Another boss RP with Ace and Renegade [DNP]

[Ace of Fours]

Christine nervously finished helping out with dinner, wondering what Angie would want from her. Twisted girl could come up with something horrible. Louise didn't seem to notice the tension between her daughters.

"All right, girls, I think we're ready for the men..." she said. As if on cue Charles walked in with Wheatley in tow.

"Hey Wheats." she said, happy to see him. He did always cheer her up, even when her sister was blackmailing her. "Did dad lecture you on metaphysics or something?" she joked. Charles shot her a joking dirty look.

"No, I didn't. I tried not to bore him. You know, you really picked a smart fella here." he replied, smiling fondly at Wheatley and clapping him on the back. Clearly the power of pi was not to be underestimated, though she didn't know anything about that. Christine took a seat at the table, pulling Wheatley over to sit next to her. Angie sat on his other side, much to Christine's chagrin. Suddenly she wondered what Wheatley and her dad had been talking about. Had he spilled out any lies to cover his past yet? Damn, we should have worked something out beforehand... she thought. Luckily her family chatted about their own lives for a little while until turning their attentions back to Wheatley, giving Christine some time to prepare answers to their questions. Some things he would have to make up himself, of course.

"So, Wheatley, where is that accent of yours from?" Louise asked. She had a soft spot for an accent.

"Oh, Wheatley's from Bristol. You know, England?" Christine butted in.

"What's it like there?" Angie cut in, knowing full well she was putting him on the spot. Christine wanted to punch her for it.

[Sovereign Renegade]

Wheatley found himself in a healthy conversation with Christine's parents about their own personal lives including previous work places and work experiences. They even talked about Christine as a little child which Wheatley found as absolutely adorable to think of. But soon, the tables were turned against his favor and now he was the one having to reveal more about himself even though there wasn't a thing about him. Fortunately, Christine decided his place of origin and spoke for him. On the inside, Wheatley breathed a sigh of relief knowing that maybe Christine would do the talking for him and all he would have to respond to is requests for salt or pepper. Even that would be a bit of a task for the poor Wheatley who only two days prior had learned how to eat like a civilized human.

Right right so I'm from Bristol... I know where that is! but soon Angie's question popped his bubble of security and reassurance. Something told him that Angie was out to get him. Something was strange about her. Maybe she was planning to blackmail Christine and him but no matter what, he wouldn't blow his cover. "Oh! Bristol... Ah... What a great place, mate... Yes sir... Bristol's a great place." stalling was his only option here and it gave him a few second to think "Well... there's tons of people there! Yup! Tons and tons of living... breathing... people. Quite livid when you think about it. My mum and dad live there... They're nice people... just like Bristol. Tons of nice people... I engineered their radiation there- I MEAN... I was a Nuclear Engineer in Bristol... You know. They've got alot of radiation to engineer- I MEAN... power plants! Yeah! Those need engineers there! Tons of 'em in Bristol... Providing energy to Queen and Country..." Wheatley felt his plot was working fine and he looked over at Christine with a smile on his face feeling he just conquered Angie's questioning.

"Well how about you, Angie? How's college for you? Surely you must be doing great!" hopefully this questioning towards Angie would be in Wheatley and Christine's favor.

[Ace of Fours]

Christine was torn between bursting into laughter and face-palming, but ended up just biting her lip and staring into her mashed potatoes. She could have strangled Angela for making Wheatley more nervous than he already was but...bless him, he was so hilariously helpless sometimes. It was adorable and endearing. Christine rested her hand on his knee, trying to reassure him. She was surprised when Wheatley managed to turn the tables on Angela with a question about school. It was an astute move on his part.

"Eh? Oh, it's...going good. Yeah, definitely. I'm studying political science right now." she said vaguely. Angie was less than an overachiever, and in a family of engineering majors that wasn't the easiest thing. Christine knew about her school problems, but obviously couldn't bring it up now. Otherwise...

