Tangible (Yandere Elijah Kamski x Reader)

Forty-Six

(I regret nothing.)

"Who the fuck is he?" Gavin's concern didn't waver, but he couldn't deny the curiosity, either.

Cautious, you approached the RK200, whom you had not seen since he was being developed as a gift. "Markus, are you..." His LED was gone. You were entirely in the dark about what was happening in the city, and throughout the country, so his appearance was more than a touch unusual.

His smile was still gentle. "Hello, Vi. It's... been a really long time, hasn't it?"

"Can someone please fill in the goddamn blanks for me back here?!" Impatient as ever, Gavin crossed his arms.

"Markus was created as a caretaker for Carl," you explained gently. "He was the prototype Elijah was working on when you two... had a falling out."

"He is also responsible for much of the deviant activity in Detroit," Connor added firmly, not taking his eyes off of the other male android. All at once everything was wildly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, well, good for him," the lone human grumbled. It was enough to catch the other detective's attention, anyways. "Vi's deviant. She's been deviant for years. If androids wanna fight for respect and all that shit, more power to 'em. Right, Connor?"

^ ^ ^ [SoFtwARe iNStaBiLItY] ^ ^ ^

Leave it to Gavin Reed's blunt, brutal honesty and lack of filter when speaking his mind to bring some sense when it was least expected. The RK800 closed his eyes, the intense expression softening completely. "... forgive me, I need a moment to myself," he murmured, turning away and wandering a good distance, hands behind his back and fiddling with a silver coin.

Rolling his eyes, the human turned to Markus. "So CyberLife sent Con to stop what you're doing, basically. But I think I just dropped a truth bomb on him, cause he's got no issues with Vi, and she's been deviant for fuckin' years. Anyways. Markus, dude, can you, uh, go in and see if Carl minds letting us hide here for awhile? At least until Eli gets back? I'm gonna..." He jerked a thumb behind him, towards Connor. "... take care of that one. We'll join you as soon as he gets over the epiphany." With a wink and his cocky grin, he walked away to try and talk to the other detective.

Blinking wildly, Markus gazed down at you, unable to hide his confusion. "I feel like I need some context. Also... a second to process the fact that that prototype was sent to hunt me down, but now his partner is......"

"They are not partners. Not in the professional sense." You managed a smile, turning to him fully. "Regardless, I am relieved to know you are well."

"About as well as I can be," the RK200 replied quietly. "Let's go inside, at least. I think those two need privacy," he added, walking beside you to the front doors.

They opened automatically, the home systems greeting him by name. The interior of Carl's house was lovely, and you immediately went to the delicate birdcage nearby. It looked like the mechanical birds had not been wound up in some time, so you opened the cage's door to wind them back up. Soon the front entrance area was full of the sounds of chirping, the little metal creatures hopping about on their perches.

On a lovely table beside you, the machine suddenly came to life as Markus pressed Play to hear the recorded message. But to hear that Carl had a son was startling, to say the least.

The male android's dual-colored eyes caught your stunned expression. "He didn't know he had a son until recently, after the accident. And, before you question Carl's integrity, I believe Leo was conceived before he met Rebekah."

After a moment, you nodded. The gentleman was older, after all, so it made sense. Silent, you followed Markus up the staircase, headed down the second story pathway in the living area... only to find another android barring the way.