In response to a challenge from Shrektric. I won’t list the details so you can be surprised in the end. I hope this is what you wanted!
Dawning
Chapter 1
Kennedy looks up from the floor at the redhead as she crawls into bed. “Sure I can’t sleep up there with you?” Questions the teen with a grin. “Keep your back warm?”
Willow rolls her eyes and reaches to turn off the light, she stops and looks at the girl. “No one has ever turned you down before have they?” She grins.
Kennedy rolls her eyes, “Fine-I get it, you’re not interested in getting your back warmed.” She zips up the sleeping bag around her.
“Kennedy-” Willow speaks the Potentials name.
She grins, “Change your mind?” Her eyes light up for an instant but she sees the witch shake her head, “What?”
“It’s not you,” she says simply.
“Right I know-” she turns away.
Willow falls back onto the bed and closes her eyes. She opens them and looks at the ceiling, then the teen. “It’s too soon.”
Kennedy listens to the words and realizes what the redhead is saying, “But if it wasn’t?” She tries.
“It is,” Willow says. “Good night Kennedy.” The room is quiet and then dark as she turns out the bedside lamp.
A few days later Dawn is sitting on the porch watching the Potentials train with her sister. Willow comes out and sits beside her. “Hey Will.”
“Hey Dawnie.” Dawn’s arm slips around the woman. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
Willow turns to look into her eyes, “Not too convincing.”
“It’s bad this time isn’t it Willow?” Dawn’s eyes meet hers.
“Yeah it is.”
“Glory bad?” Dawn asks.
Willow nods. “Some of them-” she looks out at the girls as they train. “She can’t protect them all.”
“She’ll try,” Dawn says softly.
“She’ll fail,” Willow answers back just as soft. “You can’t stop evil.”
Dawn leans into Willow and holds her tight. “Good should win always.”
“It should,” Willow’s tears start to fall. “But it doesn’t.” Her thoughts turn to Tara and all the good she did. She thinks about her gentle nature and giving heart. “Always,” she whispers as she lets her eyes close.
A few more days pass and Dawn walks into the kitchen to find Kennedy trying to make coffee. She grins when she sees the coffee all over the counter and the filter in pieces. “Ah-need some help?”
Kennedy looks up, “Help? No-no I got it.”
“Okay,” Dawn walks to the refrigerator and gets out a water. She sits at the counter and watches, amused.
Kennedy fights with the machine and finally growls out at it, “Damn machine, how hard can this be?”
Dawn stands beside her, “Let me show you,” Kennedy holds up her hands and backs away. She watches as Dawn gets a filter, puts it in the machine then fills it with two scoops of coffee. “There,” she smiles at the teenager.
“That’s exactly what I did,” Kennedy claims.
“It’s tricky sometimes.” Dawn smiles, “You’ll have coffee in about twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes? Grrrrr-” she glares at the machine. “I need it now.”
“Come on,” Dawn takes her by the arm. “I’ll buy you a mocha.”
Kennedy smiles then it fades, “Why are you being nice to me?”
“Not sure really,” she grins. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”
Kennedy rolls her eyes and goes out the door with the other teenager. Willow smiles from the bottom of the stairs. Buffy looks at her, “Why are you smiling?”
“No reason,” Willow says.
“Un huh-what do you know that I don’t?” Buffy asks her friend.
Willow grins, “You really want me to answer that Buff?” Buffy pouts at her best friend, then mock glares. Willow laughs, “I just think they’ll be good for each other. Dawn needs a friend close to her age that knows about demony stuff and Kennedy needs someone that will-” she stops and starts again. “Dawnie is a good listener.”
“It’s hard on all of them Willow, they didn’t ask for this.”
“True-but they have to learn to deal with it,” she looks a little said. Buffy hugs her friend. “I miss her Buffy, I miss her so much.”
“I know,” she holds her tightly.
A week later, the gang is no closer to finding a way to stop the First Evil. That, however, is not the case with Kennedy and Dawn-they have become fast friends. The teenagers sit in the living room with books and papers all around them, Kennedy is helping Dawn study for a test. Buffy comes down the stairs and smiles at them. “Hey,” she says and both girls look up at her. “How’s the studying going?”
Dawn smiles at her sister, “Just a little left, she’s almost as smart as Willow.”
“Excuse me?” The redhead grins as she stops next to the blonde Slayer.
Kennedy smirks, “You heard her Red,” Kennedy teases.
Dawn blushes, “I said almost.”
“Back to work,” says her sister.
