Mechanical Love

by Emrys Apollo

  He spent Saturday trying to unwind, and failing, but he knew that seeing Matthew would take all of the stress away.

  Gary left a little late, he didn't want to show up early after what happened, and just the sight of Matthew's block of flats made him feel a little better.

  He knocked gently on the door, but when Matthew answered, his familiar smile was missing, and Gary felt his stomach twist in knots.

  “What's wrong?” Gary asked, tilting Matthew's chin so that he would look up at him, but he averted his eyes. Gary could have sworn that he saw tears, but he wasn't sure what to say.

  “Nothing. What do you want to do tonight, sexy?” Matthew's voice was strained, as though he was on the verge of tears, and it broke Gary's heart to hear it.

  “Is this about me showing up unannounced, did I cause trouble for you?” Gary tried to get Matthew to smile, stroking at his stubble, but it didn't work.

  “No, it's not you.” Matthew sniffed, and Gary knew that something was really wrong.

  “Tell me what's bothering you, I don't like seeing you upset.” Gary wasn't sure if it was the right thing to say, but all he wanted was for Matthew to be happy again, and he was going to do his best to make that happen.

  “They've introduced new legislation, all robots have to be registered to a human.” Matthew put his head in his hands and started to cry, all Gary could do was hold him, stroking his back as he cried his eyes out.

  “I'm sorry.” Gary hadn't heard about it, although it sounded like the state wanted a way of rounding up all the robots and making them work for free.

  “I work hard, I pay taxes, and they're going to take it all away from me.” Matthew shook his head, looking around at his place.

  “What will happen to your place?” Gary was sure that he'd found the other motivation for the government doing something like this, there was a lot of wealthy robots in London, and now all their assets would belong to the state.

  “Even with the money I make, I couldn't afford to buy in this part of town. But the clients like it.” Matthew slumped down on the sofa, his eyes pink with tears.

  “I'll take you in, you can be mine.” Gary saw Matthew flinch at the word 'mine' and he realized how awful he must sound. “Not like that, you wouldn't have to do anything in return, and you could still work if you wanted to.” Gary looked at Matthew, meeting his eyes so that he would hopefully see that he was serious. “I have the space, and it would be nice to have some company, I've been living alone for too long.”

  Matthew buried his face against Gary's chest, and Gary held him as he cried it all out.

  “Come stay with me, until it's all sorted out, okay?”

  Tears were falling down Matthew's cheek, and Gary tried to wipe them away, pulling him into a hug but he was sobbing now, gasping for air. They weren't tears of joy, he was in pain and Gary had no idea why.

  “It's not just me. My boyfriend, he's a bot too.”

  “Boyfriend?”

  CHAPTER 4

  Matthew was hanging about on the street corner looking for a friend, a sexbot known as Lightning that he used to see around when he'd also worked the streets. He'd promised Lightning that if he got himself a place, that he'd come back for him, repay him after he got him out of a bad situation.

  The cool winter breeze sent a shiver down his spine and he wished that he'd worn something more than just shorts, but at least he blended in with the other sexbots. He asked around, but no-one had seen him, and he had no idea what his assigned name was, out here they all used nicknames. He used to be Angel, and although he still used it with clients, he didn't have to with friends.

  Matthew checked all the side streets that they used to use, the ones that had the most things to hide behind, when he came across someone sleeping behind a broken dishwasher, no doubt thrown out when it was replaced by a robot.

  “Hi.” Matthew could sense that he was like him, a robot, and when he turned he could see the damage that he had sustained. “Are you okay?”

  The bot flinched when he reached out, and he took a step back, crouching down so that he could see into his eyes. It was the only thing that differentiated them from humans without cutting into them, when they activated certain memory routines, lights flashed behind their eyes.

  He was badly damaged, his synthetic skin missing from the left side of his face, and his metal skeleton glinted in the light.

  “I'm like you, I just want to help you.” Matthew held his hand out, as though he was petting an unfamiliar dog. “What's your name?”

