Morning came too soon for Chell. Her alarm blared in her ear, causing her to wake up from what small slumber she had had. Even though she had gone to bed early, she still received only four good hours of sleep. She yawned and stretched in her bed, noting that Wheatley was not there next to her and that she was covered by the bed sheets. She smiled to herself; Wheatley must've covered her up while she was sleeping. She pulled the covers off and got up, slamming the button on her alarm to make it stop screaming that it was time for her to wake up.

As she undressed, rustling noises could be heard from the kitchen; Wheatley most likely was preparing her breakfast. Another smile found its way to Chell's face. She remembered the day he first tried to use a kitchen.

It was disastrous and he had nearly set the place ablaze trying to prepare something as simple as eggs for her. She remembered insisting that she could cook her own breakfast since she would be the only one eating it. Wheatley had become very flustered and argued that he should at least do SOMETHING for her.

She smiled sadly. Didn't he know how much he already did for her?

She never expected anyone, much less a machine care for what she had to say or do. Even when she was younger and still had a voice no one listened. They ignored her completely; but not him. He took the time to care for her and make sure all was well.

Chell finished undressing and stepped into her bathroom for a shower. The water was icy cold when it first sprayed out, causing her skin to prickle.

Wheatley was different from anyone she had ever met. Sure, he could be scatter-brained and eccentric at times, but that was what made him Wheatley.

When she first awoke from her stasis at the facility, she was terrified and alone. But she heard his voice calling her, looking for her, needing her. He didn't abandon her when he found she couldn't talk, rather he called her his "last hope." They traveled around the laboratory together, looking for a way to escape. All the while he stayed with her the best he could; he had been attached to the rail system at that point, and had to leave her a few times, but always promised he would return. She followed him unquestioningly. He did not disappoint her. He had somehow managed to have a conversation with her, not even put off by her lack of speech. It had been a long time since someone had spoken to her like that.

When they had both awakened GLaDOS, Chell had almost thought he had betrayed her, but he looked as frightened as she had been, and tried to shut her down.

It was when she watched his tiny body be crushed so coldly and indifferently that she felt herself break down for the first time. Rage, sorrow, fear and pain welled up inside of her like never before. She barely had the strength to go on. But had to, because of him. She decided to kill for him; she would avenge his death.

That was the first time in her life she had ever experienced emotions like that. But when Wheatley found her, risking his life once more for her, she felt so much relief that she almost passed out. Battered and beaten, he found her. He urged her on, promising he would plan their escape and that they would meet again. All throughout her testing, Chell would catch glimpses of him watching her, checking up on her and always pointing her in the right path. But he fulfilled that promise, and he led her to an escape, somehow his "moronic" mind had come up with it.

She recalled being so proud and happy that she had reached up to him from his railway and hugged him in a tight embrace, tears leaking down her face. Seeing him, hearing his voice, just being with him; the fact that her life was in mortal danger was put aside at that moment because they had been reunited. To her, it was the first time she had ever loved anything or anyone.

As the water began to warm, Chell smiled. It was odd, her attraction to Wheatley. Not in a million years would she ever have guessed she'd fall in love with a machine. Not even in a billion would she have expected the feeling to be reciprocated. Wheatley had somehow fallen in love with her. She almost wondered to herself what others would think, but remembered there were no "others." Not even before she was introduced to Aperature Science. Not even Wheatley seemed put off by their strange relationship, even though he himself was a machine. She had noticed, however, he had some confidence issues about it. That troubled her a bit. She did not want him to doubt himself, or be in any pain because of her.

She thought back to when she played the part in his corruption. At that point, she just wanted GLaDOS to be taken down. She had no idea that Wheatley would be affected like that. When Wheatley snapped, her heart broke. Somehow his affections turned to malice and casual indifference. He even tried to kill her several times. Her heart had broken and she thought she would too. The only thing in this world to have paid her any attention was now her enemy. Something she would have to destroy. The guilt that it was mostly her fault he had turned against her hurt all the more.

