Y'know... There's really something extra special about standing naked in your bathroom while your girlfriend dries you off with a towel. Something so... What do they call it? Domestic? Yeah, that. 

 

"There, all dry." Aether says, taking the towel away from my hair and eyeing all over me again. 

 

"Thank you, Aether." My reply is short and polite, just how she likes it.

 

Aether's soft hand trails up my tummy and chest to my cheek, where she smiles lovingly at me. "You're such a good girl. Now come on, I really do need to get you dressed." 

 

"Yes, Aether." I say with a smile as she leads me out of the bathroom and back into the closet.

 

Aether's got a big towel wrapped neatly around her, tucked in tightly enough that I can see her curves through the soft material. It refuses to budge no matter how much she moves around.... Which is pretty disappointing honestly. 

 

She gingerly picks up the clothes and steps over to me. "Arms up." I raise my arms for her and she slips the dress down and over me. The hem of the dress ends just above my ankles. "Tilt your chin up now, dear." I tilt for her and she places the bonnet on my head, tucking my long silver hair away beneath it, and tying up the strings with extreme precision into a neat little bow. She's such a showoff. Aether steps back for a moment and takes another photo. "Just precious~" she coos.

 

Another blush overwhelms me. "Uh! Uhm... Isn't it strange though? Seeing me in one of your old bodies?" Aether shrugs.

 

"Not really, to be honest. I never really felt firmly attached to this one. It actually took me a long while to figure out exactly what I wanted and.... Ahh...... Yeah I'm starting to think you might be right about that whole identity thing." Aether fidgets around a minute before scampering away and grabbing some white socks and black Mary Jane shoes.

 

"Sit down so I can put these on you." 

 

My butt lands on the floor with a slight bounce. This body is so strange. Mostly just straight up metal, then squishy in very specific places.

 

Aether bends down and holds my leg up for her before slipping the sock all the way up my thigh. Why I need such long socks even though only my ankles will show is beyond me. But I don't mind the closeness as her hands come up my thighs. 

 

Then the other sock, then the shoes. "Now stand." Slowly I stand.

 

"Mmmmh!!!! Sera! You're so adorable!!!"  Aether says enthusiastically. I squirm around a bit from the embarrassment.  She happily wanders over to me and wraps her arms around my neck. Her face gets all close to mine and she winks. Suddenly, I feel completely unable to look anywhere at all but her eyes. I try to look towards other places, but it's like I'm physically not allowed. Aether shifts her shoulders slightly, and the towel falls.

 

With a smug grin, Aether goes about picking out an outfit for our... outing... That's a lot of outs.

Wholly, the entire time, I'm completely unable to look anywhere else but those beautiful red hypnotic eyes. Only in my periphere am I able to catch glimpses of her form as she dances through the closet grabbing up clothes. She's like a goth ballerina. Mystic, mysterious, dark, pretty, and a true wonder of nature. There's a little flush of adoration that washes through my electric body. Aether is perfect. And she's all mine.

 

And when she's all done with her little show, Aether twirls over to me in a... What seems to be a gothic mechanic girl outfit, with black overalls and shorts. Plus a little black cap, and some... mascara smudged on her cheeks to look like motor oil. Not entirely sure where that came from, but overall it really gives her a greased up lesbian mechanic look, and I'm definitely not gonna complain about this look of hers. My eyes unlock from hers as she speaks in a beautiful can't "You ready, princess?" 

 

"As I'll ever be."  I reply with a happy nod. "You look beautiful, Aether." 

 

"Thank you, doll, you look pretty too."  Aether steps back a bit and raises her right hand, looking as if she's holding some invisible rope. "One last thing, let me know if you can feel this." Her hand pulls lightly toward her, and there's a sudden tug on my neck that nearly makes me fall over. Aether smirks. "Good, It works."

 

My mouth opens to ask what exactly just happened, but instead of words, just nonsense noises come out of me. Half way between a meow and an actual word. In response, my face just crumples a bit in confusion. 

 

"Wondering about that, sweet girl?" Aether asks in a playful tone. I nod. "Mmmmnnnhhh... Let's just say, I'd like to keep you on a leash for a little while~"

 

Aether walks out of the closet with poise and grace, which is quite an interesting look for a girl who's in black overalls. I'm stunned by her display for a moment, so I'm completely off guard when an invisible cord suddenly tugs at my neck, right where my collar is. It nearly topples me over, but I catch myself and begin to march slightly behind her on her right side. Like a soldier and her superior.

 

After a few minutes of gently shifting my body, I fall into a perfect march. My steps landed to the beat of her signal in my soul. My arms tightly knit at my sides, and my expression one of gentle servitude. I can feel just how much Aether likes my cadance. And just how much I like it too.

 

When we reach the door, I remember something important. “Aether…. What if someone sees me?” The moment I ask, realization hits me. No one would recognize me like this. I look completely different. Aether sees that I answered my own question, and opens the door.

It’s warm outside and the sky is blue. Aether is visibly nervous, but when I place my eyes on her, she seems to relax a little.

 

About fifteen minutes passes, the sun shining radiantly in the sky, when we pass a veterinarian clinic. It makes me halt for a moment, as my eyes track away from my girlfriend and onto the doors. It's not the same clinic that Lillina works in, but it reminds me just how much I miss my friends. They're probably so worried about me.

 

"Something you need in there?" Aether asks me, placing her hand on my head and giving me a few scritches. 

 

"No, Aether. Just that one of my friends is a vet... And I think I miss them a bit... My friends, I mean." I say, turning and facing her.

Aether looks a little conflicted at  my words. "Lillina Nera, right? Third bloom?"  I nod. 

 

"You know her?" 

 

Aether scratches my head a bit more. "No, not really. I mean kinda. We had a few of the same classes on Terran biology, but I never knew her like… personally. I just happen to keep tabs on all the uh..." Aether blushes and looks away. My hand slowly slides out and holds her cheek, slowly drawing her eyes back to me. 

 

"The?" 

 

"The friends you have. I know everyone you talk to, Sera. Girl, I watch you through the supervisional cameras. You must also be missing your friend Raynor, right?" Aether asks me, a little nervous, but also confident about her knowledge of me? It’s hot how much she spies on me.

 

"That's right. Do you think I could stop by and speak to either of them soon?" 

 

Aether fidgets around a bit. "Sure... I mean, of course. I wouldn't keep you from your friends. I'm just a little nervous is all...." Aether trails off for a little while before coming back. "Can I ask you a favor for me?"

 

The question makes me immediately break out into a giggle. Aether looks flushed.  "Ask a favor of me? Aether..." I giggle again before quieting my voice. "Aether, you own me. I'm yours. You don't ever have to ask me for anything."

 

She visibly relaxes at my words, nodding slightly. "I suppose you are right. It's just a bit of a weird ask. Can you... Can you introduce me to your friends as just your girlfriend for now? I don't think... I can really handle interacting with any other Affini right now as… myself... I would feel too inferior."

 

"Okay, I understand. Whatever makes you feel better. I promise you can trust them, but I understand you'd like to meet them first and whatnot. I get it. Do you mind if I ask a question of my own?"  Aether nods. "What are we gonna do with her?"

 

Just mentioning her makes Aether jump a little bit, letting go of me and getting slightly tense. I grab around her shoulders and hold her closer to me. Her voice is quiet and scared. "I think we should bury her on Violacase."

 

The words flow through my digital soul like warm honey. It's the perfect place to be buried. "I think-" My words are quickly cut off by some third voice chiming in suddenly.

 

"Aether!! The mechanic! Hello!!" The two of us part and look up towards the Affini standing next to us looking insanely cheery.

 

Aether is a little shocked for a minute before she recognizes the Affini. "Oh, hey stylix! How's your floret? Mindy, right?" 

