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Chapter Text

Another day, another mission, another step toward stopping the tyranny of Neo Arcadia. It had become almost like a routine for ZIL - he would be sent out to solve a problem for the Resistance, and there were a wide range of problems, so he never ran out of things to do. At the same time, it had become tedious and a little frustrating.

This time, when he returned to base, Ciel was nowhere to be found, and so he sought her out to make his report. At the very least, he knew where he could usually find her, so he made a beeline for that location, his last mission still fresh in his mind.

When he arrived at his destination, ZIL opened the door as he usually did... and what awaited him on the other side was not the norm at all. Ciel was curled up on the bed in her lab, and her face was all red, and she hadn't even seemed to notice him barging in.

What caught his eye most, however, was what she was doing. She had one hand on her chest, and her other was between her legs, and her breathing was rapid and uneven, accompanied by quiet moans... and he swore that he caught her saying his name. He dug through his memory banks in search of an explanation, and-

ZIL found the answer sooner than expected, and his internals heated up. He hadn't realized that Ciel felt like that toward him... and now, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He watched, dumbfounded, as Ciel whimpered and trembled, still calling for him as she moved faster. She pressed her thighs together, and the moan that came from her throat sounded desperate, and... it had an effect on him as well, causing something to emerge from within him.

ZIL could not tear his eyes away, no matter how hard he tried. His sensors fired off in a way he wasn't familiar with, paralyzing him as he listened to the sounds of Ciel enjoying herself. Each murmur and whine sent sparks through his circuits, and his hand moved on its own like a reflex, grasping the thing that had appeared between his legs.

Ciel went stiff, crying out a little louder, and she shivered all over as the motions of her hands stopped - and for a reason he did not understand, ZIL's body responded to that in an unprecedented way. The sparks in his sensors became overwhelming, and his mind partially shut down as his body was consumed by an incredible sensation. His hand gripped that sensitive rod tighter, and that made the sparks even stronger, and it lasted a few seconds before the tension left him and he went limp, panting in an effort to regulate his temperature.

His gaze drifted to the floor, and there were white streaks in front of him that hadn't been there before. He had produced that substance, and the sight made his internals even hotter. He didn't know why he'd done that, and he wanted to be angry with himself for it-

Ciel gave a startled yelp, and ZIL looked over at her, and he locked gazes with her. She looked horrified, and he soon tore his eyes away and fled the room, trying to process what had just happened - to no avail, as his mind was still scrambled.

This incident was something that they would have to talk about later. For now, ZIL wanted to forget all about it, and so he did the only thing he knew how to - he raced toward the exterior of the base, holding his saber in one hand, and the images of practice strikes had already formed in his head, blotting out the recording of Ciel in that terribly vulnerable position.

ZIL really did not want to talk about the incident, but he made his way to Ciel's room a few hours later, and this time, he knocked before entering.

Ciel opened the door after a few seconds, and her face was a most spectacular shade of red, almost the same as his armor. ZIL did not make eye contact with her, and instead stared at a point beyond her, monitoring his rising internal temperature.

"...We need to talk." That was the only thing ZIL could think to say, and he tried to force himself to look at Ciel. It wasn't as successful as he had hoped.

"About... what happened earlier?" Ciel hesitated, taking a small step back. "...Y-yes, that... um..."

"I'm sorry," ZIL blurted out. "I made a mistake..."

He wasn't used to apologizing, but it felt like the right thing to do in that moment. It eased his conscience a little, at least.

"No..." Ciel shook her head. "It was my mistake. I left the door unlocked... I..."

An awkward silence settled between them, and ZIL wanted to be somewhere else - anywhere else - right now. He still didn't know why he'd reacted the way he had, and he remembered that he'd left a mess on the floor... which wasn't there anymore.

"...Why were you doing that?" ZIL asked, and it came off more demanding than he'd intended. She had called his name during the act, and more than anything else, he wanted to know why she had done that.

"Stress relief..." Ciel obviously didn't want to talk about this - just like him. "I... I'm sorry..."

She was upset with herself, but all her negative feelings were directed toward herself. She hadn't even mentioned what he had done, and it was starting to irritate him a little.

"Did you clean it up?" ZIL pointed at the floor, and he heated up at the memory - it came to him clearer this time, how his body had acted without his command, and how it had felt-

"Yes..." Ciel looked away. "...I did."

She didn't say anything else, and silence settled between them again. ZIL didn't know how to respond - he wasn't the best at conversing to begin with, and he just hoped she wasn't upset with him. That sort of emotional tension could disrupt their efforts to work together, which would be a major problem for the Resistance.

This was a bad situation, and for once, ZIL couldn't just fight his way out of it. He wasn't used to navigating these sorts of things - even as his memories returned, he didn't recall having many friends, and the ones he did have had never self-stimulated while calling his name in front of him.

...He had his suspicions about Harpuia and Leviathan with how they treated him now, admittedly, but he hadn't directly witnessed it, and now was definitely not the time to bring it up to them.

"...Are you upset?" ZIL broke the silence at last, voicing what was on his mind. "I didn't..."

"No..." Ciel shook her head again, and she made tentative eye contact with him. "I'm not upset... um... why did you...?"

"I didn't... intend to," ZIL answered her. "It just... happened."

Ciel's face somehow turned even redder. "Oh... so... it was an accident..."

Was she disappointed? ZIL didn't know how that fact was disappointing. Maybe she'd hoped that he found her attractive, or something like that...

"I should go." ZIL turned around, willing himself not to overheat. "I need to prepare for the next mission..."

"W-wait!" Ciel shouted, and he felt her hand on his arm, grasping him tight. He glanced back at her, scowling, and she turned her gaze to the floor, trying to avoid his stare.

"What?" ZIL demanded, and he tried to free his arm from her grip - to no avail. She was surprisingly strong for a human... or maybe he wasn't putting his all into it.

Why in the world did she make him feel this way?

"I..." Ciel's voice was very quiet. "...I think that you should try to forget about this. If-if you want, I can... erase your memory..."

"Erase my memory..." ZIL contemplated this briefly. "...No. I want to remember this. I'd probably just repeat the mistake if I didn't."

"...I see..." Ciel gave a slow nod. "...Yes, you're right. I... I'm sorry... I'll let you go now..."

True to her word, she let go of him, and he ran off without another word. The fact that he'd feared her being upset with him continued to resonate in his mind, and he could only come up with one logical explanation for it - one he didn't want to think about.

It wasn't surprising at all that Ciel had developed romantic feelings toward ZIL. He had helped her on too many occasions to count, and he had saved the Resistance from their miserable situation, allowing the people there to enjoy a little more comfort and security... but he hadn't considered the possibility that he felt the same toward her, and it was perhaps even more distressing than the incident itself had been.

No matter how much he tried to deny it, there was a spark in ZIL's soul now, and he doubted that he could ignore it.

Chapter Text

A few hours later, the memory of the incident returned to ZIL's mind while he was resting, and he had the worst possible reaction to it.

Fortunately, he'd gotten his own private quarters, so no one could see that a certain part had emerged from him in response to his thoughts. Still, the fact that part of him wanted to repeat that incident was... concerning, and he searched in his memory for a way to suppress his arousal - most reploids had a program for it, and even if he was an older model, there was no reason to believe that he was an exception.

When he found the program, he ran it right away, and... it didn't have much of an effect. That part was still out, and the thoughts hadn't left his head, and the only thing the program actually helped with was making him a little less excited. There was nothing to be done for it...

ZIL shut down the program and gave in to the desire that had consumed him. He reached down with his hand and started to stroke himself, closing his eyes as the sensors in that rod sparked - a delightful sensation that he gradually lost his mind to.

The urge became stronger, and he stroked faster, rocking his hips to push himself into his hand. The feeling spread through his body, setting off more of his sensors, and he had to suppress a moan - he shut off his vocal processor, as he wouldn't be able to keep quiet enough to avoid alerting the base. Still, his mouth hung open, and his lips and tongue worked on their own, silently forming the name of the girl that had started all this.

ZIL's shame was not strong enough to stop the program that occupied much of his processing power now, and he gripped himself tighter, his motions becoming frantic. He leaned his head back, and he mouthed Ciel's name again - he was close, and once he finished, he would be able to put this business behind him and forget that any of it had happened-

The door opened just as the program initiated its final phase, and ZIL tilted his head over to look at the intruder as his sensors overloaded, sending sparks of intense pleasure through his body. In the few seconds it took for him to spill his synthetic essence across his body, he saw the face of the Resistance's leader, and it only made the sensation more intense - she was watching him in the throes of bliss, and with half his processes offline, he couldn't think of the ramifications of that fact, instead enjoying it more than he ever wanted to.

