The Journal Entries

Misuko looked across her kitchen to the bedroom where Linia sat on the bed, legs folded underneath her, as she stared out the window. There was something about the way she moved that always made Misuko's body warm. The line of her jaw, the sweep of her neck, the fall and swell of her generous breasts beneath her white bathrobe. Loose strands of Linia's wavy brown hair guided the eye to that opening where the exposed curvy surface of skin asked for a kiss, contributing to the sometimes irresistible sense of desire Misuko felt for this wonderful woman who had come into her life and for some unfathomable reason refused to leave.

They all seemed to leave eventually. Both at home on Abi and here on Hiroshi, the men and women for whom she'd fallen in love had been good to her for a time and then had decided to move on. Misuko winced inwardly at her use of the Pendorian euphemism for suicide as a metaphor for her break-ups. Especially now, here, where there were so many mitigations for pain and suffering and even ennui.

Linia wouldn't leave. Not "couldn't," although that was in a sense half true: Misuko could send her away, but Linia would never leave of her own volition. Misuko still struggled to accept that, as far as Linia was concerned, this was no contradiction with her free will. She had free will, she just chose, repeatedly and without fail, not to exercise it in a way that would hurt Misuko.

Misuko rose quietly and went to the door. She leaned against the jamb and said, "We both seem to be in a thoughtful mood this day. We're supposed to spending this day exercising something more than our thoughts. All I've done today is wake early and grade papers."

Linia turned to her, the soft brown eyes is her round face oddly pensive. "Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Mmm," Misuko said. She had a feeling she knew what was on Linia's mind. She knelt onto the bed and leaned forward. "Why don't we put our minds aside and do something with our bodies?" She loved the way Linia's transformation happened within a heartbeat.

Linia responded with a kiss so ferocious Misuko almost pushed her away. Linia was often strong and forward, but Misuko knew this sudden hunger came from somewhere else inside her. Linia leveraged Misuko over. Misuko's head hit the pillow and Linia's body covered hers, threatening to crush her as her beautiful breasts pressed against Misuko through the soft cloth of the bathrobe. Linia pushed up and looked down at her. "I love you."

"I love you too." Misuko wasn't entirely sure what was going on in Linia's mind, but she also didn't care much at the moment. The warmth and weight of Linia above her made her feel liquid inside and she wanted Linia to take full advantage of her. She grabbed the collar of the bathrobe and pulled Linia back down.

Kissing, as far as Misuko was concerned, was one of the real pleasures of life. It saddened her that most thought of it as little more than preliminary, what happened before getting to the real thing. Linia kissed like she meant it, like there was nothing more important at the moment than fulfilling Misuko's need for a kiss. Today, Linia's kisses had an extra fervor, as though a raging dam had burst inside her and she was being swept along by forces she didn't understand. Underneath the passion building inside, and unfairly to Linia, Misuko was building a list of questions.

Linia made it hard for her to concentrate on those questions. Linia's mouth left hers and meandered down her chin, each kiss almost hard enough to raise a welt. The sharp demands of each kiss made Misuko whimper. The press of Linia's body only made each intake of breath a little harder. Linia wandered south, leaving molten desire in her path as she took Misuko's nipple in her mouth and suckled on it without a hint of shame or pause. Misuko didn't even try to keep her hands still but instead wrapped them around Linia's head, played with the long locks of hair that flowed through her fingers, the only cool part of Linia's otherwise stellar-hot body. Linia's mouth on her nipple caused her fingers to tingle, her throat to constrict, her back to arch. "Teasing!"

