Prove It

Part 3:

The door slid shut with a hiss that seemed to echo off the walls, permeating the tense silence that had choked the atmosphere within the room. Madeline exhaled freely for the first time in several minutes, and with her first breath following Melissa's exit, selfish disappointment gathered at the pit of her stomach. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to recall the flood of sensation that had brought her body to life. Oh, what a feeling it had been! Even despite her efforts to ignore and suppress it, it had burst through the half-heartedly constructed walls of her will and set her ablaze; surely to dampen such intense sensations was a vile criminal act against nature, and try as she might, she could not reproduce any satisfactory memories of them. The moment had passed and she would never see it again.

She groaned mournfully, bringing up a hand as though to shade her eyes, her left trailing down her labcoat with an unconscious thought - but then the image of Melissa's actions before she left the room was before her mind's eye and with it came a rush of guilt and shame. She felt terrible, dirty, and despite the anguish and frustration she now knew Melissa to be feeling, she hated her for a brief moment. There was nothing else like it, surely; everything had been going perfectly and with every moment that passed from the instant she had felt Melissa's hands upon her shoulders, she knew her ability to resist was failing. Her hesitance, the unknown question that was holding her back, all of it had faded away as Melissa's hands worked wonders; as her physical self was exposed as Melissa slowly freed her of her blouse, she had felt her inhibitions falling away along with each button. "Melissa, this isn't right…We shouldn't be here like this…I don't want this…" those words were such lies; to say she desired Melissa was an understatement, she hungered – no, she starved for her. To have Melissa's lips poised less than an inch away from her own was too great a temptation, how was she to resist? And to know that her body was so close, so imperceptibly close without actually touching was too painful a torture.

She tasted the blood on her tongue then, and that brought her back to her senses. A dull ache was spreading through her jaw and aside from her biting her tongue to keep herself silent, she feared she had inadvertently done herself damage due to the force behind Melissa's slap; in similar fashion to way in which she had thrust inside Madeline, the strike had been utterly unrestrained. Did she deserve it? Reluctantly, she could only answer in the affirmative – but that was only in retrospect, only with hindsight could she see Melissa's true motives. She could only imagine how her friend must have felt, having to watch her react so easily to the merest touch; she could only wonder at the enigma of Melissa being unable to feel as she did. Simply being in close proximity with Melissa sent heat rising up through her body and merely picturing Melissa's lips, soft, moist and glistening, parted slightly as they neared each other - that was enough to...well, it was enough. Now, as she thought back to things Melissa had been saying even while she had been distracting her with her touch, she could pick out all the not-so-subtle hints as to how Melissa was truly feeling; it was amazing to think that for all her intelligence and credentials, a slight touch - a hot breath against her ear - the flick of a tongue against her cheek seemed to drain her brain of blood and divert it everywhere else.

Could she truly feel nothing? Madeline recalled how during their first kiss, Melissa had hungrily entered her mouth with her tongue, but had she experienced the same hunger that Madeline had felt gnawing at her, or had she been driven by frustration? No doubt given her nature, Melissa had been able to sense - or to be more accurate Madeline supposed, detect - how Madeline's body was naturally responding, and perhaps all she had been doing was searching for the trigger that would allow her to experience the same. If the roles had been reversed and Madeline had crept up behind Melissa, slipping her tongue behind her ear, would she have felt her spine tingle with excitement? And if Madeline had been the one undoing Melissa's blouse, teasingly allowing her fingertips to brush against her exposed skin - when the fabric fell away and Madeline lowered her hands to Melissa's stomach, tracing such a simple shape, wouldn't she tremble in anticipation? Melissa had kissed her so deeply and greedily, Madeline had tilted back her head and fed on the taste of her tongue, considering nothing else, and when Melissa had traced an altogether different shape upon her...well, the process of thought entirely went out the window. How it must have pained her to hear Madeline groan so deeply, as though the slightest touch had brought her all the satisfaction in existence...considering this, Madeline felt heat rising to her face, though this time, its vessel was shame.

