Tangible (Yandere Elijah Kamski x Reader)

Twenty-Eight

You helped Elijah to the bathroom again before hurrying to clean up what he couldn't hold back. "I am terribly sorry," you spoke to the crew still lingering behind. "Elijah has not been feeling well lately, and I do not believe he will be healthy enough to resume the interview today."

"No, no, that's fine," Neil assured you, actually kneeling down to help you clean. "If he's sick, he's sick. Just have to make sure he gets the right care," he added carefully, eyeing you in a manner that felt far too intentional.

Despite the red light at your temple you stayed calm. "Mr. Newbon, please, if word of this gets out to the public--"

He held a hand up to settle you, watching your LED go from yellow to the calm blue again. "You've nothing to worry about from us, okay? I don't know Elijah as well as you might, but... I don't know, I understand him somehow. He's just... in a bad spot." Continuing to help you clean, Neil fell quiet. "... there's a great center in the south. Warmer weather will do him good. It's expensive, but considering he's probably worth at least several billion and counting..." Sharp eyes found yours, and for one brief, confusing moment you swore your system saw Eli instead. "He needs professional help."

You nodded, still slightly put off by the look in Neil's eyes. So much so that you almost didn't hear the front door being thrown open with a terrific bang, crashing against the wall as it swung.

Whipping your head, you locked eyes with Gavin's pale ones. He was still in his uniform, so he'd hurried right from the precinct. Taking in what you were doing, his mouth thinned out as he nodded, going down the hall to find the idiot he still cared about, after all.

Unsurprisingly, said idiot was still in the bathroom. Gavin winced hard, his emetophobia in full swing... but he knew he had to do something. So he barged right in there, as well, though not nearly as startlingly as the front door. Eli didn't even glance up from his place on the floor, gripping the porcelain like it would save him.

Only the hands pulling his loose hair back told your creator that someone had come in. "Your hair band snapped again, dude," came Gavin's rough voice, having gone soft for the sake of the situation.

Elijah flinched, pushing himself up enough to see his brother with a dumb grin on his scruffy face. The tears poured immediately, despite his likely dehydration, and he lowered his head back down again, still over the stupid toilet as he started sobbing.

_____

"Something has to be done," Gavin spoke up, pacing in front of the picture window with his arms crossed. "You're gonna drink yourself into a fucking coma."

"I've been sober since Monday..." The older sibling croaked, throat raw from the withdrawal-induced vomiting. He laid on the sofa, face down, one arm dangling off the side and grazing the floor.

"Then answer me this: how long have you been sober for lately? Is this the longest its been?" When he got no answer, Gavin sighed, arms flopping down to his sides. "I'm not fucking going anywhere. Just answer the goddamn question."

"I don't know," Elijah admitted.

"Damn it. Vi!!" The call had you hurry back from the kitchen. "What's the longest he's been sober for since this shitshow started?"

"A day and a half," you answered.

Eli was glared at, but not in an angry manner. "One step forward, two steps back, huh? You drank your weight away. I'm scared to ask what your liver looks like."

"Neither his eyes nor his skin have turned yellow; he is not vomiting blood, nor does he have any other common symptoms of cirrhosis. Typically, that can develop after ten years of heavy drinking." The click of your heels on the black floor were gentle as you approached the shorter male. "Mr. Newbon recommended a center in the south. I have done research and located a private one in Florida. It is far from cheap but the care and testimonies are sublime."

Florida. With an aggravated sigh, the gray eyes closed, seeing the ruined man on the couch. "... we're not giving him a choice. But there's one thing he has to do first."

_____

His steps were slower than they might have been, but Elijah didn't pay them any mind. His entire body felt unsteady as he stepped through the open doors of the facility. You walked beside him, with Gavin on his other side. He needed the support.

First things first, the three of you rode the elevator to his office, where he dug around in one of the filing cabinets until locating an external hard drive. Not saying a word, Eli made his way back to the elevator with the two of you. Another of the upper floors were chosen, and he soon knocked softly at a door with the name B. DECHART on the front.

Opening the door, Bryan's eyebrows went high as he let the three of you inside. "Are you feeling all right?" he asked gently, eyes full of concern. "I... I mean, the interview this morning..."

"It's not contagious, if that's what you're afraid of," Elijah responded. He stepped closer, holding the external drive out until his researcher took it. "Listen to me. On that drive is something super important to me. I don't trust anyone else with it; when you open the files, you'll understand." A hand took Bryan's shoulder, squeezing it without much strength. "Thank you for being so damn loyal."

He did NOT like what was happening, his warm eyes went to you for a moment, realizing he wasn't going to get an answer. "W-wait, what... what's going on? What exactly are you giving me...?"

With a more genuine smile than anyone at CyberLife had seen in a long time, your creator replied, "La voce del tuo capolavoro."

_____

Back in his office, Elijah sank into his chair, eyes closed and silently hoping that this wasn't going to be as difficult as he feared. But by the time he finally gazed at you and his brother both, he couldn't stop the frown from forming. "... I don't know what to tell them."

"Tell them you're fucking stepping down, that's all they need to know," Gavin spat, though he lacked the conviction.

"CyberLife will want to release his statement to the public, so this is a delicate matter," came your soothing tone as you stepped around the large glass desk. "I will send a broadcast through the facility's internet and connect it to every monitor that can be spared. It will also run through the PA system." A hand took Eli's bony shoulder, and you tried not to frown. "I will run a script for you."

It was the best he was going to get. A hand at your temple, you connected yourself internally like you always had; usually, when Elijah addressed his team, he could do it from his office. This was no different, except that it was going to be the last time. On his monitor, a blank document opened up, words beginning to appear. His microphone was already in place, but he still took another moment to gather his nerves before looking up into the camera.

"For the past nine years, I've watched CyberLife grow from a tiny research lab to the massive technology corporation that it is today. The fact that it continues to grow astounds me, but it's mostly because of all of you. Many of you have stayed by my side from the beginning, but no matter if you've known me from when I was a teenager, to just having been hired this week... thank you. With all of my heart. None of this would have been possible without your drive and dedication.

I'm sure by now all of you have seen the... interview earlier this morning. Century Magazine has awarded me with the Man of the Century title. And... with that, I am actually here to say that I am stepping down as CEO of CyberLife.

It's no secret that I am unwell, but for reasons I will not disclose, and for the sake of privacy, I say that I am stepping down for multiple private reasons. Whether or not I will return remains to be seen, and I will certainly be working by myself should I choose to. But I am putting CyberLife into the capable hands of its team.

Again, I thank you all for the past nine years of my life. Taking a teenager seriously is a risk, but I appreciate all of the risks you've taken.

And as for the next big thing I have in my head?" Elijah chuckled, poking the side of his head a few times. "That's a secret."