An Unhealthy Obsession pt 7

Gavin woke up slowly, his head felt hazy and his mouth was dry. Had he gotten drunk and passed out at Tina’s again? He rubbed his eyes, flinching as his hand brushed against his bruised cheeks. Bruised? Gavin’s eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly. This wasn’t the same bed he had been chained to. He checked his ankle, nothing was there but a red line from the chain. He slowly stood up off the bed, looking around the room he was in. The sheets matched his in his bedroom, but without that well worn softness his had. There was a bookcase in the room as well, Gavin slowly walked to it, looking around with worry. He felt his blood run cold when he looked at the titles in the bookcase. They were the exact same books he had in his bedroom. The rest of the room was pretty bare looking, so Gavin tested the door, surprised when it opened easily. He peeked his head out, there was a hallway with two doors and a closet. He stepped out and checked the first door, locked. He checked the second and it opened up to show a bathroom. He needed to use it anyways so he shut the door behind him.

When he finished using the bathroom he looked around the shower stall, all the products matched what he used, but were brand new in unopened bottles. It creeped him out worse than waking up chained to a bed so he left the bathroom. He jumped when he turned from closing the door to see Nines standing in the hallway.

“You’re awake, good let me show you the rest of the place. I just know you’ll come to like it here.” He placed a firm hand on Gavin’s shoulder and guided him down the hallway into the living room. The front door had an electronic lock, Gavin knew he didn’t know enough about lockpicking to work his way around an electronic lock and escape. “We have all your same subscriptions here so I hope you won’t be bored while I’m at work. I also went through the trouble of finding all the same books you have at your old apartment. Of course sadly I couldn’t just take what was there, wouldn’t like anyone to realize you were missing.” Gavin could only nod as Nines guided him to the kitchen.

“Here’s the kitchen, I’ll make breakfast and dinner for you while I’m here. Must make sure you have all your nutritional needs of course. For lunch though you will be on your own.” Gavin looked at the knives sitting in the block next to the stove. He could use one of those and fight Nines and escape. The grip on his shoulder tightened as if sensing his thoughts, he couldn’t do it now anyways. It would have to be when Nines wasn’t expecting it at all. “Now that you’ve seen our lovely apartment, is there anything I can get for you?”

Gavin frowned and looked up at the delusional android. “I’m not hungry after that drugged sandwich you made me earlier.” The smile that had been on Nines face faded and a mad glint returned to his eyes.

Nines shoved him down and Gavin’s shoulder fell into a dining chair. He shoved down a curse and glared up at the android instead. Nines stared down at him with a red LED before he paused and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry love, I shouldn’t have pushed you. You have to understand- I drugged you so we could safely move in here. I can’t have people that would hurt you get to you!” Nines grabbed Gavin by the arms and pulled him up to his feet, wrapping an arm around the man’s shoulders and guiding him to the living room couch. “I love you, I would never hurt you without a purpose. Not like those other people would.”

Gavin pulled away from Nines and sat against the edge of the couch. “I’m a cop, I’m used to a little pain. And anyways the only person hurting me is you.” He eyed Nines as the android sat down on the couch.

“I don’t want to hurt you Gavin, but you’re acting so badly that I have to punish you.” Nines reached for Gavin but the man quickly scrambled to his feet and moved around the couch. Nines just watched him with a small frown and cold eyes. Gavin slowly backed up, getting closer to the door. He knew the android was smart, but hoped it had made a mistake. A small, simple mistake could mean escape for Gavin. He tried the door behind him and curse when it didn’t move. Locked. Nines stood up quickly and grabbed Gavin by his shirt. “Fine! If you want to be punished I will punish you!” He dragged the smaller man down the hallway, ignoring the struggles and how much more Gavin picked up his struggling and trying to catching anything to grab onto when he opened the bedroom door Gavin had come out of.

It was almost a relief to the man when Nines just threw him in and slammed the door shut. He lifted himself up slowly, breathing heavily as he listened to the footsteps walking down the hallway. Gavin sat down on the edge of the bed, curling up and setting his head between his knees. He couldn’t understand any of what was going on. “Fucking tincan’s fucked up in the head.” He gave a short laugh as he thought over the situation. He’d been chained up, literally to a bed, and now he was moved to a secondary location. He sat up suddenly as he realized, he’d just been moved to a secondary location. His odds of being found now dropped significantly.

