Hey, so this was meant to be just another Chelley one-shot to get it out of my system and to try and get rid of my writers block but it suddenly got so dismal and very real towards the end - um...whoops!

Anyway, try to enjoy and please provide feedback

*~ Maybe Its Better To Get It Off Your Chest ~*

The first time he had heard my voice, he hadn't been able to reply for a solid ten minutes which - believe me - was a miracle for Wheatley. I remember he had been moaning and whining on and on about how tired his legs were and how he wasn't used to this body of his yet. I tried to endure it - really, I did! All until I realised we weren't in Aperture anymore and I was quite literally bound to the now-human-core for life; it meant I didn't have to hide my voice anymore because she couldn't hear me.

"Are your legs still moving?" I had asked him without even stopping of looking back over my shoulder at him.

"Yeah, but-" he had replied before his voice caught in his throat as he realised the question was from myself.

"Then we keep going," I had firmly stated, continuing to trudge on through the wheat field. I had to resist the urge to look back and see what kind of bewildered expression he held.

Together we had found a small abandoned cottage on the edge of a desolate town and after a much needed clean, it was real nice. Cosy.

The living area was a cute little room with a whole wall of bookshelves and in front of them was a grey faded couch facing the other way with twin recliners on either side. There was a glass coffee table in front and on the wall opposite was a screen like something I had seen in Aperture. But it didn't work.

The tiny kitchen and dining area was at the back of the little house, connected by the entrance hallway which also held the stairs that led up to a bathroom - that, thank the heavens, still worked with running water - and two bedrooms.

Wheatley took the bedroom on the right, which had stripy green and lime walls and an equally distasteful colourful carpet, with a small single bed and I took the bedroom on the left which was much less dramatic, with cream walls and a beige carpet and a double bed - oh, the mattress was so soft. I loved it!

We had been surviving here together for four months.

Today had been a day like any other, I had risen early before my friend and travelled in to town to scavenge clothes, food, medications, anything that could be of any use to us. I then made my way back to find Wheatley awake, still in his new pyjamas and sat reading a book in the living room. Upon noticing my arrival home, he had set the book down on the coffee table, folding the corner of the page, and run around the side to see what I had brought home today.

Like we did every day.

"So what are the findings today, love?" he asked excitedly following me in to the kitchen. I dumped my backpack on the table and smiled at his enthusiasm. But I tried to hide it, because of the nagging feeling I also had at the back of my mind.

He took a seat at the table while I started to unpack listing as I pulled the items out, "Canned food, canned food, medicine, canned food, clothes for you, clothes for me, more canned food...ooh! I found that sequel to the last book you read."

"Ah, you found it!" he took it from my hands, his eyes wide with shock which turned in to excited happiness, "Oh, well done, love. You are brilliant, absolutely, brilliant! I don't know how you do it, I really don't! Well done!"

I smiled thinly in response but trailed my eyes back to the inside of the backpack, I didn't really know how else to reply so I just continued where I had left off, "Um, more canned food, food, food, food. Ah! More clothing for us and a working CD player. See its only small so I could bring it with me."

"Ah, wonderful! We can listen to music now, right?" he asked jumping out of the chair and scooping up the device, forgetting about the book that he had been moaning about because the previous owner of the house didn't have a copy of it in his possessions.

"Essentially," I replied with a shrug.

He smiled wide and pushed the on button gasping when the lights came on, pushed the eject button and when the case opened to show the empty holder, he rushed off to the living room. Most likely to find one of the CDs that we hadn't been able to listen to yet.

I sighed deeply and began putting the cans of food away in the cupboards with the rest of our meals. Halfway through packing the food away, I heard the music begin. It was lovely and beautiful. A calming sound. It was an instrumental piece, with what sounded like an acoustic guitar.

I hadn't realised that I had stopped moving until Wheatley cleared his throat and I jumped realising that he was beside me with an uncertain look on his face, though he still tried to smile.

"Um, would you...would you like to dance, love?" he asked and offered me his hand, with his eyebrows arched in a nervous fashion.

"I don't," I cleared my throat and replied averting my gaze, "I don't know how to dance."

He let out a weak chuckle and shook his head with a shrug, "Neither do I, Chell...but I still want to dance...with you."

My eyes flickered up to his face and saw how pleading his brilliant blue eyes were. I sighed and shook my head as I pushed passed him, "I still have the clothes and tablets to put away."

But my core friend caught my wrist in his hand and when I looked back at him his expression was hurt, "Please, love? Just one song. That's all I'm asking and then you never have to dance again if you want. Never in a million years will I even ask you to dance again. I just want this one song with you."

I sighed deeply and after a moment of consideration, I ignored that uneasy feeling in my stomach and moved closer. I took a deep breath before staring up in to his eyes. We stood face to face and toe to toe, "How are we doing this?"

He suddenly looked slightly flustered and caught off guard like he didn't expect me to comply - I suppose I had been brushing off his requests lately. Wheatley recovered as quickly as he could however reaching for my wrists and slowly carefully bringing my hands up to rest on his shoulders. He avoided eye contact while he cautiously and gently placed his hands around my waist.

We began to sway.

I never would have admit it but my heart was beating a million miles a second. This felt so...magical. It made my breathing hitch and hard to control. It made my stomach flip. This was what I was afraid of. I breathed out and heard the obvious wavering sound of nervousness. Wheatley's arms just seemed to snake further around me and tighten, pulling me closer to him.

I didn't dare look up in to his face, if our eyes met I wouldn't be able to control my emotions. I was already having a hard time keeping my lungs working correctly.

"Love?" his voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

I didn't trust myself to speak, so I just gave him a simple, "Mm?"

