Jurina stirred at the sound of the radio playing in the bedroom, the music slowly waking her up from her peaceful slumber. Despite knowing today was a workday, her body was reluctant to leave the comfort of her cozy bed, even less the warm embrace of her girlfriend. It only took Jurina a few seconds to recognize the old song playing, the lyrics of Sinatra’s lively song resonating within her.

I've got you under my skin
I have got you, deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me
I've got you under my skin

Oh, yes; Rena had managed to get under her skin. She and Rena had been together for six months, their relationship taking a step further when she moved in Rena’s house a month ago. Despite being located in Denenchofu – one of Tokyo’s wealthiest residential neighborhoods – it wasn’t as modern or robotized as you could expect. In fact, Denenchofu was a quiet and green residential area, void of the excessive technology you could find in Tokyo and other surrounding wealthy suburbs.

Jurina didn’t regret leaving behind her apartment in Ginza. She didn’t consider herself as a materialistic person, and had only started occupying the place when she got hired by Matsui Corporation. Before that, she would constantly move from one place to another, depending on her next job’s location.

Jurina was a person who valued punctuality above all, but this morning, she certainly didn’t wish to get up. Blindly reaching for the alarm-clock that had disturbed her sleep, she put an end to the music, the bedroom plunging again into a pleasant silence. Jurina didn’t detect any sound or movement behind her, reassured that the music hadn’t woken up her girlfriend. Believing she could afford a few more minutes of sleep, she made herself comfortable in Rena’s arms again.

Jurina began to drift off, her keen hearing soon perceiving the sound of the mattress shifting beside her. “We should get up if we don’t want to be late…”

Despite Rena’s reminder that they couldn’t stay lazily in bed as they enjoyed doing during the week-end, a smile of content grazed her lips when a tender kiss was placed on her cheek. How could Jurina desire to get out of bed when she was feeling so relaxed? A little voice inside her head was taunting her to find a clever way to buy herself time. “I think my employer will be lenient if I arrive a few minutes late.” 

Rena laughed softly. “You seem so confident. Why do you believe your employer will make an exception for you?”

Jurina distinguished the light teasing in Rena’s voice, and she smiled, turning around to face her. Her gaze fell upon the pair of small brown orbs that she adored so much, and she claimed Rena’s lips in a morning kiss. Releasing a blissful sigh, she swept over Rena’s form in unconcealed appreciation. From her flawless and feminine delicate features, to her long shiny black hair falling down her chest, Jurina found herself enchanted by her girlfriend’s natural beauty. Even at 8 a.m. in the morning, with tired eyes and messy hair, she found her as adorable as ever.

Jurina fondled a few strands of her hair, wrapping her arm around Rena’s waist underneath the bedsheet, her gaze wandering over Rena’s V-neck red night dress. It was the first time she was wearing it, having it bought last week-end during an afternoon of shopping. In 2050, physical clothing shops were few and far, and gave way to the progressive dominance of online stores. Jurina was used to ordering clothes on a virtual catalogue, but her girlfriend remained a little old-fashioned on the subject, refusing to buy anything she hadn’t touched and tried on beforehand.

It had been an afternoon of fruitful shopping to say the least, during which Jurina had accompanied her and not hesitated confessing how beautiful she looked in this night dress when Rena asked for her opinion.

A part of her wanted to go further in the compliment by saying that the close-fitting satin nightdress was highlighting her girlfriend’s slim curves, but she thought it best to keep such thoughts to herself in the presence of the female sales assistant. No, Rena didn’t just look beautiful; she looked incredibly y. At some point, Jurina wondered if her admirative expression didn’t betray her thoughts. Indeed, she didn’t miss Rena’s amused, knowing look when she went back inside the fitting room to change.   

Going back to the present time, Jurina cuddled her, letting her palm caress and travel down the back of Rena’s nightdress. If there was one thing she couldn’t deny, it was how much she appreciated the sensation of the soft, silky fabric underneath her fingertips. However, what caught the most Jurina’s attention, was the wicked gleam appearing in the depth of Rena’s brown orbs.

Jurina smiled inwardly at the pair of eyes staring at her lips intently, not surprised when they got captured in a lingering kiss. She paused her exploration to follow her lead, kissing her back, noting in mild amusement that her girlfriend didn’t seem in a hurry to get out of bed anymore. Jurina resumed her caress of her lover’s body, venturing lower to her waist, then to her thighs, and slipped a hand underneath Rena’s nightdress.

