Title: The Universe Just Vanished Out of Sight
Author: Jmaria
Rating: FR-15
Disclaimer: Joss owns Buffyverse, Davies owns the newest bits of the Whoverse
Spoilers: Post Chosen, prior to meeting Jack, Rose & the Doctor in Cardiff by Mickey.
Characters: Dawn Summers, Mickey Smith
Summary: A conversation between the two left behind.
Words: 688
A/N: Because I really respected Mickey as a character somewhere mid series one, and he got better in the following series.

The Universe Just Vanished Out of Sight

"Buffy doesn't get why I transferred over here," Dawn Summers sighed as she passed the bottle of beer over to Mickey after taking a sip. They sat on the roof of her building, staring up into the night sky, just trying to forget, trying to remember.

"Jackie can't figure out why we keep hangin' round her place, seein' as we never did get on well after Rose left," Mickey chuckled.

"Jackie loves me, I have no clue what you're talking about!" Dawn giggled, leaning against him, her eyesight blurring a bit. Maybe she'd had a bit too much beer, that or too little to eat. The drink was starting to go to her head.

"She slammed the door in your face first time you popped up without 'em."

"Well, she thought I'd offed them," Dawn sighed, a smile on her face. "She was convinced I had stolen the TARDIS and was on my way to kill you both. I never figured out why."

"She thought I'd done Rose in when you and the Doctor took her off on your travels the first time, probably thought you'd do the same, seein' as you were his girl and all," Mickey nodded, working out the story in his head. "Killed em both in a fit of passion when you caught up with 'em."

"Yeah, and then I came to cry in my beer to you and Jackie," Dawn snorted.

"Makes sense."

"You've watched too much CSI."

"Me? Too much X-files, more like it."

"Ah, the good old alien-conspiracy-theory. A classic. Is there a probing involved?"

"Nah, Alien steals pretty girl away from her devoted boyfriend. In a big blue box."

They were quiet for several long minutes. Mickey took the beer back from her stiff fingers. Dawn glanced away from him, down at her feet. The wound still hurt her - was still too fresh. Her head throbbed.

"See, he's even doing it now," Mickey said gruffly.

"He jilted me too," Dawn said thickly. "Because I was getting too sick. So I come home and I'm a freak in an already pretty freaky line of work. London - in any dimension or point in time feels more like home than home does. And now I'm just trying to survive when I'm not sure I will or even if I want to. So I drink beers with my mate, Mickey who feels kinda the same. Because -"

"He's always sittin' there like a lump you can't get rid of?" Mickey snorted.

"No, because he's a good dependable guy," Dawn smiled at him.

"Ah, the kiss of death, Dawnie," Mickey groaned.

"And you get what I'm going through. Kinda," she picked at the label on the bottle with the corner of her nail "You never want to do it?"

"Do what?"

"Travel with the Doctor? Not even a little bit?"

"Nope. Just wish Rose'd still be 'round," Mickey muttered.

"And I wish I was still with them. Damn, Mick. We've got it bad," Dawn sighed, bumping shoulders with him.

Mickey glanced at her as she handed him the beer back, a sad smile on her face. He leaned forward and pressed a light, tentative kiss to her lips. Her heart fluttered a bit. It was a nice kiss, not to wet and not too pushy. And Mickey really wasn't such a bad guy, no matter what the Doctor had said about him. Or Jackie, for that matter. He pulled back, his hand covering hers on the beer bottle. She slipped her fingers away, and he glanced away as he brought the bottle to his lips.

"That was nice."

"But you're not Rose," Mickey said softly.

"And you're not the Doctor," Dawn smiled at him again.

"Well, that one's gone," Mickey sighed, setting the bottle down beside them. "Want another?"

"How many are left?"

"Two."

"Yeah, crack another open."

They never talked about the kiss that night, or any other night after. There wasn't any need, because it was a nice moment they both needed to do and get over with. Their worlds were shaken and leaning, and it was a solid real moment that would forever remind them that while their world was gone, the one they were now in was still spinning on.