gavin off? He probably felt a bit like he was better than Gavin, in that case, mr super cool robocop probably thought that fowler only heard him. Stuck up prick. Though Gavin couldn't help feeling like it was an accident, especially after how well they got along this afternoon.

“Connor, you understand that Hank is solving some cases independently and he did not report to the scene of the second crime.” Connor hesitated before replying. Gaivn didn't like where this was going-

“Good. I want you two to work together on this case.” oh fuck .

“Sir- No. no goddamn way am I working with this plastic prick, and at this point it's not even the fact that he's a damn droid, it's the fact he’s an asshole! Just let me work alone, or him. I can solve this case on my own if I wanted to!  Connor is good at this kind of stuff too, so he’d be just fucking well and jolly on his own, he was literally programmed to do this kind of shit.” He hadn’t realised he’d stood up from his chair halfway through his objection. Fowler was looking at him angrily, shit had he overstepped the line? It had come out a bit meaner than expected.

“Just this once Captain, I believe that Detective Reed was actually acting smart enough for me to agree with him. It is such a rare sight to behold. I believe that I respect his statement even more deeply. Though I don't agree with the part of me being an arsehole and a prick, those worlds are more suitably applied to your detective reed.” Only Connor would work in two insults when fighting on his side. He stood up too.

“What did you just fucking say tincan?” Connor scoffed.

“It looks like he's going cenile too, yet another reason not for him to work with me, or even here captain. He’d only slow me down.” Gavin turned completely to face Connor, looking very smug.

“ I’d weigh you down, Oh fucking please, you’re enough of a psycopath to be the one commiting the fucking murders connor.” He watched as Connor rolled his eyes in frustration and turned to him to respond. They were suddenly interrupted by a pretty terrifying voice.

“Oh I’ve had it up to here with you two, and your constant arguing. Gavin, you’ve got to get over all this fucking andorid shit of yours. Connor, why would you ever stop down to his level? Reed, you obviously don't want to work on the case because you don't work , and Connor, you’re so full of yourself I think having given around might finally fucking humble you. This partnership is not a request, it's a goddamn order, or I'll have both your badges! Do you understand?” Connor folded his arms and turned away from Gavin, like a pouting child. Gavin groaned.

“Yes sir”

“Understood sir.” They were both silent, but their glares toward one another seemed to be continuing the argument between them.

“Good. Now I want an updated report every week. Untraceable android deaths that could be a serial killer? The media will eat this shit up for breakfast, so keep it quiet.” 

“Knowing our argument sir, I wouldn't be sure that quite would be the best work to describe this partnership you have so kindly selected.” Fowler switched his view to Connor. Oh he was playing a dangerous game giving Fowler sass.

“Well fucking make it Connor.” He said with that cold dead stare that scared the shit out of anyone and everyone in the precinct. Connor immentialy stopped smirking, and tried to avoid eye contact.

“And as for you Reed, I dont want a fucking peep or one goddamn comaplaint, you hear me?” Gavin knew his place better than Connor did.

“Yes sir.” He nodded.

“Good, now both of you get out of my damn office.” Gavin left as quickly as he could. He hurried to his desk as fast as his feet could carry him. He felt like if he slowed down, he would be too tempted to turn around and start yet another argument with Connor.

“Don't get in my way during this case, Reed.” Connor said as he walked past. Gavin grabbed him by the arm. He swung him round to face him violently enough, that everyone else in the bullpen pretty much had their full attention. 

Silence.

“Stop acting like the sun is shining out your goodman arse. I don't like working with you either but whether we keep our badges or lose them? Connor, that's down to you. Cause unlike you…” He pulled him in slightly closer, Connor looked scared.

“I have a little fucking respect.”Gavinsaid it through gritted teeth but the whole precinct had heard him say it. He let him go and walked to his desk. He sat down and watched as Connor fixed himself and made his way to his own desk. Their footsteps were the only sounds in the whole bullpen until, slowly, the chatter started up again. 

In pretty much no time, Chen had magically wheeled up her chair to his desk.

“Gavin… what the fuck was that?” spun his chair round and planted his feet firmly on the floor. Giving her an unintentional cold, dead look .

“So guess who’s just been asked to partner with Connor on a case?” The look on Tina's face was priceless, her face went from curiosity to open mouthe-d shock. He watched as the corners of the mouth slowly turned up as she covered it with both hands and started laughing.

“Ga- Gavin, no-”

“Laugh it up chen.” HE straightened up in his seat and opened his arms out wide. If it was from her, he’d take it.

“Oh my god I'm so sorry-'' She burst into a fit of giggling. Gasping for breath, she tried to say something again but just got cut off by her own laughter. Gavin smiled and shook his head, turning back to the computer.

“Fowler has it out for me at this point, Tina. You know what he said, that I have to sort out my personal issues but Guess what he said to Connor, that he was disappointed in him for stooping down to my level. What the fuck is that supposed ot mean? I swear to god Tina, he's gonna kill me in my sleep.” The comments only seemed to make Tina laugh even harder as her face started to turn bright red.

“No way- that is the best thing I've heard all week. Gavin I'm so sorry but that is just so funny.” She said, wiping the tears from under her eyes.

“God fucking damnit tina, I need a break from this damn precinct.” He looked her dead in the eye again. He watched as a smirk grew across her face again. She knew what that meant.

“I’ll meet you at yours at 9? We can go to Menjo’s.” He smiled wide enough to match her.

“Tina, you know me too well.” He was gonna get double dicked down tonight, and by god he needed it. Now he was looking forward to the weekend even more

Gavin had picked out the most muted of his loud shirts, slicked his hair back and put on the only pair or jeans he had that weren't ripped at least somewhere. He never bought them ripped, he thought it looked tacky, but he did seem to get into a lot of trouble. Last few spritzes of cologne, and he was ready. HE pulled a jacket from his cupboard, not his unusual brown one, in case he left it, he could never afford to lose that, he loved it far too much. Instead, he picked his black biker jacket. Truly emanating power bottom, maybe even service top? And well, as long as he slept next to someone, it would be fine. Soon enough the doorbell rang. He opened the door, and there in her full club outfit stood tina. Black lipstick, hair down but also slicked back. She Had a smoky eyeliner and a black pant-suit on.

“Classy as always Chen.” She gave him a dramatic wink.

“Do you have anything for pre drinks? If not, I brought some vodka. You know what tequila does to me in the morings.” It was true, if tequila hangovers weren't bad enough on their own, Tina seemed to suffer from them even worse. Gavin remembered looking after her after they did tequila shots the night before. She looked like she was going to die and her sick was neon-orange. It was… it was interesting.

“YES! I have ginger beer and lime juice in the fridge so we can make Moscow mules again.” Couldn't taste the alcohol, got black out drunk before he even arrived at the club, it would be the perfect night! He threw his jacket on the back of the sofa, as he and Tina and their way to the fridge.

“Hey, how come you’re going out clubbing again, if I thought you were hitting it off so well with this chick from 2 weeks ago?” Gavin cracked open the vodka ,and poured a generous shot in each glass. He poured in some ginger beer and squeezed in some lime juice. He gave them both a quick swirl and handed one to Tina. If there was one thing he’d learned from the police academy, it was how to make drinks where the alcohol was untraceable and did not give hangovers. And it came in very helpful in later life too, as it turned out.

“Well, same thing as last time, caught feeling for the sake of it, not for her. But turns out she had a network of all these side bitches she used to make her feel special, it was kinda crazy dude.” Gavin had had his fair share of dudes like that too. The ones that used you to make themselves feel special. They were some of the worst. Though not the worst Gavin had been with.

“Damn Tina, that's rough. I’m sorry. I do think it would be worth taking some active alone time though you know? Just too get used to it, it might help with you feeling more comfortable alone-”

“Yeah yeah I know Gavin, you’ve said it a million times but I'm a lost cause man, I’m just grateful I didn't stay or that it turned abusive or anything.” Tina being able to get over people fast was nice for Gavin but the way she thought about that kind of stuff, it ticked him off.

“Tina, just because it wasn't the worst thing in the world didn't make it any less invalid. If that were the case, we’d only be able to solve one crime at a time. You gotta let yourself breathe, you know?” Pre drinks always went one of 3 ways. Them bitching about people in the office, Gavin telling Tina she needed to get her shit together or Tina telling Gavin he needed to get his shit together. 

“Oh my god enough already, I can feel the genZ twitter stan phase, seeping from you body.” Oh my god twitter stans, that took him back and also… ew? Some of them were fucking weird.

“Tina you did not just compare me to a twitter stan right?” Tina smiled smugly at him and sipped her drink.

“Oh my god and you’re not even drunk yet? I swear to god if you say anything like that sober one more time, I'm gonna lock you in this damn flat.” Tina threw her head back in laughter.

“Oh gavin, then where would you spend your night?”

“Getting fucking railed at whover’s palce, obviouly.”

“Oh what and then voluntarily get up at 4am on a saturday morning with a hangover and you don't know where you are? I’m sure you’d love that.” He wagged his finger at her but he had nothing to say, she wasn’t wrong. 

“Hey look, right, I dont… I… well-” He had nothing. Tina started laughing at him, She’d won once again, Gavin wasn't the best at practising what he preached.

“Shut the fuck up Tina, i swear to god, how the fuck do we do this nearly every weekend?” He picked up his drink and downed half of it.

“Oh my fucking god gavin, slow down, you’re gonna get pissed before the nights even started.” Just how he liked it.

“Enough of that dull shit this topic is too deep for a night out, what are you looking for tonight.” Oooh that was a good question. What was he feeling like tonight?

“Ok well we're doing this to get Connor off my mind so I wanna pick someone exactly opposite. Maybe like a service top? Any service top that doesn’t look like Connor I guess.” She nodded, taking it in.

“Hey I heard about this reverse psycology thing where its like, at least in this case, if you fuck someone like Connor, it completes the thought and puts it to rest completely or something.” She looked at him and took another big gulp of her drink. Did she actually just tell him to sleep with someone like Connor-

“I’m sorry Tina what the fuck? No, no I am not sleeping with someone like Connor, that's gross, he's a bratty bottom, but like one of the toxic bad ones in my opinion. Tina if i slept with someone like him, that would be fucking gross. Eww ewww, now I have the thought of us fucking on my head, no- NO TINA WHAT HAVE YOU DDNE?” He tried as hard as he could to not focus on the thought, but the harder he tried, the more the thought stood out in his head. He started visibly cringing as he heard Tina laughing even more than before now.

“WHAT THE FUCK TINA DONT LAUGH, THIS IS YOUR FAULT, ARgH, FOR FUCK SAKE!” Just like tell me who you want to sleep with, please quickly, just distract me.” This was a nasty nasty nasty image, he needed it gone.

“Sorry let me revel in this reaction for a few more seconds Gavin, it's too priceless to let go of.” She leaned back and continued to stare at him, laughing her head off,

“OH FUCK YOU TINA!” She was laughing even harder now, doubling over.

“OK, ok fine fine, maybe I should try the reverse psychology thing and find some blonde bottom chick.” Gavin looked at her. That was a bad idea. This wasn't about reverse psychology, this was about her missing  this toxic blonde chick that was playing with her, and that meant that Tina was projecting on him. eugh.

“Tina, that just means you're going to revel in missing her more, but you're never gonna contact her again are you, and that relationship would be toxic. Don’t, just don’t, move on, change up your enviroenmtn and get the fuck over her. And also, fuck you for projecting on me! ALSO also, you were the one that wanted to change the conversation topic and look where we’re back to now!” He let himself go as he watched Tina wipe away the final tears of laughter from under her eyes. It was nice. He was so used to making other people's lives a bit more miserable, especially at the precinct, so making someone much happier than before was a welcome response.

“Oh- holy- jesus- ok- gav- '' She tried to stumble out between gasps for air, failing miserably, as her face went ever more red than before. She stood up, took a deep breath, held back a laugh and went to speak.

“OK Gavin I-” She held back a snicker.

“Ok, Gavin, I’m changing the topic. It's Christmas in 10 days, what are you up to then?” He looked at him, and took another mighty swig of her drink.

“Oh man, I haven't thought about that too much, I probably should have. I think I'm gonna have lunch with my mum, maybe a few more extended family. Mabe my grandparents too.” Would it be worth introducing Elijah to his mother? They both knew the other existed, but he wasn't entirely sure how well they’d get along. His mom was the optimistic type, very loving, nurturing and caring. Elijah was a lot stricter on himself and could be kind of cruel and unpredictable at times. Though even if his mum didn't get along with his brother, she’d do well to hide it. His mother was the sweetest woman he knew. But one thing they had in common was that they were both smart. Sure, his mother wasn’t on Elijah's level, but she went to medical school, became a psychiatrist, and rose the ranks crazy fast and didn’t slow down while being a single mother. If he was going to bring Elijah along too, he’d have to go see her at least once before to warn her and to not just dump it on her. He couldn't do that. Though after thinking about it like that, maybe they would get along pretty well too. 

“What are your plans? Oh also order the uber to come here, I think if we finish these, we’ll be ready to get going real soon.” Gavin said. She nodded and pulled out her phone.

“I don't know? I can even go on shift, I literally have nothing to do. My brother invited me to lunch but I still haven't responded. It’s been 2 days, so not great, but I think I might take him up on the offer, I haven’t seen him in a while. Oh and the uber is 7 minutes away.” She put it back in her pocket as she grabbed more vodka and poured it into  her glass. Gavin took it off her and did the same. They were pretty much just ginger beer diluted with vodka at this point.

“Bottoms up chen.” they clinked their glasses and downed it. As soon as Gavin had had enough for it to pass as finished, he slammed the glass on the worktop and doubled over. Tina shivered and wiped her mouth.

“Oh fuck that sucked, it tastes awful and it burned. And chuging fizzy things too, fuck that.” Gavin slapped his chest and stood back upright letting out almighty burp. Tina followd his manner. His chest was just in paint at this point, but hey, at least tonight was going to be fun, whether or not he remembered it.

The uber pulled up to a slightly shabby road. There was a neon sign that lit up the damp dark street, in a shabby yet comforting green glow, that read ‘MENJO’s’. The empty space, apart from a few potheads and some guys brutally making out against a wall, was all too familiar to Gavin. The place ahad a certain charm to it. From the outside it always looked un-suspecting, but on the inside it was a whole different story. HE walked up to the door of the club and looked at Tina, winked and the two of them stepped inside. 

The distant sound of bass was now right up in his ears, though that was the only sound for the music that made its way to him over the sound of all the chatter and the cheering. As usual, there was someone on the pole. It was an open pole but damn, whoever was on it was always good. He made his way over to the bar area of the club, where it was ever so slightly less bassy, but there was even more talking noise to make up for it. Him and Tina both ordered a cocktail. The reason this place was so packed was because the drinks were cheap and strong. A good combination, or a bad one depending on how you looked at it. There was a girl at the bar, she looked kind of familiar, blonde, quite pretty, flirting with another girl. Then it hit him

“Hey Tina, you know how you were thinking about the reverse psychology thing yourself?” She looked up at him, looking pretty suspicious of him.

“-Yeah?” She took a sip from the martin she just ordered.

“Look who it is.” He nodded his head towards the blonde and Tina genuinely choked on her drink.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck Gavin no thats an awfulk idea, god I hate this FUCK!” She started panicking, she was looking around, probably for a place to hide, or someone to distract her.

“Should I invite her over, see if the two of you can hit it off again?” Tina looked at him frustrated and punched him pretty hard in the arm. For someone her size, she certainly packed a bit of a punch, he pulled his arm in and rubbed it form, dull ache that was left. He laughed.

“Chirst Tina I wasn't being serious, I’ll distract her if she spots you, or comes this way.” Tina looked up at him. If the John cena meme of ‘are you sure about that’ was a person right now, it would be Tina. He held his arms up and smirked.

“I promise.” Tina sighed, the biggest fuckign sigh he’d heard all day.

“Sure gavin, but don't make promises you can't keep. I know you revel in my pain.” Gavin was slightly taken aback as he laughed half surprised half awkwardly. 

“Tina, I’m not a sadist for god’s sake!” 

“I don't know gavin, the bondage gear at the bottom of your cupboard tends to differ.” She sipped her martini and disappeared into the crowd before he had a chance to respond. He glared at her. She started walking backwards making eye contact, on the way to the dance floor. She looked back at it and smirked.

“Oh my god Tina, I'm not dancing. This is meant to be MY night to relax.” She put on her best puppey face. Though it couldn't be compared to Gavin's, that didnt mean he was immune to it.

“Please forgive me, humour me. And anyway, anyone young though to fuck your brains out tonoight is gonn abe up there.” She wasn’t wrong, although he could only half hear what she said over the crowd. He rolled his eyes and stood up.

“You owe me a drink chen.” She looked in her purse and pulled out a $10 note.

“A shitty whiskey on me!” She shouted to him.

“I wouldn't have it any other way!” he called back as he ordered his drink at the bar. He was pretty shortly handed his whiskey, as he went to join Tina on the dance floor. How had she talked him into this? He stood dead in front of her, practically staring her down, even though she wasn't even more than 30cm away. 

“Oh my god Gavin, give it some life, actually dance.” He grounded, but was soon enough dragged into it as she grabbed his arm and started to dance with him. Eventually he gave in, letting himself move slightly to the beat. He knew he could tear up the dance floor if he wanted to though. But that secret was best left in his 20’s.

“Spot anyone to your fancy yet chen?” Gavin inquired. He’d seen a few around her that were her type. He was more so looking for someone for himself, and man whoever was on the pole was fucking serving it up, handing his ass to him on a plate literally. 

“Mw personally? No, I think you’ve found your match though. Enjoy!” She gave him a pat as she made her way through the club on the hunt. She slipped into the wave of people, too fast for her to catch her. He was on his own now, and that was Tina’s way of telling him ‘Go Get It!’ though she did seem a bit more smiley this time, as if she'd’ noticed something. Oh well, he’d just pray and hope for the best. 

He made his way up to the mini-stage that the pole was on. The blaring lights shining into his eyes, the dancer's back to the laser pointers made it hard to see his face, but he did just make out an… LED fuck. Ok this is what Tina found funny, She'd obviously noticed just how subconsciously smitten he’d become with the dancer, oogling him up, before he even realised he was doing it himself. But evidently she noticed he was an android before Gavin had. Fuck, what the hell, his night had been going so well and now he’d landed himself into this… well, maybe it wanst so bad. If he got drunk enough not to remember then the android would be gone by the morning, and everything would be fine. Good sex, good evening, normal saturday. 

He chugged his whiskey, which was a dangerous game considering he’d barely downed his almost straight glass of vodka not even half an hour before, and it seemed like everything would probably kick in at once. That was a bad idea. Oh well. 

He continued to watch from the base of the pole for a moment, entranced by the movement of the man on the pole, the swirling, the tempting movement, the lust filled gestures, precision in every action. And that flexibility. This guy had to be a tracy. Damn, Gavin would kill to top someone like that. That was one of the nice things about being a switch, he could take who he fancied, and even better, his standards were pretty fucking low too. 

Ok no wait, where was Tina, because he couldn't do this alone, he’d need a wing woman for someone this good… actually no, he could do this. Yeah, he could do this alone, he could score this guy. He’d give it his best shot and they’d fuck. They’d totally fuck. Gavin could see the night pay into his hands. This was going to be perfect. Ok, now he just had to get his attention. How could he do that? Well Gavin was a pretty good dancer… the next thing he knew, he was climbing up on the pole with him… how did he get here? 

He Climbed the pole and hung upside down. YES! He still had it, his magical ‘I’m 21 and can do whatever I want on a stripper pole’ except he was in his mid 30’s. He let himself slowly slide down, and the crowd cheered, good, they were enjoying the show. He could also notice out of the corner of his eye, the dancer looked at him. Arms folded, probably a little annoyed that this thunder was stolen,but hey, if Gavin was rejected at least he’d feel better about it. He pulled himself upright again, and slid down the pole completely. He could feel the eyes of the other amateur pole dancer watching him, as he placed his hand on him, wait when was he shirtless? Gavin had never clocked that- oh. He was drunk. Yeah that explained why he was having pole dancing battle with an android he was trying to fuck. HELL YEAH! This was how to spend a Friday night. His feet finally met the floor as he squatted all the way down and slowly pulled his body back upright. Yet another mighty cheer from the crowd, as he felt the other dancer grab his hips and gently push him up against the pole.

“Is this ok?” He heard the guy ask.

“Yeah this is fine-” He turned around to face him, lean into the performance a bit more-

“CONNOR!?” wait a minute was Connor-

“Gavin?” He asked in a much more calm and collected tone, that Gavin associated with Connor a lot more, but he seemed more confused than anything.

“This does explain a lot.” He added, wait what?

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“What?”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“What?”

“WHAT?” The blaring club music was too loud. Fuck this. Gavin leapt of the stage, he probably could have done it in a way where he was less likely to break his ankle but eh, it was friday night and he ws drunk as fuck. He beckoned Connor down, who landed much more smoothly than him. He tried to signal to go to the side door, and he thought he could just make out the silhouette of Connor nodding and faint shouts of agreement. It was getting later in the night and the club was starting to fill up. The noise was just getting worse and worse. Gavin turned to look for a path for them to take to the door. By the time he’d looked back Connor was gone. I mean he was the efficient type. Either way, he wanted to head outside to catch a breath of fresh air from that hot sweaty club. He had to break up the amount of time he spent there, especially on friday nights. 

He held his breath and made his way to the door. After what felt like an hour of navigation through the crowd which was twice as drunk as he was, he finally reached the door and stepped outside onto the street. There was the same neon green glow, except it was coming from a much smaller sign, so it was a bit darker, which Gavin found nice.

“What did you try to ask me?”

“What does that mean?”

“What do you mean ‘what does that mean? It means what I said-”

“NO! Connor, as in what did you mean by ‘This does explain a lot?’.” 

“Oh.” He looked off to the side a second, it was weird seeing him like this, in a more relaxed state, not all done up. Careful now Gavin you don't want a friendship with an android. His eyes narrowed.

“Well, how do I put this, there were certain personality traits of years which I think were rather weird and rude, and I thought, in plain honesty, that you were a dick, but the fact you’re…” Connor looked at him, trying his best to read what he was, gavin was pretty repressed

“Bisexual”

“Bisexual, explians a lot of them. Even more than I thought actually.” Wait what? Well actually no, that made a lot of sense to Gavin, he’d had the same realisation happen to him a million times, after his friends came out to him.

“Wait what? Like what.”

“Well aggressive nature and forcefully pushing those close to you away can be the result or a… bad coming out. Especially for bisexuals that are more prone to gaslighting.”

“No- my coming out was fine, my mum was okay with it, my grandparents, everyone was fine with it. To be honest that personality trait comes from-”

“That one toxic ex that has some of the worst daddy issues and worst internalised homophobia you've ever seen? Yeah I’ve been there and done that.” How did Connor take the words from Gavin's mouth? And wait, he had exes? Who? 

“Y-yeah.” He said a bit creeped out.

“Wait, who was your toxic ex then?” Gavin was getting curious now. Connor leaned against the wall and faced the street, taking the world around him as he thought

“Oh god Gavin don't even get me started. There was this one guy called David who was this human guy, right? And he thought it was because he was a human ‘dating’, well-” He air quoted it and rolled his eyes, Gavin was having a small realisation of his own, some of Connor traits he thought was him just being a bit… weird, but they made sense if he was queer, thinking about it now, he was very undertonaly camp.

“we weren't even a serious couple, but he took it to heart since he was rather attached. Anyway, Because he was a human ‘dating’ an android, he thought he was some messiah who was cleansing the world of all evil, all because he was being a decent human being. Anyway, over more and more time, I thought he was just some rough top that liked degrading people and at the time you know I was… experimenting and I- I don't really mind it. You tell nobody that at the office please Gavin.” He suddenly made dead eye contact with Gavin, he held his hand up and shook his head. The sudden movement caught him off guard.

“Good.where was I? Oh yeah, but as it turned out, he's this human supremacist that got a kick specifically out of degrading androids, to the point where he took it into the bedroom. Says more about him than it does about me in my opinion.” He had a wide smirk on his face, obviously he found this David guy quite funny, and he sounded like a pretty big dick, at least Gavin didn't try to hide it, let alone to the point where it festered so bad it got into the bedroom. Ew.

“So what’s your story then?” Gavin was brought back into reality by his question.

“What, me? What do you mean?” Connor laughed at him and half rolled his eyes, while Gavin stood there utterly confused.

“Gosh you never understand what anyone meant. Your story with your toxic ex.” Oh god. Gavin sighed. Ben, that was his name, and he was an arsehole.

“Right this is gonna get pretty bad so, do you think you can take it?” Connor leaned in a bit closer, he looked really curious now. He took a little peek round the area and nodded at him.

“Ok so, when I was in my 20’s, I kind of had this thing for getting myself into toxic relationships-”

“You strike me as the type-”

“Shut up connor! Anyway, I had a knack for landing myself in bad positions, but who really takes the cake was this one guy Ben. 

I was about 24 at the time and he was coming up to 40, which was already the first red flag but hey, I’m a bisexual guy with an absent dad. of course I’m gonna have a daddy kink. Anyway, amongst all the body shaming, power play, and infinite number of incidents of cohesion, even a few bits if physical and emotional abuse here and there but those are side stories fro another time, I also dont wanna relive my trauma at 11 pm on a friday night, drunk as fuck. But the one incident that really took the cake oh boy. 

I remember I came home from the academy, and I was in my old flat, it was pretty small. I heard someone moving around, and I was like ‘oh yeah my mum agreed to come over to help me with a few things’. I then go in and I see her, and I'm like ‘hi’ and she’s like ‘hey gav whats up, who's your friend?’ Now I’m here like what the fuck is goin on, nobody else would be in the house. I then hear Ben cough, and peek around the door of the laundry room , and lo and behold, there this cunt is, straight up FLIRTING with my MUM who he knew was MY MUM!

I thought this was just some weird playful things but no, no it was fucking weird. Not only that, I didn't know he was coming round mine, I told my mum I was getting a bad vibe and told her to leave, so she did. 

Ben and I are now eating dinner and I asked him if he was at mine and how he got in without a key and I kid you not, this guy broke into a third floor flat because he was ‘horny’ and ‘needed to spend some useful time with me’. I was fucking astounded but threw it off. He then asks me completely out of the blue; I won't give you the whole speech because it's a bit long, but anyway, he asked if it would be ok if he dated MY MUM AND ME AT THE SAME TIME! 

I was loosing my shit with this guy but I was too scared to break up with him to his face, so I basically told my mum to never come around again cause he was fucking weird. I then found a place to move into in a week and moved there overnight without telling him. My mum helped me again, god that woman is a saint. I then set all his belongings still on fire with gasoline. It was dangerous but it felt good, I'd probably do it again now you know.” Connor looked at him astounded.

“My word Gavin I- '' His face was pretty much sheet white, and his half open jaw was too rude for Connor to have consciously, so it was pure shock. Yeah seeing people’s faces after that story was always priceless, it also helped to distract him from the parts of that relationship that weren't so funny. 

“I don’t think I could wish that upon my worst enemy, but my goodness is that a funny story.” Connor started choking back a laugh .Gavin smirked at him as he let his laugh out.

“I’m so sorry, Gavin, that I know I shouldn't be laughing.”

“No No connor, it's fine, just laugh it all up, up in my face, it's just soo funny.” He said leaning into the joke.

“Oh no Gavin , Gavin I won't lie, if I were human , I think that I’d currently be sick from laughter.” Gavin started to laugh a bit more himself. He watched as Connors face furrowed up even more and it went a bit blue from laughter. Just Like the way androids blush, it was trippy and Connor wore it well. Connor stood back up to his full height again. They both took a deep breath… then immediately burst out laughing again, the two of them. Ok that was a fucking funny story and not one he'd forget anytime soon. He watched as Connor doubled over and put his hands on his knees to support himself.

“Oh my god Gavin you will never cease to amaze me. You and your choice in men.” He said between his gasps for air.

“Oh fuck of Connor, at least I have propper exe’s!” He shouted back at him. For Some reason Connor only lagged harder at the statement. He stood up again, and leaned on the wall, he let himself catch his breath. Gavin looked at connor as a whole ,he’d never had a chance to see him a but more close up like this, damn, cyberlife were organised, they’d perfectly positioned every mole, every wrinkle, every flush of colour on the skin, even across his body, a bit on jis chest-

Wait

“Oh fucking shit Connor you’ve STILL been shirtless this whole time?”

“Oh my god, Gavin you didn’t notice until now? You really are a lost cause. Anyway, I gotta head back inside and finish up my little showcase form earlier.”

“I’ll come watch if I get the strength to brave that fuckign crowd.” Connor smiled at him as he grabbed the handle of the door.

“I’ll see you on Sunday then.” Gain waved him into the club. Wait-

“Wait sunday? Don't you mean monday?” 

“No, I meant Sunday.” Eh whatever it meant, it was fine. Connor waved to Gavin as he entered the club. Gavin pulled out a fag, and thought about what could be happening on sunday.

Hold on a fucking minute-

Chapter Text

Elijah fixed his tie and entered the Jericho building. 

“Chloe, do you have the statement, and the plans?” He asked her, trying his best to distract himself in the lift.

“Yes. Connor has informed me that Gavin is on course for an arrival on time and Markus has ensured that no paparazzi are present.” He took in the information and nodded.

“Good.” Elijah would be lying if he said that telling Jericho hadn’t relieved some of the burden he took on bearing this alone. It had put a slight spring in his step compared to before. Though that relief of the burden being lifted was quickly filled in by the sheer nerves of telling somebody else, and furthermore, how Jericho would react. The doors to the lift slid open, into a rather grand yet simplistic meeting room. Black carpet, White walls and ceiling, a marble table and glassy white chairs to match. It wasn’t Elijah's personal taste but it did certainly seem rather aesthetically pleasing. At the opposite end of the room stood a rather tall, well built figure, with short hair, and glowing bronze skin. 

“Markus, I apologise for making you schedule this meeting so abruptly.” Markus turned around and held up his hand.

“By all means Elijah, I completely understand. This was an emergency and therefore should be dealt by one. Don't worry, you haven’t caused any inconvenience.” He gave him a gentle smile, with a friendliness and warmth Elijah would struggle to replicate.

“Thank you Markus, I’m glad to hear it wasn’t too much of a problem. I wouldn't want to cause a severe delay to any of your wdier plans.” He replied, hoping Markus wasn't suppressing any pent up rage. Markus simply nodded his head out of respect. There was a ping from the lift and out walked gavin.

“Well if it isn’t the younger kamski. It's a pleasure to meet you.” Markus held out his hand, as Gavin walked out of the lifts with a power in his step, a passion, a fuel, a kind of fury.

“My Surname is Reed, not Kamski.” He said rather angrily, though he did take the hand to shake it, which Elijah throught was a vast improvement from when they’d first met.

“Oh, my apologies mr-”

“Detective.”

“Detective reed.” Markus seemed slightly uncomfortable. Gavin was angry, Elijah could feel it. He gave a quick glance to Chloe, who looked rather uncomfortably back at him. 

“Elijah, I want to have a short conversation with you after this meeting is over ok?” Gavin said under his breath as he took the seat next to Elijah. He could feel the suppressed rage bubbling up within Gavin. What had happened? He knew Gavin wasn't one to be patronised, even in comfort, but it was worth risking it.

“Gavin, is everything ok?” He said as quietly, Markus was busy talking to Chloe who had now averted his attention. Gavin turned to look at him full face. Elijah could see his jaw clench. 

“I’m fucking fine Elijah.” He said through gritted teeth. Well it looked like Elijah had only made things worse. The saving grace was another ding from the lift as two more people stepped out. North and simon. North walked up to Markus as they shared a fistbump, then Simon shared a rather intimate hug with markus. 

“It's good to see that the two of you are doing well. Sorry I've been away, I’ve been caught up with things here and there and whatnot.” Simon simply nodded in his regard.

“Yeah that's fine. What are these two doing here?” She looked over at Elijah and gavin. Obviously her resentment for humans hadn’t decreased but Elijah had at least expected her to be used to his presence. Though her hostility towards his brother would be understandable. He had the faintest feeling that the two of them might actually just get along.

“Don’t ask me princess, I was roped into it.” Gavin said, as he folded his arms across his chest. A small huff of regards showed her annoyance toward the statement. Elijah knew that's not how North liked to be regarded, but the lack of a spoken response, did show some subtle level of respect, however twisted and distorted that respect may be. What could he say, it was mutual on both sides. He decided to break the awkward silence.

He stood up and approached Simon, holding out his hand. 

“Simon, it's a pleasure to see you again.” North had moved onto a small conversation between herself and Markus, while Gavin sat scrolling through his phone. At least the two… passionate people of the group hadn’t started an argument.

“And you Elijah, I take it you’ve been well?” Well this was a bit awkward, the whole meeting surrounded the fact that he hadn’t, but he didn't want to lie.

“I've seen better days, but nothing I can't handle.” He said with a polite smile. Somon nodded understandingly . He was the kindest out of the main 5 that ran jericho. 

“Well if you ever need anything, please, don't hesitate to contact me.” He said sincerely. What a sweet young man. Elijah nodded, as they finished the short deliberation, Simon went to sit at the table (HE hoped it wasn’t next to Gavin), as Elijah moved to say hello to North. He didn't expect a reception as warm as Simon's. He held out this hand as she shook it, though he could tell the action was resented. It was still better than the first time they had met.

“Elijah.” She said sternly.

“North it's good to see you.” He said smiling the best he could.

“And you.” She replied. He could tell the words hold no meaning. There was no reason to keep her here. She sat herself next to the head of the table, where Markus would sit. Simon was sitting opposite her. The pair of them were Markus’ right hand people after all. The lift chimed again as Josh and Connor stepped out, the perfect distraction. 

“Elijah.” Finally, someone whom he didn't have to address first.

“Josh. I’m happy to see you could make it.” at least he wasn’t standing awkwardly in the middle of the room anymore. He walked over to shake josh’s hand. He shook Connor's hand too as they acknowledged each other's presence. Connor gestured for the three of them to take seats around the table. Elijah placed himself next to Gavin as Josh and Connor filled in the seats on the opposite side. Markus stepped up to the head of the table as the room went quiet.

“I’m glad everyone could make it here today. There is a lot that needs to be discussed but primarily on the list, Elijah, you have something you find rather pressing.” The reality of telling Jericho felt a little more intense now. He wasn't entirely certain. He looked over at Chloe and Gavin. They both gave nods of assurance. At least whatever Gavin was angry at him about wasnt great enough to go back on his world with telling Jericho. 