When the program finished, that was when the shame kicked in full force, and ZIL looked away from Ciel. He had just caught her in the act earlier, and he hated that - a memory wipe was very tempting now, as even with his memory intact, he hadn't been able to prevent the mistake from being repeated.

Of course he hadn't thought to lock the door. He hadn't imagined that there was any need to, and his mind and body had gone and proven him wrong.

"Oh... I'm sorry!" Ciel exclaimed, and then she turned and fled, closing the door behind her. ZIL laid there for a moment, processing what had just happened, and then he stared down at the mess on his body - more voluminous than what he'd produced earlier, and that was a bit of a problem.

He had enjoyed being walked in on like that. Something about it set his sensors ablaze, and the program for his lower parts started up again, going against his actual desire. He ran the suppression program again, and it worked a little better this time, but he was still annoyed that things had turned out the way they had.

This was an issue that needed to be resolved promptly so that it didn't become disruptive, but that couldn't happen if the two of them kept walking in on each other like this. ZIL decided that it would be best to put an auto-lock system on the door to his quarters, and as he went to clean himself up, he wondered if it would be going too far to ask Ciel to do the same.

The next morning, ZIL went to visit with Ciel again - and, by pure chance, he met her in the hallway leading to her room. His internals heated up as he made an effort to look at her, and her face was completely red, indicating that she felt the same as him right now.

Silence filled the air as the two of them simply stared in the general direction of each other. This awkwardness was becoming even more of a problem than before, but ZIL couldn't bring himself to say anything - he especially didn't want to admit that he had enjoyed her walking in on him.

"...Um, about last night..." Ciel spoke up at last, taking the first step. "I... wanted to apologize... it was my mistake..."

ZIL couldn't be angry with her. The incident had been his fault as well - he had neglected to lock the door, after all.

"...Auto-lock," ZIL blurted out, and then he looked away, heating up even more. "I... think it would be a good idea... for both of us..."

Ciel was silent for a brief moment, and then she nodded her agreement. "Yes... that would be a good idea... I'll... get to it... um..."

"Is there something else?" ZIL asked, against his better judgment. He realized what he'd said, and a warning blared in his head, telling him that he was getting close to dangerous internal temperatures - this was not going well at all, and more than anything, he wanted the conversation to be over and done with.

His question was definitely not conducive to that.

"...I-I think... it's better to get this out of the way." Ciel took a deep breath. "How do you... feel about me...?"

...That was a loaded question, and one ZIL didn't fully know the answer to. There was something there, although he hadn't quite figured out if it was just him finding her attractive or more of a deeper connection. He hadn't given it much thought, having tried to sweep it under the rug repeatedly for the sake of the mission, but now he was being forced to confront it, and...

He really wished that his father or one of his mothers would visit him to give him advice on this. They had navigated the field of romance very well, if his existence was any indicator.

"I don't know," ZIL told Ciel, after a lengthy pause. "I know that when I think about what happened yesterday... it gets me excited. I couldn't hold back last night..."

"Oh..." Ciel became even more embarrassed than she had before, and it made ZIL wonder if she was going to overheat herself. As a human, her internal functions were different from his, and so it was unlikely that she would overheat from embarrassment, but with the way she looked...

...She was really cute like this.

"...So... you were thinking of me...?" Ciel pressed on. "When you were..."

"Yeah," ZIL admitted, and he hung his head. "...Not that I wanted to. I tried running the suppression program, but it didn't do a thing."

"It didn't work...?" Ciel looked surprised. "There must be a malfunction somewhere... could I... take a look at your data?"

She had done worse in the time since ZIL's activation, so he nodded his assent, then looked over her shoulder expectantly. If they were going to do this, he wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible so that he could stop his little issue from interfering in his missions.

Though, now that he thought about it, he didn't exactly mind the idea of paralyzing his foes by flashing his junk at them- what sort of absolutely wretched thought was that?

"Careful in there," ZIL warned Ciel. "You might find something you don't want to."

"...I think I have an idea of what's in your data," Ciel countered, amused. "I'll try to make this quick... come with me, please."

ZIL was more than happy to oblige, and as he followed after her, he was entranced by the way her hair swayed back and forth as she walked. It was looking more and more like he was infatuated with her... and at this point, he was about ready to give up on trying to deny it.

After all, did this really have a negative effect on his performance? So long as he only allowed himself to think of it during down time, it didn't seem like that big a deal...

Chapter Text

The data scan did not turn out as they had hoped.

There was nothing wrong with the suppression program, so Ciel determined that it would be best to abort the test. ZIL disagreed - he wanted to see why the program hadn't worked, and without even thinking about it, he had requested further testing. Ciel had reluctantly agreed, and she had used the connection between him and her computer to upload some new data into him, and...

Not for the first time, ZIL had developed a raging boner in front of Ciel. He made an effort to look anywhere but at her, although he caught how red her face was out of the corner of his eye - it seemed that she felt the same way he did.

"Let's... try to treat this as a purely scientific experiment," Ciel said, and it sounded more like an order than a suggestion. "Please... run the suppression program."

The data injection that Ciel had given ZIL had already been removed from his system, filtered out through her computer's code, and yet he was still horribly turned on. He did as she asked, starting up the suppression program, and... again, the effect was minimal. It didn't stop his arousal, and more importantly, it didn't stop him from imagining Ciel with her lips wrapped around his-

"It's not working," ZIL stated, trying to distract himself from his errant thoughts. "It makes me less excited... but the process is still running. I... I need..."

"...I see." Ciel's tone shifted. "...Permission to upload another packet?"

ZIL closed his eyes and gave a slow nod, choosing to trust her. "Granted."

The data flowed into him, and- all at once, he was taken by intense bliss, overloading his sensors throughout his body. He leaned his head back as his arousal was relieved, leaving a mess on his body - not at all what he'd anticipated when he came in here, and in front of her, it was downright humiliating.

Still, ZIL understood why Ciel had done what she did. It was the most efficient way to reverse the effects of the initial upload, and... there was a strange sort of appeal in Ciel forcing him to orgasm.

"...Now what?" ZIL asked, once his mind had returned to him somewhat. Everything about this test had been an abject failure, and now she'd seen him ejaculate in front of her for the second time - she hadn't been paying attention during their first encounter, and hadn't seen the moment then.

"I... don't know," Ciel admitted. "Um..."

She was completely confused and lost, more embarrassed than she'd ever been in her entire life. This wasn't the outcome she had expected or wanted, and ZIL felt bad for her - she was trying her best to help him, but she'd only caused more problems in the process.

It wasn't her fault. He appreciated that she was trying to help, and wasn't upset with her at all. The only person he was upset with was himself - he had started all of this by walking in on her.

"Don't be too hard on yourself," ZIL insisted. "It must be a problem with how my system interfaces with the program." A thought came to his mind. "Maybe I should be modified."

"Modified?" Ciel tilted her head, curious. "How so?"

"Make it so that the program for my genitals can't link itself up to the program for my armor," ZIL explained. "That way, if the program runs and I can't suppress it, I'll at least be more decent."

Ciel pondered this for a moment, and then nodded. "...Yes, that seems like it could work... but... wouldn't it be uncomfortable? They'd be confined inside your..."

"That part doesn't matter." ZIL shook his head. "This is for practicality's sake. I can't be walking around base with those parts exposed."

"...Yes, you're right..." Ciel nodded again, and then looked away. "You aren't... upset with me?"

"What for?" ZIL asked, a little confused. "There's nothing for me to be upset with you for."

"I forced you to..." Ciel trailed off, and her face achieved a record shade of red. It looked like she felt some guilt for uploading that packet into his system - not that he could blame her, but at the same time...

"It felt pretty good," ZIL admitted. "I liked it." His tone shifted. "...I'm surprised you have a program like that."

"You... you liked...?" Ciel blinked a few times, then shook her head. "...I've been enlisted for all sorts of reploid testing. The, um... sexual aspects... included... it was... a necessary precaution..."

...This wasn't good. ZIL was getting worked up again, and it had nothing to do with anything she'd put in his system - it was all just his mind running too fast.

"You should leave," ZIL recommended, and he gestured at his renewed arousal. "I need to take care of this." He lowered his voice. "...Unless you'd like to upload that packet again?"

The look on Ciel's face then was absolutely magnificent. She stared at him in disbelief, her mouth agape and her face still flushed as red as his armor, and he had to fight back the urge to laugh - she really was adorable, and there was no point in trying to sweep it under the rug at this stage.

"...Do you want me to?" Ciel made an important inquiry - the first time, she'd surprised him, and while he hadn't minded it, it wasn't exactly the most ethical thing. Even within the confines of their nebulous relationship, they needed consent, and she was trying to emphasize that.

ZIL considered this for a moment, and then hummed his assent. "Yeah. Send it over. It'll make this quicker."

