Chapter 23: Making Up For Lost Years
The next morning Dawn and Connor headed downstairs hand in hand, whispering happily to each other. They had taken their time getting up and they weren't surprised to find almost everyone else congregated already in the hotel lobby. "Good morning," Dawn sang out.
Angel glanced up from behind the counter. "Good morning. There's donuts." He gestured to several opened bakery boxes before returning to his newspaper.
As they helped themselves to the donuts, Dawn realized that apparently she and Connor were not the last ones up. "Is Buffy up yet?" she asked Angel curiously.
A strange expression crossed his face so quickly that she was unsure if she imagined it. "Um, I don't know. Haven't seen her. I wouldn't know. Why?" he said, his voice slightly higher pitched than usual.
Dawn looked at him oddly. "I was just wondering." She selected a donut, placed it on a paper plate, and headed over to sit with Willow and Fred on the couch.
A few minutes later Buffy finally descended the stairs, her lack of sleep the night before almost hidden by a generous amount of under-eye concealer. A furtive scan of the room located Angel buried in a newspaper, and she became determined to look anywhere but at him. She felt herself flush from the mere thought of what had happened last night, and her skin prickled at the thought of getting close to him again. No, Buffy. You need to stay away from Angel. She spotted the coffee maker calling her like a beacon of heaven and she made a beeline. Unfortunately, Angel chose that moment to finish his paper and head over to the same area. He froze mid-step when he saw her, avoiding her eyes. "Uh, good morning," he said awkwardly, hating himself for the numerous bad thoughts running through his head.
"Morning," she said quietly. She stared blankly at the coffee maker, her brain not wanting to function. A cup. I need a cup. Seeming to read her mind, Angel grabbed one from a shelf and held it out to her. She attempted to grab it from him without touching his hand, but she slipped and a finger brushed his as she tried to grab the handle. They both pulled back as if on fire and the mug promptly dropped to the floor and shattered.
Dawn spun around at the crash, frowning when she saw her harassed-looking sister and Angel standing awkwardly with a broken coffee mug between them. "Buffy? Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yes! I'm fine, just fine," her sister said with excessive perkiness.
Connor, who had been watching the entire exchange with interest, stepped in. "I'll clean that up." He grabbed a plate from the counter and began to gather the broken shards on it.
"Thanks, son," Angel said absently. His eyes met Buffy's for a fleeting second before he muttered something excusing himself and retreated into the office with lightning speed. Buffy just stood there stupidly for a second before locating another mug.
As Connor headed for the garbage can, he glanced at Dawn. She gave him a look that clearly said 'what was that all about'? He just shrugged, as clueless as she was.
Buffy managed to make a cup of coffee without event and she was about to sneak back upstairs when Dawn apprehended her. "Okay, spill. What is going on with you and Angel?" her sister demanded, a finger checking the corners of her lips for remnants of her Boston Kreme.
"Nothing. What would be going on?" she said, feigning innocence.
Dawn just gave her a look. "Come on, Buffy. I'm not blind, something has you two totally on edge. What happened?"
Buffy appeared to think for a second, glancing furtively over her shoulder to make sure no one was within earshot. "Okay, we did something really, really stupid, that's what happened."
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Wait a second...you didn't...is he..."
"No, no, not that." Although if things had continued a little farther, who knows. "It was just...I couldn't sleep last night. I came down here, and Angel was up, too. We started talking and then somehow..." Buffy winced. "We ended up kissing, and we got a little carried away. And I stopped myself before things could get...you know, but now I just can't even look at him without thinking about it."
Dawn stared at her sister sympathetically. "Well, you can't really blame yourself, it was just a one time thing-"
"But that's the thing, we don't lose control like that. We can't. I don't know what came over me, but all of a sudden I was on his desk and there were...hands, and it was bad, Dawnie, very bad," she hissed.
Her little sister's eyes widened slightly. "Why do you think it happened? I mean, you guys have been so good about, you know, controlling yourselves. What made last night different?"
Buffy shifted uncomfortably. She knew the answer. She was lonely. She had been lonelier this past year than ever before, and it had all caught up to her at once. But it also had not been just her. It takes two to tango, and Angel had been even more lost in the moment than she was. "I don't know. I think we were just tired, and not thinking clearly, and it just kind of happened." She ran a hand through her hair. "But what am I supposed to do now? I can't exactly avoid him for the next week."
"Maybe you guys should talk about it," Dawn suggested. "It's better to just get everything out in the open so it's not all awkward."
"What am I supposed to say?" Buffy shook her head. "You know what, I can't think about this right now. Willow said something about going shopping today. Do you want to come?"
Dawn shook her head. "I don't think so. I was planning to spend the day with Connor, if that's okay."
Buffy nodded. "Okay. You guys can do your thing, and maybe we can all meet for dinner later or something."
"That would be good," Dawn said. She reached out and gave her sister an impromptu hug. "I love you."
"I love you too." Buffy smiled tiredly before turning to head up the stairs.