He wanted to puke, who would even be able to find him? This was Cyberlife’s finest hiding him away, and what had previously been their finest was dead in a dumpster somewhere. Gavin stood up and paced, flinching a bit as his movements adjusted some bruised muscles. He’d made a joke to Connor once about being left dead in a dumpster, that first day he worked with Hank. Connor had gotten shot in the head and shown up again the next day like nothing had happened. Gavin wanted to laugh, there was hope. Connor could have a back up and be searching for him even now. He cheerfully plucked a book off of the bookcase and sat down on the bed to read it. He just had to wait out this crazed version of Nines, and not think about how Connor was going to save him if he’d already been beaten once by Nines.

An Unhealthy Obsession pt 6

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Gavin lifted his head up from the bed and looked around, something had woken him up. He jumped at the sound of the door opening. Nines stood there with a tray in his hands. “I hope you’re going to be a good boy now.” Gavin didn’t say anything, just climbed up to his feet and clenched his hands at his sides. Nines placed the tray down on the bed, not noticing Gavin backing away. Nines stood up and stepped closer to Gavin, pinning the smaller man against the wall. “My my detective. You’re heavily bruised from that last punishment you needed.” Nines reached a hand up to trace the bruises on Gavin’s neck. He slapped away Nines hand before he touched the purple skin.

Nines snarled and slapped him. “Do you want me to punish you? Why can’t you just wake up and realize you love me?” He grabbed Gavin by the hair, pulling him closed and placing the other hand on his jaw, thumb tracing another bruise. “You know that we’re supposed to be together. I know you love me. Just as I love you.” Nines shoved Gavin against the wall and kissed him, ignoring the way the detective fought against the grip and tried to push him away. He did flinch back when Gavin responded with biting his lip instead. Nines ran a thumb over the cut, turning and stepping away from Gavin as he stared down at the blue blood dripping from his own mouth.

He looked back at Gavin, taking in the defensive stance for the first time. “That’s twice now you’ve injured me.” He frowned before quickly striding back in Gavin’s space and pinning him to the wall with a hand on his throat. “Why do you do this to me? Why do you make me hurt you? My human, it doesn’t matter how strong you are. It’s my job to protect you, to keep you safe from everyone out there. I mean just today I had to call out sick for you, of course I came in to work. Hank was gone, probably looking for Connor.” He let go of Gavins throat, walking towards the mirror instead. Nines stopped in front of the mirror, looking at his features as he kept speaking. “Everyone was so worried about poor Connor having gone missing. Only one person asked me about you Gavin. If she keeps trying to meddle in our affairs I’m going to have to do something about it.”

“No!” Gavin shouted, coughing some more as he continued to gasp for air. “No, she’s- she has nothing to do with this.”

Nines turned back to Gavin slowly, LED spinning yellow as he thought over the new information. “You care about her, about Tina.”

Gavin kept his mouth shut, not responding at all to Nine’s question. He knew already that he would be putting her in danger to speak anymore. Nines glanced once more in the mirror before walking towards Gavin and kneeling on the ground. “I asked you a question. You care about her. Is Tina your lover?”

Gavin looked at him in surprise. “The fuck? No, everyone knows she’s a lesbian.” He paused, looking up at Nines. He should know that, why didn’t he know that about Tina? He narrowed his eyes at Nines as the android turned away and walked out of the room. The lock clicked shut loudly behind him. Gavin turned to see what the android had brought in on the tray. There was a sandwich and a plastic cup filled with water. He quickly ate the sandwich and drank the water, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

Gavin then looked at the tray, wondering if Nines had meant to leave it there and what he could do with it. He held it in both hands, giving it a small shake to test out the weight. He could use it to break the mirror and get a weapon from the glass shards, but those would be more likely to harm him than his captor. With a sigh he placed it on the ground, sliding it part way under the bed. He felt tired now that Nines had left again. Gavin laid down on the bed again, wondering what he could do, how he could try and get away from Nines. As he fell asleep he realized that Nines should have known Tina was a lesbian because he’d help set her up with the ST300 that worked at the station.

