"Okay," Buffy said. "Next one. Tastefully sexy, or Slutty McSlutterton?"
She opened the dressing room door and stepped out. Dawn studied her, taking in the silky red top and the black leather skirt.
"Love the top; the skirt's way too short," she said.
"Really?" Buffy said, turning to look at herself in the mirror. "You think it makes my legs look fat?"
Dawn laughed. "Nothing could do that, numb-nut," she said. "It just screams, 'Take me. Take me hard.' Un...unless that's what you're going for."
"Hardly," Buffy said, shooting her a glare. "And you're far too young to know what that means."
"Uh, huh," Dawn said. "So, why are we shopping for tastefully sexy, anyway? Is it Angel or Spike?"
"Neither," Buffy said, looking down at her hands, smoothing the skirt over her thighs. "But maybe...someday...I'll want to look tastefully sexy for someone. Someone I haven't met yet. Maybe. And who knows what kind of stores Bethlehem has."
"It has a mall," Dawn said. "I looked it up. Although it seems like it's in the next town over, which, I thought Sunnydale was bad."
"Yeah," Buffy said. "But at least it's not Rome. And at least we speak the language." She looked at herself in the mirror again. "You sure it's too short? 'Cause I'm thinking, with the right boots...what do you think, Will?"
"It's fine," Willow said from where she sat wedged into a corner, but she didn't even look up. Then, she did, and covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm such a horrible friend. I told you I shouldn't come."
"'Course you should have," Buffy said, not quite meeting Willow's eyes in the mirror. "I need the opinion of the older-than-high-school crowd. Plus, you can really tell me if I look hot or not. This is a great perk of having a lesbian friend, did I ever tell you that? And I'm thinking I should shut up now."
Willow gave a watery giggle. "Well, if that's what you're looking for, I can definitely tell you that you look hot." She put her head to one side. "Dawnie's right, though - the skirt's too short. Reminds me of something Xander's mom once told me - why would a boy want to buy the cow if he can get the milk for free?"
"Ew," Dawn said.
Buffy turned to face Willow. "Xander's mother said that? To you?"
Willow looked at her hands, twisted in her lap. "Yeah," she said. "She freaked me out a bit. I'd gotten to Xander's house too early, and he was still in the shower. I could totally hear it going and knew it was him...this was freshman year in high school, so you can imagine. Mrs. Harris must have seen something in my face, because she started in on this whole lecture about boys and the only thing they want. By the time Xander was ready to go, I could have heated all of Sunnydale, my face was so red."
"Kinda ironic now, huh?" Dawn said.
Willow looked up at her as though she didn't understand, then shrugged. "I guess, a little. Anyway, that's much more a Faith skirt than a Buffy skirt...at least, a Faith skirt from before Faith became...whatever she's become. It's not a Buffy skirt, though...unless it is. I've barely seen you in the past year - maybe it is a Buffy skirt now. How would I know?" Tears started to roll down her cheeks, and Buffy looked at Dawn in a panic.
"It's still not a Buffy skirt," Dawn said, moving over so she could put her arm around Willow.
"And you're seeing me now," Buffy said. "We're all togethery and ready for some Scooby action. Actually, if Giles doesn't have any better luck house hunting, we're really going to be togethery. No one in Bethlehem seems to have a rundown hotel they want to sell us, even if we could afford it. How did Angel find the Hyperion, anyway?"
"Oh, I know," Dawn said. "Gunn told me, the last time I visited him in the hospital. See, there was this demon that was causing all this -" She broke off, because her head exploded in pain. Through the images and pounding that followed, she could barely feel Willow supporting her so she wouldn't fall over. Part of her mind was impressed at how much more aware of her surroundings she was during this vision, compared to the ones she'd had before. The rest of her mind just hurt.
When the vision finally ended, Dawn opened her eyes and saw Buffy kneeling down in front of her, looking more worried than she had ever seen her, even when Mom was sick.
"It's okay," she said, reaching out to touch Buffy's arm. "Actually, it's more than okay. Guess what I just saw?"
"Something good?" Buffy said. "Um...aren't the Powers That Be supposed to send you visions of bad things happening?"
"Oh, yeah, someone's going to sacrifice a virgin to a demon," Dawn said, waving her hand in dismissal. "But I think we'll have time to stop it - the sacrifice will be on the big star that's on one of the hills above Bethlehem. And it's only lit around Christmas."
"Okay, but still not seeing the good here," Buffy said.
"I do," Willow said, giving Dawn a one-armed hug. "If Dawn's seeing visions in Bethlehem, and she's Angel's link to the Powers That Be, that must mean they want Angel in Bethlehem."
"And that means you're coming to Bethlehem, too," Buffy said, grabbing both of Dawn's hands, pulling her up, and twirling her around the dressing room. "I think this calls for the biggest chocolate shake in the history of chocolate shakes."
"Yummy," Dawn said. "But make sure you get that top. Now you really will have Angel to impress."
Buffy stuck her tongue out at her, but Dawn didn't care.