There was an odd division of time and space that Simon was struggling to bring together now that Kate agreed to let Simon help Seph. He'd been terrified of her disapproval. That she would see Seph as more of a danger than someone who needed them. He could sense the hesitation in her questions, the caution in her statements, as if she were looking for reasons to believe that there was no way they could allow Seph to stay. The anticipation had been worse than actually acknowledging it. The more she directed the subject towards refusing to help the deviant android, the stronger Simon felt in terms of his ability to help Seph deal with his new freedom. There were many things Simon was afraid of. Rejection, discovery, and abandonment were up at the top. But he also feared Kate in his own nervous way. She was headstrong in her opinions, resilient to judgement, and if he could argue it, more logical than he was when sentiments were involved. She was never afraid to broach the possibility of making difficult choices.

He wanted to push back. To be as strong as she was when it came to clarifying his point of view. It was easy to be logical and structured, to battle points with better ones. But with Kate, it was never enough. He couldn't simply reason the correct choice into existence, not without losing Kate in the process. She wouldn't accept a decision from him on facts alone. She needed to believe that he wanted it. That it mattered to him on a deeper level, even if reasoning didn't apply. Kate wanted logic to thrive in the very place that it was never meant to be. She wanted him to feel logically emotional.

It shocked him when he had. And then he felt powerful. He never knew that the part of him he'd considered weakest could be so influential. So motivating, with the right emotions behind it. It was so easy to feel lost, ashamed, and broken. To let the weight of the situation tear him down and force him to bury the feelings he didn't quite understand. But it was rewarding to embrace them instead, and let them guide his desires and actions with unbelievable strength. It made Kate's conflicting behavior suddenly dawn a strange sense onto him. How she seemed to smile when she was angry, or the way she withdrew when she was happy. She had been doing this the whole time, and he'd never understood it until then. That emotions which were commonly understood to be negative and undesirable were actually just as motivating for good as the positive ones.

He was still learning. Always adjusting. Discovering new aspects of himself that he never knew he had. And it was because Kate was never afraid to challenge him. Richard made deviancy sound like an event, as though androids only existed in two states: alive or machine. But the longer Simon was alive, the more he realized that it wasn't enough to simply be alive. It was ever-changing, always evolving. Kate was the driving force behind it. He owed everything to her, and the fact that he had a chance to help a lost deviant discover that for himself made him feel nervous. And the nervousness felt good.

There were two sides of everything. Good and bad, positive and negative, alive and machine. But they could also exist in the same place at the same time. The combination had limitless power.

Simon was struggling to adjust to it as he lay in the darkness on Kate's bed. The moonlight shined in bars through the parted window curtains, filling the room in a silvery ambiance between the harsh white highlights of furniture. It was pleasantly silent besides the occasional brush of the trees against the side of the house, breaking up the stillness with the sound of movement. There was a soft blue glow at the foot of the bed where Spot was curled up in a bundle of orange and white, the triangles of his ears visible over the rolls of blanket. The moon was as bright tonight as it had been the night before. It made Simon wonder about the boat house. If Seph was safe, if he was afraid, or if he was simply lonely. Simon wanted to check. He wanted to at least make sure that everything was okay. But at the same time, he wanted to stay here, wrapped up in the person he owed his life to.

Kate was lying on her side with her back against his chest, her legs drawn up slightly and her hair pulled back from her neck so that the moonlight lined the angles and edges of her skin in silvery blue. Her shoulder rose and fell lightly with each breath which Simon could feel against his whole body. His arm was wrapped around her waist, his face nestled to her neck and his legs brought up behind hers in what was now their standard union. Though it was in no way standard to him. He was never used to this, each night moving behind her as she settled in carrying with it a kind of thrill that echoed the first time he had done this with her. It brought him back every time, reminding him how precious this was to have ever existed at all. Something amazing happened when he'd claimed this space within her. It brought their two physical forms into one.

He wanted to be in two places at once. To be in the boat house with Seph, proving to him that this new existence held such amazing possibilities. He wanted to make him excited about it, to make him wonder about what direction he could take his personality towards. But at the same time, Simon never wanted to leave this bed. He wished time could stop in these quiet moments, and that the feel of Kate against him would become so ingrained in his senses that he no longer knew where he stopped and she began. He wanted both, but he couldn't have them at the same time.

