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Chapter 14
Dawn and Xander have waited until the coast is clear before venturing out of her room. By tacit agreement, they immediately split up without so much as a second look - she to the kitchen, he out the door to buy extra sleeping bags for new arrivals.
It's well after the regular lunch rush, so Dawn happily assumes that she will have the kitchen to herself. Buffy and Faith have taken the potentials and gone out to train - god knows where - but luckily not here. Even Andrew and Spike aren't hanging out in the living room watching Port Charles. Lulled into this false sense of security, she allows herself a moment or two to ruminate over the morning's events. She opens the kitchen door and walks directly into Anya.
Anya looks to be her usual chipper self and if the sparkle in her eye is any indication, she is brimming with things better left unsaid. Why did Xander's ex have to be beautiful in a 1940's movie stair kind of way, have a thousand years' worth of experience and a big mouth? On the other hand - why wouldn't she? She is Dawn Summers - not exactly, the girl next door herself unless your 'next door' happens to be the gate to HELL!
As soon as she takes in Anya in her flowery dress and red high heels - the Sushi pajamas, she's still sporting, make her want to just crawl in a hole - preferably a deep one.
"Dawn." Anya says in the forthright way she has. As if she's an alien with no idea of social skills rather than a retired vengeance demon. You would think after all that time seeing people at their worst, she would have picked up a little compassion.
Dawn responds with a weak smile and hopes she'll go away. Of course - not gonna happen. By the time she makes it to the fridge, Anya has closed the distance between them and when she turns, she is eye to eye with her.
"Excuse me", Dawn murmurs as she steps around her.
"Oh --- yes --- I'm sorry. I was in your way." Anya backs off a little but not as much as Dawn would like. While she's pouring her cereal, she wishes that Anya would click those red heels of hers three times and be gone. Again, no such luck.
On the other hand, other than violating her personal space - Anya's actually being surprisingly quiet. Dawn has this awful feeling that she's just waiting for her moment to pounce. As she sits down on a stool at the counter, she thinks to herself - OK - 3 - 2 - 1 - pounce. And yes, she nails it! The crowd goes wild!
Anya, posed directly opposite her, a bright smile gracing her cherry red lips, speaks "So, Dawn. How have you been?"
Dawn tries to ignore her as much as she can - maybe she'll go away? Dawn shrugs her shoulders, head down, inspecting her cereal. She can feel the tension growing. It's coming she knows - whatever wiggy thing she's going to say next!
When Anya tries again, she talks louder like maybe Dawn is deaf and that why she's not talking. "I hear that you and Xander have - have gotten pretty close lately. Am I correct?"
Dawn decides the it's time to face the music in some form or fashion. She looks at Anya and answers. "I don't know Anya, we've always been close. Xander's been there for Buffy and me through so much."
"But you're having sex with him, are you not?"
Dawn muses that Anya should have been a lawyer instead of a vengeance demon - or are they one in the same thing? Anyway, she figures that she best answer her before something else pops out of her mouth. Mouth full of cereal, she utters "Excuse me?"
Again, Anya speaks loudly, clearly enunciating each word very clearly as if Dawn rides the short bus for sure. "I said, you are having sex with him, are you not? Last night, I am sure that both of you smelled like my Mango Shower Gel and Xander never uses that - well, never used to use that - unless we --- well, you know. I gathered that you and he had showered together since you both smelled of it so strongly. I mean, well, it just makes sense. Last night, he said he took a shower. Neither of you mentioned anything about you taking one."
Before, she can go further, Dawn interrupts her. "OK, I took a shower over there too, OK? No big. It's just all these slayerettes - there's never enough hot water - so I asked if I could take a shower after he finished."
Dawn can tell that she has at least slowed Anya down. She gets at least three bites of cereal in this time before she starts up again. This time Anya lowers her voice and leans in a bit closer.
"I'm not saying this correctly. It's just --- I want you to know that I --- that I love him. I want him to be happy." She confesses this in a tone that Dawn has rarely heard from her. She sounds both young and vulnerable.
"You can do that, can't you Dawn? Make him happy? He wants a normal life with someone who is predictable --- steadfast. He's wants to come home to crying babies and change his oil every three thousand miles. He wants something so ordinary that it's extraordinary. Dawn, I've come to see that every time he looked at me he doubted me - he doubted himself - I was just too - just too much a part of what's not normal for him to really feel safe. But you, you can give him normal, can't you?"
Uncharacteristically, she takes one of Dawn's hands in her own. "Please take care of him, will you? He's got such a good heart. He is a good man. Give him the tooth fairy and the Christmas pageants. Please?" By the time she finishes, hot tears are quietly running down her face.
Dawn feels her own hand clutch Anya's back. Suddenly, they are equals sharing the most important thing in their lives. To the feel of tears running down her own face, she says simply, "I will".
Anya pulls back smiling, bringing her hands up to her face. Feeling her tears, she gives a weak laugh. "Look, I'm all teary. I think I might be a real girl after all!" She teases gently as she wipes her face.
Dawn nods back, agreeing, "Yes, you are Anya, you are".