Dawn rolls her eyes, “Right.” Buffy and Willow start to walk away. “Oh Buffy would it be okay if we get movies and have kind of a sleepover?”
“Since we have what, eight more girls than last week I thought it was already a sleepover Dawnie,” she teases.
“I mean a real sleepover without the Big Bad talk?”
“We can try,” she smiles.
Willow smiles too, “You two get the movies and Buffy and I will be in charge of the food.”
“On it, as soon as we finish here,” says Kennedy.
“Just remember back before dark,” Buffy adds.
“No monster talk,” whines Dawn.
“Sorry, before dark,” she repeats to Kennedy.
“Count on it.”
The teens walk around the movie store looking at movies, laughing and talking as they fuss over what to get. “No fighting ones,” whines Dawn.
“I’m not watching some girly movie,” Kennedy protests.
Dawn grins, “Thought you liked the girls?”
Kennedy rolls her eyes, “Okay let me rephrase that-no sappy love stories.”
“Fine, that leaves comedies or musicals.”
“Comedies, I could use a good laugh,” the older teen says.
“We finally agree,” she starts to pick up a movie but stops as she sees a guy walk in the door. She grabs Kennedy’s arm.
Kennedy looks unsure, ready for a fight but relaxes when she follows Dawn’s eyes and sees the guy. “That’s him huh? The guy from school you’re all eeeeeeee over?”
“First of all, I’m not all eeeeeee and second you’ve been living with Willow too long you’re starting to sound like her.”
Kennedy grins, “So go say hi.”
“No way, I’ll get all nervous and my words will just be a jumbled mess.”
“Hi is only one word.”
“Maybe but it leads to more and then it’s just bad,” Dawn assures her.
“Go-” Kennedy pushes her toward him.
Dawn glares, “Stop!” She growls through clinched teeth.
“Dawn,” the boy says with a smile. “Hi.”
Dawn stares up at him, “Hi.” She looks back toward Kennedy but finds her gone. “We-I-movies-” she stutters.
Justin smiles, “Then you’re in the right place.”
Dawn blushes, “Yeah. I-” she stops again unsure of what to say.
“I guess I’ll see you in class on Monday.”
“Class-yeah-okay. Bye.” She hurries away and the teenaged boy watches unsure of what he did wrong.
A hand pulls Dawn into another aisle and she is startled but then angry when she realizes it is Kennedy, “See I told you it would be bad.” She pouts and then whines. “Why can’t I just talk to him?”
Kennedy looks at the younger girl, “You have to relax, forget he’s a guy. Pretend he’s me. You can talk to me right?”
Dawn thinks about her words and smiles, “Pretend he’s you. I can do that.”
Kennedy smiles too, “So go try it.” She looks from Dawn to Justin.
“Now?” Dawn is suddenly nervous again. “I-I couldn’t-not-”
Kennedy mock glares. “Just act like you’re looking for a movie in the same row. It’s easy.”
“For you maybe cause-I bet you get nervous when you’re around a girl you like.”
Kennedy shakes her head, “Nope not me, never.”
“Not even when you were my age?”
Again Kennedy shakes her head, “Watch.” Kennedy walks toward the aisle that Justin is in. She looks at a few movies then turns to him and smiles. Dawn watches as they talk and smile but she can’t hear what they are saying. Kennedy picks up a movie and walks back toward her. When she reaches her she hands her the movie. “See, it’s no big deal. Now you take it back and get a different one.”
“Kennedy I-”
The Potential grins, “Go, now.”
Dawn looks toward Justin, then back at Kennedy. She bites her lip, “Okay but if I make a fool outta myself you’re so gonna pay for it.” Dawn looks at the movie and then walks towards the spot it came from.
Kennedy watches her with a smile. She whispers, “You can do it.”
Dawn walks down the aisle, Justin smiles at her. “Hi again.”
“Hi,” she says nervously. She puts the movie back. “My friend-” she looks down. “Bad taste in movies.” She looks at the movies and tries to pretend he is Kennedy. “So, have you studied for the test?”
He shakes his head, “No, I haven’t even started. I don’t get that stuff.”
“I didn’t either but Kennedy helped me, it’s kinda easy now.”
“Kennedy?”
“My friend,” Dawn says with a smile.
“The one with the bad taste in movies?”
“Yeah, Trig she gets, movies-” Dawn shakes her head, “movies not so much.”
Justin is quiet as he watches Dawn pick up a movie. “Do you think you could help me study?”
“Help you-ah-I-” the nervousness returns.
“We could meet at the library tomorrow, get ice cream after?”
“I-library okay-sure, I could-yeah.”