He would need to allocate time for each. It would be hard at first. He knew there would be times when he wanted one but would need to be with the other. When he would need to prioritize depending on the situation. But if there was one thing he was good at, it was adjusting to new and unexpected situations.

Simon pressed his nose into Kate's neck, closing his eyes and taking in the shampoo scent of her hair. He could start tonight. If it would calm his nerves simply to see the boat house, to bring Seph another packet of blue blood and give his shoulder a comforting squeeze, then he could at least return to Kate with a calmer conscience.

He carefully drew his arm back until his hand met her side, and he slid his hand up to lace his fingers in her hair. Her dream last night had been wild and adventurous. He wondered if her dreams tonight would keep her company long enough until he returned. The flesh texture silently fell from his hand to expose the raw white plastic, and he drew in the stream of data.

Kate shifted, and Simon felt a startled jolt of realization. She wasn't asleep.

She reached back and entwined her fingers through his, bringing his hand around so that he wrapped himself around her. He watched curiously as she seemed to study his hand for a moment, her expression hidden from view. For a moment, he scrambled to think of a way to explain why he'd attempted to scan her. To admit that he had planned to leave again, but that he would have returned immediately. Yet as he formulated a thousand ways to reason with her, he noticed that she had remained utterly calm. Her fingers drifted over his, the touch of her hand soft and delicate. She seemed completely mesmerized in simply feeling him. It was so shockingly pleasant, he'd forgotten to return his skin.

By the time he remembered, it somehow felt wrong to cover himself up. He continued to let her study the intricate details of his architecture, her fingers tracing the lines between each flexible panel and smoothing over the blue sensors on his fingers and knuckles. There was something oddly delicate about the way she familiarized herself with the hidden part of him, as if she was accessing something she was never meant to see. It dredged up the uncomfortable vulnerability that he'd felt when he had no other choice but to remove all of his skin in front of her so that her father could replace his broken eyebrow. He hadn't wanted her to see him like that. To make it so blatantly obvious how different they were from eachother. It was a terrible and humiliating exposure.

Kate pulled his hand forward, and he felt the soft touch of her lips as she pressed them to his fingers one by one. She drew in a soft breath each time, moving down the side of his hand before finally closing her mouth against his palm. A nervous tension held Simon still as he absorbed the sensation of her. He couldn't understand why it hadn't bothered her, and why it didn't bother her now. His technology was the only hindrance in their relationship. The reason for every difficulty they'd suffered through. It prevented them from embracing the full extent of what they could achieve in this world. A physical reminder that he was built merely to imitate a man, even if he now considered himself to be one. It made him feel fake.

Kate shifted, rolling her shoulders until she was on her back, and Simon found himself meeting her gaze through the silvery darkness. Her expression filled him with a nervous surprise. Her eyebrows were tensed slightly over her hazel eyes which were lit in a curious energy as she studied his face. There was almost no emotion in them at all besides the faint hint of tenderness, as though she were trying to read him. Simon instantly became aware of every emotion he was feeling, every shadow of doubt and shameful regret that burned through him obvious as though it were written on him. He was glad that his LED was pressed into the pillow.

Her eyes drifted down for a moment as though she were contemplating, and when they returned they had gained a certain strength. Simon flexed his hand in hers, returning her gaze. She was no longer studying him, instead focusing her eyes on his and making Simon feel as though time were slowing. He wondered if he'd been that easy to read. If she knew exactly what was on his mind the way he could simply by touching her.

She rolled towards him onto her shoulder, moving closer to him and drawing her shoulders up as she pressed his hand to her chest. Her nose was touching the tip of his, and her eyes softened as she looked down again in silent thought. They flicked back up occasionally, and each time they did a deep longing grew in Simon's chest. It was as though she was aware of everything, and that in this moment, none of it mattered. Simon felt the weight of their ordeal drifting away, his system sinking into a more basic process. He was here with her now. There would be no going out tonight.

