Her Sister's Hostage

Author's Note: This is based on Andrew hearing Xander's conversation with Dawn in Potential (y'know, the "Xander really is the heart of the Scoobies" speech?) but it is set post Storyteller.

Dawn was starting to understand what people meant when they said that sometimes the loneliest place to be was in a crowd. Surrounded by her make shift family and God knows how many Potentials, Dawn should have felt far from lonely. Instead, she felt lost, drowned in a sea of other people. She felt her life had been taken over, her room, her house, her things, she felt all had been violated. She hated that she had to just get on with things and no one seemed to care or even notice that she had taken over most of the research, without which, they wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

In short, Dawn felt lonely. She had become so sick of being left out and under appreciated that she sought out the company of the one person who didn't fall under the category of "Sort-Of Family" or "Life-Stealing Potential."

He was in a category all of his own, "My Sister's Hostage."

Yep, somewhere along the line, Dawn had come to appreciate Andrew. She had even begun to enjoy his company, even his nerdish qualities. She grew to see him as a friend, not a hostage.

She thought it changed when she had thought she was a Potential. After Xander spoke to her, told her she was extraordinary, Andrew had entered the room. After one too many long looks and half-started sentences, he had finally blurted:

"Xander's right, y'know. You are extraordinary."

From that day on, she began to see him.

Really see him.

"They'll never know how tough it is, Dawnie, to be the one who isn't chosen. To live so near to the spotlight and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realises because nobody's watching me. I saw you last night. I see you working here today. You're not special. You're extraordinary."

Andrew remembered that bit of Xander's speech and wondered why he couldn't say something so nice. He had never been able to find words like that. He had resigned himself to watching, like Xander.

So, Xander wasn't the only one who saw, Andrew saw. He watched and listened. He watched Dawn more than anyone else, as she seemed the only one his presence didn't seem to annoy. She talked to him, gracing him with jokes and smiles until he thought maybe he was part of something, maybe he had a friend. He had noticed the hurt in her eyes when Buffy sent her off to do homework while the Potentials trained. She turned to books and research in an effort to prove herself worthy of a place on the team and in turn, she let Andrew help her.

He enjoyed her company. She was the first girl he had actually noticed. For a time, he had thought he was gay. Sure, he had a thing for Rogue in X-Men, but Warren… He had thought he loved him. Dumb Hero-worship, he thought, couldn't even find a real Hero.

He had learnt there was more than one type of Hero. Warren definitely hadn't been one. But Buffy was a Hero, the storybook kind. Xander, in his own way, was a Hero. Willow, with her witchy powers was a Hero.

And, he had decided, Dawn was a Hero too. Simply because no one could do so much for so little praise and not be a Hero.

She wasn't exactly sure when Andrew stopped being a research buddy. She knew that since the night he told her he agreed with Xander, she had started noticing the little things about him, but it was sometime after that, that he became more to her. Dawn noticed things. Little things, like the way she would find herself watching him. The way in her spare moments, she would try to name the shade of his eyes. How she would wonder if his hair was naturally spikey, or if he gelled it that way, and if he did, how come she had never noticed him doing that. She wondered what made her so intrigued by him. He had no real allure, not really. So she wasn't sure why he became the object of her daydreams. It didn't matter how many times she told herself: Hey, this is Andrew! Andrew! He's not the guy to have a crush on! She still found herself thinking about him and worrying about him after he closed that seal.

He had grabbed her hand once, a couple of days ago, in his excitement when he thought he had found a reference to the First. For some reason, it had made her stomach clench, her heart flutter and her mouth go inexplicably dry.

It wasn't like when Xander would hug her back when she crushed on him and it wasn't like Spike taking her hand when she thought he was the coolest thing ever. It was more complicated, simpler, comforting and scary. Yet, she couldn't think why she had these… feelings for Andrew of all people. She couldn't name what it was she liked about him or why it didn't matter if no one noticed her so long as he did.

She had tried to name the feeling. The feeling that made her excited when she left school - when she had still been going to school that is - because she would see him when she got home.

She came up with one word.

It had made her lock herself in the bathroom for ten minutes, before Vi insisted she needed to use the toilet.