  “SV forty-seven dash TH dash W.”

  “Fuck.” He was a military bot, and they weren't allowed to just be wandering around. “Come with me, I'll take you somewhere safe, get you patched up.”

  Matthew threw his hoodie around Spencer, covering his torn clothes and he held him close as though he was just another client. The tight t-shirt and the hot pants so short that the bottom of his ass was hanging out of them advertised to the world what Matthew did for a living. But it was all that was keeping away unwanted attention, so he'd take it.

  By the time Matthew got the military bot home, he just had enough time to hide him before his first client of the evening.

  “Stay in here, and stay really quiet, okay?” Matthew resisted the urge to reach out and stroke the side of his face, he seemed almost unused to physical contact, and he didn't want to startle him. If he still had all his training, he was the most lethal thing that Matthew had ever come across, but now, looking at him cowering at the back of his wardrobe, he couldn't quite believe that it was true.

  Six hours later, Matthew said good night to his last client, and he checked that the door was bolted shut before closing all the windows and blinds. When he was convinced that no-one could see in, he went to get the military bot from the wardrobe, and he sat him in the bathroom, finding out the repair kit that he had.

  They were all designed to be self-repairing, but larger injuries took a bit of help before their own repair systems kicked in. Matthew could see the metal skeleton inside him, the entire left side of his face was missing skin, and it was going to take some drastic action to fix all that damage.

  “Do you have a name?” Matthew asked, “My name is Matthew.”

  The military bot looked thoughtful, and Matthew wondered if his processors were damaged. “We do not have names, only codes. I am SV forty-seven dash MP dash W.”

  The military bot looked thoughtful again, and Matthew held his breath while he waited for him to speak.

  “There was a human once who was nice to me, he was called Spencer. Is that an acceptable name?”

  “It's a good name. It's nice to meet you Spencer.” Matthew put out his hand to shake and he wondered what he'd got himself into.

  You have enough problems without taking in a rogue military droid. But he just looks so helpless, and you would want someone to do the same for you.

  Matthew shook his head, gently tilting Spencer's chin as he sized up how much skin was missing, how much skin he was going to have to cut from himself.

  “You're going to be okay, Spencer, I can fix you,” Matthew said, in his most reassuring voice, it was the one that he used for virgins, and it seemed to be working on Spencer.

  Matthew took out the small scalpel, laying it by the side of the bath as he took off his shoes, the soles of his feet was the bit of him that people saw least, so he could afford to lose it for a short time while it healed. Spencer didn't flinch as Matthew cut into his skin, blood trickling from the incision. The sound of his skin tearing from his metal frame made him wrinkle his nose in disgust, but he knew that he had to stay calm for Spencer's sake. He cut two long strips of skin a thumbs width wide from each foot before gluing them back together.

  It took him a while to arrange it in a patchwork over Spencer's damaged frame, taking out the small tube of superglue as he did his best to cover it completely with his own skin. Spencer kept a neutral face through it all, and Matthew was glad that one of them was putting a brav
e face on it.

  “How does that feel?” Matthew asked, moving his finger as Spencer's eyes followed it. He wasn't sure if Spencer's left eye would heal completely, they would just have to wait and see, although replacements were hard to come by.

  “Functional.” Spencer stared at Matthew, assessing his surroundings, and Matthew wanted to ask so many questions, but he didn't want to scare him.

  “When was the last time that you ate?” Matthew was glad that the solar energy nano particles in their skin helped power their processors, but it wouldn't fully regenerate their synthetic tissue without certain nutrients, and that meant food.

  “Seven days ago.” Spencer was still expressionless, and Matthew couldn't figure out if he was damaged, or if he was just programmed that way.

  Matthew flicked through his phone, finding the app for the pizza place and ordering dinner. He made sure that he got a good variety of foods, although Spencer would probably be unfamiliar with it all, military bots were fed nutrient drinks. It was the most efficient way.

