Rick loved giving Wheatley a hard time. It wasn't that he disliked the guy- in all honestly he considered him a friend- but embarrassing him was fun, and far too easy.

Especially when it came to Chell.

Every core in Aperture knew how Wheatley felt about the test subject, though whether or not he himself knew was up for debate. He was always a total wreck around her: turning bright red for seemingly no reason, leaning on things that weren't there (and plummeting to the ground immediately after), tripping over his words (and just about everything else). Really, Rick didn't have to do anything to embarrass Wheatley when Chell was around; he was plenty good at doing that himself.

But here lately the adventure core had begun to pick up on something interesting in Wheatley's interactions with the test subject.

Rick couldn't help but notice that, when Wheatley's face turned red, Chell's did too (a much subtler shade, but still). When he tried to look nonchalant and instead ended up in a heap on the ground, the test subject would giggle (silently, of course), but she would also help him to his feet and make sure he was alright. When Wheatley talked himself in circles for hours on end, Chell always listened to what he had to say, and even seemed to find his ramblings endearing.

The adventure core thought this deserved a bit of investigation, so he decided to administer a little test of his own. And on one particular night he was giving an opportunity too perfect to pass up.

"Game night?"

As the adventure core plopped down next to Chell on the couch, she glanced over at Wheatley and gave him a look that clearly read 'This was his idea.'

Rick snorted.

"Honey, he's makin' you domestic. Look at these! These are sissy games! An adventurous lady such as yourself deserves entertainment that's a bit more… exciting. Don't you think?"

Chell crossed her arms and offered a coy smile as he smirked at her. The last time Rick had suggested they do something "more exciting" GLaDOS nearly had kicked them out of the facility for blowing up a piece of Her precious equipment.

Wheatley (who Did Not Like how close Rick was sitting to Chell) turned red as he cleared his throat a bit too loudly.

"Well then, what do you suggest we play?"

A few minutes later he was sorry he asked.

"Truth or dare?"

Wheatley squirmed.

Chell was in the room with them (looking rather adorable, he might add, as she grinned up at him from beneath the brim of Rick's hat), which meant he knew exactly what the adventure core was going to ask if he chose truth.

Not that the other option was much better.

He swallowed.

"Dare."

"Hmmm…" A sense of dread fell over Wheatley as Rick leaned back in his seat, the grin on his face turning devious as green eyes met blue. "I dare you… to kiss Chell."

There was a moment of stunned silence that was almost immediately broken by the adventure core's laughter. Rick somehow managed to keep himself from guffawing, but the petrified expressions on the pairs face were priceless.

And of course the situation became even more entertaining when Wheatley remembered how to speak.

"What?" His face was almost as red as his hair, and his voice was embarrassingly high pitched. Chell looked a bit stunned but it appeared that Wheatley was on the verge of a meltdown. "I can't- I would never-" His eyes flitted to her's for a moment, and he (as well as Rick) was surprised to find that something in their cadance was almost hurt. He looked to Rick for reassurance and found none. "I mean I-I might- I mean- It's not like I- I mean- I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it! B-but I- She wouldn't- you wouldn't-" Wheatley felt his blood turn cold. "Um- you- you-"

Chell was standing in front of him, towering over him, her expression caught between amused and mildly annoyed as he looked up at her with terrified blue eyes. After a brief moment of smirking, she knelt down to his level. Wheatley found himself leaning away as she did so.

"P-Please don't kill me." He squeaked. Chell's eyes held a mischievous sparkle that made him want to run for the hills, but at present she was blocking his only escape route. "I didn't mean- all- all- of that stuff. I mean- I did m-mean s-some of it but I wasn't going to-to say anything about it because I-I know you don't- you don't-"

Chell grabbed a fistfull of Wheatley's shirt, and held him at eye level for just a moment before she gently pressed her lips against his. It was a soft, sweet little kiss, but it was enough to stun Wheatley into silence once it was over.

"Huh." Rick snorted as the two of them jumped (they had obviously forgotten he was there). "That's one way to shut him up."