Andrew had discovered that at 3 O'clock in the morning, the kitchen was normally empty. So it was for this time he waited to go and think. He was slumped over the counter, munching the crumbs out of an empty packet of cookies the Potentials had demolished.

She had smiled at him earlier and nudged his arm when he teased because she knew exactly one fact about Dungeons and Dragons.

"That makes you a nerd," he had said. It had sounded a whole lot cooler in his head.

"And yet the only nerd I see here is you," she had retorted, the edge taken off her words by her grin. That was cool.

He had been going for James Bond, yet he had somehow ended up as… Well, plain old Andrew. He had tried thinking about what he was going to say before answering her, but that only resulted in her asking him if she'd upset him. When he had answered that she hadn't done anything, he was left with the distinct impression that she thought he was an idiot.

"This girl-boy stuff is hard," he muttered.

He was pretty new to this, before it had been all bowing and scraping, but he didn't think Dawn went in for that kinda thing. He thought she must have had loads of experience in these matters, her being so nice and funny and… Beautiful, he added mentally, so she wouldn't want you. She needs a Hero, not a loser.

"Hey."

He jumped and let out a strangled cry. He heard a familiar stifled giggle and turned to glare at Dawn.

"It's not funny," he said. "People can die if you sneak up on them like that."

"That wasn't sneaking," she protested in a low voice. "That was stealth."

She settled across from him and went to take a cookie, when her fingers found nothing but crumbs; she raised an accusatory eyebrow at Andrew.

"Not me!" he insisted. "It was one of the Potentials. The one with brown hair… Which, pretty much all of them have. I kinda gave up on learning their names," he admitted sheepishly.

"Guess I should be grateful you know mine then, huh?" Dawn replied, one arm stretched into the back of the cupboard. She withdrew a fresh packet of cookies with a smirk. "I hid them there. A girl's gotta have some fun."

"I know what you mean," he nodded, hesitating slightly before taking the offered cookie. Their fingers brushed and he gulped, suddenly remembering his previous words. "Not that I'm a girl, I just know what you mean about needing fun."

Dawn nodded, seemingly used to babblers. He supposed growing up around Willow and Xander would do that to a person.

"So are you ok?" she asked finally.

"Huh? What?" he glanced at her and offered her a weak smile.

"You all right, after the whole Seal-closing thing?"

"Good. I'm good. How about you?"

"If you mean, how am I doing, I'm good too. Buffy's stopped me going to school the past couple of weeks and that's ok, I guess, what with the End of Days coming. But, I'm going nuts here. Everyone's got something to do. Xander mends the windows; Anya's filling the sarcasm quota. I don't know where I fit in."

"You're research queen," Andrew pointed out. "It's me who hasn't got anywhere to fit in."

"Yeah you have," Dawn insisted. "You're the person I talk to."

Andrew opened his mouth to answer, but snapped it shut again. Dawn leaned on the counter and watched him. He picked a chocolate chip out of his cookie and ate it, seemingly lost in thought.

"You think we're going to die?" he asked suddenly in a low voice.

"I dunno," she answered honestly. "Even if we win, someone might die. Might be me."

"Might be me."

"You shouldn't be so negative," Dawn scolded.

"You said it first."

"Yeah, but I've been watching all this for seven years. I know, I guess I've sorta accepted that in real life, people die."

"The bad guys, you mean."

"No, Andrew. Good guys die too and sometimes the bad guys win."

"Dawn, are you trying to make me feel better? 'Cause it isn't really working."

"Oh, right," Dawn was silent for a moment. "Y'know, I'm pretty scared."

"Me too," he answered, surprised that she was scared. She hadn't seemed scared before.

"But the dumb thing is, I'm not scared about the battle. I know there's gonna be one and it's gonna be big. But what scares me is that I might never graduate, or go steady, or go to college, or get a job, or tell this guy I like him."

"You like a guy?" Andrew asked, ignoring the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Yeah," she shrugged. "But he doesn't like me."

"Oh. He doesn't?" Andrew couldn't quite believe that. "That's pretty dumb."

"It is?" she asked, her eyes lighting up and her smile widening.

"Well yeah," Andrew nodded, and continued in a self-concious mumble that was directed more to himself than at her. "You're nice and kind. Funny and pretty and I like you."

"You do?" her voice was eager and her hand darted out to take his. "You think I'm… pretty?"