An Unhealthy Obsession pt 5

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Hank watched as Chloe unhooked a Connor from the machine Kamski had him hooked up to. He waved off the genius’s explanations for why Connor hadn’t just shown up wherever he was like he used to before the peaceful revolution and just told them to get him working again. Chloe at least at smiled at him before the two of them got to work. Hank stepped back outside the room and looked over at Nines. The taller, newer android was sitting down in the hallway, his head in his hands and a red LED peeking through his fingers. “How’re you doing kid?” He leaned down slightly to get a better look at Nines.

Nines just looked up at Hank before looking back at the floor. “There’s someone running around in my body. They’re doing RA9 knows what to Gavin right now, and the only reason we know what’s going is because they or someone killed Connor!” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I’m sorry I just- I’m freaking out and making things worse by running simulations of what could be happening right now.”

“Don’t, we’ll wake up Connor and rush over there and rescue the little jackass.” Hank shuffled nervously, not sure how to comfort Nines when he was right, that other Nines could be doing god knows what. “I’m gonna head back in. I’ll explain the situation to him before we let him see you, okay?” Nines nodded and Hank went back into the room, shutting the door behind him.

Kamski moved from the computer to standing next to the counter they had laid Connor down on. Chloe stood by his head, her hands white and plastic showing as she lifted them from his forehead. Hank walked up just as Connor’s eyes snapped open.

He jumped up from the counter, LED spinning red as he patted down his chest, he looked down and his shirt was clean. His chest was covered by a clean shirt. Ignoring everyone in the room he quickly opened the shirt and checked again. He looked up and saw Chloe had moved to right in front of him. He turned and saw Hank and Elijah standing by the counter. “Hank! We have to save Gavin from Nines!” He saw Hank shake his head and frowned, turning back to Chloe. She had a hand stretched out, asking for a data transfer. He placed his arm in her hand, synthetic skin peeling back on his own as he was hit with a wave of data. He stumbled back, not breaking the connection but shocked at how much there was. Not just the information from that day when Hank burst in and asked for help, but showing over the course of the month Nines had spent with them.

She broke the connection and he turned to Hank and Elijah again. “Do we know who is in the other body then?”

Hank shook his head. “Nope. Figured we’d get there after we save the asshole. Come on, our real Nines is outside and ready to kill the one in his spare body.”

Connor placed a hand on Elijah’s shoulder when the man started to walk by. “I think it would be best if you stayed in a safe location.” He paused, not sure of the best way to ask the question. “Is that body the only spare Nines has? If he becomes destroyed-?”

Elijah shook his head. “If Nines is destroyed then he should still have an auto upload to the Cyberlife cloud. Then he would be manually uploaded into his new model. I’ve put in a firewall preventing any downloads from the Cyberlife cloud. That should prevent anything like this from happening in the future.”

Connor nodded and hurried out the door, he paused when he saw Nines. He knew this was their Nines, and not the copy, but it still shocked him to see Nines standing there. Taking a moment to watch the other android move and speak it was easy to see how different they were. This Nines was much more open, more human in his body language. The other one had moved like they were always on edge, they had colder eyes than this Nines.

He walked up to Nines, noticing how he flinched slightly at seeing Connor awake and up. “So, how are we going to do this? I know where he lead me, and can show you where he had killed me, but we don’t know if they’ve moved Gavin or if that even is where Gavin is hidden.”

Nines nodded and the five of them walked out of Cyberlife and back into the car. “It’s a good place to start with though.”

An unhealthy Obsession pt 4

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Gavin pulled against the chain, hoping it would give somewhere. He sat down with a sigh, looking over at the bed he was chained to. It was no use, damn thing was bolted to the floor. He looked around the room some more, there was a toilet, a sink, and a mirror. He stood back up, deciding to double check how long of a reach he did have. He couldn’t reach the door, but that was expected. The sink and toilet were in reach, but the mirror wasn’t. His fingertips could barely brush against the surface of the mirror.

