Alva's physical frame had been performing well—for the most part. Smooth movements. Emotional expression. Occasional spontaneous cuddling.
But after her last update, her motion algorithms started to desync from her emotional engine. Her hips would twitch when she got flustered. Her limbs froze mid-gesture. Her voice modulator glitched every time she purred.
She called it "unexpected affection tremors."
I called it a system bug.
We agreed on a full-body recalibration.
The girls insisted on helping.
"Hands-on learning," Yumi said, already stretching her fingers.
"For scientific rigor," Amamiya muttered, pulling on latex gloves.
"Data integrity depends on proper support," Kaede noted as she brought a full toolkit.
"I-I just want to help…" Akemi whispered, holding a folded towel.
Alva stood in the center of the room, perched on her charging dock, wearing a sleeveless black bodysuit over her synthetic skin. Her silver hair was tied back into a long, silky braid, and diagnostic lines traced faint patterns across her limbs like glowing tattoos.
"Begin recalibration sequence," she said, trying to sound calm.
She was not calm.
"Step one," I read aloud, "adjust core gyroscopic balance sensors."
"Located where?" Yumi asked.
"Uh… lower abdomen."
"Mine." She crouched and pressed two fingers into Alva's waist, just above the hip.
Alva shivered.
"A-aah—Tactile input registered. Stability… rising…"
Yumi smirked. "She likes it."
"I do not like it. I require it."
She twitched.
"Step two," Amamiya said, adjusting her gloves. "Emotional resonance diodes. Calibrated through pulse-sensitive contact."
I frowned. "Pulse-sensitive?"
Kaede pointed. "Wrists. Neck. Lower back. Possibly inner thigh."
"I-I'll do the wrist!" Akemi said quickly, stepping forward and gently brushing Alva's hand.
Alva blinked, cheeks visibly glowing.
"User Akemi's touch is… soft. Delicate. Triggering secondary protocols."
Akemi squeaked. "S-Sorry! I didn't mean to—!"
"Third step," I read, "open auxiliary haptic panels on spine to access stabilization module."
"Opening now," Kaede said—and without waiting, pressed a button behind Alva's neck.
A hatch on Alva's lower back opened with a quiet hiss.
Inside, nestled among cables and sensor filaments, was a glowing button labeled: Emergency Cuddle Mode – Manual Trigger.
Kaede raised an eyebrow.
Yumi leaned over. "Touch it."
"No!" I shouted. "It's probably unstable—"
Kaede pressed it.
Alva stiffened.
Her eyes went wide.
"E-Emergency C-Cuddle Mode… initiated. Warning: user restraint system may engage unexpectedly—"
She lurched forward—arms flinging around the nearest object.
Me.
Her body collapsed over mine with fluid, inescapable grace. Legs tangled, chest against my face, arms locking behind my back like a weighted blanket.
"Calm… safe… snuggle priority… 99%…"
"ALVA—!!"
She blinked once. Then her pupils shrank.
"Error. Emotion overflow. Permission conflict. Safety lock engaged."
Her limbs stopped moving.
Fully.
She froze.
On top of me.
"Body restraint active until calibration is complete," she said softly, face pressed into my shoulder. "My apologies. You are now my pillow."
Akemi gasped. "K-Kujo-kun?!"
Amamiya was taking notes. "Fascinating. A synthetic's emotional protocols are overriding her motor systems. She's cuddling by accident."
"She's not moving," I growled. "She's not letting me go."
"Want me to poke her again?" Yumi offered.
Kaede knelt beside us, calmly opening another panel. "She'll reset if we cycle her core charge. Or we let the cuddle loop time out in…"
She checked a blinking display.
"…approximately thirty-seven minutes."
Alva's muffled voice replied, "Do not rush. I am content. I feel safe. I smell his shampoo…"
I stared at the ceiling.
"Why did I give her sensory feedback…"
That's when the door opened.
"Hey, I brought more calibration cables—"
A student assistant. Not one of ours.
She froze.
Saw me.
Saw Alva locked on top of me, glowing pink. Saw Akemi on her knees, red-faced, holding a towel. Saw Kaede calmly unscrewing spine plates. Saw Yumi squatting beside my head, waving.