"Well, anyway," Christine cut in, cutting Angela a break, "You know anywhere I can find work, Dad? Pull some strings for me with your old college buddies?" she asked, steering the conversation back to her recent unemployment. At the end of dinner Louise suggested they all have a drink in the den. Christine would have denied that invitation due to their experience with booze, but that would have seemed odd to her parents. She would just have to keep Wheatley in control. Before they could move, Angie stopped her.

"Hey, Tina, can I talk to you and Wheatley for a minute?" Angela pulled the pair aside, using her nickname for Christine (which she hated) while Charles and Louise went into the den to prepare for drinks. "I'm moving in with you." she said simply.

"What?" Christine hissed.

"That's my favor. You let me move in with you and I keep robo-boy's secret from mom and dad." she poked Wheatley in the chest to accentuate her point. "Deal or no deal?" she asked, crossing her arms. Christine looked from Angie to Wheatley and sighed.

"All right. Fine. You win, Angela." she sighed. The dark-haired woman brightened.

"Great! I'll move my stuff in tomorrow morning." she chirped before heading into the den. Christine hesitated, looking up at Wheatley exasperatedly.

"Uh...I didn't have the chance to tell you, obviously, but Angie knows that you were a robot." she explained. "And she's exploiting me for it. So...I can't really say no to her. I'm sorry, Wheatley." she frowned, giving him a short kiss. "Now come on. Let's try not to get wasted again..." she smirked, taking his hand and leading him to the den.

[Sovereign Renegade]

Everything had gone simply dandy for Wheatley. Christine's parents seemed to have found a liking in the awkward Wheatley, Christine seemed to not have been too embarrassed with some of the things he had said, and of course, Angie announced to her parents that Christine was letting her move in. Well not everything had to be dandy. While Wheatley didn't find the idea of having Angie move in at all a good idea, he figured he really had no choice and would have to deal with it. Of course, nobody said she would be receiving help moving her stuff. Every few hours, her car would pull up filled with her stuff. Clothes, shoes, random nicknacks. All of which went to her new bedroom. Luckily it was well far away from Christine and Wheatley's room much to Wheatley's satisfaction.

Wheatley eventually found himself helping Angie unload the last of her things around 11:30 in the morning. Amazingly enough, she began her move at around 6:00 when she arrived with the first load of stuff while Christine and Wheatley were still fast asleep in their bed. The night prior, she had received a spare key to the home. Obviously Wheatley didn't find that to be such a good idea as his lack of sleep could be clearly attributed to Angie coming into the home making as much noise as humanly possible. "I really hope this is the last of your stuff. You've been at this since six." his British accent protested her choice to choose such a terrible hour to begin her move. Wheatley walked into the home with a laundry basket full of her clothes and simply dumped the basket in her bedroom. "There. That 'oughta do it." clearly, he was tired. All he could do now was lay on the sofa and turn the TV on to what seemed to be the news. Even though the poor soul didn't understand anything about their current topic; the economy, he simply kept on watching as if he was interested. But, he was alot more interested in the commercial breaks that would play catchy tunes.

[Ace of Fours]

When the blare of Angela's car horn broke through the early morning air, Christine and Wheatley had both jolted out of their sleep. Being the sweetheart that he was Wheatley had been the one to go help, letting Christine sleep in. At eight she was up and at em, as it were, making coffee for herself, her lover and her impromptu new roommate. She got a call while Wheatley was moving the last load: a job interview. How convenient.

"Yep, that's the last of it, m'dear." Angie said cheerfully. She followed him in and sat down next to him, stealing the remote away. "My shows are on." she said with a smirk, flipping to True Life. Christine walked into the living room, looking sharp and professional in a white blouse and black, knee length pencil skirt, her hair tied up in a neat bun.

"Hey, Wheats, I just got a call for an interview this morning. It's at one, so I need to head out...well, now." Christine said with a frown, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek. "You gonna be okay?" she asked, glancing over at Angie who was slumped down on the sofa. She shot her older sister a glare.

"Oh, come on Tina." she protested whinily. "I'll behave myself!" she pouted. Christine looked from her to Wheatley.

"Well, Wheatley? What do you say?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip. "I can bring you along if you like." she offered.

