November 2021 Microfic!

Hey folks,

Whew, I'm tired! I'm visiting family tomorrow and I've got quite a train ride ahead of me for that! Getting as much Patreon stuff done as possible, plus podcast stuff and visual novel stuff took lot out of me. Didn't help that this one ended up being quite long, but I had fun working on it. Hope you enjoy!

~Benn {Doomgender} Ends

Theme: CYBERPUNK

Prompt: Doing important parts maintenance on your cyborg GF, and making sure you clean all her parts intimately while she watches

Suggested by Samantha Flowers (Thank youuuu!!!)

~3276 words

CW:

• Cyborg
• Flirting during maintenance 
• Limb removal
• Holes in cybernetic parts meant to be used to lift the cyborg off the ground, might squick you out if the idea of a hole going all the way through someone sounds gross
• Light sexual humor
• Some crying
• Some talk about disability, mostly implied

~~~

“Do I really have to get in the brace?”

“Yes. Stop complaining.”

“I hate the brace. I like keeping my feet on the ground.”

“Well this is the price you have to pay for your prosthetics. Besides, I have to take most of the parts off entirely and the sensoral shift phenomenon might knock you off your feet.”

“Don’t you have a spare or something? I don’t wanna hang around all day. I’ll go out and get groceries while you fix them up.”

You fold your arms.

“I let you get out of having your contact points checked last time. Keep pushing it and you’re gonna start getting ghost touches.”

She groans.

“I think you’re making that one up.”

“You only haven’t experienced it because you have such a diligent and skilled mechanic in your life. Ghost touch is like when a single hair touches your arm and your brain thinks it’s someone or something touching you. Except worse and all over.”

You catch the tiniest hint of a shiver even as she keeps up the obstinate look.

“Alright, fine, you win, string me up.”

“Strip.”

“Now I know you don’t need me to do that you fuckin’ pervert.”

You point a screwdriver at her.

“You’ve got two legs replaced at the thigh, two arms replaced at the shoulder, and a spinal unit extending all the way down your back. If you want to explain to me how to check all that through your clothes, I’ll do it, sure.”

“Oh yeah? If I were a customer you’d be treating me this way?”

“If you were a customer I’d have you fill out a bunch of forms, pay me a lot of money, and I’d be super respectful of your privacy and comfort even if it greatly complicated my workflow. But you’re not a customer so you’re gonna take your damn shirt off.”

Grumbling and complaining, she wiggles her way out of her dress, hanging it carefully on a rack by the door.

“Keep your underwear on. No, not your bra, the straps get in the way.”

“You just want to stare at my chest while I work!”

You lean on the counter and blow out a steady stream of smoke.

“You’re my girlfriend, and you’re not paying me, so I think I’m gonna stare at your tiddies as much as I want.”

A bra hits you in the face. You pause, then say “fair enough.”

You put out the cigarette and stand up. Your girlfriend is faced away from you, hands crossed over her chest.

“Tell me what you’re doing as you do it, okay? Don’t just do things without saying anything…”

Her words trail off shyly. You smile and retrieve a P6 screw key. Oh shit, wait, she’s got P7s. She’ll never let you live it down if you let her know you flubbed what kind of screws she’s got. You deftly swap the keys out without her noticing.

“So, I’m gonna start the procedure now. First step is to get you into the brace, obviously. But for that, I need to expose your carry points.”

“Can you quit with the jargon?”

You lower your head to be closer to her ear.

“Alright, I’ll keep it simple. Is it okay for me to touch you in the area around your arms and shoulders?”

She’s not looking at you but you can see her cheeks tint pink.

“Of course you can… why even ask…”

Her murmuring is really cute. You’re glad she’s turned away so she can’t see you grinning.

“You want me to narrate what I’m doing, I’m gonna slip into my customer service mode a little. Can’t be helped.”

“Hope you don’t look at all your customers like that…”

You grin wider.

“I save it for the really cute ones.”

You firmly push her shoulders forward, so her spine stands out more.

“Is it okay for me to touch your back and spinal area, from the base of your neck to your lower back?”

“Y-yeah.”

You run your first two knuckles up her back, encouraging her to stretch her spine. Then, firmly, you push the base of her neck, so she leans forward.