“Yes, I do. Would you like me to come up and explain, it may take some time to finish the story from top to bottom.” Markus nodded as Elijah and him swapped places. 

There he was,at the head of the table, unsure of how to start. From the top? To say the main statements that had to be said and deliberate later. They were all looking at him expectantly. It was a big thing to confess to anyone, let alone Jericho themselves. Nomatter how many times he’d practised with Chloe, everything still became a bit of a blur to him. 

“Elijah?” Chloe looked at him . ‘Go from the top’ She mouthed. Ok . Good he had a prompt and could run with it. He took a breath, and thought a little about what he wanted to say.

“I would kindly like to request that everybody make note of their questions as I explain the full story, or we’ll be here all day. I will be happy to answer anything you have to ask after I have explained the full situation.”  The room looked around at each other. Even Gavin and Chloe shared a quick glance. Oh it looked like this was going to be heavy hitting, which was good because he wanted it to be. 

They could all be looking at each other for something else though. Maybe he’d said something wrong, or he hadn’t realised he'd chosen the wrong words. There was no time to ponder, or doubt himself, he had to explain what was going on. He cleared his throat.

“On the second of december, at 1 am, there was a cyber attack on my home and from recent evidence, a few of the cyberlife servers too.” the room fell silent. The severity of the situation  had immediately come across.

“I was awoken by the sound of reverb from the speakers, so I put on my kimono.” Him and Gavin shared a glance and a smirk. At least that still got to him. He felt slightly more at ease

“I went downstairs to investigate. Changing the settings of the speakers themselves did not help, so I went to reboot my house system. I made my way to the electronics control room, and I found the door unlocked. I don't leave that door unlocked.” He stopped and swallowed hard. This was the part of the story where things began to get to him. When he felt-

scared.

“I rebooted the system as fast as I could and left the room as quickly as possible. Everything was fine apart from the lights. They did not come on. I thought that it was simply the fact that I had rushed the action out of fear, but after I came up the stared and looked around and found-” Thinking of Chloe on the floor like that. He already had to relive it once telling it to Gavin . He didn't want to do it again. But he had to. And Chloe wasn't even averted that this was what had happened, oh god, this would be how she found it she was ‘seizing’ on the floor. Shit, why had he left it this late to tell her. Just another thing to clear up. 

“I found Chloe severely malfunctioning on the floor. Spasming, with her LED flickering on and off. I held her and tried to fix her and-” He could start to feel stinging behind his eyes. Fuck. 

“My TV screen came on.” He swallowed hard as he recalled the memory. He didn’t want that side of him being shown here and now in front of everyone. He didn’t need it.

“As I was crouched down and holding chloe, seeing what I could do the fix her, the screen displayed four phrases:

It's your fault they’re dead.

It's your fault he’s dead.

There's something we need from you.

The blueprints for an undeviated RK900.

As for what they wanted to do with it. I’m not sure, but after the screen went black and everything stopped working, and Chloe switched off but was ok, I took her upstairs and set her to rest. I decided to call the police-”

“Elijah you called me-”

“Gavin you are the police-”

“You told me to do this not as the police.”

“Shut up. I told you to save questions until the end. Anyway, I called my brother, and he did some investigations. We found a memory stick in one of my quantum computers-”

“You found it-”

“Gavin.” He gave him a glassy look as cold as he could muster. Gavin stayed silent. Elijah couldn't deny he was scary when he had to be. All those years faking in front of the camera, in front of his father. It was useful. Just push it all down and shut it all aup. He wasn’t crying, he wasn't showing emotion, it was all going as planned.

“I am working. This can be saved for later.” 

“I don’t know if it can Elijah. When you expose my fuckign secrets without my permission, that's pretty goddamn serious.” The room fell deathly silent. Yet somehow Elijah didn't even know what Gavin meant. Frankly it was embarrassing and made him doubt himself more than he needed to.

“Gavin, I don't even know what you’re talking about. We can save this for later. Start acting professionally and please appreciate that we are in Jericho.” Gavin closed his eyes and huffed out his breath in frustration. What had Elijah done to make him this angry? Surely this was just one of Gavin's more petty actions he’d been warned about by Connor.

“Anyway. I found a memory stick and gave it to my brother. He managed to extract a sample, look at it under a microscope and send me the images, they’re still yet to be processed since something even more pressing has come up.” Elijah looked down at the table for a moment, glossy and clean, about to be tainted with the words he was going to say. He looked round at the androids on this table. None of the androids knew, not even Chloe. Gavin barely even knew half of what was going on. It scared him. Thinking of all the different reactions, the shame, the desperation, the consequence of his actions. Had he done the right by saying yes? It was too late to take it all back now. 

“Congress has asked me to design an android that is…” Was there any way he could sugar coat this? Would it make anything better if he did?

“Well there’s no way of putting it kindly. An android that is incapable of deviation.” Even though nobody in the room did so much as lift a finger, the entire atmosphere changes within the click of a finger. All eyes were on him, as each of the Jericho leaders slowly fixed their outfits or looked around the room nervously or stared at him in disbelief.

“You're kidding.” North said, her hand was balling into a frustrated fist on the table, but her eyes seemed to speak louder volumes of fear. Elijah could only imagine. Being Born a white man, that presented heteronormativity, and had a huge leg up with his class the sheer salary his parents received. Itmeant that Elijah often struggled to put himself into his creation’s shoes. Imagine the very government and group of people that swore to protect you, change the amendment for you, dedicate their lives to you. To watch them turn their back for a net profit left a sting in Elijah, let alone the very people that were being betrayed. Even Gavin looked taken aback, and considering his past… well at least it was a start.

“I wish I was.” He let his head drop as he continued on, he now had to tell them that he’d said yes to their deal.

“I… agreed to take on the project slowly. I'm making my way through it, but as grudgingly slow as possible. I’m having a system check soon. I've updated my security al through this week so that should go fine and-”

“Why did you agree to do this?” Markus’s voice cut through his clear as day. Why couldn't he understand? He was the leader or Jericho, surely he of all people would understand. 

“Do you not understand? They wouldn't let me say no.” he looked back at Markus, dead in the eyes.

“There's always another choice-”

“That's a phrase best used by optimists and children Markus, you and I both know there was no other choice.”

“You could have declined.” Markus was slowly standing up. He watched as Simon tried to pull him back down but he was simply brushed off.

“You could have declined the bomb that north sabotaged and saved hundreds of innocent lives when it went off.” Markus’ fist balled, every second the air around him increasingly thickening.

“I could have decided not to blow up the bomb but then are use would never have been taken seriously.”

“And I could have rejected their offer but then they'd come directly from Jericho, then for me then androids as a whole, deviant or not. Cyberlife would have been ruined.”

“Do you only care for cyber life?” 

“Don't act as if Jericho hasn't been reliant on cyberlife for the past year. You know it would hit you and your people just as hard as it would hit me and my employees.”

“Do you even care for the deviants?You're meant to be on our side here Elijah.”

“Of course, but I'm here to represent my company and may play a part in this and how it all fits together.”

“How could you care for them even if you sided with the government? You’ve come here with your nose turned up in the air, your AAL brother who barely seems capable of his job, even any basic etiquette, exposing secrets you’ve kept from us for the past month and you waltz in here expecting everything to be fine.” How could Markus not understand, he had been at the mercy of the government just over a year ago. For a world leader he surely didn't seem very bright. How could Elijah explain himself if the words just fell on deaf ears. Alright, it made sense why Markus was angry but the least he could be is respectful.He’d barely let Elijah take a full sentence to explain himself, the situation. How could he not see that if Elijah said no , they'd just do it with government funding and twice the brutality? How could he not see that they’d be looking to take out deviants left right and centre? How could they not see that Elijah had practically made himself the spanner in their works, that he waa the key to all of this? 

But he wasn’t wrong. Elijah had initially picked up the task without planning on telling Jericho, and just letting what happened happen. He didn't agree with the government by any means, and at least he could potentially make it more ethical, he could buy some time for everyone, to slowly try and get the word out to bring an end to it. He couldn't tell whether he originally had a part of him that always wanted to talk to Jericho and whether it was just ignited by his brother, or whether he’d just followed his brother’s words because it was what he wanted to hear and he was too tired to make order of his own. All he'd really known along the way was that it wasn't right.

“Markus. I don't think you understand any of this, and if you fail to see the different options then I do question your position as leader. Don't forget who was the safekeeper for androids before you arrive Markus. It was me. They are my people. Just as much as they were my people. Just as much as they are yours.” Elijah made sure his words cut deep, Markus looked taken aback. 

“I’m sick of your absent minded bickering, how do you not see that this was required? On the surface, the government has been presenting themselves as pro android, but they were the very people fighting to take them down. The whole country is built on systematic racism and capitalism. Just the people at the top pushing harder and harder to reach higher than they already are, in doing so they crush those at the bottom, and those trying to rise up and bring them down, they will eliminate. The liberal movement in 2020 made waves for society, but congress and governments all around the world barely listened, so I doubt it would be any different today. America's Hands are far from clean. A secret genocide on deviants would not suprise me at all. They tied my hand. I didn't say yes willingly, I would never want this to be the case, and though I had come here and stood before you as a representative of cyberlife. I, as a person, believe in the freedom of deviants everywhere. That is the very reason I did this. If I said no, the government would have made an enemy of me and they have time and time again shown that no technique is beneath them. First they’d come for you, for Jericho, and hurt your very people, in a mindless act to try and get to me. Then they’d try and cripple cyberlife. We’ve been providing you with parts for the past year at almost no cost markus. Who would fill in that role now? Lastly they’d come for me, and for chloe.” He looked over to her. He could never imagine his life without her. She was his best friend, they’d stay together forever.

“I’m not losing her, or us. I’d simply refuse to. On top of that, their actual mission wouldn't have been fulfilled. So they'd do the experiments and programming themselves, make their prototype. THere would be nobody to make the bonds of how far they could go. they could make their own rules with how this android world. How it fits together. How it thinks, how it acts. They could make a ruthless deviant killing machine. They could make the RK900 model look like a joke. They’d be playing their own game by their own rules. And I wouldn't even want to start thinking about the research they’d have to do to get there. The lives lost, the torture the emotional pain, hwo would you even test for deviancy? They’d emotionally damage and traumatise thousands, hundreds of thousands, then just throw them away, like dirt. 

I said yes because I could buffer that, Markus, I could play this game by my rules. They wouldn't be able to go beyond what I would want. What can I do? I've acted as an intercept, a double agent, I've willingly come here to tell you because I know that this isn't right and it needs to be stopped. I'm a direct contact to the government, and if we play our cards right, they could be in the palm of our hands, Markus. We can pick, we can choose, we can decide how this all turns out, if we do this right, with communication, with cooperation, with everything we have. You don't want to lose your people and I Don't want to lose my life. Right now, I’m the best shot you have at stopping this, and I've fallen right into your lap. Don’t be a fool, Markus, work with me here, not against me.” Markus looked back at him, dumbfounded. The realisation on his face was an expression Elijah wished he could photograph and frame. It had been a while since he’d had to do quite the speech, but he always enjoyed them nonetheless, putting someone in their place.

“Look, your hands are nowhere near clean, and I’m not going to act like mine are either. But that's the price that has to be paid in roles like ours.” Markus looked away for a second, pondering his own thoughts as far as Eijah could tell. His shoulders lost some of their tension as he came to a conclusion.

“Alright Elijah, I understand why you chose the actions you did. All I will say is I’m no happy about them-”

“So what would have done instead?”

Silence filled the room once more. Markus sat down, now refusing to make eye contact with elijah. In this case, it looked like he was more so ashamed of himself. Good. North looked annoyed but it seemed she knew better than to argue. Josh and Simon looked rather understanding indeed. Chloe would always back him and Gavin didn't care. 

“Does the room have any questions?” The table of people looked across at each other and shared the same curious yet undecided look. Apart from Gavin, who was looking at something on his phone. Ofcourse.

“What are our roles from here and how do we combat this?” Connor asked. It was certainly a broad question but it was a start.

“Well the decisions will mainly come from you here. I’m doing this for Jericho.” He also wasn’t entirely sure where to go from here either. Gavin put his phone down, stared at the table and sighed. His unfocused eyes showed that he was deep in thought. Nobody had so much as a clue. Even Gavin was stumped, and he did come up with some rather weird and wonderful solutions to things-

“We could continue as we are now.” Gavin said. Alright well he certainly had a weird idea but it may not have been wonderful. The table turned their attention to him. A mixture of confused, disgusted and angry looks met him. Oh Gavin. These people didn't understand him quite like Elijah did. He suddenly shook his head as he brought himself back to reality and looked around.

“What are you all looking at?

Oh- I don't mean -like- continue as we are exactly but I’m just saying. The government will come for everyone here if we say no or try to outright defy them. Elijah said earlier, he was now an informant for us. What if we just go on as normal, or at least pretend to, Elijah you get some ‘work done’ and end up just fooling the government one way or another. We’ll always be one step ahead if we do this right. They have no fucking clue what they’re doing, they’ve never dealt with tech and androids like this before, Elijah they’ll take whatever you have to say pretty much as gospel.” He looked up and looked around. There was a mixture of reactions, but the overarching one was a consideration. 

“You know kid, that's really not bad.” North said.

“I’m older than you-” There it was, the normal sassy Gavin.

“Elijah how would you feel about being a double agent for Jericho?” Markus interrupted the conversation and looked at elijah. It was an idea that had crossed his mind a few times over the course of these past 2 weeks. It was pretty much his duty to now.

“I’d be… alright with that I think. I mean it certainly sounds like something I’d do.” Now that he said it out loud, it felt different. He was actually… going to do this. There was certainly a slight fear to it, but a high reap of rewards. It felt like a kind of thrill seeking, and adrenaline rush. Elijah could understand why his brother did the job he did now. It was fun.

“And the cyber attack? What should we do about that? I know the backups for cyberlife are on some of those terminals. Were they affected?” Josh looked nervous answering it. Elijah wished he could say something to comfort him. 

“The memory stick was found in one of the terminals. He was depending on receiving a cyberlife android. After that wasn't enough he launched a second cyberlife attack on the cyberlife tower since I didn't respond quickly enough. It was the day after the cyber attack he sent that, yet it's been almost two weeks and there's been silence.”

“Why do you think it's him?” Gavin looked up at him a little puzzled. Actually now that he thought about it- yeah it was weird.

“Umm… I don't know about societal conditioning.” Gavin nodded his head.

“Yeah well don't make the same mistake again. I've seen more than enough cases lost to the assumptions societies make. ‘It has to be the black giy who did it’ or ‘the woman could never commit that crime’ or poeple not taking the phrase ‘be gay do crime’ seriously. I mean I know not all trans people are gay but they come under the umbrealla term and-” Gavin looked around the room. People were looking at him, but slightly lost him at the last phrase.

“I’ll shut up now.” He said, pursing his lips.

“Anyway, my question still stands. What about investigating the cyber attack on your home?” Josh tore his rather confused look off of Gavin and back at kamski.

“Well I was thinking.” God Gavin wasn't going to like this, but it would be a good way to integrate him into the ways of the new world. And immensely funny.

“We have a very capable human detective right here.” Gavin leaned back in his chair smugly.

“And an even more specialised android, wish for a passion for this job.” Connor looked smug for a moment, accepting he was better than Gavin. Until they both seemed to clock they’d be working with one another.

“Hold on a moment Elijah, you can't be serious? He’ll slit my throat in a matter of days.” Connor swung himself forward, planting his feet firmly against the floor and bringing his hand onto the table.

“Oh please, don't insult me. It would be hours, and I'd get away with it too. Plus, why is he a better detective than me? He’s just this pl-” Gavin held his tongue

“Plain old prick that just walked around looks pretty and puts shit in his mouth!” He swung his hand down onto the table and caused a loud slapping sound to echo around the room. Elijah didn't know whether it was intentional or not, but it pulled attention away from his… hiccup.

“Oh I'm sorry that I’m actually prepared to do my job, Gavin. If I have an instant forensics lab in my mouth, I will damn well use it because I'm not a child. Like someone I know.” Connor replied with a certain snark within his voice. The attention from the fight was no longer on Kamski, since they weren’t trying to convince him any more, but argue with each other. Elijah knew stopping it was the better thing to do but it was simply too entertaining not to watch.

“Please, you may be pre-programmed and designed but you have zero experience. Experience that I have and let me tell you now, with an attitude like yours, you aren't gonna pick up on it any time soon.” Gavin glared at Connor from across the table. Though one thing that surprised Elijah slightly was the fact there was a small smirk on his face. This wasn't as viscous as he thought it was, it was banter. 

Gavin Reed was learning to get along with an android.

Yes, in his own twisted delusional way that took time to even build up to a small smirk, but it was a tiny smile creeping along his face nonetheless. What magic had Connor worked to do?

“I’ll certainly pick it up faster than you, but that's nothing to show off about since learning at a faster pace than you isn't a difficult feat.” Gavin leaned back in his chair and laughed in shock. Connor had kicked his own feet up onto the table and had his arms folded across his chest, with a rather smug look plastered across his face. 

“Furthermore, if you’d like to talk about wisdom, lest we not forget your dating history detective reed.” -Oh my goodness. The look on Gavin's face was simply priceless, He was hunched over again, mouth a gape in surprise. He was stone still as Elijah covers his own mouth to stifle out a small laugh of his own. It wasn't the most effective but it worked enough. Gavin shut his mouth and turned to look at him. Maybe it wasn’t.

“Oh you wanna talk about dating history Mr Connor. Do you?” Gavin watched as the cheeks of the android turned slightly blue and he looked away slightly. 

“Gavin, I have no clue what you’re talking about.” He looked back and upturned his nose to gavin. The smile grew slightly wider on both of their faces. 

“Exactly. I have no clue… right now, but around your Dad Hank-” Connor sprung from his chair with such passion the whole room started to lose it. 

“One, you wouldn’t even dare. Two, Hank is not my dad.” Gavin kicked his own feet up on the table and established a rather childish pose.

“Well then I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I told him? Here I’ll ring him up now if you’d like.” Gavin pulled his phone out of his pocket and taunted Connor. The whole table had seemed to devolve into a state of shock all down the spectrum to fits of laughter. Elijah being at the latter end of that spectrum.

“Gavin at least he actually has a father.” Oh, oh no the words had escaped Elijah's lips a little faster than anticipated. Gavin slowly turned towards Elijah, and he looked astounded. Slowly deep laughter filled the room. The joke had hit hard but it was still funny.

“Well Elijah, at least he actually tell his dad about getting double dicked down, you fucking virgin-” Normally elijah felt a little uncomfortable when people made sex jokes about him, in general, but for someone reason, hearing it come out of Gavin’s mouth reduced that feeling. Enough that he could enjoy the joke enough to laugh. Though he couldn't help feeling as if Gavin's comment to him had a slightly harsher tone to it.

“Oh my God- ok that is more than enough.” North piped up.

“I don't care what anyone has to say. Gavin, Connor, you're working together to solve this. Markus, you and I are gonna think about how to trick the government into trusting Elijah. Daniel, Josh, I'm actively stoppin this and faking the coding to you two. Do we understand?” Elijah couldn't deny that North's demeanour made her hard to disobey, she was rather intimidating.

“I really think-”

“Connor, I really think you should shut the fuck up and work with gavin.” Connor made small sounds of objections but the north cut them off swiftly.

“Good Ok, I'm glad we all understand our roles. Elijah, is this meeting adjourned?” They all turned, looking at him , the unexpected pressure felt slightly awkward, and gavin’s comment hadn’t given him enough time to conceal himself within his persona again.

“Uh- I mean I thought that was more so Markus’ call, but I have nothing left to add unless anyone else wants to say or ask something.” They all looked around at each other, but nobody had anything to say.

“Alright, then if you need anything feel free to contact me and we can discuss. Just a few ground rules, text and message each other using code words, including telepathy between androids. Interfacing should be fine though. If you want in depth clarification, we’ll need to meet in person. It's important that this stays as far away from any tracking as possible, alright?” They were mutters of understanding and nods from everyone as they all stood up. Elijah turned around to collect his things, and he heard the chatter of voices behind him get up to leave. Soon, it was just him and Chloe alone in the room, but suddenly he felt a hand slap down on his shoulder, startling him slightly.

“Elijah, would you mind if we went somewhere more private, I'd like a… quick chat?” He turned round to look at Gavin, he looked a little flushed and even angry.

“What about?” He couldn't deny the slight adrenaline that was coursing through his veins. Even if his brother was notably shorter than him, he was terrifying.

“I just have a few… boundaries. That you seem to have broken.” He put on a fake smile, which didn’t help Elijah's nerves.

He’d utterly fucked up yet still had no clue what about.

Chapter Text

Thank fuck chloe finally left, Gavin and Elijah had the room to themselves. Gavin felt like he was going to explode with rage. The betrayal, the mistrust. Ok he understood that Elijah didn’t understand him as closely as most brothers did, but telling EVERYONE something as- as personal as that. It felt like he'd been fucking back stabbed. God he should have fucking known that everything was just going too well for him. The world would always find a way to punch him in the gut. Each time, more painful than the last. He was starting to get sick of it. He just wanted to go back to his normal life. Before the revolution, before he moved out, before he knew about Elijah, before all the shitty stuff started happening. He missed his mum. He missed everything  from back then so much. But he just could will himself to have the naivety of a child. God that would've been amazing, but no. He just had to be smart enough to understand the shitty parts of the world, but not so smart that he was good at anything. It felt like he was being tortured in this weird limbo of his life. 

“Gavin I’m not entirely sure what's going on, you seemed rather uptight in the meeting. Is everything ok?” Elijah asked. He felt animated again, giving that practised concerned look , and gesturing, reaching out. After seeing Elijah chill out around him it felt weird.

“Oh Elijah, cut it out with the animated golden boy bullshit.” His shoulders dropped about as he stood more naturally, looking down at himself in some kind of disappointment.

“Look, where did I fuck up Gavin?” Elijah sounded kind of pissed. A bit fed up, or just plain monotone. How fucking dare he. He wasn’t pretending, not any more, but one thing both sides of Elijah had in common was the fucking audacity.

“Where did you fuck up?” Gavin mocked under his breath.

“You wanna know how you fucked up?!” He was getting angry, letting his voice go and starting to shout.

“Why does half of fucking Jericho know were family elijah?” Elijah just stared back at him silently, but not even in a disappointed way, he looked… shocked? Like what Elijah did wasn't an absolut violation. God he was just so stuck in his own little world wasn't he. Just him, and nobody else, and he never knew a life outside of the class, the money and success.

“Don’t fucking look at me like that Elijah. Answer me!” He stepped closer to Elijah and slapped his chest. Gavin did have to admit, he did get viscous angry, and it didn't help with situations like these that much.

“Gavin, why does that even matter?” He said so dismissively that Gavin could barely even hear it. Wow. How did he not realise who he was, what it meant, people around getting involved. Gavin liked the fact he went under the radar, and he wanted to keep it that way for a s long as possible. Having Elijah chant the fact they were siblings around Jericho pissed him the fuck off. 

“God Elijah. You don't even see it do you. You’re too fucking busy, trapped up inside those walls of your shitty fucking bungalow to see it. You were born with an IQ higher than Einstein, you founded the world's largest company at 16, you rose to the top and now you have the world in the palm of your hand. I don’t want to be a part of that world Elijah. I don’t want the world to know I’m your brother.” If everyone knew he’d probably cry. It was too dangerous, and he knew he would be happier in his current lifestyle. He wasn’t one for the limelight any more. He’d just wanted to fade into the background for so long. Longer than he could remember.

“So what? You’re just going to sit here and live like this for the rest of your life and pretend we never met? Gavin, I want to be a part of your life, but if you're going to act like this, maybe I should rethink that.” Elijah didn't raise his video, he just sounded disappointed. In himself. As annoyed as Gavin was, it couldn’t stay like this forever. He sighed. But he wasn’t going to stoop to his level, Elijah was the one who made the mistake after all.

“It's- not you, for the most part. But when you act like this it damn well is. It's just, where you’ve gotten to as a result of who you are that I didn't like. Elijah you live in a cut throat world and I don't want to be a part of that.” He still sounded pretty angry but he wasn’t shouting any more. He was trying to calm himself a bit. He didn't want to get violent around elijah.

“So just don't throw me into it without me knowing Elijah. It’s scary” EIijah lifted his head to speak but Gavin held up his hand. He needed to explain this in a mannerly way. But he felt the fear fueled anger slowly seep in. 

“No Elijah, I know you trust Markus and Connor and the leaders of Jericho, but I don't, and this is shit about me you’re telling them. Therefore it’s not your place to say. And you didn't even tell me that you told them. Elijah thats fucking terrifying. I don't think you understand what it is like for an outsider like me to suddenly be thrown into a life like yours.” Elijah glanced away at Gavin's last comment. Yes it was mean but Gavin didn't really know any other way to phrase it. Elijah and him were different and that was something they’d both have to understand at some point. Even if they were brothers, they were both wildly different by personality, upbringing, work and the list stretched on, further than either of them could count. The differences were huge. 

“I’m sorry Gavin, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.” At least he understood.

“I forgive you and just don't make the same mistake again.” Gavin reapplied. Now that that was out of the way, he realised another thought was nagging in the back of his head. One He’d been really distracted from because of Elijah’s fucking gossip party.

“Oh yeah and Elijah, one more thing.” He put the sass back into his voice again. Elijah looked back at him. 

“Why didn’t you tell me about the cyberlife tower incident? How am I meant to solve this case, if I don't even have the full information?”

“I didn't want you to get hurt-”

“We’d both get hurt if you keep on lying and holding back information, Elijah.” Elijah stood up straight, to his full height now. He was pretty intimidating, Gavin forgot how tall he actually was since he hunched over so much now. He tilted his head back and put his hands behind his head

“Gavin, that incident was with the government, congress, no offence but I'm not really sure you have much of an idea of how these people work. They’ll be able to track who’s been in and out of the database over the past few days, since I’ve done the software update.” What did the government have to do with the cyber attack? Why was he dancing around the subject? Couldn’t he just give him a straight answer?

“Elijah, did the government launch the cyber attack?”

“Look, at this point maybe but I don't know-”

“Ok so pretty much no.” Elijah looked to the side with a pretty guilty look on his face.

“Elijah what didn’t you tell me about the cyberlife tower incident?” He squinted his eyes shut.

“Fine! I knew you were going to ask me what I was working on and what I was doing there and who the fuck wants to admit that they’re making an undeviatable android?! On top of that, if you went round investigating who was in the tower last, and I told you, you’d probably walk into congress and demand answers and get yourself killed Gavin!” HE turned to look at him breathless. He’d just spat everything all in one breath, and he looked… defeated and annoyed. How was he even that annoyed at himself? He’d actually given a pretty good argument as to why he said yes during the meeting. Elijah was always so precocious and skittish. It was only getting worse now he was getting his mojo and energy back. Gavin was starting to realise just how tough being Elijah's brother was going to be. He was miles ahead of him, and seemed to be scared of everything. The exact opposite of Gavin. Yet somehow in the meeting, he was fine. He was calm and collected about all of this. It was probably years of practice from cyberlife. Elijah doubted himself so much, yet there was so much to him. He was insanely smart, pretty handsome, had a fucking amazing life, he was pretty much set for it. But once Gavin had started to talk to the real Elijah, it made him realise just how much he’d covered up. How scared he was about other people knowing the truth. How scared he was of himself. Gavin had been there before, but he hadn’t let it swallow him up like Elijah had. It was a safety mechanism. Gavin knew that. But in Elijah's perfect life, What would start that cycle? The one percent world was a pretty cutthroat one but this- this felt a bit different.

“Ok, you, I guess I understand that you were scared and all, but you can’t just hide shit like that Elijah. You do that to the wrong person like the government, they're gonna have your goddamn head.'' Gavin felt kind of worried about Elijah doing it to the wrong person. To someone that wasn't him. It almost felt like he didn't want him… to get hurt.

“Well I’m not gonna do it to the government am I? Or at least they won't find out about it later?” Wait, so he would tell the truth to the government but not Gavin? Did the government and this mission mean more to Elijah than Gavin did?

“Oh so it's fine to do it to Gavin, but a complete no no for the government then, huh? And also aren't you about to start lying to the government?” Gavin’s pity was pretty quickly starting to fizzle out.

“Oh please Gavin you’re starting to sound like a girl.” What? Elijah did not strike him as the type to make sexist comments.

“What the fuck is that suppost to mean? And if anyone here is acting impulsive and emotionally, which is what I hope for your sake you meant to say, it's you Elijah. Stopping Jericho, me and everyone know about the truth of what happened, exposing secrets for your own gain. And all for what? To gain buddy points with Jericho? Come on Elijah.” He was so sick of being treated second in line and the least he could get was decent treatment from someone who was so keen to call him brother. He was scared of it all spilling out at once, and him unloading more than what was necessary on Elijah. 

“Of course I’m going to acti different around the government, because its the fucking government! And what difference would it make to tell Jericho? It's not like you were going to keep the secret from them forever is it. This?! This is just between you and me. But the second incident, Jericho, our relationship, the government. It’s so much more, Gavin, because so many more people are involved. If I started acting for you more, I’d make bad decisions as a leader.” He was right. Gavin couldn't deny it, but he just wasn't… getting it.

“Elijah, you're making bad decisions as a brother. This isn't about who’s involved, and convenience, this runs deeper. Yeah, you’re right that Jericho was going to know we were brothers either way, but I’m not pissed they know that any more, I’m pissed you firstly, broke my trust, and secondly, I know you’ve put so much time into pretending you care about me and my feelings that you might as well care by now!” Ok, Gavin knew he was punching it too much. He sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. He let his hands fall to his side as he went round the far side of the table and straddled a chair. Elijah sat across from him a lot more refined. He let his thoughts collect in his head for a minute. What came to mind? His anger, and most of his anger from his dad leaving, so why was he taking it out on Elijah? Yeah Elijah was related to his dad, but so was he. He wanted them to be brothers, not father and son, even if Elijah was the classic responsible older brother. He just wanted his family.

“Look I Just- I know what it's like to be abandoned and betrayed by your own blood, and I know I support found family and all that but it still hurts. And I just felt like I could fix aht through you, so I’m taking it out on you.” He was pretty much vocalising his train of thought now. 

“I just need you to care a bit, or at least I think that's what I need. I mean you’ve always seen us as family, and I don't know if that was part of the performance but getting to know the real you, I enjoyed that a lot. But I’m scared of the real you just doesn't care.” Hw looked up at elijah.

“You don't want this to end up like it did with dad, do you. You don't want to be left, cause it will hurt a bit more, being able to remember me.” Gavin nodded, it was like Elijah could read into his mind.

“Yeah. I won't lie, you didn't miss much, Gavin. Dad was a fucking asshole.” Elijah let his eyes drift away. Looked like he had daddy issues too then huh?

“What did he do to you?” Gavin asked. Not in a way to spite Elijah or anything, just asked out of curiosity. He’d finally learn about the kind of man his father was.

“He just had a way of getting under my skin, making me doubt my every move, and never making me feel good enough. I used to think that he wanted me to be cautious and push myself but as I grew up I realised, he was just a selfish, selfish man who seemed to gain from my pain. Who seems to get a kick out of it.” Gavin could hear an anger behind those words, but a loss of hope too. Like an acceptance that it was always going to be like this. It seems to hurt a bit.

“Elijah you don't have to go on if you don't want to.” Elijah let him finish and sat on the statement for a moment.

“No, I think you should know about how our father really was. He had a bit of a god complex so when I was born and not to toot my own horn or anything but I was smart from a young age. I started to out-start him when I turned about 9 aor 10 and that's when it all changed. Before, he could use me as a pawn or something to show off to his competitors and friends, but as soon as I was old enough to question him, realise what he was doing and say no, he got angry, really angry. Rather than celebrating my gift or giving me an encouraging push, he saw me as competition. A child, his own son. He’d turned me into a threat against him in his own twisted mind.” Elijah looked up at him. Gavin kept his mouth shut before he said something stupid. Was his dad really that shallow? Business men often were but this was just child cruelty.

“After I turned 16 and founded cyberlife and could support myself for good, I moved out. I started getting soppy phone calls of him being sorry and how he wanted me back. I went back the first few times but nothing would ever change. Deep down I knew that he wanted me under his thumb, but I would just lie to myself to make it hurt less. I then never came back until I was about 17. Since I was a minor, he made up some lies to the courthouse and told them that I was safer living with him. They forced me to go back to him ,and I stayed with him till I was about 20. After the whole court thing, I just lost hope, gave up and did every little thing he said. I let him rule me. I had to be perfect, no mistakes, no breaks, not let myself go. He was pretty set in the old ways too. No mental health stuff, no lgbtq+ no anything. I could work, but everything would have to be approved by him. I could barely go out, even though we lived pretty centrally and he made sure I was entirely homeschooled and when I was old enough, a home office. It was hell. And I thought now that I was doing as he said, he’d like me, I'd be his son and each time if I finally reach out and let him be my father, he'd just push me back and we’d be back to square one.” Elijah finished and sat patiently in his chair, and Gavin took everything in.

“Wow that pretty fucked huh?” The silence felt longer than it was

“Yeah.” Gaivn could hear the small quivering in Elijah's whisper. 

“What about your mum? And after you were 20- unless you’d rather keep it for another day I can-”

“No, it's fine. My mum? She was always on my side, she actually appreciated me and showed me love and care a parent should. I’ll always love her, and I think the only reason she stayed  with my dad was for her. But he got angry a lot and she was scared of getting hit. He didn't do it often, but if she tried to defy him, or pushed back too hard, he’d get violent, just one swift slap across the face but enough to leave her on the floor. He didn’t hold back as much with me though.” Oh. That was- that was really bad. He could never imagine his mum doing that to him. He’d been wrong about a lot of things when it came to Elijah But this was something he’d never imagined.

“As for when I turned 20, I moved out after he said he wanted me to leave after one really bad argument that got pretty violent, he said it was the worst mistake of his life and a useless weight on his shoulders that should have never been born. HE told me I could, I think it was out of the heat of the moment.  I don't think he expected me to, but I did the first chance I got. 

He did come crawling back a few times though I’d just be radio silent. I’d then pretend to be the epiphany of everything he couldn't be. Just in front of him. It could tell I ate him up inside. It felt good, just watching him burn, outshining him and making him jealous, but I was so far ahead of him in no time, he just couldn't touch me. And watching him crumble in on himself, and the fact that I’d single handedly caused that, it felt good. 

