Moon Stung
i. Lessons
Dawn falls into the habit of hanging out with Kit and Carlos. It's not so much that the zombies (manifest spirits, whatever) decided the three of them belonged together. It's more like they've already been labelled freaks of the year, so they might as well hang, right?
They don't have much in common besides that, really. Kit doesn't remember ever being popular like Dawn was, or rather, like Dawn had been created to remember. She likes her music heavy on the string section, and her clothes treading the line of pseudo-goth. Carlos is, well, a guy, and he hates going to classes for no reason other than he's been told to go, and he thinks smoking makes him look cool. And Dawn, well, she has yet to share with them all the reasons she qualifies for freakdom, but Kung Fu Buffy gave them a pretty good idea of it.
Buffy doesn't mind if Dawn goes out to hang with Kit and Carlos. For some reason, she'd rather Dawn hang out with them than with Janine, which is silly, because it's not like they're going to the library or anything.
Maybe it's because they've seen her fight zombies, Dawn thinks. Maybe it's just one less thing she'll have to explain to them, later.
A few weeks into the term, however, Carlos makes the junior varsity basketball team, and suddenly becomes a lot cooler than he used to be. Ergo, less time to spend with the two freak girls that, rumor has it, probably won't even put out.
Kit and Dawn roll their eyes and ignore him when they go to the Bronze. It was inevitable that stupid guyness would kick in eventually, and they can talk about girl stuff as much as they want.
ii. Sleeper
Dawn's sweeping up last night's debris when someone taps on the door. One of its hinges is loose, and it swings open to reveal a startled Kit.
"Hey," Dawn offers lamely. "Sorry I didn't call you back."
"You sounded pretty freaked." Kit steps into the living room gingerly. "I can see why."
Dawn leans the broom against the wall, kicks a jagged table leg aside. "It got a little crazy."
Kit steps forward, steps closer, and grasps Dawn's shoulders, peering at the scrapes and cuts on her face. "Are you okay?"
Dawn nods, a smile blooming on her lips, then someone's throat clears behind her.
The girls startle back from each other to look at Willow, emerging from the kitchen.
"Kit, right?" Willow grins and grabs the broom. "Dawn, why don't you guys go upstairs? I can take over here."
Kit starts up the staircase, but Dawn lingers a moment before following.
"Thanks, Willow."
"It's nothing," she replies, and winks at Dawn as she begins to sweep.
Kit's already in Dawn's bedroom when she reaches the top of the steps. She sits on the bed and crosses her arms, frowning.
"What the hell happened to you?"
Dawn shuts the door behind her, but doesn't answer.
"Was it," Kit hesitates, "vampires? Or zombies?"
"No." Dawn shakes her head. "It was...something. Evil." She drops her eyes.
"And?" Kit leans forward, grasps Dawn's hands in her own. "What else?"
"And." Dawn takes a deep breath, then meets Kit's gaze. "My mom came and talked to me."
Dawn can feel Kit's body stiffen, even from a foot and a half away, and she waits for Kit to pull away, walk away, walk out.
Instead, Kit's hands tighten their grip on hers, and she pulls Dawn to the bed next to her and wraps her arms around her, buries a hand in Dawn's hair, and just holds her.
Dawn manages not to cry quite yet, but she curls her body around Kit's and tells her the whole story.
When Kit starts crying for her, it feels perfectly natural to kiss away her tears.
iii. Lies My Parents Told Me
The night after Sunnydale High broke into a school-wide brawl, Kit climbs in through Dawn's bedroom window with the remnants of a black eye. Luckily, Dawn's alone, the potentials in martial arts training, and while they often seem to be anywhere and everywhere at once, they're not very observant.
"No one saw me," Kit stage-whispers as she hops inside.
Dawn skips to lock her door, then half-flings herself into Kit's arms, planting a sloppy kiss against her lips, then more delicate ones across her jaw and up to the corner of her bruised eye. "I heard about the mess at school."
