Chapter Text
The sound of footsteps shakes Benrey out of the zoned out start they have been locked in for the past couple hours. A figure dressed in orange clomps down the hallway before giving a small wave towards them.
“Howdy.” The figure says quickly before continuing down the hallway. Benrey pauses for a second before registering the fact that whoever that was looked extremely familiar. They turn to follow them as they simply must know who that was. They just have to walk a couple of feet to the door that they are stationed at. The figure stands there talking to the other guard there, waiting for the door to open.
“Hey,” Benrey calls out, “Can I see your passport?” The figure turns around with a confused look on his face, an extremely familiar man with copper toned skin and deep brown hair streaked with grays. A man by the name of Gordon Freeman that they couldn’t even dream of forgetting about, their first friend and the only human they have ever loved. They don’t register the conversation they are having with him, the only thoughts on their mind as their mouth spills out words is the joy that is filling their stomach with butterflies and the crushing realization that he probably doesn’t remember them.
The one they loved as a kid as a friend and more is standing in front of them, and standing in front of them with no recognition of them in his eyes. A bittersweetness washes over them as the conversation they aren’t registering seems to begin annoying Gordon and he starts to turn to walk through the door to continue down the hallway. “I need to come with you,” Benrey starts as they quickly catch up with Gordon, “And I’m gonna need your passport?”
“We’ll- We’ll get you that passport,” Gordon sighs, “There’ll be a passport somewhere around here. I’m sure we will find something to make you happy.” His day has just started and already Gordon is exhausted. First, he woke up late on a very important day at work. And now he has some weird guard following him around, insisting about some passport that has to be absolute bullshit. While on his way to the testing chamber he meets another scientist named Tommy and Dr. Coomer, a wonderful man he has worked with before. Gordon continues along and the weird guard continues to talk and follow after him, no matter what he says.
“You know, you should probably be suited up for this. There’s gonna be like radiation and shit.” Gordon remarks with mild concern for the guard in his voice.
“It’s okay, I’m- I’m not human.” Benrey says back without a second thought.
Gordon rolls his eyes, growing more annoyed by this guard that is following him. As they walk passing by more and more people, the two of them reach a door with two guards and pass through with no issue. “See? These guys aren’t asking for my ID,” Gordon snaps just wanting this annoyance to go away, “You’ve got some fucked up vendetta against me and my fuckin’ passport!”
“They don’t care.” Benrey deadpans.
“They don’t- You don’t think they care about their jobs? You’re just going to say that in front of them?”
“They’re thinking ‘bout fruit loops all day.” Gordon pauses for a moment before letting out a hard wheeze. The conversation continues back and forth and with each moment Benrey makes Gordon laugh just adds to the bittersweetness of seeing him again. The butterflies stir more and the sadness grows stronger. Both Gordon and Benrey are pulled out of their back and forth by a scientist calling out to them.
“Sir! Sir, you can’t be down here,” A tall, lanky scientist approaches Benrey, “You can’t be down here, you don’t have a hazard suit.”
“Yeah, you’re not wearing the radiation gear! You’re gonna die-”
“I have my passport.”
“Oh, alright.” The scientist that approached them turns back around, leaving Gordon stunned. God, it was going to be a long day for him.
After asking the scientist if the passports were an actual thing and being dismayed to find out they are, and finding out the scientist’s name is Bubby, the duo continues down the hallway till they reach a heavy duty door. “Okay, you can’t go any further. This is the fucking test chamber. This is where, you go, you die if you go in there,” He pauses for a moment, “Do you get it?”
Benrey responds back “There are no, uh, no premeditated deaths.” They watch as Gordon shakes his head muttering something as he turns around and heads into the preparation room for the testing chamber. Benrey stands outside the door, waiting outside the door for Gordon before realizing that joining him during whatever test this is would be more fun. They walk over to the wall and faze through it easily, making their way over to the testing chamber and stand in front of the giant metal door leading into the room. The door springs to life as it begins to open. Benrey catches a bit of Gordon ranting to himself about ‘How people here don’t know socialize’ which is abruptly cut off by him noticing Benrey standing in the testing chamber.
“How the fuck!” Gordon shouts obviously confused about how the guard that was just in the hallway is now in the room that only has one entrance. But before Benrey has a chance to respond Tommy, Dr. Coomer, and Bubby begin directing Gordon to begin the test. Gordon begins things around, until finally he heads over to the button that starts up the machine's rotors.
“Wait!” Benrey calls out before rushing over to the landing Gordon was up on. They were distracted with all the machinery in the room that they had almost forgotten that he was here too. They fly up the ladder before reaching the top of the ladder, which sits above the landing floor. Benrey sits at the very top of the ladder before Gordon walks over to them.
“N-no, you don’t climb all the way up, you come-,” Gordon pauses for a second before stretching out his arms, “Come on, I’ll catch you.” Benrey looks towards him with a flush growing on their face, a couple of bubbles of pink to mustard floating out of their mouth before jumping off into Gordons arms. A subtle blush dusts Gordons cheeks as he sets the guard onto his feet and heads back over to the buttons to start up the machine.
Machinery whirls to life and the room feels as if it is buzzing. The two of them go back to the main floor and watch as the test sample rises out of the ground, ready to be put into position. “Do it very carefully.” Buddy shouts.
“Yeah! Slower than molasses drips off a spoon.” Tommy adds on.
With a chuckle Gordon gets ready to push it into the portal when Benrey comes rushing over, “I thought I told you not to touch anything.”
“This is my job, dude! This is what I’m paid to do, you’re here to guard the door or something!” Gordon shouts, irritation radiating off of him.
“What are you doing with that? Why are you moving that?” A small argument starts of Benrey pushing Gordon’s buttons and him reacting, till eventually Bubby interrupts them over the intercom.
“If you don’t hurry up and put that thing in there, I’m going to fucking explode.”
“This is not what they taught me. It’s gonna go- I’m just fucking doing it.” Gordon says as he begins to push the test sample into the portal. Immediately, machinery begins to break around him and people begin to yell over the intercom. Lights in the room flash and Benrey decides it’s time to take their leave, exiting the same way they entered. Pieces of ceiling fall in the testing chamber before an explosion lights up the room, knocking Gordon unconscious.
As Benrey flies through the walls to find a good place to wait out whatever is happening in there, he stops suddenly, caught off guard by something. Benrey mutters to themself, accompanied by ivory to garnet sweet voice, “Why does everything hurt?”