Work Text:
“Let's dance, my verbally challenged companion!” Cecil declared, getting up to the music which he referred to as the weather.
Chell did not argue or complain, taking his hand happily as Carlos stayed with Glados and Wheatley. Xi's bar was quiet tonight, which was good because the man was crankier than normal given the lack of sleep he'd had lately. She wouldn't mind a quick dance with the radio man.
She was quite the fan of his podcast, which he broadcasted every Friday morning. He tended to incorporate his real life into the fantasy world he and the others had created, so it was like listening to the gossip sometimes. Plus his voice was really soothing, kind of like Wheatley when he actually felt like singing. Only, she'd heard Cecil sing before. She could go her entire life without a recurrence of that experience.
Swaying to the quick beat of the music, she and Cecil twirled independently of the other dancers. Giggling to themselves, they glanced to their partners every now and again to see if their attention had turned from one another to them yet. Glados's attention had. Glados tended to be the first to wonder where it was Chell had gone, and as long as Chell was with someone she deemed safe she wasn't about to start a fight. Cecil was safe in her book, which was fortunate because as long as Chell had known the man he'd been the exact opposite of threatening toward her. That didn't mean Glados wasn't watching, however.
Unfortunately for Cecil, Carlos was still obliviously chattering away with Wheatley. Dammit, Chell thought. This was supposed to get their minds off of work, not allow them to continue discussing it after hours. Chell loved their projects, but she needed a break and so did Wheatley. From what Cecil and Lara had told her (Lara always being concerned for her family), Carlos did too. At least Glados had gotten with the program.
The music slowed and with none of their partners joining them, Cecil offered his hand and she accepted. Slow dancing with him, she listened as he whispered about his latest work and about Carlos and about just about anything that came to his mind. Xi could easily find that sort of talk annoying, but she enjoyed listening to people when they were genuinely happy. That's why some of the residents of their complex tended to bother her: they weren't genuinely happy. But Cecil was, and she could live with that.
“Perhaps I should cut in,” came a smooth voice that startled Chell and Cecil apart. Chell smiled when she saw it was Glados, Cecil nodding happily as he returned to Carlos's side. By then, Carlos and Wheatley had still been chatting but they'd been watching as well.
Glados slid into Cecil's place and held Chell close to her. Chell happily stepped in time with the music, resting her head on Glados's chest. She felt the thrum of Glados's heart and the reverberation of her purring at Chell's closeness.
Many would complain of Glados's unpleasant nature, but Chell needn't correct their misconceptions. Glados was unpleasant, but only to those not her. Chell was privileged in her ability to walk through Glados's bad moods without a single scratch. It had taken a long time of practice and much testing, but she had won this power fair and square.
Whether Glados admitted it or not, Chell knew she liked it too. She knew this in the way her hold tightened as soon as Chell hummed in response to Glados's purrs.