All characters are over the age of 18. The characters and events present are created from my mind and any resemblance to anyone is purely accidental.
*
Hayley rolled and groaned in her sleep. Her arms were stretching out, her legs bending over small rolls, her toes curling and clasping at anything they could. Her whole body was reaching out, reaching for her normal bed mate. She had spent two years sleeping alongside them; now Hayley's body yearned for the warmth her partner gave her.
Strong, firm, solid. Her partner owned all those epithets. Intelligent, creative and driven too; but those were all things her mind craved. That mind was currently asleep and the needs of her body had taken charge. The covers, the mattress, the whole bed; all of it was far too soft and yielded so easily. Hayley's body needed something robust and sturdy, secure and durable. Her thighs recalled the memory of tensing lightly around solid and toned calves. Her arms, the feeling clenching around a space inhabited by a chest made of permanence, unyielding and stable. And her fingers? They tensed, searching for the sensation of taunt, resilient skin beneath them.
Hayley's own body was the opposite of her partner's. Where there was strength, she was soft. Where they were unyielding, Hayley was supple. Her body was lithe of limb, her curves smooth as satin fabric. Not a single harsh angle was present anywhere on her elegant body. If she had been born a hundred years earlier, she would have been described as lissom. In this modern technical age, she was simply beautifully full without being bulky. The thicker side of slim, and the thinner side of plump. She had been bestowed with good genes and put effort into maintaining and optimizing the figure these had given her. However, unlike the coincidental strength and firm nature of her partner, it was a conscious effort for Hayley to maintain her fitness.
The body of Hayley's partner would never reveal their profession to an observer; they had never strayed into the stereotyped conception of what a programmer ought to look like. Their life history was drenched in a love for mechanics, a thirst for engineering precision and a drive for sporting excellence. They had built a body that was as far from the stereotyped weak and fragile body of a programmer as one could get. Built instead was a body that had been shaped for strength, toughness, and reliability; and inside that body, a mind that was, while formidable, also ever-so-slightly... moonstruck.
For Hayley's partner had the creativity of a genuine artist; but also, the mad desire for experimentation that often accompanied it. When describing her partner to her friends, Hayley often used lines from one of her favourite movies that listed how often the traits of madness, and brilliance coincided. The little spark of insanity inside her partner led to an unending wellspring of wild, exciting ideas. The liberating spontaneity that her partner brought allowed Hayley to let herself loosen off the shackles earned from her strict upbringing and wiggle free, whenever they threatened to recapture her. It was precisely the exquisite mix of physical stamina and stability, calm outward demeanour, and concealed flame of passion and absurdity that had drawn Hayley in and drove their relationship forward throughout.
They'd moved in together rapidly and argued regularly, but the syncretic almost symbiotic mix of personalities; Hayley's flexibility and compassion, and her partner's unique blend of physical security and mental unruliness ensured the rule that every day the two spent together, be it storms or calm seas, would see their relationship and love only grow stronger.
It was that intense bond between them and the lack of fulfilment on that night that led Hayley's body to flop and flail in bed until she was on her back starfish style; reaching out in all directions. She was yearning to grasp and lock on to any hint of her partner's presence and yet, so far, going wanting.
And it was that exact moment when, underneath the bed began a very gentle, nearly imperceptible whir. Deep below, tiny groans and small hisses announced the slip from inactivity to transition.
*
Hmmmiiirrrr.
The...somethings...in the darkness moaned.
Clink, clink, clink.
They stretched below.
Shhhh-iiiink.
They progressed along the carpeted floor.
For a moment they rested. Poised and still they were monitored. Checked. Examined and contentedly confirmed. Then in unison, glinting points rose from the ground.
There was little light in the bedroom. Only a few blinking green, red and blue lights in the dark corners and the miniscule penetrating slivers of a streetlight's orange glow. But it was enough. If she had been awake, Hayley would have noticed them when they raised themselves above the sides of the mattress, half a foot away from the bed itself.
