The iPod Shuffle Challenge.
1) Pick a character/pairing/fandom you like.
2) Put your iPod 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 as the song begins, and stop when it finishes. No lingering afterwards.
4) Do ten of these, then post them.
I was quite intrigued by this challenge, and had a lot of fun doing it, so I hope you enjoy my ten song-centric drabbles. Some are slightly AU, but mostly canon.
Pairing: Adelle/Topher.
Fandom: Dollhouse.
All grammatical/spelling errors are mine. I've already corrected a lot of mistakes that were made while speedily writing this. Apologies if I missed any.
I own nothing. Mr Whedon, Fox and Mutant Enemy own the Dollhouse, I just like to play with it.
1. Please Don't Say You Love Me – Gabrielle Aplin.
He had mumbled it against her lips once. One time as they fumbled in the shadows of his server room. She had pretended not to hear him, and instead of responding, had silenced him firmly with her mouth.
Under the influence of ill-advised tequila, he declared it once more, months later, foolishly brave. She told him not to say it ever again.
She couldn't say it back. She was his boss.
The words were unsaid for another seven years – seven years of tech, insanity, and hopelessness. He had murmured it into her hair as they drifted to sleep in his Pod.
She couldn't say it back. His mind was no longer his own.
Topher Brink did not tell her he loved her again before he died.
She loved him, she just couldn't say it back any more.
2. Stupid Thing – Nickel.
He had the hots for her, he admitted it. To himself, not her. Of course.
Ever since that wacky affair with the drugs. She was all he could think about. Topher had called her up last night, just to talk, to hear her voice. She had been surprised at first, but indulged him, chatting aimlessly with him. A clink of ice created the picture of her sitting in her home, curled up on the couch, drink in hand. The awkward small talk grew into pleasant conversation until the clock pulled her away from him.
"It's three a.m.," she had remarked in surprise. "I should be getting to bed." A pause. "Goodnight, Topher."
"G'night."
He hadn't told her he'd been thinking of her.
Maybe I should call her again…
3. Everyone's At It – Lily Allen.
The room blurred around them as they spun. Adelle's cold hands gripped his as they swung around in a drunken circle. Her laugh bounced around the room.
They curled up on the little black sofa, speaking quietly, in earnest whispers. She told him about London life, he told her about his childhood as a curious boy-genius. Entertaining anecdotes, her delighted laugh in his ear kept the happy smile fixed on his face.
It wore off too soon, he thought. Their balance righted itself, the room stopped spinning, and Adelle fixed her clothing. A look of warning in his direction ensured that the day's events would go unspoken. He nodded, fetching his long-abandoned trousers from the floor.
Adelle pretended it had never happened. Boyd never acknowledged his own drug-filled experience. Dominic became more of a bullying prick than usual.
And Topher kept his head down and pretended that he didn't look at Adelle differently now.
4. 21 Guns – Green Day.
His chest tightened, his sobs suffocating him. Topher collapsed onto his bed, gasping. His vision swam and blurred, filled with blood, all he could see was blood. Oh, god. He coughed, bile pouring through his throat. Crouching on all fours, he leaned over the edge of his bed, gagging.
Adelle shivered. The horrible cold feeling in her chest was spreading through her body. Stumbling drunkenly, she suppressed another shudder as she felt her way down the dark corridor.
When she found Topher, he was on the ground, shaking, a puddle of his vomit beside him. She said nothing, just slumped to his side, pulling him up and into her arms. She didn't ask questions, he didn't volunteer any answers. The stench of whiskey, blood and vodka filled the room, mingling with the ghosts of the words from earlier. Neither moved, they merely sat together, arms laid down for once, the battle lost on both sides.
5. Who Let You Go – The Killers.
She was amazing in bed, Topher knew that. Okay, well, he imagined it. A woman that bossy? He hid a grin as her glance went to him, eyes meeting his.
"Topher, have you made any progress with the new Imprint layout?"
Hands on her hips, she stared at him. He imagined his own hands on those sharp hips, palms slowly sliding down to cup that wonderful ass –
"Uh, what?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Um, yes?"
She rolled her eyes, and sat down, crossing her legs. He swallowed. Adelle DeWitt was super-hot. Sure, she was like ten years older than him, and his boss, but he bet she'd be a total cougar. Clearing his throat, he tugged on the hem of his sweater vest to try and cover his Man Reaction.
"That will be all, Mr Brink."
6. Halo – Beyoncé.
Adelle had built walls. Spent years perfecting them, adding layers. Rossum didn't often let you work for them if you didn't have walls. So she lost family, friends, but she assured herself it was all worth it in the end.
Laurence Dominic had knocked a layer off, his constant, faithful presence had let him in so far. Three layers had pushed up following his betrayal, locking her further inside herself.
Yet, Topher Brink had a knack, however, of chipping through parts of the wall, letting in chinks of light. He himself had his own walls, not by his own making though. He was separated by his intellect, his job. He hadn't even realised until it was too late.