A first, she felt contented with caressing her body, her palm gliding over the bare skin of Rena’s leg and thigh, but soon realized it wasn’t satisfying enough. Wishing for more access, she couldn’t help but slowly pull the nightdress upwards. It was an impossible task to keep her hands to herself. Rena was so beautiful and attractive. The pull to revisit her girlfriend’s body and map her skin with kisses and caresses was strong to resist, even more when the other girl was not trying to calm her ardor in the slightest.

The caress of Rena’s lips on set her aflame, Rena’s calm shattered with the hunger of her kisses. While she still had an ounce of lucidity within her, Jurina searched her mind if the CEO of Matsui Corporation was supposed to have an early meeting this morning, but had difficulty recalling her girlfriend’s schedule for the day. In the end, she didn’t even need to ask, as the older girl whispered between kisses the answer to her unspoken question. “I think we can be a little late.”

Jurina chuckled to herself, submitting to the older girl when she got pushed against the mattress. Did Rena have the ability to read her mind? Because lately, it surely looked like she could read her like an open book. No, the CEO had no reunion to attend. Otherwise, she would have prevented the situation from escalating, and wouldn’t be proceeding with her ual ministrations with such fervor. Rena’s lips flickered over the nape of her neck with hot desire, Jurina softly when she playfully nibbled on her left earlobe.

Jurina claimed her lips, kissing her devouringly, not wasting time in tugging at the waistband of Rena’s . When her fingers got in contact with her girlfriend’s most private part, heat spread out from her lower abdomen, by the slick wetness. It was all the invitation she needed to pull off her underwear, groaning when Rena’s hand slipped inside her pants and her intimately. Whimpers of pleasure filled the air as they lost themselves completely to the throes of passion and made love to each other.

Jurina walked down the stairs, noticing Alfred gazing at her with an upset look from the bottom of the staircase. Her personal robot didn’t even greet her as he normally did every single morning, instead staring at her in disapproval. Jurina frowned a little at his strange behavior, asking herself what she could have possibly done wrong to trigger such a negative reaction from him.

Jurina caught the sound of familiar footsteps descending the stairs behind her, and the arrival of the second mistress of the house prompted the little robot to speak up. “You are late, Mistress,” Alfred said, his big blue eyes firmly set on Jurina. “I prepared breakfast fifteen minutes ago, but you didn’t come down.”

“Oh, we…” Jurina cleared , unease filling her. She quickly searched her brain for a good excuse, trying to find an astute way to justify their tardiness while leaving out the true reason. “We didn’t hear the alarm-clock. I suppose we were really sound asleep.”

Alfred emitted a sound of protest. “That’s why Alfred should be waking you up. Mistress was never late before you decided to change your morning habits and replace me with that outdated machine.”

Jurina grimaced, his declaration only serving in reminding her that her faithful servant was having difficulty adjusting to certain changes in their daily life. Contrary to Jurina who quickly and easily fit in Rena’s house, not the same could be said about him. Alfred was used to Rena’s presence and Jurina could tell by the way he interacted with her that he was extremely fond of her. However, the minimal use of technology in Rena’s house disturbed the small robot tremendously.

At a very early stage of their relationship, Jurina became aware of her girlfriend’s reluctance to accept the excessive robotization of their society. She had accepted that aspect of her personality, but it was another matter altogether when it came to Alfred. Jurina would never forget his blatant disappointment when he entered the house for the first time and discovered there was no other humanoid robot like him.

Jurina was even frightened Rena wouldn’t accept the cohabitation with the little robot. After a few hesitant and cautious meetings, Jurina witnessed in front of her very own eyes the relationship evolving in a positive way between her girlfriend and her humanoid companion. The CEO interacted with him with ease, and Jurina could tell she had grown genuinely attached to him. But having a robot at home permanently was an important decision not to be taken lightly.  

Rena never minded the robot’s presence when she came to visit her at her apartment. But was she ready to accept him into her home?