Linia's mouth, pressed to her belly, could only make a noise that might have been acknowledgement, or its opposite, and it did not matter. Misuko knew she would get what she didn't deserve, what she had never done anything to deserve, and yet she craved Linia and loved her and wanted her. Linia's mouth slipped along the narrow strip where hip met belly, where muscle and flesh and bone intertwined in divine composition. Linia's mouth seared at her scattered, sparse pubes, lifted to kiss her thigh, and achingly hovered over her mons as if waiting for a sign. What that sign might be Misuko would never know, for a moment later Linia's mouth was on her pussy, her tongue among the thing, delicate folds. Sensation so intense it might have been fatal in other circumstances crackled through Misuko. Her body tensed with a hunger Linia had build and which only Linia could satisfy. There would be no relief if Linia didn't grant it. Misuko, for all that she should have known better, prayed that Linia would grant it. The alternative was too terrible to contemplate.

"Fah, I love you," she whispered, her hands still entwined in Linia's hair, still playing with those soft locks as if they had any quality that might distract her from the immanent eruption of her soul and that overflowing love and desire. Linia's mouth played with her clitoris as a cat with a toy, an illusion of predator and prey, and Misuko's hand clasped Linia's head to held her there. "Fah, finish me, please, beloved!"

Linia was all too ready. Her tongue seemed to beat against Misuko's pussy, each stroke powerful, almost so strong that it overwhelmed the pleasure Misuko felt, held back the climax with its sheer strength. Misuko reached a kind of strange meditative state, utterly aroused yet incapable of going higher or backing down. It didn't last long. Linia shattered her peace by slipping a finger up against her asshole, brushing against that sensitive opening. The distraction was enough to overwhelm Misuko and as Linia's finger pressed inward Misuko's body transcended her ability to hold back at all and she came with a cry that should have broken the windows.

Misuko sagged against the bed. She felt it envelope and comfort her— no, that was Linia doing that, holding her. She had rolled onto her side and Linia was against her, big soft breasts and thighs pressed to Misuko's back and behind, sweet murmurings filling Misuko's ears. Misuko wondered why she had rolled this way, against what was she protecting herself... surely not Linia. Linia was just too much, was capable of so much love. "How... how can I..."

"Shh," Linia said. "When you've come back and and cooled down, beloved."

"Mmm," Misuko said. Her mind swam with post-orgasmic lassitude.

Linia giggled gently. In her deepest, softest voice she said, "You're getting sleepy. Very sleepy."

It was true. They both talked about Misuko's orgasm-related narcolepsy, or whatever it was that made her very frequently fall asleep so soon after lovemaking. Misuko didn't want to admit that. "Mph. Fuck you," she whispered.

"It's a deal. When you wake up, we'll pull out the strap-on and you can sodomize me to your heart's content. How's that sound, lover?"

"Mmm..." Misuko moaned at the thought, and then she fell down, down into the warm, dark village called Sleep.

---

"How long was I out?" Misuko had come into the kitchen wearing her fluffy blue bathrobe.

Linia looked at her watch, a pointless gesture since she knew the time inherently, but both she and Misuko appreciated her constant attempts to emphasize her humanity. "About an hour and a half."

"A nap. That's not so bad." She walked over to the counter and assembled a large mug with a fine mesh filter and a healthy spoonful of tea leaves, then poured water from the kettle Linia kept hot just for this purpose. "Anything exciting happen while I was out?"

Linia shook her head. Misuko drank her tea slowly, savoring the heat. Linia hadn't covered her after she'd fallen asleep and she felt a bit chilled. She smiled. "If you weren't so good at lovemaking, I might actually resent the way you make me fall asleep."

"As long as I know you're not falling asleep out of boredom," Linia said, her attention still fixed on something outside the window.

"With you?" Misuko laughed. "Never in a million years. And I will hold you to that offer of the strap-on tonight, if you're still willing."

Linia smiled, but still didn't turn to look at her. "Always for you."

"Something is bothering you, beloved."

"One of these days, I'm going to get over my own reluctance to tinker with my inner workings and I'll excise whatever situation I'm in and my reactions to it so you'll stop being able to say that."

Misuko smiled over her mug. "And then what lovable traits would you exhibit?"

"I could think of others I'd rather have." Linia paused, took a deep breath, and said, "Do you ever wonder if, maybe, there's something wrong with me?"