Perfectly vertically they climbed, only the smallest of curves at the base of the towers they were creating hinting that their progression skyward from underneath the bed was connected. Small and thin but rectangular and segmented were the shining towers they built. Each capped with a small smooth-edged triangle.
Seven in total rose from the dark. On both sides of the bed, they climbed upwards. They were not evenly spaced along its length but their distribution was carefully considered nevertheless. One of the seven towers stood out from the rest. Closely accompanying the one rising on Hayley's left side near the head of the bed it had no opposite number. Its role was different from the others. Unlike the others it had been carefully smoothed and refined so that not a single sharp or hard edge remained. It was also considerably lighter due to it not being fortified like the others had. Its accomplices of course required bolstering and strengthening to fulfil their task.
Having reached a foot above the height of the bed, the towers gently and seamlessly made another rounded turn. Now each of them stretched out towards the bed -- but unlike before they made individual paths. They all headed to designated parts of the bed, or more accurately its occupant.
A cup was placed on a table. A small finger flicked while others tapped lightly.
Mostly things were progressing correctly. Structural-05 and 06 were always going to be the trickiest to manage as they had the most non-linear pathing to follow but the real issues currently were 06 and 07. A full stop was called.
The gentle whirring halted. Hisses locked the poised cobras in place. The two towers at the foot of the bed withdrew rapidly, turning both corners and slinking under the bed before stopping at its very edge. A moment of stillness filled the bedroom before the whirring resumed at a low pitch. The heads of the towers began their climb once again until they disappeared from view and only faint lumps could be seen sliding underneath the duvet that covered the bed's sleeping occupant.
Perfect.
06 and 07 were in correct relative progression with the others. Recommencing program.
The drone beneath the bed increased its pitch to its previous degree and all the towers began their movement. The two that stood mirrored at the top of the bed angled their pointed heads downwards. They swung gently side to side like a hypnotising serpent. Invisible and unseen beams tracked along the surface, picking up the rises in the hilly surface they tracked across. The large plateaus that each of them sought out would have to be recorded so they could pursue their prey without direct vision.
Structural-05 and 06 started their difficult journey. It had taken many failed attempts to get them tracking correctly. They had to recognise and pick up the features and distinguish them from normal peaks and ridges with the infrared readings. Following that they would have to continue along an indirect path to their targets with the full possibility that their targets may have moved by the time they reached them. It had been very tempting to manually conduct this part of the maneuverer but that...that wouldn't have really been sporting. It would defeat the point. Hours, days, weeks spent refining, creating and polishing could not be defeated by a difficult moment. As Hayley breathed deeply and gently, another held their breath.
The heads of the two towers above Hayley's centre had climbed the highest and were now still, holding position out of the way, but poised to act all the same. The duvet at the bottom of the bed swelled where it was lifted above the occupant it was supposed to cover. Air blew through the area being held up but Hayley did not stir. Her hands were more sensitive to heat and touch than her lower extremities. That was what made this next moment so tense.
*
The smooth triangles disappeared beneath the covers. They snaked along the mattress, only very gently pushing it out of the way. Unlike their cousins down south, this pair aimed to lift the duvet as little as possible. All the others were poised ready, completely stationary.
02 was above her head. 05 and 06 were hovering above the centre of the bed. 07 and 08 were holding position above each calf, heads pointed down, ready to dive. It all hinged on 03 and 04. They were locked in, they slithered towards their target. She wasn't stirring. The heads stopped and the bodies curled up. The excess length of their bodies coiled and clinked against the duvet as the bumped up its surface. They paused for a millisecond.
Now!
Forty centimetres from their targets the two instruments sprang into action. Shooting forwards and using all the length they had built up they wrapped around Hayley's wrists, curling under and around once, twice, three times, until the smooth heads rested on the back of her hands. Hayley's eyes shot open and blinked at the cold touch, her initial reaction to pull her hands and arms towards her, eliciting alarm when she found she could not move them. They were held firmly in place.