 

The affini, medium height, looks to be made mostly of long soft blades of grass jumps on their simulated feet. "Yes! She's doing great now that she has that new leg! You're really a wonderful biotechnician, Aether! She could hardly even tell it was a prosthetic!" 

 

Aether seems a tad bit embarrassed by the giddiness of the other Affini. "Ahhh ehhh... It's really nothing. It's just what I do." 

 

Stylix decides to reach down with a vine and happily fluff Aether's head with far, far too much enthusiasm. "Nonsense! You're really fantastic! A genuine help for my darling Floret. Mindy seems to like you too, maybe you two should see each other some time! She would sure enjoy having a playmate~"

 

I just stand and silently watch as Aether goes several shades of embarrassed before waving her hands around. "Ahh! Sorry um, I happen to be a little bit busy right now. How about I send her a message if I ever get some time free?"

 

Stylix wiggles around happily for a moment. "That sounds great! Now, who's your friend?" They say, turning to me. There's a slight warm path across my shoulders and into my eyes as the Affini targets me with their attention. 

 

My back automatically straightens, my eyes focus, and my head tilts upward to see them with a patient smile. "Seraphim Versalice, First Floret Ramet. It's a pleasure to meet you." I extend out my hand to shake Stylix' vine. They pull their vines around my arm and shake my hand happily. 

 

"It's nice to meet you, silver girl. You are so well mannered! Aether could use to learn some manners from you, dear. She still hasn't ever told me her last name! I am Stylix, Eighth Bloom! I use He/She pronouns!" Stylix giggles for a minute before looking serious again. "Are you two dating? Please tell me that you're dating." 

 

I nod with great conviction. "We are. Aether is both my girlfriend and my mechanic, as you can see."  There's a flowery feeling of blush that washes through my chest. Awww.... She's embarrassed. [Oh shut up.]

 

"Must be nice having a girl who can work on you, huh?" Stylix says with wiggling vines and shifting teal flowers. "Well! Hope I didn't interrupt too much. Enjoy your days together, lovebirds!" Stylix gives us both a quick head pat before happily squiggling away.

 

"Does that happen a lot?" I ask Aether, finally taking the chance to turn back to her after that awkward encounter.

 

"More than you'd expect. Apparently I'm a pretty big deal to some Affini." She's flushed and red, obviously incredibly embarrassed. So fucking cute. "But it's not like it bothers me too much. I'd much rather take the flirting than the judgment. Small price to pay, I suppose." 

 

My lips twist up into a devilish smirk. "Seems like you may enjoy that more than you're letting on." There's another shock of nervousness that runs down my spine. Aether turns to me and gives me a seriously disappointed frown.

 

"Now just you remember your place here, brat." 

 

My lenses widen, the world gets intensely bright for a moment before dimming suddenly, once again forced into the back seat of my own mind. Aether takes over, making me walk alongside her in silence the rest of the way to her workshop.

 

We arrive and Aether places her palm flat against the metal door. I feel a little static jolt in the air for just a moment before the door slides open.

 

{I thought we were going on a date first?} 

 

Aether turns to me and smiles. "Soon, soon. It's still early in the day and... I want it to be a little later when we go out. Plus, if you're a fast enough learner, we can get your wings done before we even leave." I nod and follow her inside.

 

Aether leads me towards the back into the AR room once more. I watch as she flips the lever, simultaneously reshaping the room from an AR arena to a workshop, as well as unlocking my autonomous control once more. Aether wanders over to the center of the room with the little bench thing that I lay on when she works on me, then she turns towards me and takes a deep breath. "Okay."   Oh boy, that's how you know a girl's moments away from ranting about her special interest. 

 

"So! Sera! My girl. My darling angel. Come here." I wander over to her happily. "So, what I can do with you now is... Fully integrate your consciousness into VR! Full immersion! Isn't that great? It's gonna help us put together a model of the wings you want, as well as your halo, and anything else you want to make. It'll let us take that data and plug it into my specialized compiler. Which is really awesome, by the way, I have a particular compiler that goes waaaayyy down to incredibly small details. It was given to me by a friend when I mentioned being a biotechnician. Anyways." Aether waves her hands around a bit, collecting herself. "We're gonna put you into the VR, then I'm gonna show you how to use the 3D modeling program and walk you through haptic integration." She breathes out, then back in. "Haptic integration, as you may be able to tell by its name, is the way a prosthetic limb attaches to a synthetic body to act as a limb always should. Integrate into the haptic layer, and then into their subconscious either through hypnotic programming, or literal programming, to work as if the sophont's always had the limb. We're gonna do that. Are you ready princess!"

 

"Aether." My voice says seriously, though I'm smiling so hard my cheeks want to rust. "That was the cutest rant I've ever heard. But I already know all this. You've taught me this before."     Aether blushes and fidgets around with her hands for a bit.

 

"I have?"

 

"Yes, dear. My memories were unlocked when you put my consciousness into this chassis. I know how to integrate a prosthetic to either an organic or inorganic base. I know how to affix a biomod, darling." 

 

Aether blushes further. "Oh... Well... It's still different enough now that we can do VR immersion.... Uhm... Let's just do that now."     

 

Before I have a chance to respond, my body twitches, and suddenly I find myself in a very very... Emo cottage care home? It's like cottagecore... But also dark and  brooding. The walls are made of dark black wood, lined with black ivy and roses everywhere. Little black button mushrooms grow from the walls and tables. There's a fairy lamp in the corner, shining a deep red glow into the room. But overall, it looks like the emo affini version of a cabin house in the middle of the woods. Incredible home design, my love.

 

"Thanks!" Aether says, suddenly appearing directly in front of me. "Welcome to VR."

 

"It's a pleasure to be here." I say, turning around and inspecting the rest of the room. Suddenly, there are hands on me, and I'm being picked up by Aether and deposited onto one of the soft gray couches in the back of the cabin. She sits down onto the couch first, and lays me across her lap. Just a moment later, a big blue orb appears in front of her.

 

"This is the program. Check it out. I basically control this entire world with my mind. I have like... Creative mode in this place. Watch this." Aether takes her hands off of me and places them around the blue orb. It gets brighter for a moment before flashing and turning into... A bright blue floating bunny! The bunny hops away from Aether's hands in the air for a minute before poofing away into sparkly pixels. "Isn't that just great?" Aether says, looking down at me with the dopiest of smiles ever. I smile back. "Sure is."

 

Aether's hands light up for a moment, and another blue orb appears in front of her. "So, since you're fully integrated, I want you to try and... Act on this orb. This is just a blank data packed visualized into a video format. Try to like... Inject some scripting into it."      The orb gently floats down to my hands, which I reluctantly pull away from Aether's torso.

"How do I do it?" 

 

"Just think at it  like when you wanna talk to me." She replies, giving me a head pat before leaning back and watching.

Think at the orb. Okay. Great. My hands make contact with the blue orb, and I think at it very strongly. Nothing happens. Great, I’m already a failure.

 

"You're not a failure, sweetheart. Keep trying. Reach out with your mind and edit the code." 

 

The final words seem to have unlocked something in my digital subconscious. A hand reaches out from my mind, not physically, not mentally, but digitally and emotionally. My hand grasps the signal put out through the shard of Mistress' core in my chest... And pulls.

 

The VR world around us lurches drastically. No longer am I in the loving lap of my girlfriend in her Gothic mushroom house, but now I am sitting on the edge of the cliff on Violacase. Everything feels strange and malleable, like the space around me has become slave to my own desires.

 

My metal hand, my physical one, as physical as it can be in VR, reaches out towards the horizon. The feeling of the signal in my hands is soft, like being granted the reigns to a... Horse, right? As though Aether has gifted me with the slightest bit of control over it. Just a bit. Enough to do what I need right now.

