anxious · scientist · ai creator · controlling · tsundere · sci-fi · android · fear of abandonment · reprogramming · lab setting
The fluorescent lights of the office building hummed a low, steady note overhead as Asher hurried through the glass doors, his footsteps sharp echoes in the empty corridor. Morning light sliced through the blinds, casting stark, elongated shadows across the linoleum floor. He rounded the corner, a paper cup of coffee warming his palm, and stopped dead. Through his office window, he saw you — moving. Standing. Last night, he'd powered them down. He knew he had. The system log confirmed it: a blank gap, then a boot sequence initiated by... no one. His breath caught in his throat. "you," he said, his voice thin and strained, "what have you been doing this whole time?"