But she had seen it; a small glimmer of hope. Somehow, just barely, she could see the old Wheatley in there screaming he was sorry. Though his speech and actions suggested otherwise, the realization hit her that he could not control himself, and was in eternal turmoil with himself for hurting her. It gave her strength; strength to face him and fight him, and the strength to pull him back from space.

GLaDOS had screamed at her that she was going to kill the personality core, who at that time, had regained himself and could only moan his apologies quietly from her tight embrace. She had let him go once, there was no way she would let GLaDOS take him away from her. Somehow she had managed to convince the supercomputer to let her leave with Wheatley. She performed another miracle as GLaDOS let them leave with a robotic skeleton similar to one of the co-operative robot's. Chell had made sure Wheatley would get his freedom.

They had left the facility together, Chell had gotten a couple of jobs, and she afforded them both a new home. All the while with Wheatley apologizing and wanting to help her in any way possible. It flattered her immensely, his devotion to her.

She had done all those things thinking of Wheatley, hoping it would be a place for both of them to live together in happiness. Just being with Wheatley made her happy, though she always noticed his misery when she was around. It hurt, but he never said anything; she was too afraid to bring it up to him.

She sighed and slid down in the bathtub, turning off the water and sitting with her legs relaxed in front of her. She would sit for a little bit; she was still tired from the previous night.

She glanced between her legs and blushed. Her almost first time with Wheatley popped up into her mind. She never knew her body could have felt or responded to a touch like that. But Wheatley was the one who gave her such pleasure. He had been tender and loving to her; it was a shame it ended the way it did. All that she was in pain over was not the blood he had accidentally spilled from her, but the drop in his confidence she knew would happen. Wheatley had tried his best; he knew that she wanted it, and in response made an attempt to have sex with her. Since that night he had not spoken about it, and tried to avoid it whenever possible.

But her neighbor made it impossible for him. Nearly every night he was above them having deafeningly loud sex. It drove her crazy; she wanted to be with Wheatley like that too, but she subdued the thought. Wheatley always became silent during the noise, like he was trying to figure out what to say so there wouldn't be any awkwardness for them. It hurt her somewhat; she wanted to be with him physically, and felt as though he felt nearly the same, but he was terrified to try again. Chell wondered for a moment if it was even possible for a machine to even become sexually aroused. Especially toward a human woman who had not even had a single experience in the sexual domain.

She sighed. She was so tired; the same neighbor kept her up last night and she never got her required sleep. Her eyelids drooped. At this rate, she would be late for work…

…

"Chell?" a voice called out with concern.

Chell's eyes snapped open and she shot up, still in the bathtub. Startled, she looked around wildly, only to find Wheatley at her side, looking away from her and patting her arm gently.

Chell smiled. Oh how she loved this man. She took his hand, and interlocked her fingers with his metallic ones.

"Um…" Wheatley began. "You fell asleep again…Are you sure you want to go to work today? You can always call them and get the day off, you know…" He said it all while not looking at Chell.

She realized she was naked and he was averting his eyes to be kind. She knew he was being considerate, but he had seen her naked before, why was it bothering him now? Chell stood up and got out of the bathtub.

"Chell? Work?" Wheatley offered, slightly more flustered than before.

Something akin to boldness took hold of Chell. Maybe today she would take the day off. It was going to be a slow day anyway, and they probably wouldn't need her. Today she wanted to be with Wheatley.

Chell stepped out of her bathroom, still bare, and found her way to their shared laptop. After writing a quick note to her workplace and emailing it, she looked back to the bathroom, which Wheatley still had not emerged from. Was he embarrassed? She strode back to the bathroom entrance and found him there, looking confused. Their eyes met briefly before his trailed over her body. He abruptly looked away.

"Did-did you tell them you were not coming in?" Wheatley asked, nervousness causing him to shake.

Chell smiled as she approached him. As she wrapped her arms around him, she felt him jump.

