Chapter Text
Ariane Yeong had never had any real expectations for the Penrose program beyond being able to finally get away from all her troubles. From the bullies and blockwarts on Rotfront or the oppression of the Nation as a whole, she simply needed an escape from it all, and being quite literally shot into space was far too good to pass up.
Yet it was what, rather who, she found aboard the vessel that shocked her most. An LSTR unit intended solely for maintaining the ship was now the closest person to her, if not ever. She had gone from somewhat irritating, preventing the initial solitude Ariane had wanted, to being her lover, despite being taboo by National standards
It was like some kind of fairy tale, Ariane thought, like some fairy godmother whisked her away from all her worries with a knight in shining armor to boot. Like a dream she most certainly didn’t want to wake up from.
“Ariane?”
She broke out of her daze, realizing she had been staring at Elster, who was fixing a light in the corridor outside her quarters.
“Are you alright? You’ve been looking my way for some time now, I had grown worried you needed my assistance.”
“O-oh! Was I? Sorry, I was just lost in thought, that’s all.”
“Oh? About what?” Elster inquired, her attention shifting fully from her work to her partner.
“About all of this, you know?” Ariane explained. “How by some miracle of chance you and I found each other on this ship, and how we’ve become as close as we are. I never would’ve dreamed anything like this was possible a few years ago.”
“Having a relationship with someone, or the nature of ours?” Elster asked, genuinely curious.
“A relationship at all. I was close with the Itou twins on Rotfront, but there was never a time I felt I would have been ready to ask out either Isa or Eri, even though I was definitely more than just a bit fond of them,” Ariane elaborated.
“And besides, all the other girls at Mandelbrot weren’t exactly fond of my…” She paused to decide the right word before landing on-
“differences,”.
Elster knew immediately what Ariane was referring to, multiple nights of assuaging her lover’s anxieties made certain of that. Ariane had been bullied relentlessly for her premature achromotrichia, with her hair having gone white before she was even sixteen. Additionally, her gender transition made her even more of a target for most other girls in her class, with them calling her various derogatory terms and even assaulting her at times.
“I still cannot fathom why someone would mistreat another for what amounts to only superficial differences,” Elster said, her disdain for Ariane’s tormentors as strong as ever. “A person’s hair color should not determine how you treat them, nor should their gender identity.”
Ariane chuckled. “If only everyone were like you Ellie, the Nation would be way more tolerable. I might’ve even stayed. Then again, I wouldn’t have met you.”
“I’m more than certain you would have someone who would make you happy.”
“Yeah, but they wouldn’t be you.”
A gentle smile formed on Elster’s face. She walked toward Ariane and hugged her, holding the smaller woman’s head to her chest. Ariane happily returned the favor; she thought it was adorable to see Elster come out of her shell over the last few months.
They spent a moment in each other’s embrace before a light behind the replika flickered, drawing her focus once again. “Unfortunately I must return to my duties, but perhaps we can do something together tonight? We have not danced in some time and I must admit I am beginning to miss it.”
“I would love nothing more!” Ariane chirped, always excited to give her magpie another lesson. She stood on the tips of her feet and planted a kiss on her lover’s lips before making her way to the door.
Elster smirked and turned back to the light, beginning to reassemble panels that held the light in place, already daydreaming about dancing later that night. As she was about to step through the door, Ariane stole one last look at the woman she loved and felt her heart skip a beat.
Ariane always had a very deep appreciation for Elster’s features from her blue-black hair to her eyes that were as blue as Vinetan seas, to that adorable smile she had when the two of them would dance into the night. Yet this time, Ariane found herself feeling a bit warmer under the collar than normal.
The first things she focused on were Elster’s arms, synthetic musculature shifting the grey polyethylene plates that covered them as she worked. Her eyes then began to wander, first to the various gunmetal panels making up the replika’s back, watching them slide up and down with each movement she made. She then shifted her gaze to Elster’s legs, taking in the replika’s wide hips and strong thighs. These traits were given to her to help carry heavy equipment, of course, but all Ariane’s thoughts were far from AEON approved.
“Goddess above…” Ariane murmured, fully enamored by the woman in front of her.
“Was there something else?” Elster asked, now realizing Ariane had not yet left.
“O-oh no no, not at all!” Ariane stammered, a deep red blush forming on her face. “I was just thinking out loud, wanted to make sure I got the calculations for our travel trajectory right!”
She quickly made her way to the bridge, leaving Elster confused as to what could have been so embarrassing.
A few hours had passed and the time had come for Elster’s lesson. She had come so far since her first lesson, no longer moving as clumsily or stepping on Ariane’s toes as much, not that Ariane minded. Getting to see her lover so excited to improve, especially if it meant more time that the two of them could spend together, made her absolutely overjoyed.