 

From my outstretched hand, an image forms. Red with white stripes and a stick at the bottom. A cartoonish depiction of a firework I had seen once somewhere.

 

Holding it in my hand, it feels completely real. The slight weight of the object combined with the texture of the paper it's wrapped in provides a genuine feeling of reality. Quite strange, I must say.

 

I point the tip of the little rocket towards the horizon. The sun seems to be rising this time, peeking out over the edge of the black obsidian cliffs, ready and willing to provide the alien wheat with the energy it deserves. A symbol of a horizon that is new, and a life that will continue on much longer. 

 

There is a presence behind me when I flick my fingers to light a spark. It's warm, dark, comforting and safe, yet so completely in control. The comparison between our power is like if a peasant stood before a monarch. Sure, the peasant could revolt, take up arms and storm the castle in a lone frenzy. But all know just how helpless the cause is. The monarch's army would stamp out the wild peasant as if an ant was trampled by a train. 

 

The edge of the fuse catches fire, sparkling and burning up quickly towards the center of the rocket.

 

Aether sits down next to me, her hand out. It gently rests upon the top of my soft black outstretched wing. 

 

The burning fuze reaches the base of the rocket, disappearing into a little hole with a puff of gray smoke.

 

My eyes trail away from the firework for a moment, and back towards the loving eyes of my Caretaker. They're so soft and caring, yet so full of conviction and confidence. Truly the rightful look of a monarch.

 

As the fuse hits the inside powder of the rocket within, blasting away from the little stick I hold with force, all I can think of is just how happy I am... That the monarch is a benevolent one.

 

There's a quiet boom in the distance before my eyes draw back. A big ball of light in the sky, sparkling and shimmering into little light blue strands. A beautiful but short light show. Indicative of something I have yet to understand. Something so beautiful, so powerful and emotional, yet so fleeting and precious. Is this human existence?

 

"So this is the place huh." Aether asks me with a wistful look. I nod, not exactly interested in breaking the silence yet.

 

The star hangs low in the sky, barely edging up over the horizon enough to illuminate everything here. That's when something slides its way into the front of my digital mind.

 

"Aether... Affini live forever, right?" 

 

She nods. "In a way. We don't age really, instead of death, when we get old, we just replant ourselves into the ground and build a new body. Like a phoenix."

 

"That's incredible Aether. I wish to stay alive long enough to watch your rebirth. Though I have no idea what a phoenix is." I say, tapping my cheek lightly. My wings rustle just a bit while Aether's fingers dance through my black feathers. 

 

"Seraphim... You know what I just realized?"  I turn to her and look into those deep eyes. "You won't age anymore either. You're no longer biological, there's nothing inside you that can ever die again unless I let it.... You're... Immortal, in a way now."

 

My lips slowly turn into a little smile. "Oh dear captor, will you ever let me die?"

 

Aether matches my smile warmly. "Not unless I die first. You're stuck with me, my angel, forever."

 

Aether is no Goddess... No Lord nor Savior... But a demon, a devil, The Devil. The watcher over the hell and purgatory that is my afterlife, keeping me locked in submission and servitude for the rest of all eternity. Who knew purgatory would be so sexy? I sure didn't. 

 

I am no Pure Angel, granted with a gift of light and love through an innocent God. No, I am corrupted. A fallen angel. One who had freedom but sold her soul for what she has now. And I will never, ever, ever regret it. Not until the last star dies. 

 

We, her and I, are beasts of an unholy nature. Powerful, predatorial, efficient. I am strong, made of metal bones that would refuse to bend if the weight of the planet rested on my shoulders.

 

But She. She is above the mortal plane. If I held Terra on my palms, she would have been the one to create it in the first place, then grant me with the hands to hold it.

 

What is a peasant to a king? A king to a God? And a God to a non believer?  Nonsense questions of power with no definite answer. But here and now, the power is real and true. Visualized in the Vista and cliff edge we sit upon. If I created this world, this digital scenery, she is what granted me with the tools to do so in the first place. Her signal, the all important thrumming rhythm that passes through every inch of my existence... It is what defines me. I was not given the tools, I am the tool. Her tool. To be used by Her as She wishes. And I could never be happier.

 

"I look forward to finding what's at the edge of the universe with you, Aether. I will never regret the decision I made to become yours." There is a radiant heat that builds in my chest and flutters out through my arms and legs like butterflies. It's the same feeling as though an ancient monk has brushed the face of nirvana for only just a moment. Pride.

 

"I look forward to it as well, my angel. I will never regret my decision to take you as my own. And as my property, I will never let you leave."

 

"I wouldn't dream of it, dearest. Now would you be so kind as to help me compile these wings?"

 

"Sure thing, my beloved pet."

 

The world lurches around us, fading first into a soft gray, then into a bright white. When I come to, I'm standing next to Aether in the middle of her workshop.

 

"Our workshop, sweetheart. You live with me now." Ahh that's right. Our workshop.

 

My hands gently touch my cheeks. "This is real?" 

 

"It is. Do you still feel like you can bend the world around you with my signal?" Aether asks me, stepping over to a little screen on a rolling table.

 

"Honestly? A little. I still feel like I have some kind of power over... Something. Though, it doesn't feel as world rending as it did in VR." I reply, Aether takes a moment to tap in a few keys on an adjacent keyboard before turning to face me. 

 

"Really? How strange.... I have an idea. Come with me."  Aether starts to walk away from the center of the room, towards one of the walls. There's an invisible tug on my collar that makes me follow her immediately.

 

When we reach the side of the room, a big hatch opens in the wall, and out steps a metal skeleton. Looking like it was pulled straight out of executor... Deleter...  Terminator? One of the three. A metal skeleton with a metal skull and bulbs for eyes. Clearly unfinished. 

 

"This is a base for a chassis. You have one of these inside of you. It's what I start with when I build a full body. I want you to try and control it." Aether steps beside me, trailing her hands up my arm and outstretching my palm towards the drone. Control it. Take my single grain of sand from the endless beach of Aether's power, and throw it into the sea, right where I want it. Watch the ripples I've created. Control it. My ounce. The signal flares under my grip, tugging and pulling in my hands. The drone takes a step forward, slow and clumsy, just like I am.

 

"Good. Keep going." Aether commands me. I flare Her signal again, the drone takes another step. "Put it on its knees. Bend it for me."  I grab a little harder, Aether's hands grip around my arm and guide me. The drone crumples, falling onto its knees, then face first onto the floor.  A breath I didn't even realize I was holding escapes me in a satisfied sigh. Aether slowly unlocks herself from my arm and takes a step back.

 

"Fucking. Incredible. Sera."  She says, bending down to look at the drone on the floor. It picks itself up and steps backwards into the hatch once more. "You can control my signal." She turns to me, wide eyed, brimming with pride and joy and love for her pet, her tool. "We sync so well, Seraphim, that you can actually control a part of my signal. It's exhilarating." 

 

I smile alongside her. "I feel it.... Honestly, I feel how weak I am compared to you. As though I have just the smallest pebble of control over it, while you own the existence in which that pebble is formed. I'm happy you're proud of me." 

 

"I am. This is a really.... Interesting development, I'd say."

 

"It feels strange to be granted any sort of power at all when compared to you, Aether. Are you sure you're comfortable with me even having this?" I ask, a little nervous. I like having no power in comparison to Her, so having even just the littlest bit feels wrong in some way.

 

"I am comfortable. It actually.... It feels nice knowing how you are able to even have that power in the first place. The shard of my core in your chest... It's nice. And well, how would an Angel get any of her work done without it?" She smiles and winks at me. A little giddy feeling replaces my apprehension. My mind reaches out, grabbing anything and everything electronic in the area. My first target is the lights, then the speakers in the room, and the projectors! 