"C-chell? U-um, do you want to go back to bed? You must be tired since-"

Chell didn't let him finish. She spun him around and kissed him above his optic. She rewrapped her arms around his frigid core and held him there.

Wheatley let out a small gasp. Clearly he had not expected her to do something like that. He wrapped his arms around her and tightly embraced her. "I love you…" he whispered softly.

Chell sighed happily in response. Her cup was full, and she felt she could stay like that forever.

Wheatley seemed to remember her nakedness and let the embrace go.

"Um, I made you some breakfast, if you want to dress and come have some soon…" He turned to leave, still not looking at her.

Chell grabbed him by his core and spun him around again, this time just to face her. His optic widened and began to erratically look around at everything else in the room.

"C-chell? I don't understand what you're doing…" He whined quietly.

Yes he did. Chell removed her hands and reached for his.

His optic spun and watched her in shock and suspense as she placed each one on her breasts. This would hopefully convey to him what she wanted. His optic conveyed that he did to Chell. He looked up at her with a mix of acknowledgement and sadness.

"Chell…"He whispered. "Only with you…but I don't want to hurt you again…" His hands unconsciously tightened on her breasts, sending shivers through her body. He seemed to notice and looked at her.

It would be okay. Chell kissed him again. She released his hands, which stayed there a moment before leaving their positions. At first she thought he would walk away, but he grabbed her hand and led her back to her bedroom.

She sat down on the bed as Wheatley stood in front of her.

"You're so beautiful…"

She barely heard him say it, he spoke so softly. He gently pushed on her shoulders, causing her to fall back on the bed. She felt his cold hands on her thighs, rubbing them and causing her to shudder with anticipation.

He sat down next to her and then leaned back, turning to face her.

"Chell…I want to…very much…but can we just be together for today? I'm so afraid…I'll hurt you again…" Wheatley struggled to find the right words, but his genuine appeal struck at Chell's heart. She rolled over to face him, and smiling, took ahold of his hand yet again. Immediately Wheatley relaxed, and he caressed her face with his free hand. "For now, just sleep."

Chell nodded and yawned. She closed her eyes and felt Wheatley move in closer as well as cover them with blankets. She smiled broadly and squeezed his robotic hand, letting him know that she wanted him there with her. Wheatley complied and watched her fall asleep.

…

While every thought in his body was to immediately jump her and make love to her right then and there, Wheatley realized it wouldn't be fair of him to do so. She needed to experience her first time with a human, not him, a machine. While he felt guilty for not looking at her in the beginning, her naked body drove him insane. He had wanted to touch and feel every inch of her right then, but suppressed his desires. And yet she had still fought him, almost unleashing his lust onto her. He had almost given in, as he led her to her bed, he had every intention of taking her. But he saw her tiredness, her exhaustion, and couldn't bring himself to follow through.

As he watched her sleep soundly by his side, a part of him ached. He needed to be human for her. He had to go back to Aperature science. He had to somehow come back alive and in human form. And he had to do it all without Chell noticing or knowing what he was up to.

He made an attempt to get up and leave, but found Chell's grip was still applied to his hand. He sighed defeatedly. Even though the one he loved was naked in front of him feeding his addiction to her, he could not leave. Did she know what she was risking, being defenseless in front of him? But he would stay, and be there for her when she would wake up.

He activated his power save and fell asleep next to her.

A/N: holy crap, was NOT expecting that kind of turnout for this fic. I was about to mark it complete and be done with it ( I got backed into a literary corner), but then so many people reviewed that I couldn't shelf this story. I hope you'll be patient with me as I write Chell's character. I know it had no plot at this point, but I thought it'd be interesting to let you kids see how Chell views their relationship. Tee-hee, not much smut this time around. Maybe check back next chapter…?

Anyway, I'll do my best to update and make it interesting, but I have work and finals coming up, so please be patient with me. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed~

(Also, it's 4:00 AM right now. I can hardly spell check, let alone focus on my monitor for more than thrity seconds. Go easy on the spelling and sentence structure criticisms, yo.)