Misuko shook her head. "That again? No, I've told you. Of course not. Not ever. Not even that first time on the beach." She smiled at the memory. Awkward, lovely, unforgettable— her and Linia's first time together had been all of those. "Why? What is it this time?"

"I'm supposed to be the perfect companion," Linia said. "Utterly and completely dedicated to my companion. The funny thing is, your idea of the perfect companion isn't those things. She's her own woman and to keep our love going I have to be... I have to be my own woman.

"But the one thing you are afraid of is that your lover, that woman who owns herself and loves herself as much as she does you, will wander away and find someone else."

Misuko felt a strange, familiar chill. She banished it. Consciously, she knew it was impossible for Linia to be unfaithful. What did faithfulness mean to Linia? What did it mean to her? "Is this about Shandy?"

Linia nodded, and bowed her head. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't. I don't know why I feel this way. Why? Why is my mind doing this to me?" Misuko had never seen Linia look so distraught. "I like her. I like her that way, and I shouldn't!"

Misuko took a deep breath, the reached out and touched Linia's face. She cracked a smile. It was a weak smile, but she meant every millimeter of it. "Linia, beloved, you said you didn't want to leave me. What do you want?"

Linia closed her eyes. "I guess... I guess what I want is to help her be happy. While she's here. And to set her on the road to being her own person. I can't be there for her, it's not what I'm for. But I feel like... like it would be worthwhile for me to be more than just her friend."

Misuko nodded. "I watched you two, you know. When she was here, cooking that cheesecake." She rolled her eyes. "That impossibly delicious cheesecake." Linia giggled. "I could see what you meant about how you'd become competitive, or a replacement, and not complementary. But you'd complement almost anyone in other ways. I remember that conversation we had on the beach about all the different ways you knew how to make breakfast. You took all the cooking skills Steven insisted you have and then you adapted them to be what I needed most." She grinned. "You said you worried about my dependence on nutrition bars. Maybe you're worried about my dependence on you."

"I don't think my mind believes that what you need is your 'independence.'"

"I don't either. But maybe it believes what I need is to see that you can be more than just mine." She reached out and took Linia's hand. "I had a lot of short-term loves in my life before I met you. One thing I learned is that short-term love isn't bad. In some ways, it's better. You don't need to negotiate about the bank account, or compromise on who takes the trash out, or settle for the little frustrations with someone who won't wash the dishes. It can have all the highs with fewer of the lows."

"Maybe," Linia said slowly. "I don't want to break her heart."

"You already are," Misuko said. Linia looked up. "You didn't see it. The way she looks at you when you're not looking. The utter adoration in her eyes, the wild gasp when you smeared the custard on her nose. I saw it." Misuko pointed through the open door to her office. "I can't imagine what it's like for her. It wasn't hard for me, but I'm from Edo, not Landing. And I'd already been here for years before I met you. I was used to realms and robots and AIs."

"Maybe being from Abi is what makes you two special," Linia said. "Being from Abi, you just can't believe I'm not a person. But Misuko, you made me learn how to be a person. You made me learn to associate with others as equals, even when you weren't anywhere in sight, even when what I was doing couldn't affect you at all. You made me stop being a robot servant whose assigned task was to care for Misuko Ffanci, and you turned me into Linia Hunda."

Misuko winced slightly at Linia's convention of using her (now defunct) manufacturer's name as her own. She supposed it made sense in a strange sort of way but it still bothered her. Linia squeezed the hand she still held and grinned. "It it bothers you, my love, you could always marry me. Then I'd have to be Linia Ffanci."

"Are you joking?"

"A little. But it's a real possibility. I am legally a full person. Saia is legally registered as Saia ap Mertum, which isn't quite full marriage but more like a power-of-attorney thing."

"Oh." Misuko sighed. "I wish there was something we could do for her. Saia, I mean. It's ugly, whatever they're doing. Is there anything?"

