Hello!

I thought I'd take A break from writing my main fic, Love As A Compromise, to write a little drabble. Still Chelley, no worries! I'll be getting to LC asap...

Love, Sadie


So much for sleeping.

Now used to the regular cycle of sleep and wake, Wheatley had lay down in bed at precisely 9:00, determined to wake up feeling quite refreshed. He'd tried everything.

He'd counted the stars. Peaceful, but no...

He'd hummed to himself. Nope. Too much to think about.

He'd thought of Chell. How was that supposed to help?

Frustrated, Wheatley gave up all hope of sleep around midnight. Scowling, he'd pulled himself out of bed, wrapping a stray blanket around him. His footsteps weren't heard all at as he gently stepped downstairs, his feet quite muffled by the soft carpet.

He sighed with relief as his feet touched the wooden floor of the first floor of the house, shaking his head as all thoughts of masked murderers in the shadows evaporated.

Or not.

A sudden noise made Wheatley's head jerk around, startling him.

"Ch-Chell? Is that you?" he called her name, hoping that it was her. A sob from the couch behind answered him. Wheatley's heart sank. He walked slowly towards the couch to see Chell sitting there, her hair untied and wrapping slowly around her neck. "Hey, what's wrong?" Chell gave him a look that clearly told him. Everything's wrong.

Taking a deep breath, Wheatley took his chances and sat down next to her. Throwing his blanket around her, he put his hand on top of hers, making her look up. "Hmm. Are you thinking of... let's see... does it start with an A?" Chell cracked a smile at that, nodding and slowly grinning through her tears, which no longer fell so thickly.

"The second letter. Well, I dunno... But is it a P?" She nodded again. Wheatley was now grinning too. "I'd like to solve the puzzle. Is it... Apple?"

Chell then did something that may have just as well changed the course of his life.

The Angel laughed.

It was a high, twittering laugh, seeming to send the sound of it twinkling across the room as Chell continued laughing without a care in the world. Wheatley smiled at her, trying to hold back his cascade of laughter, but his silence didn't last long- soon, he was clapping like a retarded seal, laughing so hard he was crying. In a few minutes, they sat there, gasping for breath as they lay on the floor.

"I love you so much," Wheatley whispered in Chell's ear, watching her sleeping, wishing he could sleep just as well. As soon as he'd thought of that, waves of sleep seemed to come immediately, making him lie down next to her, happy, and asleep at last.