Dawn looked around the lobby, locating Connor talking to Cordy. She walked over to them, weaving her hand through his. "Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to talk to Connor about our plans for today."
"Plans? We have plans?" Connor asked, a little surprised.
Dawn smiled coyly. "Well, after you planned the mother of all surprises for me, I thought that maybe you could let me be in charge today and surprise you for a change."
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really. Well, I suppose I could agree to that. What kind of surprise is it?"
"I can't tell you, silly. That would completely defeat the purpose of a surprise. And besides, I'm still working out the details," she admitted.
"Oh, so you don't even have it planned yet?"
"Don't you worry. I promise it will be good. Just get ready, and meet me by the door in ten." She stood on her toes and gave him a quick kiss before hurrying off.
"Can I open my eyes now?"
"No, not yet." Dawn held his hand, guiding him cautiously inside the building. She glanced around quickly before turning back to him. "Okay, now."
He slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times at what he saw. "We're...what is this place?"
Dawn couldn't help but giggle. "It's a bowling alley!"
The dimly lit, long building had racks of bowling balls along the wall, and a big neon sign directing people to the shoe rental. The lanes were all lit up with glow-in-the-dark paintings on the ceiling. With the exception of a few groups of people bowling on the end closest to them, it was nearly empty.
Connor tried to hide a smile. "Um, it smells like feet and stale popcorn."
Dawn smacked him on the arm. "That's part of the experience! I was just thinking about something we could do that maybe you never got the chance to do before. You know, since you kind of missed out on the whole normal upbringing thing. And this is what I came up with! It's like a right of passage, you rent the sketchy shoes, throw some gutter balls, and eat some greasy food."
"Well, you're right in that I've never done this before," he admitted, eyeing the place warily. "But...I have to admit, I was expecting something a little more romantic."
She rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me for not being as crazy as you and flying you across the planet. But I had this idea that maybe we could make it a point to start doing all the normal, taken-for-granted things that you never got to do before. I want to start making up for everything you missed out on when you were a kid."
He smiled at her. "That's really sweet of you." He thought for a second. "And if I'm going to put some sweaty shoes on my feet, there's no one I'd rather do it with."
She beamed, relieved that he had come around to the idea. "Okay!" Well let's go then. She grabbed his hand and he just stared at her in awe, wondering for the millionth time what he had done to deserve her.
"Okay, just like that. Now you pull it back, and...ohhhhh." Dawn winced as Connor threw his fourth gutter ball in a row.
His eyes flashed with frustration as he spun around on the slick, tiled floor. "I suck. I can't do it."
"Yes you can. You're just not trying hard enough," Dawn said gently. She lifted her purple 8-pound ball from the track. "Just watch me again." She had never thought of herself as even an above-average bowler, but next to her boyfriend she looked worthy of the World Championships. "Okay, so you just get your balance, take a few steps, swing your arm straight back..." He tilted his head to the side, watching her butt appreciatively as she bent down to release the ball. When she turned around she caught him, and her eyes narrowed. "You little jerk, that's why you don't get it, every time I try to demonstrate you just stare at my ass!" She started to run towards him, probably to smack him on the arm, but the slick soles of the bowling shoes caused her to lose her footing. Her feet went out from under her and she started to shriek just as his arms closed around her waist, holding her just inches above the ground. Before she realized what was happening, he bent down, pulling her whole body flush against his as he caught her in a dizzying kiss. After a long moment he lifted her upright onto her feet, his hands creeping down from the small of her back. Their lips broke apart and she closed her eyes, never able to get enough of him. When she opened them she noticed an older couple selecting bowling balls giving them a disapproving look. Dawn reluctantly pulled back from Connor's embrace. "I think we're drawing attention to ourselves," she said quietly, moving to sit down in the small plastic chair behind the screen that displayed their scores. "Your turn. Now try to remember the way I showed you."
Marveling at her ability to change gears so quickly, he tried to pull himself together as he hefted his ball and headed toward the lane. Without over-thinking it, he released it smoothly down the center of the lane, knocking down all the pins. He turned to face his girlfriend with a smug smile. "Oh my God, you got a strike!" she said with surprise.
"There's hope for me yet," he said lightly, rubbing her shoulders from behind, a smug smile on his face as the flashing red X appeared on the screen to signify his accomplishment. "Now let's see you top that."
"Oh, now it's on," she said, her eyes flashing with competition as she flexed her hands, up to the challenge. With a little extra swing in her step she gathered her ball and approached the lane, glancing over her shoulder to wink at him before setting up her swing, flipping her long brown hair behind her back with a casual toss of her head. Eyes straight ahead, she swung the ball back, only to have it slip from her hands and bounce loudly once before heading straight to the gutter. She blushed as she headed back towards him. "That was just a warmup!"
"Well, even if you did throw the worst shot ever, you looked pretty," he said with a smirk. She narrowed her eyes at him in a playful glare, grabbing her ball once more and heading to the lane. This time she managed to knock down 6 pins. "Not bad, not bad," he said critically.