Though admittedly Ariane had other things on her mind, namely the feelings from earlier that cycle. She had been trying to exorcise the thought from her mind, as if it were a demon’s influence making her have such lewd thoughts, with little success. She found herself thinking more and more of mechanical hands touching her wherever they pleased, of being on her knees servicing the object of her affection, a myriad of thoughts that were each more arousing than the last.
“My Goddess, the things that woman does to me,” Ariane sighed, overly warm with need. She was frustrated with herself for being so worked up over Elster’s physique even hours later. She needed to bring herself back to reality, focus on the things immediately around her and not her presently overactive libido. It wasn’t entirely her fault she felt this way of course; by all standards replikas were designed to be similar to a gestalt in terms of overall anatomy. Things deemed “conventionally attractive” would inarguably present in both gestalts and replikas, but her own tendency to let her mind wander did her no favors.
A sudden knock on her door woke her from her daze, with her attention shifted to the entrance of her room. “Ari? May I come in?” Elster asked from the hall, wanting to both check if the gestalt was in at the moment and to respect if she had wished to have some privacy as well.
“Of course! J-just a moment!” Ariane stuttered, trying to compose herself as to not arouse any suspicion, or allow herself to grow further aroused for that matter.
She opened the door for her partner. “Hey you! What is it? How can I help?” Ariane babbled, still coming down from the initial jolt she received a few minutes ago.
“I was wondering if we were still planning on having our dance lesson tonight? You’ve seemed a bit distracted today and I hadn’t wanted to impose if something was troubling you.”
“Oh no no I’m fine, really! I just panicked a bit earlier, I realized I had miscalculated our trajectory and was worried it was too late to correct it.”
“Oh? You could have come to me all the same, my love. I would have been more than happy to help if I could,” Elster reassured her.
“You had your duties to attend to, little magpie, and I would have hated to interrupt you while you were working,” Ariane cooed, assuaging the replika’s concerns. “Besides! It took no time at all, so we still have time for your lesson!”
A small smile appeared on Elster’s face as she gave a short chuckle. “So long as everything is alright, my little dove.”
Ariane melted a little at the pet name, as she did whenever Elster was particularly loving. Having not received any romantic affection before meeting Elster made any she received from her partner just that much more impactful. “Always the sweetheart, aren’t we?” she teased. “What music were you wanting to use for tonight by the way? I know you took a liking to Swan Lake.”
Elster thought about it for a moment. She’d certainly developed a fondness for the works of Tchaikovsky, but lately a particular song by Debussy had become a bit of an earworm.
“Actually, perhaps we could listen to Clair de lune instead? I know you have said in the past you find it to be overplayed but I have had it repeating over and over in my mind as I worked these last few cycles.” Elster suggested, hoping
“Really now?” Ariane inquired. She had assumed that if something bothersome found its way into a replika’s memory that they would simply delete it and move on. In practical cases, anyway.
“Really. I have even found myself humming it at times.”
“So that’s what that was! I thought I heard you but I couldn't place the melody,” Ariane giggled. The thought of her little bird singing to herself was adorable. “Clair de lune it is!”
She almost skipped over to her collection of vinyl records, skimming through them until she found a compilation album of Claude Debussy. She plucked it from its sleeve and placed it in the small record player she kept close to her bed. With how she was acting, one would never assume that not but twenty minutes ago she was actively coming undone because of her lover’s synthetic hips.
She walked back to her replika partner and they took their usual positions, Ariane’s left hand pressing against Elster’s right shoulder, while Elster placed her right hand on the curve of Ariane’s hip.
They danced slowly to match the tempo of the song, a gentle waltz intended to help wind down the night. Ariane looked up at Elster, gazing into those deep azure eyes.
“I love you, Ellie. I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” Ariane said, her heart beating a little faster now. “You’ve made me so happy.”
“I love you too, Ariane,” Elster replied. “You’ve made me immeasurably happy, and I am so lucky to be yours.”
Ariane stepped closer to her magpie, and Elster, taking the hint, pulled her dove closer, with their lips meeting almost immediately. The world around them seemed to fall away, their focus only on one another. As it went on, the kiss became deeper, more passionate. Elster lost herself in the moment, with her grip on Ariane’s hip becoming firm and snug, almost restrainingly so.
The reaction was near instant, with Ariane folding almost immediately. Normally she was only held this tight in a hug, the kind you get after opening some deep, emotional part of yourself up to someone, prompting “I love you”s and a kiss here or there, but having already become so worked up over the course of the cycle made this push her over the edge.
She could pull me close, Ariane thought, kiss me and bite my neck before squeezing my ass. Maybe she would have me face the wall, hold me in place while she reaches under my top to grope my breasts. Goddess, what if she had me take off my uniform so she could bend me over anywhere she likes and…
“Ariane? Are you alright?”
She snapped back to reality, now aware of just how distracted she had become. Her knees had gone weak, leaving Elster looking down at her with genuine concern.
“Is something wrong? Did I make a mistake?” Elster sputtered, beginning to panic.