[Sovereign Renegade]

It was a bit disappointing to see Angie take the remote and changing the channel from what he was watching, even though he had no idea what it was he was watching. As far as he knew, stocks were up. He couldn't help but sigh as his favorite... well only channel was changed. Now all he saw on the TV were images of a compulsive eater who clearly had a problem. Wheatley put his feet up on the sofa realizing that this routine would be a daily thing from now on. Angie was part of their lives whether he liked it or not. Obviously he wasn't a fan of that, but then again, he really didn't have a choice.

His bright blue eyes shifted along with his body to see Christine in her professional outfit. It had been a while since Wheatley had seen her in those clothes. He became use to seeing Christine in her casual clothing for lounging around at home.

"An interview? I know what that is! So I'll be seeing you on TV? Brilliant!" Wheatley took the word "interview" in the sense of being interviewed by the news channel he watched on a regular basis. As far as he was concerned, Christine was going to make an appearance on TV and Wheatley did not want to miss a second of it.

"Nono! I'll be fine here!" Wheatley responded. "You need the upper-most concentration for your interview. I'll be here watching!" But then it hit him. He would be stuck at home with Angie. The same person who blackmailed herself into moving in with the couple. But it was for the best. Wheatley only wanted the best for Christine and he decided it would be best if he stayed behind for Christine's sake.

"I'll be here holding down the fort. Don't you worry! Wheatley got up from the sofa and gave Christine a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck!" his tone was clearly supporting for Christine.

[Ace of Fours]

It was the fact that Wheatley would be 'holding down the fort' that concerned her, but she didn't voice this aloud. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, after all. His comment about watching her puzzled her. "What? TV?" Christine said with her brow furrowing slightly. Then it occurred to her what his mistake was and she laughed lightly, wrapping her arms around him in an affectionate hug.

"No, hon, it's not that kind of interview. But I'll be happy to know you're here at home rooting for me." she added. She bypassed the kiss on the cheek for a playful peck on his lips. "See you tonight...!" she said with veiled, slightly suggestive tone, untangling herself from their hug before giving Angela a hard glare.

"Be good." she said, and with that she left the two to their own devices. Angie watched her show for a few moments before glancing over to Wheatley.

"So, Wheatley. You really used to be a robot." she remarked, arching an eyebrow with interest. "You like being a real boy now?" she inquired with a smirk.

[Sovereign Renegade]

Wheatley looked at Christine as she left the home. He had never before been away for Christine for as long as he imagined he would be. All he had was Angie and well... that didn't make anything any better. In fact, he was almost a bit reluctant of having stayed behind but if he hadn't, then who knew what Angie could have done to Christine's home. Wheatley sat in the sofa well away from Angie. He occasionally glanced back at her to make sure she wasn't doing anything Christine wouldn't approve of to her belongings.

"Well, I guess it's no use hiding it from you. Yes. I was indeed a.. robot if you will..." as soon as Angie had lost her attention to the TV, Wheatley reached over and grabbed the remote. Immediately he changed the channel to BBC where oddly enough, news weren't on the air. It appeared to be a show involving three men and a fast car which they all seemed to like very much.

"It's really nice actually. There's tons of things that need to be done now that I'm what you may call "a real boy". Like clothes. "Robots" don't wear clothes. Had to learn how to do that. Eating too. Electrical devices don't eat very much... well they don't eat at all." Wheatley seemed a tad worried by the questions Angie was making. He inched away by the second trying to pay more attention to the short individual in the very fast car.

[Ace of Fours]

Angela kept her eyes focused intently on Wheatley as he spoke. He was quite a looker...that much was for sure. She could see why Christine had wasted no time in bedding him.

Of course, this was strictly a hands-off examination. She wasn't that cruel, after all. Sure, there had been that one time back when Christine had been in high school that she'd intentionally broken up she and her boyfriend at the time. That was for the best, though, he was a p***k. Wheatley was clearly a lovely guy, so Angie knew he was off limits. She did love her sister, despite the teasing and blackmail and all that jazz.