"Not too bad, aside from the eye." Kit shrugs, pulling back a little. "Got caught in the crossfire." Then she turns completely and sits on the bed.
"Kit?" Dawn crawls into the bed next to her, a frown creasing her forehead. "What's wrong?" She wraps Kit in a hug and trails her lips against Kit's neck.
"It's my parents." Kit sighs and leans against Dawn. "They don't like this."
"They don't like--"
"No," Kit interrupts. "They don't know about us. And screw them if they did."
"Then?"
"It's whatever's going on in this town," Kit explains. "It's freaking them out." She sneaks a sideways glance at Dawn. "It's freaking me out, too."
"It'll be okay," Dawn says, returning to her work, turning her attention to Kit's shoulder, the collarbone exposed by her tank top. "Buffy knows what she's doing. I think."
Then Kit jerks away, startling Dawn. "We're moving away. Soon."
Dawn gasps, folds her arms around her belly. "How soon?"
"In the next couple of days. Maybe flying out to Columbus, stay with my aunt for a while." Kit flops over on the bed, curls inward. "I'll never see you again," she whispers.
"Oh." Dawn stretches out beside her, spoon her body, placing a kiss on her left shoulderblade, nudges aside the strap of her tank top to place another kiss directly on her skin, breathing in the scent of Kit and remembering the world might actually end. Any day now.
Suddenly everything seems more urgent, and Dawn places her hand on Kit's waist, urging her to turn over. As Kit moves, Dawn bows a leg, curling it atop Kit's hip as they lie face to face.
Kit brings a hand to Dawn's lips, then brushes it over her hair.
"Do you want to..."
And Dawn kisses her.
They've done this much before, kissing entwined, but Dawn's never felt such urgency, nor has Kit's hand ever slipped under her T-shirt, twisting the clasp of her bra so that it loosens, giving room enough for Kit to run both hands under Dawn's clothes, cup her breasts, weighing them in her palm, rubbing Dawn's nipples with her thumbs.
Dawn arches her body against Kit's, moaning into her mouth, works one hand between them to tug at Kit's skirt, tug it up until she can reach under it, awkwardly place her hand between Kit's thighs.
A whimper emerges from Kit's throat, and her hips buck against Dawn's hand. She slides one hand down and fumbles with the fastenings of Dawn's jeans, unfastening and shoving down until she has enough room to slip her hand into Dawn's panties, press against her mound.
Dawn jerks back, eyes going wide, and Kit makes an inquisitive noise, her lips parted enough to pant. Dawn presses her eyelids shut, then opens them again, nods.
Kit grins, wide and toothy, and rubs against Dawn's clit with two fingers.
Dawn turns her head, bites the pillow to muffle her squeal, and Kit sits up, dislodging Dawn's own hands. Pushes Dawn so that her shoulders are against the bed, insinuates herself between Dawn's legs, and slides down the bed, drawing Dawn's jeans and panties completely off her legs.
Dawn's eyes widen, and she clutches the bedspread in her fists, just moments before Kit's tongue dances against the crease of her thigh, teasing circles on her skin, closer and closer until--
"Dawn!" Rona shouts through the door. "Pizza's here!"
Kit pulls back so quickly she almost falls off the bed, and Dawn stifles a giggle.
"Dawn?" Rona pounds on the door. "You in there?"
"Yeah!" Dawn puts a finger to her lips, hushing Kit. "I'm just finishing up some homework. I'll be down later."
"Whatever." She can practically feel Rona rolling her eyes on the other side of the door. "Don't think I'm going to save you a piece."
Then, silence, and it's just Dawn and Kit again.
Kit tilts her head, regards the cradle of Dawn's hips with something resembling a leer. "So." There's a question in her voice, so Dawn answers the best way she can.
She pulls off her T-shirt, shrugs off her bra, and draws Kit back down with a laugh.