"Dawnie! I'm home!" Buffy calls out as she enters the house.
"Hey Buffy! I'm in the kitchen!" Dawn calls back. Buffy makes her way to the kitchen. Dawn is sitting at the island eating a PB & J sandwich.
"Hey Dawnie, where's Mom?" Buffy asks, sitting down across from her sister at the island.
"She had to go to the gallery. There was some sort of emergency. So what's up?" Dawn asks around her bite of PB & J. Buffy scrunches her nose at her sister's eating habits.
"Ew, Dawn! Swallow your food before you talk." Buffy berates her sister. Dawn rolls her eyes and swallows.
"Happy? Now, what do you want to talk about? You've got that look on your face." Dawn asks, setting down the sandwich.
"Um, do you remember Angel?" Buffy asks, hesitantly.
"Yeah!" Dawn instantly perks up. She always liked Angel, he was kind to her and didn't treat her like a kid. "Is he here? Can I see him? Is he evil? Oh God he's evil again isn't he? Buffy how could you?!" Dawn rambles, not letting Buffy answer any of her questions.
"Dawn! He's not evil! Not even close. He's cured. His curse doesn't have a happiness clause anymore. And he can't be killed by anything. Not even sunlight." Buffy interjects, a smile forming on her face as she explains. Dawn stares at her for a moment, not believing the words that just came out of her sister's mouth. Then she jumps up and rushes over to her sister to hug her, squealing.
"OhmyGodBuffythisissoexciting! Whendidithappen? Howlonghaveyouknown?" She asks her questions in a rush of air, making them barely understandable.
"I found out last night, but Angel found out yesterday morning. We held a meeting this evening between the Scoobies and the AI team. We told them the news then. Um, Dawnie, there's something else. Something that concerns you." Buffy explains, making her sister sit down again. Dawn looks at her sister with worry on her face.
"What is it? Is it bad? Am I evil? Oh God I'm evil aren't I?" She asks, panicking.
"Well yes, but that's not anything new." Buffy teases with a very serious face.
"Hey!" Dawn yells in indignation.
"Okay, okay. Seriously. It's good news. There was this whole prophecy thing, and well, we're immortal, all of us. You, me, Xander, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Oz, Anya, Doyle, Faith, and Tara. And obviously Angel." Buffy explains briefly.
"Who's Tara?" Dawn asks.
"A friend of Willows. She's Wiccan." Buffy tells her sister.
"Oh. So wait, why is Faith included? And what about Mom?" Dawn asks, repeating questions Buffy and the others already asked.
"Faith is going to wake up and get help and Mom's death is fixed. We wouldn't be able to change it if we tried. And to answer your unasked question, Riley isn't trustworthy." Buffy explains. Dawn nods, receiving this new knowledge fairly well.
"I wasn't going to ask. I really hated Riley. He always treated me like I was nine. You did split up with him didn't you?" She asks, her eyes lighting up in hope. A dark look passes over Buffy's face, but it quickly passes.
"We broke up. And he was a huge jerk about it too." Buffy tells her, grumbling.
"Does this require ice cream of the cookie-dough-fudge-mint-chip variety?" Dawn asks. Buffy laughs. The mention of the semi-infamous ice cream brings with it memories of the forgotten day, causing Buffy to blush slightly.
"No, but we can have some anyways." Buffy tells her, ruffling her long hair slightly.
"Yes!" Dawn jumps up and runs to the fridge. When she comes back she's carrying two spoons and the carton of ice cream. She sets it down and the two girls dig into the delicious treat.
"So what do we tell Mom?" Dawn asks after a few moments of enjoying her ice cream.
"We don't. We don't tell anyone that's not in the group, it could be dangerous." Buffy tells her sister.
"What?! Why? I mean what's the point of being immortal if I can't tell anyone?" She whines. Buffy scowls at her.