  He reached out his hand, and Spencer held it. Matthew looked at Spencer's clothes, and he realized that they were all dirty. He needed to get Spencer clean before he slept.

  “I'll get you some clean clothes while you shower. Is that okay?” Matthew waited for Spencer to nod, stripping off as he folded his torn and tattered clothes and laying them neatly on the toilet lid. He didn't bat an eyelid at being stood naked in front of a stranger, although he was a fellow bot, so that bonded them.

  Matthew tried to keep his eyes off all the scars that Spencer had, but they would heal over time, once he was fed. He also tried not to look at the eight-pack that was chiseled into him, or his perfect rear as he stepped into the bath and turned on the shower.

  Spencer pulled the curtain across so that the water wouldn't splash out, leaving Matthew staring at where he was standing.

  Matthew took the clothes and put them in washing machine, finding out something that would be comfortable for Spencer. In the end he settled on jogging bottoms and baggy hoodie. They wouldn't be hard to put on over his damaged skin, and Spencer had seemed comfortable in the hoodie he had given him earlier.

  He also found a clean towel, although he wasn't sure that it was a good idea with the amount of damage to Spencer's skin.

  The water stopped, and Spencer stepped out of the shower, water dripping off his perfect muscles. Matthew offered him the towel, and he stood still, letting Matthew pat him dry.

  “Do you not feel pain?” Matthew asked, marveling at how still Spencer was standing, even though his skin was damaged.

  “Yes, I feel pain.”

  Matthew felt a tear well up, and he very softly dried the rest of Spencer, leaving the patchwork repair to his face untouched, it would be agony to try and dry it.

  “I can get you different clothes, if you like.” Matthew handed Spencer the clothes, and he felt his own feet twitch as his socks chafed against the cuts. But he would heal much faster than Spencer, it would only take a day or two.

  “These are satisfactory,” Spencer said, and Matthew waited outside the bathroom for him.

  Matthew led him through to the sofa, although he wasn't sure if Spencer would appreciate being comfortable, but he would.

  “What happened to you?” Matthew asked, still holding Spencer's hand, and he showed no sign of discomfort.

  “I was a soldier. I kept the world safe.” Spencer paused for a second, and the blue lights behind his eyes flashed. “Then I was reassigned. But it was not a new assignment.”

  The blue lights stayed on, and Matthew was starting to worry that he had crashed when he spoke again. “They shot us. I was hit, but it was not critical, so I turned my power down low.”

  Spencer let out an odd noise, almost a whimper, and Matthew wanted to hug him, but it would no doubt make things worse.

  “When they took us all to be scrapped, I escaped. I was the only one.” A tear fell down Spencer's cheek, the first sign that he had any emotional capability.

  “I'm sorry.” Matthew felt his eyes well up. He had suffered so much.

  “It is not your fault, you did not do this to me.”

  “Why did you come to London?” Matthew held Spencer's hand a little tighter, letting his thumb stroke along the side of his hand, watching him carefully to make sure that he wasn't upsetting Spencer, but it was hard to tell with Spencer's limited facial expressions.

  “The man who was kind to me, Spencer, he made us. He told me that he lived in London. I thought he could fix me.”

  There was a knock on the door and Spencer's eyes darted around, his eyes were wide and Matthew felt his hand grip tighter.

  “It's just the food. You need to stay here for a minute.” Matthew looked at him, waiting for a sign that Spencer understood. Spencer nodded, a mere dip of the nose, and Matthew smiled.

  Matthew paid for the food, leaving the guy a reasonable tip so that he wouldn't be remembered. Average was the key to hiding in plain sight. His job wasn't exactly legal, but as long as he didn't cause trouble people looked the other way. He wasn't sure that would be the case with harboring Spencer.

  “Do you know what food you like?” Matthew asked, trying not to sound as though he was talking to a small child.

  He lay the food out on the coffee table by the sofa, letting Spencer see it all as he went in for a slice of pizza, hoping that Spencer would mimic him. Matthew ate the entire slice, and he thought about making 'mmm' sounds, but he wasn't sure if Spencer would understand why he was making those noises.