“So I’ll see you there at noon?” Justin asks hopefully.
Dawn smiles, “Ah better make it one, lots of movies to watch.”
“Okay one at the library, then ice cream.” He smiles at her.
“Right, bye.” She walks away without a movie.
Kennedy watches with a smile as she sees Dawn smiling almost running toward her. “You talked.” She states.
“I’m helping him study for the test tomorrow.”
“You got a date?” Kennedy smiles. “Way to go!”
“No, no date-studying.”
“Right, studying.” Kennedy grins. “If it makes you feel better, we’ll call it studying.”
Dawn rolls her eyes, “It is studying.” She starts to walk toward the comedy section. “With ice cream.”
“It‘s a date, deal with it,” Kennedy grins as she follows her.
Dawn turns and jumps up and down. “I got a date with Justin!”
Kennedy shakes her head and smiles, “Told you it was easy.”
Dawn hugs her without even thinking about it then pulls back. She turns to look at her and Kennedy stands a little surprised by the girl’s actions. The Slayer-to-be finally just shakes her head and begins to search for a movie that’s not too lame.
Later, at the house, teenagers lie piled in the living room floor watching movies. Willow and Buffy sit on the couch watching as well. Both smile as they hear the laughter fill the house. “I’ve missed that,” whispers the Slayer.
“It’s been too long,” the redhead agrees.
Buffy puts an arm around her and pulls her close. “We’ll get through this like all the other times Will-I promise.”
“Yeah,” she says simply.
The movie ends and the would be Slayers stretch and begin to move toward the pizza boxes around the room. Kennedy pouts as she opens a box to find it empty. “Hey who ate the last of my anchovie pizza?”
Dawn grins, “Ah sorry, too slow Slayer.” She begins to eat the last piece.
“Oh you’re so gonna pay for that Summers!”
Dawn’s eyes go wide as the girl movies toward her. “You-you wouldn’t!”
“Wouldn’t I?” Kennedy begins to tickle her, the pizza drops to the floor. The older teen grabs it and takes a bite. She smiles victorious.
Willow and Buffy laugh, the others look on in surprise. Dawn mock glares at her friend. “You wait, you gotta sleep sometime.”
“Not till the pizza is gone.” She finishes the slice.
Willow grins, “Better make that three anchovie and pineapple pizzas the next time.”
“They are so strange. What normal person eats that?” The blonde Slayer makes a face.
As another movie plays and the food disappears the young Potentials begin to crawl into sleeping bags or cover themselves with blankets. Dawn looks at around to see Willow and Buffy snuggled together asleep. She smiles then looks at Kennedy. “What do you think?” She looks toward the napping adults.
“I think there’s an unwritten sleepover code,” she grins. “First ones to sleep have to pay.”
They stand up and walk towards the women, just as they are about to wage their tickle attack Buffy, eyes still closed, speaks. “I wouldn’t if I were you.”
“Slayer-witch-mere mortals, not good odds,” Willow adds as she opens one eye.
“Hey,” Kennedy glares. “I’m gonna be a Slayer too someday.”
“Someday doesn’t really do us much good right now,” says Dawn as she looks at her partner in crime.
“Great, just switch teams on me.” Kennedy pretends to pout.
“There’s team switching?” Willow raises an eyebrow, then grins.
The light comes on for both teens at the same time. Dawn tries to assure Willow, “Switching teams-ah-no, I mean-not like-”
Kennedy grins, “See even she knew better than to turn me down.”
Willow rolls her eyes, “Whatever.” She smiles.
Kennedy laughs then Dawn smiles at the happiness on the redhead’s face. Buffy looks on confused.
“Okay, again I’ve missed something.” She sits up and looks from a grinning Willow, to a smirking Kennedy and then finally to her sister.
“No, there’s nothing to miss. Still playing for the same team as before.” Dawn smiles at the Slayer.
“If fact,” Kennedy chimes in. “She has a date tomorrow.”
Buffy glares at her sister, “A date?”
“It’s not a date. It’s studying with Justin, he needs help with math.”
“Math? Isn’t that what Kennedy’s been helping you with?”
“Yep, and she helped so well I can help him.” She smiles.
“What can I say,” grins the Potential Slayer, “I’m just that good.” She wiggles her eye brows, then winks at Willow.
The redhead giggles at the girl’s persistence, then closes her eyes. “On that note I think I’m going to sleep now.”
Buffy looks at her friend, then back at her sister. “We’ll talk about this date thing tomorrow.”
“It’s not a date,” Dawn insists.