“Try not to use the table to brace yourself, you might lose feeling in your arms when the batteries come out. Rely on your autobalancer.”

“Feel like I’m about to do a trust fall,” she grumbles.

You grasp her left shoulder and slot the screw key into one grooves.

“I’m going to remove your left battery cap, and then the left battery. You may lose feeling in your left arm, depending on how recently you used a charger.”

She nods, and you start to unscrew the five points of the battery cap. Using the key as a lever, you remove the cap, and set it on a tray. The battery, about three and a half inches in diameter, pops out a handle. You wrap two fingers around it delicately.

“Three, two, one——”

On go, you pull and twist. The cylinder gives easily, its lights going dim as it loses touch with the battery contacts. Her fingers shiver and twitch. Her shoulder goes limp under your hand. With the battery out, there’s a 3.5 inch hole straight through her shoulder.

“Hey how long has it been since you plugged in?”

“……”

You poke her in the back of the head and she bats at you with her right arm.

“Three days probably, it’s not a big deal.”

“You’re only rated for five days operation unplugged. I’m not picking you up if you lose power at work or something.”

“Yes you would.”

“Of course I would but I’d still be mad about it. Plug in more often.”

“Fiiiiine.”

You slot the battery into a wall slot. Might as well let it get a bit of charge while she waits.

“I’m gonna do the other arm now, okay?”

She nods.

The other battery comes out just as easily, leaving another hole. You put it with the last one.

She shivers, both arms limp.

“You’re doing really good. Next up is get you in the main brace. I’m gonna thread the carry rods through both of your battery ports. Okay?”

“Yeah…”

You pull down a prehensile carry rod. Once those are in place, you’ll put the strap around her waist, and lift her off the ground.

“This will feel a little weird.”

“Why will it feel like anything?”

“Cuz the rod will power you directly. You need sensory data so you can tell me if something feels wrong. You still won’t be able to move them.”

You set the tip of the rod in the left battery hole, and slide it all the way through her shoulder. She gasps softly, her fingers twitching involuntarily. 

“Great. You’re doing perfect. I’m gonna do the other side.”

Gently, you run her through a second time. Another gasp.

“Is it okay for me to touch around your waist and stomach area?”

She nods. Her blush has gotten pretty bad, and she’s still not looking at you. As you wrap the strap around her and start to affix it, you decide to ask.

“Why do you always get so shy when I do maintenance on you?”

Her whole face is red.

“I don’t!”

“Oh, come on.”

She hesitates a little, looking down at the floor.

“It’s just, like. I dunno…”

She gets quieter.

“It’s really……… intimate..”

“You don’t even get this embarrassed when we have sex.”

“Shut UP! This is different…”

The machine hums. Her toes leave the ground as the articulated arms lift her. The strap is to stop her from swinging too much. Most of her weight is held by the rods, which use a minor antigrav engine to reduce the strain on joins where her flesh and bone meets metal. You don’t end up feeling completely weightless, but close enough.

“It’s different, but how is it more intimate?”

She tilts her head back and sighs.

“It’s not more intimate. It’s that you treat me with the same kind of intimacy.”

She makes a motion with her neck that I recognize as frustration that she can’t fiddle with her fingers as she talks. I wait patiently for her to continue in that soft tone of voice.

“Even when you’re just tuning a tension engine or something. You handle me like a lover. That’s all.”

She looks back in your direction, though she can’t turn enough to look in your direction. You can’t help it. You wrap your arms around her waist, and kiss her neck, murmuring in her ear.

“That’s because every part of you is delicate, and beautiful, and deserves to be cared for like a precious treasure.”

“Eh——”

After a single second of shock, she starts wiggling. You step back, holding your hands up innocently.

“Shut up! You smooth talking fucker! All the blood's gonna rush to my face and then my head will explode and I’ll DIE! And don’t think I didn’t notice you copping a feel while you poured honey in my ear!”

You hold your hands up and make a slow grabby motion just in her line of vision. She kicks at you, and you catch her leg with a chuckle.

“What happened to saying something before you touch me anyway…”

“Girlfriend pass.”

“Fine, but you used it up.”

