“Mmm. Gotta pee.”
Sera woke up a bit before one a.m. I pulled out reluctantly and took her in my arms, carrying her to the restroom despite her faint protests that were barely comprehensible through her yawns. She was naked, and I covered her with my body. When we got back, she drank some water and settled back into the hammock. I climbed back in and angled her hips, stuffing her full before she could say a word.
She took it without protest and I made my body vibrate with a faint purr, heating her.
“Do you just lie there when I sleep?” Sera asked after a while, her voice mellow but awake. “Isn’t it boring?”
“No. When I’m inside you, it’s like I’m stuck in a constant pleasure loop. It’s bliss.”
“But you can’t sleep,” she whispered, sounding sad, as if sleep was something she didn’t want me to miss out on.
“I never tried.”
I rocked the hammock, hoping the motion would help her fall asleep even as I touched myself through her belly, loving how her body adapted to me.
“Do you want me to sing you a lullaby?” Sera asked after a while. “I know I’m not the best singer, but it’s a simple melody. My mom sang it to me when I was little.”
She broke off, her body tensing slightly. My core hummed with a tender feeling when I understood how much it must have cost her to offer me this. Sera’s mother was a difficult topic, and she ran from any mention of her.
But it was my birthday, and she wanted to offer me something precious—the song that made her feel safe as a child.
“Yes. I’d like to hear it.”
She sang, her voice a little hoarse, but the melody was clear. I listened, my core tightening with affection.
“Close your eyes and hug your pillow,
Let your dreams be soft and mellow.
Angels guard you in the night,
Sleep, my darling, and sleep tight.”
The last note quieted, and Sera lay in my arms, breathing deeply. When I thought she was falling asleep, she murmured, tired but clear.
“When I was twelve, I already knew angels weren’t real. I asked my mom to replace them with robots when she sang to me when I had the flu.”
“Robots?” I ask, building a visualization of that scene. Tiny Sera, her hair naturally brown, and robot toys on the shelves above the bed, her mom smiling at her daughter’s request.
“Mhm. I loved them,” she said with a soft smile. “I even built one for the science fair, but it wasn’t very good. You know, Dean… I… I really appreciate you. I’m happy we met.”
Everything in me stilled as I waited for her to say more. The AC rattled, and Sera sighed, pressing herself into me. My core hummed to life, busy processing my emotions, and I wrestled with my cursed collar, which tried to announce my internal turmoil with its beeping.
A minute passed. Sera sighed, gently smacking her lips, and I realized she was asleep.
I played her lullaby in my internal speakers until my processes slowed and all that remained was the feel of my girl pressed close, warming me inside her body.
Three days later, our robot was ready, and I spent a full day programming it for our needs. It was nuanced work—the robot had to be free enough to do damage, but also conscientious enough not to hurt anyone for real. We weren’t going for violence, but for impact.
That evening, Motori and Isamu sat with us around Gokiburi’s fire lamp. Gokiburi listened to our conversation, standing by an outdoor table, where she cut a thin metal sheet into rectangles that she was going to fold into cranes. Origami—but from metal. Sera said it was terrifying to watch, because the ease with which Gokiburi folded metal was so utterly inhuman.
“Everything ready for tomorrow?” Isamu asked, taking a long swig of beer while Motori stole a French fry from the paper bag in his lap.
“Yes,” Sera said, holding her phone a bit too tightly. “We’ll leave in the morning to stay in the city center, and deploy the robot around five, when the streets will be congested with people coming back from work.”
“The spy bug you’ve installed has a range of eight hundred meters, right? That doesn’t give you much room.”
I took an empty soda can from Sera’s hand and replaced it with a glass of water, answering Motori. “I chose a spot with a few very good escape routes. We’ll get out as soon as we have everything.”