"Not legally, not that I know of. Not unless she asks for help. We can't press charges on her behalf, although the school could fire him for moral turpitude, I guess, if we can prove he really does hit her. Mertum would sue, lose, and probably leave the planet, and she would follow him." Linia lifted Misuko's hand to her lips, kissed it gently. "Not everyone deserves to be irresistible."

"Stop that. I'm being serious."

"I know. But abuse victims are indistinguishable from true loves in that regard." Misuko recognized one of Linia's efforts to reassure her that she regarded herself as beloved and not victimized despite her compelling devotion.

Misuko sighed and pushed away from the table to clean her cup in the sink. "Damn."

---

Linia spent the afternoon poring over a large bag of paper cookbooks. When Misuko asked, she explained that her students had started to notice she never used a cookbook and seemed to have such a strong knowledge of recipes that she didn't need one, and that intimidated them. "They need to know how to read a recipe. I can't believe I missed that!"

"Don't they assume you just have them—" Misuko waved a hand in front of her face— "Here?"

"People get a certain look when they're networking, whether it's with glass, dots, or a lace. I never do. I just know. Especially when it comes to cooking. Shandy doesn't wear dots, she wears lenses, and they're corrective, Misuko." Linia looked at Misuko. "Have you read what your students say about your in the streamfeeds?"

"Should I?"

Linia shrugged. "You're a mixed bag. They like your classes and teaching style, but you have... reputation. Mostly good, but expeditions are always full of rumors."

"That hasn't changed since my first field work with Professor Kapardin," Misuko said. "Nothing new there." Misuko retreated to the little office. Linia had at first thought she would be reviewing her reputation, or doing something for her students, but a flag went off in her mind as evening approached and her attention was dragged to their finances.

Misuko was quite wealthy by modern standards, capable of affording Linia all on her own even without Linia's school income, corporate allowance or media residuals, or the assistance of the Robot Recovery Fund. Linia was determined to pay her own way. Linia rationalized some of her extroversion by telling herself she was using the time productively. They shared a single bank account.

Misuko had never been concerned with finances. She hadn't had to worry about them much before the Second Chances and since then she had Linia to worry about them on her behalf. Her lifestyle hadn't changed much: she'd bought a few nice dresses for media appearances since they'd returned, but those remained in the closet most of the time. Recently, thanks to the Isabelle Mannheim project, Linia had had more reasons to be in front of the cameras.

None of which explained why Misuko had just spent five percent of a heavy industrial. At the current exchange rate on Hiroshi, that was barely less than a thousand light industrials. Linia's motorcycle cost a bit more than what Misuko had just spent, and Linia herself would have cost five heavies if she'd been built to modern standards. She was tempted to dig into the register to see what Misuko had purchased, but resisted. She was sure Misuko would tell her.

Misuko passed her heading into the bedroom, and later came out wearing one of those media-ready calf-length skirts, a blouse of pale yellow, and a dark blue semi-formal day-jacket. "Let's go out to eat."

Linia looked up. "Um, sure!" she said, taken just a bit by Misuko's rare forwardness. "Let me get my clothes together." She chose a light full-length dress of white with a yellow-complementing dark green trim that ran down the front, as well as a white vest. "Where are we going?"

"The Water."

Linia's eyebrows rose. The Water was one of the most expensive restaurants on the Plateau, or even the whole planet. Hiroshi was a water-poor world, and any place that sold seafood was going to be pricey. They grew it themselves in vast underground farms. "Can we afford it?"

"You would know better than I would. And tonight, I just don't care." She smiled. Linia was now furiously trying to figure out what was going on behind her lover's calm facade.

"Then I'm with you," Linia said. They walked hand-in-hand through the city to the restaurant, and Misuko handed the maitre'd a card. The maitre'd took it, bowed to both of them, and led them past busy diners in elegant outfits to a private booth in the back, well out of earshot of others.

Linia looked around, then consulted the menu. "I'm trying to figure out if this is about Saia, or Shandy."