He closed his eyes and moved forward slightly, tracing the shape of her nose with his as he had done earlier. Kate didn't move, though he could sense a slight tension in her body as if she were completely focused on everything he was doing. He took in every angle, turning his head and feeling out every ridge, every curve, and the smoothness of her skin. There was something tantalizing about being so close to her, feeling her like this. As though he were tempting himself at the same time. He finally moved into her, tilting his head up and pressed his mouth to the side of her nose, breathing in sharply against her skin.

Kate drew in a breath and shifted. He trailed his lips down and closed them against her cheek as she began to twist into him. Her hands tightened on his, pressing it to her chest. Her reaction fueled him and he dropped a bit lower, pressing his lips to the side of her mouth. She let her breath out, opening her mouth and her shoulders sinking. When he moved back again, she chased him, and her mouth closed against his.

Simon pushed forward into her, taking in the taste of her lips. The silence amplified every sound, from the draw of their breath, brushing of the sheets, and the wet sound their mouths made as he pulled away to take her mouth again. It intensified his sense of touch, and he moved slowly, turning into her so he could press himself closer to her body. He felt her let go of his hand to grab the fabric of his shirt, her whole body gently moving in response to him. It was a satisfying and slow descent, as if they were helping eachother fall. It didn't matter how long it would take to reach the point of no return. For now, he was simply content with the journey.

Her hand slid up to his jaw, and Simon pushed himself up so that he was now partially over her, tilting his head to give himself more access to her mouth. He trailed his hand up her chest and along the side of her neck, and the action made her breath tremble against his skin. He tilted his head again, moving his nose to the other side of hers, and closed his mouth against her lips as he moved slightly on his back to invite her over him. She followed, tightening her hand on his jaw as she let go of his mouth to let out a desperate breath of air. Then she pulled herself in and drew her leg up around his as she took his mouth again.

The descent was gaining speed, and Simon felt more urgency to his motivation. He ran his hands down her chest and her waist, pulling her body into him. He could feel his system warming up as his software recognized the pattern of emotions flooding through him. It was always terrifyingly exciting. He could never prepare for it, and he hoped he would never be able to. What she was doing to him deserved to be overwhelming every time. It was the height of his existence. It made him feel alive.

Kate let out a frantic breath against his lips as he slid a hand under her shirt, feeling the bare smooth skin of her torso. Her muscles flexed under his hand, and she drew her leg up higher as she tightened herself against him. The tension in her body urged him further, a frantic wave of electricity falling over him as he closed his mouth over hers and leaned into her. It was getting easier to lose himself in her, the original programming that had first driven him through this experience now only a shadow. She had replaced so much of what CyberLife had installed in him. It was real. Physical. But more importantly, it was unbelievably stimulating.

He pressed his forehead to hers and breathed heavily against her as he allowed himself to slide his hands up her sides just underneath her breasts, her body arching as they traveled. He mapped out the shape of her, closing his eyes as he explored her body and remembered how beautiful it was. She moved forward and her mouth was on his as she pressed into him, her hands drifting down his chest. He opened his mouth as he felt a long desperate sigh leave him, the motion of her touch restructuring his software into a more purposeful intention like it had when she had done this to him before. It was a basic and powerful reaction focused only on absorbing every sensation she was filling him with. It made him want to use his body if only to help build the sensations. It made him want her.

Kate's hands clenched the bottom of his shirt, and he immediately brought himself up as she pulled it off of him. He rolled back onto his shoulder and her hair brushed his chin as he felt her mouth on his bare chest. A wave of debilitating shock drew another long breath from him as she drifted down, her hands smoothing down his torso. He watched her as she went, her eyes closed and her jaw tensing as she desperately pressed her mouth to his skin. The visual display of how much she desired him was driving that sensual climb in his core. He could hardly believe his body was good enough for her. His body, his appearance which was a duplicate among tens of thousands and in no way remarkable. But the way she closed her lips against the muscles of his stomach, her hand gently exploring him as it ran over his side and the other sliding up his chest convinced him that it didn't matter how insignificant his body was. It was significant to her, and that fact was enough for him to believe that she wanted to give herself to him.