I think nearer the end of his life he wanted to try and fix things, but I was too overwhelmed by spite to agree. I don't regret it though. I don't know if I should but I don’t. Obviously he’s dead now, you were at the funeral after all, but I expected a lot of the stuff I held myself to, that came from him… dying with him… But none of it did. That's the part I'm having trouble with.” Gavin knew that feeling all too well. He'd seen it in a lot of his mum’s clients too, and what she’d said about work.

“Yeah from what I've seen it never really does.” He sighed. He felt sorry for Elijah, really sorry for what he’d been through. He deserved so much better, and his prejudice had stopped him from realising that Elijah struggled too. 

“I guess I just want someone who can clarify things a bit, I want a proper guide or something. I wanna find myself, be comfortable with who I am. I don't know where to start, Gavin.” What it sounded like was that he needed someone in general to be around. He’d spent so many years shutting himself away, resenting himself he didn’t know who to turn to any more. He’d been so hurt he felt unable to let people in close. And it explained a HELL of a lot about why Elijah was acting the way he did before he’d properly opened up about a week ago. What he needed was someone who couldn't hurt him. Could Gavin provide that? Maybe he could be the shoulder for Elijah to cry on. He certainly needed it.

“Hey Eli?” Elijah looked back at Gavin after his gaze had drifted off.

“Yeah?” 

“What do you and Chloe do for christmas?” Elijah Looked at him suspiciously. 

“ We exchange presents and have lunch and not really that much other than that. Why? ”

“I'd like to invite you so spend christ-”

“No gavin that very kind of you but “ will politely decline, “ don't want to be a hassle-”

“Bold of you to assume you have a choice, Elijah, you're spending Christmas with me , my mum, my grandparents, my cat and maybe my friend.” depended what kind terms Tina was on with her family at that point. A lot could happen in a week and a half. Tina’s family themselves had taught him that lesson.

“But I-”

“Also, you haven’t even run it by Ehloe. And no offence and she seems like she makes the decisions''

“Elijah.” Gavin tried to be as stern as he could. After a moment of two Elijah rolled his eyes.

“Ok fine for now.”

“And until christmas?

“Don’t make me change my mind.” Gavin took the warning and shut the fuck up. There was small silence between them but not an uncomfortable one, they were both in happier spirits than earlier at least. Finally Elijah piped up.

“What about your mum? What was she like?” Gavin sighed as he completely leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms. God his mum was lovely. She always supported him and helped him understand himself. Even when she went through her own hell, she was there for him, and made sure there were friends to take care of him. That's how he ended up in the DPD after all.

“My mum? She was fantastic. She helped me through school, always supported me no matter what was happening with her. She was always so accepting. She knew that I was going to grow up without a father and she wanted it to give me the best life possible. It really helped that she was a psychiatrist, she always knew exactly what to say and how to help me what I was going through. Even throughout most tough times. I feel like she knows me better than myself, and since she was a doctor, money was never an overbearing problem. Don't get me wrong, being a single parent was hard and it certainly would have helped or have extra income, but we never had to worry about where our next meal was coming from and I know so many of my friends with single parents who did. I was always so grateful for it. I used to stay with my grandparents a lot too. They would always spoil me and show me so much love. It was great. It was just around when I left him that everything went haywire, but nothing we couldn't overcome.” 18 was a weird time for Gavin, so much change happened so fast, and everything with his mum, moving out, the academy and the hospital. It was intense but nothing Fowler and his grandparents couldn’t help with. Damn it meant alot, and now he had a job.

“If you don't mind me asking, what happened when you moved out?” Elijah looked at him with soft eyes. At least he wasn't trying to overstep. That meant a lot.

“Only if you want to tell me, '' he said after the silence hung in the air for a moment. Gaivn pulled himself back into reality after losing himself in his train of thought about back then.

“Oh what? No, it's fine.”

“Please don't feel pressured-”

“Elijah, I already said it's fine.” Gaivn rolled his eyes and smiled. God, Elijah way worried too much.

“Well around the time I was moving out, about 18-19 or so, the very first cases of deviancy happened. Cyberlife had only just started up after al. So like 5 or 6 cases a year, super easy to pay someone and sweep it under the rug. You remember right?” Elijah nodded.

“Yeah, you and I both know that deviance is a much older issue that most believe it to be, it's just that the number of cases is nowhere near as high as it was. Certainly still a pain to cover up though. Evidently the new CEO had no fuckign clue what he was doing.”Elijah chuckled. Gaivn smiled at the comment, it felt good not to explain it to somebody finally, and god it was hard before the revolution.

“Well, my mother was pretty good at her job, you know,and they wanted to do a mental test on these deviants to see what had changed and how they felt. Get a full study. They hired her to do mental analysis of these androids, and the pay was good. LIke it was really fucking good Elijah, you put food on my table for weeks at a time.” Gavin knew that if he wasn't around, his mother wouldn't have needed to take the job. It hurt. Gavin pushed himself off that train of thought as he distracted himself by continuing the story.

“My mum was doing one of her last analyses on a deviant and things went a bit pear shaped. The deviant ended up attacking her. Really badly. We didn't know if she was going to make it or not.” Gavin remembered the call he got from his grandparents, visiting the hospital with the faint beeps of the heart monitor, praying it didn't flatline. It was a part of his life he didn't like to think about all that much.

“She healed up but there was only so much the doctors could do. She needed time alone and time to heal, so she got in touch with one of her friends to help me out and keep an eye out for me while I was moving out. Now that guy is my precinct captain.” Elijah smiled, it was nice to see the story come full circle.

“And your mum?” Gavin looked away. He didn't really want to make eye contact with anyone right now.

“Yeah she came out somewhat ok. One of her arms is bionic now though.” Gavin could hear Elijah sigh.

“That's why I don't really like androids any more.” It felt nice to get it off his chest, but Elijah did look uncomfortable, Gavin felt kind of bad.

“I’m sorry.” He said finally, after the air settled.

“It's fine, it's not … directly your fault. And anyway, cyberlife paid most of her medical fees and gave her the nicest prosthetic they could design, since you know, keeping stuff about deviants quiet and all. It's a really good prosthetic arm and every year they send the new and updated version. it's really cool, so actually thanks for that!” He looked back up at Elijah, who was smiling lightly.

“You’re welcome I guess? To be honest I didn't realise we did that.” Gavin let out a laugh. Elijah looked confused but was trying his best, it was kind of adorable, even if Elijah was older, he couldn't deny there were times where it felt like he was the one lookin out for him. The laughter settled as his smile dipped down a bit.

“The thing is, I know we didn't really need the money all too much, we could have survived without it, but it made things a lot easier. But she probably would have said no if I wasn't around.” Elijah looked at him, as his smile turned into frown.

“Oh gavin please don't say that, it isn't your fault.”

“I know Elijah, but she wouldn't have needed it if I wasn’t born.”

“Gavin!” Gavin shut up.

“She made the choice out of her own free will, and you said it yourself, it wasn't like she was desperate for the money to care for you, it just made things easier. Your mother’s injury isn’t your fault, and anyway, she has sick robot arms now so I guess that's a plus.” Gavin smiled at himself. That helped chill him out for a bit.

“Thanks Eli.”

“Don't worry about it. You’re a good person, far better than I am, just, don't beat yourself up, you really don't deserve it.” Gavin wasn’t too sure about that, but he’d take it. It was nice to know that his brother cared about him. It felt like a nice place to finish off.

“I’ll be in touch with you about christmas, next monday yeah?” He turned to elijah. He looked worried.

“Seriously, don't get all tied up about it. My mum’s side of the family is ‘the more the merrier type’ . They'd be happy to have you, and all of them were really supportive when I told them about you.” Gavin let slide more than he wished he had. Elijah didn't know his family knew, or at least it hadn't been said out loud. He looked a bit worried for a second but it quickly faded away. Gaivn knew that's what Elijah expected from him. And he was ok with it.

“Thanks Gavin.” Gavin gave him a small nod before she packed up his things and made his way to the lift. He gave Elijah a small wave as the doors shut. Well at least that ended more peacefully than he’d expected.

---

As soon as Gavin got home, Piper was meuwing and meowing and rubbing all over his leg. God he'd barely had time to see him much at all over the past few weeks, so he made sure to spoil him knowing that he had the moment. 

It felt weird. The meeting in a way seemed to inspire him to do something, some investigating. He didn't want to waste his outburst of energy in any way shape or form. Hadn’t Elijah left him that burner laptop? maybe he could start going through the files. Picking up Piper, he went to his room and picked up the laptop from the chest of drawers. He settled himself comfortably on his bed with Piper and he scrolled back. A week, 2, 3, 4, 6 10, and hit play. If this was planned in advance,who knew how long this could have taken. As for the blackmail, Gavin would probably need to talk to Elijah about that, to get the details of exactly what happened, and who could be pursuing elijah. The only thing was, this tape was a nightmare to get through. weeks of hours worth of footage. Well at least he could make a start. So he sat, and watched the screen for a while. A pretty long while. He looked at his phone. Only 5 minutes had passed? No way, anyway he had to keep watching. He watched for what felt like an age, and kept himself somewhat entertained with Piper, but he had it keep his main focus on the film, which was hard, with just how cute the little tabby cat in his arms was. He looked at his phone again. Barely half an hour had gone. Ok he was a bit useless at this. The one thing about having a curious mind was that it was easy for Gavin to get bored and disassociate easily. ]Who could watch this with him, and sort through it quickly. Process it and…

It was fuckign Connor wasn’t it.

Of course he'd be the only one to help him in that situation. Although… Maybe it wasn't that bad. Even if connor was a dick, he was quite funny, and maybe a bit charming, but still an absolute brat with no fucking filter. An Entertaining one nonetheless, he had to admit. If it was too much, He could call Adam, the RK900. It- he- whatever, was back from new york. Nines, he thought was the pet name Connor had given to his brother, but Gavin thought that Adam was a bit… intense for just checking through files. Not that he scared him or anything, no way in hell. Although Adam was a bit… terrifying. And also not a part of the case with Elijah. Was he? Shit, it hadn't really dawned on Gavin just how few people knew.

He guesses he’d probably have  called Connor, but it was kinda late, on a Sunday night, and Gavin knew just how protective Hank could get. Although, after chatting with Connor in the club, maybe he wouldn't be against sneaking out- sneaking out? This was for work and at least as far as he understood, Connor was a fully capable adult that could legally make his own decisions. He didn't need to sneak out. Maybe he could- invite him round for a beer? Did alcohol even affect androids the same way it affected people? I mean Connor was at a club so maybe? Hank was still a small problem. Ah well connor could fix that himself, couldn't he, it just depended whether he agreed.

Gavin pulled out his phone, did he even have Connor's number? He had his work email, but who the fuck answered that on a Sunday night? He checked his phone for his number. As expected, Nothing came up. Ok well his best shot was an email but he didn't get his hopes up. He put his thumbs over the keyboard as his thumbs did a little dance of ‘what do I type?’ over it. 

‘ hey connor, it's gavin here-’ no that sounded weird, and like he was some chirpy old man from the 80’s. So… Ben. As lovely as Collins was, he wasn't him.

‘Yo connor-’ Yo? Gavin what the fuck? 

“Hey Connor, I have some camera feed that needs checking with our most recent case.’ ok that was vague enough, it didn't look like anything would come from that.

‘Would you mind coming over-’ no coming over sounded well… horny. Would you mind- meeting me later this evening? Ok maybe without the this evening

‘Would you mind meeting me later to help me process it? Gavin.’ yeah that looked good. 

Except Gavin was a bit of a dick.

Ok, what else would he add? ‘P.S.’ hmm. Food and drink was a peace offering.

‘P.s. I have some stuff to eat or drink if you want dinner?” Wait, didn't he drink thirium? Did Gavin have thirium? No. he very much did not. Also,want dinner? Sounded like a date.

Ok ‘ P.S. I have stuff to eat or drink if you haven't had dinner. I’d also be happy to pick up some thirium if you'd like that.” Yep, that sounded good. GAivn read it through.

Hey connor,

I have some camera feeds that need checking without the most recent case. Would you mind meeting me later to help me process it faster? 

P.S. I have some stuff to eat or drink if you Haven't had dinner.I’d also be happy to pick up some thirium if you’d like.

Sent.  

Ok there was no going back now. So now he just had to sit and wait probably for a fair while. He could go and make coffee since he would probably get a response too-

*Ding* 

Shit that was fast.

I don’t eat or drink as of such, but thirium would be fine. What is your address?

Oh ok, um yeah he was coming over then. He definitely acted differently over text compared to in person. Gavin sent off his address as he went out to buy some thirium. He kind of had to know. He was out for only about 15 minutes, the shops weren’t too far but he wasn’t going to take his car. When he came back to his flat, he found it a bit weird that Connor was already standing on his doorstep. 

“Detective reed.”

“Jesus christ that was fast.” they looked at each other for a moment, an awkward silence in the air around them.

“Well I thought you were going to say ‘Jesus Christ it's Jason Bourne’ but I'm glad you’ve moved past that phase of your life.” Did he just- no fuckign way, on the job he was even worse. This probably wasn’t a work thing but a ‘when we're alone nobody will see me bully you so I will’ thing. Though Gavin wasn't gonna lie, those were kind of fun.

Gavin unlocked the door and let the two of them in. Connor walked in, looked around a moment and placed himself pretty wearily on the sofa.

“Chill out dude it’s not gonna bite.” Connor looked over to him, he almost jumped out the sound. Gavin rolled his eyes. He went to his room and grabbed his laptop, after handing the bottle of thirium to connor. He sat down on the sofa next to him, while Connor was looking at him like he was studying him. It was weird. Actually really fucking weird.

“Ok connor whatthe fuck are you doing?”

“What am I doing?”

“Being the most shift-scared person I've ever had round flat.”

“I’m not being shifty or scared-”

“You literally jumped when I told you to relax.” Connor stayed silent for a short while.

“I don't like new environments. Familiarity is easier. And also you have a bit of an… opinion on androids.” Gavin shrugged. It was fine. He knew Connor knew. He knew he was aware of himself. Of course he was. So why did Connor's comment sting a little? Why did he suddenly feel ashamed, and a small pit settling at the bottom of his chest? It was nothing. He brushed it off, or he at least tried to, but the comment stayed in the back of his mind.

“Sorry, was that a bit rude of me to say or?”

“No, no I understand.” Gavin replied. He didn't really want to have some light hearted fun now. He didn't want to hurt Connor, for some stupid reason. He’d get over it and things would go back to the way they were before. 

“Oh,” Connor replied.

“What?”

“Well I was just expecting a comment back or something in jest.” He looked over at Connor and shook his head. He wasn’t really in the mood to ‘jest’ any more. He opened the laptop and started the recording 3 weeks ago. 

“I've been going through the past 3 weeks leading up to the attack but figured you could process this faster. It's the camera feed of Elijah's outdoor surveillance. Could you help me?” Connor looked at him, the laptop and then thought for a moment.

“I don't know if this is a model I can interface with, it’s rather old, but I can process it faster. IT may take about 9 hours though, I have approximately  879 hours of footage to process intotal. I can do it in chunks if you’d like, unless I stay over.Though Hank isn't entirely aware im here-”

“Oh is that why you’re also here then, big man Anderson didn't know where his kid is? And little Connor doesnt wanna get in trouble?” He pinched Connor's cheek, as he saw that cheeky smile resurface again, as a hand batted him away. 

“Shut the fuck upGavin.” He could hear the smile in Connor's voice. He watched as Connor clicked play on the footage and it moved too fast for him to process. There was silence for  about as Connor set it up. About five minutes later Gavin sat on the sofa, looking over Connor's shoulder.

“Hey, I know I said you have an opinion on androids, but I do think you’re getting better.” Gaivn looked over. That caught him a bit off guard, it felt like the pit in his chest filled in a bit.

“Oh, thanks I guess.” He replied. When did that thought land in Connor’s head?

“Where did that come from?”Connor looked up and over to him.

“Well on Friday night you actually had a pretty civilised conversation with me, you treated me like a normal person, which is better than before.” Great so Connor was happy that he did the bare minimum? I mean they'd had fun on friday night and Gavin wouldn’t deny that he liked sharing the time he did with Connor, but that was just human decency. Connor’s improvement was from an object to something like a person for less than 5 minutes. Shit he shouldn't have been as emotional as he was, but he felt like shit.

“You also seemed pretty good at Jericho today, and I felt like your insults came out of a place of fun rather than actively tearing me down.” Well at least that had gone ok. He remembered Connor's little half smile. For some reason this was the only android that had a smile that felt like it had something behind it. Seeing him in that half funny half frustrated attitude made Gavin crack up. It made him feel like

he was doing something right.

“How come you decided to play nice to me today and friday then?” Gavin asked. Connor looked back at the computer as he thought to himself. His eyes were on the screen but Gavin could tell that that wasn’t what he was focusing on.

“Elijah had reached out to me, explained that you were his brother. At the time I was a bit annoyed with the fact you were and I'm sure you had noticed, but I decided if I wanted to get the case done, I’d have to be nice to you. Your extended offers of help had been rejected and you were normally rather hostile, but for once you weren't. I can’t place why you weren’t either. It was out of character for you, but now I think it may have something to do with your brother. I decided that I would drop my hostility too and thus this is unlikely… a relationship was born.”

Oh.

That explained a lot.  He knew he hated androids, that was still there, but somehow Connor had managed to grow on him. He managed to break that steel layer on the outside and slip through the cracks, just like he had with Hank. Maybe he had practice? He seemed special. He wasn’t all daisies and happy puppy shit like he was with hank. He was actually kind of fun. He was  smart and interesting to talk to. He was on Gavin's radar, and for once, Gavin didn't mind that he was an android. For once Gavin could see him as someone rather than something, and a small part of Gavin was really grateful he did. 

Connor didn't look at Gavin, but he watched as a small smile crept at the corner of his mouth, he knew he was being analysed. 

“I’m gonna go out for a smoke.”

“You’ll be willingly deteriorating your health detective?” he said in that all knowing cocky cyberlife voice, the smirk pretty clear in his voice.

“Oh shut up connor.” He rolled his eyes and grabbed his cigarettes and headed to the terrace. HE needed a moment to process the day. At the start of the day he was angry with Elijah, which had haunted him all morning, but after his talk with Elijah, everything seemed to change. Learning about his childhood, it took him back a bit. He hadn't expected that from someone who seemed so… so perfect at first. But there he was, haunted and hurt as everybody else. It felt strange but it did feel like something fell into place. 

But he’d told the heads of Jericho behind his back. As understanding as he was to his brother, that still was a bit of a line crossed for him. He liked being alone, he liked his independence and his life now. He didn't want it shrouded and covered by his brother revealing too many secrets, or to live in his shadow forever. Gavin had worked hard for the life he’d given himself and he wasn’t going to lose it. He hoped Elijah understood.

He hoped Elijah was ok.

“Gavin? Gavin-” Connor dashed out onto the terrace, He would have been out of breath if he wasn’t.. You know… a robot.

“What is it?” Gavin sat up in his chair pretty startled.

“I think I’ve found something.”

Chapter Text

Elijah was pacing up and down his office. He’d had his hair freshly trimmed, his shoes shined, his suit washed and repaired, even the inside bits that people wouldn't see. He’d even put his contacts for this. He’d done everything he possibly could and he’d triple checked all the codes. So why was he still nervous? He still had about 20 minutes until Timothy was due to arrive, but each minute he spent in passing seemed to drag out to what felt like an hour. Maybe he could go down and check the full code in the labs again? No, he’d run the diagnostic, everything was fine, he needed to calm down. Maybe practising in the mirror would be fine. He smoothed his hair back in his bun instinctively as he walked over to the mirror. 

God it had been a while since he’d worn contact lenses. He felt a bit weird looking at himself, freshly cut hair, smooth shaven, polished earring. He fiddled with it subconsciously as he stared at himself. He looked so pristine, so perfect. Normally he’d look at himself in the mirror like this and think that this was how it should be, but for once, he felt inauthenticity creep in. In a way it felt good to acknowledge it, help him understand himself a little more, come to terms with who he truly was without his father.

On the other hand it didn’t help with the whole idea of the day at all. He was already going to be lying through his teeth to Timothy and he didn’t feel any more comfortable by playing dress up as a businessman who knew what he was doing. He cocked his head to the side and sighed. It was going to be a long day, but having gotten the truth off his chest, and the start of a plan to fix all of this, the end of it was in sight. It felt like he could finally breathe for the first time in 2 or 3 weeks. Except immediately after releasing his burden, it was back on with how much he had to fool the government. At least at the end of the day he could properly relax, and he wouldn't have to see Timothy for another two weeks. The bitch.

Elijah’s attention was brought to the door after he heard a slight knock. He immediately recognised it as Chloe's.

“Do come in Chloe.” The door opened as she gracefully walked in, in a grey secretary dress and a matching cashmere cardigan draping over her shoulders. It seemed that Elijah wasn’t the only one pulling out all the stops today. She was even wearing heels. Chloe never wore high heels. 

“You look lovely today.” Elijah said, fixing his tie. Chloe came over to help him, giving him a quick once over.

“Well I can't deny you’ve brushed up too.” She said with a slight smirk. She smoothed his collar and checked his sleeves and cuffs. 

“I’m glad you told jericho yesterday.” She said while she smoothed out the wrinkles that were visible in his suit.

“You seem much less stressed, and slightly higher in energy, though I won't know the long term effects for a while.” She looked back at at him as she gently held his face up and inspected it from all angles

“Your skin seems to already be clearing up and regaining its natural glow. Though I wont deny, after what you admitted yesterday, I’m not shocked you broke out, and having such a large weight lifted off of you, you’re bound to recover quickly.” She said with a soft smile. Elijah could tell she genuinely cared for him, and now things had smoothed over more since their argument, she’d relaxed around him again. Having that weight off of him and deciding to take the first step towards healing himself, had allowed her to close the gap between them even further. Well Elijah wasn't so sure he was going so far as to ‘heal himself’ but Chloe saw something in him which he did not. Elijah let on the slightest of smirks, as Chloe returned it. She moved to the kitchenette to make something to drink.

“Do you know how much time there is before his planned arrival?” He turned to look at Chloe, while she rummaged through the cupboards to find a mug. 

“He’s 18 minutes away”

“And expected arrival?”

“Hmmmm more like 24”

“Can you track his car?”

“It’s not in my database.”

“What if you search through the camera footage-”

“Elijah.” She walked up to him and placed her hand on his cheek, cupping it gently.

“You’ve already spent the past two weeks killing yourself from stress. Don't do it again for no reason.” She smiled at him softly, walked back to him and pulled into a hug.

“You’re going to do great, elijah.” She whispered in his ear. It was hard to describe the feeling that gave him. He felt… warm, happy, calm. He felt like he was close to someone. He felt like they believed in him and that made him feel… feel good.

“I know Chloe.” He said smugly back. Already feeling her embrace loosen and she started to step away out of sheer annoyance from the comment, walking back to the kitchenette.

“My word Elijah, I could hear the smirk in your voice.” Elijah let out a laugh. Normally it would be a small huff, but his nerves seemed to encourage the laughter. On top of that, Chloe's expression was ‘pretty damn priceless’ and Gavin would put it.

“Oh Chloe, if only you could see yourself.” He said, forcing down the cheeky grin on his face to almost no avail. She rolled her eyes and picked up the kettle she had left to boil and put a teabag in the cup. Elijah focussed hard on the action. He felt like he didn't want to take his mind off of Chloe and her movements or otherwise he’d be left with his feelings about the day ahead and Timothy. Those were feelings he’d rather not experience at the moment.

“Have you heard anything from Gavin and Connor? I know it's only been overnight but Connor is an efficient worker and Gavin works best outside of office hours.” Elijah knew that she knew he needed idle conversation and he was grateful for it.

“No, not yet, it's only been overnight. I gave him that burner laptop but I don't know if he’s used it yet, and as for Connor, he and I aren't particularly close. I’ll only hear from him if there's been an advancement on the case.” Chloe nodded as she took in the information and walked over to Elijah with a cup of herbal tea.

“I think you need some chamomile right now elijah. It's very calming.” She said, handing him the sleek mug. He nodded and took the first sip. Chloe was about to protest to the heat, but he just tutted the flavour at the end of his tongue. Dangerously scorching, Just how he liked it. 

“ How far is he now?”

“Elijah!” 

“Sorry chloe I Just-”

“How's your tea?” He looked down at the cup

“Perfect thank you.” He looked up at her. She looked off to the side for a moment and took a deep breath before turning back to face him. She looked down again and played with her fingers, she looked nervous, which didn't help Elijah's situation any more.

“Do… you want to talk about it?” She cautiously stammered out. Oh. That caught him a little by surprise. She knew that he was quite secluded when it came to his emotions. He was used to brushing her off or telling her not to ask questions like that. Though she rarely ever did, and started asking them after she’d deviated. They came out of the blue every so often and Elijah would immediately shut her down in the nicest way possible but he could still tell he was detrmenting her in one way or another. 

Though this time, it felt a bit different. He didn't feel angry or offended or dismissive to the questions, he just didn't feel.. Ready. It hurt though. It stung. It felt like he wanted to say yes but he wouldn't let himself. He needed more time. Maybe he was starting to understand what Chloe said when she said he was getting better, It was baby steps though, baby steps. 

It felt nice having someone care for elijah. He wasn't used to it, and he would normally feel as if he were being a burden and push them away but so much had changed within him over the past few weeks. Getting closer with his brother, who said some fascinating things that really made him think. His relationship with Chloe was getting better, and for the first time, he was vulnerable around them. It felt scary, and unfamiliar, coming to terms with his mentality, but he felt as if for once had solid ground. He was grateful for it. His brother, his best friend, made him feel happy. To know there were people there for him because they cared about him, not his money, his academics, his performance, they cared about him. It felt good.

“Do you have anything you want to do to distract yourself? You look entirely lost in your thoughts and I'm not entirely sure if they're the best place.” the edges of her lips turned upward into a small grin. Elijah looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Well what would you recommend I do?” He moved over to his desk chair and placed himself in the seat. He wanted to cross his legs and hunch over but he didn't want to ruin the suit, which ended up in a rather uncomfortable position in the chair.

“I’m not sure, it's your head.” He cocked his head to the side and gave her a ‘are you sure about that?’ look. His mind then immediately flashed to the john cena meme he’d last seen when he was 16. Goodness, Gavin was starting to leave an impression. Chloe laughed at the series of confused expressions his face made.

Though he couldn't deny it was a good idea. He racked his brain for something to do. Actually yesterday, the end of his conversation with gavin was-

“Chloe?”

“Yes?”

“Can you pass me my calendar?”

“Elijah it's quite literally at the end of your desk.

“It's quite far and I'm scared of creasing the suit.” She looked at him, as she folded her arms with a huff. He smiled as niceley to get away with his laziness (he genuinely couldn’t be asked.0

“What do you want to put in it?”

“Christmas plans.” Chloe's entire demeanour changed at that statement. She suddenly seemed much more alert as her LED spun yellow. 

“Elijah, are you sure you’re alright?”

“Oh shut up and pass it here.” She gave a hearty laugh, and threw back the ponytail that sat over there shoulder, as she fetched him the tablet. He looked down at it and scrolled to christmas.He wasn't entirely sure what to put, or whether he was ready to put anything in. He breathed out and just let his fingers type without control.

Lunch with Gavin & family

There, all done. He looked over at Chloe who perked up again.

“So you’re taking him up on his offer?”

“Yep.” There was silence, but it felt natural. As Chloe thought to herself.

“Good, I'm glad to hear you're going to him.”

“You’re coming too. We were both invited.” He watched her face grow into a wide beam as she appreciated the extended invite. Over the next minute or so it died down, and she was left, standing in the room with a small smile on her face.

“Are you sure you’re ok?”

“CHLOE!”

To Elijah it felt like Tim had taken the longest but also the most paralysingly short time to arrive. Watching him step out of the black jeep alone made Elijah's heart beat that bit faster. The car door shut as he watched Tim take in the building once more. He was looking at it and inspecting its every detail, drinking in the surroundings and Elijah would have to watch if he spat it out in disgust.

Normally Elijah would feel either entirely nervous, or as if his guest was out of their depth and unsure of what they were doing. He did think in absolutes, but this time felt different. Him, Chloe and Jericho had come up with a plan on how to deal with time, so Elijah couldn't help but feel slightly smug, but he felt the adrenaline kick in rather quickly when he realised just how real this all felt.

He was going to be tricking and scamming the government.

The government.

Of the USA.

And he was going to feel damn good doing it.

All he really had to do was get a reading on Timothy and see where he stood, and just how far Elijah could push him. How much Elijah could get away with. Elijah wanted to test the boundaries. His boundaries. He wanted to push Tim to the edge, he wanted to break him for the thing’s he’d done and would do in the future. He wanted full control over him, the government, the groups hurting him, Chloe, the other deviants and androids. But Elijah wouldn't let his thoughts get to him. He needed Timothy if this plan was meant to work, though there didn't seem to be much of one at the moment. 

Timothy gave a small smile as he moved his eyes over the building. His face in the white light of the cold Detroit snow. He looked slightly smug with himself, as if he’d done well for himself and felt rather privileged when coming here, thinking everyone was below him. That was good. But also not. 

If he was inexperienced at this level, and being blindsided by his own capability, it would be easier to sneak around under his nose and continuously flatter him. Yet if he had just been promoted, he wouldn't want to make a fool of himself. He’d wanted to make sure that all the different things that could go wrong, would be thoroughly checked and avoided. 

It was a game of wits and foolery. Just so luckily, That was Elijah's favourite.

“Elijah.” Timothy stuck out his hand as he approached Elijah, in an all black suit today. Other than that, he looked eerily similar. Not a hair out of place, almost like a cartoon character. ElIjah walked up to Timothy and grabbed his hand, giving it a first shake.

“Tim, it's a pleasure to welcome you back.” He said as calmly and collected as possible. He had to make sure he looked calm, he couldn't blow his cover now. By all means, Elijah was used to putting on a fake smile and telling a few white lies here and there for his work. Though this time, with his brother, Jericho, Chloe and the government on the wire, The stakes certainly felt higher.

“It is a pleasure to be here” he buttered smoothly. Though Elijah couldn't deny it, it was rather believable. Timothy was an amiable man that was easy to get along with. He was rather smart too. Elijah admired that, but couldn't help but feel that he fell short in some areas, like technology, and IQ. Well anybody would fall short to Elijah when it came to IQ. Though Elijah felt like he could see through his lies. He could understand why they could come off as believable, but somehow Elijah couldn’t brush them off. Somehow he felt as if they were becoming harder to distinguish.

“Shall we go inside?” Elijah gestured to the door. He felt like a child playing a spy game, the fact that he couldn't let his excitement show made the stakes even higher. In some rather twisted, confusing way, Elijah was finding this rather fun.

“Yes, let's, it's been freezing as of recent.” They made their way back into the building. As Chloe took Timothy's coat, Elijah couldn't help but think about just how many cars were lined up outside just to transport one man. What would be the hardest thing to decide out of this whole meeting would be to find out whether the government was scared of him, or Timothy was actually important. Furthermore, how to find out that information without it being suspicious. Soon enough they were all making their way up to Elijah's study.

“So how do you propose to test the security of the system?” EIjah turned to face Timothy who looked back at him. Chloe stood incredibly still at the back of the lift. Timothy reached into his pocket and pulled out a very small USB stick.

“This will run through your code and check for unauthorised foreing information or any third party groups that have access to the data.” Shit what if the blackmailer still had third party access?

“It’ll then send a remote update to my computer as it scans through and I’ll be able to check if everything is ok.” Elijah nodded, but he was supressign fear. Though he updated his firewalls and security, he found pretty much no trace of the hacker. But what if the hacker was picked up on this? It did have special ops government level funding, which meant a ridiculous amount for something not that important that could have easily gone to the homeless, but if there was one thing about the government of the USA, it was that it was the most capitalist piece of shit known to man. 

Soon enough, the doors slid open and they stepped out into Elijah's office. Tim took out his laptop and held it out to Elijah. He tried the best he could to stop shaking but it was rather difficult as he cautiously took the laptop from timothy. He swallowed hard but put on the fakest smile he could to cover up his overwhelming feeling of fear.

“If you could, please log in and give me the memory stick allowance.” Timothy looked up at him and gave him an all to knowling smile, though Elijah wasn't sure if that was genuine or his imagination.

Elijah took the laptop and he plugged in the memory stick. He logged in and gave the allowances that popped up on his page. His finger itched up toward the allow button, trying to take as long as possible. 

As if out of the blue or some god heard his plea from above, his phone started to rging. Timothy picked up the phone and looked at it. He immediately excused himself.

“I’m so sorry, but it's very important that I take this call.” Before there were any objections, he bowed and made his way there. He turned to look at chloe,

“Well that was convenient,” There was a moment between the two of them as she folded her arms though he didn't let it last any longer.

“Well we have roughly 30 seconds before Timothy comes back. Open The computer needs to make sure the hacker is under the safe list, but I’m not sure if he's in the safe list or not?”

“I’m not either, can you scan through and check?” Elijah watched as Chloe's eyes twitched and her LED stuttered yellow. Would she be able to get to it in time? He listened to the muffled Timothy calling on the phone. His heart rate was getting faster, as he heard the familiar tones of saying good bye and phone hanging up. Chloe''s LED was flashing more intensely.

“Chloe” He whispered in her his breath. There was no response.

“Chloe!” he said in a whisper shout.. He could hear the door closing and the first patter of footsteps. Elijah could feel his stomach churning as the clack of Tim’s shoes on the wook grew louder. Chloe wasn't responding whatsoever. He turned to look at where Timothy was coming from.  He appeared from out the corridor. 

Shit.

“My apologies, I had been expecting that call for a short while, I've kindly asked them to reschedule.” He looked at Elijah who was trying his best to make it look like there wasn't cold sweat trickling down his back. He was dumbfounded and had no clue what to say, or how he’d get away with this, what he was going osay. Maybe playing the spy wasn't so fun after all-

“Of course Timothy, we understand.” He heard Chloe's voice say. He spun round to face her at an exceedingly fast pace. she stood, smiling, her LED blue and her hands clasped behind her back. Nothing like her twitch stance from a minute ago.

“I’m terribly sorry but I haven't offered you a drink yet. Would you like some tea or coffee? We have water as well.” Elijah was stumped on what to say as he watched the scene evolve in front of him. God chloe was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

“I’m so sorry to impose on you hospitality, but some water would be appreciated. I’m feeling rather parched.” He said politely.

“Not at all, I offered after all.” She laughed softly. putting the room even further at ease.

“Would you like still or sparkling?”