Ciel did as she was told, and ZIL's mind shut down to make way for a sweeping tide of pleasure, sparking through every sensor and circuit in his body. He groaned and closed his eyes as he savored every last second of his high, somehow even more intense than the last - this was something he had not expected to be into at all, but there was no denying that he liked it when she messed with his data like this.

It was a shame that he couldn't do the same to her. He wanted to see her in the throes of bliss again... but the only way he could achieve that was by touching her, and he wasn't sure if she would be open to that.

"...I'm going to clean you up." Ciel made her way over to a nearby supply closet, and she took out some necessary materials for her stated task before returning to him. "Please stay still..."

ZIL didn't have much of a choice - he couldn't move very far with the cables from her computer hooked up to him. He didn't think it was fair that she was cleaning him up, since he'd been the one who had gotten them into this mess, but it wasn't like this was the first time she'd cleaned up after him.

This situation had to be resolved somehow. They couldn't keep dancing around each other like this, especially not with the clear feelings shared between them.

"...I'm sorry," Ciel murmured, once she was done with the cleanup. "I... made things more difficult for you..."

"Not your fault," ZIL insisted. "I was the one who walked in on you. Besides..."

In truth, something like this had always been inevitable. The simple fact that Ciel had been thinking of him while relieving her sexual tension meant that ZIL would have found out one way or another, and it was a matter of bad luck that he'd found out in the way that he had. Perhaps it wouldn't have been as awkward if he had found out another way, but that wasn't the case - they were in this place now, whether they liked it or not.

"...Um." Ciel cleared her throat. "I... have a question for you..."

ZIL just hummed in response, letting her know that he'd heard her - there was no need to interrupt her.

"Do you... want this to be... something more?" Ciel looked away from him as she spoke. "You must be aware by now... that I..."

It had been plain as day from the start. Ciel admitting that she had feelings for ZIL was all but pointless - he already knew, and had known for a long time now. Her asking if he wanted something more, on the other hand... that was unprecedented, and it caused his processor to run harder as he went through all the different factors in his head.

There was romantic attraction between them - mutual. There was sexual attraction between them - mutual. They were on a mission to dismantle the oppressive reign of Neo Arcadia, and had been working together toward that goal since his activation. The situation had improved for the Resistance, but they still lacked the resources they needed for anything more than keeping the generators running. Ciel had been working on a big project for a while now that demanded her attention, although she still spared time for ZIL.

...He came to the same conclusion he had before. As long as it didn't interfere with their fight against Neo Arcadia, and as long as it didn't deplete valuable Resistance resources, there was no harm in pursuing this to its logical conclusion. The only other obstacle was that he was a reploid and she was a human... and that wasn't even a new concept.

He made a note to himself that if they ever tried anything more intimate, he would have to be as gentle as possible with her.

"Let's do it," ZIL decided. "There's no point in denying it any longer."

Ciel breathed a relieved sigh, and the tension in her body left her, and she collapsed atop ZIL, embracing him as if he was the most precious thing in the world to her. The cables hooked up to him didn't restrict his arms too much, so he returned the embrace, holding her as delicately as he could, and it felt... right.

This was definitely what he wanted. Even if they never did anything sexual with each other again, he would be content with the knowledge that he and Ciel were now officially together.

"I love you..." Ciel's grip tightened, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you... so much."

ZIL stroked his hands across her back, leaning his head against hers. "...Anything for you."

Ciel pulled her head back to look at him, and she bore a big smile on her face. She moved one hand up to his face, brushing her fingers against his artificial skin, and the touch sensors embedded in the material fired off, prompting him to close his eyes halfway.

"May I kiss you, please?" Ciel asked, and she leaned in close, touching her nose to his. "If- if you don't want to, that's okay..."

"Is reploid saliva harmful to humans when ingested?" ZIL responded with a question of his own - his biggest concern, as the chemistry of their bodies was completely different. He also had a few questions about his other fluids, but those could wait until they became relevant.

"No," Ciel confirmed, shaking her head. "Reploid secretions, including sexual fluids, are designed to be harmless to humans... for exactly this reason."

...That answered all of those questions in one fell swoop. So much for waiting until they became relevant - though it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"And we can't reproduce together?" ZIL made another inquiry, although the answer to this one seemed a lot more obvious. Reploid DNA was very different from human DNA - it didn't even function the same way, really - and there was no reason to believe that they were compatible in that sense.

Ciel shook her head again, and an amused smile crossed her face. "No, of course not. With today's technology, it would be impossible to engineer a reploid-human hybrid... the closest we could get is a human with extensive cybernetic augmentation."

"...Kiss me." ZIL framed it as a request, but it came off more like a demand than he'd intended - and he didn't have to wait, as Ciel responded right away, knowing that this was his answer to her initial question. Her lips were soft, and while the inside of her mouth tasted strange, he didn't let it bother him.

He couldn't, not when he had finally gotten what he'd wanted all this time. She was inexperienced, but so was he, and they could practice this together. It was pleasant, leaving him feeling lightheaded in a good way, and when she pulled away to catch her breath - an unfortunate necessity, given the fact that she actually needed to breathe - he reveled in the flush that had spread across her face and the slight glazed-over look in her eyes.

Though he had an easier time suppressing it now, ZIL wanted nothing more than to take things even further with Ciel. It was too soon - even if they'd seen each other in sexual situations, that wasn't the same as directly engaging in the act, and he didn't count those forced orgasms from the test. It was, as she had said, purely a scientific experiment... with a little added benefit for him.

"...I want to..." Once she caught her breath, Ciel looked directly at ZIL, and there was an undertone of something in her voice that he couldn't quite place. "...Um... you're allowed to say no, but... would you be willing to... with me...?"

ZIL was a bit confused at first, but it dawned on him quickly - she did not share the same opinion about it being too soon. How she had come to that conclusion was beyond him, but... it was getting harder to hold himself back, and he needed her to clarify something before he lost control.

"Why?" he asked her, blinking at her. "We just started."

"I know, but..." The flush across Ciel's face deepened. "When I saw you last night... and when you reacted to my tests... I-I can't..." Her voice pitched lower. "...I want you... so badly... I want to be the one to... make you feel good..."

...It was hopeless. There was no way that ZIL would be able to maintain his composure, not when Ciel said things like that. He pulled her in for another kiss, and she responded eagerly, and his arousal stirred yet again - though there would be no instant gratification this time. He expected her to take this slowly, to ease him into it, and while he didn't need that, he appreciated the sentiment behind it.

Ciel bumped against one of the cables, reminding them both that ZIL was still hooked up to her computer, and she let go of him and pulled back, glaring at the computer. It was a comical expression on her, and he couldn't hold back his laughter, which earned him another glare - one that was too soft to have any real effect.

Ciel moved a little, just enough that she could tap a button on her computer, and the cables retracted, leaving ZIL's open ports empty. It felt a little strange - but more than that, for some inexplicable reason, it turned him on.

"Your ports..." Ciel returned to him, and she fixed her attention on one port at the base of his neck, well-concealed by his hair. "...May I...?"

ZIL answered her with a single nod, and she reached her hand out, placing it on his shoulder. A moment after, she pressed her finger against the rim of the port, stroking just inside it, and it sent a spark through his system, making him shiver from the sensation.

Another thing he hadn't expected to enjoy as much as he did, but he couldn't deny the appeal of it, and he leaned into her touch. She rubbed the port more firmly, pressing her finger in as deep as she could - a potential hazard to her, and he desperately hoped that she knew what she was doing, as he didn't have the mental capacity to stop her.

"Does it feel like this... when you're connected?" Ciel inquired, curious. "Or..."

"No... it's different," ZIL explained, shivering again as she scraped against the connector inside. "Maybe it's because you're organic..."

Ciel pondered this for a moment, and then hummed. "Yes, it's entirely possible... however..." She withdrew her hand. "This is something I have to be careful with. May I...?"

"Please," ZIL responded plaintively. "I don't... want you to hurt yourself... I-I like this... but..."

"...I'd like to experiment more in the future." Ciel said something unexpected, and then her hand moved a lot further down, brushing against the area around his groin. "For now..."

She rubbed him more firmly, still not touching him directly, and it made him groan, his eyes snapping shut as he trembled from the sensation. The sensors in his armor there could prove to be a problem if they remained as they were.

"...Sensitive," ZIL murmured, and he opened his eyes partway and tried to look at her. "Maybe... you should... rewire the sensors there..."

"That may be optimal..." Ciel agreed with the sentiment, and then her fingers slid around his shaft. "In addition to reprogramming these parts... it would be a delicate and involved procedure, and... you would spend quite some time shut down..." She stroked him gently. "...Is that okay with you?"

"Anything..." ZIL moaned loudly, unable to hold himself back this time. "...Anything to... keep myself decent... I can't..."

