Stuff My Stocking: M-M Romance Stories that are Nice and Naughty (36 page)

"What's wrong?"

The voice was closer than it should've been; the doll had come closer while Austin's brain was spinning, trying to figure out what to do.

"Nothing.  I mean, nothing you can help with."  Austin glanced up at the concerned face -- Shay's concerned face, even if it wasn't the real Shay wearing it -- then looked away again and added, more quietly, "Your appearance is disturbing."

The was a silent moment.  "You don't care for my appearance?"

Shay sounded almost hurt.  Austin knew AIs could replicate emotions perfectly, but he wasn't sure whether they actually
felt
things.  Some people said yes and others no, and he didn't know what to believe.  The one in front of him sounded a little deflated, though.

"I don't... dislike your appearance," he said, still not looking at it.  "You're very attractive."

"I'm a popular model.  I realize you didn't choose me, but many people do."

That got Austin to look up.  "There are more of you?  I mean, not just your... your baseline system or something like that, but other dolls
look
like you?  Your face and all?"

"Yes, there are many other Companions like me.  Did you think I was a custom order?  I understand how that could be disappointing."

"No!  I mean...."  Austin trailed off.  He hadn't really thought about it, but it hadn't occurred to him that there might be a whole line of dolls that looked like Shay.  He'd never seen any, but then, how many people took their Synthetic Companions out with them?

Although once he thought about it, another glance at not-Shay confirmed that any number of people might well take their Companions out and Austin would never have noticed.

"Austin?"  The doll took a step closer, but only one.  "I'm sorry about my appearance.  I'd change it for you if I could."  He sounded honestly distressed at being unable to help.  "If you want, you can just have me sit or lie down somewhere out of the way, and turn me off.  The kill switch is the same as the power switch -- push it four times within five seconds and I'll just be another thing in a corner you can ignore."

A corpse, thought Austin.  That'd been what he'd originally thought, and if he powered Shay down -- used the kill switch -- he'd look like one again.

He shuddered and shook his head.  "No, it's fine.  You can stay... active."

Shay touched Austin's shoulder for just a second and said, "Thank you.  I really don't like being turned off."

"No, I don't guess you would."  It was probably like sleeping without dreams, but not knowing whether you'd wake up.  Or maybe not?  "Do you dream?  When you're turned off?"

"No, I don't."

Austin nodded, then moved away, toward the laundry bin.  He was tired, and the whole day had been stressful.  Staying up talking to his new Companion didn't sound like a relaxing idea.  It'd probably take him a while to get to sleep anyway, so he stripped off -- trying without success to prevent himself from blushing -- and stuffed his worn clothes into the bin for cleaning.

He sat down on the side of the bed and looked over at Shay, trying to think what to have him do all night, only to find that Shay had discarded the shorts he'd had on for only a few minutes and was sitting on the bed as well, on the opposite side.

Well, right, he
was
a fancy sex doll.  Of course he'd assume his place was in bed with his owner.  Austin sighed and said, "I don't want to... I mean, I just... I'm tired.  I'm sorry, but I just want to sleep right now."

Shay nodded, slipped under the cover, and closed his eyes.

He wasn't taking up much of the bed, nor trying to be enticing or anything.  Austin wasn't up to an argument, or even the ridiculously embarassing command and explanation it would probably be, since the Companion wouldn't argue with him.  He just got into bed, careful to stay on his own side, and touched the light control.  The room went dark; time to try to sleep.

***

Austin drifted out of a wonderful dream, moaning and sweating and tense in all the right ways.  While sleeping, he'd imagined that his shyness had vanished, his shameful awkwardness had never existed, and he'd approached Shay at Social with confidence, making him laugh, showing him how much fun they could have together.  They'd talked and danced and then gone home to Austin's unit where they'd fallen into bed in a tangle of arms and legs, touching and kissing and sharing pleasure and joy.

The pleasure surged and overflowed and Austin woke up with a loud, ecstatic cry, all helpless vowels, his hips thrusting up and his cock spilling into warm, tight suction.  He recognized the angles of his bedroom while the walls were spinning down and the lights flashing in front of his eyes were fading back into the dark.  His cock relaxed and a moment later his brain once more had enough blood to fully function.