“Right,” Willow giggles. “We believe you.”
Dawn attacks without warning, jumping on the couch and the redhead, tickling and then tickling some more as the giggling continues.
“B-Buffy!” Willow finally gets out.
Dawn laughs at her as her fingers continue to torture Willow. Kennedy watches as Buffy starts toward her sister. Kennedy grabs her as well and begins to tickle the blonde Slayer, the element of surprise giving her a momentary advantage.
“Hey! That’s so cheating-I was all distracted.” Buffy complains as she tries to work away from Kennedy’s probing fingers.
Meanwhile, Willow manages to wiggle away without magic and jumps in to rescue the older Slayer. Soon after much yelling and laughing the older friends have the younger ones at their mercy. They each sit on a teen; Buffy, her sister and Willow, the young Slayer-to-be.
Kennedy smirks up at the redhead as she feels her knees press against her hips, “I actually pictured this the other way around.
Willow blushes and moves off the Potential Slayer, her eyes a little sad. The brunette touches her shoulder, “Hey I’m sorry-I was just messing around.”
“It’s okay,” she forces a little smile.
“I really was teasing. It’s just me-” she says softly.
“I know, you’re a brat.” She grins with a wink.
“Exactly.” Kennedy grins.
“Help!” Dawn yells as Buffy tickles again.
Without a word Kennedy attacks the blonde. They wrestle as Dawn and Willow watch on. They grin at each other as the Slayer and the Slayer-to-be play like children in the floor.
Later, Willow lies curled up in her bed. The door opens and Kennedy comes in quietly trying not to wake her. She bumps into the dresser, “Damn,” she mutters.
“I’m not asleep, you can turn on the light.”
“Now you tell me,” Kennedy says with a grin as she flips the switch and rubs her knee. “I thought you were going to sleep an hour ago.”
“So did I, but I’m not having much luck.”
Kennedy gathers her sleeping bag and her pajamas. “You okay?” She stops long enough to ask the redhead.
“Yeah-busy head, it happens sometimes. I’ll be fine.” She forces a smile for the girl. “Whatcha doing?”
“Gonna stay in Dawn’s room, make it a real sleepover.” She grins.
Willow smiles at the teen. “Have fun.”
She walks over to the bed and sits on the side. “Sure you’ll be okay?”
Willow nods, “Night.”
“Night Red.” She disappears through the door but leaves it open. Willow smiles knowing that it was done so the Slayer-to-be could check on her easier.
Kennedy knocks on Dawn’s door and hears, “Come on in.” As she opens it, she finds the other teen already in her pajamas and sitting on her bed.
She goes inside and puts the sleeping bag on the floor and sits down on it. She looks unsure as Dawn gets up and gets a sleeping bag out of her closet and lays it down beside her and sits down. “You have a bed why are you down here?”
“Can’t have a sleepover if you’re not sleeping in the same place,” Dawn informs. “How are we gonna talk all night about boys?” Kennedy raises an eyebrow and Dawn misreads it. “Or girls-you can talk about girls.”
Kennedy grins, “You’d sleep with me?”
“Ah sure why not, I use to sleep with Tara all the time.”
Kennedy’s grin turns to a smirk. “Willow know that?”
Dawn rolls her eyes and giggles, “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, but I had to mess with you.”
Dawn playfully swats her. “I’ll get you, you know.”
“Right.” It is now Kennedy’s turn to roll her eyes. They are quiet for a minute as the older teen looks at the bed, “I don’t know about you but the bed sounds better then the bags-I promise to be good.”
Dawn gets up and crawls in turning down the covers as she does and picking up her stuffed bear. Kennedy slips in on the other side. “What do you have there?” Asks the Potential.
“This is Lucky,” brushes at the fur of the animal. Kennedy brushes it as well and frowns when she notices the missing ear. Dawn answers her unasked question, “He’s been through a couple apocalypses.-The last one was a little rough on him-hence the name Lucky.”
“What was his name before?”
“Mr. Buttons-then Buttons-he’s a bear of many names.”
“I feel bad, maybe we could make him a little bandage?” She smiles.
“Nah, he likes to show his battle scars. He says it gives him character.”
“He says that does he?” She raises an eyebrow.
Dawn smiles and rolls her eyes at the older teen, “I know you have stuffed animals too. Don’t even try to deny it.”
“Me? No way. I’m a Slayer.”
“So- even Buffy has Mr. Gordo.”
“Mr. Gordo?” Kennedy smirks.
“He’s a pig and you didn’t hear about it from me.”
“Or course not,” she grins.
