Chapter 2

“Wow. Talk about a sudden change of heart.”

Paul’s words were like a bucket of cold water that promptly extinguished the warm glow Julian had felt when Finn smiled at him. He rocked back onto his heels again and snatched up the Owner’s Guide he’d sat on the floor, opened it to the appropriate page, and glanced sideways at his dark-haired friend.

Don’t think this means I’m going to keep him. He’s pretty, but he’s still a robot.

Finn didn’t respond to any of this, he simply continued to smile at Julian. The blond felt a twinge of guilt, but ignored it and smoothed out the crumpled pages of the Owner’s Guide. He skimmed a finger over it until he found the statement of ownership -a series of phrases he would need to sign to Finn in order to have him recognize Julian as his keeper. With a deep breath and a resigned shake of his blond head, he began.

CompAnIon 5875214, respond.

The dazed, happy look fell from Finn’s face. Paul had told him the AI could understand ASL, but it still amazed Julian when he signed his reply. He brought one hand up to his chest, then made the motion for ‘yes’.

Yes. I am CompAnIon 5875214.

Julian gave himself a moment to be impressed by the fluidity and fluency of Finn’s sign language, and then he continued. The next step was to audibly -or in this case visually- confirm the AI’s serial number, and then input the password that would assign him ownership of this strange, lovely creature in his living room.

Serial number: A61X-58-RW33. Password: C7QBB42LP9

Hello, Master. Thank you for purchasing me. How may I serve you today?

Those words, coming from something that looked so incredibly human, gave Julian the heebie-jeebies.

Don’t call me Master; you’re not a slave. My name is Julian. I’m going to call you Finn.

Yes, Julian.

“I think he’ll gain more of a personality the more he learns,” Paul suggested. “Or at least that’s what the guy who sold him to me said. The floor models in the store were so realistic I thought they were just other customers!”

Yeah? I have my doubts.

But Paul was insistent. “No, really. I walked up to one of them and asked which CompAnIon he was considering. He laughed at me, Jules! The sales guy ran over and apologized. Told me he was one of their newer models who’d been spending too much time with some of the younger associates. I couldn’t believe it until he called him back over and had him show me the port in his back. It blew my mind! That’s when I knew I had to buy you one. I’m telling you: in a week you won’t even be able to remember he’s not human.”

Julian looked at Finn, who was once again staring at him with that tiny smile on his face. Other than the oddly servile way he’d chosen to communicate, and the power port in his lower back, the AI was already indistinguishable from a human. Somehow, Julian was not reassured by Paul’s words. Instead of focusing on that, however, he chose to try something new with his android.

Well, most humans speak out loud. Finn, say something.

“I can say whatever you’d like, Julian.”

Of course. Of course Finn’s voice would be the stuff that dreams were made of. Of course he would have the most soothing English accent to accompany his soft baritone. He sounded like a goddamn angel sent straight from heaven -or a broadcast room of the BBC. For the nth time that morning, Julian glared daggers at Paul. He was going to have to reconsider his ‘best friend’ status.

I hate you. I really, really do.

“Is it the accent? Too much?”

Julian’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“Hey, you’re always complaining that our native New England accent grates on your nerves. I thought I’d switch it up a little. We can reprogram him with a new one if you want.”

The AI frowned for the first time that day.

“Do you not like my voice, Julian? This person is correct: you can install new language programs at any time.”

“I don’t think it’s that he doesn’t like it, Finn,” Paul chuckled. “I think it’s that he likes it too much.”

That demanded retaliation. Julian reached out and beaned his friend in the calf, delighting in his pain a little more than he probably should as Paul hopped around the room rubbing at the sore spot. When he turned back to Finn, the AI was watching him intently, head cocked slightly to the side. He furrowed his brows for a moment, wondering what he was doing, but then he realized Finn was most likely learning about human behavior, his behavior, by observing his and Paul’s interactions. The thought unnerved him, intrigued him, and made him feel absurdly guilty all at the same time.

Don’t file that away, okay? Julian practically begged the android. He did stop short of clasping his hands together in suppliance, however. I’m not usually a violent person, but he was asking for it.

“What do you mean by ‘file it away’?” Finn questioned.

I mean if you’re learning behavior by watching me and Paul, then forget what I just did. It was wrong.

“But you said he was asking for it,” Finn reminded him, not unkindly.

Paul had by this time stopped his injury dance, and returned to Julian’s side. The blond looked to him, silently pleading for help, but Paul only raised an eyebrow at him.

“He meant I goaded him into hitting me by pointing out that he really likes your voice.”

Julian curled his hands into claws and placed them over his knees so that he wouldn’t strangle Paul to death.

“You do like my voice, Julian?” Finn asked, sounding hopeful. “I had thought otherwise, from the way you spoke to this person-”

“-Paul. My name’s Paul.”

Finn nodded, unruffled by the interruption. “I had thought, from your conversation with Paul, that my voice wasn’t pleasing to you.”