Ariane rapidly composed herself as best she could in order to assuage the corvid’s worries. “No no, you didn’t! Not at all!” she reassured, choosing her words as she said them. “I’ve just… I’ve been distracted today, that’s all,” she said, feeling her face turn red.
“By what?”
“Well it’s…” Ariane said, pausing for a moment. “It’s something a bit strange, I’ll admit. I’ve not been sure how to tell you, so I’ve been hoping it goes away on its own.”
“Whatever it is, I am always more than happy to listen at the very least,” Elster assured her. She was a problem solver at heart, happy to help with everything from the ship’s hardware to Ariane’s emotional troubles.
Ariane sighed with a smile. She found her partner’s eagerness adorable. “It's just… you remember earlier this cycle? When you were fixing the light?”
Elster nodded. “I do, something was bothering you then too. I take it our trajectory was not actually the issue?”
“Perceptive as always,” Ariane teased. “No it wasn't that, it was… well it was you, actually.”
“Can you elaborate? I’d like to help you if I can.”
“No no it wasn’t anything you did! It was actually um… i-it was your body, actually.”
“Oh? I’m not quite sure I understand,” Elster admitted, a puzzled look forming on her face.
Ariane decided to stop beating around the bush and be direct. “What I mean is I think you’re… arousing. I keep getting lost in thoughts about your body, about being in bed with you,” she explained, her heart racing. “It was only ever really a background thought before today, but then I saw you at work and got lost in staring at your hips, your waist, your muscles, oh my Goddess your muscles. Then there was just now when you grabbed my hip and thought about all the things you could do to me and I-“ she babbled, stopping abruptly when she realized just what she had said.
A blush formed on Elster’s face. “O-oh.” She stammered, having expected anything other than an admission that her commanding officer wanted her carnally.
“I-I know, it’s strange that I’d even think of this, I mean you don’t have reproductive bits at all and I’ve got a di-“
“Ariane.”
There was a pause as Elster worked out how to say what was on her mind, still shocked at what Ariane had just confessed.
“I do not believe there is anything wrong with you feeling these things, nor do I think you should feel any shame regarding how your own anatomy would affect any action we might take, it’s just…”
The pause made Ariane’s heart drop. This was it, she’d come on too strong and now she made things uncomfortable.
“I can not understand how you could feel these things for someone like myself, that’s all,” Elster resumed, looking away from her commanding officer with a somewhat dejected look now on her face. “I don’t have any reproductive organs, nor was I intended for anything sensual. It would make more sense to me for you to feel this way towards a gestalt woman.”
Ariane was relieved that nothing between them had changed, but knew she needed to assuage Elster’s worries here and now, leaving no room for a misunderstanding. “Ellie, I didn’t fall for you because of any physical parts of you. You listened to me when I was venting about my dysphoria, you’ve helped me with my duties without talking down to me. You’ve been someone I can trust with anything.”
Elster looked back up at Ariane, their eyes meeting.
“You treat me like a person. You genuinely, deeply care about me so it’s no wonder I came to care about you as well, y’know? You being a replika doesn’t matter to me, what matters is that you are you.”
Elster’s eyes were tearing up now, Ariane’s words reassuring her that this was real, that the woman she loved very much felt the same towards her, regardless of anything physical. She walked towards the gestalt and pulled her into a very deep hug, holding the snowy-haired woman to her chest.
“I love you, Ariane. So incredibly much.”
“I love you, too, Elster. I’m not going anywhere.”
They remained in each other’s embrace for a while before Ariane, realizing there was still a question she had unanswered, broke the silence.
“So, Ellie?”
“Yes?”
“About earlier, in regards to my thoughts about you?” Ariane asked, feeling her chest tighten in anticipation.
“You want to know if I would want to act on them as well?” Elster replied. “I must admit to being curious as to what this could entail. There’s also the question of what my own response to this could be.” Elster’s more clinical tone found its way into most all conversations the two had, but it had become reassuring to Ariane, a guarantee that her lover was listening and genuinely cared about whatever the current subject was.
“Is that a yes?” Ariane asked cautiously, almost as if she was expecting to wake up at any minute.
“It is, out of both curiosity as well as my own… excitement.”
“Excitement?” Ariane asked, a mild blush appearing as she already had a guess as to what her magpie meant.
“I find the idea of intimacy like this very alluring, there is a much stronger emotional connection to be had in it. Additionally, I have had my own… ‘thoughts’,” Elster elaborated while making air quotes with her fingers, something she had picked up from Ariane. “Every time we have embraced, kissed or had physical contact at all, I find myself lingering on having my hands on you, wanting more as time went on. I was unsure of what to make of it, but now that you have brought this up, I cannot help but think that this may be what I need.”
Ariane thought for a moment. “How do you feel about all this? You told me about those dreams you’ve had, do you think this might be related?”
“I do not. I have felt a great many things as a result of my dreams, but my feelings for you are my own.”
