The Dawning of Faith
Chapter two
"I've waited this long," Dawn whispered, her breath warm on Faith's neck. "I can wait a while longer, I'm not a kid."
Faith opened her eyes and found her arms wrapped around the younger girl, she gently disengaged from the hug and stood mute, trying to read the face in front of her.
"Dawn," she began hesitantly, "what's going on here?"
"I like you, and I'm attracted to you," Dawn told her, "I'm not jailbait anymore, so I thought I'd make the first move, since I knew you never would."
"So, what, you wanna get bouncy, is that it?"
"I do, but that's up to you. I'll give you whatever you'll let me, Faith."
Faith felt dizzy, she had really had no idea that Dawn felt anything for her other than a grudging respect, once she had gotten past the open hostility. And she had never thought of Dawn as anything other than Buffy's sister… no, she corrected herself. She had never allowed herself to think of her as anything other than Buffy's sister, which was a bit different.
"This is a bit of a shock, Dawnie – sorry, Dawn," Faith said huskily.
"I don't mind if you call me Dawnie, I know you don't mean it like you think I'm a baby. You and Spike are the only ones who ever treated me like a real person. Buffy's gotten better, but I suppose she'll always see me as a baby, what with Mom dying and all. I've adjusted to it, it's sort of sweet in a way, but tiresome."
"So is this just a case of hormones, and you picked me because I'm the hottest thing in reach?" asked Faith with a grin.
"I don't guess I know," Dawn said honestly, "I like the way I feel when I'm with you. I like it when you touch me, kid around with me, and when I think of you I get this kind of fluttery feeling inside. Not like I used to get with Xander, that was just a crush. I'm not sure what this is, but it's different than that. I'm trying to explain it, but I'm not sure I can, really."
"This is new for me, Dawnie," Faith told her.
"Because I'm a woman?"
"Oh, hell no, I've been with women, sexy is sexy, as far as I'm concerned. The fact is I've been with a lot of people. That doesn't bother you?" Dawn shrugged.
"One thing I know for sure is that the past is the past. I know you have one, and I know it's been hard. I know you've killed people, not just demons, but you faced up to it. You broke out of jail to help Angel and you came back to Sunnydale when we needed you, knowing you weren't going to get the red carpet treatment. You're the strongest person I know. Buffy is strong, and she's been through a lot, but she always had people with her, friends, you didn't, the closest thing you ever had to a father was a giant snake demon, and you survived. You fought your way back, and you came out of it still able to care about other people. I don't know if you want me, or if you love me, still less if you want a relationship with me. But I want to find out, and you're not much for hints, so I figured I'd have to be up front about it and tonight seemed like a good time. And I'm starting to get really nervous right now and I'm talking too much and maybe we better be getting home."
"Maybe we should, yeah," Faith replied, "just so you know though, I'm not gonna sneak off someplace with you and have sex, Dawn. That's just not gonna happen." Dawn's eyes filled with tears, but she remained otherwise calm.
"That's okay, I understand. You don't owe me anything," she said thickly.
"You don't understand, Dawnie, and neither do I. We have to give this some time, but I know for sure you're more to me than just something to fuck. And that's kind of new for me, and you are Buffy's sister and that does make a difference. If we are going to have something together it's going to be right out in the open, okay?" Dawn's face cleared up, and the smile on it turned things kind of fluttery inside of Faith. "Son of a bitch," thought Faith in wonder. She held out her hand to Dawn and the two of them finished the trip to the car in silence.
"Buffy's gonna be pissed, I bet," Dawn said as they pulled up to the house.
"Don't see why, I left her a note," Faith told her.
"Because she's Buffy?" joked Dawn.
"Maybe so," admitted Faith, "I had a great time with you Dawnie, and thank you. Nobody has ever said anything like that to me before."
"Do I have a chance?" Dawn asked tentatively. Faith raised Dawn's hand to her lips and kissed it softly.
"The bigger question, Dawnie, is do I? Lights are on, looks like folks are home. Ready to face the music?"
"Bring 'em on," grinned Dawn, "they can't take the two of us!"
"That's my girl!" said Faith gleefully. The phrase struck chords within them both.