Before I start the chapter here's a little intro thing to hopefully better explain this AU.

Chell: A silent survivor of Aperture's portal testing. When she completed the tests, she eventually befriended GLaDOS and now they're dating and pretty much live together.

GLaDOS: In charge of testing at Aperture. In it for the science. Ranges from sassy to dangerous. Originally a result of an experiment on building an effective humanoid/android body for an AI. After the experiment was declared a success, she was made an employee and, as a supercomputer, she has access to more Aperture files and information than anyone else. Not nearly as murdery as canon, but still not particularly fond of humans for the most part.

Wheatley: A scatterbrained but kind-hearted intern at Aperture. A friend of Chell's but often finds rivalries against GLaDOS.

Aperture Science: Doing science and still alive. The section of it featured in the fic is mostly under GLaDOS's control. The sector of Aperture that GLaDOS controls does encompass rooms and hallways long forgotten by its current employees and which even The Important People don't know about. However, these rooms, hallways, and abandoned test chambers are decorated with paintings and messages from an ex-employee said to have lost his sanity. The reason I point this out is for a future chapter or two.

As a whole, this AU is essentially a universe in which GLaDOS 1) is an android, 2) doesn't kill all the scientists, and 3) becomes more willing to listen to her conscience. Also, Human!Cores. I don't know why I couldn't think of that wording when I first wrote this chapter.

Ok that's all, here's the chapter

Chapter One.

"The cake is a truth."

ooo

The sun crept higher over the cityscape, spreading its luminous rays across numerous buildings, workplaces, and homes alike. Among them, a cozy apartment: visually similar to the others around it, but whose inhabitants made it unique. Similarly, the morning in the city began like any other. However, in this little home, this Friday was to be a very special one indeed.

For starters, the dark-haired woman lying in bed was still asleep and it was shortly after 8. Indeed, on days when she didn't have to be at any certain place at any certain time, Chell had quite the tendency to sleep in.

This tendency was good news for the slender, white figure standing outside. Shoulder leaning against the door-frame, this feminine figure couldn't help letting out a silent chuckle of admiration as she gazed lovingly at the sleeping Chell. She didn't dare let out any sound, however—she was highly intent on letting Chell sleep as long as possible. At this point in time, GLaDOS figured she had at least a couple of hours to prepare before Chell woke up.

Today was Chell's birthday. And her girlfriend was determined to make sure it was a good one. She deserved it—after all, she'd spent the last one in a test chamber at Aperture. There hadn't even been any cake.

GLaDOS was both created and employed by Aperture Laboratories, a center of scientific research and testing which, as she was living proof of, had not only successfully put together an AI based on the consciousness of a living person, but also was able to build a flexible, functioning, damn-close-to-human-looking body to implement said AI into. The resulting character was GLaDOS—she was highly intelligent, she was highly powerful, and she harbored an undying, fiery passion for science. Just as she had been programmed to be.

These days, she was in charge of Aperture Science's Enrichment Center, where she controlled testing of the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. And one year ago, she had been overseeing these tests on one particularly determined, resilient subject.

Chell.

The way Chell responded to those test chambers—the way she solved problems, the way she never gave up trying to find her way out, even when everything including GLaDOS was working against her—you just had to appreciate how well she worked as a test subject. Behind those shimmering silver irises, you could see the gears turning in her head, seeking out a solution even when she was told there wasn't one. And she'd found her way out of that chamber, too. GLaDOS had been amazed.

Now, though, GLaDOS didn't have time to be admiring Chell. She had work to do, and only a couple of hours to do it. Thankfully, she had help. Not her ideal help, but help nonetheless. She could work with that for a few hours, probably. A quiet knock at the door drew her attention. Behind it stood a young man with bright blue eyes, holding a cardboard box of some sort in one hand and adjusting his thick black glasses with the other. (What is it about Wheatley that made every last one of us agree that he had glasses?)

GLaDOS wasn't exactly excited to be working with Wheatley, but she'd rather not do it alone, and no one else was both willing and available. Begrudgingly, she slapped her hand down on the doorknob and yanked it open for him.

"Good morning!" he chirped with a beaming smile.

GLaDOS impatiently skipped the pleasantries. "I need to get started on the cake as soon as possible. Here's a list of everything I need you to do. I made sure to write down every last detail, so maybe even your microscopic mind can understand it." She was eager to get him out of the way. She handed him a sheet of paper and then set about gathering ingredients in the kitchen.