Misuko grinned at her over the menu. "Neither. We can talk about Shandy. I'm not hurt by the fact that someone else is infatuated with you, and I would expect no less of you than to say and do the right things for her. I trust you. I know you'll do the right things for me, too."

A bolt of pleasure as real as anything that happened in their bedroom coursed through Linia. "Do you mean that?"

Misuko touched her own chest briefly. "I hope so. I hope I really believe that you'll be here for me when I need you. And you're right. I can't expect more humanity out of you if you didn't have moments like this."

"Oh, Misuko," Linia said. "You have no idea how happy that makes me!"

"Miss Ffanci?" A tall melHuman was standing next to the table. "Your package." He held out a small rectangular box the size in which one might find facial tissues. Misuko took it. She thanked the courier and pressed one fingertip to the padd he held out. He bowed and left.

"I have some idea," Misuko said. She shook the box at Linia. It made no noise. "Just you wait. The best is yet to come. Tonight is not about Shandy or Saia. I'm sorry we can't do more for Saia, but I'm not going to let that knowledge interfere with my plans for tonight."

Dinner came. Linia ordered a light salad with a glass of HN-66-2480, no ice. She didn't eat much, as many of the things humans needed food for she just didn't. She used it to maintain her skin, outer eyes, hair, and the streamlined semi-synthetic GI tract that maintained them, so she needed only a few hundred kilo-calories a day. Fully a third of what humans ate went to run their brains, and Linia's was fusion-powered. She liked to eat with other people, and she loved to cook for them. Misuko had ordered a scallop Alfredo and Linia's nose professionally detected a touch too much parsley, dried no less, but she didn't say so.

Misuko excused herself to the restroom, taking the box with her. When she came back, the box was no longer anywhere in sight. A waiter came and cleared the plates away, leaving them with only glasses of wine. "Okay," Linia said as she leaned forward slightly. "Why don't you tell me what this is about?"

"I guess now is the right time." Misuko reached into the pocket of her coat. "I have something for you." She handed a small, flat box to Linia.

Linia opened it cautiously. Inside, she found a badge of similar shape and size to the manufacturer's badge she'd once had on her forehead. It had the same magnetic mount as the current one Linia still carried in her purse, so she could, if she wanted, wear it as she'd legally been required to do before her deregistration. The original badge had been embedded in her skin. Misuko had requested its removal and they'd compromised on the magnetically mounted one Linia rarely wore but frequently carried with her as a memento. Misuko liked to joke that it made a fine nightlight.

This badge lacked the stylized Hirigana symbol that had been her manufacturer's sigil. It was also no longer a scaled sea green, but instead an enameled deep, velvety blue that Misuko favored. The red LED had been replaced with a subtler, shadowed glow of sunrise gold. Whatever else it was, it was a simple thing and could not have cost what Misuko paid out earlier. "What's this?"

Misuko grinned. "A symbol of my affection for you," she said. "A small one. After all, if you're going to change your name it doesn't make sense for your badge to have the old name on it, does it?" Linia looked up, stunned, as Misuko pulled a second box from a jacket pocket and opened it. Inside, nestled against black velvet, two broad rings glittered, alloys of platinum, silver, gold, and titanium binding a row of seven green stones that shimmered with hints of electricity. "Those are cupric diamonds, not emeralds. Carbon and copper: human and machine. I looked it up."

"Misuko—"

"You said it yourself. If hearing your manufacturer's name makes me so uncomfortable, maybe I should do something to encourage you to change it. I can't think of anything more encouraging than asking you to marry me." Linia was silent, unable to react, unable to think. Her whole mind was frozen, thoughts trickling through the narrowest of channels as they tried to sort out who she was, and what she was thinking. Misuko finally had mercy on her. "Linia, my beloved, will you marry me?"