There was something about her touch that set off his sensors in an unprecedented way, and as she shuffled down to bring her head between his legs, he couldn't keep looking at her - he had to close his eyes again, too enthralled by the sensation of her delicate touch. Her repositioning could mean only one thing, something that promised to be even better-

Her mouth slid around him, and the soft, wet heat brought him close to running the final program. She stayed there for a moment without moving, allowing him to adjust to it - an odd thing to do, but he didn't complain, as he liked the idea of this experience lasting a little longer.

There was a bit of hard pressure on his synthetic flesh, and in his dazed state, it took him a moment to realize that she hadn't bothered to shield him from her teeth. A quick - and challenging - dip into his knowledge base told him that this was quite painful for humans, but reploid genitals generally weren't constructed with pain sensors, and he was no exception.

...In fact, it had the opposite effect. The danger sense of knowing that Ciel could bite into him and possibly cause damage - ZIL didn't know what was wrong with his programming, but that thought somehow turned him on even more. He doubted that she would go that far, yet at the same time, the thought of her teeth scraping against him as she sucked him was...

Ciel did just that as she began to move, and ZIL found himself unable to think, his mind overloaded by the feeling. With his last remaining shreds of rationality, he forced himself to keep his hips still - humans had gag reflexes, and he didn't want to hurt her by accident. It was difficult, though, and he tightly gripped the edges of the table he was seated on, leaning his head back as he gave another moan, loud enough to hear outside the room.

"Ciel..." ZIL breathed her name, and he tried once again to look down at her, and... the sight of her beneath him, dutifully servicing him with her mouth, brought him near the edge again. It felt entirely too good, and he did his best to keep that program from running, though he was in a losing battle - the first battle he was fully content with losing, as it was hardly life or death.

He wasn't able to keep it up for long, and for the third time since entering her lab today, he felt the surge of intense pleasure that accompanied his climax. This felt different from the last two, deeper and stronger and even more mind-numbing, and he shivered as he poured his fluid into her mouth. She didn't back off, and instead tried to swallow it down, though she didn't get all of it, as it was simply too much for her to take.

As he came down, ZIL panted heavily, trying to get air into his overworked cooling systems. He watched as Ciel lifted her mouth off of him, wiping herself off with her hand, and she looked embarrassed for some reason. There was no need for her to feel that way, as what she'd just done had likely been a challenge for her, and he didn't blame her for struggling.

"...An example," Ciel told him, as she backed away from him, still avoiding his gaze. "Your fluids hold no nutritional value for me... but I can safely consume them. They'll simply be processed by my body, and ultimately excreted with no tangible benefit or detriment..."

The way she said those things with that cute blush on her face... ZIL admired her devotion to his understanding, and if he had looked it up beforehand, he couldn't have gotten the experience of her demonstrating the fact to him. Perhaps he would leave it to her to explain things from here on out - it was an excuse to hear her voice more.

...He hadn't realized just how severely down bad he was for her.

"...What about the taste?" ZIL asked another important question - her saliva had tasted strange to him, and while it was hardly a deterrent, he worried that the way his fluids tasted to her would impede her enjoyment. He wanted as much compatibility as possible, given the physical differences between them.

"The taste was..." Ciel looked back at him at last, though her blush deepened. "...It wasn't very good. Is it okay if I try to modify that, too?"

ZIL wasn't sure how she would go about doing that, but if he was going under the proverbial knife anyway, he was more than willing to let her make some extra tweaks. He gave her a nod, then looked down at himself, and-

He had really made a mess. She hadn't gotten much of his release in her at all.

"Thank you..." Ciel returned to him with a cloth soaked in disinfectant - hardly a necessity, but it was wet, and thus would make cleanup easier. "It wasn't terrible... but..."

If she wanted to do this again in the future, it would be better for her if she found a way to modify and improve the taste. ZIL almost felt bad for her - she had put herself through that for his sake, and he didn't want to hurt her if he could help it.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" ZIL asked, and he watched as Ciel wiped up the mess on his body with the cloth. "...You'll be modifying me heavily. Doesn't that feel strange?"

Ciel hummed. "A little... but..." She looked away. "...I don't want anyone else modifying you like this. I can do it, and... it would feel even stranger if it was someone else doing it."

ZIL understood why she said that - as his lover, she wanted exclusive access to his intimate parts, and he couldn't blame her for it. He had no objections to her stance, as she was a truly gifted engineer, and when she put him out for the procedure, he would have nothing to worry about.

He trusted her absolutely. She had made mistakes in the past, but her abilities had improved since his activation, and he wasn't going to hold her mistakes against her - not even her greatest mistake of all, the enemy they had been fighting against for all this time.

After all, as tragic as it was, if it hadn't been for Neo Arcadia, perhaps the two of them would never have been able to meet and bond as they had.

"...What about you?" ZIL inquired, and his eyes followed her as she went to dispose of the cloth. "Can I return the favor?"

Ciel looked back at him before she returned to him, and once she stood in front of him again, a peculiar expression crossed her face. "Return the favor...? Um... are you sure?"

"You've forced me twice, and sucked me once," ZIL reminded her. "It's not fair. You deserve to enjoy this, too."

"Oh..." Ciel's face turned a magnificent shade of red. "...When you put it like that..." She gave him a pleading look. "Could you please... move off of the table?"

ZIL complied with her request, excited that he was finally going to be able to reciprocate. She didn't seat herself on the table right away - instead, she took her time to strip off her clothes, leaving herself naked... and visibly nervous.

It was normal to be nervous in this sort of situation. He'd felt a little anxiety about this himself - that had been part of the reason they'd danced around each other as they had.

"...Your fluid processing should be able to handle my fluids," Ciel explained, completely unprompted. "Although... reploid taste sensors are generally not designed for... organic materials..."

In other words, there was a possibility that he wouldn't like how she tasted. That didn't bother him at all - he would endure it for her sake, even if she tasted terrible.

"There's only one way to find out," ZIL reminded her. "On the table."

Ciel sat down, and she looked over at him yet again, her gaze expectant. She spread her legs, revealing what was between them; a faint smattering of hair adorned the area, and her slit glistened with moisture, slowly dripping out of her - she was very turned on.

She didn't deserve to suffer with this discomfort for any longer. ZIL moved his head between her legs, holding her thighs apart with his hands as he went in to taste her - and she tasted strange and a little unpleasant, mirroring how her mouth had tasted.

Still, it was hardly a deterrent - ZIL could ignore the taste if it meant making Ciel feel good, and he licked her slowly and carefully, finding his way around her body. Her thighs tensed and she breathed a quiet gasp, muffled by her hand over her mouth, and the sound caused ZIL to moan involuntarily, going right to his own lower parts.

As it turned out, he was completely insatiable. Was this how the instability caused by his parentage manifested?

"Status." ZIL made a request, using his vocal processor to speak without the accompanying mouth motions. She tensed in response to his voice, and he wondered if the vibration had stimulated her.

"Green," Ciel responded, and her hands moved to his head. "That... that feels..."

Her fingers threaded through his hair, and that dragged another moan out of him, prompting him to focus his attention on the front of her slit. The little nub there was particularly sensitive - he knew that instinctively, and he took it into his mouth as gently as he could, applying the slightest bit of suction to see how she would respond.

Sure enough, Ciel's response was lovely. She made an absolutely filthy sound, and her hands gripped ZIL's hair, tugging enough to hurt - but he didn't care, not when it showed him that she was enjoying this. He continued to tease her nub, and moved one hand between her legs to thrust two fingers inside her, and he met with no resistance as he curled his fingers into the other sensitive spot that he knew was hidden within.

To ZIL's mild surprise, that gesture set Ciel off, and she cried out and tensed her thighs, her hands pulling his hair again as her inner walls rippled around his fingers. He kept teasing her, enjoying how she trembled beneath his touch - until she yanked herself away, and he realized that she had gotten to a point where the stimulation was too much.

A job well done, ZIL thought to himself, as he lifted his head and let go of her, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The taste toward the end had been downright nasty, but it wasn't like he had a gag reflex to impede him, and her reactions more than made up for it.

"Z-ZIL..." Ciel practically moaned out his name, looking at him with absolute wonder in her eyes. "That... that was..." She shivered from head to toe. "Th-thank you..."

ZIL moved up to lean his body against hers, and he pressed his lips to her mouth - a brief, chaste kiss. "...Just doing my job."

"Oh, ZIL..." Ciel gave a breathless laugh, and her hands came to rest on his arms. "I would call that... a resounding success..."

She was entirely too cute, and ZIL's heart warmed as he leaned his forehead against hers. He was grateful that they'd had this moment together, some much-needed bonding and relaxation in the midst of the conflict they faced, and he hoped that time would permit more exchanges like this in the future.