"Yeah, but when I say pretty, I don't mean that I've been thinking about you like that. Not that you're not worth it. But I just don't 'cause -"

"That's ok," she patted his hand and stood up to leave the room.

She paused in the doorway.

"Andrew? Do you think I should tell that guy I like him?"

"Yeah, if that's what you want."

"Ok," she sat back down again. "I have these feelings. I've had crushes before, y'know. On Xander and Spike. But this… I don't know, maybe it's the impending doom, but it's different. I think I could be in love. Which is one of the things I was scared I wouldn't get to do 'cause of this whole thing. So I guess I should tell him. I mean, if he doesn't feel the same, it won't matter if the world ends."

"So, you should go do that."

She hesitated before standing up and leaning in the doorway, figuring it would be easier with distance. She remembered the last time she used the word "Love" in the same sentence as "Andrew." But this time, she didn't want to run to the bathroom.

"Ok," she lowered her eyes and took a deep breath. She lifted her head, chin poking out defiantly. "I think I love you, Andrew."

"What?" he squeaked, his voice lost somewhere above his head where his heart had soared at her words.

"Well, I don't have much experience in this, but I'm pretty sure. I mean, ever since what you said about agreeing with Xander about me being extraordinary… It's like you were brand new. And I know I shouldn't feel this way, you're my sister's hostage and… and I don't know. I just know that I like having you around and I'd rather hang with you than go to an end of the world meeting. And I know that when you touch me, it's like I'm on fire and I've never felt like that about anyone. So yeah, I'm about ninety nine point nine per cent sure that I love you."

"That's a lot of sure," he gulped.

"I guess," she shrugged. "So… Are you going to say something? Give me the whole 'I'm too old for you,' speech. Or the 'I like you, but not like that,' one. Or, hey, here's a new one, 'Sorry, sweetie, but I'm gay.'"

"You think I'm gay?" he asked.

"I dunno," she shrugged again. "Are you?"

"I thought I was, but then… Then there was this girl, see? And I really liked her and I thought she liked me and I tried to be cool and not a nerd, but she never minded when I was stupid. So then I got to thinking, maybe this is the girl for me. Maybe I love this girl."

"Oh," was all she said, then with a gulp and a brave smile. "You should go tell her."

"I know. But I kinda just did."

"Oh."

They were silent, Dawn watching him from the doorway and Andrew staring at her from his place by the counter. Finally, seeing that she would not be making any move on her own, Andrew did what only a few days ago would have been the unthinkable. He stood up and moved over to her.

"Ninety nine point nine per cent?" he asked in a low voice.

"Uh huh," she nodded.

"Like I said, that's a whole lot of sure. So, um, d'ya think I could, er, kiss you if you're that sure?"

She made an indefinable sound and tip toed slightly, parting her lips. He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers.

It didn't immediately set the world on fire and he wasn't entirely sure where to put his hands, but it was… tingly. Her hands wound up around his neck, toying with his hair and his hands ventured forward to hold her waist. He tightened his arms around her and pulled her closer. She moaned a little and smiled against his lips, sliding her tongue into his mouth.

Ok, so he had been wrong before. The world was on fire and he seemed to know what he was doing. When he finally pulled away, barely able to breathe, she was smiling, her eyes half closed.

"Dawn?" he asked.

"One hundred per cent," she murmured.

"Me too," he whispered.

He hadn't expected that. He hadn't expected any of this. He hadn't expected to fall in love with the Slayer's younger sister and he hadn't even dreamed that she might feel the same.

The feelings had crept up on them, catching them both unawares and making them painfully aware of the end of the world.

"Dawn," he said again. "If I promise not to die, would you… would you be my girlfriend?"

She grinned at him.

"How about we skip the death and go straight to that last part?" she offered.

"Sounds good," he kissed her again and pulled her into a tight hug. "Promise not to die?" he asked.

"Why would I go and do something stupid like that," she asked, leaning back to smile at him. "When I've got something to live for?"

He grinned at her.

"You do mean me, right?"

She laughed and kissed him hard on the lips. She didn't want the world to end, but if it had to, if they lost and the world did end, this was exactly the sort of high she wanted her world to end on.

Safe in the arms of her sister's hostage.

The End.