"Thanks for looking after me," the words stunned me yet again. I wasn't expecting them at all. After a moment he leaned down and rested his chin on the top of my head and added, "Thank you so much for not abandoning me all this time. You're an angel and I am so sorry for everything that-"

I pulled away from him then sharply, turning away, "Don't."

"But, love, I-" I interrupted him. He tried to apologise over and over while we had been living together but I just couldn't face it. I just couldn't take the pain of it all. I brushed him off every time and I intended to do the same today.

"Just...don't. That Wheatley was not the one I knew. That Wheatley was a stranger. A horrible, disgusting, evil stranger," I stated, trying to keep my emotions in check but his stupid bloody dance had riled me up. I kept my face turned so he couldn't see the tears that were forming in the corners of my eyes, "That Wheatley wasn't my Wheatley. So I don't wanna hear it. I don't wanna hear my Wheatley apologising for something that that monster did. I'm not dead, so it doesn't matter."

"But, love," he tried again but I just wouldn't have it. I couldn't face it.

I whipped my teary eyed face in his direction and snapped at him, "No, Wheatley!"

My core friend's face was filled with a mixture of concern and sorrow. He inhaled to say something but stopped himself, sighing and looking down at his feet. I sniffled and looked at the pile of clothing on the table. I didn't like showing emotion much so I decided to busy myself with taking the clothes up to the bedroom.

I took a deep breath and held it while I scooped up the bundle of fabric in my arms. I turned on my heels and walked out of the room without another word, setting off on my next task.

For the next few hours we didn't talk. I didn't even go back downstairs when I was finished. I just went straight to the bathroom and changed in to a pair of warm fuzzy orange pyjamas then retreated to the bedroom and sat by the window and stared up at the sky. I listened to the CDs that played until they finished, then listened to the shuffling and clicking sounds of Wheatley changing the disks.

By now the moon was high in the sky and the stars were so bright. I rubbed my wet cheeks with the back of my sleeves, sniffling. He was so quiet that I didn't hear him ascend the stairs and I almost hit the roof when he cleared his throat behind me. I jumped up to standing and spun around, eyes wide and stance ready for action.

Wheatley held his hands up in surrender, "Hey, its just me. Sorry to make you jump. I, um...I wanted to see if you were okay."

I relaxed a bit and looked down at the ground, I nodded but I still felt bad about my earlier outburst. Yet the uneasy feeling was still present.

"Chell, listen to me for moment," he said taking a step in to the room.

I cringed, why did he always have to insist, "Wheatley, please!"

"No, love, I need to say this," he stated firmly.

"But I don't want to hear it," I retorted.

"Regardless, I feel that I must apologise for-"

I spoke over him and he did the same to me, "Regardless, I don't wanna know!"

"-my actions and make amends with my best friend because -"

"I already told you. I don't blame you because it wasn't really you!"

"- I really do care about our friendship and I hate myself for -"

"It was the other you! Oh, Wheatley, please! Shut up!"

He stopped then with a groan but shouted loudly, "LISTEN TO ME!"

My eyes went wide and my voice caught in my throat. That was very much unlike Wheatley. I had never seen him angry before, in fact, he didn't get angry. As goosebumps riddled my arms, I found myself unable to speak and slightly scared.

He breathed in and then slowly exhaled. He began explaining, "I understand why you don't want to listen, I do, love, trust me. But that doesn't change the fact that it happened and I am the one who caused it, regardless of what you prefer to think. I would love to agree wholeheartedly and say it wasn't me but I remember everything. I remember all of the things I chose to say to you," tears welled up in my eyes again at his confessions. I tried and failed to hold back a sob as he continued, "I remember all of the things I made you do. I revelled in the fact the she was helpless in the state that I put her in and I revelled in the euphoria that came with every test you completed for me because I made you," I covered my face with my hands, unable to stop the sobs from escaping and my shoulders from shaking. I heard him enter the room and cross the floor towards me. His arms went around me and pulled me close, while I wept.

His voice was quieter now and softer as he went on, "I remember everything that I did, Chell - me - and it hurts thinking about it all the time. Wondering if you'll ever forgive me. Feeling this heartache, that was never this painful as a machine, grow bigger and bigger. I'm sorry, but I am apologising and begging for your forgiveness, Chell, I am sorry for being a monster and betraying you and trying to kill you and humiliating you and using you and hurting you."

Wheatley pulled away and got down on his knees in front of me, I was still crying as I stared down in to his pained face, "Chell, I'm sorry for everything I put you through and I beg for your forgiveness."

He stared up at me waiting and I felt something dark and angry bubbling up inside me. I glared at him and tried to suppress the rage that was boiling up but I couldn't. I lashed out, my hand connecting with his cheek with a deafening clap. The anger vanishing in the next instant and I crumbled to my knees in front of him, keeling over in sobs.

Wheatley put his arms around my shoulders trying to hold in my shaking, ignoring the red hot stinging in his cheek. He shushed and cooed in to my ears to calm me down, "I will spend the rest of my days making it up to you, love, I promise."

Gradually, the tears ceased and my breathing evened out but I didn't move and neither to Wheatley. We stayed where we had been. The far wall of my bedroom, Wheatley sat with his back against the wall and me in his lap, my cheek pressed against his chest listening to the steady beat of his human heart.

He kissed the top of my head and I breathed out gripping the fabric of his shirt.

Maybe it was a good thing to get it out in the open. Maybe I wouldn't feel so tense and cautious from now on and the same goes for Wheatley. Who knows? Maybe its better to get it off of your chest.

So...that got more real than I meant for but I'm pleased with it.

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