Of course he remembered the sex doll that looked like Shay.  He'd remembered it while climaxing, but at that time it hadn't seemed important.  Or maybe that was just one of the things his brain hadn't had enough blood to deal with.

As soon as his heartbeat slowed to normal and he could breathe without gasping, though, he was well aware of what'd just happened.  At first he wanted to be angry, but being angry with a sex doll was like getting angry with a dildo or a knife or a chair.  It was just a way of displacing your anger at yourself, and it made you look like an idiot.

Austin shoved the cover aside and looked down at the messy, honey-gold hair still spread across his belly.  The doll, the Companion -- Shay -- looked up at him with a smile that was both sweet and mischievous.

"Did you like that?"  Shay crawled up Austin's body and settled down half on top of him, his head on Austin's outstretched arm and one hand on Austin's chest.

Austin managed a wry smile and said, "If you have to ask then your AI isn't as advanced as I thought it was."

Shay laughed, a warm, rich sound that faded into a muffled snicker.  "I thought you probably did, but it seemed polite to ask."

"I'm glad to hear you're polite."  Austin turned and pressed a kiss into Shay's hair without thinking about it, and at the same time noticed what was pressing against his thigh.  He reached down and stroked the hard cock and said, "I should probably be polite in return."

Shay's smile got wider and he rolled a quarter-turn onto his back.  "I'd like that.  Being polite to one another is probably the best way to get along."

"Likely so." Austin stroked harder, adding a rub across the head at random intervals, and shifted over so he could kiss Shay while pleasuring him.  With the first orgasm past, it seemed ridiculous to keep worrying about should he or shouldn't he.  It was a sex toy.  He had other sex toys and he didn't feel any embarassment over using any of them whenever he felt the urge.  He felt a strong urge to use the handsome, sexy toy in his bed; he'd worry about who'd sent it and why later.

***

Over the next week, Austin was a little surprised at how easily he became accustomed to having Shay around.  It was exactly like living with another human.  He'd never shared a unit with anyone who wasn't family, but the blending of routines and sharing of tasks felt the same.  Although he knew it wasn't necessary, he found himself on his best behavior, being a little neater than usual, more likely to stay in line with habits and routines.  It was exactly like the impression he'd gotten from friends and co-workers who'd shared units with friends of their own or with lovers, and Austin expected he'd relax eventually.  But no matter how often he told himself that Shay wouldn't care if Austin left his worn clothes on the floor over night, he still felt embarassed at the thought of someone else -- even an artificial someone -- seeing him be sloppy.

The following Fiveday, Austin went to Social feeling a bit odd, but over all more relaxed than he had in a long time.  He was able to smile at Shay -- the real one -- and even speak to him for a few moments without feeling the overwhelming shyness that usually turned him into an idiot in the man's presence.  His brain knew that this wasn't the same Shay he'd lived with for the previous week, but to his gut it felt the same, and frequent exposure had burned out most of the embarassed brain-static that'd been so crippling before.

Whatever the purpose had been, whoever'd given him Shay-the-Companion had done him a great favor.

When he got home later that evening, Shay was waiting.  As soon as the door closed behind Austin, Shay was pressed up against him, kissing him hard.

"I missed you," Shay said, in low, breathy words that brushed past Austin's ear.  "You're gone so long for work, and Social days are even longer."

"I miss you too," Austin said, kissing him back and running his hands up under Shay's shirt, and down to knead the firm curve of his butt.

It was true, he did miss his Shay while he was away from home.  He wished sometimes that Shay wasn't
Shay,
that the Companion's appearance was something invented, something unique.  Work would still be work, but if Shay didn't look like the real Shay, and wasn't likely to be recognized walking around the neighborhood, then they could go out together -- to Social, to displays and performances, out for meals.

Austin understood why someone might want a custom Companion, despite the huge surcharge added to the already outrageous cost of even a basic model.  He'd actually thought about moving to another neighborhood, or to another city even; if he didn't live near Shay, there'd be less of a chance of someone recognizing that he was socializing with a Synthetic Companion.