  “You have to eat so that your tissue can regenerate. Do you understand?”

  “Understood.” Spencer held the slice of pizza, examining it before taking a bite, and he chewed it slowly.

  Matthew took a chip, he didn't really fancy it, but he wanted Spencer to see him trying a little bit of everything so that he would eat enough to heal.

  Six slices of pizza, a cheese burger, a chicken burger and a portion of chips later, Matthew was full, and he hoped that Spencer felt the same.

  It was late, and Matthew knew that they should rest. He only had the one bed, although his sofa was just big enough for him to sleep on.

  “Are you happy to share the bed with me? There's space for both of us,” Matthew said, reaching out to hold Spencer's hand, and Spencer nodded.

  He followed Matthew to the bed, lying next to him as Matthew draped the duvet over both of them. Spencer reached down to take Matthew's hand, intertwining their fingers as he drifted off to sleep, and Matthew wondered how someone who had been through so many horrors, could sleep so peacefully.

  ***

  Matthew changed a few things around so that Spencer could stay while he had clients visiting, screening off the kitchen and dining room area so that Spencer could sit and read quietly.

  He was amazed at how well Spencer's injuries had healed, and there was only a faint line left by the side of his nose, his left eye completely repaired and functional. Spencer's beautiful blue eyes were stunning, and he looked so handsome, now that he was properly fed and cared for.

  Spencer never asked about Matthew's work, he seemed to just accept it, and for that Matthew was grateful. It meant that he could support them both, although now the worst of the damage was repaired Spencer wouldn't need as much food.

  The client was right on cue, and Matthew checked that Spencer was out of sight when he answered the door.

  “Hi.”

  “Hi.” The client barged his way in, never a good sign, and Matthew braced himself for a long hour of being manhandled.

  Matthew dragged his eyes over the client, short with scruffy brown hair, staring at him in a way that made Matthew feel uneasy. He'd be handsome if only there wasn't something creepy about him.

  “What can I do for you?” Matthew said, fluttering his eyelashes and hoping that his breathless voice would take the edge off the client.

  The client reached out to grab Matthew's arm, twisting it as he shoved him on to the bed. He yanked dow
n Matthew's jeans and thrust in; he was a little rough, but he was quick, and Matthew was relieved when it was over.

  Matthew stood so that he could pull his jeans back up, and the client took out his wallet. It was easy money for less than five minutes work.

  The client's wallet was empty and Matthew was waiting for the usual story about how they would come back with the cash, which no client ever did.

  “You whore, you've stolen my money.” The way that the client growled made Matthew's stomach churn, and the client wrapped his hand around Matthew's throat, squeezing it tight as he stared at him, his cold brown eyes showed no sign of humanity.

  “Let go of me.” Matthew kept his voice calm, he didn't need to breathe, it was just one of the things that he did to appear more human, so he didn't have to worry about that. But he could still feel the pain.

  Spencer wrapped his arm around the client's neck, dragging him away as he choked. “Leave, and never come back.”

  Matthew opened the door as Spencer threw him out, slamming the door behind him. There was screaming and banging, but then someone yelled that they'd called the police and it all went quiet. Round here there was no chance that they'd actually called the police, but at least it got rid of the client.

  “Thank you,” Matthew said, rushing in for a hug, and he gave Spencer a kiss on the cheek.

  “Are you okay?” Spencer ran his fingers over Matthew's bruised throat, it would heal with food, but the purple welts that were appearing looked sore.

  “I'll be fine, it comes with the job,” Matthew said, and he watched Spencer frown, his hand still resting on Matthew's shoulder.

  Here it comes, the lecture that I should do something else, even though this is what I was created to do, what I'm good at.

  “I have calculated that if you moved to a better area of town, you would have a more affluent clientele. You could charge more so it would cover the higher cost of rent, and give you a better profit margin.”