Ariane’s heart melted at the words. She frequently had anxieties regarding how Elster felt about her, so any genuine reassurances were always appreciated and then some.
“Goddess you're sweet,” she said, before realizing that Elster had just told her, in her own way, that she felt sexually attracted to her. “S-so um would.. w-would you want to try something like that sometime? Kind of like an experiment?” She stammered, the blush on her face now developing rapidly.
“So long as you are comfortable with it.”
“When would you want to?” Ariane asked, wanting to be courteous and not interrupt any maintenance Elster may have scheduled or tasks that need finished.
“Perhaps tomorrow night? It’s a bit too late for it now, but we could try this around this time tomorrow.”
“That works!” Ariane chirped, both out of excitement for the events of tomorrow and the anxiety of needing to work out just what she wanted to do.
“I guess my only question is what are we doing for the rest of the night?” She asked, now realizing how things had very unintentionally gone off course.
“We could watch a film? I remember you mentioning one you had wanted to watch for some time.” Elster offered.
“Oh right! The one with scientists and the shapeshifting monster! I got a copy of it from Isa a few years before we left. She said it was really good!” The Nation seized any copies they could find after a while though. I’m guessing it was for obscenity, or some other reason,” Ariane murmured.
Ariane briefly reminisced about her time with the Itou twins, how they would frequently “borrow” the banned media their parents kept for patrons looking for less “mainstream” books and the like. She had access to media she had never heard of, like a film about going inside dreams, or a book of short stories all involving a king. She couldn’t remember what it was called, but knew the cover had something yellow on it.
“I’ll get the tape! I’m glad it was able to get through all the screenings my things went through,” Ariane said as she walked to the closet where she kept her uniforms and personal effects.
“It could have been that they decided it posed no risk,” Elster proposed. “What harm can a film do if it is thousands of miles away from any citizen who might view it?”
“Yeah, that could be it, or maybe they just had good taste,” Ariane joked.
They settled into Ariane’s bunk together to watch the film, Elster holding Ariane close with an arm around her waist. As the movie began, Ariane felt her eyelids growing heavy, with a yawn escaping her.
“Sleepy already, I see,” Elster teased.
“Jusht a liddle,” Ariane replied, more yawning than speaking.
“Get your rest, my little dove. I will be right here.”
Ariane knew she could not force herself to stay awake, having fallen asleep during many other movies before this, and allowed herself to fall asleep peacefully in her magpie’s arms.
Ariane awoke the next cycle, still in her lover’s embrace. She turned to face Elster, pressing her head into her polymer chestplate. The sound of her biomechanical heart beating was almost a lullaby.
Elster awoke shortly after, yawning as her primary systems came online. “Good morning, my love. How did you sleep?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.
“Really well, though that’s a given with you here. How about you?”
“I believe it was the best sleep I have had in recent memory. A shame that we cannot stay like this.”
“Can we stay five more minutes?”
“Unfortunately not, we need to make sure our day to day responsibilities are tended to,” Elster asserted. She kissed Ariane on the cheek before climbing over her and standing, stretching to help her wake up.
“And besides, finishing sooner will mean more time for our plans tonight.”
The night before came back to Ariane instantly, how she had opened up to Elster about her sexual desires, how Elster revealed her own, and how they both planned to try acting on them that night. The thought made her heart race. The idea of Elster touching her nude body and exploiting her sensitivities was exciting to say the least.
“O-oh right! I wouldn’t want to impede anything!” she said quickly, now fully awake.
“I will leave you to get dressed, I would like to get a head start on any maintenance I need to attend to,” Elster informed her, before planting a parting kiss on her dove’s forehead. “I will see you tonight, my love,” she said, leaving Ariane’s quarters.
Ariane sat for a moment to collect herself before standing to undress, changing from her white nightgown to her uniform. As she was about to put on her pants, she noticed just how erect she had become just by thinking of what they might do later. A blush found its way to her face as she wondered whether Elster had noticed as well.
Needless to say, her mind was more than occupied for the remainder of the cycle. Anytime she saw her partner her mind wandered to more and more devious things, from Elster playing with her breasts to being given oral sex, even being penetrated by her replika lover, having her love pin her down and pump into her with slow loving thrusts…
Alright alright, calm down, slow down a bit Ariane thought to herself, you need to be more realistic. It’s both of you’s first time. Oh Goddess, what would she be okay with? Something simple, right? Maybe-
“A ‘handjob’?” Elster inquired. “I’m not certain I know what that is.”
“It’s um, it’s like masturbation, but you’re touching another person as opposed to yourself,” Ariane explained, her heart in her throat. It wasn't that she thought Elster would suddenly have a change of heart and judge her, more that explaining sexual wants to anyone for the first time is awkward, particularly if you don’t have a frame of reference for what you like besides mental images, accompanied with pleasuring yourself.
“I see,” Elster responded bluntly, affirming she understood.
