literature

Slow Down

Deviation Actions

msfcatlover's avatar
By
Published:
1.1K Views

Literature Text

Chell remembered once someone had asked her to describe a person using only one word. Amongst her new friends, she often found that the job had been done for her.

"Anger."
"Logic."
"Morality."
"Space."

Simple names, to the point. They'd either been assigned them to explain their function, or had chosen them based on their likes. Every so often, when his voice cooperated, "Logic" would politely ask to be called "Baker," for example. And, of course, "Rick" had come up with his own name, sitting in a pen for years with nothing to do but fantasize about adventure. And "Anger" was technically the "Emotion Core," though the first was definitely more fitting. And then…

Then there was him.

One word.
She could never seem to solve that puzzle. Oh, there was no denying that she'd heard him called any number of things. "Moron" seemed to be Her default name for him. "Intelligence Dampening Sphere," his actual title, was almost as much of a mouthful as Her full name. "IDS" wasn't much of a nickname, and besides, he hated to be reminded of his function.

The strangest thing was, none of the terms fit. He wasn't "Stupid," just a bit slow. He'd stopped being "Crazy" as soon as he'd stepped out of that chamber. The gentle awe with which he approached the world was enough to melt away the part of her that wanted to label him an "Enemy," though it fuzzed the boarders of "Friend" as well. He was always open, sincere (if not fully honest,) energetic…

"Frantic" was the word of the day. She'd come up with it watching him dash around the apartment, apparently convinced that somehow he could make everything up to her through chores. It fit in most areas; to say his mouth ran "a mile a minute" would be an understatement, and even when she managed to get him to hold still, he fidgeted, shifting his weight and wringing his hands. Part of her worried he'd work himself to death, "Panicking" his way through every day of his life.

No, "Frantic" would never do, if she had to change it herself.

Chell licked the last drop of vanilla ice cream off her spoon, and waited. It never took long for him to notice, forever checking in to make sure things were alright. She casually flipped through the channels on the radio, until she found one she liked. Eventually, the familiar bright blue eyes appeared around the door, followed quickly by the rest of him. He babbled something about the ice cream, and the dishes, music…
Chell had learned a while ago how to tune out what exactly he was going on about, especially when she had a goal to focus on.

The former test subject got to her feet, stretching. He was saying something about the sofa, dinner, exercise…

"Wonderful idea," she purred, reaching for his wrist.

For a single second, all color drained from the core's face. It was quikly overcome by a blush that would've been alarming on anyone else.

Chell laughed, reeling him in, and guiding him to the middle of the living room. He was stuttering out something about not understanding what she was going on about as she took both of his hands and squared her shoulders, sending the clear message for him to do the same. After some prompting, she got him to move his feet, long arms quick to follow. Placing his hands on her shoulders, she slid hers to his hips, encouraging his torso into the movement.

It took a few replays of the song, but she managed to get him to dance. It was slow, rhythmic and simple, but it was undeniably a dance. She listened to the sounds in his body slowing down, something like a heartbeat surfacing from the rest.
Gently, she rested her head against his chest, the dance reducing itself to mildly swaying to the beat. After a while, even that stopped.

Chell glanced up, and was pleased to see him looking content for the first time in days.
The core chuckled. "Have I mentioned lately how lucky I am to have you here to look after me, luv?"

Grinning, she buried her face back in his shirt.

Then again, maybe he is named well; no other word seems capable of summing up my Wheatley.
MoMoneyMoFiction posted a new story. My gods, her Innocent-verse does the strangest things to my heart...and I like it~
(Seriously though, she writes some of the absolute best Chelley I've ever seen. You guys should check it out, even if it does get a bit...intimate, she's only written one NSFW that I know of.)

Anyway, spurt of inspiration, drawing off a couple of my stories, like way-back-when when I wrote that oneshot where Chell "explains" her relationship with Wheats to Rick, and Heart Song.

Man, I am on a roll today!

Inspirational music: Where We're Going by Corey Gray
(It's so perfect...once again, you should look him up. Youtube artists don't get enough credit!)
© 2012 - 2024 msfcatlover
Comments21
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In