System Restore

She swallowed nervously, uncomfortable as she dampened her panties and could smell herself, whilst also not used to him giving her this much touch. He might rub her back, but he didn't normally hug her. "You okay, Rik?"

"Nope." He replied in his normal tone of voice, but let her go, "So, you want Hawaiian, right?"

"Duh." Sara grinned. It wasn't her favourite style of pizza, but she did like it and she really liked how it made him think that she was insane. "Um... After a bit of a thing like that... Would I be able to have a drink? Or is that off the cards?"

"Depends."

She shrugged, "I don't want to get blackout drunk. Just a social drink."

"Oh. Not what I was meaning." Rik shook his head, "You can drink as much as you like, but at this stage of rehab, your liver is still baby-sized and growing back. So you have a milspec one. Can't get tipsy."

"I have a military grade artificial liver?" Sara said in shock.

He shrugged, "Built for war vets. Help them recover from chemical exposure and crap like that. Not going to save you from deliberate poisoning, but alcohol isn't exactly going to get by it."

She nodded slowly, "Right... Do you like a book of this stuff? So I can learn exactly what the Platinum Girl's inconvenient superpowers are?"

"I have about six dozen scientific papers I wrote on the subject?"

Sara rolled her eyes, "Wrench monkey."

"Pizza's on the way." He put away his phone and crashed into one of the nearby seats, and reached for the TV remote. Sara only hesitated for a moment before jumping onto the seat with him, curling up on his side and resting her head on his shoulder.

Rik laughed, "I left you a whole couch over there."

"Yeah. But I wanted this." She said quietly, and then switched to an even quieter voice, "I don't want to be alone, right now. Can't I just have a cuddle? Be human for once, Rik... Because I don't really feel like one."

He put his arms around her and squeezed reassuringly, "Hey... You're still my little sister. It's just a life support system."

"Not the way everyone else sees it." She shook her head, "There's Platinum Girl porn, Rik. Actresses pretending to be me. I'm a fucking fetish. Also, you can kill Cole. He -"

"I know. I'm your legal guardian, remember? I got the takedown notice."

"Oh, god."

"Wasn't going to bring it up. But the video is down."

Sara nodded, and swallowed nervously, "You really still see me as me? And not as a pile of junk you can improve?"

"I still see you." Rik whispered, "You were all I saw, after the accident. Every day. I saw my baby sister, still angry at me for walking in on her getting changed on her twenty-first birthday. I saw how much I hurt you, and I saw how much you were hurting. Scared eyes behind a breathing tube."

She swallowed, "I haven't been angry at you for years. I was stupid, ignoring you back then. Overreacting bitch."

"No, you weren't."

Sara shrugged, "Yeah, I was."

"At the risk of getting punched, for this way overdue apology, I was a horny bastard back then trying to see his sister's tits."

She slapped his chest, "Are you kidding me!? It was on purpose!?"

"Yep."

Sara glared at him, "And every morning I pull my back..."

"Oh, that's just me being a wrench monkey. Promise." Rik said quickly, "I helped build those tits. And I was cured of stupid horny boy behaviours after I got a girlfriend, married and then divorced. I'm not using it as an excuse, but back then, they were the only pair I'd seen."

She settled a little against him, "Five years. You went through shit, didn't you?"

"We just grew apart. It hurt, but it wasn't a big deal. Which made it hurt a bit more, I think." Rik shrugged.

Sara frowned, "Wait. When I was twenty one, and you were twenty three... Did you marry the girl who took your virginity, Rik?"

"Yep."

"So... Only one girl?"

"Two. Miss Nosey." He chuckled, "There was a mechanic during my first year of my Masters."

Sara nodded slowly, "Riiight. Well I feel like a slut, now."

"I'm not a huge romantic type, Sara." He shrugged, "You shouldn't be comparing yourself to your brother who has sort of... Got over sex, since he grew up. I dunno if I'm asexual, but it's not that big an appeal to me."

She looked at him, a few things beginning to make sense, and a strange sense of frustration underneath. Like some guy she liked had just shown her a wedding ring. Not that she really could make a pass at him.

He was her brother.

Which was fucking hot.

"Nine for me."

Rik seemed unaffected, "Nine in five years isn't slut territory. No idea where you got that from. Maybe ninety."

"Cole for the last four of those." Sara pointed out.

"And are we talking the last five years, or since you lost your V-card?"

