Dark

People often told Chell that the moon was romantic. Maybe once she could've agreed, but all the moon ever brought her were bad memories and the ghostly feeling of a pair of hands sliding, inexorably slipping out of her grip. She did love the sky, though, and it wasn't uncommon for her to take long walks when it was cloudy out.

It was too cold for a walk tonight, but she was happy to curl up on the porch and watch the sky. The new moon was barely visible, nothing but a larger spot where there were no stars, and the soft sparkle of those far-off lights was undeniably soothing. The whole world made peaceful by the early frost.

The door opened with its characteristic squeal.

"Whooo! Chilly out here! Definite shock to the system, that, wakes you right up, doesn't it?"

She smiled, tipping her head so she could see him. The soft blue glow from his eyes provided most of the light on the porch now, highlighting the small puffs of breath that hung before him. He wrapped his arms around himself and flashed her a grin. "Still, not too bad, considering. Ah, mind if I join you?"

She slid to the side, making room on the steps. He muttered something like "Brilliant!" and plopped down beside her, peering contentedly out into the darkness. It was a comfortable silence, and there wasn't a moon to be seen, but still her fingers itched to hold his hand, as though the simple touch could ground him to the earth. Though, really, she'd gone through so much trouble to get him back, it was perfectly reasonable to not want to risk losing him again.

She realized she was no longer staring at the stars.

The light from his optics reflected off his glasses, turning his hair and lashes blue, and the starlight changed him from pale to pure white. In this peaceful setting, he looked more like a carefully carved sculpture, some human artist's rendition of what he would look like, than the silly, bumbling chatterbox robot he was. She glanced away, her hand coming up to hide her widening smile.

The young man turned, noticing her movement. "Hmm? What's that look for, luv?"

She shook her head, refusing to give in to the sudden, ridiculous impulse that had seized her, smothering a giggle behind her hand. His eyebrows went up slightly.

"Oh, c'mon, you can tell me! Even if it's a secret…I promise I won't tell anyone! Not many people around here to tell, granted, but still…"

She crossed her arms and turned away, sticking her nose in the air in mock arrogance. He leaned closer, a playful smile dancing across his lips.

"Now don't be like that, luv! I can help…secrets are more fun if they're shared, right? Plus, plus! Better for your, erm, psychological health, or something, if you get things off your chest. I'm right here, willing to listen to anything you have to tell me, anytime, even if it doesn't seem like it, way I go on, and all."

She tilted her head so that he'd see her roll her eyes. The eyebrows came down, his voice becoming defensive.

"Well it's true! I can be quiet if I have to be, really! I mean, um…for example…" He struggled to recall a single moment, despite the shared silence of a few seconds ago. After a little while, he shrugged, giving up. "Irrelevant, really. What matters is, if you do have something to say, I can keep my mouth shut. Promise I won't give away any big secrets, or little ones, if that's what you want to share, scout's honor. …Never was a scout, so, ah…core. Core's honor, won't tell a soul. Really."

The endearing smile was back, putting teasing thoughts in her head. Chell wasn't a touchy sort of person; for the most part, she avoided physical contact with any- and everyone. She'd broken her rule for him back at the facility, letting him cling to her arm when he was scared or grab her wrist to guide her, but, aside from helping him up off the floor, she'd never initiated the contact. Ever since he'd crashed back to earth, though, she'd often caught herself touching his shoulder, or hand, or back, tiny reminders that he really was there, that she wasn't dreaming. He never noticed; contact came naturally to him, though he wasn't really comfortable with anyone but her doing it. Now, though, she was very aware of that impulse, and it was telling her to put out her hand and cup his cheek, to capture that smile, even though it would be gone and replaced with confusion by the time she'd finished the gesture. It told her to steal his glasses and put them on, despite the fact she wouldn't be able to see the look of amused irritation that was sure to get her, through the thick lenses. All sorts of nonsensical, completely illogical thoughts that were completely out of character for her, but still clamored to be acted upon.

She bit her lip and sighed.

"Erm, is that a good sigh or a bad sigh, luv? Can't, can't really tell because, well, you aren't smiling anymore, so is it a 'oh, this is getting boring, let's go inside already,' sort of sigh, or a 'fine, Wheatley, I'll let you in on the secret, you're not going to believe this!' sort of…" he trailed off, uncomfortable. She patted his arm in an awkward attempt at comfort.

The robot smiled weakly, and retreated back to his corner of the steps. A small rush of panic blossomed in Chell's chest. She knew that look, the one he used when he tried to hide the fact that something she'd done had stung him, and knew where his thoughts went afterwards. The last thing she wanted was for Wheatley, her Wheatley, to go back to that sad, guilty place he'd been in when she'd found him, so different from his usual bright, cheerful self.

She leaned over, catching his chin with her hand, and planted a feather-light kiss on his cheek. It was pure, desperate impulse, really, a need to see that smile again, and know things were okay…

His jaw dropped, bright blue eyes widening. Beneath her hand, the chill of coolant spread across his cheeks in a blush. In all their time together, she'd never seen him so shocked (well, maybe once, but she tried very hard not to think about that.) Her own cheeks heated in response. The girl turned, pulling back into her own corner.

She never heard the wirr of his CPU processing what just happened. She couldn't understand the ticking of the binary units behind his eyes, telling him what he'd experienced. She didn't see the confusion melt into a wide, dopey grin.
She did, however, feel it when he darted to her side and returned the favor.

It was her turn to be shocked. He laughed, sounding in that instant not entirely unlike the Space Core in a good mood.

"Oh, brilliant! You should really see your face, luv, absolutely blown away! Did tiny little Wheatley do that?" He beamed at her, clearly very pleased with himself. "Well, not my fault, really luv, absolutely brilliant idea, that. C'mon, smile! Isn't that the point?"

Though he would, for certain, take credit for it, a completely involuntary smirk crept onto her face. Finally giving in, she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder, listening to the echoes of his laugh still bouncing around his chest, and relaxed.

Perhaps, in this one case, there was nothing wrong with listening to her heart instead of her mind, every once in a while.