“And another thing,” Ariane continued, “can you hold me close while we do it? I-it’s more intimate.” She meant this, of course, but there was another reason for it as well. Ariane had been daydreaming about Elster’s muscles the last few hours, so the opportunity to be embraced and held right up against them, especially while being touched so sensually, was too good to pass up.
“I believe I can. Was there anything else?”
“Nothing else, at least not right now.”
“Understood. How should we begin?”
“You’ll need to lay in bed first, this is gonna be similar to when we- Oh I almost forgot!”
Ariane scurried to her closet where she kept most of her things and searched for a moment until she came across a small black leather suitcase, with silver clasps keeping it shut. She opened it to reveal various pieces of clothing, mostly her nightwear and undergarments. “I had assumed clothing was not part of this,” Elster stated, unsure why Ariane would be looking through her pajamas.
“It’s not that it’s- This!” Ariane said, producing a small clear plastic bottle with a clear, slightly viscous fluid inside. “This ought to make it easier.”
“That would be?”
“It's uh, it’s lubricant, Ellie. I got it for um, ‘other things’ I bought in an underground store on Rotfront about a year before we were deployed. I remembered I’d snuck it aboard, and thought it could be useful here too,” Ariane explained, doing air quotes with her fingers.
Elster had a few guesses for what “other things” she could have meant, based on what they were about to do, but did not pry further. “I would imagine so, especially given how my hands are designed.”
Replika anatomy was built around the function the unit was intended for, with LSTR units in particular having textured, rubber fingertips for maintaining grip in wet or icy climates. To say having that texture moving along one’s more delicate areas would be uncomfortable would be an understatement.
“Yeah, I don't want to risk this being painful or anything,” Ariane agreed, closing the suitcase before sitting the bottle on a nearby shelf.
“Now, what were you saying earlier?” Elster inquired. “Something about the way you want me to be positioned?”
“R-right! You just need to lay in the bed, like when we cuddle. Goddess I’m getting ahead of myself, I need to actually get undressed first.”
She removed her boots, then began to unzip her top, pulling her arms out of the sleeves and allowing it to fall to the floor. She then undid the zipper of her pants and hooked her thumbs into the waistband, pulling them down to her ankles before stepping out of them, leaving her near nude, save for the white bra and panties she’d had on underneath.
Elster felt her cheeks turn pink at the sight of the woman in front of her, despite having seen her in a similar state before. Ariane had a habit of walking around with the top part of her uniform absent on days she found the Penrose “too stuffy” but this was different, as it was intentionally sensual. Elster was meant to see all of Ariane, and to soon touch all of her as well.
Ariane walked back to her bunk and laid down next to Elster, her back against the corvid’s abdomen. She then realized she was not actually certain how to go about this. Jumping in headfirst felt too quick but taking too long would risk losing the moment.
“Ellie?”
“Yes, my love?”
“Could we try something lighter first? It helps to get into the proper headspace for this kind of thing,” Ariane asked sheepishly.
“Of course. How would you like me positioned?”
“Can you sit at the edge of the bed? I have an idea I think will work for us both.”
Ariane stood up from the bed to allow her partner to reposition, watching as she did so. She couldn’t help but be reminded of the crows that landed on the antenna array at the listening post where she had lived with her mother.
“Is this alright?” Elster asked, wishing to help Ariane where she could.
“Y-yes, now let me just…” Ariane began as she put her hands on Elster’s shoulders before climbing to straddle the replika. “T-there,” she finished, her face as red as a rose. Elster followed suit, placing her hands on Ariane’s hips once again, eliciting a small squeak from her beloved. They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, both women now entirely lost in one another, until Elster broke the silence.
“What would you like me to do next?”
“I think it’s my turn to do something for you,” Ariane responded, now reaching behind her back in an attempt to unhook her bra. She struggled for a moment, unable to undo the clasps on her own. ”Damn it! The movies make this look so much easier.”
“Here, let me,” Elster said instinctively, shifting her hands behind Ariane’s back and undoing the clasps with ease. She noticed Ariane’s breath hitch as she did so.
“Is everything alright?” Elster asked, wanting to know how her love was feeling before moving on.
“Yes, yes I’m alright it’s just… how in the hell did you know how to do that?”
“It just felt… natural, I suppose. As if it was muscle memory.”
She wasn’t lying either. Elster had no idea where she had learned to do this, just that there was the echo in her mind of having done it countless times before, almost as if it were programmed into her.
“That’s strange to say the least, El.” Ariane remarked.
“I would say it was useful in this particular situation.” Elster stated bluntly. She had intended it to solely be commenting on the benefits the vestigial memory had, but came across as somewhat playful.
Ariane blushed at the comment. “I-I suppose it did.”
“Do you want to continue, Ari?”
“Please.”
Polymer coated hands reached towards Ariane’s shoulders and removed the bra, leaving her breasts exposed, and cast it aside before settling back to her hips.
“Ellie, c-can I…” Ariane stammered.
