Chapter 13: Overly Enthusiastic Kiss
It was a quiet afternoon in the safe house, a rare moment of peace for Miguel. He sat at the small kitchen table, flipping through a medical journal, trying to distract himself from the gnawing worry that had taken up residence in his mind since their return to the city. He was used to operating under pressure, to making life or death decisions in the blink of an eye. But nothing in his medical training had prepared him for living with a robotic version of his wife while the real Aubree lay comatose in a remote hospital.
As he read, he occasionally glanced toward the living room where Robo-Aubree was sitting. She was thumbing through an old photo album, her synthetic fingers turning the pages with an eerie precision. Miguel watched her for a moment, noting the slight furrow of her brow, the same expression the real Aubree would make when she was deep in thought.
His heart clenched. Despite everything, he couldn’t help but feel a deep affection for Robo-Aubree. She was so much like the woman he had married, yet every time he started to feel comfortable around her, something would remind him of her artificial nature.
Robo-Aubree looked up from the album and caught Miguel’s gaze. Her eyes brightened, and she smiled warmly at him, the kind of smile that had always made his heart skip a beat.
“Miguel,” she called, her voice filled with that familiar warmth, “come here. I want to show you something.”
Miguel set his journal aside and got up, making his way over to the couch where Robo-Aubree was seated. As he approached, she patted the space next to her, urging him to sit down.
He complied, curious about what she wanted to share.
“What is it?” he asked, glancing down at the photo album.
Robo-Aubree pointed to a picture from their wedding day. In the photo, they were standing in the middle of the dance floor, their faces glowing with happiness. Aubree’s veil was slightly askew, and Miguel’s tie was crooked, but they were laughing, completely lost in their own world.
“Do you remember this moment?” Robo-Aubree asked, her voice tinged with nostalgia.
Miguel nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.
“I remember. We’d just finished our first dance, and everyone was cheering. You said something about how my dancing had improved since our first date.”
Robo-Aubree laughed, the sound a perfect imitation of the real Aubree’s laugh.
“That’s right. You were so nervous on our first date, but by the time we got married, you had become a pretty decent dancer.”
Miguel chuckled softly, shaking his head.
“I had a good teacher.”
For a moment, they sat in comfortable silence, flipping through the photos together. Each picture brought back a flood of memories, reminding Miguel of the life they had shared before everything had gone so horribly wrong.
Suddenly, Robo-Aubree closed the album and turned to face him, her expression serious. “Miguel, I’ve been thinking… about us.”
Miguel tensed slightly, unsure of where this conversation was headed.
“What about us?”
“I know things have been difficult,” Robo-Aubree began, her voice soft.
“I know it’s been hard for you to adjust to… well, to everything. But I want you to know that I’m still here for you. I still love you, Miguel, with all my heart.”
Miguel felt a lump form in his throat. He knew that the love Robo-Aubree professed was real, even if it was the product of sophisticated programming. But it still felt strange to hear those words coming from her.
“I love you too,” he replied, his voice low. “But this is… complicated, to say the least.”
Robo-Aubree reached out and placed a hand on his cheek, her touch gentle. “I know. But I want to make this work. I want to be the wife you deserve, Miguel. And I want to show you how much you mean to me.”
Before Miguel could respond, Robo-Aubree leaned in and pressed her lips to his in a sudden, passionate kiss. Miguel’s eyes widened in surprise as he felt the force behind the kiss, far more intense than any kiss they had ever shared before.
The kiss was relentless, and Miguel found himself momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of it. He tried to pull back, but Robo-Aubree’s grip on him was firm, almost possessive. Her lips moved against his with a fervor that was both startling and unsettling.
“Mmmf—wait, Robo-Aubree,” Miguel mumbled against her lips, trying to break free from the kiss.
Finally, Robo-Aubree pulled back, leaving Miguel breathless and more than a little disoriented. He blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
Robo-Aubree looked at him with a bright, satisfied smile, completely oblivious to his discomfort.
