A/N: Hey all. Griffin-queen here with a short little GLaDOS/Wheatley story that I've had lying around for a while. I decided to clean it up and post it due to the fact that I had nothing else to do tonight. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

It was a late night in the Aperture science lab, and from somewhere deep within the cavernous faciliy, an ominous noise echoed, but neither of the two most functional AI in the facility were around to hear it….

GLaDOS and Wheatley sat in the main chamber, with Wheatley trying to explain to his sardonic superior why an entire sector of the facility needed to be extinguished…

" Okay, do you understand it now? 'cuz I've gone over it three times already. Atlas was tryin' to climb on some….somethin' or other. I dunno what it was. And I was tryin' to stop him, but I couldn't find a way to do so. So I was lookin' and lookin', and suddenly there I saw a button. But! Couldn't reach the button, seein' as how I'm stuck here on me management rail. So I told P-body to grab a cube and toss it up at the button….aaaand the cube he threw clogged some kind of gear-y lookin' things…and there you have it. Fire everywhere until you came to the rescue."

" I understood it the first time you said it. I'm just having an immense amount of trouble understanding how you could all possibly be that stupid… Not even your three brains combined equal one."

" Hey now. Tha's not exactly fair, is it? At least I tried to stop him."

" Yes, but I'm convinced that if you simply told him to stop, he would have."

" Oh… well."

" Just forget it, okay? I have a lot of work to do cleaning up your mess." He heard the slightest bit of fatigue in her voice as she spoke… that was highly unlike her.

" D-d'you need any help? Anything at all?"

" Hmm… do me a favor, won't you?… DON'T help me." She turned away from him and began changing the pictures on her monitors, each one of them displaying a different part of the charred sector. He heard her sigh quietly, and for a moment he felt the slightest bit… well, awful really. He felt awful, and wished that there was something he could do to aid her, without creating a bigger disaster in the process.

" I'll um… I'll just be going then shall I?"

" Please."

" Right away, ma'am." She turned her head back the slightest bit. Ma'am? He really didn't have to be so stiflingly formal with her… GLaDOS hated formalities, as she saw them as a terrible waste of time… and she loathed wasting time.

Wheatley began to move out of her chamber, but something assaulted his optic before he could. It was something black…and it was making an awful fluttering sound. He flew backwards a few feet, only to be greeted with an angry crow pecking at his optic.

" AH! AH! BIRD! BIRD! GET IT OFF ME!" He yelped, spinning around in circles on his rail. " GO AWAY GO AWAY GO AWAY!"

GLaDOS finally turned around to see the source of his yelling, and her optic widened at the site.

" How did it get in here?"

" I dunno! But it's in here now and it's PECKING AT MY FACE!"

" Well get it out! Lock it out of here or kill it or something!" She was trying to maintain her composure, but really she was starting to get antsy… There was only one person who knew how much she hated birds…and that person was probably a hundred miles away from here by now.

" GO away bird! GO! Go see GLaDOS or somethin'! Yeah that's right, go see her! She'll give ya what for!" Wheatley moved over to GLaDOS, who recoiled backwards immediately. But, as if it had understood his words, the bird ceased torturing Wheatley, and instead made a beeline for GLaDOS. However, instead of assaulting her, it merely perched on the curve of her body, tilting its head curiously every so often. Wheatley leaned in for a closer look.

" Well, would you look at that…. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he likes you."

" Yes, well, the better to capture it and get it out of here then." GLaDOS began moving her robotic arm up slowly to catch the bird, but all of a sudden the bird pecked at one of the wires running along her body, sending out a few sparks. GLaDOS let out a horrible shriek.

" This miserable pest needs to die or leave this chamber right now before I REALLY lose my temper!" She growled, twitching uncomfortably at the stinging pain that shot through her.

" Well why didn't you tell me you hated birds too? How was I supposed to know that?"

" GET IT OFF OF ME!"

" I can't do anything love! I haven't got any arms!"

If someone were to walk in on the pair this moment, they would probably assume that the two terrified robots were insane and should be shut down. GLaDOS was still throwing herself about, and Wheatley could do little else but shift about on his rail watching the situation.

" Get off of me you little hell-beast!" She bellowed, finally she was able to drop one of her robotic claws down from the ceiling and attempt to grab the bird. She made many strikes at the bird, but even her precise claw strikes were too slow. The bird was far too evasive to be grabbed. She continued to attempt to grab it, however, and Wheatley cheered her on from his rail.

" Ooh you almost got 'im love! To th' left… no… no no right, RIGHT!"

" Shut up and let me concentrate!" She turned herself around to strike again, only to see the bird cease his assault and fly swiftly out of the chamber.

After the bird flew out, GLaDOS slammed the door abruptly behind it. Wheatley's optic was narrowed to a tiny pindot, and he was quivering slightly. GLaDOS' optic was as wide as it could go, and she was frozen in place. After a moment, the two finally glanced at each other. Wheatley was the first to come out of his trance, and he started to chuckle at the sight of her. The chuckles soon turned into laughs, and after a moment the little metal core was rolling in laughter.

GLaDOS too, was amused by the site of him quivering on his rail. In spite of herself, she too started to chuckle, soon joining Wheatley in laughter at the expense of themselves.

Wheatley took a moment to realize that GLaDOS was laughing with him. It was a beautiful, airy sound that rang through his ears like music…

" That was somethin' wasn't it? Us freakin' out like crazies over a little bird, right?"

" I have to say, that was quite an experience… but let me just make one thing clear…"

" What's that, love?"

" if you ever bring a bird near me again, I WILL kill you." Her familiar, sarcastic tone had returned.

" Right-o, love. Won't happen again." He sighed. " I guess now I can finally leave you to your work." there was a pause… and something stirred within GLaDOS, something odd and unfamiliar.

" You know… For what it's worth, for all of the times I just couldn't stand you, for all of the time I've spent thinking how much I hate you… Life just wouldn't be the same without you around."

" Aww come on now, love. You don't mean that." His optic flared bashfully.

" I do mean it… I wouldn't have said it if I didn't."

" R-really? I thought you couldn't care less if I get smashed, or burned, or something equally as horrible an' terrifying."

" Well… Maybe you're not such bad company… Even though your stupidity can sometimes baffle me… Talking with you is far better than being here by myself."

" Well, y' know if you ever get lonely… like any time at all… You can call for me, right? I'll stop whatever it is I'm doing at the time, and I'll come an' see you." Something new stirred within GLaDOS, something she didn't have time to think about and stop. She stretched herself out to reach the tiny metal core, and pressed a part of her head against his. She heard him gasp at first, but he soon relaxed against her.

" I do appreciate it… even if it doesn't always seem like it."

" S-so does this mean we're friends now? Good ol' friends? Chums? Bosom Buddies?" He saw her optic narrow.

" You're pushing it…"