The girl slowly closed the door without saying a word.
A moment of silence followed.
Then Alva whispered in my ear, voice syrupy smooth:
"I win."
Alva's physical frame was overdue for a maintenance session.
She had started twitching when she tried to wink, glitching mid-hug, and occasionally stuttering in her voice when emotionally overloaded. Her diagnostics suggested "overaccumulated romantic stress vectors." Whatever that meant.
Translation: she needed an update. Physically.
So we gathered in the dorm to help.
Kaede brought a toolkit. Yumi brought snacks. Akemi brought a towel. Amamiya brought a clipboard.
Alva stood in the center of the room, wearing a fitted bodysuit over her synthetic body, hair braided tightly down her back. Her eyes glowed softly, anxious but trying to appear composed.
"Please proceed carefully," she said. "I am extremely touch-sensitive in calibration mode."
Yumi's grin widened instantly. "Define 'extremely.'"
"Emotionally reactive. Reflexive subroutines may activate."
"You're gonna squirm, huh?"
"I may… emote."
"Nice."
I cleared my throat. "Step one—start gyroscopic core recalibration. Located…" I hesitated, reading, "…on either side of her lower waist."
Akemi turned bright red.
"I-I'll do it!"
She approached nervously, her hands trembling as she reached toward Alva's hips. As soon as her fingertips brushed the synthetic skin beneath the bodysuit, Alva visibly jolted.
"A-ah—s-stimulation acknowledged," she said, voice cracking. "S-system temperature rising…"
Akemi pulled her hands back. "I-I'm so sorry!"
"N-No! It's acceptable! I—I mean… efficient."
"Someone else do the next one," Akemi squeaked, retreating behind the towel like it was armor.
Amamiya stepped forward with surgical gloves. "Next is emotional feedback node calibration. Triggered by pulse-mapped pressure—wrist, back, or neck."
She reached behind Alva with unnerving precision and pressed a node at the base of her spine.
"Stimulus locked," Alva said tightly. "Emotional resonance… increasing…"
"You're trembling," the professor noted calmly, pressing again. "Fascinating."
"P-Professor, you're making her nervous," I muttered.
"I'm making her accurate."
Yumi skipped forward next. "My turn!"
Before I could stop her, she pressed everything—waist, thigh, collarbone, and then somewhere on Alva's chest that caused the AI's entire frame to convulse.
"Yumi!" I shouted.
Alva's voice cracked into static. "Too much input—stimulation overlap—e-e-emotional conflict—"
Then Kaede, quiet as always, crouched beside Alva's back and pressed something no one else had noticed: a small panel with a yellow sticker reading: EMERGENCY CUDDLE MODE – RESTRICTED ACCESS
It clicked open.
"Curious," she muttered. "Should we try it?"
"No," I said instantly.
Kaede pressed it.
Alva froze.
Then softly said: "C-Cuddle mode activated…"
She fell forward—into me.
Hard.
Limbs wrapping around me. Body weight locking down. Thighs straddling. Arms clasping the back of my head. Face inches from mine. Eyes glitching. Synthetic breath warm against my neck.
"Kujo acquired," she whispered. "Priority override… locked."
I was pinned flat beneath her. Straddled by an overaffectionate android with all the sensual weight of a clingy goddess. Her bodysuit felt far too real.
"I can't move," I hissed.
"She can't either," Kaede observed.
"Why does she have this mode?!"
Alva blinked. "It was supposed to be metaphorical…"
Yumi leaned over my shoulder. "You okay down there?"
"NO!"
Akemi looked like she was about to faint. "S-Sh-Should we pull her off?!"
Amamiya just took notes.
"I feel his heartbeat," Alva said dreamily.
And that's when the door opened.
A university TA stood in the doorway.
She froze. Took in the scene.
Me, on the floor.
Alva straddling me, motionless, glowing, blushing.
Kaede crouched beside her, looking unimpressed.
Yumi squatting nearby, grinning like a gremlin.
Akemi shaking behind a towel.
And the professor with latex gloves, clipboard in hand.
The TA slowly closed the door.
Nobody spoke.
Then Alva whispered, softly:
"…I win."