She rolled her eyes. "Sorry mister, but just because you got lucky one time doesn't mean that you're the expert all of a sudden."
"We'll just have to see about that," he said, his turn up again. He missed two pins this time, but managed to get them on the second shot for a spare.
"Okay, so maybe you have a little natural talent. But that doesn't explain your four straight gutter balls in the beginning," she countered, readying for her turn.
Connor ends up winning the first game, but Dawn comes back to win the second. Watching her gleefully celebrate her victory, he smiles to himself as he thinks about the poor shot he threw on purpose to allow her to win. In this case, the smile on her face justified the means. "So, what's next?"
"Oh, we still have one more thing to do from my list," Dawn said as she peeled off her shoes.
"The list of things I've never done," he clarified.
"Yup! And I have a feeling you're going to like this one." She grabbed his hand, pulling him after her as she darted up the steps to return their shoes.
"Oh, this weather is perfect," Dawn said happily. She stood on the quiet beach, gazing out over the ocean as the light breeze blew her hair back: perfect conditions for the task at hand. There were only a few other people on the beach and all of them were either walking or jogging. Even though sixty degrees was very warm for December 26th, it was still nowhere near warm enough for swimming. But that wasn't what Dawn had in mind. She turned to face Connor, holding the kite out to him. "Okay, are you ready to fly this thing?"
Connor eyed the bright, multi-colored kite they had purchased in a souvenir shop a few minutes earlier warily, as if it were a demon from another dimension. "And what exactly am I supposed to do?"
"It's easy. You're just going to hold the string and run with the kite behind you until it gets lifted by the wind." Dawn leaned down to roll up the bottoms of her jeans so they didn't get dirty in the sand, her shoes already thrown aside. She handed Connor the roll of spool of string she had attached to the new kite a few minutes earlier.
"What if it doesn't go up?" he asked nervously.
"It will. You just have to have a little faith. Okay, now go." She gave him a gentle push. "Here, I'll hold it until you get going a little, then I'll let it go." She took the kite in both hands.
He took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes nothing." He began to jog slowly down the beach, feeling a little foolish. He was practically an adult man, and here he was on the beach in the middle of winter attempting to fly a kite for the first time. He released a little bit of string as he ran, finally glancing over his shoulder. "Do it now!" he yelled. Dawn stood on her tiptoes and tossed the kite into the air. The wind took it and it lifted! Dawn shrieked with delight.
"Keep running and let out some more string!" she yelled to him excitedly. He followed her instructions, running several more yards before he stopped and turned around, feeling the resistance in the line as the kite soared. Dawn jogged down the beach to meet him, grinning from ear to ear. "See, that wasn't so bad," she said, speaking loudly over the crashing of the waves. He grinned at her, watching as the kite flew high above. It must have been a hundred feet off the ground. He noticed several of the passerby stopping to admire their efforts and felt a sudden rush of pride.
"Come here," he said, gesturing to her with his head. Careful not to release the spool, he lifted an arm around her so she was in front of him, and gently placed her hands on the handles, folding his own over them. For a few minutes they just stood there, enjoying the ocean breeze, the sand between their toes, and the feeling of the their bodies against each other as she gently leaned her head on his shoulder. Dawn closed her eyes, never wanting the moment to end.
"Um, Dawn?" he finally said, after some time had passed. "My foot's falling asleep. You think we can bring this thing in now?"
She giggled. "Sure. Just wind it in slowly, and I'll go catch it." She gave him a quick peck on the lips before walking in the direction of the kite. He carefully wound the string back around the spool, watching as the kite grew larger, coming back down to earth. After several minutes of this it finally came low enough for Dawn to grab it, and he walked towards her, wrapping up the remainder of the string.
"Thank you," he said when he finally reached her. "Thank you for today."
"You're welcome," she said quietly. She smiled coyly. "Let me guess- you liked the kite flying better than bowling?"
He laughed. "Well, yes. But I really did enjoy both, especially because I got to do them with you." He placed his hand at the base of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. When they broke apart he looked over her shoulder and noticed that it was beginning to get dark out, and the sky glowed orange, warning of the imminent sunset. "It'll be dark out soon. We should probably think about heading back," he said regretfully.
She nodded. "That's a good idea." Not wanting the day to end, she glanced around for anything to postpone the moment a few seconds longer. "Hey, what do you say we just walk on the beach for a little while? There's still a few minutes before sunset."
He nodded, taking her hand and heading down the beach, the kite folded under his arm. She rested her head on his shoulder once more as they strolled along, their strides perfectly in sync, with nothing but the rolling expanse of sand and waves before them.
A/N: Once again, my apologies for the long delay between updates. I know these last few chapters have probably seemed like filler, but hopefully you're enjoying them nonetheless. But fear not, I have a plan to restore some drama to the plot as this story approaches its final stretch. :) As always...reviews make me write faster! Please just take a minute of your time to let me know what you think, it isn't difficult and it really means the world. Thank you!