Such a selfish, thoughtless creature...

"I'm not", Madeline whispered to the room, "I'm not, Melissa..."

Being referred to as a 'creature' had all but emphasised Melissa's disgust with her in that moment, and Madeline could hear the undertones in her voice that suggested the statement was not meant for her alone. But her false start that had caused her friend's eyes to narrow ever so dangerously had in fact been the beginnings of an idea which her frantic mind had seemed to pull from nowhere. Sensibility had returned in that moment and she thought not to give it voice given the current atmosphere, but now that she could finally see Melissa's torment, it was the only thing she could do if she was going to rebuild the bridge she had inadvertently set ablaze.

XxX

Melissa didn't turn when the door of her quarters hissed softly as it slid aside to allow admittance, but she didn't allow her visitor more than a single step towards her before she spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

"Melissa, I've come to apologize", Madeline answered, surprising herself with the fact that her voice was firm despite the forceful nature of Melissa's tone.

"Apologize? And that would accomplish...what, exactly?"

"Melissa, you were right. I admit that I was thinking only for myself, I...I didn't give you any consideration at all".

A lengthy moment of silence grew between them, then; Madeline stood poised at the door, one foot either side of the threshold as Melissa sat in her chair, her posture upright and rigid, hands folded into her lap as she seemed to find great interest in the wall opposite Madeline.

"You can admit that now", Melissa said quietly.

"Melissa, I'm sorry", Madeline said earnestly, "I was...taken up by the sensations; I was unable to think straight".

"Really, after all the things I've told you, you would allow yourself to be 'taken up by the sensations'?"

"Melissa, if only you knew how you made me feel -"

"But that's the point, isn't it?" Melissa cut across her and immediately Madeline cursed her choice of words; Melissa rose to her feet and turned towards Madeline, her expression - as ever - devoid of emotion.

"I do not feel anything, didn't I show you? I thought a kiss, just one kiss would be able to trigger something within me; you could not comprehend the sheer number of situations and scenarios I have analysed in which that action has proven to be the cause of an immensely pleasurable reaction. And between whom did it most commonly occur? Good friends: individuals who possessed a relationship similar in nature to what you would claim you and I share, and yet tell me why I felt nothing, Madeline. Nothing. But the cruelty of it was that I could detect that the merest contact of our lips triggered a more than noticeable reaction from your body".

"Melissa, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. We didn't...we didn't think of such things when we first conceived the idea of you - at first, we didn't even consider giving you this form!"

"Then why did you?"

"It was necessary", Madeline answered, braving Melissa's fierce gaze, "for the best results".

"I can understand that", Melissa said after a moment's pause, "I can comprehend the notion of efficiency and logic, but if what you say is truly the case, why would you manufacture emotions within me? If all you required was the mere form, why would you lay the foundations for sentience? Surely, that would only pave the way for 'inefficiency'".

"We needed more than just a machine", Madeline said, "we needed a shape recognisable on more than just a physical level".

"An incomplete shape!" Melissa spoke loudly, "I have never at any stage in my existence been considered human, always nothing more than a shape, a form, a project, a means to an end, and yet you would mockingly bestow shadows of human attributes upon me".

Madeline gasped as Melissa closed the gap between them in the blink of an eye and roughly took hold of the front of her labcoat.

"You could never understand my pain, my frustration - in fact, do I? Do I really understand those things, Madeline? Are they nothing more than shadows, too? I have seen the eyes of many a colleague roam across my form with the unmistakable glint of desire lighting their gaze so much so that the room itself seemed to gain illumination, but then that look would fade and die. Why do you think that is, Madeline? Because you all remember that I am simply the mere imitation of a woman, that I am little more than a shell. I am incomplete, and the idea disgusts you".

"Melissa", Madeline spoke softly, "no matter what I say, it isn't enough to fix this, but...there is a way, all I ask now is that you'll hear me out".

"Quickly", Melissa demanded.