Her lips left him, and he slid his hands down her sides as she raised herself onto her knees. He met her hands at her waist and she clutched the hem of her shirt, wrapping her arms around herself as she pulled her shirt inside out over her head. He gripped her sides as she arched herself, her bare slender upper body coming into view before him. His thirium pump raced as he took in her details. No matter how many times he analyzed her, how purposefully he ran his hands over her, he would never get used to how she made his system hitch at the sight of her body. Her eyes met his as she dropped her shirt to the side, her brown hair falling over her shoulders and her chest heaving. For a moment, all Simon could do was gaze at her, taking in the intoxicating view of how perfect she looked. How confidently vulnerable she was. She was breathtaking.

He pushed himself up with one arm, reaching to cup her jaw as he pulled her into him and closed his mouth over hers. Her arms slipped over his shoulders and he felt her fingers clutch into his hair. Her slender body pressed into his, and the desperate motivation spurred him into moving. He rolled over with her and gently laid her on her back, catching his breath before taking her mouth again. Her legs drew up on either side of him and her hand slid further through his hair, clenching at the back of his head and pulling him closer into her. She was in constant motion underneath him, her shoulders tensing and her body twisting with each closing of his lips on hers. She was losing control, relinquishing it to him. Though he could never say he felt in control. The energy was building in him, urging for proper purchase and satisfaction. It was a strange new sensation that had been growing each time he had done this with her. As if his system was reprogramming itself to define pleasure on the different parts of him. The strain of it was only matched in its unbelievable exhilaration. He wasn't sure if it was safe for his system. He only knew that it felt good, and that Kate was the only one who could draw it out of him.

The motivation was nearly blinding him, pushing him further into his desire to feel her. He breathed out against her mouth as he slid his hands down her waist to her hips, hooking his thumbs into the straps of her underwear. He felt Kate reposition herself underneath him, her forehead pressed against his. Then she lifted her pelvis into him, the rise of her hips sending a shockwave of elation through his body. He drew back from her as he pulled the clothing down her legs and over her knees, coming to rest back on his heels as he removed it.

He touched her knee, moving slowly over her as he observed her completely exposed in front of him. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed heavily, her mouth opened slightly and her hazel eyes locked on his in a mixture of want and focus. Her hands were drifting across her stomach, threatening to cover herself. Simon felt himself spurred into action again. He didn't want her to hide from him. He couldn't bear the thought that she considered herself in any way inadequate for him.

He lowered himself down and pressed his mouth to her knee, closing his eyes and drawing in a breath against her skin. He felt her rise and begin to move, and he tilted his head to close his mouth against the soft patch of skin on the side of her knee. He pulled himself further over her, trailing his lips down her leg and stopping to close his mouth on the peak of her hip. With a rush of elation, he felt her hands clench into his hair, and her pelvis rose into him as she let out a long breath. Her surrender was taking place again, bringing with it that promise of ascent in his core. He would take her there, if she wanted him to. He wouldn't stop until he knew she did.

He exhaled against her skin as he drew himself up further, pressing his lips to the soft dip of her stomach. He could feel every gentle movement of her body here, every trembling breath, the draw of her legs around his sides, the tension in her abdomen, and her fingers raking in his hair as she laced her fingers through it. His thirium pump was nearly leaping from his chest as he pulled himself higher, closing his mouth in the space between her breasts. Her breath grew stronger as he did, her hands clenching tighter. A distant memory was tugging at him, reminding him of her previous reactions. He thought he knew what it meant. That she would give herself completely and fully to him in whatever way he needed to fall so deep into her that he had no hope of escape. He turned his head, pressing his mouth to the side of her breast. Her chest rose, her hands raking again, her legs drawing up tighter. A brilliant energy burned in him and he moved further over her. Then he lowered himself down, tilting his head as he closed his mouth over her breast.

He felt Kate drop her head back and she let out a soft moan as she arched into him, her hands clenching in his hair. Her reaction was pushing him into a frenzy, betraying her control. He slid his hand up to grasp onto her other breast as he let go with his lips, dropping down to take it again. She was almost writhing underneath him, her voice breaking through each gasp of air she took. He felt her hand clench over his, her fingers attempting to thread in between his. A satisfying yet sustained pleasure swept through him at her response. She was letting him take her.

