Lost And Found
Dawn raced through the streets. She knew she was going to catch it big time from Buffy - she had promised her sister she would be home an hour earlier. Almost out of breath, Dawn finally made it up the stairs to the apartment she and Buffy shared with Andrew.
"Buffy! I'm home. Sorry I'm late! Buffy! Buffy? Andrew?"
It took a few more seconds for the quietness of the apartment to register with Dawn. She hoped that they weren't out looking for her, but she knew that Andrew would have talked Buffy into not combing the city looking for her. For one moment, Dawn felt her stomach sink the same way it had back in Sunnydale when she came home to an empty house. She chided herself for allowing herself to think like that; things had changed, Buffy wasn't going to leave her to go boff a vampire. Dawn went into the kitchen, where she noticed a hastily scrawled note left on the counter.
Ten seconds after reading the note, Dawn was running back into the night.
Dawn had known that Willow and Kennedy were going through a rough spot. They always did around the anniversary of Tara's death. As much as Willow loved Kennedy, there was a part of her that would always love Tara more. Dawn got that, but Kennedy had a much harder time dealing with it, even though five years had passed since then. This was only part of why Dawn hadn't liked Kennedy at first. She came into Willow's life in a time when she was still grieving for Tara, and she just expected Willow, and everyone else, to forget the empty space that Tara's death had created. Kennedy's "I'm such a brat and I'm going to get my way" attitude had grated on Dawn's nerves, and it wasn't just because she had tried pulling that but wasn't able to get away with it.
So it had come as a huge surprise to everyone, including Dawn and Kennedy, that they became fast friends after the dust around Sunnydale had settled. They had both been quick to judge each other earlier. It wasn't like everything was sunshine and daisies in their friendship - they still had their fights. When Dawn's first Italian boyfriend (whom also happened to be her first real boyfriend) had broken up with her, it was Kennedy who had come over with the ice cream and angry chick music. And whenever Kennedy and Willow had fought, Dawn would sit with Kennedy through the night, listening to her yell, complain, and cry.
When Dawn had read the note that Buffy had hastily left for her, she hadn't thought twice about combing the streets for Kennedy. She had already tried the theatres near Willow and Kennedy's apartment, but the theatre manager hadn't seen Kennedy.
Leaving the theatres, Dawn couldn't help but remember the first movie she and Kennedy had seen without Buffy and Willow. She knows that secretly Buffy and Willow wondered if they'd both make it through the movie without arguing. It had been touch and go at first; Kennedy wanted to see some futuristic action movie starring Angelina Jolie, but Dawn had been more interested in the latest Matt Damon movie. They could have fought for hours at the ticket booth if it wasn't for the ticket agent letting them know that Matt Damon did have a cameo in the action movie. Dawn pretended to sulk that Kennedy had gotten her way, which had gotten her a bag of free popcorn. During the movie, Dawn and Kennedy had brushed hands several times reaching for the popcorn. Dawn remembered being thankful for the darkness of the theatre, otherwise Kennedy would have seen her blush. A couple of times, Dawn had purposely watched Kennedy to make sure their hands met in the popcorn bag. Dawn's heart raced as she paid more attention to Kennedy than the movie. It was odd. Dawn had never been attracted to a woman before, and she felt guilty. Kennedy was Willow's girlfriend, and she felt like she was betraying her friendship with Willow and the new friendship she was developing with Kennedy. The guilt began to overwhelm her, and after Matt Damon's brief (and somewhat disappointing) cameo, Dawn kept her hands firmly clasped in her lap. She wasn't going to take any more chances with her wayward hands.
The dance music from the bar district brought Dawn back into the present. She wasn't quite sure what had brought her here, since she and Kennedy had never come here together, but it was worth a try. Changing gears, Dawn headed towards the source of the music. After describing Kennedy to the bouncers at several different bars, she finally found the right place. It didn't take her long to locate Kennedy in the crowd.
Dawn started to push her way towards Kennedy. She lost track of Kennedy's location several times, and finally made her way to higher ground to wait for Kennedy to leave the dance floor.
Dawn watched as Kennedy danced with reckless abandon. Her skin was coated in a fine layer of sweat, and her long brown hair formed a curtain around her face, making it difficult for Dawn to gauge her mood. Dawn realized (and not for the first time) just how beautiful Kennedy was when she let her guard down; she couldn't take her eyes off of Kennedy. She couldn't help the guilty feeling that spread through her stomach; she knew she shouldn't be admiring Kennedy, but she couldn't help it. Something had changed since Dawn had read the note Buffy left her. She knew that Kennedy was more to her than just a close friend. When she looked back at the crowd, she couldn't spot Kennedy. Her heart raced - she had to find her again.
"Hey."
Dawn turned to find Kennedy behind her. There were a million things she wanted to say, but her mouth just opened and no sound came out. Before she realized what was happening, Kennedy had grabbed her by the wrist and was dragging her out onto the dance floor.
Her skin tingled where it made contact with Kennedy's hand. Dawn's heart was beating so loudly, she was afraid that it overpowered the music in the bar. She knew that if she didn't stop Kennedy now, she would be dragged out onto the dance floor and would lose this...this moment to tell Kennedy what was on her mind. Finally finding her feet, Dawn stopped.
"Kennedy. Are..are you okay?"
Kennedy just cocked her head to one side and looked back at Dawn. The two stood like that for a minute, just looking at each other. Dawn finally looked away, blushing; she had been staring at Kennedy's lips the whole time. This was becoming a habit - the blushing and the guilt. In some ways, Dawn wished it would stop. She wanted to be able to freely admit her feelings for Kennedy, but she knew that as long as Kennedy was still seeing Willow, that would never happen.
"It means a lot that you came Dawn." Dawn's skin tingled as Kennedy closed the distance between them. She could feel Kennedy's breath on her skin. Dawn reached up, brushing stray hairs out of Kennedy's eyes.
Almost as if she could read Dawn's mind, Kennedy leaned in and whispered into Dawn's ear.
"It's over this time. I can't go back...I can't come second." Dawn had to strain to hear Kennedy's words against the beating of her heart.
Dawn shuddered with anticipation as Kennedy leaned forward and their lips met. There would be a chance for Dawn to tell Kennedy just how much she wanted her later in the night.