Moments
The iPod Shuffle Challenge
1) Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like. 2) Turn on your music player and put it on shuffle. 3) Write a ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!
Summary: Six drabbles written for the iPod Shuffle Challenge. Mikita and Thalex, onesided Owkita. Spoilers through season One.
1) I Just Wanna Run - The Downtown Fiction
Running against the wind is her favorite part. With her hair pinned tightly against her scalp, she can grin against the autumn sunlight unobstructed. Sweat of exertion drips from her brow to the back of her neck, cooling in the breeze and sending shivers down her spine.
"Slowpoke!" Nikita shouts, laughing and smiling as Michael grits his teeth and struggles to keep pace.
The whisper of their feet kicking up sand is rhythmic and comforting, like Michael's heartbeat at night or the metal ping of shell casings hitting the floor. These are the things that keep her grounded.
"You know," he grumbles between gasps, "There was a time you couldn't dream to beat my speed!"
Nikita sinks her tennis shoes into the sand, grabbing Michael's hand so his momentum doesn't carry him too far. "I learned from the best," she says in a teasing voice, lacing her sweaty fingers between his, "Look."
The bleeding sunset turns the clouds silver as it sinks into the ocean, like something from a dream. "I guess it's nice," Michael says, combing his hair away from his forehead with his free hand in feigned nonchalance. But Nikita recognizes that poorly concealed smile.
"Uh-huh," she chuckles, goosing him hard on the rump before taking off again in record speed.
"Damn it, Nikita!" Michael growls through a smile, not hesitating in his pursuit to exact revenge.
Run, Nikita, Run.
2) Helena Beat - Foster the People
Her eyes open slowly, and she only needs to turn her head a fraction of an inch to know that the space beside her is empty. Slices of sunlight refract off the baby blue bed sheets, and Nikita sighs.
"Over here," she hears, and raises herself with an elbow to give a sleepy grin to the man in the doorway.
In his hands is a tray adorned with a vase of pink carnations and the classic breakfast in bed. "Aww, Michael," she coos, sleepiness suddenly replaced with adoration, "That for me? It smells wonderful."
He pads into the room on bare feet, sweatpants hanging deliciously low on his hips. With a quirk of the lips that means he's about to say something he thinks is funny, he takes a slow bite of an orange wedge. "Mmm, nuh-uh. This is mine."
"Oh, is that so?" she asks as he slides into bed beside her. She throws her arms over her head in an exaggerated stretch, her lace-trimmed camisole riding up to expose the smooth skin of her abdomen. She notices her companion's appraisal of the curve of her hip as she gracefully slips from the bed. "That's a shame. I'm so hungry. I guess I'll just have to-"
"Nope." Michael grabs her across the waist and kisses her hard, the taste of citrus still fresh on his tongue.
3) Times - Tenth Avenue North (takes place sometime in 2x10, after Amanda has tortured Birkhoff and smashed his hand)
"He just needs some space," she shrugs, sucking in her bottom lip to hide its trembling, "He's been through a lot."
"Right," Owen replies. Nikita hears him turn on the faucet to rinse off the dishes, but she knows they're already clean. Silence follows onetwothree. "Listen, I barely know the guy, but I've got a feeling it's gonna be alright. None of what happened was your fault, you know that right?"
Onetwothree. "Of course. I know that."
She stands fluidly and begins to gather the files scattered across the table so she can just escape already. Crawling into the bed Owen has been kind enough to lend to her sounds like a pleasant respite after the week she's had.
"Nikita," Owen says firmly.
She sets the documents down and stares at her companion with a level gaze, gulping down whatever guilty tears might spring to the surface.
"What happened to Birkhoff wasn't your fault," he insists, walking around the counter to press a comforting hand to her shoulder. "I know it's not my place to say, but he could probably use your help right now."
One stray tear escapes, too quick to hide. "Tired of me already?" she asks it like a joke, but there's enough worry behind it to drain the humor from the question.
He gives her that cheeky little smile to lift the mood and says, "Of course not. I was kinda even thinking of tagging along this time. The thought of you in a nurse outfit? Damn."
Nikita can't help but snort, the shame hiding back where it belongs. "I'll send a message to Birkhoff tonight and we can rendezvous at the new digs tomorrow," she decides, confident aura sliding carefully into place. Then after a moments hesitation, she covers his hand on her shoulder with her own, "Thanks, Owen."
"Anytime," he says.
4) Misery Loves Company - Emilie Autumn
She came in here barely more than a wraith, just enough meat on her bones to keep the other recruits from ripping her apart, armed with nothing but a fork and a bad attitude.
Now, only a month into training, Alex feels like she can take on the world.
The only thing that really keeps her from going stir-crazy between missions is sparring, and lately she can't seem to quit picking fights with Thom. It's not so much that she feels his gaze offensive, it's more the fact that she knows he wants to rip her clothes off and ravish what's underneath, and neither of them can do anything about it.
