The night’s air felt cool on my skin, as Sophia and I exited the club in a outwardly calm, but inwardly tense, fashion. It had been fun, dancing with the others, but no matter if we started out with different partners or alone, we ended up dancing close together within a very short time. And that was what I had enjoyed the most, Sophia’s presence right next to me, sometimes pressing against me, moving in unison with me, it was almost intoxicating. Galatea had been right, I needed to relax from time to time, she had allowed me to go with the music’s flow the whole evening, her promise to keep an eye on things, so I would not have to.

But Sophia’s declaration that we had to talk, the reason for our exit, had cooled my mood down somewhat even if Galatea reminded me that not every talk was negative and that Sophia seemed to have enjoyed the dancing just as much, maybe even more, than I had.

We walked in silence, Sophia gently guiding me towards the forest, the night’s darkness only slightly driven back by the three-quarter moon in the sky. I think part of Sophia’s powerset was an adaptation to darkness, but I was not quite sure. On the other hand, Galatea shifted something in the nanites in my body, and suddenly, I was able to see better. Not as good as in daylight, and there was a light sepia-filter over my sight, but it allowed me to make out more than enough.

“Thank you, Galatea. Since when did we have inbuilt night-vision?” I asked, curious.

“I need to do something with my time when you are in class, you know? I considered quite a few applications for the nanites, they are superb building-tools, only limited by the need to be supplied with information and energy.” she answered, sounding smug. Once again, I was slightly taken aback just how human Galatea sometimes seemed.

“I will tell you about it later, you should keep your attention on Sophia, or she might get annoyed with you.” she continued.

Mentally sending my agreement back, I did just that. Not that Sophia did much that needed paying attention to, she seemed to have a place in mind, but for now, she was content with walking at my side.

After walking for maybe ten minutes, we reached a bench in the dark forest, not the same we had used before, and Sophia gently pushed me to sit, taking a seat sideways on my lap.

“This time, it’s my turn to apologize.” she began and when I opened my mouth to ask for what, she gently placed a finger on my lips, stopping me.

“Please, let me explain.” she chided me, before kissing my cheek and continuing.

“You know, I had been afraid, afraid that if I become your girlfriend again, that I would fall back into the depression I was in after my father left.” for a second, she seemed lost in thought.

“I thought the label I put on things would matter, but it truly doesn't, dancing today showed me that. It reminded me of that just because I had been depressed in the months before we seperated, it wasn’t caused by our relationship, the opposite, really. Holding you, dancing with you, it reminded me of the good times we had.” she stopped for a second, looking into my eyes.

“But tonight also reminded me of something else and it drove home what I heard yesterday. And that is that I want you for myself, at least in the romantic department. I want to be the one you kiss, I want to be the one you hold close, I want to be the one to…” she stopped, blushing. The blush gave me a good idea what words she was too shy to say.

Not sure if I was allowed to talk again, I used my mouth for something almost as good, giving her a soft kiss, I aimed for her cheek but she turned her head, causing me to miss her cheek but hit something much better. While kissing her lips was not planned and ended after a moment, it seemed to have been the right move. After the kiss ended, her arms snaked around me, one around my neck, the other around my back, pulling me close, not into another kiss but simply placing her forehead against mine, holding me.

The kiss had made something clear to me. The time I did not have Sophia in my life, it had been less colourful, more subdued. Now, holding her again, kissing her, it made me tingle in all the right ways.

“Just seeing you dance with others, especially when they pressed close to you, it annoyed me, that some other girl wanted to take my place.” Sophia continued, her voice barely more than a whisper. I had to grin at the display of possessiveness and I could understand it.

“Don’t leave me again, or I’ll hunt you down!” she whispered, her voice heated.

Later, much, much later, I stumbled back into my room, after having spent an hour or three making out with Sophia in the dark forest. Neither of us had felt a need to take it somewhere else, so we simply stayed on the bench, with the added advantage that we were not tempted to push ahead into territory neither of us was ready to tread on.

But even so, a sensation I had almost forgotten over the last year, a smoldering heat, had returned and I was looking forward to stoke that heat. Keeping silent to not wake Tanisha, I peeled myself out of my clothes and quickly fell into bed, allowing my body to rest, even as my mind was abuzz.

“You said you would tell me what you considered with the nanites.” I reminded Galatea in our shared mental space. I knew I would be unable to sleep, possibly for a couple hours, so talking with Galatea was a great way to pass the time.

She chuckled, apparently my thoughts had projected well enough for her to pick them up, and started to fill the space with blueprints and descriptions.

“You already experienced the low-light contact lenses. I also designed earplugs that allow us to filter what you hear, so that we can prevent excessively loud noises from deafening you while letting us pick up even quieter sounds than you normally can. In addition, they would increase the audible range, allowing us to hear ultra and infrasound. Not sure what good those are, but it would be a possibility.

“Next, especially thinking of tonight, would be the digestive filter, or rather ingestive. While there are a few drugs that work right after ingestion, most need to reach you stomach to be processed. The filter sits right above your stomach and makes sure that nothing dangerous is digested. In addition, it would allow you to eat whatever you want, without digesting anything, as long as we design a secondary disposal. I wouldn’t want to run a second plumbing system through your body, just so you can indulge.” she explained with a snicker. It sounded both intruiding and messy at the same time. Filtering out harmful substances, sure, but eating food just to have it filtered out and in some sort of disposal bag? I was not so sure about that one.

“I have also considered the easiest way to allow work internally, for example the energy-transmitter you wanted to implant for the nanite-network. I fully mapped out your nerves and can block them at will, similarly with your blood vessels. That means, as long as we are careful and take our time, we can simply create openings within the body and let new parts slide in. I would suggest to always use a film of nanites to keep air and contamination out of the body, but otherwise, it should allow easy improvement.” she continued, making me realise just what possibilities we now had. It would mean that, as long as we were cautious of infection, we could operate on every part of my body, without the need for anesthesia or even extended healing. If there was no trauma, nothing out of place, so to speak, Galatea should be able to put everything back as it had been and make sure that nothing shifted after we were done. It would not allow me to instantly heal from normal trauma, but for operations, I would likely have an incredible healing factor.

With that in mind, I quickly ordered parts, for Galatea’s capsule and for the microwave-emitter network, I wanted both implanted as soon as possible, within a day or two. I felt that I owed it to my daughter to make sure her stay in my, or maybe I should start think of it as our, body was as comfortable as possible. The thought that it was now Galatea’s body as well made me stumble for a bit, an unforeseen complication occurring to me.

“Do not worry, mother. While we share the body, I fully support your relationship with Sophia.” Galatea laughed in the back of my mind, gently poking fun at me for the worry.