Hello Dollhouse fandom! It's been a long time, hasn't it?
I'm back to give you another one of my random Topher/Bennett fics! This one isn't so random, though. It's written for the lovely I Prefer Magneto. Hope you enjoy, sweetie! This is a Season 2 AU, before 2x11.
I do not own Dollhouse.
Getting into the Spirit of Things
During the Christmas Season, the LA Dollhouse was as busy as ever. No one liked to be alone for the holidays, and that point was proven to Topher Brink when he first started working for Adelle.
By the time December twentieth came around, all of the dolls were out on engagements. What did this mean for our blonde programmer? He had to work his butt off during the beginning of the month, just so his boss wouldn't have to chew him out. She was an awful scary boss lady…
-0-
The sound of heels clacking across the flooring came closer to Topher as he busied himself with imprinting Kilo, one of the first actives to be requested for the Christmas Holiday. The blonde programmer ran a hand through his tousled hair, turning around as the sound of high heels stopped behind him. "Hey, boss lady," he answered sleepily before going back to the imprint process.
Adelle crossed her arms, the lightest of smirks on her face. It withered as quickly as it came, the brunette speaking a moment later. "How is everything going here?"
"Things are going… fine?" Topher's face scrunched up in worry. His eyes trailed over to the imprint chair, which had sat firmly planted on the ground, Kilo still very much in doll state. "What? I- I know I started the chair up."
"Is there a problem, Mr. Brink?"
Baffled, Topher began again. "Yes, something's wrong! Kilo didn't take her imprint." He lifted his hands up in the air, frustratingly waving them around as he went back to his set of computers.
Adelle's eyebrows furrowed, but the British woman kept her usual business tone. "And how long will this problem take to fix?"
Topher sighed. "At this point?" he made a few hand gestures. "I'm basically the only one around who hasn't called off for the month, so…."
"Well," Adelle's lips twisted into a proper smile. "Then I'll just have to phone for some assistance."
"Whoa, Boss Lady. Everyone is on the other side of the state by now, I dunno if they'd come back to help us," the blonde programmer began, brushing a hand through his tousled hair.
"I wasn't speaking of them, Topher," Adelle spoke, turning on her heels to walk out of the programming center.
The blonde programmer was confused. "Who are you talking about, then?"
"Your school-boy crush, apparently," the older woman began, a smile playing at her lips.
Topher watched his boss walk away, somewhat in shell shock at the answer he just got. There was only one girl he could think of that would represent that direction. "Bennett?" escaped his lips. He meant it more as a statement, but it came out as an idle question. Having Bennett there would be the best Christmas gift ever, he mused before going back to deal with his computers.
*Dollhouse*
Bennett didn't really understand the fundamental importance of Christmas. She didn't have anyone to celebrate with; what did she have to be thankful for? A dead arm and a killer vengeance? Oh yeah, there's thanks right there, the brunette spitefully thought.
The one-armed programmer was busily typing at her desk, killing time until she could go home. Holidays were a bore at her Dollhouse; every doll was checked out by the beginning of the month, and weren't back until after New Years. Everything was quiet and, if Bennett was being really honest, boring.
The brunette jumped back slightly when she heard her office phone going off to her right. She took a moment to calm herself down before she picked up the phone from its cradle. "Bennett," the programmer began quietly.
"Miss Halverson, good, I'm glad I caught you," came from the other end of the phone.
Bennett's eyes narrowed back at the cradle. Was that Adelle DeWitt from the LA Dollhouse? "Um, yes. May I help you?"
"We've ran into a problem in our lab, and Mr. Brink is rather low on personnel, due to the Holiday Season. I would appreciate if we could ask for your help," Adelle began, watching Topher have a freak out from the corner of her eye.
The younger brunette made a very unhappy facial expression, resting the phone against her good shoulder. "I see, well, I don't believe that would be the best idea at the moment."
"Miss Halverson, please, this is not a time for stories. I understand your stance with my programmer, but I also know that there is nothing keeping you busy this time of year," the older brunette smirked.
Bennett let out a heavy sigh. "Have you spoken with Mr. Lipman?"
"Indeed I have. We reached a…. negotiation."
The one-armed programmer reached for a pen and jotted down a note to herself on the notepad next to her. "I suppose I can be of some services…"
"Wonderful. I'll send a Rossum Jet over at once," Adelle paused, proud of her communication skills. "And, Miss Halverson?" Hearing silence on her end, she continued. "I'll make sure my programmer behaves himself."