"Yes," Linia whispered. What was with her reaction core suddenly? Other SOMagents rallied to tell her not to worry about it right now, she had other things to take care of. Like saying it louder. "Yes, oh yes, Misuko!" She threw herself out of her side of the booth to join Misuko on the other. "Of course I will! In a heartbeat! Forever! Yes, yes, yes!"

Misuko stilled her rapture with a kiss that transported both of them to a state of bliss. "I can't imagine anything I'd want more than to tell others that I'll love you forever," she said. "And I mean that."

"I know you do, I do, I do." Linia said, unable to contain herself. "I never doubted."

Misuko kissed her again. Linia held her hands at bay. This was no time or place to paw Misuko, however much she may have wished. After paying the bill, Linia took Misuko's hand and led her out to the street. "Wow," Misuko said. "I'm so emotional, I didn't realize how much I ate." She patted her stomach.

"Oh, Misuko, I'm sorry. Are you too full to celebrate?"

"Well," Misuko said slowly, "You did say something about the TCNI toy..."

"I did!" Linia said, her eyes lighting up.

Inside the door to their apartment they raced to the bedroom, shedding their elegant clothes so fast it fell like confetti about the bed. They entangled each other in arms and legs and souls, mouth pressed to mouth, tongues sliding and kissing. Linia felt her face wet with Misuko's spit and didn't care. She was Misuko's lover long before she was some fastidious housekeeper. Keeping her owner happy was her first and foremost duty, and she took to it with all the passion her life could offer. Misuko's small breasts interleaved with her larger ones. They both laughed with overwhelming joy as they parted only long enough for Misuko to guide one of Linia's substantial orbs to her lips, or maybe it was the other way around. Linia groaned as Misuko's mouth sent sweet signals of lust into her mind. The warmth in Linia's chest seemed to spread outward, up and down into her body. "Misuko..." she said.

"You need to be wet, beloved," Misuko said. She took her time, gently easing her way down Linia's body, peppering Linia's skin with kisses all around her belly and down onto her thighs, her lips closing in on Linia's thin, manicured thatch of pubic hair and her tongue reaching in for Linia's clitoris. Linia sighed and leaned back, knowing what was in store for her, grateful that Steven had given her one gift and just as grateful that the RRF technician had known exactly how to integrate it with this new body, and unimaginably happy that Misuko knew how please a woman and loved doing it. Her fingers slipped into Linia's cunt, curled up, pressed firmly to seek out those spots that made Linia whimper at first and explode at second. Her tongued lapped indelicately at Linia's clitoris and Linia didn't know if she was going to last long with the kind of attention Misuko was lavishing upon her.

She didn't. Her orgasm wasn't as powerful as some Misuko could create in her, but it was powerful enough. She moaned, her body slick with sweat she hadn't earned, as Misuko eased up the length of her to find her mouth again. Linia kissed her, tasted her own sweet juices on Misuko's lips. "The toy?" Misuko said.

"Yes," Linia whispered. "Under the bed. Green box."

Misuko bent over the bed and found it, pulled it out. They rarely used it. Misuko said she found the sensations strong but confusing, although she also said she liked them. Linia sat up long enough to help her put it on. The segmented flat strands cabled around her waist, then under her thighs, coming up the back and fitting into the belt. The insides were padded to be as comfortable as humanly possible, but the parts of the belt itself that could be seen gleamed with chrome in the dim light. The dildo itself dangled suggestively out in front of Misuko, on the average-to-small size compared to her male lovers over the years, which was just the way she liked it. Neither was inclined to want larger. If Misuko wanted something bigger, she could always beg Linia to fistfuck her. Linia grinned at the thought.

"What's funny?" Misuko asked.

Linia straightened up until they were both kneeling, facing each other. "I was just thinking that the one thing I do love, in bed, is making you beg for my hand."

"Oh, really?" Misuko said.