"I agree." ZIL placed his hands on her shoulders. "But..." He shuffled up a bit more, just enough to press his groin against hers. "We should test our compatibility."

...Something he was nervous about, as he still worried that he would hurt her with his inhuman strength, but his desire was almost strong enough to overcome that anxiety. If she accepted his request...

"O-oh..." Ciel blinked up at him, surprised. "You... you want..."

"I won't force you." ZIL loosened his hold on her to prove his point. "...I wanted you to know."

"...Go ahead." Ciel shifted her legs apart. "I... I want this, too... um..." She hesitated, and it was obvious what was on her mind - the same concern he had.

ZIL planned to do his best to be gentle with her. If he did hurt her, it wouldn't be intentional, and he hoped that she understood that - but then again, she understood him better than anyone else, and he trusted her as much as she trusted him.

"Green, keep going," ZIL began, and he lowered one hand between his legs to grasp his renewed arousal. "Yellow, change..." He looked down, carefully lining himself up to penetrate her. "...Red, stop."

Ciel nodded, and her legs worked their way around his waist as he slid in. "Green..."

There wasn't a trace of pain on her face. ZIL knew from his internal database that human girls often had to adjust to being penetrated, but it seemed that Ciel was built differently - either that, or she had somehow gotten herself accustomed to these acts, and that thought made him groan loudly. He knew that she'd been touching herself while thinking of him, and-

His sensors lit up in response to the mental image of what had started this, and he began to move right away... and he was nearly blown away by the feeling. She was so warm inside, and the slick friction and the grip provided by her inner muscles made him feel lightheaded - he could already feel the final program trying to push itself to the forefront of his mind, and he did what he could to stave it off.

"...I-I can't..." ZIL leaned his head on Ciel's shoulder. "It's... too much..."

"...Try running the suppression program," Ciel suggested. "We know that... it won't stop you..."

It was ironic that ZIL hadn't considered that, and he followed her suggestion, pulling up the program that had started all of this. Sure enough, it had the desired effect - it dampened his arousal, but only somewhat, and he felt much more capable of holding himself back. He kept moving, unimpeded by the calming effects of the program, and the sensation was still absolutely delightful.

"Worked like a charm..." ZIL gave a breathless laugh, and he lifted his head to look at her again. "...Status?"

"Green," Ciel answered him, just the same as before. "It... it feels..." She clung to him tight with her arms, moaning as she tilted her head back. "...It's so good... keep going...!"

ZIL picked up the pace a little, still doing his best to be gentle. He stopped just short of pounding into her, and his hold on her was loose, but the urge to take it up a notch was very much there - an urge he had to resist, and there was some strange appeal in that as well.

Something was definitely wired wrong inside him... but if it meant he could have wonderful experiences like this, he wasn't going to ask anyone to try and fix him.

"Your..." ZIL lowered his mouth to her neck, and he ran his tongue along the skin there as he moved his hand between her legs. It was a challenge to coordinate, but he was able to stimulate her with his fingers as he pistoned in and out of her, his eyes closing as the sparks of sensation grew more intense - the suppression program did not block that, as it turned out, and his processes were starting to lag.

"Ah, ZIL..." Ciel leaned her head to the side, giving him more access to her skin, and the fingers of one of her hands tangled in his hair - not quite pulling, but he was ready for the possibility. His grip on her tightened ever so slightly, and he further increased the pace of his thrusts, slowly losing himself to those delectable sparks of pleasure that resonated through his system.

He was getting close again, and the suppression program was barely doing anything now. He had half a mind to just shut it off and let himself go, but Ciel took priority, and he wanted to see if he could make her finish first. From the way she tensed around him, he suspected that it was possible, and if she did...

"ZIL... I'm... I'm going to..." Ciel's voice trailed off into a moan as ZIL bit her, and her legs tightened around his waist, as if refusing to let him go. He couldn't at this point - he was losing control of his faculties, going faster and harder, and the part of his mind that worried about hurting her was being overridden by the feeling, fading into obscurity as he careened toward the edge.

Ciel tensed up, and she cried out his name as her inner walls clenched around him, and nothing could have stopped the final program from initiating then. ZIL groaned and pushed himself inside her as far as he could go, and his sensors overloaded as he filled her with his fluid, enough to leak out of her - an impressive amount, considering that this was his fourth orgasm in a relatively short period of time.

Ciel collapsed upon the table, and ZIL went with her, both of them panting hard as they tried to recover from the experience they'd just had. He was light enough not to crush her with his weight, but now that the moment had passed, he worried that he'd hurt her near the end - his last few thrusts had been pretty rough, and he was sure that his hand on her shoulder had left a bruise.

"...Too much?" ZIL managed to ask, and he made an effort to lift his head. "I... couldn't..."

"You didn't... hurt me," Ciel confirmed, much to his relief. "...At least... not much..." She sounded embarrassed. "...Um... I'm a little sore... but..."

ZIL could accept that much, as it was clear that she wouldn't have a problem recovering from it - it seemed that it wasn't any worse than what a human would have done. Any more than that, though... he would have to figure out how to control himself better in the future.

"Sorry..." Still, ZIL apologized, as he'd intended to avoid hurting her at all. "I was..."

"No... don't apologize." Ciel moved her hand up to his head, and she delicately ran her nails along his scalp. "It was wonderful... I'd love to... do that again..."

Another time, ZIL supposed, even though he still had plenty of energy in reserve. Ciel was likely tired now, but at least she was satisfied with the results - the most important thing, in his eyes.

"...I found a use for the suppression program," ZIL said with a laugh. "It doesn't work normally... but it helped me there. I know that... I wouldn't have been able to..."

...She just felt way too good inside. It would have been embarrassing for him if he'd kept going like that.

"Yes..." Ciel giggled, and then she loosened her hold on him. "...But... I wouldn't have minded. I know that you would have tried to make it up to me."

"I would've," ZIL confirmed, and he leaned away from her, pulling out at last. "And you'd taste better with a little of me in you."

Ciel blinked, and then a distinct look of concern crossed her face. "...How did I taste?"

"Disgusting," ZIL answered her honestly. "You might need to rewire my taste sensors, too."

"...I have a lot of work ahead of me." Ciel was more amused than anything - she understood him well enough not to be offended by his bluntness. "Would you be willing to start soon?"

"Can you handle it?" ZIL inquired, and he pulled himself to his feet. "You must be..."

"Yes, I should be okay." Ciel stood as well, and went to gather her clothes. "I'm a little tired... but not enough to impair me, and it's better if we get this done as soon as possible. It may take multiple procedures..."

"Plug me in, then." ZIL watched Ciel as she dressed herself. "You can do it here, right?"

Ciel hummed and nodded. "Yes, I can... although..." She glanced at the table they'd just used for their tryst. "...I should probably clean that first..."

She had a point - a slippery surface was hardly conducive to any sort of medical procedure, and the table was stained with fluids from both of them. It wasn't an ideal location to have sex, and ZIL hoped that Ciel would favor the bed in the future.

Then again, it had been partially his fault for egging her on as he had...

Chapter Text

The modifications took place over a couple of days, with ZIL being completely powered down for each procedure. Due to the delicate nature of the work involved, the procedures took hours, and when ZIL woke up, he felt disoriented and uncomfortable - normal for lengthy shutdowns, and he only hoped that it wouldn't interfere with his work.

Fortunately, things had been relatively quiet, with the only missions being small ones around base or dispatches to clear out enemies near points of interest. None of the Guardians had shown up recently, and ZIL could only guess that Neo Arcadia was trying to recover from the last blow he'd struck. The fighting had worn him out mentally, and he was grateful for this reprieve, though he doubted that it would last long.

Following the last procedure, ZIL spent another day recovering, and next morning, it was time for a test. Ciel led him down to her lab, blushing her face off the entire time, and she was very cute like that.

When they arrived, the door locked automatically behind them, and Ciel directed ZIL to lay on the bed. He followed her instructions, and wondered silently how they were going to go about doing this - and then she answered his question for him, as she pulled off her clothes and laid atop him, slinking her way down between his legs.

"Please keep your armor engaged," Ciel told him. "I'd like to test this function first."

Again, ZIL did as he was told, and he looked down at her, watching as she ran her fingers over the smooth surface of his groin plate. He felt the sensation, but it was dull, not like what he was used to.

"The sensors aren't giving much feedback," ZIL informed her. "My parts aren't going to respond to this immediately."

"Then, it worked..." Ciel breathed a sigh of relief. "...Try running the program for your parts."

ZIL hummed and nodded, then started up the executable in question, and he took a sharp breath as his artificial organ emerged - contained by his armor, and it was uncomfortable, but this counted as another success. It hadn't linked up with his armor, meaning that he would enjoy some level of decency around base.