The first night he forgot her name, forgot his name, her wall finally fell. It crashed down around them as she fell to her knees, cradling the broken genius.
"I know what I know. I know what I know!" He had insisted as he sobbed, cheek pressed against her sharp collarbone.
After that, Adelle had never really seen fit to start building that wall back up again.
7. The President – Snow Patrol.
She was tired, so bone tired. All of the time. If she wasn't on a constant alcohol high, she would've collapsed by now. This job really was draining her soul. She had sold her soul, her family, friends and life over when she took the job with Rossum. God, she should've listened to her brother when he warned her against it. You'll end up alone, Addy. She'd ignored him, truly believing that she could do some good. But you know what they said about the Path to Hell…
Now, she was alone, she was drunk, and she was so tired! And Topher kept looking at her like she was the worst person in the world.
Maybe she was.
She had all but sold him over to Harding, burdening him with the knowledge that the bad guys had the bad tech. She had bullied him, hurt him, slapped him, made him send his friends to the Attic…
As hurt as he looked, his eyes still held that childlike glimmer of hope, waiting for her to tell him it was all a lie, a trick.
Which it was, thank god.
Until then, she was alone. And drunk. And so very very tired.
8. Little Death - +44.
"Please, darling, try to get some sleep," she begged, voice cracked and hoarse.
He shook his head furiously. "Not now. I can't! Not now. I'm so close to figuring out everything…"
Her hand smoothed his ruffled hair. "Darling, please. We can do this tomorrow, alright?"
Topher's unfocused gaze flew up to hers, eyes wide. "I have to fix this. Forgot to take care of my toys…" He trailed off, frowning.
She flinched.
"You, Topher, were chosen because you have no morals. You've had always thought of people as playthings. This is not a judgement; you always take very good care of your toys…"
Adelle cleared her throat, pulling the pencil from his hands. "Please sleep, sweetheart."
"I trusted you!"
"Well who thought that was a clever scheme?"
"You are the coldest bitch on this planet."
Her hand furiously whipped forward as she slapped him hard across the face.
Now, her hand gently cupped his cheek, a tender gesture that he leaned into. His head moved to rest on her shoulder. "I need to fix this…"
"Not tonight, darling."
He surrendered, curling up in her arms.
9. Lonely Ghosts – O+S.
The devil that you know is better than the one you don't.
It had hurt when Adelle was the apparent bad guy.
But finding out that Boyd had been pulling the strings all along had winded him, blindsided him. The hollow feeling worsened as Adelle clutched his hands in hers. She was afraid and lost too. Betrayed.
The Dollhouse. It had appealed to him as a young genius, sparkling with promise. Slowly, it had become an island, his life floating away from him. Then it echoed a prison. Now, it was a burden.
The devil that you know is better than the one you don't.
"I know what I know…"
Adelle would hold him close these days, murmuring soothingly soft reassurances in his ear. He didn't know much these days. But he knew he was the Devil, and he should've known better.
The Dollhouse became purgatory, for his sins.
We stay because we don't know where else to go.
10. Samson – Regina Spektor.
You are my sweetest downfall.
Adelle indulged Topher above all others. From the very day they met. His interview had been appalling, by most standards. He had bumbled through it awkwardly, nervously smoothing out his hideous suit.
She gave him the job. Of course.
He annoyed her staff. Hell, he irritated her too, at times. But she continued to keep him there.
He was a genius, after all.
Nobody ever made her feel guiltier than Topher Brink. That boyish wide-eyed stare of hurt always chipped away at her resolve.
I'm sorry that I betrayed you and your trust. And that I slapped you.
I'm sorry that I stole your mind, your beautiful genius.
Samson went back to bed,
Not much hair left on his head.
Ate a slice of wonder bread,
And went right back to bed.
We couldn't bring the columns down,
Yeah we couldn't destroy a single one.
And the history books forgot about us,
And the Bible didn't mention us.
Not even once.
She tucked him into his Pod, kissing his forehead gently.
You are my sweetest downfall,
I loved you first.
She stared at the sky as the blast erupted, sending the pulse waving through the air. The breath she'd been holding finally escaped.
I'm sorry that I let you down.
A/N:
1: This is an AU scenario, because yes, I ship Topher/Adelle. Set in an imagined time frame where they fooled about.
2: Post Echoes (1x07).
3: Echoes (1x07). Implied Topher/Adelle.
4: Belonging (2x04).
5: AU, pre-series, I think.
6: Pre-series all the way to Epitaph One (1x13).
7: The Attic. (2x10).
8: Set in Epitaph One (1x13) timeline, with mentions of Belonging (2x04) and Meet Jane Doe (2x7).
9: The Hollow Men (2x12) to Epitaph One (1x13).
10: Epitaph One (1x13), pre-series.
Reviews would be lovely.