The dildo was affixed to a leather pad that covered Misuko's mons. It was meant to distribute the force of actual fucking over a broad area and to send physical stimulation down against Misuko's clit and labia, while the TCNI used targeted quantum interference to send simulated signals deeper into Misuko's clitoral nervous system. Linia reached out with a hand, stroked the ring at the base of the toy until it glowed briefly. Misuko hissed as Linia's hand ran down the length of the toy. "Yes, really," Linia said.

"Well, tonight," Misuko said, "I think I want to hear you beg for my cock." The first time they'd played with the strap-on, Misuko had struggled not to giggle every time she said 'my cock.' Now she said it and she meant it, and Linia loved her for her courage and her willingness. "Suck me."

Misuko had once described the sensation of activating the TCNI as a weird sense of suddenly having a body part that didn't seem entirely attached to the rest of her. But whatever she felt, she obviously liked it as Linia eagerly bent down and encircled Misuko's new "cock" with her lips, sucking down the length of the purple, not-quite-human dildo in one easy stroke that betrayed both experience and a lack of any organic gag reflex. Linia held steady as Misuko began to sway back and forth. Linia moaned as Misuko's hands grabbed her hair and gasped even louder. "Fah, keep that up and I'm going to come before I fuck you."

Linia let go of Misuko's toy and leaned back to look up at her. "You promised me something else."

"Oh, Linia!" Misuko fell forward and the dildo flapped against Linia's thigh as her beloved's mouth sought hers for another kiss. Linia moaned into Misuko's mouth. Misuko rose up, grinning madly, grabbed Linia by one shoulder and roughly turned her over. Linia giggled happily and pushed her butt upward. "You want it?" Misuko said.

"Yes!" Linia gasped. She lay face-down against the bed, knowing and loving how exposed she was. "Yes." She felt lubricant dribble down the crack of her ass, felt Misuko's fingers spread it around her anus. Misuko pushed a little around her opening. Linia heard the cap of the lubricant a second time, heard Misuko make a soft whine as she lubricated the dildo while the TCNI was active. The bed shifted, Misuko's legs straddled Linia's, and the tip of Misuko's dildo pressed gently against her anus.

Linia pushed back, but Misuko retreated slightly. Misuko bent down, her hair brushing the back of Linia's neck. "Beg for it," she whispered.

"Master..." Linia gasped. "Fuck me."

"Louder, beloved," Misuko said.

"Fuck me," Linia said firmly. "Fuck me fuck me."

"Where?" Misuko purred.

"In my... in my ass, Master. Fuck me in my ass."

"With what?" Misuko's voice was low, gruff.

"With your c, c, c, cock! Fuck me with your cock. Fuck my ass, Misuko, shove your big, hard cock up my ass and fuck me." Misuko pressed inward and the dildo slipped past the ring of muscles. Linia squirmed underneath Misuko even as her body enveloped the toy mounted to her lover, united them both across a cylinder of silicone and circuitry, sending high-tech illicit signals into Misuko's body for her purely organic brain to interpret and sending far more ancient illicit signals up through Linia's asshole into Linia's far more modern brain.

Misuko made a soft coo of pleasure as her hips met Linia's ass. Linia pushed back gently, gasping with the pleasure of being filled. "You're so beautiful, lover," Misuko whispered. Her lips caressed Linia's ear, and Linia squirmed under the double assault. "Although I don't get why guys like this position. I can't see your face."

"You know why they like it," Linia gasped, pushing back harder, asking for more. She wanted Misuko to move, to fuck her, to be rough. "They don't want to see my face. They want to see my ass."

Misuko giggled as Linia wiggled her ass, then gasped as Linia slid forward slightly and began to supply as much of the motion as she could on her own. Misuko pulled her up to her knees and began to thrust into her, hard and deep. "Is this what you wanted?"

"Yes," Linia said. "Oh, please, Misuko, fuck me. Fuck my ass. Fuck my ass hard."

"I can't say no to that," Misuko murmured. She held onto Linia's hips and began fucking the smaller woman roughly. "I can feel this thing, it's so weird, so good though..." She kept fucking, kept moving.

