"EDI."
His voice was more strained than he wanted it to be. He wanted to sound smooth, in control.
"Jeff?"
Like hers.
"This feels really… clinical. I'm just…"
He was off-duty — she never was, not really, and he tried not to think about the fact that part of her was still flying the ship right now, that part of her was the ship — and in his quarters. Perk of being the galaxy's star navigator: you got your own little cabin to sleep in, instead of bunking down with the rest of the enlisteds on the third deck.
"Relax, Jeff."
But he couldn't; his body was tense, knotted. She'd told him to take his clothes off, and he should have been excited, but it just felt like when Chakwas did it, like he was about to undergo some procedure. Now he was naked, lying on his back, muscles so rigid they were trembling from fatigue.
"Are you cold, Jeff?"
"I'm fine. Could you… could you try to sound a little less like a doctor? It's wigging me out."
She cocked her head to one side; usually he found that endearing.
"Would you rather I didn't touch you? If this encounter is uncomfortable for you, we can do it another time. I do not mind."
"It's not that, EDI. I want you to… to touch me, I just…"
He sucked in his breath sharply; she'd let her fingertips curl around his prick. They'd kissed before — and Jesus, had that been weird, but it had been good too, definitely good — and he'd got hard with her before, but she'd never touched him like this.
"I can be flesh for you, if you'd prefer," she said, and suddenly she was, the transformation happening before his eyes. She felt softer now, like a real human being, and she looked… like flesh.
Her fingers were wrapped around his cock, just resting there, not doing anything, and he felt like he was going to go crazy.
"That's…"
She squeezed him, just a little, and he groaned.
"Fuck, EDI. But… unnh… I think I like the metal."
He'd swear she looked pleased, but he was having a hard time concentrating. She transformed again, going back to cool metal, and he liked that, he hadn't known how much he liked it until she'd changed.
"Is this better, Mr. Moreau?"
Just like that, he snapped to full attention, his prick expanding and stiffening in her grip. It was the way she said it, the formal way she'd addressed him, just like when they were on the bridge and he was… was flying her…
"Yeah." He couldn't say any more than that without groaning, and he didn't want her to see just how much control he'd already lost. He pushed his hips upward a little, and she gripped him more tightly in response. "Yeah, EDI."
"Mr. Moreau" — fuck, there was no way she didn't know the effect that had on him — "I'm not entirely sure what an orgasm feels like."
He'd wondered about this himself, whether he'd be able to pleasure her the way she obviously could him. She had a body, hands, a… a mouth…. He groaned again; she hadn't lessened her grip on his prick, and now she was sliding her hand up and down over it. Slick, cold metal, and he thought he was going to lose his mind.
"But," she went on, "when you're piloting the Normandy, your hands move very rapidly. You touch me in many different places. I am able to anticipate these touches a short time before they occur, and they are always accurate. That is… quite pleasurable."
Jeff stared at her. "EDI. Are you saying that when I…when I fly you, it's like… sex?"
"I believe so, Mr. Moreau. It is certainly very, very good."
He closed his eyes, thought of his fingers on control surfaces, thought of the hum of the cockpit, and lights flashed behind his eyelids as his whole universe shrank to the breadth of EDI's fingers, working at him as he'd worked at her so many times before.
Afterward, he lay trembling, unable to speak.
"Jeff," she said, and rested a hand on his chest. Her skin was warm, and he distantly realized that she'd deliberately made it cool for him earlier, must have known he'd like it. "Are you all right?"
"I will be," he said after a moment. "I mean, I am."
"Good," she said. "When you have recovered, I wish to try having you… inside me."
Jeff lifted his head from the bed to stare at her. "We can do that?"
"We can. I can… accommodate that. This body was made for it."
He let his head drop back again. "It sure as hell was, EDI." As spent as he was, the thought produced faint stirrings. EDI straddling him, taking him inside her… He hadn't even hoped to dream.
"This is so weird," he said under his breath.
EDI cocked her head to the side. "For me, it seems quite normal. Are you unhappy, Jeff?"
He touched her hand where it rested on his skin. "No, EDI. I'm… I'm very happy."
"I am as well…Mr. Moreau."
His body reacted to this, and he sucked in his breath through his teeth. "You're conditioning me, aren't you, EDI?"
He'd swear she looked smug. He'd swear it.
"We have 36 hours left on leave, Mr. Moreau," she said, and he didn't even try to suppress the shudder this time. "…I suggest we make good use of it."