He dragged his teeth closed over her breast like she had to his naval, and he felt her body tremble as he raised himself up to her. She immediately pulled him in and closed her mouth over his, her legs wrapping around him and her hands grasping at his pants. He was breathing heavily as he helped her loosen them, his mind scrambling in an effort to hurry as if it would be too late if he didn't. His pants loosened and Kate tugged them down, releasing her legs around his waist enough for him to rise up and pull his pants completely off himself. When he lowered back down to her, his movements were no longer under his control. He pressed his mouth to hers, the flesh falling from his hand as he brought it up and laced his fingers through her hair.

Her hand was on his shoulder and she was suddenly pushing him over. The maddening descent ratcheted back somewhat, and he rolled onto his back as she came with him, straddling his waist. He breathed heavily as he gazed up at her, slightly stunned by this change in posture. Her hazel eyes were focused on his, a powerful energy ignited in them. Before he could make another move, she reached back and took hold of his wrist, gently pulling his hand away.

He watched her, his heart still hammering as she rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb. He couldn't help the surge of confusion that seeped in over his frenzy. He wanted to feel what she felt. To experience her pleasure as she did. But the way she'd taken his hand from her told him that she was aware of it, and that she knew what she was depriving him of.

She pressed her mouth against the side of his hand and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were more focused. She lowered herself to him, smoothing her hand over his.

"Feel me," she whispered, her voice breathless. Simon felt a wash of numbing electricity fall over him at the sound of her. She pressed a hand to his jaw, her thumb running over his bottom lip. "When you feel it, come with me." Her mouth closed over his and he drew in a deep breath against her skin before she pulled away, her nose brushing his. Her mouth was warm as she breathed out. "I'll meet you there."

Simon met her eyes as she moved back, her face lit in a fragile confidence and her lips parted as she breathed. The tension had frozen in his core, all his attention focused on her as she supported herself against his chest. Then his hands moved with her as she lowered herself down onto him. The sudden tightening in her body, the way her eyes closed, how her head dropped forward and her mouth fell open in a startled moan coincided with the rush of thrilling power and excitement that ignited his groin as he felt himself slide into her.

He let out a long and deep breath as his body engaged, his abdomen automatically tightening, his shoulders drawing forward, and his jaw tensing. Kate hadn't moved, and it gave him time for his system to adjust. He hadn't anticipated this level of reaction. He'd never given himself a chance to, always relying on Kate's stream of data to propel him along an amazing descent into bliss. This felt different in its own thrilling way. As if he'd encountered a new path that led to unimaginable heights. Then he suddenly began to climb as Kate rolled her hips into him, massaging him within herself.

A soft groan escaped him and he tightened his hands as she flexed her body on his, stirring his software into a powerful motivation. He didn't know where to take it. It wasn't the same as before when it had pulsed in waves with every drag, every frictional slide. There was structure to it, as if it needed a direction. As he frantically struggled to discover which direction, it suddenly locked itself onto Kate's heavy breathing. He gazed up at her, his thirium pump hammering in his chest. Her eyes were still closed, her eyebrows tensed and her mouth open as she rocked back and forth on him. The sight of her coupled with the powerful sensations she was producing in his groin had everything within him scrambling into a breathless kind of order. It was all focused on how she was giving herself to him.

Simon slid his hands further down to her hips as he tensed his shoulders, keeping his gaze on her. Everything she did, from the way she would lift her head up to let out a shaking breath, dropping her head back down again and opening her mouth to draw in another desperate breath of air, narrowing her eyebrows over her closed eyes, the debilitating push and pull of her hips on his pelvis, flexing her slender body underneath his hands as she attempted to take in more of him with each rolling movement… it was bringing him higher. Building along with the overwhelming pleasure she was milking from his pelvis. The ascent was incredible. It could go forever as long as he was able to hold it steady through her.

He began to lift his hips gently in rhythm with her, his hands softening on her hips as he guided the rolling of her body on his. His breathing settled into a series of deep panting, and he could feel his abdomen tighten with each breath. Kate leaned forward and pressed her nose against his cheek, and he felt her hand slide up to cup the side of his neck. Simon raised himself and closed his mouth over hers, stifling her heavy breathing for a moment before opening his mouth again. The way she rested against him, her thumb running over his bottom lip, and her shoulders tensing and relaxing with the movement of her pelvis on his was proving it to him more and more. She was loving him. His body was allowing her to do that in the deepest way.