"What are you waiting for?" he taunts, taped arms raised before him, ready to counter any strike she makes.
Alex just smirks, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet, dancing circles around him in search of a gap in his defenses. "For you to get tired of waiting," she says. He blinks, and she risks a jab at his barely exposed flank. He bats her hand away easily with his forearm, grabbing her wrist with his opposite hand and twisting it behind her back. Within seconds, he has her pinned against the mat.
"You're so impatient, Alex," he says quietly, not a criticism, just observation of her character. She breathes harshly into the foam of the mat until he releases her, heart pounding in her chest.
5) Belispeak - Purity Ring
"You're gonna see me," he said.
That line is what keeps Alex up at night, pacing about her new apartment, sipping chamomile tea with rattling hands.
She's gotten used to feeling the music from Nathan's room across the hall in her floorboards, pulsing beneath her feet with every step. When it stops late at night, sometimes it takes everything she has not to climb out onto the fire escape and scream her lungs out.
She can't take the silence.
For the first few nights she felt strangely exposed without the stiff, white confines of her recruit's quarters, and filled the bathtub with pillows so she could curl up and finally get some rest. But then the dreams came, and she soon found herself crying with Thom's blood running down her arms and staining her lips red.
She hasn't slept properly in weeks. It's only a matter of time before Division finds out her lies and cancels her the same way she killed Thom, a bullet planted firmly in her chest.
6) Hummingbirds - Venus Hum
Her heels hit the sidewalk, clack clack clack, and she smiles coquettishly for the bouncer at the nightclub entrance. He lets her pass with an approving nod, and she flicks her fingers through the ends of her hair and over her shoulder, letting the silky strands catch the flashing light.
Nikita knows all eyes are on her as she steps gracefully up to the bar, seating herself with poise on one of the stools. She sets her glistening vermillion clutch on the counter, camera in the clasp aimed carefully at the empty seat beside her. It won't be long now. She can already feel the target's gaze sweeping down her long, tanned legs.
"Buy you a drink, chérie?" he says, appearing from the dark as if on cue. She knows Birkoff is already typing away at his computer, camera in her clutch scanning the barcode on the I.D. card hanging from the target's neck.
"Hmm, what are we having?" she asks, a coy glance from beneath her lashes garnishing the man's full attention. The angle of his body is just right for getting a good read on the card.
"Kir Imperials for the both of us," he says to the bartender, black eyes never leaving her face. They twinkle charmingly in the strobe lights, and Nikita can't help but roll her eyes internally at the unfortunate correlation between handsome rich men and terrorism.
"That sounds wonderful," she purrs, and Birkoff's voice in her ear tells her that the scan is complete, and all they need is a fingerprint.
The target leans in, close enough for Nikita to smell his aftershave. "What is your name?" he asks, French accent curious and lilting.
She opens the clasp of her purse, pulling out a tube of lipstick with gloved fingers. "Nikita," she replies silkily, and traces the matte gloss across her mouth with precise and tantalizing movements, his eyes following her every move.
"La femme Nikita. What a lovely name," he hums, and the bartender sets their drinks before them. The target's hand immediately resting along the glass' cool edge. "Je m'appelle Alaine."
"Pleasure to meet you, Alaine," she replies with her most alluring smile and recaps the lipstick. Suddenly, it slips from her fingers, clattering on the floor and rolling some inches away.
"Non," he says, and just as she predicts, leans down to retrieve the fallen object. She catches Michael's gaze across the room, and then Alaine is presenting the lipstick back to her as if a sparkling emerald, fingerprints transferred flawlessly, "The pleasure is all mine."
7) All Around Me - Flyleaf
As soon as the safe house door was open, she had him pinned against the wall, lust in her eyes.
"God, you have no idea how much self-control it took not to throw you against the bar and take you there," she panted, drawing him in for a fevered kiss. Michael eagerly sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, biting it playfully.
"Is it the leather? I can wear leather more often," he replied, cupping his hand around the back of her neck to pull her in for a deeper kiss.
Nikita's hand slid aggressively down his back to grab his rump. "Oh, I definitely like the leather," she purred, hitching her leg over his hip to press closer to the hardened lines of his body, heat culminating between them.
"Jesus, you guys. Could you turn off the coms before going at it like bunny rabbits? Some of us back at ops prefer not to be scarred for life," Birkhoff's voice blared through the earpieces.
Michael and Nikita locked eyes, smiling at each other through their impassioned haze.
"You're just jealous, Nerd, 'cause you're not getting any tonight," Nikita laughed, turning off her com and throwing it to the side so she could properly enjoy her fiancé's touch.
A/N: There will be two more chapters after this one, each its own slightly longer drabble. Stay tuned if you're interested! I'll post the next one soon.
-MT