Bennett breathed out, not exactly sure what to say. Luckily for her, though, she didn't have to reply. The older brunette ended the call within that moment. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Topher, but she just didn't want him bringing up their first visit. It was… childish of her to let her anger for Echo get the best of her.
The one-armed brunette rose to her feet; Who knows, maybe this visit will go better, she mused.
*Dollhouse*
Topher paced around his lab, awaiting Bennett's arrival. He tried picking up the lab the best he could; hell, he even made sure he looked presentable! This girl wasn't just any other girl; she was Bennett, and that meant a whole lot of something to the blonde programmer.
Every time he heard heels clicking closer to him, his heart skipped a beat. He would frantically turn around to see who it was, only to be disappointed when it wasn't his brunette.
By the time an hour passed, Topher just gave up. He sulked into his computer chair, propping his chin on his elbow. Maybe the jet was delayed, maybe…
"Um, Topher?" A very quiet voice echoed through the lab.
The blonde jumped up in surprise. His blue eyes widened when he saw Bennett herself standing in his lab. "Bennett?" He paused, completely flabbergasted. "I- you- Bennett!" Topher stumbled on his words as he contemplated rushing over to her. What should he do? Could he hug her?
The one-armed brunette gave him a worried look. "Hi to you, too?"
The blonde programmer grinned. "This is awesome! I can't believe you're here!" He let out a nervous chuckle at the end of his sentence.
Bennett smiled lightly, trying to be polite. "Mhm."
Topher ran a hand across his face. "Ah! I'm such a moron, you've probably had a long flight. Would you like something to drink?" He paused, worried he had said something wrong. "I can take your bag!"
"Topher, please, calm down," the brunette began, pushing her bag's strap back onto her good shoulder.
"Right," the blonde programmer chuckled. "Sorry."
"It's alright," Bennett smiled genuinely. "Though, I would like to hang my bag up, if that's okay?"
"Yeah," Topher grinned. "Follow me."
The brunette was led into the room where Topher usually slept. She looked around at the room, frowning a bit at the cluttered mess.
The blonde programmer cleaned off a chair and patted it. "Here, you can put your bag down."
Bennett nodded lightly, placing her bag on the chair. Though, something shiny quickly caught her eye. Once she picked her head up, her eyes trailed over to the tiny Christmas tree in the corner of the room. "You have a tree in here?"
"Well yeah. I used to love Christmas when I was a kid, so I thought… why not?" Topher passed the brunette a nervous look.
The one-armed programmer nodded a bit. "I see. I never really liked Christmas," she turned on her heels to walk out of the room without another word.
The blonde mouthed her words to himself, clueless. How could anyone not like Christmas? As he followed the brunette, he called after her. "How can you not like Christmas?"
Bennett made her way over to the computer, sitting down on the chair. She let out a light sigh as she looked at the monitor. "I just never really was into the Holidays. Not much…" The brunette stopped mid-sentence to change the subject. "What is the problem here?"
Topher's forehead crinkled in confusion. He met with the one-armed programmer's eyes, to which she nudged her head to the computer monitor.
"Ah, that!" The blonde began. "It um," he paused to scratch the back of his head. "It just won't take the imprints."
Bennett nodded. "And has the chair been though its monthly diagnostic run?"
"Of course it has!" Topher started, quite defensively.
"Right. I'm so sorry," the brunette responded curtly.
"No, Bennett, that was fault for being snappy," the blonde spoke, a solid frown in place.
Bennett nodded and returned her gaze to the computer monitor in front of her. "I suppose we'll just have to find some other way…"
Topher sighed, pulling a second chair up to sit beside his counterpart. What a great thing to do for a reunion, he mused.
*Dollhouse*
The one-armed programmer watched as Topher reconnected the wires to the imprint chair. The two of them had been working all day trying to figure it out; the blonde had a humongous headache, and the brunette was starving.
"Are you almost finished?" Bennett asked, a little hastily.
"Almost," Topher began in a muffled voice. He connected the last of the wires, grinning at the soft hum of the imprint chair. "Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have liftoff."
The brunette smiled and, with her good hand, she helped her counterpart get up off the floor.
The blonde grinned a child-like grin as he got to his feet. He looked down at Bennett, noticing her nervously gnawing at her lower lip. Acting on a sudden impulse, Topher pulled her in for a tight hug.
Bennett blinked back in surprise for a moment, only to hug him back a moment later.