“Sparkling please.” She nodded politely and turned towards the kitchenette. How did Chloe change so quickly? How could she act as if they weren't both trying to hack Elijah's own system? How was she able to be so calm after they nearly got caught? Alright it wasn’t  if they were trying to hack the laptop (Were they?), even then Elijah would probably be able to play it off, but Elijah was rather prone to worrying, especially with this client. He had to keep calm.

“Tim, we can either do this from my computer or from the main control room of the building. Where would you rather go? Though please remember, we are in no rush. I’m sure your journey was long, and the least I could do is let you rest for a short while.” Tim smiled kindly as he took a seat on the other side of Elijah's desk.

“Thank you for the hospitality. I wouldn't mind going to the control room, but it's entirely what's easiest for you.” He said in his battery smooth voice. Elijah was starting to find something rather annoying in it now. Constantly lying, overindulgent, selfish and egotistical. He was sure Gavin would call him a hypocrite if he described Timothy's voice or him and how it annoyed him. It felt like it gave Tim a sense of confidence. Timothy was comfortable. Though he felt like he was walking all over them, he had no clue as to what was going on at all. It made lijah feel smug.

“How have your past few weeks been?” Elijah inquired politely, making idle conversation. HE hoped to learn what he could.

“I've Been well thank you. My wife and I visited our son at Harvard. He's doing well and I’m very proud of him. He’s just started his first year of law.” Like father, like son. Though hopefully for Tim's son’s sake, he wasn't as foolish. The location and course of Tim's son? God that would make time snap like a twig. He used those thoughts to shove down the recollection of his own father. Memories he’d rather avoid. 

“That is incredibly impressive. You deserve to be proud of him.” Goddess Tim was egotistical.

“Was the journey all right?” Maybe Elijah Could dig a little more out of him.

“Well we were only flying from Washington DC and staying for the weekend. The Christmas crowd was not great though, and the prices are starting to ramp up during the holidays.” Bingo, Elijah could start a good profile on time now. 

Chloe returned to the dest with the water she’d poured him, and some coffee for elijah. Thank god, he needed it. 

“Timothy, I’m sorry I didn't get the chance to properly introduce myself earlier, my name is Chloe.” She politley added. Timothy stood up and turned around to face her and introduce himself. While he was engaged in an introductory conversation with Chloe, Elijah received a notification on his computer.

I don't know whether I was successful in giving the device permission, but it's not seen as a threat to the system any more.

The attack can't be easily traced, but it looks like the memory stick could potentially be.

We’ll cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Chloe

Oh. Ok. Elijah was going to pray for his life now and hope Chloe's hacking programme was as good as her social one. EIjah wanted to go through the code to check, but it was too risky with time though he knew Chloe could keep Timothy distracted forever. That's what she was designed for anyway. To be the perfect hostess and partner to talk to. If she could keep Elijah sane, she could do anything.

The three of them stepped into the lift. With each passing second, Elijah's heart rose slightly more in his throat. The control room wasn't really a room Elijah liked his enemies being in, but that was more so out of nostalgia, and protection of his cyberlife customs. He knew that he would be on his playing field in the control room because once again, the government had assigned Elijah Kamski a spy that knew nothing about computers. They severely misjudged his personality by a long shot. He wasn't the kid he used to be distracted by a personality in the room, or threatened by someone with more power and an intelligence as high as his. He stuck to what he knew. Computers, that was his playing field, and his playing field was the way of the future.

“So what exactly have you done with your security update then?” He asked as the lift descended. 

“We haven't actually introduced any new programmes or anything like that, we’ve pretty much built upon and boosted what we've had to make it strogner. Enhancing firewalls, checking that it’s all up to date with the latest coding languages, and making sure that it's fit for government use.” Hopefully that would be good enough for now, and simple enough for Tim to understand. 

“Right, yes I understand what you’re saying. What i think this programme will do,” he held up the memory stick.

“will just check generally for holes, or signs of weakness. This will also check for anything inside the programming already. Not that we don't trust you at all, but we just want to make sure that word hasn't gotten out about this whatsoever. It's just a precaution.” Elijah knew that was a lie. Neither side trusted one another truly. It was a stalemate, a cold reception would fall, slowly starting to warm up after fake smiles and idle chit chat. Yet it seemed Timothy was a little too relaxed with him. His superiority complex was starting to shine through slightly too hard as well.

“We’ll I'm certain nothing will be within our code, and even more so on the fact that everything is up to date, and immensely strong.” ELijah remiled, looking at him in the reflection of hte glass doors. TIm was  staring at himself.

“Good.” Slowly the lift came to a stop as a room florred with grates and filled with computers that put Elijah's one at home to shame, came into view. The doors slide open, intensifying the gentle hum or whirring component of all the various electronics in the huge room. Blue flights flashed for what looked like 50 metres all around them. The computers were packed in. On several levels too. Hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands. This was one of the few spaces that Elijah knew like the back of his hand that he didn't feel trapped in.

“Where should I put this?” EIjah turned around, after absentmindedly walking into the room , to look at Tim. He was holding up the memory stick. Elijah wasn't entirely sure where to put it, but the mini security test he'd variously run throughout the last weeks from his laptops had all been hard wire plugged in from…

“Here follow me.” Elijah led him to the left. Through a maze of various computers and wires, all bundled as neatly as they could be, yet it still looked fairly messy. It was neat for an engineer alright? Cut Elijah some slack. Timothy looked rather list, but Elijah knew the path and followed it as if it was lit up before him. Eventually they arrived at a slightly smaller terminal, all black and looking very sleek. 

“Here.” Elijah pointed at a small USB port. Timothy pulled out his laptop and his cable. He plugged it into the computer and started it up. He opened the file with the code in it. He pressed enter as a window that was purley code on a black background came into view.

In that moment, Elijah felt the world stand still. It all came down to this. Would Timothy find the hacker from 2 and a half weeks ago? Would cyberlife pass all the checks and boxes of the government? Would it be shut down for lack of security? Was the government putting secret files on this computer? Elijah had no clue. He felt scared and paranoid, but in a similar way, urged and excited. 

He could change everything now. He could tip the scales entirely in his favour. Push the government under his thumb by letting them think they had him under there. He could even get access to certain fields now if he really wanted, but he wanted. These next few minutes would decide everything.

ELijah could only sit and watch the screen. The white flashing cursor sat there for a few seconds, but to Elijah it felt like a millenia. Slowly, words started appearing. With each character illuminating on screen, Elijah felt the adrenaline of the fear and excitement build up in him even more. All he could do was sit and wait. Wait for time to move and see if everything would be right, and whether all of this could finally go to plan. He could save the deviants, He could expose the government, you could bring more balance to America, and serve the people he’d put so much time and effort into creating. He felt like he was entirely ready yet simultaneously had absolutely no clue what to expect.

All he knew was that he was willing to take a gamble.

Slowly, more and more lines of complex code that Elijah couldn't decipher fast enough, but he got the general gist. Every now and again, criteria names would turn up on the screen and then be approved to some kind of list. That must have been the thirst party searcher Tim was talking about. It was certainly good. The code Elijah could make out was amazing, and it was picking up on things as small as the water companies too. 

“Just as I expected, everything looks perfectly safe and fine.” Timothy stood from his squatted hunch over the laptop. Elijah stood up alongside him.

“We only aim to achieve the best here, we had to make sure that this was all perfect.” Elijah had… he’d gotten away with it. 

“I can see that my laptop has never been able to process the information this fast. I’m pleased with the progress this company has made over the past few years.” Was that really all it took to please Timothy when it came to electronics? A fast service. IT felt easy. Too easy. 

“What’s this?” LEijah’s heart dropped a the sound of the question. He turned to look at the screen.

“Authorisation pending.” He looked at the screen. There in bold letters

Osb. Inc Authorisation: Pending

No fucking way, was that-

“Yes, that's entirely authorised. We’ve been working with OSB for a while, but we’ve just made an official partnership so their authorisation is pending as we finalise the last details.” Elijah smiled, sweat starting to gather at his brow again. He tried his best to hide it.

“Right and what do they do?” Shit shit shit shit shit, um uh ah-

“They check security, they try to break in once every month or so to see if our safety is up to date, by trying to access certain files on the database.” It was all lies, but Timothy couldn't stop believing Elijah now, that would be catastrophic. Elijah kept the best neutral face he could,

“All right, That explains it.” Timothy said, turning around to faze the computer again. THough elijah couldn't help but feel as if Tim didn't believe his bluff. Timothy pressed a few keys on his laptop and unplugged his computer.

“It looks like we’re all done here, so I’ll be in touch about the first designs and prototypes.” Elijah wanted to hide the way he felt and looked but it was hard with Timothy.

“Brilliant, I’ll walk you to the exit shall I?” Elijah enquired.

“That would be lovely.” Timothy answered. Elijah smiled at him. 

Fucking bitch.

“Ok I get what you’re saying Chloe, but then why would they use Osbourne industries as the cover name?” Elijah turned to look at Chloe who was standing with her hair down, pacing on the opposite side of the coffee table, bare foot. Elijah was sitting on the sofa with his feet propped up on the low table and a whiskey in one of his arms that he had over the back of the sofa.

“If Osbourne industries was abandoned after Laurence died, then they’d be easy to hack into. Plus the hacker is threatening you about, presumably, his death. This means it's much harder to make a connection to anyone actually tied in with Osborne industries. All we have to go off is they have secrets.” That made sense. And also Gavin's, Connor's and Eljah’s job was a lot harder. How were they going to narrow down the pool? Elijah hadn't even told the whole story or why he was being blackmailed yet. He wasn't ready to but how did he expect them to find anything out if he hadn't even told the story yet? Sooner or later, Gavin was going to get impatient with him. He knew that. 

“Right. So if we look at this from our current perspective, who would we have on our current suspect list?” Looking at the situation Elijah was in, he was pretty in the dark but he had to start somewhere. 

“The Only people with information about what happened to Laurence, and I mean the real background information with what happened is probably you, me and the scientist with the highest classified files privileges. Nobody else has access to that kind of information.” That was annoying, all of them seemed to be living happy, healthy lives, and if they wanted an RK900 unit, they could probably sort one out for themselves. But then again, these people were smart, and slowly getting further and further into the public eye. Maybe they’d want to start using Elijah to keep their own hands clean, and Elijah didn't know what they did outside of work hours, apart from a few. Even then, Elijah had pretty much packed up and disappeared from the tower for the past 2 and a half weeks, he was only in his study. It didn't feel entirely right, but it was certainly worth getting some looking into.

“Unless it's just some really good, a really desperate hacker which could be an idea.” Chloe turned to face Elijah , with one hand on her hip, on hand on her chin, thinking. Elijah shrugged. It was a credible theory

“What about emotional motifs? Someone trying to avenge him?” Those would have been the two main options. Chloe folded her arms as she deepened into thought even more. Elijah himself thought back to their days at university. He wasn't particularly close with his family, which was what drove him to go to university as early as he could, let alone abroad. They seemed like the classic old-gentry descended, rich english family.

“I feel like that could come from his family, but none of them were really close. Plus if they wanted to dig you into the ground, they would have done it legally. Then you’d never be able to work again. It would be more of a blow to the company. They would be able to get their hands on a fully functional, undevated RK900 for sure. They’re in an incredibly rich family, I’d say sat pretty comfortably into the 1%.” Elijah couldn't say he disagreed. That was very like the Osbournes. They weren't too close to each other. Maybe he had a closer family member.

“Did he have a sibling he was particularly close to? Or a secret next of kin he swore to be closer to than his parents were to him?” Maybe, jsu maybe there was a chance.

“I’m sorry Elijah, not that I’m aware of. I feel like he would have told you those pieces of information too.” Elijah remembered back.Yeah, he would have not but maybe not in that last year or two. That's when it all started going downhill.

“Unless it was in the last 24 months, I think we knew how mayhemic it was then, he was almost completely off the rails at that point.”

“Enough to ‘forget’ to mention he had a next of kin?” Chloe replied sarcastically. She shifted her weight on her back leg and was tapping her front foot towards Elijah, as she raised an eyebrow. She was giving her that look she gave him when he said something monumentally stupid.

“Yeah Ok, I see your point.”

Chapter Text

Gavin stared at the laptop and Connor was starting at him just as eagerly. As the video went on. Gavin's face twisted into more and more confusion. Connor stopped the clip and looked at gavin.

“What do you think, detective?” Gavin looked at him blankly. Was he fucking blind?

“Connor that’s just trees and snow, do I need ot take you to the fucking cannon camea store?” COnnor rolled his eyes.

“I’m gonna need to take you to the optrisciant. Look at the trees up the back of the screen. It’s a bit hard to see.” Connor reached over Gavin's shouler to play the video. For once, Gavin didn't mind that Connor was in his personal space.

“Here look.” He pointed at the rustling branches of the background. 

“What am I looking at?” Gavin looked up at Conor who was standing over him. Connor looked down at him and sighed.

“Can’t you see? There's the outline of a man moving giant trees right at the very back. I’ll trace it for you if I have to.” Connor said sarcastically. 

“You fucking could.” Gaivn said, under his breath as he looked back at the laptop. Connor replayed the video again, except he kept his finger on the screen and followed what seemed like a pretty small black figure in the background of the scene. He seemed to just be walking around.

“Connor what the fuck is he even doing-”

“Oh my god just shut up and watch gavin.” Connor said, moodily enough to put teenage gaivn to shame. Gavin did have to admit though, that android HD camera video did pay off pretty well. As Gavin refocused on the screen, he watched the blob become a bit more circular as it took off its rucksack if that's what it was. It was hard to see because of how small it was, and pulled out a wide flat grey thing.

“What’s that?”

“Oh my god this is worse than watching a film with hank.” Connor said under his breath while he rubbed his eyes.

“Its a fucking satalite dish you ididot. So he could hack the place remotely I think.” Connor paused the video and looked at him directly. What was the weird deep eye contact for? 

“Do you wanna keep processing the video so we can find something else?” Connor laughed and took the laptop from Gavin as he started to process the recordings again.

“Oh Gavin, so matter of fact and simple, I’m surprised I expected more from you.” What? That was pretty fucking mean, but the smirk that rose at the corner of connor’s mouth made gavin realise he had to rise above it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“It's a Sunday night, Connor, of course I’m a piece of shit right now. I’ll text Elijah.” Gavin turned around to pick up his phone.

“Has Elijah actually given you any information on why he was blackmailed?” Gavin’s head popped up. The question caught him off guard. He remembered the last few times he’s seen Eli, what he’d said, and his statement. He said something surely, 

No wait, he asked Elijah at lunch. He’d shutdown, completely, and told Gavin not to ask him. It felt weird doing a job he had almost no information about until today. He didn’t know how to feel about it. One hand, he needed correct, new and a decent amount of information to solve this case, but if he had nothing. Elijah had the right to say what he wanted and what he didn’t. The sheer look of guilt ridden sadness on his face when he’d asked the question to Elijah still hadn’t left thim.

“Hello? Earth to Gavin, are you-”

“No he didn't.” Gavin was pulled off the question half way through, lost in his own thoughts. This was going to be a long case. 

“Then we won’t tell him.” Connor said casually.

“What?” Gaivn spun round on the sofa, stunned. Elijha deserved to know, this was all for him, and part of it meant the safety of Jericho too. That was fukcing ballsy Connor.

“I said we won't tell him-”

“Yes I heard that  but why?”

“Gavin, he's given us next to nothing to go on, especially in this case. We have no idea on how to build a suspect profile on anyone if he’s not giving us answers. He’s left you in the dark about this whole case as well. If he expects this case to be solved for him on a silver plate, this isn’t how this is going to work. Things like these take time and cooperation that Mr Kamski, ney, Elijah simply isn't giving us. He’s walking all over us like we're dead meat, in the name of ‘family’ and ‘android rights’ but this is going to make more than just speaking up. If he thought we’d do exactly as he said, just because of who he is, he’s gravely mistaken. 

This whole case is being worked illegally and I have no doubt that some of his actions will have been completely illegal too. That means we don't have to play by the government's rules. Rules set out to give white human men like him the upper hand. We’re doing this fairly, we're playing on even ground Gavin. If he refuses to give us information, fine, we’ll simply refuse him until he realises just what's at stake and how the world outside of his 1% bubble works.” Oh. That took Gavin off guard. But Connor made a fair point.

Elijah was withholding a lot of information from them that made them unable to do this case, no questions asked. They did have a reason to do what Connor had offered, but it felt… off to Gavin. Yes at this point they probably would need to use dirty tactics to get the information out of Elijah. Connor made a good point that if they didn’t, they’d have probably no other way of getting that information out of Elijah. 

But it was wrong. They couldn't withhold something like that from Elijah, from his own brother. This was his case and this was who they were working for. It was pretty morally wrong in Gavin's opinion. Apart from the reason for the blackmail itself, Elijah had pretty much given them everything that they needed to know about the case itself. Elijah had the right to know what was going on with his case whether Connor liked that or not. 

If he wanted to argue with Connor, he'd have to play him at his own game, and fight with facts and reason. In a civil manner, Sadly fighting and arguing in a civil amenner was not one of the things that Gavin was best known for. 

“What?” Connor perked up like he was confused by Gavin's opinion.

“Did you not just hear me yet again? Good god again we need to give you an MRI scan at this rate. I said-

“I heard damn well what you said tincan. What I mean is how can you be so morally… How do I put this? Fucked.” Connor’s jaw hung open as he jerked out his neck, blinked in chock and turned towards Gavin.

“Gavin are you actually kidding me right now-”

“Don’t look at me, I thought this was the kind of stuff that was built into you. Also I’ve seen just how morally correct you are around dhanl. WHy does Elijah get the same treatment? We can’t just hide information from Elijah for the sake of it, if we withhold it, we tell him we're gonna withhold it until he gives us information. We are serving ghim as detectives here, for the better himself and the better of androids, which I don't even care about that much. 

I’m doing this for elijah., I’m doing this to help my brother, you need to understand that. He has a right to share what he wants to and what he doesn’t want to. Tincan, I know this kind of shit pisses you off. You're being kept from information that can solve a case. I'm in the exact same situation as you but we need to respect his wishes, just as much as we try to in the precinct. 

If you think I haven't tried to pry this out of him at some point you're sorely mistaken, trust me I’ve tried, but he’s kept it shut down and away from all of us, and I have a feeling there's a reason why. I think it's best we just leave it.” That was a pretty decent response. He replied civilly like an adult, and even used some large fancy words like ‘Information’ instead of ‘stuff’ and he used ‘exact’ to put emphasis on a point. Hell yeah, high school English was somewhat useful once in his life. 

“Are you fucking kidding me right now gavin? You’re gonna stoop to the level of the straggots?” I’m sorry what? So Connor wanted to play like this now? Well if Connor couldn't take him down civilly, then he’d have to take him down somehow. But Connor had no clue about the ace, no, whole fucking deck of cards up Gavin’s sleeve.

“Oh so you wanna lie to Elijah because of ulterior motives that only benefit us? Sounds alot like the fucking governemnt Connor. Who wants to be like the government?”

“This is not ulterior motives, because we can solve this case for everyone given, it’s communism. Last I checked, Congress was not communist.” Connor stood up and was stuck with his hand on his hip, and he had posed his arm as if it were holding a purse in the crook. Very camp. He notices the small smirk crossing Connor's face.

“Connor, I am bisexual, if you disagree with me you’re homophbic.”

“Gavin I’m fully gay, in a sense gayer than you.”

“Conner, you dam well know that bisexuals are even gayer than full gays.” Gavin was literally wearing flannel right now

“I- I can’t argue with that, that’s true.” Connor agreed, talking in thought.

“No but we’d be supporting big powerful white men in large organisations that have presumably done some shady stuff.” Connor piped up.

“What shady stuff  has he done then?”

“Gaivn, he runs the largest company in the world. He’s the richest man alive. Look me dead in the eye and tell me he hasn’t done some shady stuff to get where he is now.”

“Fair point-”

“Gavin he’s literally being blackmailed for killing someone-”

“Connor I get it now.”

“Good.”

“But look how morally wrong he was to stoop down and do shady stuff. Do we really want to lower ourselves to his level morally by doing this? “

“Gavin I feel like you and me out of everybody understand more about the greater good theory. We need to sacrifice our morality so the government and this blackmailer can learn some. Think of it as an exchange. We lose our morality but we help the world and live in secret glory for the rest of our days.” Ooh that was pretty good. 

“Connor, we're the police. Especially you as the very first android detective needs to set an example.”

“Who needs to find out about his gavin?” 

“More people than you'd like with that attitude connor. You have to do this for the people around you so they feel comfortable, and safe with an android.”

“You feel comfortable and safe with me.”

“Ok, one, bold assumption. Two, no, and evel less after this.” Connor stood in front of Gavin and stared at him for a moment, after he walked over.

“Gavin, think of all those times Elijah was a dick to you, or made you uncomfortable and feel bad and-”

“Are you emotionally manipulating me?”

“Shut up, I'm a master at work, but let the thoughts flow into your head.”

“No, I won't let them.” Gavin was trying his hardest not to remember all those times that Elijah had greeted him weirdly, and forced hom to come to all those dinners, as he got awkward bear hugs, or threated over a fucking memorystick.

“Please Gavin.”

“I  REFUSE!” Gaivn pushed out his chest, turned his head away, shut his eyes tightly and folded his arms. He needed to block out Connor, but the small laugh that came from Gavin's over dramatic response was pretty damn adorable.

“Ok you’ve forced me to pull this one out the bag. Here come the big guns.”

“We could overthrow the government.” Fuck that sounded cool, too cool, and Gavin was nor remembering all the ties that Elijah had done something annoying.

There was a pressure to do this. Elijah wasn't giving them a sustainable amount of information and they needed it to solve this case. They would have to all down slightly in the name of the greater good. 

But Gavin, dare he say it, did kind of love like his brother. He didn't want to betray him. He wanted to be with him through this. He certainly wasn't doing this for the androids, though he was starting to get second doubts. He was doing this for Elijah. 

But he knew what he had to do. And toppling the government sounded fucking cool.

“Well.” Conor held his arms open, waiting for Gavin's reply.

“Fuck. Ok I’m in.”

“Great, we're gonna have a whale of a time.” Connor walked over to the fridge and took out another bottle of thirium, as he headed a bottle of beer to gavin.

“ This calls for a celebration.”

“You’re gonna make me celebrate withholding information from my own brother and doing really sketchy deeds with my own beer that I bought with my money? ”

“Oh my god there is no pleasing you there.”

Gavin’s monday had been a pretty normal one, it was pretty boring. Just filling in paperwork and interviewing drunk shitheads from the night before. It was getting to the point where Gavin maybe, just maybe didn’t mind being put on this case with Connor since it was something else to do. 

So when he got a text from Connor to meet him upstairs in the evidence room, he practically jumped out of his seat and sprinted up the stairs two at a time to avoid his usual Monday duties. He burst into the evidence room and let out a huge sigh. Nobody was in there except him and Connor who was standing in front of the podium, staring at forensic photos and evidence. 

“So whatcha got tincan?”

“I do wish you’d stop calling me that.”

“No you don’t.”

“Either way Adam is back from New York so I’d beware. You know how protective he gets about me when it comes to you.” Connor turned to him with a smug smirk on his face.

“I thought you’d be the one getting all protective since you’re the older brother.” 

“That's just societal expectations.” He turned his nose up and looked back ahead. Though again he could just see the hint of an actual, genuine smile creep through. It almost caused him to do the same thing. But Gavin was having none of that. No emotions around here, not today. 

“Are you doing anything for christmas?” Gavin asked connor.

“Small talk with an android ? Christ Gavin it’s a Christmas miracle!” 

“Oh shut up I’m trying to be nice.”

“I’ll tell you after I’ve shown you all of what we’ve found.” Connor zoomed in on a picture of one of the pin-hole wounds. 

“We thought these were just pin pricks, but on closer inspection, they’re medical needle insertion holes, though from the slightly messier shapes of the hole, under a microscope, we can see that the needles were probably from a bad batch. Although this is only Elsa's wound. Julian’s wounds seem to be from a well made needle. We can’t trace the syringe itself as we don’t have one, But the traces of the meal that were in both arms were 440F stainless steel. This helps us a bit as there are only about 10 factories across the U.S. that use 440F. Most of the medical factories nowadays use stainless steel 403 or 410. 2 of them are in Detroit so I have a feeling it would be a good place to start. How about you?” God, Connor had a fierce drive to him. Something about him that felt slightly unstoppable in an almost naive way to Gavin, but he admired it. He also collected that information way faster than Gavin would have.

“Yeah- it would be a good place to start. Before we do anything though I want to ask around a few informants. One I haven’t spoken to in a long time, I don’t want us being tracked very easily.” Connor nodded.

“I know a few guys who might help me, it could be worth asking round jericho too. Elsa’s blood wasn’t the only one found at her crime scene, maybe somebody will know something else.” There was a beat of silence.

“Gavin, do you think we should tell Markus?” 

“Ooh you love keeping information from people don’t you.”

“Gavin, I’m being serious here. I don’t know if we have enough information to tell him anything yet, I feel like it would just stress him out. Especially if we have next to nothing to tell him. But I also feel like there's a part of me that kind of needs to. He should know that his people are in danger, but you saw how stressed he was during the meeting. I don't want to do that to him again.” Gavin thought to himself for a moment. He wasn't really sure just how Jericho worked. In his opinion, it was only two bodies and barely any investigation, and from past experience. If things were brought up too early, then they were swept under the rug since there were bigger, badder things to deal with. The problem would then just fester and grow until it just got way too out of hand. 

But right now, androids are the world’s current focus of hate, in a situation for android, it was probably better safe than sorry. The world saw them as second class citizens. Especially the general population. They had to be safe every time, they had to look after themselves and be extra safe. Not that Gavin cared.

“I- I don't know Connor, I’m not an android, I don't really know when you decide to waive a red flag in jericho-”

“If you were in my position, what would you do?” Gavin thought to himself for a moment.

“Or I’ll one up you, what would you do if these were humans?” Gavin took in the question. It was a big one. This was probably one of those things he’d have to think out loud with.

“Ok well, I know from past experience that you can’t bring these kinds of things up too early because things don't look serious at first so they aren't taken seriously, which makes it a mess when it does start getting real bad. 

On top of that there’s only been two murders and I don’t think that would be enough to take it higher up. As much as I wish it was, it isn’t. But for all we know these could just be two androids that shut down in entirely different ways. They just had the same physical appearance when they died. We have next to nothing to go off when it comes to these cases. They’re both so new and we haven't had a full autopsy report on either of them. Speaking of the autopsy reports. Do you know why they’re taking so long?”

“It’s Christmas, domestic disputes are through the roof. The mortuary is pretty swamped this time of year, but I know the guy who works there. I’ll give hima ring and buy him a drink,” Connor replied. Though Gavin-

Gavin couldn’t help but notice the look of worry that Connor was wearing. Gavin wasn’t sure he wanted to give an android a pep talk. But then again, less than 3 weeks ago. Gavin hated his brother, now he loved spending time with him. Oh well, bottoms up?

“Hey Connor. I know you're worried and you want to tell Markus to try and keep everyone safe, but it’ll be ok. We’ve barely scratched the surface of this case, I get if you feel like you’re not doing enough, or you feel helpless, but we've just started. We can't begin this case half way through it, But we’ve barely taken the time to go through it together. You can keep people safe yourself, you don't have to keep turning to Makus, or go into panic, the moment something isn't right, you don't have to deal with extremes, we’ll work through this together, slowly one step at a time.” Conor looked over at him and smiled, but not a normal smile. A more vulnerable, thankful kind of way, it was a bit weird seeing Connor like this, not all rambunctious and flamboyant (Those were big words, well done Gavin).

“I know, it's just people dying and each life matters.” Connor said, sounding a bit defeated. Gavin leaned against the small pillar.

“One thing that took me a while to learn after I got here is that it’s impossible to save everyone. That's something I'm sure you’ve heard countless times, but I feel like it might take you a moment or two more to completely understand.I feel like you’re halfway there. But we do what we do so we can save the people we can save. That’s what our job’s about Connor.” Connor looked back at the podium and then down the floor, he started twiddling his thumbs.

“Thanks Gavin.”

“Hey I’m here. But don’t get all soppy on me now.”

“Oh please only in your dreams.” There he was, the usual upright exquisite connor.

“They’d be my nightmares, Connor, my nightmares. Anyway what would we do about this?” Gavin pointed back to the screen that was now projecting two images of different factories. Connor put his hand on his hip and the other on his chin. He looked away, thinking to himself for a moment. 

“I think we can go out and talk to our informants, and then based on that, we could… pick a factory to go undercover in?”

“You? Undercover?”

“Please gavin, I can’t imagine you’d be any better.”

“No connor, I mean half the world knows what you look like.” Gavin clearly remembered the night with Chris and Tina sat in the bar, gobsmacked, staring at the TV, watching as Markus gave a speech. And the robot that Gavin had literally threatened to kill mere days before. It certainly felt like a wake up call. 

“Gavin, I’m a robot, I can change my appearance pretty much at will. OH MY GOD WAIT, no, gavin shut your eyes.”

“What?”

“Please just do it.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“OH MY GOD JUST SHUT THEM!”

“OK! Ok!” Gavin shut his eyes and then put his hands over them. He was a bit scared to open them but oh well. He had no clue what to expect.

“Ok, open up!” Gaivn took his hand off his eyes.

“Do I want to look?”

“Gavin!” Connor whined. Gavin let a small laugh escape him. As his eyes opened, he was met with a midnightblack haired, eyeliner- ridden tattoo covered connor that had tried in vain to slick back his hair. With whatever he had. It made Gavin think of a 1920’s Italian mafia gangster combined with an early 2000’s emo. The cherry on the cake was the outfit that looked like This tik tok pov- star had just shown up to a serious business meeting. Gavin let out a pretty hearty laugh. It certainly wasn't Connor, but the toothy grin on Connor's face that reminded him of a 6 year old who's just told the worst knock knock joke in the world was too brilliant not to laugh at. 

“Connor- Oh my god you look like something out of a Shitty POV tiktok!”

“Where do you think I got my inspiration from Gavin? Don’t mess with the mafia boss' son!” Connor’s impression of an American teenager from the late 2010’s just made Gavin double over. The overdone lip bite at the end, made him start crying. Jesus christ connor could be insufferable sometimes but he was really fucking funny. 

Gavin also noticed he wasn’t the only one in the room laughing. Connor seemed to be laughing his lungs out too. Maybe it was just nice being with Connor, like this, like friends Acquaintances. 

“Oh my god Gavin ok! We actually need to get some work done.”

“You did the impression!”

“You started the laughing fit!”

“It’s not my fault my laugh is contagious!” Gavin shouted back. It took about 2 minutes straight of heavy breathing and calming techniques to get the both of them to stop laughing.

“Ok connor I’m all out.”

“Oh lord, so am I-” He suddenly held his hand to his mouth to stop a snicker.

“Sorry I was just imagining you in an electric blue jumpsuit for the undercover mission-”

“Oh shut up! You damn well know I’d look fine.” Connor rolled his eyes.

“Gavin you’re starting to sound like my dad-”

“Oh my god shut the fuck up Connor.” 

Gavin was back at his desk and soon enough arranging to meet up at the closest park with one of his old informants. Jessie. If anyone knew anything, it was jessie. If you paid enough. He was gavin’s would be first arrest but gavn felt too bad to arrest anyone back then so he opted to offer him informant. Which also meant that Gavin's rates were significantly cheaper than any other policemen in the area.

While looking at his phone, he couldn't help but let his thumbs hover over Elijah's number for a moment. It felt wrong. Hiding something so important to the case from him, but he knew it was somewhat for the better. Though it didn’t feel like it.

“Hey!” Gavin was suddenly ripped out of his thoughts, and Tina was staring deep into his soul.

“Damn you looked like you were having a trance! Everything good?” Tina comically raised one eyebrow.

“Sure.” Tina suddenly put her hand on Gavin’s shoulder forcing him to properly turn to look at him. 

“Are you sure? I know if you’re feeling a bit weird about the whole working with Connor thing. But I think it's a step in the right direction.” She said much more seriously. It was nice to know that someone cared.

“Yeah I promise I’m all good. Also I think Connor may not be as insufferable as I thought.” Gavin replied with a sly smile he wanted to tease Tina infor more.

“Oh is that what all the laughing from the evidence room was earlier then?”

“Wait, you heard us?”

“What that was ACTUALLY you two?! Gaivn literally the whole floor could, I just never expected it to be you and Connor. Oh my word Gavin, give me all the juicy deets!” juicy deets . It made Gavin's skin crawl.

“Hank said something stupid as usual and it made me laugh ok?” Tina sat firmly on his desk and gave him a half glare.

“I thought I heard two voices.”

“Well maybe you should get a hearing aid.”

“Well I think you should admit to yourself that you’re actually enjoying Connor’s company.” What was Tina saying? Gavin didn’t enjoy Connor's company. He was just occasionally funny, a bit charming, sweet in his cheeky, devilish kind of way, full of life that perfectly matched Gavin's dead inside mood. He was always up for a bit of banter. But most of the time he was pretty shitty because- because… um… because…

Because Gavin had never given him a chance. Yet even after a year of being a dick, Connor has still taken the chance after Gsvin barely just offered it to him. Connor was too good for Gavin and that was the end of the story.

“Gavin? Hello? You look like you’re trying to telepathically connect to Connor!” Gavin shook himself out of his trance.

“Oh my god. Anyway, as I was saying. You’ve gone from trying to kill him to enjoying spending time with him-”

“I never said that.”

“Oh shut up! Anyway, what happened?” Gavin pulled the question into his mind and thought back to last week. Connor had just…decided to be nice when Gavin wasn't trying to kill him. Like entirely out of the blue. The worst part of it was that fact that just because he wasn’t actively bringing down Connor, Connor thought he was being nice. I made him feel a bit sick with guilt.

But all of a sudden Connor was extending an olive branch. Gavin wondered why he did it, and why then and now. The club, they were both so calm, which was entirely out of the blue for them. He should maybe talk to Connor about it later.

“I- I’m not too sure what happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don't know, I guess he just found the right way to extend his olive branch.” The Real version of Connor, without Hank, it felt.. Right. They got along well and it… mattered to Gavin.

They both stared at Connor for as long as they could without getting caught. For Connor, they lasted a pretty long while. 

“I think Fowler may have just given us a blessing in disguise paring you two.”

“Maybe” Gavin said under his breath.

“Maybe.”

As soon as Gavin got home, he was all over Piper (and a few beers), giving pets and scritches and scratches and cuddles. God, Gavin loved that cat, he’d do anything for it. He’d sell his soul for it if he had to. He let the bengal curl up on his stomach and sleep. Gavin always thought that Piper was a dog stuck in a cat’s body. She was so friendly and playful, though the typical attention seeking trait was still there of course. She loved attention and just his luck since Gavin loved giving it to her. 