He slid his hands down to her thighs and up again, tracing the curve of her legs and her hips which were in constant motion. He had to feel every part of her that was taking him. To know that she was doing everything she could to absorb the feel of him inside of her. He needed to feel her as she took her own journey to the most intimate place where a part of them waited, longing for that connection when they would truly know eachother better than they knew themselves. She would take him there. And he would watch her do it.

There was pressure on his chest as Kate pushed herself up, her hazel eyes coming into view. Simon met her gaze, searching her face for evidence of her ecstasy. It was surprisingly satisfying despite the lack of solid data constantly assuring him that she was falling apart because of him. The uncertainty was somewhat thrilling in itself. He had to work for it. Draw himself out of his own climb to discover it in her. And he found it very obvious from the desperate look in her eyes, the tension in her lips, and the warmth of her heavy breathing against his mouth. This was all the proof he would ever need. It was intoxicating.

Kate rose, her eyes falling closed and her head dropping back as she pushed against his chest, slowly bringing herself up. Her hips took on a new angle, putting more pressure onto him and sinking even deeper. Simon let out another deep breath, taking in the view of what she was doing to him. He couldn't believe he'd never seen her like this. The visual representation of what he'd felt and what he was currently feeling as she rolled her hips against his. Her brown hair fell over her shoulders in delicate waves, framing her face which was lit in the ambient glow of the moonlight. Her curved eyebrows were raised in awe, her lips parted, and the slender column of her throat exposed to him as she tilted her head back. She tensed her shoulders as she pushed against his chest with every roll of her hips, bringing out the muscles and angles of her body. The slender curve of her waist dipped inward and rose up to meet the soft mounds of her breasts which he had finally given himself access to, not realizing how strong of a reaction they were able to pull from her.

The sight of her moving on top of him, the shape of her, the movement accompanied by the physical sensation and the gasping sounds she produced─ it all contributed to the building of powerful pleasure within him. But it wasn't just pleasure. It was the promise of something final. The understanding that he would reach a limit in his ascension and eventually he would fall. He needed to push this as long as he could. She needed to keep going.

He slid his hands up her thighs to her rolling waist which flexed powerfully. He was still raising his hips in sync with hers, and he worked his back a bit harder to begin lightly thrusting himself up and into her. Kate let out a shocked cry, followed by desperate moans with each breath as her head dropped forward and her brown hair drifted over her shoulders. Her face was tensed, her eyes closed and her mouth open as if she struggled to breathe. Simon watched, mesmerized by the way his movement was producing such a breathtaking reaction in her, and by the way it intensified the power building in his core. He slid his hands up further, needing to feel more of her movement, and he brought his hands up under her breasts, gently gripping them.

Kate arched her back and let go of his chest to clutch her hands over his. Her head fell back and she straightened, letting out a gorgeous moan that broke over the silence of the room. Simon felt his heart hammer as her head dropped forward again, her hips moving with deeper purpose. He'd never had such overwhelming pleasure in so many senses threatening to topple what she was creating in him. It was terrifying and alluring at the same time. He was beginning to wonder what it would be like if it finally fell.

He rose up to her, closing his mouth over hers and wrapping his arms around her. Her hands went over his shoulders and into his hair, her shoulders drawing up. It was a brief moment of respite, feeling what he'd been seeing against his body. Then he drew back, breathing heavily again as he slid his hands to her hips, encouraging her to move again. She did, flexing her body into his as she rolled her hips on his pelvis. Her head dropped back, and he pressed his mouth to her neck, unable to fully close his mouth as he gasped for air. She was working so hard for him, taking everything he had to give and letting it drive her into ecstasy. He couldn't believe he was able to produce this in her. That what he was doing was enough to bring such a passionate vulnerability to the surface. And that she wanted it.