"I didn't come here to be harassed, lady," Wheatley said, immediately growing impatient and making a point out of dropping the cardboard box on the table. "I'm here to help you. Honestly, I dunno what I expected when I agreed to do this for you of all people, but I'm doing this for her!" He gestured to the closed bedroom door. "I'm helping you for the sake of my friend. I'm doing you a favour, and all you ever do is insult me! Belittle me! I'm not putting up with it today. Not a chance. I'm taking this list, and I'm leaving."

"...That's literally what I asked you to do. You haven't won," GLaDOS remarked, tipping a cup of flour into a bowl. Wheatley gave up trying to respond and slammed the door behind him as he headed out to run the errands on the list.

The list.

The door hesitantly cracked open again and one hand timidly reached for the sheet of paper on the countertop next to the door. Then the door was shut tightly again.

GLaDOS chuckled quietly to herself. "Moron."

ooo

"I can't believe she had the nerve to… to BULLY me, when I for once was trying to HELP her! I mean, we're supposed to be on the same side here! We're both trying to give our friend a happy birthday, you'd think we could at least TRY to work together on this…"

Wheatley continued to mumble to himself as he shoved a shopping cart down the aisles, scanning the shelves for the items listed on the page in GLaDOS's comparatively tidy, cursive handwriting. Then, suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, letting the cart roll lazily another couple of feet forward.

"Actually, if she's not going to cooperate, why should I? I could do this on my own. I don't need her. I don't need anyone! I'm perfectly capable of it; she doesn't know what she's talking about!" He strode forward with a renewed energy, ignoring the other shoppers who stood staring less-than-subtly at the man angrily rambling to himself. An hour later he burst through Chell's front door with such confidence and noise that he momentarily forgot Chell was still asleep.

ooo

GLaDOS stood in a corner of the living room, assessing her work. Blue and orange streamers hung intertwined, brightening the soft grey of the walls. Confetti was carefully strewn across the table ("Our last bag," GLaDOS had lamented to herself), and a little box, wrapped up with the utmost precision and a rainbow ribbon on top, sat in the middle of the table, where more gifts were planned to join it. And the cake, of course, stood on the counter-top on a raised dish, ready to be frosted.

As she began the delicate process of decorating the cake, GLaDOS pondered how unrecognizable this sudden eagerness to express her appreciation of someone was. She usually expressed disapproval, if not outright hatred. But her admiration for Chell ran so deep that she was almost an entirely different person. She hated to admit it, but deep inside, she could be incredibly affectionate and caring.

It was at this point that her thoughts were rudely interrupted by a chaotically loud slamming of the door.

"I'm back and I've done everything all on my own!" Wheatley announced. "That's right; no help whatsoever, how's that for helpless little mor—"

"Quiet!" GLaDOS hissed, "if you wake her up I swear to God. I still need more time, so put the boxes on the table and then DON'T. TOUCH. ANYTHING." She turned back to her work as Wheatley made his way to the living room, setting a couple of bags on the coffee table and busying himself with wrapping a gift in silvery tissue paper.

For a moment, GLaDOS thought everything was going fine for once. She was sort of amazed, honestly—Wheatley and quiet were two things that typically did not go together, as much as she wished they did.

"Aaaaugh!"

She'd mentally spoken too soon. She let out an exasperated sigh as Wheatley began, "Oh, God, that hurts… was not expecting that. I swear, that doesn't normally happen… Uh, 'scuse me? I hate to interrupt, 's kind of embarrassing to be honest with ya, but, ah… I've cut myself on the tape dispenser and now my finger's bleeding."

GLaDOS just covered her face in her hands and sighed. "Can you do ANYTHING by yourself without screwing up?" she retorted, not even bothering to comment on the perplexing and endlessly inconvenient fragility of the human body as she typically would.

"Why are you always so insistent on being mean to me? I've been trying to help you all day. Really, we're on the same side. Working towards the same goal. I'm trying to be patient here. I am. But the very moment I happen to need help, I'm still being called out?" His tone shifted from hurt to angry. "You know what? I've had it. I'm done. I'm not putting up with this anymore. I'm going to take care of it myself. Good. Day." With that, he stormed out the front door, slamming it behind him.