Dawn changes the subject, the stuffed animal still in her hands. “So tell me about your first girlfriend.”
“Why do I have to go first?” Asks the Potential.
“Well, cause I never really had a boyfriend-except well there was the guy I went out with but he was a vampire and then the thing with the love spell that I really don’t wanna talk about.” She shakes her head.
“You’re kidding right?” Dawn shakes her head. “But you’re hot-are all the guys around here blind?”
Dawn blushes, “I just- I get nervous remember the video store?”
“So they ask you out and then you go all spazzy and scare them away?”
“Mostly yeah.”
“But things are looking up right? You got your date with Justin tomorrow.” Kennedy smiles.
“If I don’t screw it up.” Dawn says nervously.
“You won’t-you’ll teach him Trig and then eat ice cream.”
Dawn buries her head in her pillow, “Grrrrr-I’ll never get any sleep.” The other girl giggles. “Don’t laugh at me.”
“Sorry Dawn.”
Dawn looks up at her, “Okay-your first girlfriend.”
“Amy-we were 14-her parents caught us kissing and they left town like 3 days later.”
Dawn looks a little sad, “Stupid people.”
“Yeah, it was bad for a while. My dad handled it better than I thought he would.”
“And your mom?”
Kennedy hesitates, “She died when I was 2-I don’t remember much about her. Car accident.”
“I’m sorry-I’m making you all sad-it’s suppose to be fun.”
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.”
“My mom died too-a couple of years ago.” Their voices fade as the talking continues.
Hours later, the talk has turned back to happier topics. Dawn is laughing, then finally composes herself. “He really caught you?”
“In the act.”
Dawn blushes at the thought. “I would have died.”
“I almost did, he grounded me for 60 days but damn-it was worth it.”
Dawn laughs some more before pulling herself together. “The two of you still going out?”
“Nah, she went away to college, we kinda lost touch.”
“That sucks.”
“For a while till I met Rachel.” Kennedy wiggles her eyebrows
“Just how many girls have you-” Dawn stops.
Kennedy smiles, “Ah-a few.”
“Have you ever-you know with a guy?”
Kennedy shakes her head, “Kissed a guy once-didn’t see what all the fuss was about, didn’t impress me.” She grins. “You can let me know how Justin kisses when you get home.”
“He’s not gonna kiss me.”
“He might.” Kennedy grins.
“He won’t-it’s just help with Trig.”
“You’re wrong.” Kennedy says.
“Guess we’ll see.”
“Guess we will.” She rolls over and closes her eyes.
“Hey-it’s not time to sleep.”
“Sure it is.” She looks toward the clock that reads 3:06. “Don’t want you sleeping through the kiss and missing it.” She giggles.
Dawn swats her again but then lies down as well. “Night Kennedy.” She turns off the light.
“Night Dawn.”
They are quiet for a few minutes, Dawn can hear the even breathing of the older girl. She waits worried unable to sleep. Finally 45 minutes later she shakes Kennedy. “What?” Asks the sleepy teen.
Dawn’s worried words fill the room. “What if he does want to kiss me?”
“You kiss him back.” Her eyes are still closed. “Go to sleep.”
“I can’t.”
Kennedy opens her eyes and turns to face the teen, “Dawn, kissing is no big deal.”
“Maybe not for you, but for me it is. What if I do it wrong?”
Kennedy makes a face, “That won’t happen, you’ve kissed guys before.”
“Two-I’m sure he’s kissed way more people.”
“I’m not sure how I can help here.” Kennedy’s eyes meet the younger teen’s in the dark.
“Me neither. Look I’m sorry, just go back to sleep.”
“Can’t-not till I know you can sleep too.”
They both lie in the dark awake. Kennedy searches her mind and finally a smile crosses her face. She sits up, turns on the lamp and smiles at the younger teen, a plan formed in her mind.
Dawn looks at her unsure, “Why are you smiling?”
“I got an idea.”
“Yeah?” Dawn smiles too.
“You can say no,” she tells the girl.
“Why would I do that?” Dawn asks confused.
“You could practice kissing,” Kennedy states.
“Who would I practice with, there’s not any guys around here but Xander and even though I had a crush on him when I was young there’s the whole he’s family thing ick thing.”
“You could practice with me.”
“You?” Dawn says surprised, her voice a little higher than normal.
There’s your first chapter. Hope it’s what you wanted. Let me know what you think, feedback is so important.
Thanks to Wolfkin for beta reading and Shrektric for the challenge. I may never have tried a Kennedy/Dawn without it and it’s been fun so far! |