Madeline took a deep, steadying breath, trying to calm the fierce beating of her heart. "Melissa, it's true: our natures are utterly different, despite our appearances. You...are an android, that is the truth of it - " Melissa's grip tightened " - but", Madeline said quickly, "we can use that to your advantage".

"I hope you have a point coming soon, Madeline", Melissa said in a low voice.

"Melissa, there isn't anything we can physically do regarding your physiology, but..."

"Are you truly suggesting that?" Melissa asked, "don't you think it has occurred to me already?"

"But did you act on it?"

"It isn't real", Melissa retorted.

"I can make it real for you, Melissa", Madeline told her, "please, give me the chance".

Melissa's grip tightened and their eyes were locked together, one gaze fierce and unrelenting, the other soft, pleading. Eventually, Melissa's vice-like grip loosened.

XxX

"Lie down", Madeline instructed Melissa, pointing to the cold, bare metal table; Melissa drew up short as her gaze swept from the offered surface to Madeline, the latter grimacing and offering a quick apology.

"Sorry, but I'm sure it won't matter soon", Madeline said, already turning her attention back to a somewhat bulky device she had made for as soon as they entered the room; Melissa glared fiercely at the table for a moment longer before acting as Madeline had asked. A familiar silence stretched between them then, punctuated by Madeline's fierce key stroke as she linked the device held underneath her arm with another and several soft sounds of uncertainty. Melissa looked up at the ceiling, arms lying perfectly straight and in faultless symmetry beside her. Finally, Madeline seemed to complete her work as a sigh of satisfaction left her lips and a moment later, she cast her shadow over Melissa.

"Here", she said, holding in her hands a helmet-like object, metallic grey in colour and not exactly the prettiest sight to behold; the 'visor' was utterly opaque and shaped as though to curve around the bridge of the nose and a bundle of wires sprouted from the top of helmet, leading back towards the computer Madeline had been interacting with.

"I don't see how this is going to work", Melissa commented, not moving to take the object from Madeline and instead glancing at it in indifference, "I-"

"Melissa, please trust me", Madeline said, "it may not be what you've envisioned, but it's all I can do".

Melissa looked back to the object, "it won't be real, I'll know it won't be. How can you expect me to accept that?"

"Melissa, please".

Melissa snatched the helmet from Madeline before she could explain to her what was about to take place, and as she slipped the device on, shutting out the light of the room as the visor fell before her eyes, she suddenly felt numerous needles prick her scalp.

"Madeline, what's happening?"

"Don't worry", she heard Madeline say, strangely unable to calculate the direction of the voice's origin or her distance from it, "the simulation experience differs between the human mind and your...programming; because of your nature and its basic similarities with the simulation device, we should be able to produce something much more...intense".

Her voice seemed to be fading and Melissa strained to hear her; she could feel the needles sinking deeper into her scalp and found the sensation unsettling. Madeline's voice gradually faded to silence and her perception of her surroundings began to slowly disintegrate as her fellow sensory abilities also appeared to malfunction. The darkness that she dwelt in now took on a different subtle quality as her basic ability to sense diminished; she felt trapped, constrained, and she called out to Madeline, claustrophobia only settling in more heavily as she found she could not even hear her own voice.

"...Melissa - Melissa".

"Madeline? Where are you? I can't see - "

But even as she spoke, the room came back into focus, numerous shades of colour flooding into her eyes and reconstructing the familiar shapes around her. But, wait - weren't her eyes covered?

"It's nothing to worry about, Melissa, you were just adjusting", Madeline explained. Melissa turned towards her, finding it quite strange that she could no longer feel the weight of the helmet and in fact - as she lifted a hand to her face, unable to feel the bulky object whatsoever. Madeline was crouched down beside her, a soft, reassuring smile on her lips.