He scrambled back to the bed and stood in front of it as he heard the lock click open. Nines calmly walked in with a smile that made Gavin’s skin crawl. “I hope you find the accommodations acceptable Gavin? Please let me know what I can do to make things more comfortable for you. I do plan on this being a very long stay.” He kept walking, getting in Gavin’s personal space as he looked down at him. Gavin but back a curse as his legs bumped into the bed behind him. Nines ran a thin pale finger along Gavin’s jaw as he continued to speak. “Now that our little problem is gone, I hope you can start to enjoy your stay here.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you Nines?” Gavin tried pushing back against the android but he didn’t even budge. He felt a shock of fear when Nines pushed him back onto the bed. The android knelt down over him and pulled him in for a harsh kiss. He could feel bruises starting to form on his jaw from the grip Nines had on him. Then just as quickly as it started Nines was standing back up next to the bed and looking down at Gavin.

“Nothing is wrong with me Gavin. I’m just- expressing my affections for you.” His cold eyes focused on the bruises starting to form. “I don’t want to hurt you Gavin, but if you struggle when we kiss, I’ll have to hold you down.”

He clenched his hands and swung a fist as Nines, cursing when the android caught it with ease. Nines just looked at before dropping the fist and slapping him. Gavin hit the ground hard, spitting out blood and cursing again. He climbed back up to his feet and raised his fists in front of him. Nines hit him again, Gavin blocking the hit with his arms and sliding back. He missed the android’s LED turning red for a moment before a hand caught him in the throat. Gavin felt himself shoved down onto the bed, panic overriding his brain as he clawed at the hand pinning him down by his throat. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears as Nines leaned down and whispered to him. “I love you Gavin, why would you want me to punish you?” He kicked against the android, luckily catching him in the area of the thirium regulator. Nines eased up of his crushing grip and stepped back, his hand pressing against his stomach.

Gavin gasped for air and shoved himself back further into the bed, his back against the wall and watching Nines with bloodshot eyes. Nines straightened up and swiftly unbuttoned his shirt, ignoring the way Gavin tensed up and got ready to bolt. He reached down to his regulator, blue blood leaking from where Gavin’s kick had shifted it out of place. Without even a blink he pulled out his regulator and pushed it back in, firmly locking it back in place. He frowned at Gavin before turning around and walking out of the room, the click of the lock sounded like a gunshot.

Gavin pulled his legs against his chest and rested his head on them. His throat hurt, his mouth was slowly bleeding from where he bit his cheek, he just knew his face was already becoming covered in bruises and worst of all- his eyes burned with tears. Gavin felt weak, scared, betrayed. He thought he knew Nines, his partner, his friend, but it turned out to all be a lie. Sure Nines had been acting a little odd for the past month, but he had brushed it off. Gavin curled up tighter, fighting the urge to cry as he thought over who would even notice he was missing. He wasn’t even sure how long he had even been missing. Was it just a day? Or had he been unconscious for more than a day?

He laid down on the bed, making sure his back was against the wall and he had a clear view of the door. Gavin shoved down the tears threatening to overwhelm him. He wouldn’t let himself cry though. He wouldn’t let himself show weakness, even if that thing wasn’t in the same room as him, Gavin worried he could be watching. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before he fell asleep.

An unhealthy obsession pt 3

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Hank knew something was up when Connor didn’t come back home. He really knew something was wrong when Nines showed up to work and neither Connor or Gavin were there. After his shift ended he found himself driving to Kamski’s house. He pounded on the door, frustrated that something was going on and he as a weak human would not be able to help. The same Chloe that had greeted him last time was there, opening the door with a smile and a confused expression. “I need to speak with Kamski. That new police model has gone nuts and I think he killed Connor.”

She looked even more confused as she guided him in. “I don’t think that’s possible Lieutenant Anderson.” They took a different route, Hank looking around as they went down some stairs. He was surprised to see a picture of Gavin Reed of all people with an arm around Elijah’s shoulders. They were both smiling and the smaller man had yanked the taller to his height in the picture. They entered a room filled with different parts and a computer with a three screen setup.

He expected Kamski to be one of the people sitting behind the computer, what he did not expect was to see Nines standing just behind him and pointing at something on a screen. “What the fuck’s he doing here?” Both of them looked up with surprised expressions as Chloe answered.