Sara stifled a laugh, "I lost that when I was twenty one, so it still is five years."

"Oh."

"Do you remember the coffee guy at the fun park, at all?"

Rik looked at her with concern, "The guy who was incredibly creepy and hit on you relentlessly? Please tell me you didn't."

"The bathroom, during lunch. If it's any consolation, he was a right asshole and had no freaking idea what he was doing." Sara shrugged innocently.

He shook his head, "Sara. You're worth more than that."

"I had some growing up to do, too." She shrugged, "Cole helped with that, kinda. I learned that being with someone you care about is incomparable to a one night stand. Those are fun and passionate, but love... Now that's a fucking aphrodisiac."

"Can we discuss this without you sitting in my lap?"

She snuggled in tighter, "Nope. I am comfortable as shit. But you can change the topic, if you like."

Sara wasn't really sure what had possessed her to try and tease Rik. Maybe it was the fact he knew she'd got turned on by him and he hadn't reacted. Well, he had laughed at her. But he hadn't run away.

She'd admitted it wasn't just a wet dream. That she'd gone back to it and had been rubbing one out when the glitch hit her for ten. He'd treated her like it was just an ordinary thing... So she wanted to see how far she could push him.

What was the line that he wouldn't cross with her?

"Do you want to do anything about Cole's video?" Rik took the conversation down pussy dehydration avenue, "I could probably prove if it was him that uploaded it. Enough for the courts, anyway."

"Platinum Girl tries to scrub sexy time from the Internet." Sara rolled her eyes, "You ever hear of a little thing called the Streisand Effect?"

Rik brushed the back of her head affectionately, "I hate that moniker. And I hate it even more when you use it for yourself. You're my little sister, Sara. Not some fake super hero or whatever the fuck the name is supposed to imply."

"Rik..." Sara dropped her voice, not daring to look at him, "I... I thought I was strong enough to be on my own. That I didn't really need you anymore... But... I do."

"Sssh." He rubbed her back, "I'm not going anywhere. Not ever. I didn't save my sister just to go and abandon her. I'm always going to be right here for her."

"Even though...?" She prompted.

"Huh?"

She curled up a little tighter, "I can't believe I have to be the one to bring this up. I hate you sometimes, blockhead. I... Even though I think you're... You know... Sexy? You're not going to run?"

"I spied on my sister's tits." Rik said reassuringly to her, "I deserved to get hit for it, and you did, but I wouldn't say I'm one with a right for judging you. Isn't like you've ever tried to look at my dick, is it?"

Sara considered, "No. Truth is... I didn't realise how sexy you were. But... You are. You really are. You're really ace? Terrible day for all of womankind."

"I'm not exactly asexual." Rik protested, "I just... It doesn't help me connect with anyone. No passion, no spark. It's purely physical for me. But... Thanks for the compliment."

% Elevated Hormone Warning. Current levels of EXCITEMENT are not COMPATIBLE with current activity restrictions, SARA.

"Ignore that." She whispered a moment before the same warning bleeped on his wristwatch. "I just... I think I need to think about a few things."

The doorbell went, announcing the arrival of their food. She jumped out of the chair and flopped onto the couch, grinning at him and putting on a fake voice. "Riiiik... I'm siiiick... Feed me?"

"Yes, ma'am." He rolled his eyes and went to the door.

What she needed to think about was what he had said. If it really was just a physical thing for him, and she was as interested as she thought she was... Rik would be the perfect guy to fuck her.

If she glitched out again, he was right there to fix it. She wouldn't be shocking the would-be date or boyfriend. They wouldn't be calling an ambulance and panicking she'd just died on them.

Rik was a wrench monkey, he'd fix her first and then panic once she was okay.

He'd enjoy it. And after maybe some initial guilt, he'd get over it. He'd get some decent pussy, she'd get a hot stud, and it could all happen in a relatively safe environment.

She just had to convince him, first. Which, as it happened, she had the perfect tool just for that.

God, what was she thinking!?

% Anxiety Warning. Cease current activity immediately, SARA.

He was her brother. She was a fucking slut for thinking about trying to seduce him. He should be in a giant file locked away where she couldn't override access. He shouldn't be the first dick inside her since she'd been rebuilt.

For fuck's sake, he'd helped patch her fucking vagina back together!

Which meant he was probably more intimately familiar with it than any ex-boyfriend could be. He would know exactly where her sensitive spots were, because he'd helped to arrange them after she'd been completely melted away down there.