You release her leg. She’s quiet for a little while as you remove the batteries for each of her thighs. If her legs had been replaced at the hip, you’d be able to use another couple carry rods to distribute the weight so you wouldn’t have to run the grav field so hard. It’s not a big deal though, really. 

“Now, I’m going to remove your limbs. First left arm at the shoulder. Then right arm at the shoulder. Then left leg at the thigh. Then finally right leg at the thigh. I’ll set them aside for now, because I need to check each of the four contact points. Is it okay if I touch you on each limb, and inside the contact points?”

“Oh now you’re asking if you can stick your fingers in and play with my insides?”

“Yep.”

You slap her butt and she yelps.

“I’m gonna bite the hell outta you when I get out of this thing!!”

“You ready for me to take them off?”

“M-my limbs, right? Not my underwear?”

“I mean I can do both——”

She almost catches you with that kick. Her knee joint is inactive but she’s still cot movement in her upper legs.

“Go ahead and mess around with my contacts or whatever,” she grumbles.

“Thank you ma’am.”

“You’re pushing it!”

It’s a different kind of key screw to remove the locking bolts that secure limbs in place. P3—— no, that’s the P6. You knew there were P6s in there somewhere. You delicately lift her limp left arm, and secure it with some more straps.

“You can still feel this, right?”

“Yeah.”

You press your thumb to the center of her palm, and rub with broad strokes, as your fingers trace the length of hers. The substance her synthetic skin is made of doesn’t feel quite like human flesh, but it’s soft, and warm. You trace the ridges and folds, and drag your fingertips slowly down to her wrist.

“H-hey…”

“Just testing. If that feels normal, I’ll remove the arm. You won’t be able to feel it after that.”

“Yeah…”

With the bolts removed, you use the sliding lock to eject her left arm. With a sigh and a pop, the weight of it falls into the straps, and your hands. It’s light. Light because it lacks the pressure of a body hanging over it, light because the materials that make it up are simply less heavy then flesh and bone.

Reverently, you take it away and hang it, straps and all, on a rack by the wall.

“Next arm.”

She watches you as you work her other arm, then each leg.

“Prosthetics are a pain in the ass, huh.”

“Hmm?”

You look up at her curiously.

“Not really, just. So much work goes into keeping them in shape. They can just give out from under you if something got missed.”

“I think that’s just bodies, right? Everyone’s bodies walk that line eventually.”

“Ugh. I don’t know that that made me feel better.”

“Sorry, I’m keenly aware of the howling call of the void, today more than ever.”

“…why?”

“My back hurts.”

“You’re such a baby.”

She laughs at your antics though, and that’s the important thing.

Having to enter a vulnerable state can bring up a cocktail of conflicting emotions. It’s easy to get frustrated, relying on other people for things you can’t do yourself. Being able to do everything yourself forever is a a very human thing to yearn for, but it’s not realistic. The least you can do for her is try to turn the leaning she has to do into something she can enjoy.

She trusts you, and you care for her, and that’s something, at least.

With each limb removed, you can remove the casing from her contact points. It’s a thin metal that protects the sensitive electronics that wire into the spinal unit and connects to her brain. 

“Ah, that’s the weirdest feeling part, when that case comes off.”

“Yeah?”

She’s watching you closely as you work, brushing your fingers along a bundle of wires, checking for any wear, any lose connections.

“Yeah. The metal parts, the way they feel, like, feeling. It’s different, kind of duller and simpler.”

“Less sensors per inch, for sure.”

“Yeah. But, with the limbs, it’s like they lose connection right away. The casing goes numb over time, so I can feel it move and fade away.”

“Is it a bad feeling?”

“No, just kind of… lingering?”

You nod.

“I have to clean the contacts with alcohol now, to keep them from corroding. I’ll need to flush the power from each limb connector as I do it. That okay?”

“Go ahead.”

There’s a switch on each join, part of a hidden control panel. You press the button in with your thumb, and the little light that warns that there is still a shock risk slowly fades. With a soft cloth and brush, you painstakingly clean the contacts in her left shoulder. Everything by hand, carefully. After a while you get tired of standing, and pull up a chair by her side. You take her hips in your hands to pull her down to your level. She doesn’t protest this time.