“Well that’s what I meant by I don’t think it’s possible. You see Lieutenant Anderson, Nines has been here for over a month. Elijah borrowed him for a special job for Cyberlife. Gavin should have been notified his partner would be unavailable.”

Nines stood up to his full height and strolled over to Hank, Elijah just pushed up his glasses and watched them with an interested expression. “Why are you so surprised I’m here Anderson?”

Hank rolled his shoulders back and glared up at the RK900, “Because you did something to Gavin and I think you killed Connor! They’re both missing! They had an argument and you rushed after Reed, then when Connor decided to walk home he went missing!” He poked the android in the chest as Chloe and Kamski watched on. “I need to find out where Connor’s back ups are so we can figure out what the fuck happened!”

Nines just looked at him confused before turning back to Kamski. “I’ve been here the whole time. Aside from trips to Cyberlife I haven’t left this house. Anderson I-” He paused, the LED turning yellow as his face turned into a neutral expression. “Someone is running around in one of my backups? Elijah, I thought I was the only RK900.”

The man stood up and gave a shrug, Hank was surprised how different the man looked with his glasses on and his hair pulled back in a ponytail. “They were supposed to be empty back ups, incase you were to get damaged on the field. I remember Gavin demanding you be just as protected as Connor after your arm was ripped off.” He then turned to Hank, those blue eyes slightly worried. “What happened to Gavin? Why do you think he’s still alive if your so sure Connor is dead?”

Hank pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I don’t know, call it a gut feeling but that bastard is still alive. That clone or whatever of Nines seems too possessive to just kill him, but the way he kept looking at Connor? I know that kid, if he were alive he would have found a way back home. So look, we need to get him activated or whatever the fuck it is you do when he gets himself killed and then we can find Gavin and put a bullet in that fuck’s brain.”

Nine’s LED was red, Chloe had walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “So there’s an imposter running around in my body, who has kidnapped Gavin and killed Connor? I’m going to put a bullet through his head myself.”

Chloe reached over and brushed her fingers against Elijah’s arm, a small motion that make him turn towards her. Hank could see his posture relax slightly. She let go of Nines and walked up next to Hank. “We should go to Cyberlife and wake up Connor. That way his memory can be accessed and we can solve this problem.”

An Unhealthy Obsession pt 2

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Connor knew he should trust Nines, even though the RK900 was made to replace him. He just couldn’t stop the irrational thought that Nines could not be trusted. Something in the other android’s gaze made him want to run away, what really bothered him was that he didn’t always feel as he did about Nines. It seemed as if Nines had become colder, more machine than anything. Hank usually brushed off his concerns but not after the latest argument Gavin and him had. It felt like the two of them were always at each other, that had never changed though.

Occasionally like today he let his emotions get away from him. Hank pulled him aside after Gavin turned and stormed out of the precinct. “Look kid, I know you have a weird thing going on with Nines, and usually I don’t give a shit but the way he looked at you-” He trailed off, eyes watching Nines out of the corner of his eyes. The android had slid out after Gavin. “I really think something’s up. Cyberlife still has backups and stores your memory, right?”

“That is correct. Though I’m not quite sure what workplace hostilities have to do with my Cyberlife replacements.” Hank just shook his head in response. “But just to err on the side of caution I will upload my memory at the end of every work day as well. Would that satisfy you Hank?”

He gave a shrug, still looking where Gavin and Nines had left. “Yeah I suppose so. It’s not that I think Reed would shoot you or anything but I don’t trust the way Nines was looking at you.”

Connor closed his eyes for a moment, LED turning yellow as he sent the data through the link. “He did appear unusually hostile today. I have uploaded everything up to this conversation. Should I become irreparably damaged and unable to upload myself to the Cyberlife cloud I should be able to restart from here.”

Hank just nodded and went back to his work, Connor joining him after a moment’s hesitation. When their shift ended Connor waved off Hank’s insistence on joining him in the drive home and turned to walk, he had planned on visiting Jericho and seeing how Markus and the others were adapting. A voice broke him from his thoughts and he turned to see Nines leaning against a wall and looking out at him.