That didn't, of course, mean she couldn't have some fun. Wheatley was still pretty oblivious to the nuances of being human. "Well, I know that Christine is proud of how well you've taken to everything." Angela said, fiddling with a strand of her hair. "You know what would impress her?" She asked. "You should rearrange the furniture for her. She's been meaning to for a while now." Angie told him with a perfect poker face. "In fact, I could help you. I mean, its not like I can move stuff around, I'm not that strong. But I could tell you where to put stuff!" She said, sounding as if she were just terribly excited about the prospect.

A few hours later, Christine was arriving home, looking a bit disappointed. The interview hadn't gone quite as well as she'd hoped. They'd said they'd call her but...they hadn't seemed too excited with her. Christine opened the front door, and stopped dead in her tracks at the state of her living room.

[Sovereign Renegade]

A satisfied look was what Wheatley had when he noticed all the work he had done for Christine. Excited to see what Christine though about his help in the living room, Wheatley gave the move loads of thought. He figured Christine would land the job without any problems and seeing the rearranged living room would only make her day that much better. Angela had gave him instructions as to where things would best fit. The only disappointing part about the new arrangement of the living room was the fact that the TV was no longer facing the right way. A feat that took Wheatley some time to accomplish considering the TV weighed quite a bit.

The sofas were on their backs and a lot of the furniture had been flipped and or placed in the most awkward of places. For instance, the coffee table was now upside down and near the front door. The arm chair had been turned on its side along with a few plants. To Wheatley though, this change seemed a tad... odd. He never figured anyone would like the new design of the living room but, he took Angela's word as she was Christine's sister, and who better to take ideas from but her own sister?

Wheatley heard the sound of an opening door and looked up. Christine had arrived and his face grew a smile that was only visible when Christine showed up.

"Christine! Look! I rearranged your living room the way you like it!" his blue eyes had a sort of innocence. Almost like a child had done something he thought was right. Oblivious to Christine's expression, he took a good look at all his "hard work".

"Sure looks good doesn't it? I did it all myself too!" unknowingly, Wheatley only sunk himself further into the hole of blame.

[Ace of Fours]

Christine brought a hand to her forehead and let her bag drop to the ground. She skirted the upended table and took in the scene.

"W-Wheatley!" she spluttered. "What...what on earth possessed you to do this?"she exclaimed, shaking her head, trying not to show how upset she was but still letting her voice raise a notch. She doubted he meant to wreck the house, of course, he was probably just trying to help out.

Christine sighed, walked over to Wheatley and wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him a hug. "I'm sorry for yelling, Wheats." she sighed, pushing her face into his chest and shaking her head slightly. "Today didn't go like I'd planned. I shouldn't have taken it out on you." she muttered, holding him a bit tighter. "I'm glad you kept yourself...busy..." she pulled away, looked around and laughed.

"I don't want you to feel bad but...this isn't quite...uh, aesthetically pleasing." Christine said haltingly, before bursting into even more hearty laughter. "Really, this is....oh, my god, how did you get the picture frames on the ceiling?!" she exclaimed, barely holding back fits of laughter.

[Sovereign Renegade]

Wheatley felt his heart sink a tiddly bit when he saw Christine's expression. All he really intended to do was help and he did agree with her... the new "look" wasn't all too aesthetically pleasing. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little bit terrible. Obviously the way Christine reacted hurt him just a bit but at the same time, he felt guilty for being convinced by Angela to do such things.

"Oh it's fine. Don't you worry about it." he put his arms around Christine to give her a reassuring hug to remind her that it was all going to be okay. He was confident that eventually, Christine would find a job that was just as good if not better than her previous job at Aperture. Maybe Aperture would even call her one day to offer her a job again. It was all possible. She was certainly valuable and skilled so surely employers would go after her.

"Ah just some you know... yeah." He gave her a reassuring smile and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead. Compared to Christine, he was a lot taller than she was making kissing her forehead remarkably easy.

"You relax okay? I'll get this straightened out. You need some rest." he gave her a reassuring smile hoping her bad day wouldn't affect her morale too bad.