"It works." ZIL gave Ciel an update, though there was no real need to. That particular plate had been designed with flexibility in mind, so it did stretch a little, although not as much as human clothing.

"Good..." Ciel met his gaze, and her blush deepened. "...You can disengage your armor now..."

ZIL did just that, and he leaned his head back and closed his eyes as his arousal was exposed to the air. It somehow felt different now, and he wasn't sure how to feel about it yet - but that didn't matter now, as Ciel placed her hand on the inside of his thigh.

"May I touch you?" she asked, and her voice was quiet. "I'd like to proceed... to the next phase of the test..."

The simplest way of doing so would have been to manually initiate the final program, but Ciel probably wanted this to be more intimate - an excuse to spend time with him, and it would be more enjoyable this way. He nodded in response to her inquiry, then looked down at her again, just in time to watch her take the head of his shaft into her mouth.

Again, she didn't bother to mind her teeth, and ZIL wondered if it was because she knew he liked that. He savored the sensation of Ciel's teeth scraping against his sensitive flesh as she sucked on him, and he knew that he would get a lot of strange looks if anyone found out that he was into this - especially from the humans - but he didn't care, as for the time being, it was between him and Ciel.

"...Doing great," ZIL murmured, and he placed his hand on top of Ciel's head, burying his fingers in her hair. "Keep going... that feels..."

Ciel hummed, and the vibration shot through his sensors, making him groan as he leaned his head to the side. Contrary to expectations, she wasn't taking it slow at all - she was quite vigorous, and even took him deeper than he expected her to. Still, he fought to keep his hips from moving, knowing that any sudden motions could hurt her.

When she began to massage the base with her fingers, ZIL felt his mind lagging, slowed by the delectable feeling that consumed him. His hips twitched, and he admonished himself for losing control like that-

Ciel's other hand crept beneath him, and he felt her prodding at the port in his rear with her fingers - a place that had been untouched until now, and the sparks intensified as she pressed two fingers inside, seeking within for a specific part. ZIL knew that there was a sensory node inside him, but he hadn't tried to stimulate it before... at least, not that he could recall, and he was a little nervous about Ciel touching it.

When her fingers reached the node, the sensory input nearly sent him over the edge, and with just a few strokes of her fingers against that sensitive part, his mind shut down and he cried out, tensing up as his body was driven into blissful oblivion. He kept himself from thrusting too deep into her mouth, but just barely - and with his limited awareness, he noticed that she swallowed a little more of his release this time, completing this phase of the test with a much better result than before.

ZIL relaxed against the bed, panting heavily as he came down, and he felt the delicate weight of Ciel's body as she rested herself atop him. Her face was a little messy, but she was smiling, and she looked absolutely stunning.

"That... that was..." ZIL tried to speak, but it was difficult - she had really done a number on him. Maybe if she hadn't tried fingering him, he would've been able to handle it better... but he wasn't going to complain.

He'd always wondered what the purpose of that port was. It turned out that its purpose was to make him nearly shut down from pleasure.

"I'm sorry," Ciel murmured, and she wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I wanted to see if it would enhance the experience for you..."

ZIL gave a breathless laugh. "...Nothing to apologize for." He pulled her in with one hand to kiss her briefly. "It did."

"Oh...!" Ciel stiffened in surprise, and then her face turned bright red. "So... it felt..."

"Incredible," ZIL answered her, and he brushed his lips against hers for a second time. "You could probably get me off just by touching that node." He lowered his voice. "Want to try?"

Ciel blinked twice, and then her smile returned in full force. "Not right now. We have to proceed to the next phase of the test."

ZIL gave a single nod, and then watched Ciel as she... slid off of him and walked over to her desk, retrieving a handful of E-crystals. That wasn't quite what he had expected her to do.

"...E-crystals?" ZIL stared at Ciel, confused. "Why...?"

"First, we have to make sure your taste sensors still function properly." Ciel made her way back to the bed, then offered the crystals to him. "It would be... troublesome if you couldn't tolerate the taste of E-crystals anymore."

...Now that she explained it, that made sense. She wanted to make sure she hadn't messed up his sense of taste.

"...Down the hatch." ZIL sat up, then took one of the crystals and popped it into his mouth. The taste hadn't changed at all - it was still sweet and pleasant, enticing enough that he could easily get himself overcharged if he indulged too much.

Surely a light snack during the test wouldn't hurt, though.

"How does it taste?" Ciel asked, concerned. "Is it... any different?"

ZIL took another of the crystals from her, shaking his head. "There's no change." He bit the crystal in half before speaking again, using just his vocal processor. "Mind if I finish these?"

"Go ahead..." Ciel was both amused and relieved. "...If you want, I could... feed them to you..."

She must have been wanting to do that for a while. The idea was kind of adorable, and ZIL had no reason to object - in fact, it excited him.

"...Just one or two." ZIL laid down his boundaries as he finished off the crystal he'd been working on. "I don't want you spoiling me too badly."

"Of course not..." Ciel took a crystal with her other hand, then held it up to his mouth. "Here."

ZIL took a moment to caress the surface of the crystal with his tongue - an act that Ciel clearly hadn't anticipated, as she blinked at him a few times. He took the crystal slowly, holding it between his teeth before he started to chew it up, and his first thought was that it somehow tasted even better like this.

Most likely a purely psychological effect, but ZIL didn't care. He enjoyed it when Ciel was sweet with him, and that was what mattered most.

"You're cute," ZIL told Ciel in a quiet tone, and he accepted the next crystal, fixing his attention on her flushed face. There were a half dozen other things he could say about her, but he chose to settle for that, aware that it made him sound like a sap.

...Which of his mothers had he gotten that trait from? It couldn't have been his father...

"That's two..." Ciel almost sounded disappointed. "...Can we do this again sometime?"

She handed over the rest of the crystals to ZIL, and he nodded as he took them, offering her a slight smile. There was something beautifully intimate about what she had done, and he definitely wanted to do it again - he was on the same page as her.

"Maybe next time..." ZIL put another crystal in his mouth as he spoke. "...You can feed them all to me."

Ciel blinked in surprise at that, and then her expression became soft. "I think I would like that..."

ZIL gave a quiet laugh, and then turned his focus to his snack - a much-needed energy boost right now, and he worried that Ciel wouldn't be able to keep up with him after this. Hopefully, she had already developed a contingency plan, as she was liable to end up sore and exhausted if she didn't.

The thought of taking her atop the bed, pinning her down as he had his way with her... it probably wasn't a good idea, but the prospect still prompted him to consume the remainder of the E-crystals quickly, not taking his time to savor them as he had before.

Once he was done, ZIL gave Ciel an expectant look, and she answered with a quick nod as a blush spread across her face. She gestured for him to stand, a reversal of their positions, and he complied, stepping aside so that she could take his place on the bed.

"...Um..." Ciel gave ZIL a shy look, and she spread her legs for him. "...Continuing... the test..."

She was entirely too cute, and ZIL wanted to reward her for it. He ducked his head between her legs, resting his hands on her thighs - and when he dipped his tongue into her slit, he noticed the difference in taste immediately. She tasted similar to the E-crystals, with just a hint of bitterness, and he decided then that he liked these new taste sensors.

"You taste a lot better now," ZIL told her, and he started licking her in earnest. "I could get addicted."

Ciel stifled a moan. "Th-that means... the sensors work properly..." She leaned her head back, supporting herself against the bed with both hands. "...Please, keep going..."

From a technical standpoint, there was no need to do that, but ZIL didn't care one bit. He wanted to reduce her to a trembling, moaning mess, and the only way to do that was to keep on stimulating her until she couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm going to make you feel good..." ZIL focused his attention on the nub at her front, and he moved one hand down to plunge his fingers deep inside her. "...Want to see you come... hard..."

Ciel gasped and tensed her thighs, clenching around the intrusion, and she moved one hand to the top of his head, burying her fingers in his exposed hair. He took that as a cue to go faster, circling the little nub with his tongue, and he closed his eyes and hummed, knowing that she would feel it - and love it.

"ZIL... ZIL...!" Ciel gave a sharp cry, and then her body went rigid - sooner than ZIL expected, but he wasn't about to complain as she rippled around his fingers, squirming beneath the touch of his tongue. He timed her release, continuing to tease her throughout, and pulled away when she pushed at his head, indicating that she was too sensitive to enjoy it anymore.

He wondered if there was a way around that - he knew that humans didn't have a manual override like reploids did. If there was, he would have to convince her to let him try it.

...Her taste really was different. She tasted absolutely delectable now.

"That was quick..." ZIL pulled away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "...Must've felt good."