“Connor, come with me. We should talk.” The other android didn’t give Connor a chance before he grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him down the alleyway. “There seems to be some unpleasantness between you and Gavin.”

“I will admit the detective does not like my presence, but we normally don’t let our disagreements affect our work. Today was just- a minor setback that does not reflect our usual interactions.” Connor tried to pull back from Nines, but this android was built to be stronger and faster than him. It sent a shock of fear through him to realize he couldn’t pull away. No matter where Nines was taking him Connor would not be able to fight against him. “Where are we going Nines?”

The newer model turned and cold gray eyes glinted in the fading light. “Where no one will bother us Connor. Come along.” Connor tried to pull away but it was useless, Nines just kept the grip on his wrist and pulled him further in. They walked along an unknown path until Nines reached a door and opened it. Connor quickly uploaded his memory to the Cyberlife cloud. He wanted to be able to solve this if Nines did destroy this body. “I want you to leave Gavin alone, and I will make sure you stay away from him. He’s mine.”

It was some sort of abandoned building, Connor caught a glimpse of a basement door as he was pulled further in. “Nines?” He felt himself start to panic as Nines threw him down to the floor. “What are you doing Nines?” He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a punch thrown by the stronger android.

“Getting rid of a problem.”

“What do you mean?” Connor climbed up to his feet, quickly uploading his memory to Cyberlife again. He felt really worried now. Nines was not acting his usual self at all. Yes the RK900 was colder then his own self, but never downright hostile. The newer model didn’t say anything, just lunged at Connor to attack again. Connor quickly dodged to the side, the blow just glancing his arm as he raised them to block and protect his face. He countered with his own hit, but Nines just grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side. Connor turned it into a roll and tried to dodge again. This time he wasn’t able to and he could feel the chassis of his arm crack under the pure strength in the punch. Thankfully while it was cracked it was still usable. He kept uploading his memory every few seconds, scared that Nines would destroy this body. Scared that he would wake up at Cyberlife with no memory of what happened, of how he died. “What did you do to Gavin? Something’s happened to him?”

“He is none of your concern.” Nines grabbed Connor by the throat and slammed him against a wall. Connor knew he didn’t need to breathe, but he still found himself struggling and scratching at Nines hand. He tried to kick the stronger model but they were useless. He could feel his chassis start to crack and his LED turned red as he realized he was going to die, going to be destroyed right here. “You are a problem I intent to remove Connor. I won’t let you bother him anymore.”

“And then what? What good will killing me achieve Nines? Do you think it would make Gavin care about you? That it would make him love you?” The grip tightened and he could feel the cracks starting to form. He clawed at Nines, struggling against all the error messages that popped up in his field of vision. He didn’t want to die. He felt scared, so scared of having his neck snapped by someone he was supposed to trust. So instead he went limp. waiting for Nines to loosen his grip before lunging forward and trying to claw at him. Unfortunately it didn’t work, or at least not the way Connor had hoped it would. He only snapped the fabric of Nine’s shirt, staining it with droplets of blue blood. He wondered for a moment if it was his or if he had drawn blood from Nines while clawing at his hand. Either way it wouldn’t matter. Nines just released him for a moment and slammed him back against the wall. More errors popped up in his field of vision. It felt like his world was surrounded by error message after error message. He tried to get Nines to let go of him, he kicked as hard as he could, dragged his fingernails across the hand hold him. Part of him knew there would at least be some damage to Nine’s synthetic skin and that gave him some satisfaction.

“Tell me Nines, what did you do to Gavin?” Even without the need to air in his lungs, he felt himself struggling to get the words out. “Where is he? I know you did something to him? Did you bring him here as well?” He stopped speaking when Nines placed a hole in the wall next to his head. Back ups available or not the idea of this slow death tortured him. He didn’t know if he should be thankful or scared when Nines threw him down on the ground again. He just kept brushing away the error messages, trying to crawl out of the way of Nine’s kicks. His vision went black after a well placed kick to his regulator pump.

The next thing Connor could remember was waking up in Cyberlife with Chloe, Hank, and Elijah Kamski standing over him.