GLaDOS didn't particularly care where he was going or even whether he was going to come back. Or, at least, she didn't want to care. It was certainly no secret that she wasn't particularly fond of him, but she knew if Chell had been watching, she would've wanted GLaDOS to apologize.

And, sure, GLaDOS had to admit that maybe she had been a little harsher than she needed to be. It was just one minor issue. She glanced back at the door and sighed. Couldn't be helped now. She set about putting the finishing touches on the cake, and then headed into the living room to tidy up what was left in there.

Behind her, she heard a door crack open. She froze, frantically glanced over her shoulder. No, it wasn't Chell. Wheatley was back already.

"Let it go so soon?"

"Left my phone on the table," he explained. "I'll get out of your way quick, I promi—"

"Wait," she interrupted before he could turn around. "I need you to stay here." She took a deep breath as she began to formulate her sentences. "My… my singular goal today is to make Chell happy. She'd want me to be less cruel to you, at least for today, and admittedly I've been unusually irritable this morning. I'll try harder to cut back."

"...Really?" Wheatley couldn't tell whether or not she was simply deceiving him again.

"Really," she confirmed.

"That's…" He couldn't find the words. She was really trying to be less mean?

"That being said, I absolutely don't regret anything I've already said today. I still think you're an idiot. I'm just going to try a little better to keep it to myself today." With that, she stood up and left the room.

Aaand there it was. Wheatley knew better than to get his hopes up in that regard. But he could live with this.

He turned around, and who should he find standing in the bedroom doorway but Chell, wearing a blue T-shirt and some plaid pajama pants and smiling at her girlfriend.

"Oh, hi," GLaDOS said, trying to hide her surprise at Chell's sudden appearance. "Did you… hear all that just now?"

Chell nodded. I'm proud of you, she signed.

GLaDOS smiled.

"How long have you been listening?" Wheatley inquired.

I heard the door shut loudly. It woke me up, Chell explained.

"Oh… sorry 'bout that. My mistake," Wheatley said.

It's okay. Chell smiled softly.

"Well, now that that's out of the way… happy birthday!" GLaDOS wrapped Chell in a warm embrace and planted a kiss on the taller woman's cheek. "I've got a special surprise for you. Well, multiple surprises. Start with this one." She picked up a small grey envelope sealed with a pink heart-shaped sticker and handed it to Chell, who opened it carefully so as not to tear anything.

The little card inside had a message from GLaDOS, typed in one of those fancy calligraphy fonts that there are far too many of. It read:

Dearest Chell,

You have been cordially invited to attend Aperture Science's first annual Bring Your Significant Other to Work Day next Friday starting at 9am. We promise it will not end in chaos. Additionally, test chamber doors will remain locked the entire day. That means no one will enter. Tours of the offices and control rooms will be offered.

If you accept this invitation, please look up and give an indication of agreement or satisfaction.

I love you.

~GLaDOS

Chell looked up, her sparkling silver eyes meeting GLaDOS's golden gaze. She smiled.

"Well…?" GLaDOS asked hesitantly.

Chell stepped forward and flung her arms around her, planting a kiss on the side of her face. In all honesty Chell had been rather intrigued by GLaDOS's work, and though she was hesitant to approach those test chambers again, she trusted GLaDOS now that she would be safe.

"I'm glad you're excited. I am too..." GLaDOS was almost whispering. "Happy birthday, mia cara."

ooo

Author's Note: Wow, a chapter of decent length! Maybe my writing skills are actually growing!

Anyway, as you can clearly see, in typical me fashion I'm approximately 8473646 years late to the Portal fandom, but I'm just so undeniably in love with GLaDOS that one of the first things I did was draw a design of android!GLaDOS which is what this AU is based on. You can view some pictures of her HERE:

[instagram] /p/BfP0cXjnrBW/

and HERE (this one isnt her normal outfit):

[tumblr] post/171471339084/i-drew-this-pic-of-my-androidglados-the-other-day

I've got over ten more chapter ideas for this little fic, which is sort of amazing 'cause normally I can only write one-shots, so if you are interested in it there's plenty to look forward to, and if you're not, well, every browser has a back button.

I'm sure you're not here to listen to me ramble about my writing, but I'm looking forward to writing more. I'm still learning how to actually write these characters, and chapters do take awhile, but a lot is in store and I can't wait to see it exist!

Till next chapter,

melancholy starlight~