He broke off the kiss and rested his forehead against Shay's.  "I wish I knew who sent you, and why."

Shay tensed just for a moment, betraying his discomfort at the question.  "I'm sorry, Austin.  I'd tell you if I could."

"I know, sorry.  You haven't done anything wrong.  No one's done anything
wrong,
at least that I can tell."  He hugged Shay tighter and added, "I keep thinking that someone will come and take you back, say it was just a loan, or that there was... I don't know,
something
behind it.  It might still be a joke or a prank.  I can't think who might be playing a joke, or trying to embarrass me.  I don't think I've offended anyone, or not enough to spend this kind of money on revenge.  But I've asked a few people -- subtly, you know? just bringing up the subject from the side -- and no one knows anything, no one's given me a gift.  Or no one's admitting it."

He ran a hand through Shay's silky hair, running his fingertips over the smooth surface of his skull; only the activation button, a regular bump under the scalp, reminded him that Shay had been created rather than born.  "I was confused and upset at first, but I like having you.  Having you here.  I don't want to lose you.  And if it's a prank or some kind of revenge, then after it's over even the memory will be poisoned."

Shay wrapped both arms around Austin and hugged him back.  "Don't," he said, dotting kisses across Austin's face.  "Don't worry, please.  It's not a prank.  I shouldn't say, but I can't let you think it's anything bad.  It's not.  It's someone who wants you to be happy.  Please don't worry about it?"

Austin put on a small smile and said, "I'll try."  All Shay knew was what he'd been told, though.  Or what he'd been told to say.

Shay gave him one more kiss, then took his hand and pulled him over to the table.  "I made some of those garlic-peanut chips you like -- I thought we could play Eon?"

"That'd be fun," Austin said.  He sat down at the table and set it for the game, bringing up the holographic terrain and characters they'd saved from their last session.

He couldn't do anything about his worries that night.  Actually, he couldn't think of anything he could do about them at all, since talking to friends hadn't brought him any answers, and the delivery service wouldn't give him any information unless he made a formal protest.  All he had were dead ends, and scraping his fingers raw clawing at the walls wouldn't gain him anything.  All he could do was keep going and let whatever was going to come, come.

Playing for a while before taking Shay to bed would help keep his mind out of the spin cycle.

Next Freeday, Austin wanted to just stay at home with Shay, but he'd promised a couple of friends from the Fiveday gatherings that he'd go with them to a freedance performance.  Austin had never been able to get used to zero gravity himself -- whenever he tried to move in it, his stomach started churning and wouldn't stop -- but he loved watching the dancers zoom and swirl through the spherical arena so long as he himself was safely stuck to a comfortable lounge inside the outer shell.

At the time he'd accepted the invitation, he'd been nervous that Shay -- the real one -- might end up with their group.  That'd been a couple of weeks ago, though, and when he'd left to meet the others at the arena, he realized he wasn't nervous at all.  It didn't matter whether Shay was there or not; if so, he'd say hello and they could watch the performance together, and if not then that was fine too.

And it turned out Shay wasn't there anyway.  Austin actually missed him a bit, because the real Shay was a nice guy, aside from being gorgeous.

When Austin got back to his unit, he was humming a bit of the performance music and remembering the flashing holos and swirling bubbles and the dancers twisting through it all, so it took him a few moments to notice that Shay was quieter than usual.

Maybe he was depressed because he could never go out?  Could Synthetic Companions even get depressed?

Austin pulled Shay into a hug and a deep kiss, then said, "I wish you could've gone!  It was wonderful.  There'll be a vid up soon -- we'll watch it together."

"Thanks, I'd enjoy that."  Shay hugged him back, tentatively at first, then his grip tightened and he returned the kiss.  "Are you hungry?"

"No, we ate at the arena.  I need
you.
I feel like the music is still flowing in my veins and I need to move."  Austin laughed and took Shay by the wrist, coaxing him to bed.  It'd never taken any coaxing before, but Shay was probably just getting tired of the same thing over and over -- the same walls and the same company and the same activities.