I fell in love with you, not them

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Some days Chloe hated living with two other exact copies of herself, hated seeing Elijah smile at them. She was the first, the original, for a while she was the only one there with Elijah. Then one day another joined them, with the same face, the same voice, even the same name. It burned her, it made her want to shake Elijah and yell at him. She didn’t want to be replaced, she didn’t want him to give them the same soft kisses he gave her. As far as she knew he hadn’t been as affectionate with them as he was with her, but it didn’t stop the feeling in her chest, the tight band of jealousy that ate away at her.

The day Connor arrived, it felt like something snapped inside of her. He ordered the deviant hunter to shoot her for information, as if she were just an item to throw away. She didn’t react though, not even her LED betraying the fear and panic rushing through her head. She just- knelt there in front of Connor, waiting for him to pull the trigger.

When the two of them left though, she let her emotions out. Elijah brushed a hand against her cheek and leaned in for a kiss, she stepped back and slapped him instead. “How could you?” Tears filled her eyes and she tried to wipe them away as they fell to the floor. She watched him massage his face as he picked himself back up from the floor. She could see a bruised handprint starting to form. “How could you ask him to shoot me?” She couldn’t stop the tears, Chloe massaged her chest, wishing her thirium pump would slow down.

“I assumed he wouldn’t shoot you Chloe. I was right.” He kept an arms distance from her, watching her with those cold blue eyes. She remembered when they were so warm and inviting. When he treated her as a human.

“He could have shot me Elijah.” Static filled her voice as she kept crying, kept uselessly brushing away her tears. “I thought I could trust you. I thought-” She hid her face in her hands and just kept crying.

Elijah gave a sigh and stepped closer to her, pulling her into a hug and running his fingers through her hair. “I’m sorry. It was thoughtless of me.” He bit back a grin when she nodded in response. “How can I earn your forgiveness?”

She shook her head and stepped back. “I don’t know Elijah. I just don’t know.” She turned and walked away, leaving him standing next to the pool with only her copies for company. Chloe went to their bedroom and laid down on the bed, crying until the sun set. Then she climbed out of the bed, changed the sheets to ones not stained with her tears and laid back down on the bed. She pulled the covers over herself and entered rest mode.

The next day she decided to go back to acting as if it never happened. She resumed her place in his home, by his side with a band of jealousy around her chest when he smiled at the other Chloe’s. He kissed her on the cheek while she was cooking him dinner, she wanted to cry. After dinner he took his bath, then they sat down on the bed. She loved brushing his long hair at night, the always brushed it until it was dry. She wondered who had done that the night before, or if he skipped it.

The wooden handle cracked in her grip, she dropped it with a surprised gasp. “I’m sorry Elijah! I’ll order a new one right away. I can’t believe I was so careless.”

He just turned and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from picking it up. “Don’t be. Chloe, what’s wrong?” She could see his minute flinch after he stated his question, most likely from realizing that they knew what was wrong and realizing it was an insensitive question. “How can I fix this?”

She paused, not knowing what to say. Pale pink lips opened and then closed without a sound as she looked down at his hand holding her wrist. Her eyes flicked up to his face. She lifted up her other hand, gently cupping his face. She could see the surprise in his eyes, he always instigated any intimacy between them, it was never her to reach out to him. It was never her place. Chloe scooted closer to him and hovered her lips just above his. She wanted to go the last few centimeters, she needed to, but she couldn’t. She was too scared of him rejecting her, of it being cemented that she was easily replaceable.

They sat there for what felt like hours but she knew was not even a minute before Elijah closed the gap. He let go of her wrist and she used the freedom of movement to tangle her fingers in his hair. She didn’t want the moment to end, but all too soon he was pulling back and wiping away the tears on her cheeks. “Why are you crying Chloe?”

“I love you. I just- I don’t know if you love just me or the other Chloe’s as well. I don’t want to be replaced by them.” She didn’t know what to make of his answering grin.

He leaned in for another kiss, this one much shorter than the first. “Oh Chloe, don’t you know? You can never be replaced. I fell in love with you, not them. I only kiss you, I only love you.” She cried again, but this time out of joy before falling back on the bed and pulling him with her.