Linia loved this part, loved the way Misuko fucked her, wanted her, needed her. Misuko needed her because Misuko loved having someone who reminded her, more days than not, she needed someone to wrap her arms around and give her a fantastic orgasm. Linia was more than happy to be that someone. Misuko's cock in her ass made her happy.

Misuko seemed to realize she could just let go and have her way with Linia's ass and she began to pound against the other woman. She paused momentarily, then her hands tightened on Linia's hips and she began thrusting once more, this time with the kind of frenzy that signals the beginning of the end.

The transcutaneous neural interface on the dildo was no substitute for having grown up with the organ it mimicked, and Linia wasn't sure if Misuko actually climaxed or not. It was just clear to her as Misuko slowed down, sighed, and slipped out of Linia's asshole that it was time to cease, to relax, to lie down.

Misuko sat back on her haunches and Linia, after a few shudders as the last vestiges of Misuko's lust seeped out of her, slowly turned over. The dildo pointed downward almost in imitation of tumescence, but it must have only been her imagination because Linia had read the manual and was sure it didn't have those capabilities. Misuko was staring at her, catching her breath, grinning. "Good?"

Misuko nodded. "Mmm-hmm." Linia reached down and touched the power circle, tracing its outline. The cables almost seemed to dissolve and the toy fell off Misuko, bumping against her thigh and onto the bed.

Linia ignored it as she rose up to kiss Misuko, who still had a bewildered look upon her face. "Wow," she said as they parted, "Fucking you in the ass is... wonderful!"

"I'm glad you think so! Think I can convince you to use the strap-on more than once a year?"

"Maybe," Misuko said slowly. She giggled. "Do you really need dick that much?"

"No, I need you that much," Linia said. She lay back down on the bed and peered up at her lover. "You're what's wonderful."

Misuko joined her on the bed, pausing just long enough to kick the dildo over the side. It landed on the carpet with a loud thump. "You're wonderful, too, honey. You're wonderful too." Misuko's breath was still coming hard and Linia began to wonder if she needed an exercise program better than a hard fuck every other day. That kept Misuko's cardio up, but it didn't do much for her overall stamina or strength.

Linia grinned secretly to herself and allocated a portion of her brain she could consciously command to handling that collection of SOMagents, the individual automata that thought her "little thoughts," usually in the silence of her subconscious. She wanted her brain to think about it for a while and hand up suggestions for how to implement a little more exercise into Misuko's life. She knew her own mind would schedule a time when it would be appropriate to bring this idea back to her. Now was not a good time.

"Ready for sleep?" Misuko said. Her voice had that sluggish quality she developed after an orgasm.

"It's early, don't you think?" Linia teased.

"I've been on a short schedule all week, and I'm tired after that." Her hand gestured vaguely to the edge of the bed over which the dildo had fallen. "Besides..."

"Maybe the TCNI doesn't kick over your narcolepsy as strongly, but it does seem to have some effect." Linia kissed her head gently. "Besides, I need sleep too. I was a bad girl and didn't get any last night. Too much to clean up."

"Hmm..." Misuko's hum might have held disapproval. She was soon too far asleep to let Linia know. Linia got out of bed only long enough to wash herself and the toy. She put it away in its little latch box, then joined Misuko in bed.

---

A chime rang. It was six seconds into its little tune when Linia's internal sleep routines shuffled off and enough of her personality was brought back on-line. Memories and routines crossed the barrier of consciousness as she came awake between the seventh and ten seconds. Misuko was stirring as Linia grabbed the comm, saw an incoming voice message. Misuko stirred next to her. Without looking at the caller, she held the comm to her ear. "Who's this?"

"Linia? Linia, it's Shandy! She's dead!"

"Who's... who's dead, Shandy?" Linia said, thinking that she already knew the answer. She spiked into the servers, and there was commotion already, and a silent notification beacon from one participant.

"Saia! Saia Mertum. She's dead, Linia. I found her here!"