“Trust me when I say it’s more than pleasing to him.”

The urge to beat his best friend to a bloody pulp had never been stronger. At least Finn didn’t understand innuendo. He hoped. And then Julian wondered why he hoped that, since he certainly wasn’t attracted to an android. Regardless, Paul was beginning to wear out his welcome.

Paul, I think it’s time for you to go home.

“But we were just starting to have fun, Jules! And you haven’t even looked at the cake I brought!”

Fine. You can stay for cake, but after that…

Julian shook his head, held his hands up, and then flicked them outward. He was done. It was only 11am, but all the excitement and emotional turmoil he’d already experienced that day had taken its toll.

“You know I’m just teasing, right?” Paul asked, crouching down next to Julian and placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not trying to make you feel uncomfortable.”

It’s not that, he argued. Finn was looking at him like a curious puppy again; he almost felt bad about the lie. I’m just tired. This is all kind of overwhelming. Let me go make Finn a little more decent while you set up the cake, and then we’ll be down to blow out the candles.

Both men stood. Julian reached behind Finn and unplugged his power cord from the wall and his receptor port, then helped him to his feet. His upper arm was solidly muscled -or wired, or whatever. Again Julian noticed how warm the AI’s skin was, but now that he was closer and the contact was more prolonged he could see and feel its suppleness. The soft layer of fine, blond hair that covered it, just like any other human being, made his fingers twitch.

Paul didn’t hesitate in trotting off to the kitchen once it was clear that Finn was sure on his feet, and his assistance was no longer needed. The promise of cake did that to a man. Julian snorted and shook his head at his friend’s rapidly retreating back, then smiled up at his much taller new companion.

Come on, he coaxed, nodding toward the stairs off to his right. Let’s find you something to wear.

By the time they’d done just that, Julian’s room looked like a tornado had blown through it. Nothing in his closet had fit the android, who topped out at least a few inches over six feet, so Julian had rummaged through his dresser instead. He kept his old t-shirts and sporting clothes in the ancient oak chest-of-drawers, and one of the items in there had to work. It just had to.

When he was through helping Finn into a faded navy blue Red Sox shirt and a pair of gym shorts he hadn’t worn since high school, Julian stepped back to marvel at his creation. He saw it, and it was not as good as he’d hoped. The shirt -the largest one Julian owned- rode up above Finn’s navel, and the green gym shorts -so long and baggy on the smaller man- stopped about four inches above his knees. He looked ridiculous.

It’s a good thing only Paul is around to see you dressed like this. I don’t want your first experience out in public to be an embarrassing one.

Finn smiled at him. “Thank you, Julian. That’s very kind.”

Julian furrowed his eyebrows. I meant for me. Do you feel embarrassment? I mean, is that possible?

“I’m built to have every practical functionality and characteristic of a human being. Emotions are an integral part of what makes one human, aren’t they?”

So is that a roundabout way of saying yes, then?

“Yes. I can feel many emotions, but only if I understand the context. I’m not sure what is embarrassing about my current attire. Is it not considered fashionable?”

No, it’s definitely not fashionable. You sure do ask a lot of questions, Finn.

“I’m sorry. Asking questions is a way for me to learn about my Master and my environment.”

I didn’t say it was a bad thing, just an observation. And I told you not to call me Master. You’re not my slave, and when you call me Master it makes me feel worse about having you here than I already do.

For the second time that day, Finn frowned. “You’re displeased with my presence?” he asked, sounding more unsure of himself than any robot had a right to sound.

Julian sighed heavily and tugged at the bottom of Finn’s too-small shirt. It was never going to stay down. He might as well just give up.

We’ll talk about this later. For now, let’s go downstairs and cut the cake with Paul.

The android only nodded his head in response. Julian recognized the emotions crossing his handsome face, though: doubt, a hint of worry. That he’d caused those made him feel another pang of guilt, just like he had when he’d realized the AI was observing his violent behavior toward Paul. It wasn’t Finn’s fault that he was here, or that Julian perceived his very presence as a slight even if he knew it was meant as a comfort. Without another word, he motioned for Finn to follow him, and together they made their way down into the kitchen.

“There you boys are. I was wondering if I was going to have to wade through the sea of clothes I bet you’ve thrown on your floor and-”

Paul glanced up from lighting the forest of candles on top of Julian’s tiny, exquisitely decorated cake as they walked through the doorway. His eyebrows shot into his hairline, his eyes opened comically wide, and then he bent at the waist. If Julian didn’t know any better, he would have thought the other man was choking rather than laughing so hard he could barely breathe. Finn, however, did not know any better. His own eyes going wide in alarm, the android practically sprinted across the kitchen, pulled Paul into his arms, and proceeded to apply the Heimlich maneuver.

Julian raced over to them and rescued his best friend from the well-intentioned AI, but not before he’d had a good chuckle at his expense.