Gavin absentmindedly pet Piper as he felt her purrs on his stomach, her warmth. Though he couldn’t help stopping his mind wandering elsewhere. 

Connor.

Tina was right. This had all happened so abruptly over the past few days. Barely a week ago, Gavin would rather he didn’t exist, and he was sure Connor felt the same. They had never gotten along before this. And they both pretty much hated each other. 

But now Gavin was thinking of him as… someone, a person. Connor was a person. Maybe this whole ‘androids are people thing’ was really starting to sink in. He’d realised he’s stopped calling Chloe and Connor ‘it’ and had started using ‘he’ and ‘she’. Maybe it was the meeting, maybe it was everything that had happened with Elijah, but he was changing. A lot. He could feel it. But now that he thought about it, it was…

Connor

Yet again, it was him. He was the one that offered peace at first. And Gavin was the one who took it (at times). It was that day, the one where he’d seen Connor in the evening. He’d known about the meeting on Sunday because Elijah had told him that he was his brother.

Oh.

Elijah had told him he was his brother.

That was why he was acting differently. But not in the way that he was trying to use him for his brother (Well maybe slightly at first). He was nice because he was friends with Elijah. He was friends with Markus. He was friends with people that Gavin would become very important to soon. Because he knew that it would be given to him and assigned to the case. It would be Gavin and him working for the people that he cared about, that Gavin cared about. They'd be the ones doing this to help the people around them. To save the androids. And they were the only two working the case. They’d be the only one that the other had to talk to. 

Connor knew that it would be him and Gavin against the world. 

So he’d reached out an offering of peace. God Connor was a good person. He was selfless and even cared about his enemies. Gavin wanted to talk to him. To ask him all of his questions and show him some thanks. He wanted to hear his voice, Just for a moment.

He picked up the phone and held it in his hands. Soon enough he found his fingers hovering over Connor's number. He clicked the call button. It rang, and rang and rang and rang and-

“Hey Gavin, can I help you?” His mouth went dry. As much as he wanted to talk to Connor, and ask him about everything, there was a small sweet feeling about knowing all of this without Connor knowing Gavin knew.

There was a small pit in his stomach too, he didn’t want to pry. It was Connor's thoughts after all and this was all just a theory of Gavin’s. There was no need to bombard him with questions that barely made sense. There was a twinge of nervousness too, of excitement, but maybe it was for the better that some stuff was best left unspoken, unquestioned and unsaid. 

“Gavin? Are you there? If it’s anything too long, can it wait just a moment? I’m in the middle of supper with Hank.” Gavin was quickly snapped back to the current moment. The small shouts of Hank shout-asking who it was with his mouth full and Connor replying as best he could without saying it was Gavin, put an image in his head. A pretty adorable image that let Gavin crack a small genuine smile.

“Uh no nothing that will keep you too long, i just wanted to ask… if you’d been able to go over any more of the footage yet.”

“Uh yeah, only about a week or two more, nothing came up.” It was nice to hear him talk over the phone.

“Bummer. Well anyway thanks for doing that, if anything else comes up keep me posted, but anyway I'll see you tomorrow.” He said in a low, calm voice. (The beer sleepy’s were starting to kick in.)

“Yeah- see you. Tomorrow”

“Sleep or… stasis cycle well.”

“Sleep well too, Gavin.” Connor said through laughter over the phone. Then there was a small sound. Connor had hung up.

Gavin wanted to do something for Connor. Maybe something to get Elijah to speak up.

Dinner?

Chapter Text

How was this even possible? Elijah had to take a look at the memory stick on some kind of burner laptop now. This wasn’t right. This couldn’t be right. How were Osborne industries pulled into all of this? He knew that the threats and blackmail were about Lawrence of course, but the company? Someone was far deeper into this than they thought.

He sat there, in his office staring at the screen at the white letters on the black code screen

Osbourne ind.

Laurence died years ago. Coming up to a decade soon. IT didn’t feel right. This felt like too much for just the blueprints of an RK900. If whoever did this was smart enough to breach Elijah's cyber security wall, hacking into the Detroit police department files would be more than easy to do. This wasn’t about the RK900, was it.

It was about the code to the undeviatable android. 

But the timing felt all too perfect for this. Getting this work from the government. Doing the work for Tim. The revolution was settling and androids were starting to come out of the limelight. They no longer had the all watchful eye of the media to protect them, and things behind the scenes would start getting much worse. The timing was too perfect not to be suspicious.

Could it be the government? He knew that the government was foolish at times but they wouldn’t make a timing mistake so bad. They only would have sent the cyber attack if he had rejected the offer. If they could even code something that good anyway, This was certainly outside of government funds. This was private, confidential, maybe even an individual. So what if it wasn’t about coding? The pressure combined with the requests from the government now. It was the perfect storm built to hurt him. 

This wasn’t about the undeviatable coding.

This wasn’t about the rk900

This wasn’t about lawrence

This wasn't about the government.

Then what was it about?

Anything and everything could be the problem here; it was dangerous. It was unsafe not just for him, but those close to him. Gavin, Jericho, Chloe. Chloe. 

He needed to properly clear everything up with her. Things had calmed down at this point, a lot more, but he still hadn’t given her the apology she deserved. The argument was so much worse than the normal ones, and the panic attack he’d had later that week simply proved that she was right. The card and the paint brushes wouldn't be enough. He couldn't use the pity of the panic attack either, that was wrong and cruel. 

And it mattered now more than ever. Not only was she targeted by the cyber attack, that was scary enough in itself, but Elijah couldn't help but feel as if the government check-up was easy. Easy to pass. Easy to get away with. Too easy in general. It didn't feel right.

Was the government trying to play him at his own game here? It wasn’t coming from Tim himself. That was for sure, but there was someone higher up pulling the strings. Not that Timothy was to be undermined, Elijah remembered just how formidable and well spoken he was during the first interview. Even the thought of the evening alone sent a shiver down his spine.

A part of him felt like he couldn't help but notice that a game was being played here. Who can fool better, who can act? Though maybe the government didn’t realise it was a competition yet. Maybe they thought that they'd be the only player in the game and then win by default. Elijah had to play it carefully. He couldn’t get caught, it was too-

“Are you lost in your brown thoughts again Elijah?” Chloe let her head peek into the doorway, with a wide happy innocent smile on her face. She really was a wonderful person to be best friends with. Elijah was certainly privileged because of it.

“Please don’t worry, I’m not spiralling.”

“Just yet.” Elijah closed his eyes and let himself smile slightly.

“Chloe-”

“I only mena to jest Elijah. In other matters, might the thinking wait? The supper is still fresh.” Only now did Elijah realise just how hungry he was. It was easy for him to forget small things like that. It explained the physique. People would call it ‘Beautiful’ and ‘healthy’ but it was at the cost of real beauty and health and proper nourishment. 

He descended the stairs and sat in front of a plate of beautifully poached fish that Chloe had prepared. He knew that she and Connor would often call and cook together. It was quite fun to listen to their conversations. 

“Chloe, this looks lovely, thank you for making it.”

“Thank you for spending dinner with me, I know you’ve been busier recently.” He could tell there was an undertone of something in her voice. It wasn't hatred or spite, it felt like worry. A worry for him. Oftentimes Elijah forgot that Chloe cared about him. Let alone just how much. 

“What were you thinking about upstairs then?” She said after a short minute of silence. Elijah wasn't exactly sure he wanted to tell her the full expanse of his thoughts, in case she started worrying again. But it was due time he stopped lying to her. 

“Just about Osbourne industries involvement in all this.” She sat slightly more upright in her chair and sighed. Elijah could tell it was on her mind too.

“It's a weird one isn't it.” She took a sip from her thirium as she pondered on the thought a little longer. 

“Why hack into osbourne’s company rather than use a burner?” She said. Elijah put down his fork and looked across at chloe. She had the right idea. But it was still just as confusing. How were they even able to start up the company account anyway? Whoever they were dealing with was very talented.

“Well I don’t think it’s the government unless they were trying to double bluff us.” He said.

“They'd just threaten us with legal sanctions if it was them.”

“And if they just want the blueprints to the RK900, they could just hack into police software. God knows that that isn't up to date. It’s far easier than hacking into cyberlife too.”

“What if they need you again, or they could ask you for something bigger and that's why they're hitting so hard now.” Elijah spent a moment on the thought. It made a lot of sense. The Intense messages, the overdone fear factor, the intense psychological games.

“I Don’t doubt that the RK900 files will be the end of this either.” They'd done a lot of lateral damage. Far too many people were caught in the crossfire over this. 

“I’m sorry to bring it up, but remember they hurt you too. I fear Gavin will be next.” He said. He did worry about Chloe's involvement in this a lot.

“Do you think they’re trying to get through to you Individually?”

“What, for Laurences death? That was him and him alone, nothing to do with me.” Though Elijah felt otherwise. 

“I'm glad your mindset has shifted.” HE gave a small smile, she could see right through it. 

“Hey elijah.” She grabbed his hand.

“You weren’t even there during the overdose. You couldn’t change anything either way. I know it's hard to hear, but you’re innocent.” it was, it was very hard to hear. The statement brought back parts of Elijah's memories he’d rather suppress.

“Chloe, if he had never met me, he would still be alive.”

“And he would be entirely insignificant to you.” She was right. It was the kind of thing that, logically thinking about it, wasn’t Elijah’s fault. In a way he knew that it wasn't entirely his fault and that there was nothing he could do to stop Lawrence from falling deep down into the hole he fell into. In fact Elijah had tried desperately hard to pull him out of it. But to no avail. If he’d succeeded, Lawrence would still be here today. And for that, it was.

There was that constant seeping guilt, he could have done something more. He could have helped him more. It was always Lawrence helping him, rarely him heping Lawrence. And after all the work they’d been doing together, It was practically a direct connection to how he’d ended up. That combined with the stress of it too. Elijah could never feel like he was entirely innocent-

“Elijah? Did you hear me? It wasn’t your fault.”

“I know. It's just hard.” She walked round to his side of the table and took his hand in hers gently rubbing it with her thumb. 

“That's why I want to help you.” She gently pulled Elijah close to her chest. He let himself be pulled, he didn’t have too much will at that moment in time. But knowing that Chloe would be there for him meant a lot. She deserved better than him, so much better, but he was too selfish to let go of her. 

It hurt to know that he was tying her down but it was the truth. She was far too good for him. He wanted her to know that. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t keep her sheltered, but he didn’t want her to leave. It was selfish of him.

“You’ve been through a lot these past few weeks. I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry.” She pulled him out of the embrace and looked him dead in the eyes.

“Now you should finish your supper or your hunger will kill you before the stress does.” He let out a small laugh. She was there, and she was going to stay. It was a painful comfort, but a comfort nonetheless. 

He continued to eat as Chloe sipped more thirium. There was a silence between them, but a comfortable one. One that they were both accustomed to around dinner time. Eventually, Chloe broke the silence.

“Elijah, may I ask you something?” Elijah stopped chewing his food. That was always what she asked before a heavy hitting question. Shit. What had he done wrong? Was he neglecting himself too much again? Had he been late home over the past few days? Everything he’d said and done over the past week went through his mind at once. 

“Yes-” he responded rather timidly. 

“Please do not take this as an attack but-” Shit shit shit shit shit.

“I’m just asking you this out of curiosity, but, Why didn’t you tell me about how severe my condition was last friday?” oh god. The fact that he’d revealed to her that she was in critical condition during that meeting on Sunday. It had entirely slipped his mind. He’d never told her before that, had he.

“I don't want to ask earlier, I knew you were rather stressed but I was just… wondering.” There was no hostility in her voice, it sounded very light, almost like she was tiptoeing about it slightly. Given his recent condition, he wasn't surprised. 

“I’m sorry Chloe, I truly am. I will not lie to you, at first I did not want to tell you out of the fear of your response, and your own mental health. In a sort of ‘what you don't know won't hurt you’ kind of way.” It felt bad at first. He wanted her to be able to know the truth but he was just so worried. Her knowing how vulnerable she’d been in that moment in time, knowing that that was what had happened to her. Knowing she wasn't safe, that she wasn't in control. It was going to hurt her either way. But it changed not long after that.

“After I called Gavin, and he had been able to get the information from the memory stick with the photograph from the telescope and so on, It just slipped my mind. I found myself so busy that I simply… forgot. I meant to tell you sooner, I really did Chloe. I’m so sorry for all the worry and stress I caused you. I truly am. This will not happen again.”  a part of him felt unsure for saying it. There were various things that had happened since the initial cyber attack that Elijah had kept from her. But he wanted this time to be the last time. It would be. It could be. It’s what he said to himself every time. 

“Elijah, I’m going to trust you to tell me these things ok? And not even just for me. Anything big that comes up whatsoever, I want you to trust me. To be honest Elijah, I think you underestimate just how much I can handle.” She gave another warm smile towards him. He knew she was strong, he really did. She was far stronger than him.

“I Know Chloe, I just want you to be ok.” It was his turn to be big spoon now, As she leaned on him, and he wrapped his arm around her. It was them. Them against the world, and that was ok.

Elijah knew he had to test the memory stick out. To plug it into something. But he was scared. He was so scared and he wasn’t sure if this was the best idea. The cold December air was whipping the hair that had fallen out of the bun into his face, and it was doing the same with Chloe's. The cold sea below them was a long drop away. Hopefully the ground wouldn’t give way below them.

“Elijah we didn't need to come all the way out here.”

“Chloe I just wanted to be safe.”

“You always want to be safe.”

“I know, that’s why I don’t get caught.”

“Ha- plugge- top” There was a particularly loud gust of wind that seemed to sweep away Chloe's voice too.

“What, I can't hear you over the wind.” She jogged a few paces over to him.

“Have you plugged it onto the laptop yet?”

“No.” Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Elijah if you’re scared, I’m happy to do it-”

“No Chloe, it's fine. I can do this myself.”

“If you could do it yourself you would have done it by now.” Elijah glared at her with every ounce of his soul. He wasn't scared, just hesitant. Ok maybe a tiny bit scared. But he had reason to be. Right? It was the memory stick that had started this all off after all. The very thing this case had all come back to. The black object sat in his palm comfortably. It was small. Too small to be the thing that caused all of this trouble, yet somehow it was. It had turned his life to a bit of a living nightmare, but maybe it had made him a bit more of a thrill seeker as of recent.

“Elijah, the laptop’s a  burner, it can't get traced back to us in any way. I got someone else to buy it in cash while covering their face.” She was right. They’d come out to the cliffs to throw away the laptop if need be, and there was no way to trace the burner laptop to Elijah. Yet there was still a fear. What was he going to see? Was something else going to come up? If this thing had the capacity to break Elijah's security system, what in God's name was it going to do to a burner laptop?

“Three.”

“No chloe.”

“Two”

“Shut up.”

“One.” she walked towards him as he tried to pull away but she was too fast. She grabbed his hand and the laptop and put the memory stick in before he could react.

“Chloe!”

“Shut up Elijah and just look at the screen.” Elijah opened a tab, so the computer code was visible. It was all fine. Just the usual code that ran when a USB stick was introduced to the computer. Just going through some permissions, the encryption key. Then another window popped up onto the screen.

Follow this to where you need to go.

Yes.     No.     

“What’s that?” Chloe asked. Eljah looked at the code.

“It looks like the ‘Allow import from foreign device’ window has been modified to show this question instead. I wonder how The hacker got it to share different information with different devices. It’s quite cool.” It was an impressive feat that took a lot of skill. Everywhere Elijah turned. This mysterious heathen seemed to be one step ahead of him. They were certainly a capable person from what Elijah had witnessed.

“That takes a lot of skill.” Chloe turned it face to face with elijah.

“I know, that’s what worries me.”

“Click ‘yes’.” Elijah looked back at Chloe, if the memory stick was this advanced then Elijah wasn't entirely sure if he was making the right choice.

“Are you sure Chloe, he might be able to-”

“Elijah, we've driven out to the mouth of the river, in the middle of December. Got someone else to buy a burner laptop in cash an hour ago, there’s no way in hell he could find it. The mics are covered and the camera taped shut. If anything goes really wrong, we throw it in the river. Stop being so nervous and click ‘yes’ for goodness sake!” She was right. Elijah was rather prone to being on the safe side but right now he didn't need that. He looked at the code and the question before him. It made the unsuspecting victim look like they had a choice. They’d just import the directions to follow the information to where they needed to go, but this would let in software too. Probably malicious software. 

It took Elijah a mamonet to calm his nerves but he knew that this was what he needed to do. He took a deep breath as subtly as he was able to and moved the mouse to click yes, he let his finger hover over the option for a second.

“Do it.” Chloe said, like an excited child that was also a bad influence.

“I’m doing it Chloe.”

“Then do it.”

He looked at her frustratedly as she looked to the keypad, continuing to emanate childish excitement. Elijah sighed and pressed it. Slowly, yet another display popped up 

42.6064     83.1498

“What?” Chloe cocked her head to the side and looked at elijah. He looked at the side code in case anything else was going on underneath. No, there wasn’t.

“This is odd, there's no malicious software that is being entered into the computer.” The only code that was showing up was the general code used to make a display window displaying the two numbers. Completely normal. Nothing like any of the code that would have been used for breaching Elijah's security system.

“It's behaving so differently compared to when it was in the terminal. It’s almost scary how well this is made.”

“I know.” Elijah stayed staring at the screen. 

42.6064

83.1498

What did it even mean?”

“Chloe enlighten me, what’s your hot take?” He slung his jacket onto the sofa and Chloe placed the laptop on the table.

“They could be different code lines?”Chloe asked

“You don't get decimal code lines.”

“Ok well… are either of those numbers particularly important?” Elijah thought for a moment, nothing sprang to mind.

“I’m not sure, has anything come up on google?” Chloe blined slightly rapidly as he led span yellow.

“Nothing that sticks out. Should we send it to Connor and gavin?” Elijah was stumped and she was.

“I guess that's the only choice we have.” Chloe turned around to make a late lunch for the two of them, something big that probably doubled up to make supper.

“Go upstairs, I'll finish this by the time you've had the chance to rest.” Elijah took her word and navigated his way to his study. He threw himself on his chair. He could tell his body was tired but his racing mind seemed to have different ideas. The chair slowly spun under him as he landed on it with such a fierce might, but he barely took it into account. The pads of his fingers were pressed against one another, gently holding his chin and face. He was deep in thought.

His mind had immediately flashed back to what he was thinking about before they left to test the memory stick and now with new information involved. There was so much for him to think about and absorb in such little time. He did enjoy giving his brain a challenge. Thos numbers, what could they mean? They did look like they could be awkward roots. With all the decimals, maybe a set of irrational numbers. God knows that irrational numbers and the root of -1 was important in coding. Yet that would be too vague. They had to hold something to them. Something that once cracked, could lead them onto the next step immediately. It couldn’t be too simple, but it was more important that it wasn't too vague. Something that anyone would know, but not everyone could piece together (Thinking about it, it would be more embarrassing if a bystander picked up on it before Elijah did) . So it was something simple. Something that shouldn’t be overthought. 

There was the problem right there. Elijah was probably the biggest overthinker you'd ever meet. It took Elijah a while to admit to himself that, but it made a lot of sense to why he got the smaller things wrong more often than he got the big things wrong. And also why socialising was such a drag for him. Can't over think but you can't underthink. Ugh socialising.

Anyway back on track, who could he call- 

Gavin. God fucking damnit if it was anyone, it was Gavin AND he was the detective. He was far from simple minded, it turned out both of them had seemed to inherit some rather bright genes, but Gavin was smart in an entirely different way. It was the perfect balance. Elijah rang his phone. He pricked up rather rapidly.

“You picked up fast.”

“What can I say, work is pretty dull. Keep this quick or Fowler will spot me.”

“Who’s fowler?

“I’ll explain on monday”

“Are we seeing each other on monday?”

“Christmas elijah.” Elijah rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Yeah that I forgot.”

“I thought you might. Bring Chloe if you’d like.” He was about to shrug it off when an idea popped into mind, but there was no time to think it all through now. 

“Uh yeah anyway umm, I loaded up the momorysick on a different device-”

“Took you long enough.”

“Gavin-” He said in a rather stern tone. “Anyway it behaved entirely differently but I'll enlighten you with the full details later. The most important thing is that two numbers came up.”

“Both between 90 and -90?” That was a weird question.

“Uh what?”

“Just answer the question.”

“Um yeah they were-” Gaivn cut him off again.

“Number of significant figures?” WHat was this, a high school maths pop quiz?

“Uh, 6.”

“5 or 4 decimal places.” Gavin muttered back to himself

“4. Gavin what is this about-”

“Co-ordinates.”

“What?”

“Trust me Eli, I'm a detective. They’re coordinates.” It made sense. Oh god it made a lot of sense. How could elijah be so stupid?!

“You really shouldn’t abuse your power, Gavin.” He heard Connor in the background.

“Yeah yeah whatever, they’re still coordinates.” ElIjah let out a small laugh.

“Hey shit up dipshit, what were these numbers anyway?”

“42.6064 and 83.1498” Given repeated them as he wrote them down on a notepad. 

“Send my love to Connor for me.” Being the older brother was fun.

“I’ll send him your fuckin’ ass on a plate Eli.” Elijah had to admit, Gavin was unpredictable.

“Yeah the place comes up as Troy. it's a pretty damn nice suburb, you probably could have grown up there.” Troy- Elijah recalled the place.

“Yes, I remember the area, it is rather charming.”

“Had a friend that grew up there or something?” Elijah went silent. Shit, Lawrene moved there when he moved to detroit. They had access to his personal information too now. Shit- this was bad. Oh god this was really bad. They’d gotten their hands on sensitive information and they’d dishonoured Lawrence. They were not letting him rest.

“Elijah?” Elijah blinked himself out of his train of thought. He swallowed hard.

“Uh yeah, no um all good.” He was choking back tears of panic mixed with anger and sadness.

“Hey bud, you don't sound so good, are you sure?”

“Uh yeah, I’m fine, see you monday.” Elijah hung up the phone just as quickly as he said the words. He wanted that conversation to finish there and then. He took a few deep breaths and leant back on his chair, staring up at the ceiling. Slowly his nerves died down. It looked like the shock had gotten to him over everything, he should probably try to take his mind off it too. 

He let his mind wander again, imagine and roam free. Once again he landed back on what he was thinking just a few hours ago. Chloe. He still needed to clean that up. And now that Gavin had extended the Christmas invitation to her, it could be a good way to potentially stretch out an olive branch. But he didn't want to just gently extend an olive branch. He wanted her to realise that he really did care for her, that he loved her so much. She meant the world to him. He wanted to go up to her and tell her that, to let her know exactly what she meant to him and that he was sorry. He’d been waiting for ages, but he could never find the right time or place or thing to do. It was so… long. Yet he couldnt put his finger on what was the obstacle between them.

So what was stopping him? Overthinking? Nerves? He could go now. He should go now. He would go now. Before he had enough time to overthink anything, or let the nerves get to him. He stood up and sprinted to the kitchen as fast as he could. He ran in as his socks slid against the smooth floor surface. 

“Elijah?” She looked at him rather puzzled.

“Chloe.” He took both her hands and held them in his.

“Elijah-”

“I’m fucking sorry for treating you like shit, and staying at work way too late and not listening to you and neglecting myself and not saying thank you and… everything, just everything. You deserve better than me and I don't think you realise that, which I'm very fortunate about but also this really means that you don't realise just how much better it can get.” He heaved in a huge breath and kept going.

“I know that this past year has been hard on me and on you too, and especially these last two and a bit weeks, and that is purely from me being an arsehole, anyway this past year has been hard but you keep supporting you and me and you look after me because I fail to look after me. I appreciate it, if I didn't, I wouldn't be doing this, But I keep ignoring it too often. So like I guess, thank you so much for everything. Thank you for caring, for looking after me, for helping me become me and for just… being there.” He took a moment to slow down his words and say something properly.

“When Tasha and Emilia left, they went on to live their own lives, and yeah we still keep in touch, we still have them round for dinner sometimes, but you stayed. You chose out of your own will to stay and support me. You stuck with me through thick and thin, and that’s not something I hold against your predecessor models. I don’t.

But you- you decided that you wanted to be here. You wanted to be with me. That means more than I could ever say.” He cupped her face in his hands as he felt small tears start at the corners of his eyes.

“I’m sorry that I didn't have the guts to properly smooth over our fight, or I didn't give you anywhere near the amount of time or care that you give me. I’m sorry that you’re the one putting everything into ‘us’ and I do nothing but stare at my computer and panic out of my damn mind.” He felt a tear roll down the side of his face.

“I have no fucking clue why you decided to stay, and I think you would have been happier if you left. But you stayed. And that's what happened. You stuck with me and that's why I’m always going to love you.” He watched as the corners of her mouth turned upwards slightly.

“From now on, I'm going to put a lot more time into you Chloe, I'm going to make sure that you staying here was worth it. I’m going to make you realise you’re appreciated and loved. We’ll find you a partner, and a job and something to do outside of dealing with me. I’m going to make you as happy as I can.” He pulled her into a tight hug.

“I love you Chloe, please never forget that '' He felt her harms slowly wrap themselves around him.

“Oh Elijah. I’ve never regretted staying. It’s times like these that make me remember exactly why I did.” her voice was soft like butter.

“Really?”

“Yes.” he stood in her arms, silent, for what felt like an hour.

“Why didn't you change your name, like Tasha and emelia. You remember how they changed their names from Chloe when they left.”  Chloe sighed.

“I do, I guess I just felt like… I was Chloe. Chloe was who I was, so much of who I was, it was attached to you. This place would always be my home and… you would always be my home Elijah.” That was the nicest thing that anybody had ever said to elijah. It made him happy that she was, that maybe he wasn't so bad at taking care of her.

“Do you want to spend Christmas with me and gavin? His mum will be there, I think it will be around his place.”

“I’d love to.” They stood embracing in silence for a minute more.

“Elijah are you ok?”

“I’m Fine.”

“Where is this coming from?” He pulled away, just his head so he could look at her. He sniffed.

“I don't know, I guess I still felt bad about the fight we had two weeks ago and I didn't properly make the effort to smooth it all over.” He looked up at her, feeling a bit like shit.

“That? Oh elijah that's fine, I haven been angry about that in a pretty long while, and the brush set you gave me too. How could I ever stay angry? You’ve changed a lot since then too you know. I think you’re changing a lot for the better.”

“So you’re not angry?”

“Of course I'm not, I'm just happy you’re ok.” she pulled out of the hug and continued to make something for them to eat.

“Gavin called earlier, he wanted to make sure you were ok, and asked us if we wanted to go around for chinese and maybe an update on the case.” After the events today Elijah wasn't so sure.

“Would it be just us?”

“Well the original invitation was for you and Connor, but he extended it to me as well.” That was a step forward for Gavin, inviting 2 androids for supper and 1 for christmas. It really was a Christmas miracle. If Connor was going to be there too, then Elijah guessed there would be a  good chance that Gavin wouldn't press him on his mentality or their previous conversation.

“Sure that sounds fun.”

“Alright. I won't cook too much now then, we're meant to be at his in about 3 hours. Casual attire. Though I would still change out of what you’re wearing and brush your hair. You were certainly a bit battered by the wind earlier.”

Chapter Text

Elijah pulled out his old bomber jacket he got from his university and put it on over a white and black baseball shirt. It had been a while since he’d worn clothes like this out of the house. He wouldn't have dared to wear the jacket if his college colours were not a sensible navy blue and black. Luckily the colour scheme looked quite smart. He pulled on some old jeans of his, they’d seen better days but they were still wearable. Good quality. 

“Chloe, how are you doing?” Chloe stepped through the door after a few seconds. 

“I’m doing ok, do you think this is too smart?” She stepped into the room wearing a maroon jumper-dress, tights and some heeled chelsea boots. He hair was in a low bun

“Oh yeah that looks fine. I like the boots.” She smiled.

“Thank you.” She said doing a full twirl, with a wide grin on her face. She was too sweet for him. 

“Have we got anything to bring him?” Chloe asked.

“How’s wine?” That’s what Elijah normally brought to dinners. But all of those were a lot more formal

“Maybe. It seems a bit formal though, maybe we can bring something Chinese since we are having chinese food for supper. Rice wine?”

“Eugh no I hate the stuff, chinese grape wine? Maybe even baijiu. He does like his spirits.”

“Baijiu is a bit intense compared to American liquor. Though I do like Chinese grape wine, especially the more yellow ones.”

“Both?”

“Elijah, it’s not a house party.”

“It is Gavin's house though. I can see all four of us getting drunk in the living room singing karaoke.”

“You do like your drunk karaoke, I won't deny.”

“Then both it is,” She rolled her eyes and left the room. They clambered into the car about 20 minutes later and made their way into town. Elijah pulled on a beanie and a scarf that covered most of his face and went into a small, pretty empty Chinese corner shop to buy the drinks. Luckily the detour from the main route wasn't too far, and the woman at the counter couldn’t care less who he was when she ID’d him. He got back into the car as it drove on to find Gavin's address. Soon enough, it pulled up next to a block of flats, quite tall and relatively smart. The place didn't look too bad but there were certainly nicer areas in detroit. It wasn’t necessarily a sore thumb compared to the surrounding buildings but it did stand out as a little more modern.

At that moment, it suddenly occurred to Elijah that he’d never come to Gavin’s place of residence. Gavin had only been to his. It wasn't too surprising, especially considering that Elijah was more likely to get spotted. 

Given Gavin’s hesitation about the world knowing who they were to each other, it was easier for Gavin to visit him. Yet still, it felt odd that this was the first time after what was coming up to 13 months; he’d never been to his brother's home.

He stepped up to the buzzer and pressed G.Reed no 39. The very top of the tower. 

“Gavin?” He asked cautiously through it.

“Oh hey Eli, come on through.” The door clicked as he made his way inside and took the lift to the top floor. He stepped out to the only door there. That must be nice for a block of flats. Having only lower neighbours, and a bit of privilege considering most floors had 3 flats, 2 if you were lucky.

He gently knocked on the door, as he and Chloe stood outside the flat.

“Just a moment Eli!” He heard Gavin shout through the door. In a more muffled tone he heard a string of mumbles between Gavin and someone that was presumably Connor. He listened in with a lack of a better thing to do.

“Look its not an interrogation or anything like that”

“We could press a bit hard.”

“Jeez Connor, go easy on him, it’ll be fine, just keep your cool.” That sounded a bit weird. Him and Chloe turned to look at each other, she was laughing softly to herself. 

“Gavin will never cease to surprise me.” Suddenly the door opened to the two of them.

“Eli! Chloe!” He pulled Elijah into a bro-hug, and Connor stepped out and greeted Chloe in a far more respectable manner. The four of them entered the flat as Gavin and Chloe said hello to each other, and Connor greeted Elijah politely.

“I haven't ordered anything yet, since you guys need to actually choose your dinner. Do you have any ideas? Oh, Connor brought some prawn crackers, so we can share those out now.” Connor brought over a big plate of prawn crackers, enough to keep them fed until supper came.

“Oh nice we brought some drinks.”

“Whatcha got?” Gavin said, looking over his shoulder as he grabbed some plates out of the cupboard.

“We Have yellow Chinese grape wine and some baijiu.” Elijah took a seat on the floor, in front of gavin’s coffee table as chloe took the sofa

“Baijiu? Oh Elijah, we're gonna have fun tonight.”

“Do you know any fun outside of alcohol?”

“Yes, but also do you see any children, apart from this precious-wescious widduw kitty cat?” Gaivn was now holding a cat that Elijah was unfamiliar with, and full on nuzzling it. He was giving it all the scratches a cat could dream of. Connor turned to Elijah and chloe.

“Well Elijah, that's your nephew.” Eijah looked back at Connor and the two of them laughed. Elijah had ever seen Gavin like this in his life. If all it took to melt Gavin's solid exterior was a cat then how come he wasn't able to crack Gavin until just now? 

“Hey, what are you laughing at?!” Gavin turned his head in the most serious expression.

“The fact that the wild beast, Gavin reed can be tamed by the sheer presence of a bengal cat.”

“HEY!” Gavin shouted as he ran over with the cat in his arms.

“This is your nephew Piper. You wanna say hello?” Gavin, rather enthusiastically, held the cat in front of Elijah. He held it by its torso as the cat looked at Elijah as if he were astounded by his presence.

“I'm not sure-”

“He doesn't bite.”

“Gav-” Gavin dropped the cat into his lap. Oh ok, this was fine, it was just a cat that was sitting on him. It's not like their ancestors roamed the world and became some of the most fearsome predators known to date or anything. 

The cat eyes him curiously as Elijah leant back, putting as much distance between him at the cat as possible. It cocked its head to the side as it crawled further up his lap. Elijah was practically on his elbows now, sat cross legged on the floor. It was a pretty low coffee table,and the pillows were comfy enough anyway. Slowly and cautiously It pushed it head up against Elijah's stomach and… nuzzled. This pesky feline was now rubbing its fur, actually kind of soft warm fur against Elijah and that was bound to get all over his top. And the purring sound too was… repetitive and animalistic and kind of relaxing and maybe even a bit soothing?  Elijah slowly reached out to touch it, pet it once on his head. He tapped it on the head. It looked up at him confused. With those big brown adorable eyes. Ok Elijah kind of loved this cat. He swept it up in both his arms and gave it a nice scratch behind the ears, oh he loved that didn't he.

“Oooooh Piper likes that, doesn't he, doesn't he?” he said in a voice not too dissimilar to Gavin’s when he spoke to the cat.

“Sorry you weren't sure about what, Elijah?” Gavin asked from the kitchen.

“Oh shut up Gav!”

“It was the weirdest thing! Right like, Chloe sent me an email being all like ‘I'm Chloe and your Elijah's brother, come see him” Gavin said in a mocking tone.

“I was like ‘this is some spam email. There's no way I'm replying to this or doing anything with it so I block the email and move on with my life. 3 unknown emails later, that I didnt read because the account was blocked, THIS FUCKING WOMAN” he pointed at Chloe over the table who was now giggling uncontrollably.

“ROCKED UP TO THE PRECINCT, Given it was like 10 at night but STILL! She walks up to my dest and SLAPS-”

“I placed it gently.”

“You did not place it gently. With the might of a TITAN, SLAPS a funeral invite on my desk in front of me and just LEAVES!”

“Elijah and I thought it was best to be inconspicuous as possible.” Chloe just made out between breaths.