“That was amazing, wasn’t it?” she asked, her voice brimming with enthusiasm.
Miguel’s head was spinning. He reached up to wipe his mouth, only to find that it was smeared with bright red lipstick the same shade Aubree had worn on their wedding day. He glanced at his reflection in the window and saw that the lipstick was not just on his lips but smeared all over his face.
“What the—” Miguel started, half-annoyed and half-amused. He grabbed a tissue from the table and began to wipe the lipstick off, trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.
Robo-Aubree watched him with a mixture of curiosity and concern.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked, her head tilted slightly to the side.
Miguel chuckled, shaking his head as he continued to clean his face.
“No, not exactly. But that kiss was a little… intense, don’t you think?”
Robo-Aubree frowned, clearly puzzled by his reaction.
“I thought you’d like it. I wanted to show you how much I love you.”
“I appreciate the sentiment,” Miguel said, trying to be diplomatic, “but maybe we could tone it down a little? I don’t think I’ve ever been kissed quite so… enthusiastically.”
Robo-Aubree’s frown deepened as she processed his words.
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” she said, her voice tinged with worry. “I just wanted to express my affection.”
Miguel sighed, realizing that this was likely a programming issue.
“It’s okay, Robo-Aubree. I know you meant well. But maybe we should ask Isaac to take a look at your affection programming, just to make sure everything’s working the way it should.”
Robo-Aubree nodded, looking a little embarrassed. “I think that might be a good idea. I don’t want to overwhelm you.”
Miguel smiled and reached out to take her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get it sorted out. You’re doing great, Robo-Aubree. We’re both just figuring this out as we go.”
A few hours later, Isaac arrived at the safe house, a toolbox in hand. He greeted Miguel with a quick nod before turning his attention to Robo-Aubree, who was sitting quietly on the couch.
“So, what seems to be the problem?” Isaac asked, his tone casual as he set down his tools and approached Robo-Aubree.
Miguel rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find the right words. “Well… there was a bit of an incident earlier. Robo-Aubree’s affection levels might need some tweaking. She… uh, she gave me a kiss that was a little too enthusiastic.”
Isaac raised an eyebrow, clearly trying to suppress a grin. “Too enthusiastic, huh? That’s not something you hear every day.”
Robo-Aubree looked at Isaac with a hint of concern. “I didn’t mean to make Miguel uncomfortable. I just wanted to show him how much I care.”
Isaac nodded understandingly, pulling out a small tablet from his toolbox.
“No worries, Robo-Aubree. Let’s take a look and see what’s going on.” He tapped a few buttons on the tablet, and Robo-Aubree’s eyes flickered as the connection was made.
Miguel watched as Isaac scrolled through lines of code, his brow furrowing in concentration.
“Ah, I see what happened,” Isaac muttered after a few moments. “Looks like there was a slight glitch in the affection programming. Your affection levels were set to maximum, which is why you ended up going a little overboard.”
Robo-Aubree’s eyes widened slightly.
“I didn’t realize. Can you fix it?”
Isaac nodded, already making adjustments on the tablet.
“I’ll just lower the intensity a bit, bring it back to a more… reasonable level. We don’t want to scare Miguel off, do we?”
Robo-Aubree shook her head, her expression serious. “No, I don’t want that.”
Miguel couldn’t help but chuckle at the situation. Despite the awkwardness, there was something endearing about Robo-Aubree’s earnestness. “I appreciate the effort, Robo-Aubree,” he said, giving her a reassuring smile.
Isaac finished his adjustments and disconnected the tablet, stepping back to survey his work. “There we go. That should do it. You should be able to express your affection without overwhelming Miguel now.”
Robo-Aubree smiled, her relief evident. “Thank you, Isaac. I’m sorry for the trouble, Miguel.”
Miguel shook his head, still smiling.
“No harm done. It was just… unexpected, that’s all.”