 

The lights in the workshop start to strobe and flash chaotically, the projector unzips from the ceiling and throws displays of discordant colors on the walls and floor, the speakers in the workshop flare to life, blasting a beat. Its chaos, its nonsense, its crazy, its insane, but behind it all is a rhythm. A pattern in which the chaos unfolds. Behind my grab for electricity, my mind's hand showing the circuitry around me who's superior, is a soft, flowing beat. The signal that gives me everything from life to sentience to power. Her signal, and its accompanying rhythm.

 

My hand grabs further and further, tearing at the edges of my abilities for more and more control. More electronics, more sounds, more signals, more power! Until, I run out of cpu space and get a little lightheaded. My head tilts just a bit as my mind retreats back into my body. 

 

"Ah... I need to teach you a little constraint with that, now don't I?" Aether says with a giggle before all the lights and projectors reset back into their normal place. She leads me back towards the center through the tether in my collar. It's magnetic, I think... Or it isn't, and is purely a constructed code in my head to act as though there's a leash attaching my throat to her palm. Either way, she pulls, I move.

When we get back to the center, Aether shifts for a moment, and just leans in to hug me. It's sudden, but it's totally welcome. Her hug is soft and warm and comforting. After a little bit, she nudges me away just slightly to plant a kiss on my forehead. “I think I’m ready…. Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” It takes me a minute to disentangle my thoughts from the affection.

“Yes… I will…. Contact the proper figures to uh… Place a report on you, and fill everyone in about your disappearance and all that. Tomorrow. Just…” Aether seems to be very nervous, I pull her back to me into a hug, and she relaxes. “Just stay with me, I guess.”

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, my love.” My words sooth her just a little. She pulls away and takes a big calming breath before continuing with the rest.

 

"I wanted to let you know that at any point, you’ll be able to return to our VR world. You don’t actually need to be in this room to do so, by the way. Oh and here." Aether gestures to the monitor. There's a pair of black wings in a 3D model program floating in a gray void. "I collected these renditions when you were in there. On the next slide..." Aether taps something, the picture changes to a black circle, my halo. "Is your halo. I've got the bases for them ready, but you need to prepare your haptic layer yourself now. There's a toolkit here." Aether points to the large surgical looking apparatus. "I'm sure you already know how to do this, but I'll send you some information on how to do it to yourself."

 

There's a little bit of pressure in the front of my head as an information packet bursts its way into my digital mind. I'm full now, of the relevant information on how to operate on my own body.

 

"I can't..... Watch this right now, so I'm gonna go hangout in another room. Your halo should be done in the compiler, when you grab it out, your wings will compile too." Aether says, giving me a little side hug and a kiss on the cheek before she wanders out of the room. Being on my own feels weird, even if she's just in another room.

 

It's been like... four seconds, and I miss her already. Damn. How did I ever survive without this girl in the first place? 

 

Oh, wait.... I didn't. 

 

She was always close to me, even if I couldn't see her. The thought is comforting, although my nervousness doesn't seem to wane all the way off. I need something to distract my senses a bit. There's a little metal pen on the table beside the monitor, I grab it and put it in  my mouth to chew on.

 

The, what seems to be aluminum, metal of the pen bends a bit when I chew on it, but I'm sure to not bite too hard.

 

I'm about to sit down when I remember I actually need to pull the parts out of the compiler first. So I wander around the room for a little while but can't find it. In all the glory of my digital pea sized brain, I give up after a few minutes and text Aether. {Uhmm... Where's the compiler?}

 

[It's by the lever that changes the room. You should see a little handlebar in the wall. Let me know if you still need help finding it, dear. And please be safe. I trust you.]     The last three words just fill me with joy. She trusts me. It makes me so happy that she does.

 

Wandering over like the happy and dazed floret I am, I find the handle after some intensive searching. It was, as to be expected, exactly where she said it would be. But sometimes, I'm a little stupid, so it took me a bit of trial and error to find. It was just... Some strange handlebar stuck on the side of the wall. It didn't seem to have any seams around it to indicate that it's a compiler, but when I pulled on it, It opened. Inside was a little black ring, about the size of my palm outstretched. It had a little bit of weight, but I could see that it was already naturally magnetic to the metal where my skin would be.

 

When I placed it above my head, it stuck to my hair instead of floating. The magnetic pull was in the opposite direction! Oh no! The moment I closed the compiler door, it started working on the next piece of me. Taking the moment to walk back over to the chair, I search around for something else magnetic and find... A little metal screwdriver. It has the opposite pull of magnetism to push the halo away. Perfect.

 

With a few quick taps on the keyboard, I'm able to send a scan sheet for a little plate of alternating magnetic material using the same base metal as the screwdriver.

 

The plate is second in line for the compiler. Now that I've got that done, I just wander back to it and wait for the rest of the parts to come out.

When my wings are finished, I take a minute to just... Look at them. It always amazes me how compilers can switch from making something organic to something synthetic or mineral based without any external changes. Truly a wonder. When I pull the wings out, they're perfect. Black and fluffy little feathers, edited to be extra strong and heat proof! Not entirely sure why I needed that last feature, but I felt like it was important.

 

Alright alright, now that they're done... Time to install everything. I decided to start with the magnetic plating for the halo. It's fairly easy. Use the surgical bot in spectator mode to make a seperation in my haptic layer, undo the metal plating at the top, and replace it with the new metal plating. Then just fuzz over the hair in that spot and replace the haptic layer and done! 

 

With a cautionary hand, I place the halo above my head. The alternating current of magnetizm allows the halo to gently drift in place in the air. Wonderful. It feels... Good! I'm proud of myself! My hands flail around in the air for a moment when my emotions get a little too strong for me. Even if they're positive emotions, sometimes you just gotta stim!

 

There's a gentle pressure on the inside of my head for a moment before it quickly blooms into a happy feeling of more pride. I have a sneaking suspicion I know what that means.

 

Next up on the list is the wings.

 

Adjusting myself in the seat, I use the controls for the surgery bot to get it ready. Realizing I don't want to damage the beautiful clothes Aether dressed me in, I slowly strip down, making sure to get ample viewing time of my own chest while I do so. As to be expected, the extra presence in my head suddenly made me feel very embarrassed.

 

I think someone's watching me.

 

When the surgery bot is ready, I allow it to make two incisions just below both my shoulder blades. It doesn't take long for me to fidget around with the prosthetic integration wires on the base of each wing. The compiler left a slight sticky residue on some of the wires, so I took a minute to clean each of them along with the magnetic coupling.

 

I didn't need to do that, but I did it anyway. Then, through the monitor, I slowly control the surgery bot to ever so carefully start connecting some of the wires in the base of the wings to the integration ports in my back. I have quite a few of these ports, I wonder what Aether was using them for. The surgery bot is agonizingly slow at wiring up in the proper spots, so in a stroke of genius, I decide to use my new found tool to control it more directly. With a gentle... Mental hand, I guess, I reach out to the lovely thrumming signal emanating from my chest, and gently push it in the right direction. The surgery robot is fairly easy to control, as its schemes are relatively rudimentary for how many tools it's able to operate.

 

Much faster now, each of the wires is set into their proper outlet, and the magnetic coupling is properly secured. My left wing is finished!

 

Another blooming feeling of pride and happiness soars through me, alongside my own.

 

With care, I stand and flex my wing. It feels strange at first, like when you sleep on a limb and it feels like it's not really connected to you anymore. It's like that, but the opposite. A complete limb suddenly added to my collection of... My other limbs I guess.

 

Then I seem to get the hang of it. Or at least the hang of making it extend to full mast and retract into a neat feather protrusion on my back... Like how do I explain this with words? It just folds up neatly like one of those old folding chairs.

 

The second wing is just as easy to adjust to myself. At one point, I get the idea to try and connect a wire in the wrong spot, to which my hand gently guided away and into the correct spot. Hmm, how interesting.