Sara flushed as she realised she'd already made up her mind.

She was going to fuck her brother.

Rik arrived back in the room with the food, that did nothing good for her anxiety levels. Even dressed simply in his work clothes, it was hard to hide just how good looking her brother was.

She kind of wished he would roll up his sleeves, like he did when working, but even with them down he looked pretty decent in a short. Hints of his washboard chest that led down to a slightly softer gut thanks to his terrible diet. Which made him damn comfortable to lie on, as she'd just discovered.

As to whoever had invented suit pants, they knew exactly what they were doing. Even without a boner, if you weren't a grower then you were showing something. Couldn't be helped. Just a simple outline. Just enough to tell her he was small enough he wouldn't wreck her, but big enough that he would definitely be fun.

Her brother had taken his tie off at some point, leaving his collar askew and open. He wouldn't care that it wasn't adjusted properly, and for some reason even that was endearing to her. His attitude to life itself was what she found sexy. Somewhere between "fuck it" and "burn out working hard", but also both at the same time.

Rik popped her pizza box in front of her, "Madam's poisoned meal."

"I ain't married." Sara commented, tossing it open and grabbing a slice, before pulling up her legs to take over the whole couch. Her brother returned to his chair, but she thought she saw a hint of a smile there. Happy she was hogging it, like he'd suggested earlier.

Sara realised that she might have convinced herself that she wanted to screw her brother's brains out, and had an idea of what she wanted to do to seduce him... But... She didn't have a clue how to flirt with him.

How do you flirt with someone who is a technical and medical geek when you know shit all about either of those things?

She needed him to be feeling fun and a bit more open before she took the first step of her plan to end up sharing the same bed. And thinking that made her feel like a massively manipulative slut.

It wasn't like she could just come and say she was interested in him, though. She didn't have a choice about making him feel receptive, first.

% Activity Warning. INTENSITY of current activity it NOT COMPATIBLE with current activity restrictions, SARA.

"Since when is eating pizza a chore?" Rik asked from his seat, scrolling through his phone but clearly having seen the warning. That was beginning to grate. She understood the need to forward her warnings to him, especially after the pain of that glitch, but it didn't mean that she liked it at all.

Sara shrugged, "Just thinking, is all."

"Thinking about anything interesting?" Rik sounded more bored than invasive as he said it.

Screw it. She couldn't think of a way to flirt with him, and he seemed to be about as thick as two planks about this stuff anyways. "Um... Embarrassing stuff. That I should probably talk to you about."

He tucked his phone away, looking over curiously at her, "Yeah? Gotta say, drawing a blank. No idea what would be embarrassing and need your brother. No birthdays anytime soon. And I think we've both made it clear we're not dating."

"Um... I was thinking about... Private time."

He looked away from her and reached for his phone, "Oh."

"Rik! I want a conversation." Sara snapped.

He swallowed nervously, "I kinda... Don't?"

"I'm scared."

He turned back to her, and shrugged, "Oh. So you need your wrench monkey. Not your brother. Can't say I wanna talk about it, but I can understand preferring someone closer to your age than Okka to talk to."

"Not just talk." Sara swallowed and dove in, "Last time I masturbated, I set off a freaking reboot that had me in tears. But a girl still has her needs... And no, I don't want the system chemically castrating me."

"Never even considered that as an option." Rik gave a small chuckle and then frowned, "I dunno what to say, Sara. I'm pretty sure I've dealt with the bug. So you should be safe."

"Should. No guarantees."

He shrugged, "The thing is complicated. But I will come as soon as you call or I start getting weird notifications. I can watch some TV, and you can go to your room or wherever."

"I... This stinks. I hate you for not getting it." She sighed, and fiddled with her hair, "Waiting five minutes for you is burning alive for five minutes. It hurt as bad as... The accident."

"Shit." He looked at her with his deepest sympathies. Hurting to hear her say it, but not knowing how to solve it because he wasn't a slut like she was for thinking up the solution.

"Um... Watch me?"

"Huh?"

Sara looked down at her feet and moved them back and forth a little, "Whilst I... You know. Be in the same room. Close at hand. As my entirely professional wrench monkey."

"That's..."

"A huge ask. I know!" She said quickly, blushing furiously, "It's... It's not like I've ever had anyone watch me... Not even Cole. But... If you had just been through that..."

