Written for Open on Sunday LJ community's challenge #90, Liquids.
by Zzilly14
"Happy birthday, love."
Spike placed a bottle of Jack Daniels in front of Dawn. She stuck her tongue out at it.
"I don't want beer. Can we say gross? Anyway, this is a celebration, not a... depression party."
"Champagne, then?"
The birthday girl nodded. The vampire smiled softly before heading to the fridge. Dawn sat, staring out the window at the moonlit beach.
"Can we skip the drink?" she muttered longingly.
"What?" Spike was holding a glass of the golden drink, appearing confused.
The long-haired blossoming young woman looked into Spike's blue eyes. "Let's take a walk. On the beach."
...
The two held hands as they walked barefoot on the beach, the full moon illuminating the ocean waters.
"This is nice," Dawn spoke softly.
"Did you have a good birthday today?"
"It was okay," she replied. "I got a few presents from friends... Buffy called... and, um, I only had one test to take."
"Just one?"
"Yeah. Math. It's always math."
"Do you feel any older?"
Dawn sighed as she watched the waves in the distance. "Not really. I mean, now I can do a lot of things legally that I couldn't yesterday. But..."
"What?"
"I still feel the same."