Prompt: Chell finds herself thinking about Wheatley.
Chell sat down for her lunch break at work. It was the same process every weekday – just a different chair in the lunchroom. She gave a small sigh as she settled down to eat, but was instantly sitting up straight again when she noticed that the zipper on her lunch box hadn't been properly closed. Afraid that someone had stolen a piece of her meal, she ripped it open to find that nothing was missing – rather, that something had been added to the pile of food inside.
A small cookie was inside, chocolate chip, and a small note in Wheatley's untidy scrawl.
"Hey sweetheart! I got this yesterday with the shopping. You wouldn't BELIEVE how good that bakery smelled. Probably put my sensors out of whack, it did. I thought you'd like it too, though I don't know how well the smell carries over.
Oh, you're coming out of the bathroom, gotta finish! Love you!"
Chell smiled at the small note, and set the cookie aside for last, musing on Wheatley while she slowly chewed on a sandwich.
He was clumsy at times, and occasionally, his talkative nature became overwhelming. But he was always understanding and willing to listen when it was necessary. He constantly strove to be a good boyfriend for Chell, even if that meant little things like cookies and flowers or big things like cooking and helping cope with nightmares. The effort he put into each day to day was admirable.
He had done the same thing down There. If the person who painted on the walls had mentioned something about her befriending a piece of Aperture technology, she would have done anything to deface that bit of text or imagery, because there was no way she would've done something like that. Things down There were in two categories: Dead or out to make her dead.
But then this man literally fell into her life, dramatically from his management rail pole, chittering away like they were high school mates at a class reunion. And somehow she found herself tuning into what he was saying, listening and occasionally even smiling.
And to take him with her? The idea was insane, but it happened anyway. They had left together – She let them out and watched them go, and when they were finally at the surface, rejoicing happened. Chell had never expected something like this, and with such a person. It had to be a fantasy, she had to still be in that sleeping state, waiting for it all to be over.
But she woke up every morning to her gently sleeping boyfriend. She woke up to watching him for a bit before moving on with her day, listening to him with the same attention as one gave the morning news. He complimented her constantly, and did little things. Little things that he always got so—so very right.
She couldn't help but sigh when thinking about him, before remembering that she had a limited time to eat and finished as quickly as possible. The cookie came back with her to eat later, and when she reached her workspace, she pinned the small note up on her board, next to his other note, a doodle, and a photo of them together.
Standing there for a few moments, she looked at this small, personal corner of the board, completely separate from all the other papers, to-do lists, and work notes. It was the one thing that only got added to – nothing was ever removed from it.
And Chell was going to keep it that way.