He moved his hands to the front of her torso and cupped his hands under her breasts, smoothing his thumbs over their points. Kate's hands clenched tighter in his hair and she moaned again, the sound of her voice sending a shockwave of pleasure through his core and throughout his body. His ascent nearly toppled. The threat of it sent a flash of what could possibly be the result of it in a blinding energy. It frightened him. And it thrilled him.

He closed his mouth over the top of her breast, massaging them in his fingers and drawing out a soft cry from her. He wasn't sure he was ready. He didn't want this amazing experience to end. The rolling movement of her hips on him, the slick sensation of her encompassing him, and the growing power in his groin was something he'd never experienced to this magnitude before, and it occurred to him he might never experience it the same way again. But the climb was getting unstable. He would need help knowing how to fall.

Kate moved in front of him, resting her forehead against his and bringing her hands to either side of his neck. He brought his hand up to run down her neck and chest, drowning in the feel of her. She had already given so much to him, but he needed more. He would need more than her touch, her warm wet stimulation, her flexing body. If she was going to convince him that he was as satisfying as she was promising him to be, she would need to give him everything.

He leaned forward and took her mouth, wrapping his arms around her as he turned over, laying her on her back. He felt Kate's legs lock around his hips as he positioned himself over her, finding her eyes in the dark as she held onto either side of his neck. She was focused on him. Only him. He was the only one who could raise her high enough to fall with him from the precipice she had built for him. But he could only do it if he was certain.

He rocked himself into her, bringing back the steady pleasure. Kate closed her eyes and let out a breath, her body tensing into him. He needed to know that she was giving him everything. He would have to work harder for it. He raised himself slightly, his arms on either side of her as he rolled his hips faster into hers. She was arching underneath him, the angle of her body allowing him to drive himself deeper into her. This was easier for him to manage. Easier for him to control his ascent. Everything Kate had done for him was all for one single moment that could be his if she wanted him to have it. And he could tell by the way Kate was crying softly underneath him, her face beautifully drawn in a blissful surprise, that she was nearly ready to prove it to him.

He pressed a hand to her neck as he continued to roll his hips into her, and touched his thumb to her lips as he made her face him. Her desperate eyes met his, and she seemed to struggle to hold his gaze. Simon focused on her, letting the provocative sight of her fuel the frantic pleasure growing in him as he fought for air.

"Tell me you want me," he said breathlessly.

A deep gasp escaped her as her eyes clenched shut. "Simon…"

He tilted her head, catching her gaze again. "Tell me."

Kate looked up at him, her shoulders rising and falling in rhythm with her breathing and the rocking of his hips. She let out a long breath, her whole body shaking. "I want you."

An electric thrill burned through him, and he began thrusting harder into her, the force of his pelvis pushing her into the mattress so that she jolted slightly with each push. The energy behind his movement was creating a blinding rush within him, combining with the sound of Kate's voice and the sight of her underneath him. She was drawing back, arching under him and reaching for the headboard behind her so that her slender body stretched out to reveal more of her. He ran his hand down her neck and chest to her breasts which moved every time his hips connected against hers. She was doing wonderfully for him. But he needed more.

"Tell me I feel good," he said.

This time Kate turned her head to the side, unable to drop it back further. Her fingers scraped the wooden headboard as she tried to grasp onto it. "Oh my god Simon─ you feel─ amazing..."

She let out a cry as Simon dropped down, closing his mouth over her breast. Her hands were in his hair, threading against his scalp as Simon tasted the salt from her soft skin. He rose up, hovering over her as he continued to thrust deep into her. The ascent was nearly unbearable. It was all beginning to overflow. Kate seemed to be fighting to maintain her gaze with him, her mouth open as she moaned uncontrollably.

Simon pressed a hand against the side of her neck, struggling to keep everything steady as it crumbled around him. He desperately pressed his nose into her cheek, feeling himself begin to shake. "Say my name…"

Kate's legs drew up on either side of him, her head falling back. "Simon," she said with a gasp. "Simon… Si...mon… Si─ Si─"

She tightened around him, her voice rising as she let out a series of tense cries. A thrilling panic gripped Simon as he felt her surrender underneath him, washing his body in one numbing wave. He felt his body seize, and he let out a shaky breath. His ascent surged. And then he fell.