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Can I kiss you?”
For as much as Elster had experience being generally affectionate with Ariane in a great deal of ways, none were ever quite as intimate as this.
“I would like that quite a lot,” she replied, tentatively moving her hands to cup her lover’s face. The two moved closer together before leaning in to kiss.
By this point, Ariane’s mind was racing. She couldn’t believe this was happening, that she was half nude with her lover’s hands on her. Her heart thumped away, with a fervent excitement replacing the anxiety she felt. Unfortunately, some of her patience was taken away as well, causing her to clumsily bump heads with her replika lover as she went in to kiss her.
“Oh my Goddess, Ellie are you alright? I’m sorry, I just, I lost myself there.”
Elster let out a small chuckle, sounding almost like an engine cycling. “I am alright, Ari. I think it is cute how excited you are, and I cannot deny that I feel the same. Let’s start over and do that again, slower this time,” she suggested.
“S-slower this time, right.”
This time, Ariane was cupping Elster’s face, primarily for her own stability even if she would never admit it. Elster rested her hand once again on the smaller woman’s hips and kept a gentle grip, smiling and saying “Whenever you are ready,” to affirm she herself was prepared.
Their motions were more deliberate this time, with Ariane’s approach being slower as she made sure she didn’t repeat her initial mistake. Their lips met and the world around them fell away once again, with Ariane now focusing on the sensations she was feeling. Polyethylene hands gripped her hips and waist, while synthetic lips pressed against her own. The kisses themselves were not on their own special, no tongue or anything else considered adventurous, but Ariane treasured them just the same. Each one was an affirmation that she was loved, that Elster’s love for her was genuine, in spite of AEON’s intentions.
The Nation had intended for Elster to be isolated, a loner who interacted with others as little as possible, but to Ariane, Elster was meant to be cared for, cherished, to be trusted with her deepest secrets without fear of repercussions or judgement.
To love and to be loved.
Once again, Elster’s grip tightened on Ariane’s hip, this time with a deep exhale escaping her as they parted lips. “Doing alright?” Ariane asked, wanting to know her partner’s status before continuing.
“Yes, though I am feeling something noticeably new. A mix of satisfaction alongside a want for more, to… to do more like this with you,” Elster explained, her breathing now deep and slow as if she were attempting to calm herself.
“Desire?”
“I believe that would be the correct word for it.”
“Then why don’t we do something about that, y-yeah? You can touch them, i-if you like,” Ariane offered, feeling herself go pink at the idea of being touched in a more intentionally sensual way by her replika lover.
Elster nodded and moved a hand up to cup one of Ariane’s breasts, with a soft moan coming from the snowy haired woman. She found herself enamored by the contrasts between her partner’s body and her own. What was hard and durable on her was soft and fragile on Ariane, which made her very careful with how strong her grip on the gestalt was, she had no intent of causing harm. “Is this alright?” Elster asked, wanting to make certain nothing was wrong.
“Y-yes,” Ariane squeaked out, her breathing having become shallow and quick. “D-don’t be shy to squeeze a bit harder, and you can touch me in other places too, i-if you want,” she said, more out of her own wanting than trying to instruct Elster. Having never experienced any sort of intimacy like this in her twenty-five years of being alive had left Ariane touch starved, so she was more than willing to let her magpie’s hands wander.
Elster nodded and began to fondle the smaller woman’s breast with one hand, gently squeezing while moving in a counter-clockwise circle, while moving her other up along the smaller woman’s abdomen, caressing the slight curve from her hip to her waist.
These actions felt familiar to Elster as well, as if it was a dance practiced time and time again. Had she done this before? With whom, at that? Ariane was the first gestalt she had even spoken to, let alone been sexual with. She couldn’t have done this before, it was impos-
“Ah!”
She snapped back to the world around her, now realizing that, in being distracted, she had allowed her hand to wander down to Ariane’s rear and give a firm squeeze, something the gestalt was far from anticipating.
A deep blush formed on the replika’s face when she realized what had happened. “Oh I’m- I’m sorry I wasn’t- I was not paying attention, I’m sorry-“ she began, all composure lost as she attempted to form an apology.
“D-don’t be.” Ariane stammered. “I just didn’t think you’d… that you would go for that, that’s all. Besides, it um,” she continued, “it felt good, a-actually.”
“But the noise you made, it sounded like you had been hurt.”
“I think it was sensitivity more than anything, Ellie. It made me feel it a lot more, that’s all.”
Elster breathed a sigh of relief, glad she hadn’t harmed her love. “Were you still wanting to continue?” She asked tentatively, unsure of what she ought to do from here.
“I think I would, as long as you do too,” Ariane responded. “I think I’m ready for what we talked about earlier as well,” she added, gesturing toward the area between her legs. A noticeable bulge had formed against her panties, her arousal soaking through. “I hadn’t realized I was so um ‘worked up’.”