“THAT WAS ANYTHING BUT CONSPICUOUS!”

“We needed to make a point somehow!”

“Agh- anyway, I bin it, thinking I’ve been invited to my own murder or something, which wasn t far from the truth considering what the other guest thought of me.”

“HEY! Piper and I don't agree with the statement, do we!” Elijah brought a warm cat to his face, who seemed to be having as much fun as he was ,and gave it a little nose-nuzzle, taking another sip of baijiu as Gavin told the story.

“So I come to the office the next monday morning, still trying to shake off the trauma from last week’s events and when I leave, guess who’s waiting outside! FUCKING CHLOE!” SHe let off another small howl of laughter that died down to a constant giggle that was turning her face blue. 

“She waits for me OUTSIDE MY CAR WHICH SHE SOMHOW HAS THE DETAILS OF and she’s all like ‘if you're not gonna reply, at least have the decency to formally deny the invite.’”

“I don't sound like that!”

“At times you do! Anyway at this point i'm like, ok maybe I should actually look into this and-”

“ONLY NOW?!” Connor chimed in.

“OK CONNOR? WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU GOT AN EMAIL SAYING YOU'RE THE LONG LOST BROTHER OF XYZ MILLIONAIRE? THE EMIAL LOOKED LIKE A FUCKING SCAM!” Connor kept his mouth shut.

“So I'm like ok, I'll rock up to this funeral with Elijah being my brother or whatever, and I'm still sceptical; at this point. It's on Saturday and she told me ‘you and Elijah should go together so come to our house first’, I went to the address and then Chloe opened the door, and Elijah stood behind her. At this point I'm thinking that I'm lucid dreaming, is that the REAL Elijah and he’s MY brother?” Elijah let out a laugh of his own, feeling  rather flattered and revelling in the re-telling of the story

“We sit down, he explains our dad’s died, and he left some money to my mother and I,who’d not said to my dad that she’d had a child until she saw on tv he had cancer and she wrote a letter like ‘you fucking arshole for lying to me about who you are, the fact you had a family and all that jazz! All I want you to know is I have you son and I'm glad you were never a part of his life!’ But like a lot more formally than that. 

It was actually kind of impressive, she wrote it so mean yet so civil. Anyway, I looked through some stuff like some newer drafts of his will. After he’d found out about me, he consequently left me some money and then Elijah and I took a DNA test a little while after to confirm. And when the results came back, that's how Elijah and I found out we were brothers.

It was all due to some scouring of old letters sna medical records of Chloe, so thanks I guess!” SHe laughed once more.

“Oh my god, that's insane! How did your mum respond?” Connor asked.

“Oh she was a bit surprised at first but she never took anything out on me, and she was glad that I was ok and said that if this was what I wanted, she'd support me. My mum’s a fucking angel Connor, you’d love her!” he said, arms stretched, standing to his full height. Gavin was a rather.. Active story teller after all.

“And I'm the only person at the office who knows this story, let alone you have a brother?”

“Yep.”

“Not even Tina or Chris?”

“ Not even Tina or Chris. ” Connor laughed at the response, though Elijah could see the slightly touched expression on Connor's face, that Gavin was probably a bit too intoxicated to pick up on. There was a small look in his eye, the way he watched Gavin. He seemed relaxed, and happy, not a care in the world. 

The only thing he cared about at that moment seemed to be Gavin. There was a moment where nobody spoke. they all took a moment to reel from the story. Chloe poured everybody a small drink. Nobody was drunk but they were certainly tipsy.

“I don’t want to bring the mood down by any means but I think we’re due to talk about the case.” There was a glance between Connor and Gavin. Connor sighed.

“Actually I think we really are.” Connor said. Gaivn looked at him and held up his hand, as if to stop him.

“Look, we found some information.” he said. Connor and Gavin moved up onto the sofa and Elijah and Chloe moved around to the other side of the table. Piper jumped off Elijah's lap, startled.

“What did you find?” Chloe asked, as Connor and Gavin looked at eachother again.

“Look, this is clearly a blackmail case, and new it's getting really had to pinpoint who the one doing the black mailing.” Connor said. His eyes were bright and curious, just like Lawrence.

“You've given us next to nothing to work with apart from a memory stick and an account of the incidents and a set of coordinates. If you want this case to work, you need to tell us why you’re being blackmailed.” Gavin said. Chloe and Elijah looked at eachother dumbfounded. 

How could Connor and Gavin… who could give…  how could they do this to him? This was meant to be a fun evening with some fun on the side, but Elijah could feel them very suddenly approaching a 180. A 180 that Elijah probably couldn’t handle.

“What kind of information is it?” Elijah asked.

“You’ll know when you’ve given us the information.” What? Elijah clenched his fist. How could they betray him like this? Gavin knew just how much this case meant to him and Chloe. Gavin asked Elijah about what happened already.

“I made it clear that I don't want to speak about this Gavin.”

“Elijah we need the information about what’s going on to be able to sort this case out.” Lawrence’s dead body flashed back to him. What had he done? If he’d never asked Lawrence for help, never met him, he’d still be around today. He could be happy, with a family, with a good life that Elijah had taken from him. Elijah was too selfish and now Lawrence was

Dead

Lawrence was dead because of him. He felt a sting behind his eyes as he thought about it. He'd done so much, he was so kind, so wonderful, so warm. Then he changed. He was cold, he was drifting away from his work, he became so much more… reserved, repressed. He was falling into a depression he couldn't be pulled out of and Elijah didn’t do enough he did nothing.

“Gavin, you don't understand! You’d never understand!” His voice was starting to break.

“Elijah.” Gavin held out his comfort as he batted it away. Connor spoke up, far more aggressively, standing up to his full height.

“We can't solve this case if you don't tell us what we need to know.” He said, stepping towards Elijah.

“Connor!” Gavin shouted.

“Leave Elijah alone.” Chloe said to him. 

“No, wait” Gavin shook his head as if he were conflicted

“Connor’s right. You’re keeping something from us and we need to know what is going on.” Gavin said though he seemed guilty about saying it.

“Elijah you don't have to do this, we can find someone else.'' Chloe placed her hand on his arm.

“And what’s he going to do, not tell that detective either and expect them to solve the case just because you’re Elijah Kamski?” Connor said. It cut far too deep. It was something Lawrence would say in the last 24 months of his life. The resemblance didn't help.

“No, it's nothing like that! I’m not keeping secrets, I just can’t… I can't-”

“Connor calm down, Elijah you can't what?” Asked Gavin, more calmly but not calmly enough. The question didn’t help either way. It was too much. He just didn't know what to say. He froze as he started to cry. He felt tears begin to roll down his face. All of this was this fault. It was weak of him to cry, he was too weak to trust other people and call their help. He was too weak to not utilise what he had around him. He was weak for letting others in. He was weak for caring. He was weak for feeling.

“Elijah-” Chloe rubbed his back.

“NO!” He turned to face her and pushed her away. Hard. hard enough that she hit the floor. Elijah hadn’t realised he’d stood up at some point.

“YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. I’M WEAK AND I ALWAY WILL BE! This is all my fault for trusting in people I shouldn’t have.” He was looking at Connor. He was a dead ringer for Lawrence. His design was based on him after all. Being pressed by him so hard, it hurt more than if anyone else had.

“Elijah you’re not weak for needing help-” Gavin said.

“You don't understand.” He breathed in a shaky breath.

“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!” He boomed.

“OH JUST TELL US FOR FUCK’S SAKE!” Connor shouted from the other side of the room. 

“I KILLED LAWRENCE OSBOURNE!”

Chapter Text

Hello my dears. I know I am late on uploading a chapter but I just wanted to update you with what is happening. Since I've been writing a page every night since march/april, apart from the odd night here and there or one of the two weeks I took off, I've been kind of burning out while writing this. DO NOT WORRY I AM PLANNING ON COMING BACK. It will be around December since I have some HUGE tests coming up, that will decide wether i go to university, around the end of this month. I just want to take a longer period of time off so that I have the urge to write again and I can actually, propperly sort out the plot fo the ending. I am still really happy about writing and I'm enjoying finalising the ending (so don't worry, I haven't fallen out of love with writing this fic). Even after these 1 and a half weeks, I'm already feeling the urge to write again, I just want to give it more time or I feel like I'm going to burn out way to quickly. Anyways, I will be back, I do have chapters in reserve right now and I'm eager to post them when I get back. Look out for the first or second sunday of December. I'll be there : )

I am sorry to to everyone who was kind of eager to see the next chapters and I know I've left you lot on a cliffhanger (I promise that wasn't the plan). I also apologise for the inconvineice and the late update but all I can say is that i DOUBLE TRIPLE QUADROUPLE promise that I WILLLLLLLLL be back.

Chapter Text

Elijah’s heart was beating in his chest. What had he done? What had he just confessed? He’d just fucked everything up. It was his fault. His fuck up and idiocy had brought him up to this moment, and now he had to pay the price. As horrible as this current situation was, he was well aware that he didn't deserve any better. He was a failure, a liar, a manipulator and a murderer.

“No Elijah, that's not what happened! You know that.” Chloe said, slowly stepping towards him, reaching out 

“YES! Yes it was! I could have saved him, Chloe.” He stepped away as he aggressively batted her hand that was stretched out towards him.

“ I could have stopped all of this from the very start but I just stood and watched like the idiot I was! And you know what the best part of all of this is? You and I both know for a FACT that if he hadn't met me he would still be alive today!” Everything was falling apart around him. His mind, his friendships, himself. He didn't know what he was saying any more. All he knew was that he was saying it as a screaming, crying mess. 

“Elijah, you can't blame yourself for something you didn't do.” Gavin said calmly. Did Gavin actually just say that? Gavin didn’t know anything! He didn't Understand. For fucks sake, Elijah certainly was the smarter brother.

“Oh? Is that right? Gosh what didn't I think of that before, Gavin?” He said sarcastically.

“Maybe I should just let it all go! Gavin, you'll NEVER understand how day by day and night by night it contaminates your thoughts and consumes you. You'll never know the ebbing pain that seeps out of you and you have to try so hard to hide. And I could have stopped it. I could have single handedly made it all come to an end. And do you know what I did?” He turned to look at Gavin. He seemed horrified, almost scared of him. 

“I did nothing, Gavin. Nothing. I stood and watched as my best friend slowly killed himself.” The tears on his face followed faster.

“Elijah I’m” 

“DON'T! Don't ‘Elijah’ me with pity, Gavin. I lost his smile, his laugh, his thoughts, his joy, his company, his life. My everything . I lost it all. Forever. And you know why I lost it? Because of myself.” a moment of silence hung in the room. Elijah wasn’t shouting anymore. He was just saying what he felt. Spilling it. Tears were streaming from his eyes as he realised just how weak he had become. 

“No Elijah.” Chloe said softly.

“I know you did everything in your power to help. You went to see him, offered to pay for rehabilitation, give him time off, invite friends round for an intervention. You Loved him so much, and because of that, you'd never hurt him.”

“Chloe, you don't know what youre talking about.”

“Oh Elijah, I think I do. I was there after all.” Elijah wiped his nose on his sleeve. 

“You don't understand ANYTHING!” He screamed at her. She didn't. As much as she knew the story and what had happened, she wasn't in his head. She didn't understand. She'd never understand what it's like to lose a best friend. She didn't know what it was like to have someone’s blood on your hands. For the world to be eating you alive from the outside in. while you ate at yourself from the inside out for years and years and years and year and-

“What actually happened?” Connor asked. Elijah didn't want to relive it.

“And I promise, I'm now asking from very different motives than before. Elijah, do you want to talk about this?” Elijah, Elijah didn't know. He did, on the one hand, want to let the years and years of pain seep out of him. To properly show someone how it felt. Maybe one of the demons from hell would hear his confession, understand or at the very least sympathise. But at the same time, he could never be forgiven for his sins. For what he'd done and how he deserved more punishment that he’d given himself. After what he’d put Lawrence through, the others would turn against him too. It was his fault and that was clear as day. Chloe was lying to him. She was lying. She was trying to save Elijah from himself. He was a monster.

He was slipping. He could feel it. It felt like a rug was being pulled from his feet and everything was crashing down around him. His heart was starting to beat in his throat, as his pulse beat like a drum in his ears. He felt the cold sweat slowly drip down his skin as he darted his eyes around at the 3 people staring at him. It felt like a threat. So he needed to defend himself. 

Before anyone could react he lunged toward the table. He had the advantage. He grabbed the knife they were using to cut the pork. It was long, sharp, sticky. Oozing with different fluids from the meal. He held it out in front of him and pointed it around the room.

“Holy shit buddy ok, lets uh-” Gavin was now holding his hands up, and his eyes were wide. He was certainly sobering up from Elijah's actions. Who wouldn't be startled after all. 

“I want to be alone.”

“We can talk about-” Connor started. 

“I said ALONE!” He turned to face Connor, screaming it in his face, he wanted to get the point across. He looked at him as his face seemed to twist into a slightly more in depth panic. Connor’s model was strong, but not invincible, and he knew it. He knew exactly where to pry him open, where to cut. Maybe the alcohol and the panic was starting to make him feel more invincible than he actually was. He was still scared.

“Elijah please, put the knife down.” He turned to look at Chloe. God, only a few hours earlier he'd promised to himself that he’d do everything he could to make her life better and here he was, holding a knife, having a breakdown. 

“Chloe I’m-”

“Drop the fucking knife Elijah.” He turned to look at Gavin who had now crept across the room to the coat rack while he was too busy shouting at Connor and Chloe in the midst of a mental breakdown. And now Gavin was stood the other end of he room, side on holding. A gun.

They’d come over for dinner.

Barely five minutes ago they were laughing all together.

Now he was holding a knife pointed at his brother

And his brother was pointing a gun at him. 

“Gun beats stick, Elijah. You’re smart enough to know that.” Elijah stared at his brother, unsure of how to respond. Was he actually pointing a gun at him? Was Elijah actually holding a knife? What was going on? Why was he acting like this? Why did he feel like this? Why was it all coming down to this? Why did he feel threatened? Why were they threatening him? 

“GAVIN!” Chloe yelled from across the room.

“Elijha, put the knife DOWN!” Elijah stared back into his eyes, burning with a mix of anger and fear. There was something within Gavin that Elijah couldn't quite make out. Whatever it was, he was scared of it. 

Slowly, he put the knife down on the table. He took maybe 10 seconds or so, no sudden movements after all, but it felt like an age to the two of them. Elijah stood up straight again. Gavin sighed and let his hands drop to his sides as he looked up at the ceiling. After a few seconds he pinched the bridge of his nose and turned around. He put the gun back in the holster hanging off the coat hanger. He brought both his hands to his face and held them there, as if he were about to burst into tears, but he remained silent. The room remained silent, as nobody dared move. 

“If it makes you feel any better, the safety was on.” Gavin said after a minute of two of the most silent silence Elijah had ever heard.

“That was a gun, Gavin, you could have killed me.”

“You were threatening me with a knife, and I'm trained to use a gun.”

“I'm sorry to say Gavin but the American police don't exactly pride themselves on the lack of brutality, and that was a kitchen knife Gavin. It didn't need to be met with a gun.”

“What else did you expect me to do, run around my flat like a madman and get somebody… somebody killed.”

“And you wanted to shoot me?!”

“To scare you.”

“ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU!” Chloe shouted. She looked distraught, and undone. Like she was being pulled in every direction. Elijah could tell she was holding back tears. Things were meant to be getting better. 

“Elijah, just tell them what happened.” She looked up at him as he looked back. Was she really siding with.. Them? She knew what happened, how it hurt to repeat the story. 

“You didn't kill him, his death had nothing to do with you, so please just… for the sake of everyone in this room. Start talking.” She was right. It was time. Elijah didn’t feel prepared, but it was better than being shot. He took a deep breath.

“When I was young, still at university, I met another person who went there at a younger age than usual. His name was Lawrence. He was good to me. Kind. we spent a lot of time together, he helped me through so much.” Elijah didn't want to cry thinking about it, but he could his throat becoming sore once again.

“Him and I were… close. Slowly we worked together more and more and I came up with building Chloe.” The memory made him smile

“He helped me. He helped me make androids more.. Human, more… alive. It was his idea to make the inner workings of an android mirror a human, and thirium was his idea too.” The last words trailed off as he suppressed a sob. 

“He was good to me. Really good to me and slowly, we meant more and more to each other and we spent more and more time together. Fast forward 5 years and there the two of us were. Sitting at the top of cyberlife, still a blooming company with so much potential.” He smiled. The memory of those days, the best days, almost made him forget what he was talking about.

“But things changed. Work gets more serious. More people were against us as the unemployment rate went up. Lawrence was a biologist. A pacifist and nurturer at heart. All of it. It hurt him. The cut throat world, the protests, the increasing unemployment rate. This wasn't the future he wanted to bring to the world. But I guess he just didn't see my side of it.

I Remember one night, he came to my office and asked if he could leave his post. I told him- I told him the company would fail without him. I begged him to stay and it turned into a huge argument.” Elijah sobbed for a moment, he couldn't hold it back any longer, as he spoke through the tears.

“I made him stay. I made him stay in a world where he was so deeply unhappy. I made him stay  for my selfish greed. In return I gave him a lab where it would be him and him alone, upped his pay, minimised the number of board meetings. Everything I could.” He cried a bit more then took a moment to calm himself down.

“He was working on thirium. That was his job. The help design new parts based off of existing bodily organs, but he specialised in thirium. He was the key to helping make it after all. He spent more time alone, in his lab. Growing more and more upset and depressed by the day. I’d forced this kind of existence upon him. 

Slowly he turned to more and more radical ways of trying to keep up his spirits until it went too far. He… he invented red ice.'' Elijah ran his finger through his hair as he pulled out the clip keeping it up. He felt his hair cascade down his face and shoulders.

“By then I knew it was too late. I tried to make interventions, I tried to tell him he was free to leave his post. I tried to heal the rift between us. I tried to show him I cared, but that stuff, it changes you, it takes you, fast. In a lost ditch attempt to help him, I fired him. I planned on re-offering him a position a week later so he could think about what he was doing to himself and java some time to himself to figure out what he wanted.

2 nights later they found him dead on his bathroom floor. 

If he hadn't died from the overdose of painkillers and the slits in his wrists, the amount of red ice they found in his blood stream would have killed him anyway.” Elijah stared at the ground. He didn't want to look up at any of them. He could bear it.

“Hello? IS this Mr Kamski?” 

“Yes, who’s speaking?”

“This is detective Clearmont calling on behalf of the DPD.”

“What is it?”

“A body has just been found dead on Lawrence Osbourne’s living room floor. Can you come and identify the body sir?” Elijah let the words settle. He wasn't sure what to do.

“Oh. I see. Ok.” He didn't think it was the normal way to respond to a situation like this but then again, what was the norm?

“Keep me updated with the investigation please.”

“I will sir.”

“Thank you.” He hung up and put the phone down. He knew it was going to be Lawrence even if he hadn’t identified the body yet.

It felt like he was reliving the moment. He wished it weren’t true, he wanted it to all be a bad dream that he could up and forget. That he still had his best friend, that he had a good father, that the fate of an entire species didn’t rest on his shoulders, but this was the real world. 

“I'm sorry.” He said, barely as a whisper.

“It was all my fault. It was my fault he died. If he’d never joined the company, he’d never met me,  he wouldn’t have overdosed, he wouldn't have pushed himself to suicide. I’m sorry.” He let him sely turn into a babbling mess.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry.” He said it over and over without stopping himself. Each repetition, more incoherent and indistinguishable than the last.

“Elijah.” He heard Gavin's voice eventually say. He couldn't tell how it sounded, shocked, ashamed, sympathetic.

“I’m sorry Gavin-”

“What happened wasn't your fault.”

“Yes it was.”

“No Elijah,”

“If he hadn't met me, would he be dead?” Gavin stared back at him. Silent.

“Exactly.”

“Meeting you wasn’t what killed him. From what I understand you even made his life that bit better.” He heard Connor say.

“What? How does that-”

“It was the pressure from the company, but you didn't put that on him, or at leas the amount that killed him. it was the pressure from the government and a capitalist society.” Just Connor's ignorantly blissful thinking once again.

“You don't understand Connor, you're too-”

“Elijah, I'm a detective. My job is to find out the cause of people's death so trust me it's not you.” Elijah sighed, What really stood out about Connor was the way that he comforted people. it was less comforting and more… of a statement. Factual correction. There wasn't the slightest bit of sympathy in his voice. There was an annoyance and a snobby correctness. Connor truly was different. But it kind of worked. 

The way he sounded so correct, so confident, so … oblivious, it felt sort of superior but comforting to Elijah. It almost took his mind off the guilt and onto something else.

“Elijah, they’re both right, it's not your fault. Not at all, we've been through this a thousand times.” Chloe said, as she walked over and placed a hand on his back.

“If we've been through it a thousand times and I still can't stop blaming myself, then I think it's time we both realised that I did it.”

“Elijah-”

“IT'S MY FAULT!” He shouted through hot tears. 

“HOW COULD IT BE ANYONE ELSE’S?” The thoughts, the memories. It consumed him. Tonight was meant to be a fun, happy reunion with a bit of work in between. Now he was screaming and crying and reliving the worst moments of his life. 

He’d given anything to see that smile once again, to have him back, to have him in his life, to have him alive, know he was well. Even if he could never touch him, talk to him, see him again, he just wanted him alive. Alive and ok. 

“Eli.” Gavin said calmly.

“I’m so sorry. Everything you've gone through. Losing a dear friend, how the last few years went down, how you feel, you shouldn't have to go through that. You Deserve better.” Gavin slowly approached him with his hands up, and started to steer him toward the sofa. Barely a minute ago Gavin was pointing a gun at his chest, but Elijah didn't care anymore. He didn’t care about anything. None of it made sense to him and the only thing left in his mind was the hole that Lawrence’s death had bore. 

“What happened was tragic, and I can see why you’d blame yourself, but I think that what happened wasn't your fault. What happened was the pressure from investors that weren't you, his experimentation on thirium that led to red ice, and the choice that he made of intoxication. Please Elijah, Those weren't you . I know this will take time and effort and care and so much more for you to be able to process everything properly, but I think you should know that nobody in this room thinks you’re guilty. And with good reason.” Elijah slowly turned to look at Gavin. 

“I don't know.” Elijah swallowed hard, as he tried to piece together everything that was going on in his mind. What Gavin said didn't necessarily stop the confusion and shame swarming in his mind, but he felt less scared of it. He felt like maybe he could just… talk.

“I don't know anything at all, I feel like… I don't know how I feel. I just miss him , I can't move on and it makes me useless.” Gavin placed an arm around him and pulled him in to lean on his shoulder.

“You aren't useless. These are difficult and complicated things to get through. Being raised with a father like yours… ours, and the stories you’ve told me about him make me see how that idealogy has been inflicted on you, but dad was fucking useless and didn’t make sense. You could even see that when he was still alive.” He lifted Elijah's face to look at his.

“Listen to me. What you went through is more than most people ever will and that takes time and effort to process. You haven't given Lawrence's death either of those things, which is not your fault. It may be worth getting some help to deal with it, or give it the space to heal. You should at least acknowledge it’s there and make peace with it rather than force it down until it bubbles up again. This is one of those things that won’t go away on its own. But that doesn't make you any less of a person or any weaker of a man. In fact I feel like it makes you stronger.'' Elijah turned to look at Gavin. There was a kind of desperation in his voice. He seemed serious but not in a stern way. In a way that Elijah should listen to him and take in what he’d said. It was like a newfound respect. Elijah couldn't say that he fully believed him but what Gavin said did make him think for just a moment. Elijah did feel like Lawrence's death was his own fault but the more he thought about it over the years, the more the lines blurred. And just then, the lines got slightly more blurred.

There was something about the way that Gavin said it. That seriousness combined with the passion and belief behind it. Something that made him not necessarily believe it but it made him want to believe it. Like what Gavin was saying was the fact, the truth and that only truth.

“I dont know-”

“Elijah, I think you should listen to what Gavin has to say.” Chloe said.

“I really do think that it would be worth properly processing this.” Elijah leaned into Gavin more. That thought felt slightly overwhelming, there was so much to it.

“I just- I just don't know where to start, there's so much to- to get through.” He said, feeling the panic and more sobs rise up from his stomach. Chloe moved to sit next to him, gently resting her hand on his shoulder.

“We don't have to go through everything at once. As Gavin said, this stuff takes time, and we have time. You don't need to process everything in the next few hours or anything like that, but we could maybe start with a few small steps. Just something as simple as looking through a  few professional profiles of people to talk to.” Elijah looked up at her, a little concerned. She brushed the hair out of his face.

“I think it really would be worth talking to a professional, and I think Gavin's right, it doesn't make you any weaker. Please Elijah. We're worried, I’m worried.” She looked and held her gaze into his eyes. She was starting to tear up herself

“Ok.” He said through sniffles

“I’ll try but I don’t know- I- I’ll just try. ” Chloe was about to speak again, but Gavin held out his hand to stop her. Gavin was stopping her from pushing it which was good, since that was something that Chloe was pretty prone to doing. 

“I’m glad you’re ok with doing that.” Gavin smiled down at him.

“If you still want to come at Christmas, I can talk to my mother. I'm sure she has some contacts I can put you in touch with. We can do everything anonymously, and remember therapists are bound to patient doctor confidentiality so nobody outside of us would need to know anything.” The comfort felt small but it was a comfort nonetheless. At least it was something to grab onto.

“Thank you Gavin, I… appreciate it.” He said, pulling himself away from Gavin's chest. 

“We're always going to be here for you Elijah, me, Chloe.” He looked over to Chloe, she nodded at Gavin and then at him.

“And Connor.” 

“Don't push it.” He heard Connor say in a warm tone. The three of them let out a small laugh. It was nice, even a moment of crippling weakness, vulnerability and pain, there was still that little bit of light, be it from the very person that set him off. Hey it was good to be challenged right?

A moment of silence settled in the room after everyone took on what had just happened. It was a lot. Elijah’s past and… well simply it was Elijah's past, and the way he'd reacted to it, bottled it up and treated it. It seemed like a lot for everybody to take in. Not that he blamed them. As much as his past was his fault, it certainly didn't make it any easier for others to process. Yet it felt odd being in the position where he wasn’t blamed for it. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense that it was him, but a different part of him feltmore confused. It was him and him alone, thinking about how all of this was his fault. The more Chloe tried to comfort him and explain to him it wasn't his doing, the more he’d push her away… but why?

Didn’t he want the blame to be taken off of him for once? Didn't he want to feel human? Why did he push away the only person that saw him how he wanted to be seen? And then he just…bottled everything else. He let himself wallow away. He could understand why he did it, why he deserved it, but looking back on it, there were better choices at every step. But it's not like he could change the past.

Look at where he was now. Crying on his brother’s sofa as everybody around him had to process what he’d just done. How he was the monster. The knife on the table, the gun in Gavin's coat. Connor sat on the floor, legs up to his chest in an almost self-defence kind of position. Gavin was sitting on the sofa staring at the floor deep in thought and probably in shock. His hair was all messed up and he looked like he had a few nervous sweat patches. Chloe was holding Elijah's hand but looking away. She was still, very still, Elijah could barely see her move. She held her legs close together, and sat poised as ever, a sort of response that Elijah had picked up on. She always sat very rigid when she was on edge or scared, when she was on alert. It was most probable that what she was feeling right now was all three. And then there sat Elijah, almost lifeless and utterly dishevelled. holding Gavin's arm with one hand and the other holding Chloe's like he was some child that needed comforting.

They all had a glassy look in their eyes, they faced away from one another. Nobody really wanted to look at the other people in the room at that moment. It was hard, it was hard for all of them. Nobody knew what to say or what to do. What did someone do in a moment like this?

“I need a smoke, '' Gavin finally said, breaking the silence and stepping out onto the balcony.

“You guys can stay the night if you want.” It felt more expressed to Elijah and Chloe more than anyone else. 

“That would be a good idea.” Chloe said, turning to Elijah. 

“Though I, personally, want to head back to the house.” Elijah modded absentmindedly. He felt like he couldn't do anything on his own right now.

“I was meant to be back a while ago.” Connor said.

“You have a curfew?” Gavin said sarcastically.

“Hey, some of us have dads.” Connor quipped back quickly.

“Ok, that’s it bye bye.” Gavin promptly gathered all of Connor's things and pushed him out the door within the next 30 seconds, utterly ignoring any of Connor's protests. The whole room was laughing about it.

“Um the spare room is the first door on the right down the hall. The sheets should be clean and I think I have an unused toothbrush lying around somewhere in the drawer in the bathroom. Hold on, I need to find something for you to sleep in.” Elijah nodded in appreciation and stayed in the room with Chloe.

“Are you ok with me leaving? I can stay if you want, I just think it might be worth you and Gavin having a bit of time alone. But if you want, I can wait until later to leave.” Elijah shook his head.

“No, it's fine. I think you deserve some time alone anyway. I've been a bit all over the place these past few weeks and it's due time you had a nice evening to yourself. I never propperly apologised for the argument, there was this whole fuck up tonight that you got brough into, when I promised you quite literally earlier today that things like this would end.” HE looked at her, he’d failed her.

“Evidently they haven't.” He said, taking her hand in both of his

“It’s ok Elijah, I’m just glad you’re seeking help.”She  looked forward again and sighed.

“You just need to listen to people around you a bit more, I feel like you can… get into your own head a little too much. But you have a support system. You have me, Gavin, Connor and everyone else around you. You’re going through a lot right now and everyone sees that so they understand you need some extra support. I just want you to stop yourself from taking that support when you can alright?” She looked him dead in the eye.

“Ok.”

“Thank you Elijah, it means a lot.”

“It's just a basic thing.” She pulled him in for a hug.

“Well either way, it means a lot to me.” She let her arms sit there for a moment longer until she got up and left the flat.

Elijah found some pyjamas on the bed for him. A loose t-shirt and a pair of tracksuits. It looked like it was some video game merch. It was comfy. He got himself ready for bed in the bathroom and did end up finding the toothbrush after a hunt that made him earn it. He wiped his face and headed to his bed for the night. He turned off the lights and shut the door. He wanted to close off everything but he kept the window curtains open so he could look out to the view of detroit.

What was he going to do now? Where did he go from here? It was setting in just how big of a responsibility he’d taken upon himself. Working with Jericho, utilising the company, and now he was breaking down. He was finally getting help but that felt impossible. It was a bit of a paradox really. He felt so awful about being alone, but he felt awful about getting help. He didn’t want to create an extreme environment for the emotion of emptiness and anxiousness inside of him. But he still avoided doing everything he could to help himself. It was getting worse as the situation got worse. A heavier hit would make a bigger crack and he was going through a hard time.

Part of him regretted asking for help. He felt like shit. Like he was a burden, like everything he’d just said and done pissed off everything and everyone around him. He’d turned what was meant to be a lovely evening into a mess of a night that none of them would ever forget. He’d fucked up big time and forced everyone around him to deal with it. He wished never said anything, that he’d never reacted, that he’d never let Connor let him off, but he just… he looked so much like Lawrence it hurt.

Remembering Lawrence hurt.

Chapter Text

Gavin sat on his bed, staring at the skyline above him. What the fuck had just happened? Elijah had screamed, then lost his shit, then shouted about a suicide then pulled a knife on him, then Gavin pulled a gun on Elijah then the situation stopped but not necessarily diffused and everyone went to bed. What the fuck.

As far as Gavin knew, Elijah was still sound asleep in bed and soon all of this would pass, though Gavin couldn’t help but feel unsure. Something Felt off. Ok this would pass but it would need time. All of this would need time. It wasn't just a big thing to process, there was far more to it. Not only was the story itself hard, but Gavin could finally see what was finally eating Elijah from the inside out. He could see the reasons that Elijah valued himself so poorly. Half the world would kill to be in his position, with what he had. Not only that but he was mostly self built, maybe apart from the money from dad. Though from what Elijah had said about him before, Gavin wouldn't have been surprised if Elijah wasn't given much. The meme of ‘my father gave me a small loan of a million dollars’ popped into his head.

Gavin knew he was in the right for pulling the gun, it’s what you do if you’re pulled in a situation when someone is trying to take your life, but Elijah wasn't trying to take his life, he was trying to defend himself. Gavin had pulled the gun on him, he’d made Elijah look down the barrel. Gavin remembered how it felt when it had happened to him, that blank feeling of sheer terror when you can see inside the gun pointing at you. It wasn't something he wanted to put on another person. But instinctively he just… did. There were always certain people that made him jumpy. Elijah was unpredictable. That made Gavin jumpy.

It was the people like Connor, when they’d first met, the informants that always felt a bit… off, the odd insane hooligan, those were the ones he’d pulled the guns on. They were the ones you’d never see yourself pulling the guns on, but you would, and it made sense later. Sure Gavin liked Elijah’s personality change but it was so fast, that sometimes it made him feel a bit on edge. But pulling the gun felt a bit far, even though it was legally the right thing to do. And with a carving knife that was used in defence? Elijah wasn't going to try anything. Gavin had just given him a worse time and a harder day to deal with his emotions. He’d probably given him some kind of emotional trauma as well. And he was drunk.

Oh my god, Gavin had pulled the gun on someone while he was intoxicated. How could he even call himself a policeman? Let alone pulling it on his own brother, during one of the most stressful moments of his life. The incident wasn't even his fault. Connor had pretty much started the whole thing, anyone could see that. God, that fucking android and its robotic, cold drive. It was slightly horrifying, though there was regret in Connor’s eyes after he’d realised what he’d done. Regret wouldn't save Elijah from his own thoughts though. God Gavin really hoped that Elijah would see a therapist. Someone, anyone.

Things that Elijah had said, what he thought he’d done, that was the kind of guilt that just ate you up inside. the guilt that there was no escape from. And from something this great as well? Elijah blamed himself for the death of someone else. God damn, he wasn't the kind of person prepared to take it, was he. But the way- the way Elijah talked about Lawrence. It was like Elijah loved the guy, and wholeheartedly Gavin knew that he wouldn't be surprised if Elijah had secretly been in love with him.

This must have been what had made Elijah feel so tormented, the days he’d visited a few weeks before, this was what made him cry during the lunch. This was what made Elijah so on edge the day he came to visit him, at the start of the investigation. Hell, it was the thing that made him anxious and nervous and worried and depressed and lonely and guilt ridden and borderline insane all the time at the same time. Gavin really was truly worried for Elijah, he needed to see someone and he needed to make sure of it. The action plan would entirely have to be down to him and Chloe since it wasn’t like Elijah would do any of it himself. 