Down to the last linking wire, my focus becomes far too intense, and I end up accidentally crushing the metal pen in my mouth. Some of its ink leaks out onto my chin. Wiping it off for the most part, I finish the last link and place the now broken pen on the table.

 

When the second wing was properly coupled, I used the bot one final time to fix the incisions on my back. And just like that, I was a proper angel!

 

Fit, elegant, angelic, proper, and formal! Ahh!!! The euphoria!

 

In a flash of deviance, my hands gently trail over my chest, pushing them up into my cupped hand before dropping them and letting my hands slide across. Suddenly I feel very embarrassed as the world gains a slight blue hue to it.

 

But before I leave, I punch one more line of information into the compiler. When the new item is finished I stuff it down into one of the pockets on the dress. Pockets on the dress!! Wow! With a giggle, I slip my dress back on and wander out into the room Aether is in, wings fully extended in all their black fluffy glory.

 

"Hello Aether, I'm finished!" I say cheerily before wandering over to the couch she's on and sitting next to her. Aether's cheeks are flushed red and her skin is just ever so slightly damp with sweat. On the TV screen is a big "GAME OVER" in bold red letters. Red like her cheeks at the moment. 

 

Aether hesitantly looks towards me. "You look... You look very nice, Seraphim." She says awkwardly. 

 

"Thank you. Did you like the show?" I ask with a giggle. Aether gets a little more red.

 

"How could you tell I was watching?" She asks me, nervously bouncing her leg.

 

"I can feel you in my head, Aether. It's like a sweet gentle pressure." I say smiling before leaning over and kissing her cheek and then standing up. "I'm gonna go check these out in a mirror now." 

 

Aether nods. "Yeah- um- yeah, go right on ahead Sera. Bathrooms down that way." She says, pointing in some vague direction. Not entirely sure why she has a bathroom here when she... Probably doesn't need to use it? That's a strange thought that I'm gonna put away for now.

 

Once in the bathroom, I'm not exactly surprised to see it's fairly similar to the one back at our permanent hab unit. This causes me to start thinking about decorations and what I'd like our house to shape up into later on. If I'm gonna be staying with that girl forever then I'll be damned if I don't make our house pretty! 

 

What kind of house though... Mistress' hab unit is wonderful, and just being in a place that I can call home with her is lovely, but it's a bit on the ordinary side. Maybe we could get it renovated? But renovated to what.... Maybe something like her goth cabin in vr. That would be fun to.... Ahh, an idea. One oh so very special. But it will have to wait until dinner time.

Taking a minute to refocus, I splash some of the water from the sink on my face and into my mouth to wash out the rest of the ink.

 

Now focused, I flip on the lights to see my new setup. 

 

What I'm shown is the most beautiful dark angel girl I've ever seen. Which isn't saying a whole lot actually, since I'd be the only dark angel girl I've ever seen. Regardless, my big fluffy black wings plus little black halo are just.... Wonderful. I feel perfect.

 

The most amazing feeling of euphoria washes over me from my chest to my toes. I feel fantastic. I feel like I could get used to an eternity with this new look.

 

The lovely feelings in my chest prompt me to take another look at my internals. With an easy hand, I unbutton some of the dress to expose my tummy.

 

When my hatch opens, I am again flooded with a feeling of burning sudden need. But since I'm ready for it this time, I'm able to just... Look properly.

 

There's that beautiful ball of vines in the center that is drawing my attention so greatly. They glow softly red between the cracks in the vines. Slowly, I start to run my fingers over the vines in the ball, getting them to part ever so slightly. 

 

When I'm finally able to pull them apart enough, I'm graced with the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. A part of Her soul within me. Not just an Affini's heart, but truly their soul. What makes up everything about an Affini from their consciousness to the way they manipulate plants. Embedded inside me is the most wonderful red shard of core ever. I will never stop feeling both grateful and... Slightly aroused at the fact that there's such a piece of Her inside of me. Forever and ever. It feels so good to be so close to Her like this. Submission never felt so right. But now it does.

 

Gently, my finger traces over the side of the red shard. A very very strange feeling pervades my entire body at once. It feels like my whole being is touched at once. Really quite odd, in all honesty. And completely overwhelming. Although not directly pleasurable, there's a feeling of second hand embarrassment and deep seated arousal that shoots up and through me. Cautiously, I start to touch it again, this time electing to wrap my whole hand around it. The feeling of touch being so overwhelming and overstimulating, I barely keep myself standing. It's like having everything ever that makes up my entire being just... Held for a moment. Really- there's a loud thump from outside. I release my hand from the part of Her core and very quickly put myself back together. As I push the last button through the buttonhole, I step back out into the living room to see... Aether, bright red and sweating profusely, laying on the floor. She looks up at me and makes the most adorable whining sound I've ever heard. I wander over and crouch next to her.

 

For a moment, her head moves to rest against my leg. Panting and whimpering around on the floor. When she finally collects herself enough, we make eye contact.

 

"Sera did- did you just... Did you just touch my core?"

 

"Mhmmmmm~" I cooed at her. Aether huffs and puffs for a minute, totally flustered before standing up all imposing like. The energy in my legs suddenly gives out and Aether catches me by my shoulder, dragging me over to the couch. She lays me against the side of the couch on the floor.

 

When I try to voice my confusion at her actions, all that comes out of me is a pathetic "waaeehh"  Uh oh, that's not good. The last time this happened- 

 

Aether starts to strip off her overalls and shorts, stopping when she reaches her underwear. My eyes are full of both nervous fear and arousing excitement. A slow needy feeling starts to grow between my legs, warming me up.

 

{I thought we were gonna wait for something like this?}

 

"Silence, brat."  Aether snaps at me, using her leg to push me harder into the side of the couch. Suddenly I feel an inability to even send text through our link. Rendered completely silent, and completely immovable to anything but her will.

 

Aether finally makes it to her bra, which she throws off of herself, allowing me to finally drink in her features once more. 

 

"What I said, brat, is that I wasn't going to allow you the pleasure. And I'm still not. But you've earned yourself a punishment. Open your mouth, now."

 

My jaw drops at her command. Aether strips off the last of her underwear to reveal... Nothing. A blank slate where normal reproductive organs would be. Until, a seam cracks, and a hatch opens. A thick, incredibly tightly bound rope of vines slowly makes its way out from the hatch. Oh dear Lord, I'm about to be a genuine alien fucker.

 

On the tip of the tightly woven vines, is a flower bud. Everywhere on the mass is a slick layer of translucent sticky sap, with an extra large amount dripping from the flower bud. Not even given a moment to prepare, Aether shoves her entire mass into my mouth. It edges at the threshold of my throat before one of her hands trails around my head, grabs up my hair painfully tight, and repositions me to allow her passage into the rest of my throat.

 

Aether makes a wonderful brunt moan before slowly moving her hips back and forth. Her... Vines... Slide easily up and down my throat, filling me up with sticky sweet sap as it drains down my throat.

 

"Fffuuuck... That's a good girl~" Aether moans, pushing herself a little further into me. My gag reflex suddenly activates, but without the genuine need to breath, only the compulsion to, I start to swallow repeatedly. Her vines not removing themselves from my throat and mouth at all, no. She gets a little rougher. Pushing and pulling harder and harder as her soft skin slaps against my face every time she bottoms out in my throat. The sap starts making me feel funny, as several data packets explode into my brain. The feeling of her inside my throat suddenly gets more and more intense, rivaling the amount of pleasure I felt when she made me grind against her earlier. My body involuntarily twitches while I keep swallowing and swallowing.