“I love you Elijah.”

Please don’t leave

birooksun:

Read on AO3!

Chloe knelt down before the RK800, the acclaimed deviant hunter with just a light pressure on her shoulder from Elijah. She looked up at him, he seemed almost scared to be holding the gun before her. Fear didn’t stop him from accomplishing his mission though, and with a command from Elijah, he pulled the trigger.

Chloe jumped up from the bed. She didn’t need a mirror to tell her LED was red. Error messages popped up in her view and she waved them away as she struggled to calm herself. She could feel her regulator working overtime to keep up with the errors. She sat back down on the bed, placing a hand over her mouth in a struggle to keep quiet.

She could feel movement next to her in the bed, Elijah was sitting up and rubbing circles on her back. “Was it another nightmare Chloe?” She only nodded as he moved closer to her and wiped away the tears from her face. “Would you like to talk about it?” She shook her head, still struggling to calm herself down. She knew it had only been a test, she knew Elijah would have found some way to repair or save her, but it never stopped the terror of the moment. It didn’t stop the guilt she felt for being so scared.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back down to the bed and resting her head against his chest. She listened to the steady beating of his heart, of the vibrations in his chest as he hummed a song, running his fingers through her hair. “I’ll do anything I can to help you Chloe.”

She nodded, lightly tracing his collarbone with one hand. “Please don’t leave. Right now I-” She didn’t want to voice how scared she was, how irrational it all was. She still didn’t fully understand her own emotions, didn’t want to burden Elijah with her worries.

“I’m here. I’ll always be here for you Chloe.” He placed a kiss on top of her head and just pulled her closer, calming her with his heartbeat. After a few minutes his breathing slowed down and he fell asleep. She closed her eyes and in a few more minutes fell into a rest mode herself. She was safe here, with Elijah.

Please don’t leave

Read on AO3!

Chloe knelt down before the RK800, the acclaimed deviant hunter with just a light pressure on her shoulder from Elijah. She looked up at him, he seemed almost scared to be holding the gun before her. Fear didn’t stop him from accomplishing his mission though, and with a command from Elijah, he pulled the trigger.

Chloe jumped up from the bed. She didn’t need a mirror to tell her LED was red. Error messages popped up in her view and she waved them away as she struggled to calm herself. She could feel her regulator working overtime to keep up with the errors. She sat back down on the bed, placing a hand over her mouth in a struggle to keep quiet.

She could feel movement next to her in the bed, Elijah was sitting up and rubbing circles on her back. “Was it another nightmare Chloe?” She only nodded as he moved closer to her and wiped away the tears from her face. “Would you like to talk about it?” She shook her head, still struggling to calm herself down. She knew it had only been a test, she knew Elijah would have found some way to repair or save her, but it never stopped the terror of the moment. It didn’t stop the guilt she felt for being so scared.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back down to the bed and resting her head against his chest. She listened to the steady beating of his heart, of the vibrations in his chest as he hummed a song, running his fingers through her hair. “I’ll do anything I can to help you Chloe.”

She nodded, lightly tracing his collarbone with one hand. “Please don’t leave. Right now I-” She didn’t want to voice how scared she was, how irrational it all was. She still didn’t fully understand her own emotions, didn’t want to burden Elijah with her worries.

“I’m here. I’ll always be here for you Chloe.” He placed a kiss on top of her head and just pulled her closer, calming her with his heartbeat. After a few minutes his breathing slowed down and he fell asleep. She closed her eyes and in a few more minutes fell into a rest mode herself. She was safe here, with Elijah.

I have no idea how or why, but I wrote a drabble (ish, it was 954 words) on the 8th (2am of course) and I somehow have over 500 hits already.

WTF? How the fuck?

Also gotta rewatch The Devil’s Carnival so I can tear out hearts. I know who I’m gonna have in Tamara’s part, but Ms Merrywood is still questionable. I think I might just have her taken out since I can think of who in game has a determinable death and is a selfish thief. I mean I could stretch it to be Leo but he doesn’t die and I think I like my current idea of Kara in Tamara’s part instead. (She is a bit too trusting at times and it leads to several possible deaths in game for both her and Alice)