Ciel moaned one last time, and when he looked up at her, her face was bright red. She gave him an embarrassed nod, then looked away, and he couldn't help himself - he took a snapshot of her cute face, filing it away in his memory.

"...It did," Ciel admitted, after a brief silence. "It felt... very good... th-thank you..." She paused, taking a short breath. "...Um... the testing is over now... so..."

"Want to have sex?" ZIL made the offer that had been on his mind, and he waited patiently for her answer. He was very turned on right now, and he knew that suppressing it wouldn't work at this stage, but if she said no...

"...Not yet," Ciel told him, shaking her head. "There's... one more thing I'd like to try. It isn't part of the experiment, but... I have something for you."

She pulled herself to her feet, and ZIL backed off, watching her as she went over to her computer. She tapped the keyboard a few times, and two objects appeared in the holo-projector - objects which looked suspiciously familiar.

"...I confirmed that you have a rear port with a sensory node that enhances the experience with stimulation." Ciel put on a forced clinical tone. "Since we've been together... I constructed this toy..." She gestured at the object that had a hole in it. "...I know it sounds strange, but I would like you to try using both of these at once."

Both of them at once... ZIL pictured that in his head, and the image got him even more riled up. He didn't know what she was trying to accomplish by making him do this, whether it was another, separate experiment or if she just wanted to watch him be absolutely ruined, but either way, he didn't have the mental capacity to object - not when she had just promised to him a truly exquisite experience.

"Bring them out," ZIL stated, and he was surprised at how aggressive he sounded. Ciel looked a little intimidated, but she responded to the request, and once the toys had manifested, she collected them both and brought them to him.

"This one has a stand," Ciel explained, and she held up the toy that was clearly meant to be inserted. "You can put it on the bed... and then..."

She removed a small object from the toy - a data transfer device, and ZIL snatched it from her without her even offering it to him. He plugged it into one of his ports, allowing the program inside it to upload into his system, and once he read the file name, he realized that he was in for a treat.

Both of these toys had features that he could remotely activate with this program. For some reason, she'd decided to combine the programs into one, and he was not complaining.

"...Wow..." Ciel seemed impressed. "I don't think I've seen you this excited before..."

"...Sorry." ZIL had it in him to feel ashamed. "I..."

Ciel shook her head, then offered him a smile. "There's no need to apologize... I'm glad you're excited. I hope you enjoy it."

ZIL knew for absolute certain that he was going to enjoy it, and he took the toys from her without another word, mentally preparing himself for what was to come. He took the transfer device out of his port and slotted it back inside the toy, then placed that toy on the bed, standing it up so that he could use it without having to worry about holding onto it. As he started up the self-lubricating functions of both toys, he couldn't help but shiver in anticipation.

The only thing he hoped for was that Ciel would enjoy the show as much as he enjoyed putting it on.

"...You're insane," ZIL breathed, and he carefully worked the standing toy inside his rear port, taking a sharp breath as it stimulated his sensors on the way in. "And I mean that... as a compliment..."

He wasted no time in penetrating the other toy, holding it in place with one hand, and his eyes snapped shut at the wet warmth that surrounded him. It felt like being inside Ciel, and that got his sensors going a little too much, so he tried running the suppression program - he didn't want this to end too soon.

The program did its job, calming ZIL just enough so that he wouldn't run the wrong executable too early, and he moaned as he started moving, letting the toy beneath him press against the node inside him as he stroked himself with the toy he'd penetrated. The feeling was strong enough that his mind lagged, and he made an effort to shut out everything around him so he could focus on his lewd activity - he didn't want any distractions right now, except perhaps from Ciel.

"How does it feel?" Sure enough, as if on cue, Ciel asked a question. "Are you enjoying it...?"

ZIL opened his eyes halfway, looking over at her. "...Can't answer right now..."

The look on Ciel's face indicated that she understood his meaning, and she blushed profusely. "...Please tell me after you're done, then."

At the rate he was going, that wouldn't take long at all. ZIL forced himself to go a little slower, savoring the twin sensations of being stimulated from both sides, and he thought that he was going to lose his mind - the feeling was deep and intense and all-consuming, causing a few important processes to lag, and he was sure that he was making noise right now, but he couldn't even hear his own voice.

It was too much. It was entirely too much, and he couldn't properly express how much he loved it. With the last dregs of his processing power, he made a note to thank Ciel profusely for letting him use these toys- he noticed a feature of the program for the toys that he'd overlooked before, and without even thinking about it, he turned that feature on.

The vibration from both ends drove ZIL right into the most intense high he could ever remember having. He writhed from the sensation, sinking down onto the toy beneath him as he pumped himself frantically with the other toy, and the heat of his release surrounding him inside the toy nearly made him shut down. Some of his fluid dripped out - there was simply too much of it, and he didn't know why he'd released so much of it, and he was well past caring.

ZIL's body went slack as he settled into an afterglow that was just as deep and intense as the act itself, and he closed his eyes as he immersed himself in this absolutely divine moment. He felt more satisfied than he ever had before, and in the back of his mind, there was a faint hint of shame at that fact - Ciel hadn't brought him there directly, she had given him toys and let him have his way with himself, and that wasn't the same-

ZIL managed to open his eyes partway, and as his visual sensors adjusted, he saw that Ciel had one hand between her legs, and she was panting heavily as she fixed him with an intense gaze. She looked like she had after that first encounter, as if she'd just finished and was enjoying the afterglow - the same as him, and it dawned on him that she had intended this as a bonding activity.

The toys were intended as an extension of her, to make him feel good in a way that she simply couldn't achieve, and there was meaning in that - it was a gift to him from her, done with the kindest of intent, and when he reframed it like that, it made his heart melt for her.

"...So..." Ciel struggled to speak in between heavy breaths. "How... was it...?"

ZIL closed his eyes and shook his head, and as he pulled out of the toy he'd penetrated, he wondered how in the world he was even going to describe it to her. It had been, without a doubt, the most incredible thing that he had ever experienced.

"...Can't tell you." ZIL settled on an answer, and he made an effort to stand, pulling himself off of the other toy. "Nearly crashed..." The stabilizers in his feet weren't quite functioning properly - he was unsteady, and he had absolutely no complaints about it. "...Can I keep them?"

Ciel blinked a few times, and then understanding spread across her face. "...You liked it."

"Understatement," ZIL declared, and he set the toy he was holding aside. "Thanks..."

"You can keep them." Ciel withdrew her hand from between her legs, then looked at it - her fingers were dripping with her slick. "I... I liked watching you, too... I've never seen you like that before..."

He'd never felt like that before, either. ZIL gave a breathless laugh as he stepped closer to Ciel, and he looked at her stained hand, feeling a hunger that could not be sated with E-crystals.

"Oh... you want to...?" The already present blush on Ciel's face deepened. "Okay..."

She held out her hand to ZIL, and he took his time cleaning it with his mouth, enjoying the taste of her fluids. It was as if they'd come full circle in a way, and he couldn't complain - the two of them had fought long and hard to get to this point, and as the conflict raged on around them, he hoped that it would only deepen their bond.

"I love you." ZIL spoke when he was done cleaning her hand, and he gazed deep into her eyes. "...I need a moment."

"You need a moment...?" Ciel stared back at him briefly, and then her expression softened and she gave an understanding nod. "Okay..." She raised her hand to his face, brushing her fingers against his skin. "I love you, too..."

ZIL didn't respond verbally, and instead pulled her into a tight embrace - minding his strength, of course. She returned the embrace, and rested her head on his shoulder, and it was like the times that he had comforted her when the weight of the world was too much for her to bear.

He had taken on part of that burden for her, and he would carry it unto his death - she no longer needed to bear it alone.

"...Want you to be on top next time." ZIL spoke in a soft voice, and he raised one hand to the back of her head, running his fingers through her hair. "I'll have less of a chance of hurting you that way."

"Um... are you okay with that?" Ciel asked, concerned. "I know you're rather... dominant..."

"I don't want to hurt you," ZIL answered her, and he loosened his hold on her. It all came down to that - he definitely preferred taking the lead when he could, but for her, he needed to re-evaluate things a little.

"...You don't have to..." Ciel pulled back to look at him. "I can take it..."

"Ciel." ZIL spoke her name firmly for emphasis, and he lowered his hand from her head to her shoulder. He wasn't going to let her argue with him on this - until he could control himself better, he wanted to pick the option that would result in the least risk to her.

There were ways of training his self-control, and that toy she'd given him would help quite a bit...

"You're so stubborn..." Ciel pouted for a moment, and then she offered him a smile. "Okay... but I want you to be able to enjoy yourself, too. When you're a little better at controlling yourself..."