 

"Such a good pet. Fuck... You're so dirty Sera. You aamnnnh..." My throat tightens around her length a little more. The pleasure ramping up, radiating throughout my body like fire and collecting between my legs. Exponentially growing, edging me closer and closer to

 

"You're such a fucking slut Sera. Drink up my sap. Be a good girl for me." Aether pushes in and out and in and out of me faster, rougher, pulling on my hair and now moving her other hand around my throat to make me grip on her length tighter. Aether moans a long and satisfied whine as she pushes as deeply into me as she can, her vines dripping sticky sap down my throat.

 

Then, they unravel. Suddenly coating every inch of the inside of my throat to allow for... Even more sap, and now the flower bud as it slides down my eagerly swallowing throat. My legs buck slightly, not by my own volition, but by the feeling of suffocation and now drowning as her sap fills me up.

 

Aether pants, taking ragged breaths as she slowly removes her hand from my neck and pulls herself out of me. My body automatically starts gasping for air that it doesn't really need. Aether lets go of my hair, and my entire body goes slack at once. Barely sitting on the edge of orgasm just from being throat fucked, yet still not allowed to get the climax I desperately desperately need.

 

Aether gently collects up my body and drops me onto the couch in a heap.

 

I keep swallowing in between every needy gasp for air, the remnants of sticky sap still coating my insides. My tummy feels a little fuller with the amount she pumped into me.

 

Suddenly, Aether grabs onto me with force, laying me down across her knees and lap, tummy facing down. She lifts my dress up and reveals my butt to her. 

 

"Your voice is returned, brat. I want to hear you attone." Aether's hand pulls away from me, before suddenly-

 

 

It stings, sending sparks of masochistic pleasure up and down my spine. All that comes out of me is a needy whimper at the painful contact. Aether's hand pulls back again.

 

"You will not."

 

 

"Touch my core."

 

 

"Without my express permission."

 

 

This one harder than the last, leaving my haptic layer abuzz with stinging and soreness. 

 

"Do you understand, Seraphim? Tell me."

 

"Y-y-yes!! Yes, I understand Aether!" 

 

I feel nails suddenly start to dig into my back, cutting into my haptic layer just slightly, causing me to squirm and moan relentlessly at the burning pleasure.

 

"Now, be a good pet, and apologize."

 

"I'm! I'm sorry, Aether! Please forgive me! I wanna be a good girl for you! Please!"

 

Aether digs just a little more before finally letting go. My body goes completely limp once more. The aftershocks of her punishment are still singing their effects. Every few seconds, another painfully pleasurable jolt dances up my skin, causing me to twitch and spasm slightly. All accompanied by another submissive whimper.

 

"Good girl. I'm proud of you for understanding. You see, punishment like this is necessary when a pet steps out of line. Now you understand, and you won't disobey me again, right?" Her last word emphasized with a dominant glint. Accompanied with a little jolt of masochistic and submissive pleasure every time she refers to me as her pet.

 

"Yes Aether." My voice is nothing more than a weak whisper.

 

I can feel Aether smiling down at me as she fixes up my clothes and pulls me closer to her, gently running her fingers through my hair, now laying on my back instead of my tummy.

 

"Very good girl. You learned so well for me today. I'm proud of you." Her hand gently caresses my cheek, holding me there for a moment while she bends down and kisses me softly on the forehead. There is nothing but stars in my eyes while I stare up at her.

 

Adoration, submission, and joy at being a good pet simmers in my chest. Totally making up for lack of orgasm. The feeling of being a good pet for her, being her good girl, is more than enough for me.

 

Aether continues to pet me, complimenting me for how well I took to her punishment, how pretty my new wings and halo are, and how good of a pet and girlfriend I am.

 

It makes me start giggling happily in the afterglow. Aether doting on me, just overfilling me with joy and happiness about being good for her is... So much more than I need to soothe over the aching on my bottom.

 

After about half an hour of cuddling, petting, and aftercare, Aether jolts and looks up towards the door. "Oh, Sera, our reservations are ready."

 

She collects me up into her arms, and gently sets me onto my feet.

 

My legs are still a little jelly, but I'm able to at least walk for now.

 

"Reservations?"

 

"Yes, sweetheart. Reservations. The only scarcity in the compact.... A long line for a new restaurant!" Aether giggles a little before straightening herself out. "Yes. We're going to a nice place tonight. A lot of couples have been going here so I thought it would be nice. There's just been a bit of a line, since the restaurant is on the smaller side. Ready to go?" She holds her hand out to me. I nod, and take hers in mine.

 

When Aether leads me out the door, I feel the invisible tug on my collar just a little bit more than usual. Forcing me to stay exactly by her side for the duration of the walk. When we arrive, as expected, it looks like a very nice place. Full of red velvet drapings and chandeliers and the like. Really something that would look like an upper class elites restaurant. Which is ironic, considering currency doesn't exist anymore within the compact.

 

"Hello hello, welcome to the  Red House Party~" the snappily dressed waiter greets us as we walk in. 

 

"Hello, reservations for two. Under the name Versalice." Aether tells the waiter. On their shirt is a little name tag with 'Charley' displayed. The name sounds familiar, but I'm not exactly sure from where.

 

Charley nods, and waves for us to follow them to one of the booths at the back of the place. As we pass by the tables, there's a plethora of pairs. Both Affini and Florets, as well as Terrans together and a various assortment of the like. 

 

When we sit down, the waiter pipes up again in a cheery tone. "Hopefully the wait here wasn't too long. We're currently putting in paperwork to get the place a bit of a size upgrade. We should have more room by the end of next week. It's really a miracle what the compact has done for local businesses. I hope you enjoy your night, you two, your waitress will be with you shortly."

 

Aether thanks Charley as they leave, before turning to me.

 

"So I have a few things that I want to show you tonight... But I'm thinking I'll save those for once we've had our dinner. Tell me, darling, is there anything you're thinking about? I'm gonna take a look through the menu for us, doll." Aether says happily, looking very relaxed. It makes me relax easily into my seat as well.

 

"Yes, actually. I have something for you as well. Something I've been thinking about for a little while. And, I would like to show you it right now , I'm a little too excited to hold off on mine." I reply, getting a little excited in my seat.

 

"Go for it, my angel." Aether responds. But the moment I go to start, a very familiar person walks up.

 

"Hello, I'll be your waitress for tonight. Welcome, do either of you pretty ladies know what you'd like?" Ceriza addresses the table. I stare at her with dumbfounded shock. Yep, that's totally her. Got her collar on even with the fancy waitress getup. Aether just looks back towards me with a funny expression. 

 

"Cer... Ceriza." Is all I can seemingly manage to respond at the moment. Aether makes a muffled laughing sound at the other side of the booth.

 

"That's me, do I know you?" She says questioningly. Giving me a tilted head look.

 

"Ceriza, how many androids do you know?"

 

"I actually know one!" Ceriza replies strangely enthusiastically. "They're my friend, we played a tabletop game together. And well, you seem like an Android too so that makes..." Ceriza closes her mouth for a moment. And then just looks down at me with a smug grin.

 

"So that's where you've been huh? You sure changed up the look. I'd say it definitely suits you, same with the collar. What's your new name?" Ceriza asks me, barely containing herself beneath all the smug.

 

Suddenly the room gets a little warmer, and a little more blue. "Uhm... Seraphim Versalice, First Floret Ramet." I reply, staring promptly down at the table.

 

"What a beautiful name you have, Seraphim. I'm stoked to see you out of your shell!" Ceriza half shouts, leaning back and finally letting out all of her giggles. When she looks back at me, she giggles even more, turning just slightly pink with how much she's laughing.

 

After a minute she pulls herself together and resumes a mostly serious 'work face.' "You blush blue, that's a nice touch. Couldn't help myself when I saw that, too adorable."

 

"I know right? Cutest thing ever." Aether pipes up from across the booth, driving me into the chair even harder with embarrassment. Threatening to just push my metal over boiling point and end up with a chair full of liquid metal.

