"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! I'm in space!"
The energetic Space-centered android seemed to be on the verge of short circuiting from the sudden mass intake of their situation. Constantly chattering while taking pictures, recording videos and pointing out the Great Wonders of space that were in optical range. There was no "space time" to record but former Intelligence Dampening android could tell this lasted for three Earth months.
"Atmosphere. Black holes. Astronauts. Nebulas. Jupiter. The Big Dipper."
Their internal clocks were still set to Aperture Science's main time back on earth so sleep mode came at the normal scheduled intervals for Wheatley. The temporary stasis gave him a small reprieve from the situation and he accepted it was the only thing keeping him from going completely mad. His companion, however, did not seem to be as well off. Whenever Wheatley's sleep mode activated and deactivated the other android was still active, as if he never slept.
"Oh oh oh. This is space! I'm in space!"
Then the enthusiasm started to die down.
"Space court. For people in space. Judge space sun presiding. Bam. Guilty. Of being in space. I'm in space."
Wheatley honestly didn't noticed it at first, the slight change of tone in the corrupted android. He was too caught up in his guilt and anger over the situation with Chell and GLaDOS. And it wasn't as if Neil had stopped talking. It used to grate on Wheatley's last nerve until he thought he would snap but lately it was just the white noise that kept the deafening silence of space at bay. He had accepted his fate and fell silent but something in the back of his mind wished he could be acknowledged just once. Sometimes he wondered if this was the Purgatory from human folklore he heard about. He was pretty sure he was sane and existed but judging from Neil's topic of one-sided conversations, he had his doubts sometimes.
"So much space. Need to see it all."
The blue-eyed android looked over at his companion and just watched him. Neil's yellow eyes still darted all around but they seemed dimmer. Part of his metal on his face seemed darker as well. Wheatley also noticed the pauses between sentences were growing longer.
"You alright there, mate?" He ask, almost hesitantly.
"What's your favorite thing about space? Mine is space." Was the response.
He had tried before to attempt a conversation and that ended as well as the Challenger landing. Wheatley sighed at himself. Now he was making bad space references, too. And he was tired of being ignored. But he wasn't going to give up yet.
"Hey," he tried again, "I asked if you're feeling okay. Your circuits feelin' a bit more fried than they already were?"
"Space. Space. Space. Space."
"Hey."
"Comets."
"Hey!"
"Stars."
"Neil."
"Galaxies."
"Neil!"
"Orio-"
"NEIL!" Wheatley yelled at maximum volume, effectively cutting him off. He maneuvered over to the other android and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Listen to me!"
"Help me space cops. Space cops help."
The corrupted android panicked at the contact and craned his head back in an attempt to avoid eye contact. As he did this, his partner noticed the source of the blackened metal around one eye. "Looks like ya got a blown fuse there, mate," he said then muttered, "In addition to the many you've got in your head." He tried smiling to ease the tension. "I have some extra of mine and they'd fit, but the color may be a little off."
Neil still wasn't looking at him but he had reduced the struggling to his normal twitches. Wheatley took this as a good sign and removed one hand to open a panel on his cheek. From it, he removed a small blue fuse which he held securely in his free hand then closed the panel back. He was about to tell the Space android about replacing it when his sight suddenly went dark. Two hands covered his optics.
"Look, an eclipse! No. Don't look." Neil rushed.
The blue android couldn't help but laugh. This was the first time he had been acknowledged in anyway by his companion and it was almost too endearing for him.
"I'm fine, mate." He said, taking his other hand off the shoulder now to remove his blinders. "Now I gotta fix you up. But that means you gotta be still. I'm also gonna have to unplug your optics for a moment but after that you'll be good as new!" Neil frowned at the idea. "You'll be able to see as much space as you want afterwards! Maybe even farther out space!" Wheatley singsonged.
Still frowning, Neil was silent for a moment then said, "Come here, space. I have a secret for you. No, come closer." The yellow android lifted his legs and wrapped them around Wheatley's waist, securing them together. Something whirled and pinged in the blue android and he felt something akin to embarassment but quickly shook it off with a small nervous laugh.
"Well, that's one way to keep ya floating off, eh?" Wheatley pulled his head in close enough to hear the other's processors and carefully opened the orbital panel. The black soot covered most of the wires inside and there was some more extensive damage as well but nothing that could be done in their current situation. With two fingers and a delicate tug of a cord, the yellow irises dimmed to black. Wheatley then popped off the iris itself which housed the tiny fuses for the optic controls.