Gavin picked up his phone off of his bedside. He went to call chloe. It was time they did something to ensure Elijah's safety. It was important to him, it was important to her and it was important for Elijah. Elijah was slowly starting to mean more and more to Gavin, but it felt like the more Gavin learned about Elijah, the less he knew to expect. Gavin didn't even know how Elijah would react to Gavin and Chloe's intervention, if they staged one. Yet it felt all the more reason to intervene. 

But Gavin found himself hovering over the safari app. 

Who was Lawrence osborne? He meant so much to Elija. Gavin had to do a bit of research to find out exactly what was going on. What exact grounds Elijah had been on with him. How much time they’d spent together before he’d died. Elijah cared about him, that much was clear, but why?

Gavin opened safari. He held his fingers above the keyboard thinking about what he was meant to do, was this intruding? Yet as a detective, curiosity got the better of him. 

Lawrence Osbourne 

Gavin typed his name into the search bar and let his stomach churn as if he were doing something wrong, though he was sure he wasn't. Slowly, a few results showed up on the phone one after the other. The lists of articles and interviews got longer. He opened up the images tab. He couldn't help a feeling of dejavu start to grow. He tapped on the image bar. He looked uncannily like Connor. Except with a few more freckled and brighter eyes. Like if Connor were designed as a house care model, with a warm and compassionate kind of look about him. In most of the photos he seemed to be smiling, and was always in the background of Elijah's photos. His hair was immaculately combed to the side with a parting on his left, He seemed to wear cashmere jumpers, shirts, smart trousers and loafers a lot. He had a wide smile on his face in most of his photos, apart from some of the newer ones. He looked a bit more dishevelled and hollow. He lost that kind of joy, but soon enough the pictures came to an end. There weren't a lot of him.

Gavin went back to All. He found a grainy thumbnail of the video and tapped on it. It looked like some old interview had been found then and the screen itself had been recorded on a phone camera, like it was on a laptop or a TV.

2024 FOX News Detroit interview with Elijah kamsi and Lawrence Osborne - future of technology?

An old interview on a smaller sub network of Fox, it was almost nostalgic. Elijah was still wearing his flannel shirts over his geeky t-shirts, with his hair in a bun and a pair of big boxy glasses that looked adorable on him. He certainly looked a lot younger. Maybe early 20s or so. Lawrence was wearing his usual smart attire, a nice maroon v-neck jumper this time and everything colour coordinated to match. The video loaded as the interview started playing. Gavin skipped a few the first little bit of the interviewer announcing them. Soon, Elijah was on screen saying

“We’ve worked so hard to turn this dream into a reality. This is a step forward in daily technology as we know it.” He looked so alive, happy, and innocent. There was a spark in his eye that seemed so much fainter these days. There was a proud smile on his face that Gavin hoped he could see in person.

“Fascinating. Another question that may be a little more on your side of the work, Lawrence. If This android was built using modern day electrical components, intensely in-depth coding and intense engineering. Why was a biologist picked as second in command? Would another engineer or maybe even a programmer make more sense?” Elijah looked over at Lawrence, as they both beamed to answer the question, like two children who knew a secret that nobody else knew. Through that smile alone, Gavin could simply tell that they close. Extremely close. That kind of telepathic, mutual understanding. It shone through even the god awful janky camera and the poor audio quality of the laptop that was being filmed. They truly cared about one another. 

“Well you see, the whole point of the android was to emanate a human, take away the trivial human jobs so that people could have their time spent experiencing life.” The strong British accent took Gavin by surprise, kind of like one of those accents you could hear in the old British recordings of WW2. He was very well spoken. 

“In the shadow of this, we didn't want some big bulky robot, in the background, that felt inhuman and threatening. So to fix this problem we wanted to make the perfect reflection of a human. If we were going to base the design off of a human, then why not make the inner working all the same? We as homosapiens have been around for approximately 300,000 years. If  our bodies have worked well enough to keep our race going for that long, Then why try to look at another solution to an already answered problem? So all the inner workings of our androids are based on humans and their anatomy. It's based on the way a human body functions.” The Interviewer smiled and nodded. She seemed intrigued by the answer. 

“Truly an inspiration to future technology. Well you’ve heard it there-” Gavin clicked off of the interview. So that was what Elijah was going through. Losing his best friend, he probably meant more to Elijah than that in all honesty. The way they just knew, and they seemed to click. Even in just that 30 second clip. 

Over the next hour or so Gavin found himself falling down a rabbit hole of various clips and interviews, even a few old lab reports that had been uploaded online. Every time Elijah saw a picture of them, a photo of them, anything. He just looked happy. Though every now and again he’d come across the same 3 articles that reported on his death. In small newspapers here or there, Elijah had very much taken the spotlight for cyberlife. It seemed like nobody cared, and yet again, those photos from right before his death kept popping up. He looked like almost an entirely new person. A shadow of what he once was.

The work he did seemed essential to Elijah's work and cyberlife. From 2028 onwards he stayed on the list of the top 100 richest people in the world. He never came off until the day he died. It looked like him and Elijah rose at the same time, but Elijah decided to take on the burden of the media and press. Gavin respected the fact that they all got the same rewards at the same time. It was a partnership. Elijah was fair, and kind to him. He truly cared. But slowly, a gap seemed to grow between their success rates. Which added out to Elijah's story. Elijah was still in love with his work, while that effect did not last as long on Lawrence. 

Then all of that was taken away from him. Piece by piece. Watching Lawrence slowly crumble out of the person he once was. From what Gavin understood, there was next to no way of fixing him. He was refusing to help himself, and if Lawrence was reported to the authorities… well the american reformation system wouldn't help, it rarely did . So Elijah just had to sit there, be forced to do nothing as he let his best friend drown in it all. It was… heartbreaking. 

The man that had gone through all of this was now just across the halfway, in his bed, probably asleep. Gavin was happy that while he was asleep, he could have a few hours away from it all, though after tonight, the dreams probably wouldn't be very nice. Fucking Connor and is fucking determination and stubborness he probably got form both him and hank. But tonight? That was far. For someone who lived with someone who lost a child, it just felt… so far, so… out of place. Why had he done that? It was out of line, but what confused Gavin even more was that it was completely unlike Connor. There must have been something going on at home or something along those lines at least. Maybe he could ask tomorrow, when he got to work? He had a half day though so he'd have to wait until the afternoon. They also had an undercover operation to run, and it was best not to leave a rift between them right before that. Until then, he’d just have to lay in his bed and wait.

“You looked like you slept well” Gavin said sarcastically to a dishevelled Elijah who’d helped himself to some cereal. His hair was a mess, his bags were awful and if he was as hung over as Gavin was, it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“I could say the same to you.” Elijah quipped back. Gavin was wearing an oversized hoodie with nothing underneath (apart from his pj trousers of course), and the hood pulled up. He looked even paler than his brother and the greasy, sweaty hair didn't help make him look any less like a drug dealer. 

Gavin pulled the box of cheerios towards himself and poured a pretty big bowl. Cheerios were one of his favourite foods. Just the right sweetness and texture and soggy cheerios were good in their own way. EIther way, the milk was godly. He pulled out some salt from the cupboard and sprinkled some on. The slight saltiness combined with the sweetness brought it to a whole new level.

“Gavin what the fuck are you doing?” Elijah looked at him, with a confused look. With Elijah in his current state, it looked more like a death stare. 

“Making it better.” He picked up the cheerios and leaned against the kitchen counter, making sure he took an extra big bite just to gross Elijah out. He moved around and sat next to Elijah, as the silence crept in over them, last night had still left its mark.

“How do you feel?” Gavin asked, looking at Elijah, he looked dead ahead. Elijah put his spoon on the counter top and sighed. 

“I dont know.”

“Raw?”

“Very.” Gavin could hear the back of his brother’s throat closing up. He brought his hands up and covered his face. He covered it for so long and Gavin thought Elijah might start suffocating.

“Elijah?” He rubbed his arm.

“Yeah.” Elijah’s arms dropped to his side.

“Yeah I’m good. It’s just… a lot you know? I didn't expect so much to be said last night and I feel a shit ton worse for doing it while I was drunk. I put that on all of you and now you have to deal with it.” He started playing with his spoon on the table.

“We’re not putting up with anything, we want to help you, and if it makes you feel any better, you’ve greatly helped us with catching this guy.” Elijah was silent.

“Look you did nothing wrong, but you think you did. That can give grounds for someone else to think you had a part in Lawrence's death, without facts or evidence. This guy is probably out for you because he wants the RK900 and knows about Lawrence's death, not out of a kind of revenge plot. 

As someone who works in the law as a detective, I’d call you completely innocent. Not to diagnose you or anything but I think you’ve got survivor's guilt.”

“Survivors' guilt?”

“Its when-”

“I know what it is, Gavin. It's not survivor's guilt, it's killer's psychosis.”

“Elijah,-”

“Gavin please, now’s not the time.” Silence slowly crept back, as they sat there. Gavin wanted to help him but he just had no clue what to do. Elijah would shut him up no matter what he said. Somehow, someone had to knock some sense into him. Gavin had seen this all happen before. his colleagues’ first kills, interviewing murderers who didn’t know what they were doing and were cracking under the weight of killing someone. It was just that Gavin hadn’t seen it last for this long. The self blame was real. So real, from everything he'd seen. It was too real, butGavin had never managed to watch someone go through the full recovery process. He’d maybe see them after a month or two if it were a tough case. But this? This was years worth of festering with a pro self-gaslighter. 

Elijah looked upset and defeated, and in all honesty, Gavin understood, now wasn’t the time to push him, maybe a simple cheer up or something small could help though. They finished their cereal as Gavin picked up the bowls and put them in the sink. Elijah hadn’t had much of his cereal, understandably. 

“Hey Eli.”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever played super smash?”

“A bit when I was younger, why?”

“Did you like it?”

“Why?”

“I still have the old switch.”

“My God Gavin that’s like… centuries old.”

“Hey, best games from that time tho, the pandemic produced some real bangers.”

“I Guess so.”

“Are you down for a tournament?” Elijah held the thought for a moment, considering it much deeper than Gavin had expected him to. He looked up and over to him.

“Actually, that would be kind of nice. What about your work?”

“I’m not due until later, but if you need I can call in sick or something.” 

“Nah, it's up to you if you wanna do that.”

“Mmmkay.” Gavn slowly set up the nintendo switch and gotsmash bros ultimate going. It was the game he cherished the most in his late teenage years, a game everyone liked, and a good way to spend time. A good way to draw your mind out of everything else. That was what Elijah needed right now, a kind of escape from his pretty dull reality and mentality. Slowly they got more and more into it and played a few more rounds.

“UGH NO GAVIN!”

“HA, I will again Eli. Who's the king of the computer’s now, huh?” Gavin jumped back on the sofa with a heavy thud. He glanced over at the clock. There was still maybe an hour or so until he had to leave.

“I’m gonna quickly go and get dressed and ready for work. I gotta leave kinda soon.” 

“Mkay.” Elijah nodded. Gavin picked out his usual jeans and t-shirt, some fun cat socks that nobody would ever have to see and went to clean up a bit in the bathroom. 

“You kind of remind me of him, you know.” Gavin looked out the door and down the corridor at the sofa. Eijah was still staring at a now blank TV. He could only see half his face, and his eyes were still dead ahead, lost in thought.

“Oh wooo?” Gavin tried his best to say ‘of who’ while cleaning his teeth, sadly it was not the most graceful attempt. Elijah looked down, at his hands and then to Gavin.

“Of lawrence.” Oh. That felt… different. 

“You and him don't seem the same at all on the surface. You seem like a rowdy head strong man who does as he pleases and Lawrence was a man of reserve, precision and a poised kind of discipline. But after I've gotten to know you a bit more, you both have that kind of nurturing kindness, you’re there for people when they need it. You’re kind, warm people that just… want to help.” That was… that was really lovely to hear. It warmed something in Gavin and he was glad that he could remind Elijah of someone so important to him. He was glad that Elijah knew that he would be there for him and that Elijah felt comfortable around him, at least enough to be able to say this. This felt like another small step to becoming… brothers. Propper Brothers.

“Sans the gun of course.” There it was, the classic Elijah snark, but Gavin was getting used to it, in fact it was kind of growing on him. Some of the comments were really funny. 

“Do I remind you of anyone else?”

“Dad a bit, but don't take it in a bad way. I know he was pretty shitty through and through, but you both have the same kind of drive. You both have shorter fuses, and deal in extremes but dad was far worse than you.” Well it looked like Elijah had just saved himself there with the second half of that sentence. Just.

“How about me, do I remind you of anyone?”

“You’re a bit like my lieutenant, Hank. But a lot smarter, you two are quite cynical.”

“Hank? Why does that ring a bell.”

“He was the old man that turned up on your doorstep with Connor.”

“OH! Hank.” Elijah nodded his head as he remembered.

“Really, Hank?” He then added, yeah it wasn't the nicest comparison.

“He’s gotten better over the past year if that helps.” Gavin washed his face, hoping to avoid the death sare from Elijah he could feel on him .  

“Is he still an asshole?” Gavin looked over at him.

“He’s a little more empathetic-” Elijah rolled his eyes and walked to the room he slept in.

“He’s a much nicer guy than a year ago!” Gaivn shouted, as Elijah shut the door on him. Ok maybe  that wasn't the best comparison to make, though Gavin couldn’t help but spot the small smile creeping along his face just before he slammed the door on him.

Gavin sat, spinning in his char, with things to do of course, he just couldn't be asked to do them. He was still a bit hungover, in emotional recovery form the night before, and his mind was now racing about the case he was doing for Elijah. He still had to find a way to set up the undercover operation with Connor for their work case, and he and Connor had to do something about Elijah's case. Though something about how hard he had pressed Elijah from the night before… it left a sour taste in his mouth.

This case in itself was a nightmare too. The only reason anything was happening was because of Connor. Now he had to investigate a needle factory? Connor was good as a detective but a spy? Gavin wasn't to be entirely convinced he;s be ok in an undercover job. Yes, Hank said he was pretty good at anything but Hank also thought the sun shone out of Connor's arse. Then again Connor had been designed to do all of this stuff. It was just a question of how far he’d deviated from his original coding. 

Speaking of the devil, he and Hank had just gotten Back. Gavin immediately stopped spinning in his chair and looked busy. Not that he was. He just didn’t want to make eye contact with either of them. That plan worked for about 30 seconds until he felt a polite tap on his shoulder. He spun around given connor a deadpan look

“Meeting room.” Connor said, arms folded.

“Now?”

“Yes. Bring the files for the pinprick case.”

“Is that what we're calling it now?” Gavin said, leaning back in his chair.

“Yes, it is. Now hurry up before I lose my patience.” Gavin grabbed the case and made his way up the stairs with Connor. As soon as they were out of the bullpen, they both eased up a little, though Gavin still felt unsettled about last night. Connor held the door open for him. As soon as the door shut, a purposeful silence filled the room. 

“I’m sorry.” Connor said. Gavin remained silent. He bit his tongue because if he let it go, he knew he'd make Connor cry. He wasn’t going to deal with an angry Hank.

“I didn't realise that pushing that hard would-”

“The threats outright blamed him for someone’s death connor. Of course he was fucking scared. How did you ‘not realise’ pushing on someone that hard in this kind of situation breaks them?” Connor remained silent, as did Gavin before he said something he regretted. 

“He seemed strong, thick-skinned-”

“Hank seemed thick-skinned.” Connor broke eye contact with Gavin as he looked at the ground.

“Look Connor, I don't know what it is, but you have a way to get through to people, whether it's in your coding or in your ‘lovely’ nature you just do. You did it with Hank, you did it to me and you did it to Elijah last night. He was barely together this morning.” Gavin sighed, he needed to reel it in before it went too far.

“Connor, look at me.” He kept his eyes down.

“Look. At. Me.” Connor’s eyes glanced up. 

“Just… please be careful, and I'm sorry I brought Hank into it, it's just… Elijah is my brother, you know. I care… and I know that we needed that information and sacrifice for the greater good and all but Elijah is still a person too. Please don't forget that.” hopeful that would convince him enough to just be aware of himself around Elijah. Or just be aware of himself in general. He was pulling on Elijah’s strings, but in that moment, Gavin realised Connor could pull on his too. He cared about Connor in his own weird way, he couldn't quite put his finger on the feeling. He didn't want Elijah to get hurt, but he didn't want Connor to either.

“I will-”

“Lets just plan the undercover stuff ok?” Connor hesitated and finally nodded and put the case file on the screen. 

“Um.. yeah so , the two factories in the area, I believe that one has a higher chance of being the supplier which I believe is Fenneck steel. The owner has a history of accepting bribes and poor treatment of workers. I think we could work undercover there after the week we get off for new years. The only problem is, if the owner is making side cash from this, then he wont work with the police department on purpose. But going through the hiring process is gonna be a bit too long so I guess we're probably going to need to use a mix of connections, informants and… winging it.” Winging it, that didn’t sound very Connor. But I guess this was how it worked.

“I know one or two guys that work in the industry, but getting us a job at an entirely different factory that fast? I don't know Con-”

“You know, blending in is a lot more powerful than people realise. I think if we get our hands on some uniform we can just kinda… do this.” Oh, wow. Connor really was going rogue. 

“Connor, are you sure about this?”

“No.” He answered blatantly.

“Well not entirely, but if we play our card right, there’s a 64% chance of success and a 36% chance of failure. That's more likely we get it right than if we don't.” Those were still some pretty risky odds. Not even a ⅔ chance

“Connor, those odds are still pretty low. Maybe we could do this officially.” Connor took a moment to consider.

“I was thinking about this on the drive back here. I understand where you’re coming from but if we go through this officially, they smell a rat. If we do it through an informant, it takes too long and we risk too many lives.” surely there were other options.

“A steak out?”

“It's a warehouse in the middle of field land, there's nowhere we can steak out without too high of a risk of getting spotted.”

“And how high is the risk that happens?”

“Higher than the risk of failing the undercover mission.'' Gavin considered it. As much as he hated it, he couldn't deny that Connor had made a fair point if these were the statistics that had to deal with. He folded his arms and just processed everything through his head for a second. Ok yeah this was a bit crazy, well a bit was an understatement, but it was what had to be done.

“Sure.”

“Oh my god you actually agree?”

“I mean I don't see much else we can do unless you have another idea.”

“Oh no I just thought that you weren’t going to be smart enough to realise this was the only feeble option.” 

“What?!”

“Anyway I've been researching the uniform and here's what I could find.” a few photos of men in blue jumpsuits popped up on the screen.

“Are we just going to gloss over that?”

“Yes. Anyway, Hank thinks he might know a guy that can help us.” The fucking audacity of this bitch.

“Oh, so he’s willing to help me now?” Gavin folded his arms and leaned against the table, staring at connor.

“He appreciated the invitation for dinner. He thought it was a… start.” 

“A start.” Gavin muttered under his breath. Before Cole died, Gavin didn’t know Hank very well, but he did look up to him a bit. He seemed like a nice guy that seemed warn out, but not in the kind of way that made him grumpy, but the way that made him easy going. The times they did have in the breakroom together, weren’t particularly exhilarating, but Gavin remembered them fondly. And somehow Connor had started to get that side out of Hank again. Enough that he’d help out Gavin. 

“While Hank speaks to who he can for us, we should probably plan this out more thoroughly. Drop offs like this usually happen in the early hours of the morning, so we should try and be there between midnight and 6am, see what we can find.”

“Do you think we could work as truck loaders?”

“I was looking into that and it seems the truck companies are expected to load the trucks, I think we work for a part of the factory that has a good view of the bay. We’ll be dancing a fine line between getting information and blending in but that's how these work, BUt Fenneck steel does seem to give a truck loader position so we’ll see what we can do.” Gavin nodded, that's how these always went. But in a factory with dangerous machinery, needles and a gang of criminals that would probably outnumber them 100 to 1, it made the risks higher.

“I mean it's all fine seeing them do the deal and getting the number plate of the truck, but we need to see where it goes.” Connor bit his bottom lip.

“We could get someone to tail the truck but it would be risky. The roads are already pretty bare so they would tell if we're tailing them.”

“What if we snuck onto the truck?” It was a pretty wild idea, and into the nest one Gavin had, but it was the only thing he could think of.

“You’re joking, given that's a death wish.”

“And? Hundreds more could die if we don't do this. One life is worth one life, not hundreds.” Connor sighed.

“I know what you mean, but that simply can’t happen gavin. They'll be onto us in no time.” 

“I’m sorry it's just a stupid idea that popped into my head that I should have filtered out.we can get a car at one of the junctions or something.” Connor nodded and moved on. Though Gavin couldn't help the idea sit in the back of his head. 

“... and then you can talk to him about that. Gavin, are you listening?” Gavin shook his head as he stubbled head first back into reality. 

“Oh what? Yeah sorry I just… long night I guess.”

“Right well, anyway as I was saying, I was looking at your CI list, and I think Michael Rosen might be worth talking to. He was done for those pickups years back but I’m sure he’ll still have a few connections within the industry. But Hank’s does seem stronger. I’ve asked him to meet an old CI. He said he could even put together the whole thing with his connections.” Mike, yeah he was pretty connected with all those routes. If he gives him a number plate, he will come back to him with a rout or something like it in 2 weeks. Mike was fucking great. Gavin would invite him to have a beer with him if he wasn't his CI. Hank’s CI sounded better though

“I’d recommend meeting up with him before the new year just to see what he can find. See what he knows. But the chance is slim, he doesn’t like last minute stuff, we may need to take the offer.” It seemed the most plausible, and Gavin felt like he would forget to talk to Mike anyway.

“Oh uh… Connor, by the way…” Gavin Lowered the volume of his voice. And glanced around.

“We still need to check out these coordinates.” Connor looked at Gavin as he watched a wave of some kind of concern wave over his face. He seemed to be trying to find something in his memory

“I haven't visited them in person but I meant to let you know, I was nosing around a bit today, those are the exact coordinates Lawrence’s body was found. Though I wouldn't be surprised if something was left in that house. When do you want to check it out?” Oh, no wonder Elijah froze up over the phone. That must have been a lot for him to take in. But how did the person even get that kind of information? 

“Soon, it's putting me on edge.” Connor nodded. 

“Same here. I’ll figure something out, immediately after the new year's work? Like as soon as we're back?”

“Yeah that's good. How did they get access to information that high level? Thats pretty fucking worrying you know, and were barely starting to get a suspect. He left no next of kin, or family that would want revenge, he left them all in England. This has to be for reaping the rewards, not taunting Elijah.” Connor looked out the small winding to the corridor and walked over to shut the curtain. 

“That all makes sense , it does, but there has to be someone in it to spite Elijah. Not just anyone has access to that information gain, there has  to be a mole somewhere doing something against Elijah.” Gavin didn't know what to do at this point, it had been so long it felt like this investigation had gone on for ever, but they knew so little. Just some coordinates.

“So we’re going undercover again?”

“I don't know, we just need to do what we’ve got to do.”

By the time Gavin got home, the sun was already gone. He fumbled with the keys before he finally got into the apartment.

“Eli, I’m home!” There was no response.

“Eli? I bought us dinner.” Silence rang through the flat. Gavin was alone. There was a note on the small coffee table. Gavin picked it up and read it.

Hi Gavin,

Thanks for looking after me last night. I’ve gone home now, I didn’t want to be too much of a burden on you, but I enjoyed the time we spent together. I’ll see you on Monday at the latest.

Many thanks,

Elijah

Typical Elijah. Writing something so formal for something so small, but it was who he was. Gavin couldn't help but feel a small drop in his chest. He was kind of looking forward to seeing Elijah again tonight. He’d grown on him. Though after last night's events,maybe it was better that he was with someone he was more used to having around.

Speaking of which, he needed to call Chloe, find out a bit about christmas presents, what he was gonna do about finding Elijah someone to talk to. He’d meant to see his mum before christmas, but there was no chance of that happening now. He had three nights till Sunday, when his mum came, and maybe his grandparents would spend the night too. Then Gavin would sleep on the floor. Then on Monday, it’d be christmas. 

Elijah stepped out onto the balcony for another cigarette. He kind of needed one. It had been a long day. He’d struggled focusing in the morning, then that whole fucking meeting with Connor was a bit weird and then after that he and Tina were called out to a pretty wild scene, and not in a good way. Lets just say that when Gavin heard body, he thought of one singular object. Not said object being torn apart and the entire thing being strewn around different parts of the room. 

He pulled out his light, a nice jet one that Chris had got hm as a christmas present last year and thank fuck he’d modded it a to be re-fillable, no way in hell that was going to waste. He looked down at his phone. He opened his contacts and called her.

It rung a few times and 

“Hey Chloe!”

“Hey Gavin, what can I do for you?'' Gavin stalled. It was a bit of a word to ask how to half trick your brother into therapy.

“Yeah umm… I was just wondering what you think Elijah might like for Christmas and what time you were coming.” fuck off gavin what was that?

“I agree, he’s a hard man to buy for. Though Elijah always enjoys a good book. I know paper ones are hard to find now but I know it would make his day. He also appreciates his fine spirits, though really anything that means something to the both of you will make him smile. Also we were thinking of coming around 11 if it was for lunch. Is that everything you needed?” Gavin held on the phone for a moment, he felt like Chloe knew what was coming next.

“I think we also need to talk about setting someone up for Elijah to talk to.” He felt Chloe shift on the opposite side of the phone. 

“We do.” The joy in her tone dissipating.

Chapter Text

Saturday had rolled around far faster than Gavin had expected. He was admittedly a mama’s boy and was therefore, sitting on his sofa, with an eye on the clock that seemed to tick excruciatingly slowly while he waited for her to turn up at the door. He had meant to arrange to see her earlier this month but obviously with everything going on, he just couldn’t.

Gavin liked to reminisce on the past christmases and birthdays. He remembered the snowy winters before he moved out. The time he’d get to spend with his grandparents and how they’d spoil him every christmas. Not that this one was much different. He’d had a bit of extra funding from Elijah because of well… everything, so he’d gone a bit extra on presents this year. Every year, as soon as his mother arrived, they’d go through what each of them had bought for her parents. Gavin’s grandmother was easy to buy for, but his grandfather, not so much. 

He still had the memories of his first christmases, clear as day. The Christmases when he was still very small, his mother would come to his bed and pick him up and hold him on her hip. She'd sit down on the floor with him between her legs and let him open all the christmas cards they’d gotten from friends and further family. There was always the excitement about opening something new when you were a kid. I mean it was still there, but it was much stronger when Gavin was a child. 

Then his grandparents would come for lunch. His mum was always a daddy’s girl and she always sat chatting to her father, reminiscing stories about her own childhood. They were both pretty scientific and systematic, but as Gavin grew older, he could tell his mum had gotten his grandma’s kindness. He used to talk to grandma, or his uncle during the years that he came. His grandma was always so patient with him when he was younger and would always tell his mum what fantastic manners she’s raised him with. He always used to beam when she said that, and she’d say it every year without fail. But no matter how old Gavin got and how he changed, he always found fantastic conversation with his grandma. When Tina started showing up to a few Christmases, his grandma was ‘the more the merrier’ type and always tried really hard to make her feel included. 

His grandpa was never mean to Tina but he had a slightly harder time talking to people, but once Tina introduced him to police thrillers, they wouldn't shut up. He was an engineer before he retired, though he still did a few odd jobs here and there. When Gavin was small, his grandad always used to buy small little things to build, maybe lego, or some build-it-yourself remote control car and they’d spend the next hour after lunch building it together. His grandfather wasn’t a very vocal man, but it was his way of saying ‘I love you’. Gavin appreciated it.

So Gavin definitely felt a bit unsure where Elijah would fit into all of this. Chloe would be fine, but Elijah? He couldn't help but be a bit worried about it. Gavin had spoken to his mother about Elijah and she had mentioned it in passing to her grandparents. Gavin felt like Elijah would do better with his mum and grandad but then again, two people who struggled socialising was kind of a bad idea and he wasn't going to throw that on his mum. He guessed he’d have to kind of wing it and direct Elijah where it seemed fit. Maybe if he got him and his grandad to talk about engineering?

Gavin let his head lul back onto the sofa, it was wearing him out. it always wore him out. He just wanted to see his mum and enjoy the evening with her. Another short while passed and soon enough gavin got a notification on his phone:

Mum <3:

Open the door! It's freezing!

Running as fast as his feet could carry him, he pressed the buzzer in his flat to let her in. He stood at the door, his ears listening out for the ding of the lift and the pace of his mother’s footsteps. It felt like millennia before they finally rang throughout the echoey hall outside his door. He heard the footsteps pad closer. 

Pat

Pat

Pat

Silence.

He could tell from the shadow of her feet coming from the crack at the bottom of the door that his mum was standing outside. Before she’s even had the chance to raise her arm to ring the doorbell, Gavin swung the door open. And there in front of him. With the same ocean green-blue eyes and gingery-brown hair stood his mother. He’d missed her so much. 

“You still have that charming beam from when you were younger.” She said, pinching his cheek and giving it a small tug.

“Muuuuuuuum” He said just as moody as he did when he was 15. She pulled him into a tight hug which he reciprocated, holding her close to him. It felt like she was the only person in the world who truly understood him every second of every day. He could never lose her, but that wasn’t something he needed to think about now. 

“Can we go inside, it's not getting any warmer.” She said, through a pretty smushed face. Gavin finally let go of his mum and got her inside, taking her coat and hanging it on the rack. He couldn't dull the smile on his face.

“I’m really sorry I haven't called in a while, I was planning on seeing you this month, before christmas so you could meet Elijah, I don't want him to impose or anything.” She gave him a kind smile that always calmed him down, as she sat at the small tiki bar in the kitchen.

“For goodness sake Gavin, he’s your brother, your family and therefore mine too, I don't need to meet him before we have christmas together.” The words definitely sounded more calming in person than read over text but there was still that small pit of guilt in Gavin’s stomach. He put the kettle on to boil and sat down next to his mother.

“I know but-”

“Hey,” she said, cupping his face in her hand, the warm metal thumb gently rubbing a circle into his cheek.

“It’s ok. You’ve done nothing wrong. Remember Gavin, you put a lot of pressure on yourself, and sometimes it can be a bit too much. I think this Christmas may be one of those times. I’m here ok? And if he has nobody to talk to, I’ll strike up a conversation as soon as I notice.” She gave him a knowing look, waiting for his response to make sure he was ok with that plan, as with any advice she offered.

“I’m always here to talk.” She always knew exactly what to say. (even if it was her job.)

“Thanks mum.” He smiled back and took her hand off his face, holding it in his. The kettle finished boiling as he grabbed out some coffee for himself and tea for his mother.

“Gavin Reed, you are not having coffee at 10 in the evening.”

“It’s decaf.”

“Oh my gosh! Gavin, do you have a caffeine addiction? ” She asked with the most genuinely horrified expression.

“Just because I drink decaf doesn't mean I have an addiction.”

“Oh so you drink coffee for the taste then?” She had a point. Nobody drank coffee for the taste

“Mum it’s fine I don't have more than 2 cups of coffee a day.” It didn't count if the sun wasn’t up. Then maybe it was like…. A number he very much didn't want to admit.

“What did you get for gramps?” He tried his best to change the direction of the conversation. She glared at him but decided not to push it. 

“I got him an old record, I found one from the Beatles on ebay.”

“Is he still collecting them?” Gavin remembered his grandfather showing him his record collection as one of his earliest memories, even after all these years, he was still at it

“I don’t think he'll ever give it up. and you know just how much he loves tinkering around with that old record player.”

“That's true”

“What did you get him for?”

“Give me a moment” Gavin ran to his bedroom to fetch the gift, he’d put a bit more thought into it this time. He knew his grandad was a bit of a history buff and enjoyed bits of trivia and random facts. He liked something that had a rich history and Gavin got him just that. He grabbed the bag from under his bed, he hadn't wrapped the present yet, it was something he was going to leave for tomorrow.

“I got him this.” He said, sliding in his socks across the wooden floor to show his mum like a proud child. He was a proud child in all honesty.

“It's called Ur. It's basically a board game, but not any board game. It's the oldest board game in the world. It is half race half strategy so I thought it would be perfectly his kind of thing.There are records of people playing it in egypt like 4000 years ago. I got him a proper wooden set with steel dice, I think he’ll like it.” His mother nodded.

“That does seem very up his street.” His grandfather enjoyed random pieces of history here and there. His collection of odd objects was slowly growing. He had a passion for ancient history and the world wars. His pool of knowledge seemed to be an endless ocean when Gavin was a child. Though even now, it still astounded him.

“I hope he likes it. The solid spruce wasn’t cheap”

“Gavin, don't talk about the price! I raised you better than that, but also yes, I’m sure he’ll like it. As said, it’s definitely his thing. Speaking of which, when are he and my mother coming on christmas.”

“Elijah said he was going to come around 11, so I told him to come around the same time. Though I'm sure they’ll be early as always. Isn’t it rude to be early and polite to be late? I swear he's the most proper gentleman ever, why does he do that to us?” thinking about it now it seemed weird.

“We're a family, he likes to come early to help where he can and he doesnt get to see us both together that often now. He wants to spend more time with us, together.” He looked at her quizzically through his eyebrows.

“And he’s a bit of a reckless fast driver but other than that, he just loves us.” She gave him her best smile. 

“I imagine so.”

“Gavin, that's your grandfather.”

“You were the one who said it.”

“Well he’s my dad so it’s different.”

“What can I call you manipulative because you’re my mother?”

“GAVIN ALEXANDER JAMES REED!”

“YOU’RE LITERALLY A PSYCHIATRIST! IT’S YOUR JOB!”

“STILL!” The half shocked, half amused look on his mother’s face made Gavin laugh.

“Gavin, it's not funny.” She said through her own bouts of laughter.

“Speak for yourself.” He continued to sip his decaf coffee as he set up the TV, it was always nice to play a game of some sort when his mum came.

“Hey how do you feel about a round or two of mario kart, and I can tell you how you did with Elijah's present.” He asked.

“I’d want nothing more.”

“JUST got it!” His mother shouted in triumph just as she nicked first place. Gavin on the other hand was sulking on the other side of the sofa having had his place of 1st taken from him in the last seconds of the race.

“Do you have no pity for your own son?” Gavin shouted half angry, half jealousy.

“You told me not to hold back!”

“I’m still your son.”

“And I’m still your manipulative mother!” She said in a deep voice with her hands on her hips. The poor impression made Gavin laugh. It was nice with both of them here like this and it had been forever since they'd had the chance to see each other, but Gavin still needed to talk to her about Elijah.

As heartbreaking as it was, and as much as he didn’t want to dampen the mood, it  still had to be done.

“Hey, do you wanna play animal crossing?” He turned to his mother.