"Madeline, I don't understand, where is the -"

But her sentence remained incomplete as Madeline held a finger to her lips, shaking her head slightly, the gesture communicating a clear message. Slowly, Madeline allowed her finger to fall away from Melissa's mouth, following an invisibly marked path that led towards her labcoat. With a distinct sound, each metallic button was separated and Madeline introduced her other hand, carefully peeling away the material and revealing a pale lilac blouse; this time, Madeline started on the lowest button, freeing several more until she reached Melissa's chest, leaving the rest of the buttons in place. Melissa felt strange, unable to identify what exactly she was feeling: there was something about the way Madeline was slowly undressing her, something about the way she offered a small, soft smile as she did so, and now, with her blouse half open, Melissa wondered why Madeline hadn't completed her work.

Madeline brought her hand down to Melissa's stomach, allowing her fingers to hover just above her skin; she remembered the sensation that Melissa had brought to her when she had traced circles upon her and moved to return the favour, but, after hesitating for a moment, she decided that Melissa deserved something more than that, she needed to know how she had made her tremble with the merest touch. Madeline was inexperienced certainly, but she knew what had caused her to grow hot and restless. Lightly tracing irregular shapes upon Melissa, Madeline lowered her lips, softly touching the place where the navel would have been were Melissa born naturally.

What...what is this? Melissa was confused; it wasn't as if nothing had ever come in to contact with her stomach before, so why did Madeline's touch feel so different to her own? The stomach did not function as an erogenous zone, so how was it that Madeline's feather-light touch was causing her to grow...excited? Was that what it was? She could detect that she was breathing at an ever so slightly increased rate...and she could also sense a slight increase in body temperature...also - but she grew distracted from her self analysis when Madeline kissed her again. Her lips were soft and moist against her and it felt...it felt...

Madeline lifted her head, thinking that she had heard the faintest sound...her fingers crept up towards Melissa's half open blouse and when Madeline glanced down, she had to wonder why she had - on sudden impulse - decided to only free some of the buttons. Shifting her posture slightly, Madeline looked down at Melissa and found that her breath caught and her cheeks grew warm. She could just about see the underside of Melissa's breasts and the teasing view was tantalising, serving to form an idea in her mind that her friend would find quite cruel.

Melissa found herself missing the contact of Madeline's lips even as she felt her fingers creep towards her chest...what a strange thought, and as she spared a moment to ponder it, Madeline appeared before her. She opened her mouth to ask a crucial question, but at the same time, Madeline's hand crept beneath her blouse and happened upon her breasts. Melissa gasped. She gasped. The sound was so alien to her, almost frightening in fact, and as Madeline began to play shapes across her chest, circling her fingers about her buds, she could feel another rising inexplicably to her throat. She leaned forward quickly to press her lips against Madeline's, anything to silence her, but Madeline dodged aside, her expression telling as she leaned down and kissed Melissa's throat.

As she heard and felt Melissa become more excited, she herself grew so. To hear each of Melissa's breaths becoming heavier, to feel her chest rise and fall, to sense her desperation to stifle the strange sounds she was producing by locking their lips together - perhaps it was because she herself was so new to this experience, and could more than relate to how Melissa was feeling. She dodged her lips time after time, planting her kisses like an experienced lover upon Melissa's throat, each seeming to draw yet another gasp; her fingers toyed with Melissa's breasts, seeming to have taken on a will of their own as she found herself rolling and ever so slightly pinching her nipples, and cupping each breast, allowing her thumb to circle around the bud. The pronounced rise and fall of her chest, something so simple and natural, proved to be inexplicably alluring, and whenever she dodged another kiss, she glanced down, feeling - curiously - a sense of pride.

Melissa, growing agitated, recalled that she possessed use of her arms and hands and in the same moment brought them up to hold Madeline's head still, filled almost to bursting with the inexplicable urge to groan deeply into her mouth. She caught her almost immediately, the texture of her hair between her fingers only serving to empower the urge, but Madeline resisted as she pulled her down, whispering a "wait, not yet, Melissa"; needless to say she was crestfallen, how could she refuse to kiss her now? But when she felt Madeline's hand move away from her chest, tracing a direct path down to her - wait, surely not...and yet - and yet she seemed to ache...down there.