[Ace of Fours]

Christine smiled slightly. "Thanks, Wheat. Just..." she sighed. "Thank you. I'm so sorry." she repeated, kissing his neck, the only bare section of skin she could reach thanks to the distance between them. "I'm gonna just...lay down, okay? You come join me whenever you want." she said, and took her leave into the bedroom.

Weeks passed, and Christine found herself working a temp job at a small scale electronics company. It wasn't what she was passionate for, not by a long shot, but it paid the bills. Angela, she discovered quickly, had been the cause of the living room debacle and many, many more along the line. Though somehow the three of them managed to start getting along swimmingly. Like a strange, dysfunctional family. Christine was happy. Though she did miss her job.

Her birthday, November Twelfth, rolled around almost before she realized it, and with it came a soft autumn chill. Wheatley's adaptation into the human world progressed nicely. She could take him into public confident that...nearly all the time he would act responsibly.

In all honesty she didn't expect anything big to be done for her birthday. So when she walked into her front door and kicked off her shoes, she was simply looking forward to a nice day watching TV with her sister and boyfriend, maybe with a slice of cake to end the day.

[Sovereign Renegade]

Weeks passed since the interview and Wheatley was glad Christine found a job. While she didn't like it, he knew she really wanted one. A double edged sword as he saw it. He soon started learning more human customs like enjoying a quiet family dinner and having family outings. While he lived with Christine; his girlfriend, and Angela; his girlfriend's sister, they were a dysfunctional family family of sorts. Over the course of those weeks, Wheatley and Christine's family started to get together more often for dinner and other things. Life was great as far as he saw. Fortunately, he knew it was only a matter of time before Christine would be offered a job she would absolutely love.

November Twelfth rolled along; Christine's birthday. Wheatley had gone through lots of effort to acquire a gift Christine would like. With the help of Angela, he started looking into fine jewelry. After some negotiation and haggling, Wheatley found the gift he felt Christine would like. A diamond necklace costing quite a bit of money. Fortunately, Wheately found a way to pay for such a gift.

For the past few days, he had thought about a way to give Christine her birthday present. Finally with the help of Angela, he thought of a way he felt was proper and would surprise her.

"Christine! I missed you quite a bunch!" Wheatley stood up from the sofa and walked over to Christine, giving her a hug and a kiss on the lips. He looked over to Angela and gave her a nod indicating he would be giving her the present.

"Now, m'dear. Before you take a seat. There's something you gotta do! First of all, close your eyes." he gave Christine a reassuring smile hoping he wasn't being obvious at all. After Christine closed her eyes, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a rectangular box containing the diamond necklace he bought for her. He pulled it out and began attaching it to her starting at the back of her neck. After a few moments of struggling with the mechanism, he completed the almost daunting task.

"Now open your eyes." Wheatley's face had a look of excitement to see what she had to say after all these days of hiding this gift from her.

[Ace of Fours]

It was a simple fact of the universe that the sound of Wheatley's voice made Christine's day improve by one thousand percent. No matter how long or tiring the day in question had been. "Mm, I missed you too, hon." she admitted, smiling into his kiss. She never got bored of that electric feeling when they kissed. It was just too perfect.

Christine arched an eyebrow at Wheatley's request, puzzled. "All right." she said with a small smile, shutting her eyes lightly and standing still. After a brief pause she felt Wheatley's hands at the nape of her neck, and she couldn't help but giggle a bit. "That tickles, Wheats." she protested, squirming a bit though she tried to stay still. Finally he was done and she felt a slight weight on the back of her neck. She opened her eyes and glanced down at the necklace hanging just below her throat.

"Oh, Wheatley!" Christine gasped, bringing a hand to the middle of her collarbone, where the pendant rested. "It's beautiful." she said, turning around and giving him a particularly long and passionate kiss, one she'd normally reserve for more private moments. Angela politely waited until Christine had broken it off before clearing her throat.

"Right that's my cue to leave." she said.

"Huh? Where are you going?" Christine asked.

"Oh, I figured I'd give you two a little privacy tonight. You've got the house to yourself." Angie said, and with that, grabbed an overnight bag off the coffee table and took her leave. Immediately Christine was refocused on Wheatley.

"...How could you even afford this?" she said, stunned.