Adelle had seen a lot in her line of work but this was one of those moments that would stick with her for life. Standing before her was Topher, Boyd and Dominic. The latter two of which didn't look pleased with the situation, unlike Topher who was practically bouncing on the heels of his feet like a giddy school boy. So not much change there, she mused to herself.
Taking the small box from her desk she turned it over in her hands, flipping it over and reading the inscription aloud. "Independence Day?" Curling her lip, she raised her eyes to Topher, placing the box back down.
"It'll be fun, we can get all the actives involved, Glum and Glummer behind me certainly could use the time out." He added as he indicated Boyd and Dominic, respectively, to which Dominic exhaled heavily, shaking his head and muttering something incoherently. "A movie night, we could make it a regular thing!" Spreading his hands wide as if presenting a primetime show, he cocked his head, a toothy grin on his face.
Boyd looked somewhat perplexed by the idea, as if it were ludicrous, whereas Dominic seemed oddly eager as he waited for Adelle to shoot Topher's idea down and bite his head off. Any minute now.
But she didn't look angry or disgusted or even surprised. In fact she looked… amused? Oh she could not be serious, Dominic thought, his eyes widening as she smiled.
"Why not?"
*
"Miss Dewitt, do I really have to do this? I could be doing much more important things like writing up my security report. Hell I'd prefer to watch the dolls paint a picture." Dominic was almost pleading with Adelle as he followed her out of the elevator.
"My minds made up, so you'd better get used to it, or I might start considering giving Topher that intercom he's always wanted." Striding down the stairs towards the crowd assembled by a large set of chairs and a projector, Adelle flashed Dominic a quick smile as she seated herself on the front row.
Dominic's eyes immediately locked onto Topher, rage surging through him, as he brought a hand up to his neck, motioning across it quickly and mouthing, you're dead.
*
As the lights dimmed, Topher folded his arms tightly around the large bucket of popcorn in front of him, turning to November and Saunders in turn each offering them some. As November grabbed one piece of popcorn, turning it over curiously in her hand, Topher glanced over at Dominic sat in the back corner, his arms folded with a permanent scowl planted on his face. Proud with how well this had turned out, Topher turned around as he heard the projector flick on, a sudden murmuring washing over the crowd, followed by a series of shh's.
As the movie started up, Echo sat up in her chair, along with all of the other dolls around the group, each of them looking slightly confused but nonetheless complacent. Boyd's attention was fixed on Echo as she cocked her head to the side, her lips parting slightly, a light chuckle escaping his lips.
Dominic didn't usually enjoy admitting defeat, especially to Topher but he couldn't escape it this time. He figured he might as well as enjoy it rather than wallow in self pity. Settling back into his chair, his eyes narrowed as one the dolls sat up fully in front of him. Placing his hands on the dolls shoulder he pulled him down a little too roughly, but it wasn't like he cared. Quickly realising he had the worst seat in the house; Dominic instead opted to get a quick nap as he closed his eyes.
*
Over the past hour or so Claire Saunders eyes had been switching between the film and Topher's bucket of popcorn which was getting empty fast, thanks to November who seemed almost addicted to the stuff. Not that Topher himself had noticed, he was far too engrossed in the movie. Every now and then, her eyes would scan over the crowd behind her, watching the other actives expressions. Despite the terrible movie, this night was actually turning out to be very good for her own scientific reasons. The reactions of the actives seemed to vary greatly, from some, like Victor, being completely engrossed in the film, Sierra looked more interested in the projector and the odd couple, like Echo already asleep.
Barely ten minutes after the film had started; Echo had fallen onto Boyd's shoulder, her eyes shut, snoring peacefully. Not wanting to make a scene, Boyd had let her stay there, placing his arm around her shoulder. Smiling lightly, he barely even noticed the movie flashing by, already an hour or so into it.
For the first time in months, Adelle felt as if all was right in the Dollhouse. She didn't admit it or even show it all that often, but any chance for something like this, she's jump at. A few years ago she might have even come up with this idea herself, but years of stress and secrecy had changed her. It would be a long time before she let Topher or anyone else do something like this, but it was amazing to let her hair down this one last time.
*
The end of the film was fast approaching; those still awake showing a collective appreciation for Will Smith's heroism in the face of Aliens with little motivation. Reaching for the last handful of popcorn, Topher's eyes widened as his hand bumped into November's. As the two looked up into each other's eyes, they both grabbed wildly at the last handful, driven by a wild need for its buttery goodness. Both of their hands clasped around each other's crushing the popcorn into a fine dust, Topher's lips parting as he sighed. "Now look what you did, this is the last time I take you out anyway."
Stirring from his slumber as a commotion broke out on the front row, Dominic opened an eye, watching as November and Topher seemed to be participating in some sort of arm wrestling contest. Now there's a group activity I could get into.
Boyd looked down at his watch, yawning as he did, tapping Echo lightly on the shoulder. "Echo it's over now."
At the sound of her handler's voice, Echo's eyes fluttered open. Pulling her head away from Boyd's shoulder she glanced up at him, speaking softly. "Did I fall asleep?"
****
Okay I'll admit I was in a slightly silly mood when I wrote this, so don't expect a serious or totally canon Dollhouse story here.