Unnatural Instinct: Android

16.

'Hiro, you've got to go!' you hiss.

Your mother is an early riser. In fact, she should already be up by now! How could you have forgotten the time?

Shit. Shit. Shit!

'Hiro, quickly, help me back into my clothes.' You scramble for your shirt but it's lost within the bedcovers. As for your pants—he's thrown them across the room. After a few moments of searching for your top, you suddenly realise he hasn't moved. 'Hiro?'

He's staring up at you mutely, unblinking, his hands fisted by his sides. He looks tense. Is that even possible for a robot? You frown. Are his teeth gritted? Your stomach does a little somersault. What's wrong with him?

'Hiro?' You start to panic. 'We must move! Or my mother is going to find out and she'll send you away.' Tears fill your eyes. 'She'll send you away!'

He stares at you for a few more moments before finally sitting up. 'I will obey.'

'Good. Quickly, get changed and as fast as you can.'

He does so as you finally find your top. You're still struggling to pull it on as Hiro fastens the last of his buttons. Next, he reaches over to help you. As he pulls on your pants, you keep a fearful ear out. So far, the house has been quiet.

Thank God!

You're soon dressed and you scramble between the sheets. 'Go, Hiro. No, wait!'

He looks at you.

'You need to wash your face. You've got my ... stuff all over you.' You wince. Now that the sun is rising, you can really see it. His lips and chin are shining with it. He's even got some on the tip of his nose.

While he goes into the bathroom to sort himself out, you lie back into your pillows and try to slow your racing heart. You feel hot. Your face feels like it's burning.

'And don't forget to fix your hair,' you call after him.

He exits the bathroom moments later looking much more like his usual, robotic self. His face is dry and you can look at him again without grimacing. More than that—he's so handsome that despite him having pleasured the hell out of you only minutes before you feel a new wave of heat pooling in your hips already.

'Remember, Hiro. Don't say anything,' you whisper.

He bows his head. 'I will not say a word.'

You nod. 'And be as quiet as you can.'

He leaves, closing the door softly behind him.

While you're safely alone, you try your best to smooth out your sheets and cool down your face, all the while listening out for any drama outside.

All remains quiet.

Only minutes later you hear footsteps, then your mother knocking softly at your door. 'You up?' she says hesitantly.

'Yes.' Though your heart is still pounding, she seems to suspect nothing as she steps into your room.

The rest of the morning goes without a hitch. The only problem is is that your mother has decided to stay home. Though you were only trying to protect your new very wonderful, very fragile situation, maybe you shouldn't have been so curt with her yesterday.

You've made her feel guilty and now it's backfired.

'You don't have to stay here, Mum,' you tell her later that morning as you sit down for morning tea. 'Hiro can look after me.' You watch him in the corner of your eye as he stands in the corner of the living room with his hands folded in front of him. He's back in sleep mode, though you'd bet anything that he can hear everything you're saying.

'No, it's fine, sweetheart. You were right. I shouldn't have left you, and I certainly shouldn't have left you without making sure everything was fine with Hiro.' She takes a deep breath as she pushes around her cake with her fork. 'I can be a bad mother sometimes.'

'No. No you're not, Mum.' You reach out to take her hand. 'I appreciate everything you do for me. I really do, though I might not say it often enough.'

And for the first time in two years you really mean it.

Still, it doesn't send her away and you're stuck with her for the rest of the day. The only time you really get to spend any alone time with Hiro is during your physiotherapy session as he straightens out your leg and arm. Just like yesterday, he spends hours doing it and by the end your arm rests limp and relaxed by your side.

But it's not really alone time. Fearful what your mother might presume, you keep the door open. It's frustrating. How can he be so close and yet so far away? Still, at least you get to enjoy him touching you, stroking you, looking at you in that way.

And he seems to be enjoying it too. At least, you think he does. He smiles a lot more, though he hardly talks without you speaking to him first.

As you lock eyes with his, it's hard to think that he could be anything less than human. That spark in his gaze—it's always there now. That hint of a smile on his face. Your mother doesn't see it, which you're thankful for. It's a strange thing. Does he only show it to you? Or is your mother just blind?

Every time he speaks, every time he touches you, it's getting more and more difficult to see him as anything but alive. He's even beginning to seem less mechanical than the nurses you're used to.

But he's not a nurse. He's not human. You're kidding yourself. Here's only here to do a task. He doesn't really like you.

You hate your brain. But it's right—you have to find out what's going on with him. You should get on your computer and do some research. You've been meaning to all day, but you've been using every excuse to avoid it. If you don't know the truth, there's still the possibility that everything is just fine. That Hiro is exactly what he is supposed to be.

You can't help but recall your first meeting: I am Android Hiro353, recommissioned for private medical use ...

But recommissioned from what?