Madeline was acutely aware of the difficulty of this moment as she slowly pushed her hand underneath Melissa's trousers, finding also - despite her friend's previous arguments - that she wore knickers. Though Melissa could not see her physically, she could still 'see' her, and so Madeline had to be subtle as glanced at the computer screen she had situated just behind Melissa's head. Upon this screen was displayed the simulation Melissa was experiencing directly from her point of view, and right now her eyes were fixed on Madeline's hand. Madeline had, of course, knowledge of her own anatomy, she had based the infrastructure of the simulation on herself after all, but this was essentially the first time for them both. Silently thanking Melissa as her friend sat up slightly to look down at herself, Madeline glanced quickly at the screen one last time before tracing a line with her index finger.

It was both strange and wonderful to see the reaction her action elicited. For Madeline, the space between Melissa's thighs felt no different to the touch than her stomach, there was - to be blunt - nothing there. However, for Melissa...

Melissa groaned, and for once she cared little for the fact that she had produced the sound. Madeline's touch between her thighs felt so, damn, good. As her finger slowly traced a line up, and the down, Melissa forgot how to think. Her body felt so weak all of a sudden, and it was only Madeline's arm looping around her shoulders that prevented her from falling hard against table as the arms propping her up grew limp. She tried to speak, but Madeline's finger moved and the ability of speech failed her. She closed her eyes, something building up inside of her with such intensity - she felt Madeline's lips briefly against her mouth, but when she moved to engage in the kiss, again Madeline denied her, bidding her to wait just a little longer. Wait for wha -?

Oh...

Though Melissa had closed her eyes thus rendering the screen placed behind her useless, Madeline was confident enough, though she found a sense of strange humour in what she was about to do. Curling her finger, she lightly brought the tip to rest against Melissa and applied a very slight pressure. For Melissa, what this translated to was Madeline's finger slipping halfway into her. This action rewarded Madeline with such a sweet, deep groan that impulse took control in that moment and she brought her middle finger up against Madeline, this time applying a little more pressure. Melissa's eyes snapped open and her body arched; Madeline - cruel Madeline - continued to tease her lips as she developed a rhythm of applying and reducing pressure. Melissa arched and bucked, actions which proved troublesome for Madeline as she was forced to quickly develop a sense of where to place her fingers to adjust to each movement, but luckily, her ability to adapt proved stellar and soon enough, the pace and power of her 'thrusts' had Melissa thrashing her beautiful head, locks of hair strewn across her face.

"Madeline - Madeline!" she gasped, her head suddenly falling still as she gazed up imploringly at her friend, "I need to kiss you - oh! - otherwise...I think I'm going to scream -"

The scream did indeed occur, though its volume was severely muffled by Madeline's mouth as she pressed deeply into Melissa's; Madeline's tongue for the first time proved dominant and she brought up a hand to stroke the side of the helmet that hid half of Melissa's face. Melissa felt Madeline's hand softly stroke her hair, her soft, warm lips and tongue claiming her mouth and her digits buried deep within her, and at the moment before that sweet, sweet climax she remembered:

"You're a wonderful woman, a good friend. You are human".

"Then...prove it".

Part of her dared to remind her, then, that nothing of what she was experiencing was real, that it was all the product of extravagant trickery and when all was said and done, nothing would have changed. She would still physically lack, she would remain incomplete. But there was something else there that allowed her to appreciate the lengths Madeline was going to for her sake, something that picked up on the intensity and certainty of her kiss and caused her to realize that something had occurred between them that would not end with the fulfillment of her desire, here and now, and when her climax hit, filling her absolutely to the brim, she found that she could finally put a name to the sensation that had eluded her since her very beginning, and in this knowledge, she was content.

A/N: Done-diddly-done! Well, thanks for reading, hope you've enjoyed yourselves, better go and get those tissues if you have, hmm? Anyhoo, I hope to see more MB/MB fics popping up soon, still quite surprised there's so few but I suppose we'll have to blame the game these two are depicted in. Enough of my prattle though - REVIEW! (caps) or just read, you pervs have knocked up the view count for this fic quite significantly recently ;]