Prompt: Back to Aperture! Wheatley isn't falling in love with the human. Nope. Totally not.
Wheatley had to keep himself hidden from the human. Well, at least, he had to stay out of her way while she tested. He didn't want to prove himself a distraction or accidentally knock her into the acid pit if she flew through the air while he stood idly by.
However, it gave him the perfect opportunities to watch her while she tested. And man alive, did she test well.
Every time she walked into a new room, her first motion was to watch her consider the entire puzzle as a whole, then break it down into pieces while testing which surfaces were able to be portaled. Her hair gently fell at the ponytail on her back, curling just the slightest bit at the tips.
Then she gracefully broke into a dash, a leap, a sprint, whatever it took to get that first bit of the puzzle through. This one, in particular, needed her to reach terminal velocity, then while doing so, launch herself through the air towards the button.
Wheatley felt himself getting sick watching her constantly fall through the portals, eyes trained on the high-raised wall opposite, which would then launch her to the platform above. Her eyes were so steely and focused, never wavering.
Where in this godforsaken place did she find the courage to do it? Wheatley couldn't see himself as a test subject here, and while being a core wasn't the most ideal thing ever, it sure was better than taking up the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device and flying over acid pools, facing turrets, navigating through test after test after test after test…
It would be a wonderful idea if they got out of there, Wheatley mused, leaning against his management rail. He was careful to not let his foot slip off the small platform at the bottom while watching, in the fear that he would fall off. Didn't think anything would be damaged, but you never knew what could happen here.
Trying to distract himself from the height and possibility of breaking, he watched Chell again. She successfully executed a flip through the air and landed – of course – right on her feet and near the button. Hitting it with a slight delight, Wheatley couldn't help but smile too at how happy she was and how pretty she looked, and how nice she looked in that orange jumpsuit…
Wheatley suddenly found himself sliding off the pole, and in response his fingers suddenly gripped tighter onto the management rail. No, no he couldn't be falling for her! That was impossible. Clearly some malfunction in his inner program, must've been spending too much time around Rick lately. Got him feeling romantic and weird and making him feel an emotional… something for the human. The human who had shown him kindness and the light of day.
But! There was still nothing too special about her except the fact she was really pretty and really good at testing. They would probably just finish these tests to keep advancing, find another broken wall, sneak out past Her while she was powered down, and go their separate ways.
…Wheatley gave a nervous laugh, excited at the thrill of escaping but at the same time of what he would face. Would she, this human, help him?
When she made it to the test entrance, she started waving at him, and he instantly came down, clapping for her completion.
"Two more to go, I'd wager," he said, walking through the exit door with her. She didn't show any outward signs of listening, but he knew she must have. Had her keen hearing and all that.
Nothing significant would come out of their bond. Just two escapees, that's all they were.