(REWRITING) CURIOSITY // HLVR:λI Gordon Freeman x Reader

-λ- 7: The Wonders of Assistance -λ-

You stretched your arms behind you with a soundless groan as you followed behind Coomer, Bubby, Tommy, and Gordon down the narrow hallway. After that little episode you had experienced earlier, your head felt fuzzier than usual; you kept getting lost in your thoughts, as your mind was too busy analyzing what you had seen to care about your surroundings.

That lady from your visions... you had absolutely no clue who she was. Every time you tried to remember her name or her face, your brain would give you a splitting headache; the pain was enough to make you stagger a bit every time. But if that kid you kept seeing in your dreams and in that event was your younger self, you had to have known her at some point.

So why couldn't you remember?

The realization really bothered you. Your creator, Doctor Huxley, had said it himself that you were supposed to be excellent in pretty much every way; strength, speed, height, power, and anything else you could think of, and that included memory. Yet, you couldn't even remember the name or face of the woman who seemed to have a tremendous impact on you, so much so that she was appearing in your dreams every night, and even in random visions throughout the day. Maybe your creator had some answers about who she was?

You blinked when you felt your boots step on some grating and snapped out of your thoughts. You were in a large room with a gigantic pit. The grating you were currently standing on was a part of the large platforms that lead up to some kind of ceiling-based conveyor belt, which looked to have been transporting crates. And from the looks of it, you were going to have to jump the gap to make it to the hallway on the other side.

"HELLO, GORDON!" you heard Doctor Coomer shout to the man in the HEV-suit, making you startle a bit.

"HELLOmmm- Doctorrr Coomer!" Gordon replied with exasperation as he climbed up the first ladder. However, when he tried to climb up the second ladder in the room, the small opening to the top blocked him and he couldn't get through.

"Uuuh, I'm stuck! Aaaauuugh, Gordon stuck!" he loudly grunted as he tried to push his way through the hole. The scientist looked down to see you and Coomer staring up at him and he gestured with one hand to move.

"Hey! Doctor Coomer! Y/N! Please back up!" he requested, so you and Coomer dropped from the ladder to give him some space. Gordon then tried to squeeze through the gap once more, but the HEV-suit's bulkiness kept him from ascending further.

Suddenly, his grip faltered, and Gordon screeched out in terror as he fell. Luckily, you were standing directly beneath the ladder and caught him, preventing him from injuring himself.

"Excellent catch, Y/N!" Doctor Coomer complimented as the panicked doctor in your arms tried to calm his racing heart and cool his reddened face.

"Yeah, what's with you and catching people? I say let them tumble!" Dr. Bubby commented from next to you.

You looked down at him in confusion. "...Why?"

"Because it would be fucking hilarious, of course!" he cackled.

"But- But Dr. Bubby, you and Mister Freeman are- you're the ones that Y/N has- had to catch the most so far," Tommy pointed out, "Do you want them to stop catching you?"

You looked back to the older scientist, awaiting his response. Bubby grew silent out of realization before making a sour face and turning away with an embarrassed "Hmph..."

You set Gordon down and he gave you a sheepish thank you, avoiding your E/C gaze like his life depended on it. He tried the ladder once more and got caught at the top again, but this time he wiggled just right and got the HEV-suit to pop through the opening, allowing him to slip through. He gestured for the rest of you to climb up after him, so you did.