A/N: Because I had a lot of fun with this last time – and because I'm trying to work on shutting up my inner editor as I write – I've decided that I'm going to make this something of a series. Each chapter will contain ten new drabbles for a new theme, be it a character, pairing, or idea.
I'll be taking requests for these, by the way. So if you have a particular theme you'd like to see, do let me know. =)
Most of the drabbles are longer this time, as I wrote them by keyboard rather than by hand. iTunes was also a lot meaner with its song selections this time 'round . . . xD
Chosen theme: razors.
I. Night of Anguish from Les Miserables
They don't let him bring his razors to prison. It sounds ridiculous even in his mind. Why should a razor matter to him when he is about to lose everything? But he misses the warmth of his silver friend. At least it would give him the illusion that he still has something to cling to.
--
II. S.O.S. by ABBA
Nellie sits on the floor of his room. He hasn't been inside of it in ten years. But it's still his to her. She's never let anyone else move in here. Hates the idea of someone else moving about what belongs to him.
She raps on the floor boards, pries away the loose one, and frees his razor box from the floor, settling it onto her lap. Unlatching the lid, she pulls out one of the razors. It's cold in her hand. She presses it between both of her palms to warm it. A foolish action, really, considering how frozen her hands are.
--
III. Dreams by The Butterbeer Experience
She dreams in shades of gray. No. In shades of silver.
He's everywhere even when he's nowhere. Nowhere near her, at least.
Arsenic is silver too. She takes that as a sign.
--
IV. Today 4 U from RENT
The boy watches him from the corner where he sits on top of his trunk. Already, Benjamin's forgotten his name. Just another poor Irish boy, eyes wide and gleaming as the razors shine in his eyes.
"Would you like to try?" Benjamin offers.
The boy's mouth drops. Hesitates.
"It's alright. Go on, take it."
The boy accepts the proffered razor. Holds it in his hand with reverence. Doesn't even want to polish it, or practice shaving away stubble he doesn't yet possess. Just holds it.
"Thank you," he whispers to the barber.
"Do you mind?" the half-shaven customer asks.
Benjamin apologizes and takes the razor away from the boy.
--
V. Gaston [reprise] from Beauty and the Beast
Toby knows that Mr. Todd is a monster, whatever Mrs. Lovett might say. He sees him with those razors, sees how comfortable the barber is with blades between his fingers. How natural it is for him to wield a weapon.
Only monsters are that comfortable with death in the palm of their hand.
--
VI. It's My Life by No Doubt
It's been fifteen years since she's seen him. Fifteen long, torturous years. Fifteen years of longing, of hoping, of needing.
And here he is. Home again.
Her love for him is so deep. So immeasurable. How she wishes that she could tell him how much she cares.
He's beautiful, so beautiful, even after all these years, even with that dark pain of countless unknowable anguishes burning in his gaze. She hopes one day he will share them all with her.
He lifts her from the box – her – not one of the other razors that he usually favors, but her – and she knows that at last, he has taken notice. That at last he loves her just as much as she loves him.
--
VII. Antissa by E.S. Posthumus
Water reflects light just as a blade does, he observes as he clings to his makeshift raft, trying to convince himself that he is not alarmed by his current predicament, trying to soothe his jumping nerves with calming thoughts. His blades. He misses them.
He's turning blue and numb and God he is cold, and he wishes that he'd thought this out better. Escape is such a beautiful concept, such an intangible thought and hope and dream, that though he had meticulously planned how to escape, he had not pondered any farther than that. Had not planned how he would actually make his way home.
When he sees a ship approaching, he at first assumes he's delusional. Or maybe dead.
By some miracle, he's not.
His teeth are chattering so badly when they pull him on deck that he can barely stammer out his "thank you." The boy tells him to hush and wraps him in a blanket. The blanket is gray. He hopes this isn't the closest to silver he'll ever see again. That he'll survive this journey.
--
VIII. The Weasley Way by The Butterbeer Experience
"Johanna!" Lucy shrieks.
"What?" Benjamin cries, whirling around. "What's wrong?"
Lucy holds a sobbing Johanna in her arms. "She was reaching for your razors, Benjamin. I told you not to leave the case open!"
Benjamin smiles. "She isn't going to hurt anyone, Lucy. She just wants to be like her father."
--
IX. Hear Me by Kelly Clarkson
Sometimes she sleeps with the razor box beneath her pillow. It's the closest she'll ever get to hearing his heart beat in her ear.
Nellie knows that he isn't dead. Knows that one day he'll come back to London. He promised her, after all. Well, he promised Lucy – but Lucy isn't here anymore, and Nellie Lovett is, so she's taken the promise for her own. She's the only one who believes it, after all. Lucy doesn't deserve the beautiful barber if she can't even bring herself to continue living for him.
It's not particularly comfortable, resting one's head against a wooden box.
She sleeps more soundly than she has in years.
--
X. Can't Help Falling In Love With You by Katharine McPhee
"I'm sorry. I had to. One look, and I just knew."
"Benjamin," says Lucy with waning patience, "however much you might love them, we can't afford these razors."
"I know. Don't worry. I'll manage."
He and the blades are meant to be together. He just knows. And no amount of money can tear them apart.