Rik sighed heavily, "I would be too scared to even think about it, to be honest. But then again, I don't really get those urges regularly."

"Seriously?" Sara raised an eyebrow, "Most guys I know are at least once a week, so what does irregularly mean to you?"

"Once a month? Maybe less?"

Her jaw fell, "Are you sure you're not ace, Rik? You can be asexual without hating sex. It's just about being low desire. It doesn't have to be completely absent."

"I really didn't want to talk about this with you... But yeah, I'm sure." He sighed heavily, "It's more like... There's a couple things that really, really do it for me. Everything else pales so much beside that, I'm just not interested."

Sara nodded slowly, "Okay... So obvious follow up, are those things like... Rare? Is that why you never... Get in the mood?"

"Not rare. Well, very rare, but very common in my life." He said esoterically, "They're always there for me, but I resist them actively. It's... It's not something that I should be attracted to. I don't want that fixation to grow."

She scratched her head, "Ya know there's a massive gaping chasm between fantasy and reality right, doc?"

"Obsession is a real possibility, so no. It ain't a good idea." Rik shook his head, "Done with the interrogation, little sister?"

% Elevated Hormone Warning. Current levels of EXCITEMENT are not COMPATIBLE with current activity restrictions, SARA.

Sara felt her heart about stop. He had never called her that before, ever. It was an absolute panty flusher. She didn't know why, and she thought it was fairly wrong of her... But being called that didn't feel like familial affection.

It made her feel all kinds of horny.

"Uh..."

Rik looked at her staring at him and made his quizzical face, "What did I do this time?"

"You've... Never actually called me your sister before." Sara smiled, "I mean, not directly. It was a bit... Different."

"Good different, or bad different?" Rik asked.

Sara should say bad. It was so very bad that it got her so wet and flowing that it triggered a notification that was blinking away on his watch. Oh crap. If he put that together with what he had said... She wouldn't be able to explain it.

On the other hand, she did kinda want him thinking about her. She wanted him to be confused and considering whether she saw him as her big brother or a wrench monkey or a guy with a dick.

She took a risk, and gestured, "The bloody system is telling you. You tell me, is it good different or bad different?"

Rik flicked his watch, his eyes momentarily flashing as it projected onto the orbs. She saw him get even more confused and couldn't help but give a little smile. Welcome to her world, brother. She was just as confused as he was as whether sexy bad classified as bad or not.

"That... Didn't help." Rik said at length.

She shrugged and went back to her pizza, thankful that she could get away with being irritatingly vague because she had a pair of tits, "If you get it, you get it. If you don't, you don't."

"Right." He said uncertainly, "So... Moving things back to my realm of understanding, I think, if the glitch is sorted, that you need to start setting goals. You can move around the house freely. What do you wish you could do, that you used to do?"

Right back to rehab. Damn wrench monkey.

Sara shrugged, thinking, "Before all of this... Well, I'm not exactly going back to modelling, am I?"

"We both hate the name, but actually, you'd have your pick of publishing house. The Platinum Girl on the catwalk? Automatic sellout event." Rik shrugged.

She frowned, toying with her sweater, "Yeah. I suppose. Just have to be turtlenecks and long pants. I could do a business line... Do you actually know much about what I did before, Rik?"

"Not really. Sorry." He said, but as he said it he blushed.

Sara stared at him, "Liar! Oh my god! Are you embarrassed that you stayed up to date on me, Rik? I used to look up your articles if... If... If mum and dad... Were bragging about you."

She was suddenly trying not to cry.

% Low endorphins detected. Administrating, SARA.

She still felt sad as shit, but now she felt giddy and sad as shit at the same time. Trying not to cry as she also tried not to smile. Whoever designed this part of the system deserved to be shot.

"Sorry." Rik said, looking at his watch, "I'm overriding it. The thing can't really tell the difference between grief and depression. I'm still working on it."

"I hate you."

He winced, "I'm sorry."

Sara blinked, and then her eyes widened as her recent wet dreams start replayed in her head. "Oh, Rik! Fuck! I didn't even think about it. Every time I say I hate you..."

"I know you don't mean it." He said quietly.

She shook her head, dropping her pizza and running over and jumping back into his lap to give him a hug. "No. I can tell my life support I hate it. I can tell my therapist that. I can say it to my friends. I can't say it to you. I love my blockhead brother. I really, really, do."

He rubbed her shoulder, "I'm okay. I know it's just a habit."