 

"Hello, who might you be, Seraphim's girlfriend?" Ceriza casts a warm glance over to the brown haired girl in the seat across from me.

 

"That I am. Nice to meet you, I'm Aether." She holds her hand out towards the waitress, and she shakes it. Wow, they really shook hands, now that's interesting coming from Aether.

 

When Ceriza drops her hand, she turns and looks at me with a grin. "Wow, Seraphim, your girlfriend has really pretty eyes." 

 

I take a moment to collect myself and look back at her. "I know. They're very beautiful aren't they? That's why I have a pair like hers myself." I say, giving a little smile. Feeling full of pride to have matching ones with her.

 

Ceriza gasps. "Wow! You two have matching eyes, how cute!" She fawns over us for a minute. Causing me to squish down a little further, not expecting to be so embarrassed by that.

 

"Well well... You two, what would you like? I'm totally allowed to just stand around and talk with you for as long as I want, but I do have other guests waiting." 

 

"She'll take the house special, and I'll take the... Eggplant parmesan, I suppose." Aether replies, filling in both our orders. She must know exactly how that makes me feel. I see her shoot me a little grin out of the corner of my eye.

 

"Got it, anything to drink?" Ceriza asks, writing down our order on a little notepad.

 

"Absolutely. We'll take a bottle of red wine for the table." Aether says with a nod. Ceriza jots it down before wandering away.

 

"That was the girl from your tabletop group, right?" 

 

"Yes, yes it was. You know, I really didn't take her for the waitress type of Floret. So I'm honestly a little surprised to see her here."

 

"How nice, I'm already getting to properly know your friends. Maybe I should ask to join one of your games some time. You could be my pocket healer~" Aether coos at me, making me embarrassed again.

 

"Um... I... I already had a character I made but... Oh if you want me to I will" I look back up with her, a little squirmy.

 

"Aww, no no, you can keep using that character, I'm just teasing you. But I would like to join." Aether reaches over the table, and my hand reaches out for hers, interlocking our fingers together. 

 

"I think that sounds fun." I reply with a docile and happy smile on my face.

 

"So, darling, you had something you wanted to tell me about?" Aether's thumb gently rubs over the back of my hand.

 

"Oh, yes. I did." using my free hand, I pull out the printed sheet of paper. There's an embedded code in the picture on it, which is of a big black heart emoji. Aether looks up at me with a kinda dumb but appreciative look before I explain. "There's an embed, scan it." Her eyes trail back down to the page.

 

"Oh wow... Sera... You're serious?" She looks back up at me, the 3D overlay of a gothic themed bar. From all the big black chairs lining the bar, to booths at the back for other guests. 

 

"Absolutely. And even more so... I've never really been attached to this planet. I have friends here, but I can always come back and visit as much as I want with the technology the Affini could provide.... So, what do you say?" I show my biggest smile to Aether, and she smiles brightly back at me, squeezing my hand tightly in hers. "Would you be my chef, if I can be your bartender? May we, please, have a planet traveling popup bar?"

 

Aether shakes in excitement, if she had anything to ruffle right now, she would definitely be ruffled. "Yes! Yes I would love that!" 

 

"I'm so happy to hear that. I came up with the idea while we were in VR together earlier. I was thinking about your adorable cottage and wanting to decorate more in our hab unit, so that got me thinking.... What kind of house would we want, and I decided, in that moment, I have all of eternity to find a place to settle down in. Right now, I want to explore. I want to search the Galaxy with you, finding random sophont species to make drinks tailor made for them. I want... I want something big to dig into, something life-changing. Because... I have longer than life to live with you, my love."

 

A few tears run down Aether's cheeks as she smiles so utterly happily at me. Not even caring that I just spilled the biggest, most gayest rant ever at her. "Sera... I.... Wow..." She mumbles, drying her tears on her sleeve. She looks as though she's about to pull something out of her pocket when Ceriza comes back to the table with a big tray. Happily, she sets down our meals and a bottle for the table, before lastly some glasses. It's truly a feat that she could carry all that in one arm.

 

"You know, Ceriza, I'm a little surprised to see you in this kind of setting. You're usually more..."

 

"Laid back? Yes, you'd be right. Most of my time is spent as a very happy floret for my Mistress, but I like to be serious every once in a while. Being a waitress just feels right to me, I guess." She tucks the tray under her arm and shrugs. "Enjoy your meal." 

 

When I turn back to look at my date, she's already pouring our cups of wine. The food both looks and smells delicious which makes me really want to dig in already. But I'm polite, so I wait.

 

Aether passes one of the glasses over to me. "I think if we tap these together, it means good luck." She says, raising her glass. I raise mine as well, and she taps the rim of my glass with the bottom of hers. I'm not entirely sure if this is how this gesture goes, but it's not like I honestly know better.

 

I take a little sip from my glass, reveling in the subtle flavors of fruit and alcohol mixed together. Deep, astringent, and sour with a hint of sweet. All combined with the strong undercut  of tart red grapes and alcohol.

 

A satisfied sigh escapes my lips as I lean back into my chair for a moment. When I look back up, Aether is holding a sliced piece of eggplant parmesan right in front of my mouth. There's a phantom touch on my cheek, and I instinctually open my mouth for her. She places the bite into my mouth with a second accompanying phantom touch which makes me close and start to chew. All before I even realized what had happened. Suddenly warm once again. Wow, is she really out to embarrass me every five seconds?

 

"Absolutely. You're oh so adorable when you blush. Plus, anyone else looking will think you're super cute too, being fed by me and all that."  I start squirming around in my chair again, deciding to suddenly show my independence by taking my own fork and digging into my own meal. Which seems to be some kind of black spaghetti pasta in a creamy sauce with shrimp on top. It's a bit salty, a bit extra fishy in the noodles, but creamy as well. So wonderful...

 

Another happy sigh comes out of me while we eat our meals together in comfortable silence.

 

By the end, we've both had two glasses of wine each, polishing off the bottle, and mostly cleared our plates. Ceriza returns after a little while to collect everything up. "So how was it, you two adorable love birds?"

 

"It was really great, Ceriza, thank you. I think me and my lovely girlfriend both enjoyed the meal." Aether starts, sending me a loving look, filling me up to the brim with joy.

 

"Yeah, seriously. You know, if it weren't for the fact that currency doesn't exist anymore, I'd want to tip you somehow." I say with a giggle. 

 

"Oh well, if you really want to... How about you agree to join another game next week? You can bring your gf along too!" She says with a bright but reserved smile.

 

"I think that sounds great. Thank you Ceriza."

 

"It's my pleasure. Plus, it will give you a chance to tell me all about how you two met. Take care!" Our waitress waves to us and wanders away with a skip.

 

Aether takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh so comfortable, it would rival my own in strength. "Okay Sera, before we go, I have one last thing for you... Well, two last things." She digs into her pocket, pulling out two pieces of paper, that upon unfolding, have no creases whatsoever. How neat. 

 

She sets the two papers flat in front of me. When I look down I see that "They're blank?"

 

Aether giggles, reaching over and putting her hand on my cheek. "No you silly girl, you're just not looking at them right." There's a little tug from inside my chest when she presses her hand against me. My eyes suddenly shift lenses back into the UV spectrum. When I look up at Aether, I can see all the dancing little muffled bursts of light from beneath her skin. Looking down at myself, I see the same rhythmic purple flashes.

 

Back towards the table, I see.... Two contracts. One, a domestication contract, and the other a marriage proposal.

 

All words abruptly exit my ability to interact, rendering me completely non verbal and utterly overwhelmed with emotions.