He pulled away from the brunette, still grinning. "I'm sorry, Bennett. Do you-" Topher began in a stuttered voice. "Do you maybe want to get some dinner?"
Bennett's lips twitched into a smile. "I thought you'd never ask."
The blonde programmer swooped a hand in front of him. "After you my-" He stopped mid sentence, blushing like mad.
The brunette bit down on her lip again, keeping herself from looking up at her counterpart.
-0-
Downstairs, the two programmers were busily eating their dinners. Topher, the big charmer that he was, tried to make a fool of himself. Bennett didn't really expect anything different. What she didn't expect though, was another Christmas discussion.
-0-
"You gotta love Christmas!" Topher fought back ever-so-playfully.
Bennett sighed, placing her glass of hot tea back on the tabletop. "I do like Christmas, but I just don't feel the need of celebrating it."
The blonde was completely dumbfounded. "Don't you have family to go home to? I mean, even I go see my parents for the holidays. My older brother and I get into wrestling matches, we eat good food… it's all in the spirit of things!"
The brunette chuckled lightly. "Topher Brink, the big headed programmer, has family values? I'm shocked."
Topher let out a laugh of his own. She had a really pretty laugh, snarky or not. "Hey! I happen to like seeing my family."
Bennett picked up her fork and twirled around the last of her spaghetti noodles. "My relatives aren't from here. Not even from D.C."
The blonde programmer frowned. "So, you don't see them much for Christmas?"
"Not that often," the brunette gave a light shrug. "The last Christmas I can vividly remember having a good time… was with Caroline and her family."
Ouch. Topher winced back at the tone of his love interest's voice. "I'm sorry, Bennett," he scoffed. "Geez, I'm such an ass."
Bennett smiled lightly, finishing the noodles on her fork. "No harm done, really. You didn't know."
The blonde got up from his chair and scooped their plates into his arms. He received a confused look from the brunette, to which he added, "I'll be right back."
The one-armed programmer mumbled under her breath in confusion. "Okay?"
Topher rushed into the kitchen and handed the empty dishes over to the ladies on kitchen duty. The blonde programmer convinced himself that he would show the brunette in the other room just how he celebrated Christmas. He grinned; maybe he would even get a kiss out of it…
Once Bennett caught Topher from the corner of her eye, she had already contemplated running up to Adelle… more than once. Though, as he walked up to her, she smiled back at him in a proper manner.
"Hi, Topher," the brunette programmer said lightly.
The blonde offered a hand out to his counterpart. "Come with me?"
"That depends… where are we going?"
*Dollhouse*
Bennett stood in front of a very full Christmas tree, staring at the lights and tinsel. She and Topher had spend the last hour decorating it, making sure it looked perfect. The blonde had tried to kiss her twice in that hour, but she just concentrated on the Christmas tree.
"So, Bennett? How are we feeling about Christmas now?" he asked her from behind.
The one-armed programmer spun around to face Topher. "Well, I suppose it isn't so bad."
The blonde grinned, scuffing closer to the brunette. "I have one last resort to getting you into the Christmas spirit." He kept something hidden behind his back, and Bennett was curious as to what it was.
The brunette programmer smiled, a bit brighter than Topher had seen her smile all day. "And what's that?"
"You like me, don't you?" Topher asked, a hopeful smile in place.
The brunette felt as though the wind was knocked out of her. "I… well, yes, I do like you, Topher."
The blonde nodded excitedly. "Then I don't feel bad by doing this," he spoke, mostly to himself, before he lifted a mistletoe over their heads.
"It sucks that you've never really had a memorable Christmas," Topher continued, still quite nervous. "As long as you have me, I'll make your Christmas memorable."
Bennett stared back with wide, doe-like, eyes. No one had ever been this serious with her before. Of course, she never really paid attention to the human race to begin with, but still.
"I- I don't know what to say."
Topher leaned forward to capture his lips with hers. "You don't have to say anything," he grinned goofily against her mouth.
As the warm Christmas lights danced across the potential couple, Bennett smiled. Maybe this Christmas wouldn't be so bad after all…
-0-
In fact, the brunette was right. The Holidays were lovely for Topher and Bennett. She was able to stay with him until the New Year. This gave them time to explore their relationship, without going too fast.
Even after the one-armed programmer went back home, she and Topher still kept in contact. Their relationship remained strong, despite the distance. Whenever Bennett got the chance, she would always come back to see the blonde. Especially during the Holidays.
Happy Holidays, everyone! Hope you enjoyed your fic, Jane!