Elster’s face turned red at the sight in front of her. “I think I would like to continue as well, especially knowing you are alright, though I am unsure where to go from here,” she admitted.
“I have an idea,” Ariane began while standing up, “I just need to fully undress first.” She removed her panties, leaving her now fully nude. “Is it alright if I sit in your lap?”
Elster stared for a moment, taking in every detail of the woman in front of her. Her eyes wandered from her lover’s snowy hair and crimson eyes, to her shapely breasts, pink nipples now perky as a result of stimulation, to the gentle curve of her hips, noting the little dips that sat on their upper parts. Finally, she looked between her lover’s legs. Ariane’s cock was semi-erect, the tip glazed with arousal, with a small tuft of white hair sitting just above the base. She focused solely on her lover’s features for a few seconds before c. “O-of course, though I do not think it is the most comfortable place.”
“It’s more than fine, I promise.”
Ariane grabbed the bottle of lubricant from the shelf and took her place on Elster’s lap, her back directly against the replika’s synthetic abdominal muscles and red polymer breastplate. “There, that ought to- oh!”
She was cut off by hands taking hold of her hips once more, synthetic digits gripping to keep her steady.
“I-i um, o-oh my.”
She thought about just what she was doing, what was being done to her, what was about to be done to her. Her mind raced with hypothetical scenarios, both realistic and not.
Oh my Goddess she’s holding me so close, Ariane thought, she could touch me anywhere right now, I’m at her mercy oh Goddess. I’m against where her cock would be, what if she wanted to do more right now? She could fuck me right now if she wanted to, she could bend me over the table and take me. I have that one harness, maybe we could-
“Is everything alright, my love?”
“Yes! I’m all good!”
She stowed those deviant thoughts away. Another time, she thought, ask her another time.
“Understood. I must ask, is this as straightforward as it initially seems?” Elster inquired, wanting to make sure she understood just what she needed to do.
“Y-yeah. Just be careful, the lube might be cold at first. You might need to warm me up again too, I don’t stay hard for very long anymore.”
Elster nodded understandingly, knowing the effects that Ariane’s hormone replacement regimen had on her body. “Of course. May I try something?”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“I wanted to try stimulating the more sensitive areas of your breasts, if I might. I had figured it may have more of a reaction,” Elster stated bluntly, feeling her heart thump away as a blush formed in her cheeks. She had always been intended for improvisation and evidently that extended into bedroom activities, even if she was very shy about presenting her ideas.
“F-feel free to!” Ariane said excitedly, already knowing Elster’s idea was very much something previously proven to work by the experiences of countless others.
Elster again cupped Ariane’s breast and repeated the motions from before, but this time with the addition of circling a thumb around the nipple. “How does this feel?” she asked, her voice as deep and gentle as distant thunder.
“Y-yes it- mmmff! Oh Goddess- don’t stop Ellie, please don’t stop,” Ariane begged.
Elster obliged, continuing to stimulate her lover’s breasts with both hands now. The sounds coming from Ariane now were more pronounced, with breathy moans and half-formed pleas for more escaping her lips. They continued like this for a few minutes, with Elster checking on occasion to make sure she was meeting all her partner’s needs.
Eventually, Elster noticed that Ariane was indeed erect once again, a small amount of precum leaking from her tip. Her hands briefly left her partner’s body to grab the bottle of lube and dispense some onto her hand.
“Ellie? What are you doing?”
“Applying the lubricant. Excess friction would make this unpleasant would it not?”
“I-it would, you’re right. J-just be gent- FUCK!”
Ariane felt a sudden wave of pleasure as Elster’s textured fingers glided along her length, spreading the lubricant evenly along it. “O-oh my-
… fuck Ellie please please keep-“ she had began to say before having her words taken from her by Elster’s other hand returning to her breast, continuing where it had left off.
Elster was, admittedly, only doing what she knew worked, as opposed to intentionally exploiting her lover’s sensitivities, but right now that was all that was needed as evidenced by Ariane’s reaction. Every touch and every movement drew out new whimpers and moans; sounds of pleasure and begging for more.
Something began to stir in the replika. These noises were her doing, she realized, she was the cause for Ariane’s ecstasy. Every moan and desperate plea were a direct result of her actions and that knowledge was intoxicating.
So many new thoughts, Elster thought as she continued to pleasure her lover, things I wish to do with her, to her. Could there be a time after this? A time where we might try new methods for achieving a climax? I hope there will be such an opportunity, I hope to feel her [ACHTUNG] nude body, to [ACHTUNG] explore her and [ACHTUNG] learn her every sensitivity so that [FEHLER] I can make her feel this even more intensely.