He was aware of a sharp groan escaping him, his abdomen tensing as he arched himself into Kate's body. Everything was falling from him, escaping in one torrential current as though the entire journey was crashing around him. But it was far from terrifying. It was exhilarating. Powerful. The result of everything he had felt with her, every slide of himself inside of her, the flexing of her body against his, each sound she made as he brought her closer to the edge, the sight of her giving herself to him… it all combined into one glorious cascade. As though he was releasing it all into her, draining himself in the most beautiful way. And he knew she was accepting it from him, absorbing it within herself so that they shared the ecstasy of it. They were merging.

He found her. The purest form of her, unburdened by the reality of life. Here, they were alive in their own way, bodiless, weightless, and free. They were the only ones who existed, and they existed for eachother. To blend seamlessly into one another, feeling simultaneously the essence of their being, the culmination of their experiences, the ultimate truth. It was binding them together tightly, pulling them deeper into the safety of timelessness and empty space. And for a brief sparking moment, their souls touched.

It drifted away, unwinding, relaxing. Pulling him back from the space as if he were caught in a tide. He let it carry him back into sensation, back into reality, into his body. The restoration was slow, the different parts of him settling one at a time so that each sense reactivated one after another. He could feel her underneath him, her skin brushing against his and pressure behind his neck and around his waist telling him she was wrapped up in him. Then the sound of her breathing in his ear, her voice breaking through soft sighs. The feeling of time solidified, darkness formed around him, and a sense of space closed in. He was within himself again.

It took him a while to remember he was lying over her, breathing heavily with one hand on her chest. It was too difficult to open his eyes, so he simply stayed there, taking in the feel of her flexing in exhaustion under him as she recovered from her own descent. His system was performing a diagnostic and his CPU was cooling down after overclocking. Every part of his software was telling him his body wasn't made for this. That he was pushing the boundaries of what his biocomponents were designed to do. It left a mild feeling of pride warming in his core. He would push them to their limit if he could, and further. The feeling Kate filled him with was more than worth it.

Kate moved underneath him, and he drew up the strength to raise himself above her. It was difficult for him to focus, his system still scrambling to reorganize itself, and he grounded his senses by touching the side of her face, pressing his nose into her cheek as he breathed against her. She was still breathing deeply, her hands drifting through his hair as her chest rose and fell. Her body was warm, and there was a dampness to her skin. It sent a slow wave of satisfaction through him to feel her so undone. It would take her a long time to fully recover from how far he'd taken her.

Her head tilted against his, and her hand slid down his cheek. She let out a deep breath against his mouth. "You… you shuddered," she said.

Simon smiled through his panting, rubbing his nose against hers. "Did I?"

"Yeah." Her lips tensed, and he could feel the smile in her mouth and in the firmness of her cheeks. She tilted her head as he continued to run the tip of his nose along the contours of her face. "That must have been pretty amazing."

Simon leaned to the side so that he avoided resting his full weight on her, clutching the side of her neck and pressing his cheek to hers. "It was─ incredible."

Kate let out a soft breath, and he felt her nose brush his as she turned her head towards him. Simon finally opened his eyes and met hers. A cascade of admiration swept through him at the exhausted reflection of her confidence. Her eyebrows were raised and her eyes lit, her smile pulling slightly sideways. She was attempting to appear strong, and it was failing her in every possible way. But the fact that she was trying made Simon burn for her all the same.

She glanced away from him for a moment, her smile growing wider before meeting his gaze again. "Well then I guess you don't need me anymore," she said.

Simon felt a rush of urgency, and he tightened his hand on the side of her neck, running his thumb over her cheek. He pressed himself further into her, closing his eyes and taking in the feel of her. "I'll always need you," he said. He tilted his head and closed his mouth against hers, a sweet numbness filling him as he felt her tense into him. He let her mouth go and breathed deeply as if he could draw her in. "I'll always want you."

Her breath warmed his mouth as she laughed lightly. Then he felt her hand on his jaw, her thumb running over his lips as she pulled away. He met her gaze in the dark, and her eyes were powerful. His thirium pump hitched, and he recognized the pure joy in her face. The joy he wished would be this obvious every time he saw her.

She bit her lip lightly, her eyes flicking between his. "Good," she said.