Chell looked around, the vast field of wheat a tan sea of tickling plants. Her orange jumpsuit had been long since scrapped in a fit of frustrated sadness.
She sighed, picking at the frayed edges of her once white tank top. The former Aperture test subject flopped down on the soft ground, the tall brown wheat brushing against her chilled skin. The bright moon shone down on the seemingly endless plain and the thin figure sitting in it.
As Chell looked to the star filled sky, she saw a faint cobalt light that wasn't flickering like the rest. It was moving around, floating gently in the minimal gravity of space. A bright yellow light joined it, and the blue light bounced away.
Wheatley, thought Chell with a rueful smile.
As much as she hated to admit it, she didn't hate him as much as she thought. In fact, she almost missed him. Almost. His accent and talkative nature always managed to make Chell smile, despite him being a Core at the time. When he made the transfer, GLaDOS' body and consciousness made him drunk with power, and he tried to kill Chell.
The memory made her cringe, and a lump formed in the girl's throat. I have to get out of here, she decided, standing up and using the rest of her strength to run about a quarter of a mile. After exhausting her strength, she collapsed on the ground in exhaustion and proceeded to play with a stalk of wheat.
Chell had thought about it before, and came to the conclusion that GLaDOS had it planted to hurt her. it not so much hurt her than reminded her of him. Wheatley. Her only semi - friend in the world that betrayed her and tried to kill her. Okay, maybe it did hurt a little.
She laid down and closed her eyes, holding back tears for the fifth time that day. It hurt a lot, but admitting it just made the wound bigger. As she fell into a fitful sleep, something fell with a large splash into a nearby creek. Another something picked it out of the water and took it into the woods.
After an hour, the something dropped a sleeping man near the water. Chell stirred but didn't wake at the commotion. She instead groaned and turned over.
---
Chell opened her eyes and looked around, expecting to be in Aperture once again. Luckily, she was not, instead sitting in the same wheat field as before. She sighed and stood shaking to her feet, an early morning breeze blowing her dark hair gently. As she walked in a southerly direction, she noticed a man lying motionless on the ground.
Against her better judgement, she warily walked towards him. He looked vaguely familiar, as if Chell had seen him before. She knew she hadn't, but couldn't help feeling a sense of deja vu.
She crouched down next to him and took in his features. He was about her age, around twenty five with sandy blond hair and thick black glasses. He had a few bruises, and a nasty scrape on his left elbow, but seemed otherwise okay. Chell shook his shoulder gently, in a silent attempt to wake him.
His eyes opened, revealing a striking set of bright blue eyes. Chell jumped back with her breath caught in her throat. Those eyes...they were exactly the same shade as Wheatley's blue optic. She wanted to run, run far away to where her past couldn't find her, but she couldn't. And it wasn't because of instincts, she literally couldn't. She had tripped over a rock and was examining a cut on her leg. It had ripped her pants, and blood was oozing from the wound.
Damn, she thought, applying pressure to the bleeding. The man stood up and made his way over to her. When he spoke, Chell froze.
"Chell?"
His voice was soft and almost scared but definitely HIS. She pretended not to hear, staying frozen in her place and holding her wounded leg. It was relatively painful, and she knew she wouldn't be walking for a few hours.
"I-is it you?" He asked again, this time more regretful than fearful. She looked down, tears threatening to escape her closed eyes. Slowly, Chell nodded. She heard Wheatley sigh in relief before standing up.
She limped in the same direction she was originally going, leaving a confused Wheatley standing a few feet behind her. "W-wait, where are you going?"
She didn't look back, instead continuing to walk and ignore the shooting pain in her leg that intensified each time she took a step. Chell winced as she stepped on another rock, but knew that the boots slung over her shoulder couldn't do anything to help her now. "Chell, please just look at me."
The pain in her leg was near unbearable, and she turned around. Her eyes were cold, all warmth towards Wheatley was lost and instead replaced by sterling voids. The expression on her face was one of painful indifference, as if being so apathetic towards the former Core was physically trying.
"I...I'm sorry." He began. He had rehearsed it countless times in space, in the year that he had been stranded with only the deranged space Core Kevin as company. "I don't know why I did what I did, it just sort of...happened. When I was in Her body, there was - there was some sort of voice telling me I didn't need to go, not yet. I tried..." His throat was suddenly dry, something that his old body couldn't begin to simulate.
"I tried to kill you. And that's haunted me since I came back to my senses, and I know you have no reason to trust me. I wouldn't blame you if you hated me, not that I want you to, but if you do that's okay. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry..."
Chell just looked at him for the longest time. It was undoubtedly him, the body fit his personality to a tee. About six feet tall and those eyes. Those bright blue, striking eyes that she found so endearing for some reason. As much as she hated doing this, she let her expression soften, and spoke.
"I know."
Wheatley was surprised to say the least, and stumbled over his words before forming a coherent sentence. "You - you spoke."
Chell nodded, turning away.
"I thought you couldn't."
She nodded again and stayed still, the pain too bad to move.
"Does it hurt?" Wheatley mentally smacked himself. Of course it hurt! But Chell just stayed silent. Her shoulders shook and the tears fell uncontrollably.
"Hey, don't cry!" Wheatley rushed over to her, regret in his eyes. "I didn't mean to make you cry, I'm sorry!"
Chell ignored his pleas and tried to calm herself down. But the tears just kept falling and she knelt on the ground.
"Wheatley..."
She had said it. It made his heart flutter and the butterflies in his stomach went crazy. She had used her voice, the firm, soft, beautiful voice to say his name. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but he didn't care. Wheatley sunk to the ground in front of her and snaked his arms around her shaking frame.
Chell gasped, but wrapped her arms around him and held on as if he would disappear before she could secure him somehow.
"I'm so sorry." He said uncertainly. Chell nodded and held on fighter. "Wheatley...it's okay."
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I did it!! I did the fluff!!! Wow, over 1k words, too. Hope you guys liked! This is current OTP by the way hehehe.