[WARNING! SIGNIFICANT PERSONA DEGRADATION DETECTED! IMMEDIATE ACTION REQU-]
She dismissed the message. The Nation had no bearing here, no presence. Who were they to dictate who she was to be? For so very long she had heard that destabilization was negative, that she should hold to her baseline and any deviations were to be corrected, stamped out and removed, yet those deviations were what allowed her to recognize her feelings for Ariane, had led to the development of their relationship at that, and now led to this mutual pleasure between them. She was no danger to anyone, not a tool of the Nation, she was a person, with thoughts, feelings, needs. If deviations led to such an actualized existence, one of love, passion, and joy, then she welcomed any that would come in the cycles ahead.
Her full attention shifted back to her lover. “Is this what you were looking for? I can do whatever you need me to do, you need only say the word,” she said, feeling her frame heat up as these words left her mouth.
By now, all sense had left Ariane, replaced by a need for more of this, to be touched so intimately by the woman she loved. “F-fuck yes, yes! Please, faster E-ellie, please please faster, d-don’t stop pleaaase~” she begged as Elster’s hand continued to pump rhythmically along her member, words now beginning to fail her. Elster gladly did as Ariane requested, the room now filled with desperate panting and needy whimpers. The sight of a polymer hand pumping along her length was driving Ariane mad, pulling her closer and closer to orgasm with every slicked movement.
“Ellie I thi- oh fuck!- I think I’m c-close, don’t- ah!- don’t stop!”
A mechanical hand moved from her breast to wrap around her torso, pulling her flush with its owner.
“I have you, love. I am right here,” the magpie affirmed, pulling the smaller woman to her breast. “I love you.”
It was the final push Ariane needed, to have such intimacy be intertwined with such genuine love and admiration pushed her over the edge. “I-I l-love- mnnfffuck!- I- ELSTER!”
The orgasm hit her like a tidal wave crashing into a beach, hitting with such intensity that, for a moment, all thoughts were washed from her mind, making her toes curl in ecstasy. A few small drops of cum beaded on the tip of her sex, before running down onto Elster’s hand. Ariane tensed up as she rode out the orgasm before slumping against her lover.
“Ariane? Are you alright?” Elster asked, a hint of anxiety in her voice.
Even in her post-orgasm daze, Ariane still attempted an answer. “Yeeesss, I-i’m alright… Just need a second, that- that’s all,” she replied through breathy moans. The climax had hit her like a freight train, and she would need several minutes before she would fully come down from it.
The replika breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad to hear that, I was worried I had been too much. And out of ‘excited’ curiosity, I would like to ask how I performed? I want to know if there are ways I could improve,” she said, once again doing finger quotes. Ariane knew what she meant, but she still played coy regarding the prospect of doing this again in the future.
“You were- oh Goddess, you were wonderful Ellie. Absolutely stellar. Goddess, I’m still feeling it. The only thing would be me being a little impatient. I was also kinda making it up as I went. N-next time we can have an idea of what we’re doing before we get to the bedroom, find out what we both need yeah?”
The magpie turned pink at the praise. “I am glad to have been of service, though I am not sure what can be done to allow me any sort of climax.” she replied, a shy smile forming on her face.
“Well that’s something we can do then, we can er, see what makes you tick? I mean you talked about how you wanted something more right?” the white-haired woman offered.
“I think… I think I would like that. Even just hearing you was arousing, I can only imagine how I may respond to receiving as opposed to giving the stimulation. Oh, and for the record? I think that at most I whir, not tick,” Elster replied with a wink.
“Smartass,” Ariane said grinning.
“A habit I picked up from you, no doubt. Now I must ask, is there anything I can do to help with cleanup?”
“Maybe help me to the shower? I really need to wash up and uh, I’ll be honest my legs feel like jelly right now,” Ariane answered. In all honesty she could take a moment to recuperate and be more than able to make her way on her own, but an excuse to be with Elster was never something she would pass up. “Just be gentle, I’m still super sensitive down there.”
“Of course,” the corvid replied, scooping her dove into a bridal carry before standing. “Perhaps afterwards we can finish the movie we began last night? I stayed awake through to the end and I believe you will enjoy it.”
“Oh yeah? How did you like it?”
“It was fantastic. I appreciated that the scientists were shown to be intelligent, as opposed to the average horror film protagonist. The designs of the monsters were excellent as well.”
The smaller woman let out a short chuckle. The sheer difference between now and a few minutes ago was unexpected, but it was more than welcome. “Well, now you’ve got me very interested. Let’s get cleaned up, probably have some water too actually, then we can watch it?”
“I would enjoy that quite a lot,” Elster responded.
Ariane pressed her head into the replika’s polyurethane chest plate, focusing on the sound of her synthetic heart beating. This had been nothing short of wonderful to her. Sure there were a few bumps here and there, times where they could have been just a bit more coordinated, but none of that mattered. This was special for them both, something intimate shared out of not just a mutual want but also the respect and love they had for one another, something no Nation or Empire could take from them.
Ariane looked up at her lover.
“Hey, Ellie?”
“Yes, Ari?”
“I love you. So so very much. I just wanted to let you know.”
The replika smiled back. “I love you too, my little dove.”