“Hey, this is taking a while. You want me to set you up with a book or a screen or something?”

“No. I’m fine just watching you.”

You finish with the left arm and move to the right. Your hand rests on her back, steadying her as you work.

“Do you like this?”

“Hm?”

“Like, I know you do this as a job, but doing this much work for me as a favor is kind of a big ask. I know, you’re being nice cuz we’re dating, but——”

“It is work, but it’s a kind of work that I like. I like my job, I like you, I like to see what makes you tick. I’m proud that I can help you keep your feet on the ground. I get to be part of your life, not just as a partner, but as someone who helps you live the kind of life you can enjoy.”

You hesitate.

“I don’t know if that all makes sense. I just like being helpful.”

You feel a drop on your head.

“Huh——”

Looking up, you catch another tear on your face. She turns her face away.

“Oh geez, are you okay? If something’s hurting you should tell me——”

“N-no, I’m fine, sorry, really.”

Her lip trembles.

“You’re just. Why are you so nice to me? You don’t have to go so far for me…”

You sigh, and give a small smile. With a gentle touch, you take her face in both your hands and turn her up to look at you.

“Everyone deserves to be spoiled sometimes, right?”

She looks up with big watery eyes for a long moment, then starts crying even harder than before.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s up with me today…”

With a soft laugh, you brush away her tears with your thumbs. When that isn’t enough, you grab some fresh tissues and dab them away.

“You’ve had a lot on your mind lately. And getting worked on like this stirs up all kinda of feelings.”

“Yeah… kinda dramatic to cry on you though…”

“Would you believe that you’re not even the first person to cry on me while I ran maintenance? It does happen.”

She sniffles.

“Who’s this loser putting the moves on you at work. I’ll fight them.”

“Crying is putting the moves on?”

She sniffles again.

“It can be.”

You laugh, and she laughs too, even if laughing does squeeze out a few more tears. You wipe her face again.

“I’m good, I’m good. Keep working.”

She watches you the whole time as you finish up your checklist. And when it’s time to reconnect her limbs, you do them in reverse order. Right leg at the thigh. Left leg at the thigh. Replace the batteries, and lower her to her feet so she can stand on slightly trembling legs. Then right arm at the shoulder, left arm at the shoulder. Getting feeling back always sends a rush of endorphins through the body. Some people say it tickles, some people say it’s arousing. The sense of newness, you guess, hits everyone differently. Even if it’s just reactivating something temporarily lost.

“I’m gonna remove the carry rods now. Can you stand.”

“Y-yes.”

They slide out, leaving the open battery ports.

“Alright, right arm first——”

You insert the battery, and her arm tenses, her fingers shivering and shifting for a moment, until she regains the feel of it.

“Flex your hand twice, then raise your arm.”

She does, and she holds her arm up towards the ceiling. You run a finger along the underside of her arm, all the way to her palm. She shivers.

“Perfect. Left arm next.”

You repeat the ritual for the other side. She’s silent for a while.

“How are you feeling? Can you walk?”

She takes a hesitant step as you hold your hands out to catch her if she can’t.

“It’s always so weird after spending so much time floating. I mean, it wasn’t even that long, really.”

“Just one of those things. Your body forgets that it knows how to walk for a few moments.”

“Yeah.”

She takes a few steps, more confidently. 

“Okay, there we go. I’m good now.”

“Well, your connectors are good for another six months. I still have to check each limb at some point.”

“Ughhhhh really?”

“Yeah really, but for that I can swap in a spare and you can do whatever. Isn’t it nice to have the hard part over?”

“I guess.”

She looks around the room.

“Can I put some clothes on now?”

“If you must. I could carry you upstairs like that and we could——”

She throws the dress hanger in my direction, and I duck it, laughing.

“How can you manage to say such cute shit when you’re really a pervert!”

You place your hand on your chest with a flourish.

“A natural talent.”

“Oh, cram it.”

She looks away, still clearly shy about what happened earlier.

But as you turn to lead her out of the work room, she takes your hand in hers, and squeezes it tightly. 

~~~