TBC
Chapter 14
Dawn and Xander have waited until the coast is clear before venturing out of her room. By tacit agreement, they immediately split up without so much as a second look - she to the kitchen, he out the door to buy extra sleeping bags for new arrivals.
It's well after the regular lunch rush, so Dawn happily assumes that she will have the kitchen to herself. Buffy and Faith have taken the potentials and gone out to train - god knows where - but luckily not here. Even Andrew and Spike aren't hanging out in the living room watching Port Charles. Lulled into this false sense of security, she allows herself a moment or two to ruminate over the morning's events. She opens the kitchen door and walks directly into Anya.
Anya looks to be her usual chipper self and if the sparkle in her eye is any indication, she is brimming with things better left unsaid. Why did Xander's ex have to be beautiful in a 1940's movie stair kind of way, have a thousand years' worth of experience and a big mouth? On the other hand - why wouldn't she? She is Dawn Summers - not exactly, the girl next door herself unless your 'next door' happens to be the gate to HELL!
As soon as she takes in Anya in her flowery dress and red high heels - the Sushi pajamas, she's still sporting, make her want to just crawl in a hole - preferably a deep one.
"Dawn." Anya says in the forthright way she has. As if she's an alien with no idea of social skills rather than a retired vengeance demon. You would think after all that time seeing people at their worst, she would have picked up a little compassion.
Dawn responds with a weak smile and hopes she'll go away. Of course - not gonna happen. By the time she makes it to the fridge, Anya has closed the distance between them and when she turns, she is eye to eye with her.
"Excuse me", Dawn murmurs as she steps around her.
"Oh --- yes --- I'm sorry. I was in your way." Anya backs off a little but not as much as Dawn would like. While she's pouring her cereal, she wishes that Anya would click those red heels of hers three times and be gone. Again, no such luck.
On the other hand, other than violating her personal space - Anya's actually being surprisingly quiet. Dawn has this awful feeling that she's just waiting for her moment to pounce. As she sits down on a stool at the counter, she thinks to herself - OK - 3 - 2 - 1 - pounce. And yes, she nails it! The crowd goes wild!
Anya, posed directly opposite her, a bright smile gracing her cherry red lips, speaks "So, Dawn. How have you been?"
Dawn tries to ignore her as much as she can - maybe she'll go away? Dawn shrugs her shoulders, head down, inspecting her cereal. She can feel the tension growing. It's coming she knows - whatever wiggy thing she's going to say next!
When Anya tries again, she talks louder like maybe Dawn is deaf and that why she's not talking. "I hear that you and Xander have - have gotten pretty close lately. Am I correct?"
Dawn decides the it's time to face the music in some form or fashion. She looks at Anya and answers. "I don't know Anya, we've always been close. Xander's been there for Buffy and me through so much."
"But you're having sex with him, are you not?"
Dawn muses that Anya should have been a lawyer instead of a vengeance demon - or are they one in the same thing? Anyway, she figures that she best answer her before something else pops out of her mouth. Mouth full of cereal, she utters "Excuse me?"
Again, Anya speaks loudly, clearly enunciating each word very clearly as if Dawn rides the short bus for sure. "I said, you are having sex with him, are you not? Last night, I am sure that both of you smelled like my Mango Shower Gel and Xander never uses that - well, never used to use that - unless we --- well, you know. I gathered that you and he had showered together since you both smelled of it so strongly. I mean, well, it just makes sense. Last night, he said he took a shower. Neither of you mentioned anything about you taking one."
Before, she can go further, Dawn interrupts her. "OK, I took a shower over there too, OK? No big. It's just all these slayerettes - there's never enough hot water - so I asked if I could take a shower after he finished."
Dawn can tell that she has at least slowed Anya down. She gets at least three bites of cereal in this time before she starts up again. This time Anya lowers her voice and leans in a bit closer.
"I'm not saying this correctly. It's just --- I want you to know that I --- that I love him. I want him to be happy." She confesses this in a tone that Dawn has rarely heard from her. She sounds both young and vulnerable.
"You can do that, can't you Dawn? Make him happy? He wants a normal life with someone who is predictable --- steadfast. He's wants to come home to crying babies and change his oil every three thousand miles. He wants something so ordinary that it's extraordinary. Dawn, I've come to see that every time he looked at me he doubted me - he doubted himself - I was just too - just too much a part of what's not normal for him to really feel safe. But you, you can give him normal, can't you?"
Uncharacteristically, she takes one of Dawn's hands in her own. "Please take care of him, will you? He's got such a good heart. He is a good man. Give him the tooth fairy and the Christmas pageants. Please?" By the time she finishes, hot tears are quietly running down her face.
Dawn feels her own hand clutch Anya's back. Suddenly, they are equals sharing the most important thing in their lives. To the feel of tears running down her own face, she says simply, "I will".
Anya pulls back smiling, bringing her hands up to her face. Feeling her tears, she gives a weak laugh. "Look, I'm all teary. I think I might be a real girl after all!" She teases gently as she wipes her face.
Dawn nods back, agreeing, "Yes, you are Anya, you are".
TBC