What no one ever mentions about corruption in the personality androids is that it takes just as large of a toll on the hardware as it does the software. Eventually the corruption gets too much and the hardware usually overheats - not possible in their situation - or just shuts down all together. This thought crossed Wheatley's mind as he stared at the mess that was in the optic controls and it made him worry and fearful for his companion. He put those negative thoughts aside and removed the blown fuse carefully as to not disturb the others.
"Getting bored of space."
The blue android had been so caught up in his thoughts and work that he didn't hear the quiet confession at first. When the statement did get through to him, he just thought he misheard. Maybe the solitude was getting to him. But it was itching at him to know the truth.
"Sorry, mate, what?" He asked, aware he sounded distracted. The parts he was working with were so tiny and part of him was glad he had gotten onto the nanobot work crew to get him used to this.
"Wanna go home." Neil's voice was still a murmur.
"But you are home! Isn't this where you wanted to be? The great outdoors of space?" Wheatley was starting to become more than a little concerned now. The broken fuse had been removed and he had his thumb on the new one to snap it into place. He didn't noticed when the other android's hands started to twitch.
"Wanna go home wanna go home wanna go home wanna go home." The yellow android twisted suddenly. "Don't like space. Don't like space." The movement startled Wheatley and he tightened his grip on the yellow optic. Even through the new found ramblings of the other, he heard the faintest sound of cracking glass.
"Oh, nononono." Wheatley whispered in a panic. That was his last fuse. He removed his thumb hesitantly, not wanting to confirm the bad news, and saw a small piece of glass float off. The fused was still in tact but the casing for the optic had spiderweb cracks and a piece missing from it now. The android sighed in relief and closed it back up.
"It's too big. Too big. Wanna go home. Wanna go to earth." Neil was still squirming, making Wheatley unable to fix him back up. Then he got an idea. Holding the optic in one hand, he wrapped an arm around the android's back and shoulders effectively keeping the upper body still. The rest of the body followed and he grew still. The optic was carefully placed back and Wheatley wiped as much soot as he could from his cheek.
"I know ya do, mate." He said soothingly as the cables were reattatched and the panels were snapped back into place. "We both do."
Niel's optics came back online. They still weren't up to their full intensity but they definitely looked better than before. The repaired eye was now half blue and half yellow with a slight green glow where the borders touched. Despite the missing piece of glass, everything seemed to be in working order.
"There, buddy!" He beamed, proudly, "Good as new! You can't hardly even tell you're missing anything!" Neil stared back at him and Wheatley realized this was the most engagement they had had. He felt on the spot and those embarrassing pings from earlier started to cue up again. He was also horribly aware that the legs were still wrapped around his waist, anchoring them together. "So, uh…" His mind fumbled to think of something. "When was the last time you let your sleep mode engage?"
The yellow android craned his head up towards the distant stars. "No sleep, only space." That's what Wheatley has suspected. Even though they were solar powered, they still needed to go through sleep mode regularly to give the hardware a rest. It might even be a solution to his twitches and dimmed pupils.
"How about you take a quick rest and I'll figure out how to get us to Earth?" He piped up excitedly, hoping he sounded convincing enough. Multi-colored optics glanced at him then to the side then back to him. Then Neil gave a quick nod. It surprised Wheatley that the simple gesture brought him so much joy, but he really had been worried about his partner so doing something to ease that worry just made sense.
He slumped forward, resting his forehead on the other's shoulder and allowing Wheatley access to the control panel just below his neck. Neil didn't seem to be letting go any time soon so Wheatley was forced to work the controls upside down. The cover came off easily and the blue android cringed at the amount of damage he saw inside. The Space android would need a complete overhaul if they ever got back to earth. Despite the tangled wires and charred circuits, the button he was looking for was easy to find. The manual shut down pulsed yellow and was protected under a round clear case. Wheatley couldn't tell if the color was to match the android or to indicate a problem.
As he opened the casing, two small arms wrapped around his torso in a lose hug. The blue android smiled to himself, his finger stroking the edge of the button before holding it down. "Good night, mate." He whispered.
Neil murmured something, almost inaudible in the shut down process. "Thanks."
Wheatley felt oddly warmed by the appreciation and it only made his smile wider. He closed the panel back up and let his arms rest there in a halfhearted returned hug. For the first time since their journey, he had never been happy to have a moment alone like this. He laughed at himself.
"I have no idea how I'm going to get us home." He confessed to the giant blue marble before them. He shrugged the dilemma off though, it could wait. The processors were ticking the final seconds for his own sleep mode. The scheming could come afterwards.
There needs to be more of this. Except with a better Wheatley. (Sorry if he's OOC.)
I hope you enjoyed and please review.