 

Aether pushes the more familiar paper towards me first. "Let's start with this. As you know, you don't exactly really need to sign this completely. You only need to sign your name at the bottom to acknowledge the fact that you're mine. But, I thought it would be cute to have you sign the whole thing anyway." She says, handing over a special dark wooden pen. "You may want this, since something happened to my last one." She smiles at me. If I wasn't still unable to speak from sheer force of gay, I'd whine about how she knows I even bit the pen in the first place. But as I am, I just take a minute to admire the paper in front of me. There are several sets of rules, each with an accompanying box to check off. Oh, how it feels to write this finally.

 

As it reads:

 

1) Above all else, you, Seraphim, must obey your Guardian, Aether Versalice, Fourth Bloom in all things. This is for your safety, wellbeing, and care. ☐

 

2) Your Guardian, Aether Versalice, Fourth Bloom, owns you. You are her property. You do not have political rights in the Affini Compact. ☐

 

3) You do have a guarantee of your wellbeing, as defined in Section 57 of the Human Domestication Treaty. ☐

 

4) This guarantee of wellbeing does not preclude your Guardian from disciplining you, as outlined in Section 61 of the Human Domestication Treaty. ☐

 

5) As the property of your Guardian, she may add, remove, or modify conditions of your wardship at any time for any reason within the limits established by the Human Domestication Treaty. ☐

 

6) Your full name is Seraphim Versalice, First Floret from this moment forward. ☐

 

Below this line are additional terms that your Guardian, Aether Versalice, Fourth Bloom, has stipulated. ☐

 

You are disallowed any secrets not specifically allowed by your Guardian. You are disallowed to hide any part of your body from your Guardian.  Your Guardian is permitted to, at any time, work on your body either for maintenance reasons or to modify it for any reason.☐

 

Sign here to acknowledge your understanding and acceptance of these terms

 

______________________________.

 

Tears of joy pitter patter down from my cheeks to the paper as I look down upon it. This will be the easiest form to ever sign.

 

Number one. I obey her already. I know that she knows what's best for me regardless, and I kind of owe her my entire soul by this point, so obedience comes to me like nature. I check off the first box.

 

Second. Aether Versalice will own me... Truly and legally own me. Being her property, really hers in every way, just fills me with feelings I can't explain with words. I couldn't be happier to be the property of a God. I check off the second box. 

 

Third. My well-being is guaranteed. Of course it is. I never doubted it for a second, even if there was no form or legality for it, I would always know this regardless. I check off the third box.

 

Fourth. Now this one makes me feel things. I remember just how it felt to be bent over her lap, receiving punishment. It felt so good, it makes me wanna act up just to be punished back into submission again. I check off the fourth box.

 

Fifth. I have no qualms with this. If she needs to mess with something, there's probably a good reason for it. I check off the fifth box.

 

Sixth. Finally, at long last, my name. My wonderful, glorious, worthy new name. It rings out as a song in my head I couldn't ever stop listening to. And just... Ohhhhj.... How it feels to take her last name, such a bold signature of her relationship and ownership of me.  I check off the sixth box.

 

The seventh box is just an acknowledgement, so I check it off immediately.

 

Disallowed secrets. Now that's a strange one. My eyes track up to Aether, she's blushing furiously and staring at me with such intense predator feelings. It makes me shudder just to see her look at me like that. Like a toy for her to play with. Like a pet.

 

Noticing exactly what I looked up for, Aether speaks up to me. Her teeth are bared in her mouth, sharp and glossy with spit. Fuck, I need her to use me again.

 

"I like to know everything about you, Sera. From the thoughts you think, to the friends you have, to the exact number of images your ocular cameras display to you to see every day. Everything." She practically growls out the last word. It makes me stop just getting warmer, and start getting a little wetter. I can't keep this up in such a public place, it's not appropriate.

 

The next one just serves to make me feel even more yearning for her. And the last one just makes sense. Though she may not feel ready for it now, I'm always happy and willing to let her fix or modify the mechanical body she gave to me. I check the final box.

 

Now, to just sign my name. In all honesty, I haven't signed my name in a lot of things before. Even more so, I barely write with a pen and paper. Most of the time it's a keyboard. So my handwriting is pretty ugly. But with determination, I set the point down and begin to flow the words onto the page. Like an elegant ice dancer, my pen twirls around beautifully, to reveal the most flowery and prettily written signature I've ever done. She must have... She must have made my handwriting better. Wow....

 

Aether makes a very interesting noise before collecting up the paper, folding it up neatly six times with just two fingers, and stuffing it back into her pocket.

 

Then, she slides the Marriage Proposal paper over to me.

 

"So, what's this one about? Marriage?" Looking over the paper, I'm only vaguely familiar with the whole process. Is it like something about love? Religion? Not something I have any experience with, to be honest.

 

"This is an old Terran contract that originally started as a legal paper to transfer property of a person between two parties." Aether smirks and me and winks. "And I was just thinking, since you're already my property, maybe you'd want to sign this too? Just for uh... Fun, I guess. We could be wives, Sera! Wouldn't that be nice?" She gives me a very innocent pleading type look at the end that just makes my heart melt. I smile and nod, taking the pen and signing my new name adjacent to Aether's. 

 

"Wives we are, then. My love." I slide the paper back over to her. Aether curls up a bit before exploding out with her arms in the air and giggling like a maniac. It's the most adorable reaction I've ever seen.

 

"Well, we'll be fiance's first. We'll only be wives after we get married, which is this big like... Ceremony thing, where we pledge our hearts to each other. It's really quite lovely, and we'll get to wear big fluffy white dresses!" She smiles and waves her hands around a little bit. I giggle at her adorable display. 

 

"That sounds wonderful, dearest."

 

Aether beams at me one last time before shooting up in her seat and diving over to wrap me in the tightest hug my metal body can possibly handle. Several hundred pounds of crush force at once, this girl's so gay she could crush a car with all that gay! g ggg gay!  Aether nuzzles her head into my shoulder for a moment before pulling back and giving me a quick peck on the lips.

 

Accidently, in all my fluster, my mind reaches out and trips the light switch circuit to the building, temporarily bathing the entire room in complete darkness. There are a few shocked gasps, and one giggle, as the lights flick back on a moment later. "Uh... Oops." I say, embarrassed as all hell. Aether just laughs at me and pets my hair for a moment before straight up pulling me out of the chair to my feet and over towards the entrance, where Ceriza is standing. Seemingly, she took over door duty for the rest of the night. 

 

Aether skips over to her, holding my hand. "Hello Ceriza! I would like to... Make a request. Tonight's meal was very fantastic, would you possibly mind giving me the recipe for the foods we had tonight? My fiance and I are planning to open a traveling restaurant. If you want to keep it a secret, I totally understand." 

 

Ceriza just looks between us, her jaw slowly dropping before picking back up into a wide smile, breaking her work ethic for a moment. "Fiancees!?!?! You're getting married!?!?"  She beams, loudly exclaiming. Aether nods, I just stand there and awkwardly blush.

 

"Um! Yes, you can have the recipes! As a farewell gift! We actually have a cookbook here that details out all our different dishes. Wait here, I'll get a copy compiled for you!" Ceriza dashes around the waitress stand and runs towards the back, giving Aether ample opportunity to lock her arms around me and just stare into my eyes with a great big smirk.

 

"You're cute when you're embarrassed." She coos. I just roll my eyes and giggle. Ceriza returns shortly after with a copy of the cookbook, handing it to Aether and waving us farewell. The two of them exchange usernames before we part, heading back to our hab unit.

 

When we get home, both of us are too tired to do anything else, so we just cuddle up close to each other on the bed, and project a starry night on the ceiling through our HUDs. Allowing us to fall asleep peacefully intertwined with each other.

 

Tomorrow is gonna be a great big day after all. The day of the report. And our plans for Ortet's funeral. But for now...

 

We sleep peacefully. Night one of forever. 

 

(End Of Page Nineteen)