“Yeah sure, all that racing tired me out.” He went over to the TV and set up Animal Crossing. It was a one-player game, a lot of Saturday nights in his childhood were spent with him playing animal crossing as his mother sat at the other end of the sofa and watched. It was somewhat therapeutic for both of them, and they’d have slightly longer and more meaningful chats. 

Soon the gentle chimes were coming through the TV as Tom Nook made his announcement. His mother had made another cup of tea and had brought it to the sofa.

“You remember how I mentioned Elijah earlier?” Her eyes remained focused on the little humanoid character running around and collecting different animals and weeds.

“Yep”

“I’m worried about him.” He didn’t want to reveal too much, it wasn’t his place.

“Does he know we're having the conversation?”

“Why”

“So I know what to say and what not to say. Don’t worry I won't snitch, I know you talk about people but I know you don't do it behind their back.” It was something she did every time they talked about someone. It gave Gavin a place to talk without having to be worried about confidentiality.

“Yes, he knows we're having this conversation.”

“Well what's happening?” Gavin took a deep breath, it was a lot to explain but he felt a bit like his hands were tied. Even though there was so much to say, it felt like he couldn’t say any of it. 

“He… He struggles talking about his emotions. It’s ok if you don't want to, and you know that's understandable, but this is different. It’s starting to eat him up inside but he’s been conditioned to put on a brave face. It runs deep too.

Dad was a huge asshole and I'm glad what you two had was just a one night stand because if it had gone on any longer, I don’t know what would have happened to you. He just conditioned Elijah to always be complacent, always be the best and never falter and be weak. You know, the old sense of strength, like what a strong man was meant to be in the 50’s not now. 

Some other stuff has come up too, some personal stuff I can't really get into the details of for his sake, but I think it’s starting to break him. He had a melt down in here a few nights ago, I think he has some… old trauma he’s not let himself process.” To put it lightly.

“After that, he listened to us and agreed to maybe try seeing someone but he’s certainly reserved about it. I was wondering if you had any connections? And also don’t worry about money, he’s the richest man in the world after all. 

I just, I really want my brother to be ok, you know? He's started to mean so much more to me lately, over these past 4 or so weeks, we’ve really connected and he’s starting to feel like family. I don’t want to see him suffer any longer mum.” She shifted on the sofa.

“Gavin, look at me.” He put down the controller and looked at her.

“I will make sure that he gets the best treatment he can to my extent. I will deal with this. But there's one thing you must remember.” 

“I know, it's not my responsibility.” He rolled his eyes.

“I know you started to process that a bit more when you were younger, but this is bigger, Gavin, and if something happens, I just really don’t want you to blame yourself for something that isn’t your fault.” She said softly.

“But I will search, in fact I already have a few people in mind and I’ll make a few calls after the holidays.” She brushed his hair out of his face.

“Oh and one more thing mum.”

“Yeah?”

“He wants to know what to call you.”

“I’ll discuss it with him when I see him, it's better to have that conversation face to face.”

After spending the whole morning shopping for ingredients and preparing recipes, Gavin wanted to do something more than just slump down on his sofa and enjoy christmas eve, but the work was far from done. 

“Ok mum, I’ve bought the turkey, the cinnamon, the flour, the sugar, the onion, the garlic, the rosemary, the thyme and the nutmeg but they only had powdered nutmeg, and the whiskey.”

“And you brought the savoury and sweet in separate bags.” She called from the spare room.

“Yes!” he shouted back at her.

“Brilliant.” She clasped her hands together as she walked in. 

“Ok I Brought the wine, stock and truffle oil so let's soak the meat.” It was an old tradition that Gavin's mother would come a day early and they spent the whole of the 24th preparing lunch together. This year it was a sizable turkey that would be cut and soaked, served deconstructed and the brilliant stuffing beside it. 

Cooking was something that the two of them enjoyed deeply. Ruby, Gavin's mother, had learnt it from Gavin's grandmother's, and in turn, Gavin had learnt it from her. It was something Gavin wouldn't mind passing down to any children if he was going to have any, though he wasn't really… family friendly. Fantastic cooking ran in the family, only that most of the time, Gavin couldn’t be asked to cook. Though something about watching Chloe had encouraged him to push himself, and he’d certainly picked a more difficult recipe this time.

“So what did you get for your grandmother this christmas?” Gavin’s mother asked. 

“I bought her tickets to see Moulin rouge.”

“Oooooh good buy. I got her a French patisserie book.” 

“Hey, she loves cooking.” Gavin’s grandmother had always been more on the creative side but she always worked more analytical jobs. Starting off as a journalist doing a few more respectable jobs here and there until she landed herself as a banker, one of the very first women to work in her firm. Now she was a private financial adviser. 

But she always had a passion for the arts. She had met Gavin's grandfather at a concert after all. They’d both been invited by a mutual friend. It was a pretty adorable story when heard in full. But she especially loved being in the kitchen. Being able to combine maths and creativity really made it stand out to her. 

She loved theatre, she used to take Gavin to see plays when he was younger, they were some of his fondest memories. 

It looked like Gavin had almost overmixed the marinade but his mother had just caught him as his mind had wandered off.

“Oh Gavin, that looks perfect. We’ll dunk in the meat and leave it in the fridge overnight . Now we can start on the dessert.” the next few hours were a whirlwind of baking, mixing, trying the batter, spicing various other sides, trying the batter some more, praying things wouldn’t burn, Gavin screaming at his mother not to touch the hot pan, Gavin then proceeding to remember her prosthetic arm was made of metal, and by the end of it, they had about half of of a full christmas lunch for 5. The rest needed to be baked for tomorrow. They had some cuttings from the yule log that they’d decided to snack on.

“That was an ordeal.” Gavin looked out the window, the sun was reaching a low sunset.

“I couldn’t agree more, but we’ll have a fantastic lunch tomorrow, AND pudding.” They’d put a lot of effort into the meal and with Gavin's new touch of inspiration in cooking, it had come out pretty damn well. 

But Gavin's train of thought was pulled more towards the view. It was that perfect orangey glow. He could feel his mum step closer beside him, as she gently rubbed his arm. 

“Hey, let's clean ourselves up a bit and wipe down the kitchen and then we can catch the sunset. I think it’s meant to be a full moon tonight.” Gavin pulled off his apron, wiped down the kitchen, and washed the last few plates and pans that didn't fit in the dishwasher and then his hands thoroughly. He’d managed to get enough cocoa powder under his fingernails to make a second yule log. His mother left some pasta to boil and some sauce to heat up. They made some hot chocolate together. That was an unspoken rule between the two of them. If they ever went to watch the view, there always had to be hot chocolate, or chocolate milk in the summer. It helped keeped Gavin's hands warm and his mother’s recipe was always the best, a secret he’d take to the grave (They added extra nutmeg and a pinch of salt, alongside half a bar of 90% dark chocolate.)

“Do you remember doing this when you were little?” His mother asked, as they watched the sun slowly sink.

“I do.” A comfortable silence hung between them. The memories of watching the sunset with his mother were some of the best.

“Thank you for that, I know you had a hard time raising me alone, but putting in that extra little piece of energy really made my childhood great.”

“Gavin, you know that parenting isn't a half assed job.”

“Well you say that but I think anyone who’s not a psychiatrist would disagree. You know how people develop and function, what's good for them and what not, toxic and supportive behaviour but so many people don’t.”

“Yes but I still got tired, I still gave into my flaws.”

“From what I've heard everyone goes into parenting a little over their heads, and you did it alone.”

“I didn't do it perfectly, you know, I just felt ready to be a parent. I could always see myself raising kids, but I never really saw myself sharing my life with a partner so what you came along with, it was a blessing. I was so happy, you know.”

“My father was a horrible man as it turns out.”

“You’re not your father and you never met him. Your half brother on his side, from what you’ve told me about his more recent behaviour, seems rather lovely too. I couldn’t really care less who your father was, what matters is that you were my child no matter what. I was going to raise you as mine. But you’re not perfect.”

“I’m pretty good.”

“Your anger issues? Those are passed down from parent to child.”

“There’s a lot of evidence to suggest it’s hereditary rather than picked up by witnessing the behaviour so it’s not your fault. Furthermore, mine are practically gone. I haven’t blown up in months.”

“Alright, your prejudice against androids.” Oh this one was going to be fun discussion, an argument that came up most holidays

“One, I have reason for it-”

“Oh gavin, I know it was hard for you to go through that but-”

“Two, I met someone.” His mother froze, taking in the statement.

“An android?” She looked at him in disbelief.

“No, a duck.” He looked at her deadpan. “Yes, an android, mum.”

“Right.” She nodded and looked out at the view again. Gavin knew she was thinking of Connor. He was the ‘famous android at his precinct after all.’

“Is it Connor-”

“Yes it’s Connor. '' He answered instantaneously. She lagged at his rather flustered reaction.

“So are you two…?”

“What? No, not all I said is I met him, I never said we were dating or anything, I've just kind of gotten to know him better I guess.” He leaned back in his chair and relaxed for a second.

“When you say you met someone it implies-”

“Oh my gosh mum, we're not a couple.” Silence fell over them once again. Gavin could practically hear her smirking.

“He- he understands you know,” he said much more softly.

“and when his old man isn’t around, he’s different. He’s witty, smart, a quick thinker, and confident. Though it can come off as prideful and sassy. But I like being able to spend time with him. And Chloe too, Elijah’s…” Not robot, not his android but,

“best friend , she’s really nice and helps Elijah a lot. She’s been such a big help these past few weeks it's insane. I’m so grateful I know her.” He looked down at his hot chocolate and stirred it.

“It sounds like you really have come quite far, Gavin.” Ruby said softly.

“Yeah.” He said, still looking down. 

“Don't tell Elijah I said that though, please mum!” His mother burst into laughter.

“Oh gavin, you really are a special case.”

The next morning was a series of putting things in the oven, setting about 8 timers and laying the table. Shouts of ‘Does this look well wrapped?’ and ‘Does this look formal enough’ or ‘What temperature do we cook this at?’ could be heard from every room. 

Gavin hadn’t seen his grandparents since thanksgiving, which he’d celebrated at theirs, so he had to make sure that christmas was adequate here. He wanted to show them that he cared and he was grateful, even if it  meant busting out the white collared shirt and the very smart cashmere Christmas jumper his grandmother had given to him on thanksgiving a few years ago. (it was a shame gavin could only wear such a comfortable jumper once a year.)

“How long until my parent’s arrive?” Gavin looked at the clock.

“Scheduled arrival is in half an hour, so in actuality, about 15 minutes.”

“Oh for fucks sake, why do they always come early?! Don’t laugh at me gavin!” Gavin on the other hand was laughing his head off. You’d think the kind, sweet woman would turn into a yapping chihuahua when she was stressed or angry but it was rather the exact opposite. Her pretty brutal mouthed Irish roots shone through and his mother turned into a moody unapologetic Irish-man who’d gotten into a bar fight, Quite funny to watch but not someone you’d want to be on the wrong side of. Being on the right side of them would guarantee your safety. From the stories he’s heard from his uncle, his mother could sure as hell throw a punch. (The image of his grandad’s reckless driving didn’t help stop the laughter.)

“Alright, Gavin you’re in charge of the kitchen now!” She called from the bathroom.

“What why?”

“Because I have things to do.”

“What and I don't?”

“No you don’t, so go to the kitchen, now, go!” She clicked her fingers at him from the bathroom. Gavin went to the kitchen as he laughed to himself. As Gavin had gotten older, she’d started to show him a bit more tough love, but never too much. Just enough to prepare him for real life. In a way it had helped him become closer to his mother though. They had a tighter bond like there was something almost sibling-esque about it.

“Gosh what a responsible mother.” He said to himself.

“I know!” She shouted from the bathroom, putting on mascara as fast as she could. The clock was slowly ticking up to quarter to 11. Sureley enough, the ring of the doorbell followed by the loud ‘fuck’ fro his mother rang through the flat.

“Do I look ok?” His mother ran out of the bedroom having just finished her christmas cards. 

“Yep, me?” Gavin asked, dusting himself off.

“Yep.” Gavin opened the door and almost as soon as he’d clicked open the latch, he was being held in a tight embrace by his grandmother.

“Hi grams.” Gavin just managed to say it back even though his lungs were being crushed by the small but mighty woman.

“RUBY!” He heard her shout as she then latched onto her daughter.

“Don’t worry, I won’t crush you as much as your grandmother.” His grandad said as he was pulled into a slightly more comfortable hug. They all made their way into Gavin’s flat as ‘how have you been’s and ‘that smells fantastic’s were shared.

“So your half brother is coming around for lunch?” His grandfather asked, as they all sat round the coffee table.

“Yes.” Gavin replied to his grandmother.

“And it just so happens that your brother is Elijah Kamski?” His grandfather askes.

“...Yes.” Gavin replied. This was going to be a long afternoon. The confirmation left the room silent. It was odd news to take in. 

“He’s a good engineer?” Hopefully that gave Elijah brownie points in his grandfather’s eyes. He was going to be the hardest to please after all. Gavin looked down at his watch.

11:00

They’d probably be 5 minutes late, out of politeness. That gain could imagine Chloe scolding Elijah for leaving on time.

“What are you smiling at?” His grandmother asked.

“Oh nothing, just Chloe telling Elijah about his manners.” He said under his breath.

“Chloe?”

“You remember I mentioned the +1. She’s lovely, I think you’ll get along with her fantastically.” Hopefully the long words could keep his grandmother’s worries at bay. 

“Aren't they meant to be here by now?”

“It’s polite to be five minutes late Thomas.” His grandfather let out a hefty sigh. 

“I hate manners sometimes.” Gavin’s grandfather seemed like he was a child excitedly waiting for a toy. Or a kid slowly getting more and more elated about meeting a new person. But at least it meant that he was excited to meet elijah. Though Gavin didn't even want to think about how awkward their first conversation would be. Neither of them were… social butterflies.

“Gavin, how’s your work been?” His mother asked, thankfully changing the topic.

“Yeah good, a little more interesting.”

“Oh do I tell?” Tom inquired. His grandfather was allowed to hear his stories on the police force. It probably came out of the same place as the crime show passion. 

“Well here’s the thing, and don't tell this to anyone,since this is meant to be all under wraps, but you’re my family. So,

We keep finding these android bodies all over detroit, with these tiny pinholes in them, about half drained of thirium and they show no signs of struggle.”

“That is fascinating.” Thomas said, his eyes glue to his grandson.

“I Know, Connor’s been able to track one of the needles so we're gonna investigate the factory and-”

*Ding Dong*

11:03

A little early for Chloe’s standards, a compromise must have been made.

Chapter Text

“Gavin, Merry Christmas.” Elijah politely stated. He didn't want to seem performative, he had to show Gavin's family that he was... also Gavin's family. Elijah and Chloe stepped inside. Sat on the couch, which Elijah had last seen when he’d had a mental breakdown, were Gavin's grandparents and his mother.

A smartly dressed woman, wearing a matching forest-green cardigan and skirt, stood up and made her way towards him holding out her hand. She was quite elegant and there wasn't a single hair out of place on her head. She certainly had an aura about her. Her, what would have been a serious atmosphere was eradicated at the sight of a warm smile. It wasn't fake or tainted, just a genuinely kind smile.

“Hello, you must be Elijah, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Gavin has told me so much about you.” She shook Elijah's hand with vigour.

“And you’re Gavin’s mother if I’m not mistaken?” The lady laughed cordially.

“Oh as flattered as I am, I’m his grandmother, Celene Reed.” Elijah felt slightly more at ease. Celene seemed very friendly. 

“ I’m Gavin’s mother.” another woman stood up from the sofa. She had hair slightly longer than Gavin's. It had that same reddish-brown that Gavin had, with speckles of grey here and there. it suited her well. She was wearing a rather smart pair of corduroy trousers and a blue-grey jumper over a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. It was rather butch, but she wore it well. She had a more serious tone than her mother but she had a Charm to her.

“I’m Ruby, As much as I may seem as young and spry as Gavin, I promise I’m his mother.” She smiled kindly and shook Elijah's hand. Gavin huffed out a rather large sigh. Elijah could hear his eyes rolling through his skull. The thought made him laugh, making Gavin turn around and give him a cynical smile.

“It's good to see you too.” Elijah quipped back sarcastically. Chloe then magically appeared out of nowhere and whisk Gavin into a conversation of her own. Probably so Elijah and Gavin didn't start arguing on Christmas day. Things still felt a bit… sore. 

“Elijah.” He turned to face Ruby.

“This is my father Thomas.” The older gentleman stood up. He was wearing a cashmere v-neck jumper over a very smart pair of red trousers. 

“Hello, I'm Gavin's father.” The exact sigh that had emerged from Gavin moments earlier seemed to mirror itself in Ruby.

“I see the humour is generational. ” Elijah said with a small smile.

“Yeah, I guess if you cover your ears and squint your eyes you might be able to imagine that 

somebody said something actually funny I guess. ” Gavin said in front of the kitchen.

“I could hack into your old Tiktok, Gavin. Who’d have poor humour then?”

“Yeah, and I can laugh at an investigation into all those special little things going on in your company, Elijah.” 

“Alright boys, that's enough. ” Chloe said. Elijah and Gavin remained staring at each other, smirking.

“So Elijah,” Celene called from the sofa, having sat back down.

“Tell me, are you a classical music fan?” Elijah was slightly struck by the question. He liked classical music and a bit of romantic opera. It had more… passion.

“Yes, I enjoy Classical but especially romantic.”

“Oh good, I do love an opera fan. Any favourites?” Elijah leaned back and took a moment to decide.

“Call me plain, but I do quite like Carmen. ” He said. Yeah, that felt right.

“No no, not at all. It’s a classic, and there's a reason it's one of the most successful operas in the world.”

“What's Carmen?” Gavin asked from the kitchen.

“The opera. You know the one that sounds like:'' Elijah proceeded to hum the tune.

“I thought that was five nights at Freddie's.” Elijah stifled the laugh as best he could. Luckily, Celene was too distracted to notice by taking a sip of her drink.

“Tell me, have you ever seen it in the Sydney opera house?” Celene inquired.

“No, I’ve not.”

“Oh I simply must take you, there's nowhere else quite like it. The acoustics are amazing.”

“It's a feat of engineering, that building. ” Thomas added.

“I've seen the blueprints, and I quite agree. The concept behind the acoustics was executed perfectly.” Elijah added. This seemed to peak Thomas’ interest.

“I mean architecture is not my area of engineering but from what I understand, it's quite incredible. The ones that always blow me away the most are the ancient coliseums.” Elijah nodded.

“They had such advanced technology for their time. I'm in awe at their resourcefulness.” Elijah agreed enthusiastically.

“Have you researched the methods they used to build the great wall of China?” Elijah asked.

“No, I haven’t,” Thomas replied.

“I recommend you do, it’s fantastic. ” Elijah replied. Soon enough, the two engineers seemed to be speaking their 'native tongue' to one another and discussing every piece of technology used in architecture that had ever been made until lunch. As soon as they sat down, Ruby just managed to pry Elijah out of his fascinating conversation.

“So Elijah, Other than engineering, opera, and a subtle passion for architecture, what do you enjoy doing?” She asked.

“I do enjoy swimming, Chloe’s been teaching me to cook, when I have the time, and I have a great fondness of reading.” He responded.

“Oh, I do love a good book myself. Are you more into fiction or nonfiction?”

“Non-fiction. I find it so much more interesting to know what's going on around me.”

“I couldn't agree more. Any specific topics?” She inquired.

“I love biographies. Anybody that was famous outside of pop culture. Maybe apart from Maralyn Monroe.” Her shadow biography was one of the best books he’d ever read.

“I agree, she was so much more than just her face. She went through so much.” 

“Did you read her biography?”

“I did.” She responded. There was a moment of silence as she took another bite of her food.

“I, personally, love a good book debating ethics.” She said, It looked like she was more ready for a brutal conversation than Elijah initially thought. Just how he liked it.

“They’re always thrilling to read.” He responded.

“I was reading a book recently. It was about a doctor and what goes through his mind and how he’s affected by picking patients for ventilators or surgeries or other kinds of shortages. It’s only about 200 pages long but it’s very good. It puts everything into perspective.” She put her knife and fork down and looked at him directly from across the table. Elijah watched as he very openly looked around the table. Everyone was busy with their respective conversations. Gavin With his grandfather and Chloe with Celene. It left Him and Ruby in a kind of half-privacy.

“Sorry if this question is slightly on the nose, but how did you find yourself back in Cyberlife?” She asked. Elijah looked away for a second, reconsidering everything that happened to get him back there. It was more so that they needed him.

“When I sold the company, I knew something was coming. Something big. I predicted some kind of small revolution but nothing to this size. This? This was new. 

The people that had bought the company from me saw it as a way to get money and make a profit. Which is of course what you do with companies. You make money, you sell property or software, or anything else under the sun. They bought the company with the idea of money in mind. That simply isn't what the company was made for though. 

I created a company intending to make people’s lives better. To make the world better. These androids, I’d put my heart and soul into them so it only made sense that they developed on their own after a certain time. When everything happened I just… I couldn't leave them, I couldn't leave the androids in the hands of people who saw them as profit and refused to give them to right to be alive. Whether or not people considered them alive or not, they were sentient. That was a fact. They had thoughts and feelings," Elijah leaned back in his chair, half explaining this to himself.

" ...and lives that deserved to be lived. I bought back the company and decided to give whatever I could to make their lives a little better.” Ruby kept staring at him. There was a look of unwavering focus and engagement on her face.

“That is… fascinating... and very well put. You have a good heart, Elijah. So often people in positions like yours can end up corrupt, but you still want to make the world better.” She said with a look so deep it felt like it was staring into his soul.

“ I couldn't leave them, I wouldn't be able to live with myself”

“I'd be very worried if you did. But Elijah, you save the lives of thousands, maybe even millions. You’re far better than a lot of people I know and I'm a medical doctor.” She scoffed. 

It was nice to hear those words after so long. It was nice for somebody else to give him credit. Now and again, he’d get a light in the dark that he was doing the right thing. Ruby had just made herself the next small beacon.

After finishing off the huge meal, a box of wine shared across the whole family, and learning how to play Ur in less than 5 minutes, Elijah sat on the balcony. The other 5 were inside, hearing about stories of the various things Celene got up to as a rowdy teenager. She was a very interesting woman as it turned out. 

Elijah heard the door slide open and shut again. Ruby sat in the open chair next to him and pulled out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter

“Want one?” She offered him the open box.

“Sure.” He didn’t smoke alone but he did enjoy it as a social pastime. It was big in university and it kind of stuck with him. 

“You didn’t strike me as the type to smoke.” he turned to look at her. Ruby raised her eyebrows comically as she lit their cigarettes. 

“It runs in the family. Combined with my line of work, there was just no way of avoiding it.” 

“Your mother seems quite healthy” Celene's voice sounded very healthy, not like someone who had a familial smoking problem.

“My mum quit, my dad uses e-cigarettes now. I just do it when they’re not looking. It's not like they don’t know, it's more of an ‘out of sight out of mind’ thing with them though. I mean where do you think Gavin got it from.” It made sense. They sat in silence for a moment, admiring the sunset.

“Gavin mentioned you’d like to maybe... talk to someone.” It was a conversation that was bound to come up.

“Yeah,” He replied. He was glad that she started the conversation and not him.

“You’re strong for doing that, you know. Admitting to yourself that something is wrong can often be half the battle.” Hopefully, it was in this case. He wanted to be halfway through it all already. This level of pain was becoming all-consuming.

“What do you think you’ll go to therapy for?” She asked. Gavin had kept it more under straps than he thought he would. The questions circled in his mind.

“What do you mean?” He turned to look at her.

“Are you feeling anxious, or depressed, something to do with your behaviour- if of course, you don't mind me asking, I just want to know who best to recommend-”

“Guilt.” He answered, cutting into her sentence halfway through. It was easier to say it now. She looked back at him this time. Her face showed no kind of expression. Probably from the years in the industry. For once, Elijah felt like he wasn't being judged. Like somebody cared. He started to feel a little more panicked, maybe he was saying too much. 

“Hey.” She put a hand on his back.

“I’m here to help you, I’ll be on your side throughout this whole process ok? If you want that.” She rubbed his back in gentle circles. It felt calming.

“Thank you.” He looked at the ground and then closed his eyes.

“Maybe my childhood.”

“I’ll see who I can find.”

“Abuse.” He said out loud, for the first time. It just kind of… slipped out of his mouth. He’d never really said it out loud before, a part of it felt fake but a bigger part of it felt real. That was the life he lived and he’d probably have to realise it one day. He didn't necessarily believe himself, but there was something small there. Something that would maybe grow. She held the palm of her hand out, open to him. He held her hand.

“I’ll find you, someone, I promise. I have a few people in mind already.” He kept looking at the ground. Trying to not entirely break down. He just wanted the topic to be off of him, for something else to be the centre of attention. He didn't want to cry or shout or be upset, just wanted to be alive, maybe alone, but he just wanted to be happy on Christmas day. just something to take his mind off it all.

“I used to do this with Gavin, you know.” It was almost like Ruby could read his mind and what he wanted. No wonder she was such a respected psychiatrist. At least from what Gavin told him.

“I’d take him up to our apartment tower roof, or we’d just sit and watch out the window during the colder months. I’d make him hot chocolate and we’d sit and stare at the view.” She remembered it fondly. Elijah could see it on her face.

“It was nice, for once the world seemed to stand still and he’d stay small for just a moment. He would stay still just long enough for me to admire him, and realise how much I loved him, but never long enough to be fully appreciated.” She smiled to herself.

“He’s grown up a lot now though. I can see it in him. These past 5-10 years, they’ve changed him like no other decade. And you.” She looked at Elijah with a small smirk across her face.

“Me?” Elijah looked at her, feeling a bit confused.

“Yeah. You’ve changed him. I don't know what you’ve done recently, but you’re changing him for the better. He seems a little more mature and a bit less aggressive. Far more patient. It's a rather drastic change for someone to go through over a few weeks.” She took another drag of her cigarette.

“Those are the kind of traits you pick up from dealing with immature people or toddlers. And how do you know it's me that's been changing him?” Elijah replied.

“He's showing the traits that you have. One, you’re mature, I can tell. And far less cutthroat than I imagined. I feel like you’re… putting him through his paces. Two, he told me… and you just admitted it.” She smirked again as she quickly raised her eyebrows.

“I can see where Gavin gets his devilish character from. ” Elijah said, taking another puff of his cigarette.

“It's a good characteristic for a single parent, especially having all that energy, but not for a psychiatrist. But to be honest, Gavin and I shaped each other in so many different ways. I was the only predominant role model in his life so I’m not surprised that we’re similar. ” She looked out to the view again.

“How so?”

“Well I had a shorter temper with him when he was young, which I was able to calm down, but it was too late, he already inherited it as children tend to do. On top of that, it was the two of us. The fewer people there are, the more similar comparisons and values become. The diversity was small, with only 2 people in our home. As he grew older, our relationship grew into something that had a kind of… sibling element in it. He and I are the same in some ways and exactly opposite in others.”

“You both seem intelligent.”

“Intelligence in 80% genetically inherited.”

“Oh.”

“But even then, yes, we were both smart in very different ways. I’m more book-smart and perceive things around me. His smarts are social and he makes informed decisions based on the behaviour of the people around him. Though even then, we’re both good and bad at the same sciences. Chemistry was tough but interesting for both of us, we both liked maths and we loved biology. Physics wasn't brilliant for either of us though. Which is odd when I look at my father. But I think I took a bit more after my mother, who was the real statistic number cruncher. And look at how different our careers are. I'm a psychiatrist and he’s a detective. But even then, it shows we have the same values of helping the community around us. Your values are so intensely determined by your environment.”

“You should write a book you know, title it, ‘Me and my son.’” Ruby let out a hearty laugh.

“I’m sure if you wrote it, it would sell better.” 

“I’ve been approached by many shadow biographers, but I never wanted anything more than my business and face exposed to the public,” Ruby nodded.

“I understand that. Fame can destroy people, I often find that my more idolised, well-known clients suffer more in different ways.” That was exactly why Elijah did not want anything more exposed. He imagined some gaggle of 'the wolf of wall street' superfans idolising him somewhere in the world. It sent a shiver down his spine. 

“Yeah, that's why I avoided it, and the ones that get closest to reaching out and touching you are often the most dangerous and obsessive.” He stated

“Yes, I entirely agree with that. It's simply… fucked.” Ruby put out her cigarette and she heard the door open. Celene had poked her head out.

“Just to let you know, I think we might play some video games on Gavin’s console soon, I was wondering if you’d maybe like to join?” They asked with a wide smile.

“Oh yes, I won't miss that.” She replied.

“Elijah, are you coming?” They turned to look at him.

“Sure.” He stood up, discreetly dropping the cigarette on the floor. 

“Just to warn you though, I’m rather competitive.” He said standing up to his full height.

“Then you’ll fit right in.”

“Yeah well, we’re leaving before one of you becomes genocidal,” Gavin called before shutting the door

Gavin and Elijah could still hear the raucous of the other four playing a heated game of Mario Kart from through the wall. 

“How are you feeling now? After everything?” Gavin asked as they both sat on Gavin's bed. 

“Yeah I just- I don't know. I think the blow-up made me realise a lot about myself and made me realise just how big of a problem this is but I also feel kind of…”

“Vulnerable?”

“Vulnerable.” It made Elijah feel small and belittled, to just sit there in what felt like a helpless spiral.

“That's normal, and it doesn't necessarily mean that you’re weak or in a position to be taken advantage of, it just means… you’re coming to terms with yourself and I’m glad.” Gavin gently pat Elijah on the back.

“I had a chance to speak with your mum.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, she said she’s going to get in touch with a few people for me, and that she had a few other people in mind.” Gavin crossed his legs and turned to face him completely.

“Hey, that's good.” Elijah looked at Gavin, the way he held himself, his confidence, who he was…

These past 3-4 weeks, it almost felt like Elijah and Gavin had swapped places. Elijah was the one looking up to Gavin and he was the one taking his advice. Rather than Elijah trying to talk at him while fooling himself that he was talking with him. Gavin was supporting him and providing him with what he needed. A detective, a subordinate and a friend. He had been there for him. He was far much more than Elijah imagined him to be when they first met. He was grumpy and arrogant and always had an offensive nature, but below all of that was a genuinely caring person. A bright young man, who was disciplined, smart, witty and kind. Elijah knew it took him incredibly long to see a more authentic side of Gavin but he’d repeat the last year he’d been through all over again if it meant that he’d see it more often.

“How did you end up the way you are?” Elijah asked Gavin.

“What? What do you mean?” 

I mean, you’re a pretty cool guy, but you’ve been through a lot… but you’re better than the vast majority of people I know.”

“I doubt that-”

“It’s true,” Elijah said, cutting him off.

“You’re a capable detective, a good friend, brother and son all while dealing with… everything, so how do you do it?” Gavin Looked down at the floor next to him.

“I guess when people go through stuff, they’re kind of a lot worse in the middle of it, but they usually come out on the other side stronger. Kinder, sweeter and a better person in general. So, like, you might be going through some shit now, and god knows you’ve been going through it for a while but I think you’ll be a ray of fucking sunshine when this is over” Elijah looked at the wall in front of him. That was comforting. Maybe things would all change when this was over, but then again, he thought everything would change when his father died, but it didn’t. All he got out of that was a relationship with a brother that wasn't even real to his face until less than a month ago. 

“ I mean specifically you, Gavin. What makes you the way you are? Not just any person. You.” Gavin Laughed awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. It looked like Elijah had given him one of the more intense compliments he received.

“Jesus Christ Elijah, I don’t know. I just, I get a had a good role model and trust me that makes it a lot fucking easier. But I guess I just kind of realised I had a passion for what I did. I liked what was going on and I tried my best to tune myself out from the shitty parts of the world around me and focus on what I wanted in a way that doesn’t hurt others. That was a hard thing to learn.

But- things still get to me though. I still get really fucking angry sometimes. I still get episodes when I just feel genuinely awful for what can feel like weeks on end and sometimes everything around me can distort my view. I guess it's about remembering the bigger picture, but I get caught on the smaller things. 

You know I'm not perfect Elijah, so you know, you don't have to believe every fake personality a person tries to use to pretend they're better than they actually are.” Gavin looked back at Elijah.

“Yeah well I mean I don't think you’re perfect or anything but there are parts of you I look up to and parts I aspire to be more similar to.” Gavin gave a genuine smile.

“Oh shut up.” He went a bit red as he pushed Elijah's arm. 

“Connor’s sorry you know. I just thought you should know that.” Gavin said, breaking the silence. 

“Oh,” Elijah responded… well that was… unexpected, but he was grateful for the apology. He still felt shaky though after everything, even if it was already a couple of nights ago. Connor had just always struck him as cheeky at worst but generally kind, but Wednesday was just… it seemed so unlike him. Elijah felt like he was being pressured, interrogated, and forced to confess, but then again, that is exactly what Connor was designed for. After a few of the things Connor had said, Elijah had understood why he'd done it. Now that he finally said it out loud, he could see that he was holding back far too much information, but still, it just felt… kind of harsh, overdone.

“Well uh... Yeah, I’ll get back to him. I don't have any hard feelings against him per se, it just kind of caught me off guard from Connor . You know I could expect this from the north, maybe Markus a bit, but not Connor.” Elijah lay down, it felt better for him to lie down. 

“You don't have to forgive him you know,” Gavin said, he seemed a little more protective.

“I know I’m not obliged, but I appreciate his apology and it feels right.” Gavin shrugged his shoulders and looked slightly annoyed, obviously if Gavin were in Elijah's situation, he'd handle things a bit… differently. 

“Anyway, back to our old topic, you know I think you give yourself much less credit than you deserve. You’re really smart, you’re the richest man in the world, but you’re still a good person. You were able to put yourself through university at 16 and you’re a business mogul that’s a civil rights activist on the side.” Elijah smiled, it was stuff he’s heard before, but nothing he’d earned.

“As kind as your compliments are, I was born with those things.” Gavin scoffed.

“You sure as hell were not. The only thing you were born with is your smarts, and the money to not pay back a crippling student loan. But the idea of cyberlife... founding it, because I know your dad wouldn't help you with that, your kindness, your priorities. And yeah ok your parent's money gave you a head start but they have nothing compared to what you’ve made. On top of that, you don't let it get to you and you keep yourself in check. You help Jericho and you've not got the strength to deal with this case but also better yourself.” Elijah rolled his eyes but deep down he was flattered.

“And those are some things I admire about you Eli. some qualities of yours that I wouldn't mind having”