Jurina’s fears proved to be unfounded. When she had asked Rena, with a flicker of apprehension, if she was fine with her bringing him to her house, Rena had not opposed the slightest resistance. It had taken a few weeks for everyone to get accustomed to the new living arrangement, and Jurina could state that it was now going very well. Well, except for a few obvious points of disagreement, the robot’s replacement with a vintage alarm-clock being one of the issues he refused to get over.

For three years, Alfred had been the one to wake her up. Each morning, he would come into her bedroom and stand by the side of the bed, announcing the time with his calm metallic voice. Soon after, the radio would start playing in the air, and Jurina had always been satisfied with this daily routine. However, things couldn’t be the same anymore now that Rena had entered her life.

Not only the older girl was greatly attached to her old but still functional alarm-clock, Alfred’s tendency to barge into the bedroom whenever he seemed fit caused a great deal of problems. Jurina would always remember that particular morning when he had entered the bedroom, catching them both in a very compromising situation. Jurina couldn’t be mad at him for walking in unannounced. For three years, he had been allowed to walk in her apartment freely without any restriction.

Alfred didn’t seem shocked or ill-at-ease when confronted with both their ness. After all, he had seen her more times than Jurina could count. What could she say? Jurina never felt the need to be modest around him. As of Rena, it was a different issue. That day, she had let out a loud shriek at the robot’s apparition, covering herself with the bedsheet with blinding speed. Jurina found the situation so comical, that she had to refrain herself from laughing when she gently asked her robot to leave the room.

After that incident, Jurina knew she needed to make her robot understand that he couldn’t walk into her bedroom unannounced anymore. One evening, when she came back from work, she took a seat on the sofa to have a long chat with him. Her confused robot didn’t seem to fully comprehend the reason behind this new house rule, but he accepted it nevertheless as the obedient robot that he was.

“I’m sorry that we’re late.” Rena jumped into the conversation, and slowly kneeled in front of the robot. “We got a little carried away, and didn’t pay attention to the time. Don’t worry about it. We’ll eat what you prepared for us.”

Jurina was amazed by the impact Rena’s soothing voice always had on her robot’s mood and attitude. One minute ago, he was staring at her with unconcealed disappointment. And now, his attention was entirely monopolized by the woman who had placed a gentle kiss on top of his head. That’s why Jurina wasn’t truly surprised when his expression changed drastically, and he emitted a sound of content at Rena’s affectionate gesture.

“No, Mistress Rena. I refuse to let you eat cold food. Your devoted servant will serve you a proper breakfast.”

None of them had time to argue that the robot had already his heels, running in the direction of the kitchen as if the fate of the entire world relied upon his shoulders. Jurina distinguished the amusement mingled with fondness in Rena’s eyes as she watched him drawing away, confirming once more that she had fully accepted and embraced the arrival of this special member into her life.

“I’m a bit jealous,” Jurina groaned teasingly. “You’re beginning to have more influence on him than I do.”

Rena laughed, shaking her head in disapproval. “You’re his one and only mistress.” She embraced her and planted a kiss on Jurina’s cheek, while keeping an eye from afar on the robot hard at work in the kitchen. “You have created such a strong and unique bond with him. If you were not in his life anymore, I don’t know if he would be capable of functioning.”

Jurina knew what she was referring to. She had heard of a few strange stories too. It appeared that in rare situations, some domestic robots had completely stopped functioning when separated from their owner. In one case, the owner’s long journey abroad had triggered his robot stayed behind at home to stop working. In another case, the robot had turned himself off at the sudden death of his owner.

Jurina had never witnessed in person such a behavior. In fact, the logical side of her brain was telling her that it was probably only the consequence of unexpected glitches in their programs, or a simple dysfunction enhanced by the robots’ advance age. In all cases, the robots had been at their owners’ side for a very long period of time. And it had been proved that robots worked far less efficiently once they reached their tenth year of existence.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jurina assured her, giving her an affectionate look. “You believe me, right?”

Rena’s lips curved in a slow smile of pleasure, and she pressed to hers. “Of course, I believe you.”

They both turned to follow their robot’s whereabouts, chuckling at the conscientiousness he put in every one of his actions. For Jurina, the idea that a robot could, due to some deep and emotional connection to their owner, be so affected by the separation that he would stop working, seemed a little hard to believe. However, if there was one thing Jurina couldn’t deny, it was as much she adored her devoted companion. As long as she would be on this earth, she promised herself to always look over him.

Version revised on August 20, 2019.