ZIL was fine with that, and he leaned in to kiss her briefly - his answer to her proposal. Right now, he was feeling a bit riled up again, and he didn't know why, but his base programming was telling him to pin her down and-

He couldn't have that. He needed to calm himself down, and to that end, he pulled away from her and returned to the bed, laying down. He looked over at her, and her eyes strayed to between his legs - and that cute blush returned to her face, an indicator that she'd seen his renewed erection.

This level of stamina and lust could prove to be a problem in the future. Ciel wouldn't be able to keep up - at least he had the toys to help out.

"...Okay." Ciel took a deep breath, then moved to the bed and climbed atop ZIL, straddling him. "...Just to make sure, is this... really what you want?"

"Please..." ZIL reached up and grasped Ciel's arms, his touch delicate. "...Ride me."

Ciel gave a quiet hum, and then she took him into herself, breathing a soft moan as she supported herself with her hands on his chest. Her heat was overwhelming, and he had to strain to hold himself back. He tried running the suppression program, and just like last time, it helped, bringing him back from the brink.

"Again...?" Ciel spoke in a breathless voice, and there was just a hint of playfulness in her tone. "You're so sensitive... it's so cute..."

ZIL wasn't sure how he felt about being called cute, but if it was from Ciel... he groaned and leaned his head to the side, and when she started moving, he couldn't hold himself back from moving with her - difficult from his position, but it served to drive him even wilder.

"Ciel..." ZIL breathed her name, and his hands went to her hips, gripping her. "I-I..."

He had expected it to feel different like this, and it did - but in a good way, and he felt utterly helpless beneath Ciel, lost to the incredible sensations she provided him with. She moved one hand to his side, running her fingers along his skin, and he trembled at the touch, his sensors sparking and causing his mind to lag from the feeling.

"Is this... is this good...?" Ciel punctuated her inquiry with a moan. "I like it... it feels... so..."

"Yes," ZIL answered her, plaintive, and he moved one hand to her front. "Please... please... I..."

His voice almost sounded foreign to him, altered by strain and static, and he picked up the pace as he plunged his fingers into the front of her slit. She clenched around him, crying out as she followed his new pace, and he made sure to imprint the visage of her face into his memory - her mouth open, her pupils blown wide, her face damp and flushed almost as red as his armor...

The suppression program was doing almost nothing now, and ZIL shut it down, allowing himself to feel everything - this pure bliss that he couldn't get enough of, this sweet moment with the girl he loved… he wouldn't last much longer. He gave Ciel a pleading look, hoping that she would understand his intent-

Ciel's body went stiff, and she screamed out his name as her inner walls spasmed around him, and ZIL's mind went blank as her high drove him into his. He writhed beneath her, crying out as his sensors overloaded, and he flooded her with his release, causing her to gasp as she shoved him in as far as he could go - as if trying to take in as much of his fluid as possible.

Ciel collapsed atop ZIL, panting hard as she loosely wrapped her arms around him, and he went completely limp, closing his eyes as he savored the afterglow. Her weight was comforting, and he felt her breath on his exoskeleton, hot and damp and... she smelled of mint and something else that he couldn't quite place, but he liked the scent.

...Was that her scent?

"...I love you," ZIL breathed, once he found his voice again. "I love you, Ciel..."

"I... I love you too, ZIL..." Ciel tightened her hold on him. "Th-thank you... so much... "

"No..." ZIL opened his eyes and looked down at Ciel, and his arms slid around her in return. "...Thank you. That went off... without a hitch..."

Letting her take the lead was definitely a good idea. Being in that vulnerable position should have been uncomfortable, but with her, he couldn't get enough of it - he trusted her, and she was not the sort of person to take advantage of his trust.

"Yes... it did..." Ciel sounded thoroughly elated. "...Let's do that again... sometime..."

A thought crossed ZIL's mind, and he tilted his head. "...How did I taste?"

Ciel blinked back at him, visibly surprised by the question - and then she gave an awkward smile. "...Strawberries and cream... that's the flavor I gave you. It's sweet... and..."

That was not at all what ZIL had expected, and yet at the same time, it made perfect sense. He took a moment to process this knowledge, and came to the conclusion that... it was kind of adorable that she made his fluids taste like that.

...He couldn't help but wonder if he would enjoy that taste - a perfect excuse to go down on her again.

"Can I taste?" ZIL asked, and he felt himself heating up. "...I want to know what it's like."

Ciel's face turned a brilliant shade of red, and she slid herself off of him. "D-do you want to..."

"Sit on my face," ZIL directed her. "...I want to eat you out... now that I've filled you up."

Somehow, that caused Ciel to turn even redder, and she answered his request, changing her position so that she could rest herself atop his face. The sweet scent of ZIL's fluids mixed with the delightful perfume of Ciel's, and he salivated with excitement as he dipped his tongue inside her.

The taste was phenomenal. The slightly bitter flavor of her fluids mixed with the intense sweetness of his, and he moaned as he savored it, taking his time licking her. She made a surprised noise, and then her thighs tensed as she trailed off into a moan of her own, clearly enjoying the gentle treatment.

"I could do this all day," ZIL remarked, and he moved his tongue to her front, licking her there. "...Want me to try?"

"N-no thank you," Ciel responded, breathless and amused. "I wouldn't... be able to..."

She would run out of energy long before that, but he couldn't help wanting to mess with her a little. The fact that she took it in such good stride made him feel warm inside - she truly understood him, and was one of the few people who did.

ZIL dipped his tongue inside her again, trying to clean out more of his fluid, and Ciel cried out, pushing herself against his face. He gripped her hips with his hands, feeling how her muscles tensed with her insistent motions - a sure sign that he was doing his job right.

As he moved back to her front and began to suckle her nub, the program for his lower parts initiated again, and he groaned at the knowledge that he would probably have to relieve his tension on his own. He didn't want to wear Ciel out completely, but his body still desperately craved her... and then an idea came to mind.

"Want you... so badly..." ZIL dropped one hand between his legs to stroke himself. "I... can't get enough of you..."

Ciel gave another surprised squeak, followed by a strained laugh, and she tensed her thighs, grinding harder against his face. He obliged her silent demand, sucking harder as his hips twitched, and he wondered if something was wrong with him - either his initial assessment of his preferences was incorrect, or she'd rewired him in an unintended way while working on him.

It didn't matter. Ciel's heavy breathing and wanton moans told ZIL that she was close, and it drove him to work himself faster, his mind going numb to everything but her as he slid his tongue inside her for a third time. His free hand took over in front, rubbing her as best he could from his position, and she whimpered loudly, desperate and elated and perfect.

Ciel shrieked as her body went rigid, and her inner muscles spasmed as she trembled atop him, lost to the absolute bliss of her high. He was able to stop stroking himself, though it was a challenge - the feeling of her fluids dripping across his skin, mixed with faint remnants of his own, drove him near the edge, and the only thing that held him back was the thought that he wanted her to see him.

"...Ciel, I..." ZIL struggled to speak - his vocal processor was on the verge of shutting down. "Look... at me..."

There was a slight delay, and then Ciel did just that, and ZIL went back to his self-stimulation. A flicker of irrational thought crossed his mind, and he manually initiated the final program, pushing himself right into mind-blowing release - more intense than usual, and he gripped himself tight as his hips jolted, spilling across his overheated body as he cried out his lover's name.

...There really was a strange appeal to being forced like that, and he couldn't hope to explain why.

For a long moment, the two of them maintained their awkward position, trying to recover from the experiences they'd just had. When she caught her breath, Ciel moved off of ZIL, standing beside him with a curious expression on her face.

"Did you... manually run the program?" she inquired, tilting her head. "Your reaction was... too sudden..."

ZIL had to give credit to Ciel for her observational skills. He hadn't imagined her noticing the difference.

"Yeah," he told her, and a weak smirk drew across his lips. "...I like it that way..."

"That's the most important thing..." Ciel giggled, then stepped away from the side of the bed. "...I'm going to clean you up, if that's okay with you."

"Saves me the trouble..." ZIL nodded once. "Thanks..."

Ciel went to retrieve a cleaning cloth, then returned to the bed and started wiping ZIL down - including his face. He was an absolute mess, and he definitely needed it.

That had been more than worth it, though.

"I love you..." Ciel finished tidying ZIL up, and set the cloth aside. "...Can we cuddle now?"

ZIL reached his hand out to her, welcoming her to do just that, and she took the invitation, laying atop him. She rested her head and hands on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her loosely as he leaned his head atop hers.

"Love you too." ZIL moved to kiss the top of her head. "...Tomorrow?"

Ciel gave an affirmative hum. "So long as nothing comes up... yes. We can do it again tomorrow."

ZIL made an internal note of it, and then fell silent, simply enjoying the presence of the girl he loved. Even if they had to postpone, he would wait as long as he needed - for her, he would go to the ends of the earth and back.

...Would she be willing to compromise with him on shower temperature?