"Who would you tell? Janey? She doesn't even know about vampires! She would probably think you were crazy, or she is. Would you rather lying to your friends or not having any?" Buffy demands. Dawn ducks her head down.
"lie." She murmurs, so softly that even Buffy has a hard time hearing her.
"What?" Buffy asks, not knowing what her sister just said.
"LIE!" Dawn snaps. Buffy puts up her hands.
"Jeez, no need to yell." She tells her sister. They sit there, not saying anything, absorbed in their own thoughts.
'Oh my God! I'm immortal! Wait, will I look this way forever? Oh dear God, I'm going to be 14 forever!'
'Angel is immortal. I'm immortal. My friends and family are immortal. This is all to good to be true, something bad's going to happen, I just know it.'
"Buffy? Are we going to stay this age forever?" Dawn asks, breaking the silence.
"I honestly don't know. I'll ask Angel when he gets here tonight." Buffy supplies, still lost in her thoughts.
"Angel's coming over?" Dawn instantly perks up. It would appear that more than one Summers girl is enamored with the vampire with a soul.
"Yeah, he just had to drive his team back to LA. He said he'd stay here for a few days, incase we need anything. I'm not sure if he's staying at the Mansion or the Apartment." Buffy tells her sister, distractedly.
"I still can't believe it. I mean this is Angel. Curse-less. It's like your dream-come-true. Right?" Dawn asks the last part a bit worried. Buffy doesn't look very happy.
"Yes. I mean of course! It's just... I don't know. I started to believe that if either of us is too happy the world ends. But here we are, the happiest we've ever been. I can't help waiting for the big bad to erupt and send the world to hell." Buffy confesses, looking at her sister with worry deep in her hazel eyes.
"That's so not going to happen. One, both of you could stop the apocalypse with one hand tied behind your back. Two, there is no apocalypse, everything is totally fine. It's meant to be." Dawn comforts her sister in the way only a fourteen year-old can. Buffy smiles at her sister sadly.
"Thanks Dawnie. I know you're trying to help. I can't stop thinking about it. Especially when Angel is away. When he's here I feel totally calm and safe. But then he goes back to LA and its like, Doom-and-Gloomsville." Buffy sighs and lifts a spoonful of ice cream to her mouth. Dawn looks at her sister for a moment, trying to think of a way to cheer her up.
"Hey, Buffy", Dawn says, suddenly excited, "I have an idea. If you don't like thinking Doom-and-Gloom thoughts, and Angel is the only one who stops them, then don't let Angel go! Stay with him. You have eternity together, why not start now?" She suggests. Buffy shakes her head and sighs.
"We can't Dawnie. Not right now." Buffy explains to the younger girl.
"Why not?" Dawn asks, thoroughly confused.
"It's complicated." Buffy waves her hand, trying to dismiss the subject.
"How? How is it complicated? It seems pretty uncomplicated to me. You love Angel, Angel loves you, you can finally be together without worrying. What's complicated about that?" Dawn demands.
"You don't understand." Buffy says, started to get fed up with her stubborn sister.
"So help me." Dawn pleads. The Slayer sighs heavily.
"Angel and I are Champions for the Powers That Be, the good guys. We both have our separate missions to fulfill. His is in LA, helping the helpless. Mine is here, defending the hellmouth. Maybe that will change, someday, but not right now. Besides, how would the demon world react to the news that Angelus and the Slayer are back together? We have lay low for now. We have forever together, just not right now. It's going to be tough, and it will only get tougher, but we'll survive." Buffy explains as best as she can.
"That sucks." Dawn mutters.
"Understatement of the Year." Buffy says with a snort.
"But hey! At least you get to spend time with him. Better than nothing." Dawn says, trying to lift the mood.
"True. He is fun to spend time with," Buffy agrees with a coy smile.
The two sisters sit and chat about all the things they're looking forward to seeing as immortals. They sit like that until they finish the ice cream. After that they sit down to watch Beauty and The Beast, which is one of Buffy's favorite movies, until Angel arrives.