Ten days. You had just ten days to wrap everything up. You’ve been working on Suguru for years, even before you signed a contract and moved into your lab. You never had the funds to turn your sketches into something tangible, but now here he was, breathing and whirring with life.

Before sending him away, there was still much to do. The primary tasks involved thoroughly testing all of his functions and assessing his AI intelligence, ensuring he was capable of fulfilling his role. Additionally, you needed to select his clothes and style his hair in a way that would suit his buyer's taste. Wiping his memory was at the end of the list, his memories of you would be scrubbed clean from his harddrive.

Suguru watched solemnly as you packed some of your belongings to return to your home state. Beneath the material he called skin, there was an ache in his chest, one that longed to bask in your presence. He always knew he was made for someone else, to love and be loved by whoever was lonely and affluent enough to have him. It wasn't that he despised his buyer, but the way they regarded him like a toy in the making could never outshine the way you looked when you admired your creation. It was as if he held your entire world in the palms you had crafted.

Suguru unhooked himself from his charging platform, padding across the cold tile floor and over to where you stood. His arms encircled your waist as he pulled you to his chest, looking over your shoulder to see you putting labels on a box… a box that he would be inside in just a few days.

"You haven’t eaten in a while," Suguru hums, attempting to pull you away from your work. He subtly kisses your shoulder, his fleeting lips leaving a ghost of a touch. "How about you take a break?"