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Chell was exhausted.
If there was one thing humans liked to do, it was sleep. Wheatley knew this better than anyone— countless years tending to the Aperture Science Extended Relaxation Center supported that claim. An entire chunk of his android lifespan had been dedicated to watching humans in deep, deep slumber, mattresses gaining dents and dust accumulating in the corners. It was a pathetically easy job, really, one that even Wheatley couldn’t fuck up. The most important thing was to make sure the Cryo-Control remained functional at all times, preserving the humans currently in cryo-suspension.
Wheatley managed to fuck it up. After a certain human defeated Her, the main power grid was irreparably damaged. At least, for someone incompetent as the Intelligence-Dampening Attachable Android, or as She liked to call him: a moron. Despite his inevitable failure, he still had a fair amount of experience to recognize the signs of fatigue. Deep, sunken eyes. Check. Looseness in posture and movement. Check. Yawning, check.
It was a peculiar sight, really. She’d awakened Her, dodged various life-threatening obstacles, and weaved past Aperture’s finest security. Now, on the way to sabotage Her turret supply, was when Chell, this beautiful monster of a woman— as far as Wheatley was concerned— wanted to have a nap. He first noticed this when they arrived at an ancient office, yellowed wallpaper peeling at the edges and damp commercial carpet beneath their feet. Chell slumped into a swivel-chair, setting her Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device beneath the desk. Wheatley, the curious android man with no sense of personal space, peered over her shoulder.
”What ‘re you doing, lady? You- You taking off your boots?” He questioned, despite the answer being fairly obvious. With one hand, she ripped off her left Long-Fall Boot, chucking it to the ground with a satisfying thunk. Wheatley cringed, his metallic fingers beginning to tangle together. “Oi! Those are expensive, luv. Absolutely, positively, no doubt they invested the big bucks into those! What would we do if one broke?! Better land on one foot!”
The lady, who would usually shrug him off and continue, actually slowed. She took off the other with caution, her fingers slipping beneath the straps and sliding her reddened ankle out. Chell passed the right Long-Fall Boot to him, who promptly examined it for any marks. As soon as this process was over, she leaned back in the chair, using the desk as support as the cushion was fairly rotted from age. She let out a deep sigh, and was just about to relax knowing they were far away from Her reach— until Wheatley protested.
“I don’t mean to interrupt your little break, luv, as tired as you look,” His eyes lingered on her sore, twitching fingers. which had a particular indent from gripping the portal device. “-but maybe you shouldn’t sleep like that. Might- Might pull a bloody muscle! You’d wake up feeling all sore, with your fragile human body. Can’t have that now, can we?” He caught himself. The last thing Wheatley wanted to do was be a pain in the ass, so instead of begging Chell to get up and go (he wasn’t positive that GLaDOS couldn’t reach them here) he opted for asking her to shift her position. Chell released a soft groan, clutching Wheatley’s wrist as he led her towards the wall.
”Now then, easy does it, luv.” He props her up against the wall, her head immediately falling to the side. Wheatley pauses, his gaze lingering for a second too long on Chell’s battered form. Her hair tie held on for dear life, her orange jumpsuit littered with rips. With all they’d been through, it made sense. Sitting down next to her, he reached for her— pulling the tie away and watching her dark hair come undone. There was something about this lady, this drive in her that he could practically hear, telling her to keep pushing keep pushing don’t stop don’t stop. If Chell suddenly revealed to him she was an alien, he wouldn’t hold it against her. For a human, she was so amazingly strong, mentally and physically. She deserved this rest.
Wheatley was pulled out of his thoughts when Chell began to stir next to him, letting out a soft mutter of frustration. The android struggled reading her emotions. He had a few built in things, like what happiness looks like— a big, ear to ear grin. Sadness looked like a frown, eyebrows tightly packed together and entire face dropping. Anger, he didn’t need to refer to his files. If there was one thing Chell was good at communicating, it was anger. Not just typical anger— there were certain shades. Like a burning red fury, one that shook Wheatley to his core in more ways than one. A deep, complicated whirlpool of contempt, like when she came face to face with Her once again. And then simple irritation, such as now.
“What- what’s the matter?” Wheatley tilted his head, eyes fluttering down to Chell’s dark brown mound of hair, wondering what it would feel like between his tactile sensor fingers right now— before she turned over, meeting his gaze. He would’ve jumped, in any other scenario, but something about her eyes was different. This wasn’t a look of sheer determination. It was soft. It was vulnerable. Instead of that typical sharp crystalline-steel grey, they were a pleasantly dull fog, with glimmering bits of light from a single flickering lamp. She placed a hand on his knee, testing the warmth under her palm.
“Sorry, lady, I actually don’t understand- I- there’s not much to interpret from this. If I just knew what youuuu-“ He trailed off. Chell rested her head in his lap, head comfortably nuzzled between his knees. She crossed her arms across her chest and relaxed, releasing the tension in her shoulders and jaw. Wheatley however, did the exact opposite. Straightening against the wall, robotic legs quivering desperately not to move— not to disturb that peaceful and pretty face of hers. Chell looked up at him, with a questioning look. He recognized that, from all the different obstacles they avoided— the way she would carefully assess the situation before making a move.
“Sorry! Sorry, really not my intention to disturb you- uh- probably the last thing I want to do right now. I just… There’s nothing in my files about this. I mean- I mean, not that I’m complaining, please do rest there, um, unless you don’t want to which is also fine- but…” Wheatley stuttered. Chell closed her eyes, bringing in slow breaths through her nose, and exhaling from the gap between her parted lips. The heat radiating from the androids insulated metal lap made up for his nervous trembling.
”Uh… is it alright, if I just…” Wheatley raised a hand. He knew even with her eyes shut, Chell could sense exactly what he was doing. Tracing his movements in her mind, it was no surprise as Wheatley laid an equally warm hand on her head, interlacing his digits with locks of dark hair. It felt just as nice as he assessed it would— maybe he’s not such a moron after all— and what felt even better was when Chell leaned into the touch. The office room was fairly quiet, except for Chell’s breathing and the faint whirrr emanating from Wheatley’s CPU. Even if he didn’t need to sleep, the android felt himself drift into a similar state of relaxation, his normally buzzing thoughts retreating to a leisurely stroll.
Right now, all he wanted to think about was the deep olive-skinned lady sleeping in his lap, and her hair between his fingers.