Story: "Untitled" - Dawn, Buffy - PG
Title: Untitled
Author: Guardian Erin
Rating: PG
Fandom: BtVS
Characters: Dawn, Buffy
Word count: ~900
Warnings: None yet
Disclaimer: I do not own any Buffy characters, or Jack Carter from Eureka (wish I did!), who is blatantly stolen for my male "OC" (why pretend otherwise? :P) Not a crossover, though, sorry.
Summary: AU. Dawn Carter has always been used to just having her dad to rely on. When he finally finds a new love, Dawn finds herself becoming an unwanted sister.
This will be a series. Leaving it untitled for now.
It was another awkward start in a new town; the story of Dawn Carter's life. She'd been bounced around the country, in and out of schools all of her life, sometimes staying for only weeks or even days. She'd even been home schooled for a while when things were too unstable to bother with officially enrolling anywhere. Frequent traveling was the downside to having a dad who worked for the military.
Joyce changed all of that for them. Her dad fell in love, and at first it upset her in a weird way. Jack was changing his life for some woman she barely knew, when he hadn't done the same for his own daughter. It made her feel like his world didn't even include her, even though she knew that wasn't true. When she finally met Joyce, however, and saw how happy they were together, Dawn was sincerely happy for him. The engagement made her realize that her life was finally going to settle down. It was something she'd always desperately wanted, but at the same time, it was going to be harder than she thought.
Her dad's fiancée had a large house, more than big enough to let them move in comfortably. She had her own room, one that Joyce and her father expressly told her she could decorate. They were trying very hard to make sure she was comfortable, but all Dawn could do was try to smile and hide her inner turmoil. It would pass; it had to, and it was really a lovely place to live. Maybe that was what was so confusing about it. She'd gotten used to flea ridden apartments and cockroach-infested motel rooms. All of those years of her life felt cheated, finally having a nice home to live in, and she wasn't completely convinced that she could trust it, afraid that it was all just another temporary situation and she'd be packing up and leaving the next day.
It was a week before her dad finally stopped into her room. He stared at the unpacked boxes stacked in the corner for a long time before softly saying, "We're not going anywhere, honey. I promise."
Just those simple words brought tears of relief into her eyes. The burden was finally lifted, and until then she hadn't known it had been weighing so heavily on her. When he left, she started to unpack slowly, carefully sorting everything out and finding homes for her objects.
The unpacking took hours, but Dawn didn't notice how the time passed, or that Buffy, Joyce's only daughter, was watching her from the doorway. "You're kind of like a neat freak," Buffy finally observed, breaking Dawn from her work.
She didn't see Buffy very often, and was positive that the older girl didn't like her, so Dawn had steered clear of her from the very start. It was probably the first time Buffy had really said anything to her. The stare was getting made her uncomfortable, but Dawn hardened her face in return, schooling herself like any kid with a military dad could.
"Geez, I was just sayin'," Buffy said when the tense silence dragged on. She sighed softly, shifting her weight, clearly reluctant. "Dinner's ready. You coming down or just going to skulk around in your room all night?"
"I'll be down," Dawn responded softly, letting herself relax. Buffy gave a quiet snort and walked off, leaving Dawn alone again.
The girl seemed too harsh, too rude. Dawn had to wonder how much of that just came from her anger about having an unwanted sister. If she saw Buffy at school, it was a miracle. On the first day, Buffy expressly informed her that they didn't know each other, and never to speak to her, and that was the end of it.
Dawn was more than fine with leaving her alone. It surprised her to note how passive she and her father were. They were always soft-spoken, but they chose what they said wisely. When he did raise his voice, it was terrifying in contrast, but she'd only heard him do that a few times in her life. She adapted the same quiet confidence from him, and he was always very protective of her. His loud, boisterous buddies had always made her nervous, and when Buffy was around she felt a similar nervousness.
Dinner might have been unbearable, but her father and Joyce kept up a buzz of conversation. Dawn responded or smiled when necessary, and Buffy did the same, playing the part of the perfect daughter, until the adults finally collected the dishes and left, giggling and acting like a lovesick couple. Dawn was left in a state of awe, wondering how her dad could be so strangely bubbly.
"It's sickening isn't it?" Buffy asked. Dawn glanced at her, torn between agreeing and taking offense, and then noticed that there was a more light-hearted undertone to Buffy's comment.
"Are parents always…"
"Gross?" Buffy guessed.
"Yeah."
"It's pretty much a twenty-four hour thing. They live to make their kids suffer," Buffy stated melodramatically, standing up and picking up her dishes.
"They're doing a good job of it," Dawn said lightly, standing up and following Buffy's example, hesitantly pleased that Buffy was finally speaking to her.
"Just wait; it only gets worse," Buffy muttered, rolling her eyes as she walked off.
Author: Guardian Erin
Rating: PG
Fandom: BtVS
Characters: Dawn, Buffy
Word count: ~900
Warnings: None yet
Disclaimer: I do not own any Buffy characters, or Jack Carter from Eureka (wish I did!), who is blatantly stolen for my male "OC" (why pretend otherwise? :P) Not a crossover, though, sorry.
Summary: AU. Dawn Carter has always been used to just having her dad to rely on. When he finally finds a new love, Dawn finds herself becoming an unwanted sister.
This will be a series. Leaving it untitled for now.
It was another awkward start in a new town; the story of Dawn Carter's life. She'd been bounced around the country, in and out of schools all of her life, sometimes staying for only weeks or even days. She'd even been home schooled for a while when things were too unstable to bother with officially enrolling anywhere. Frequent traveling was the downside to having a dad who worked for the military.
Joyce changed all of that for them. Her dad fell in love, and at first it upset her in a weird way. Jack was changing his life for some woman she barely knew, when he hadn't done the same for his own daughter. It made her feel like his world didn't even include her, even though she knew that wasn't true. When she finally met Joyce, however, and saw how happy they were together, Dawn was sincerely happy for him. The engagement made her realize that her life was finally going to settle down. It was something she'd always desperately wanted, but at the same time, it was going to be harder than she thought.
Her dad's fiancée had a large house, more than big enough to let them move in comfortably. She had her own room, one that Joyce and her father expressly told her she could decorate. They were trying very hard to make sure she was comfortable, but all Dawn could do was try to smile and hide her inner turmoil. It would pass; it had to, and it was really a lovely place to live. Maybe that was what was so confusing about it. She'd gotten used to flea ridden apartments and cockroach-infested motel rooms. All of those years of her life felt cheated, finally having a nice home to live in, and she wasn't completely convinced that she could trust it, afraid that it was all just another temporary situation and she'd be packing up and leaving the next day.
It was a week before her dad finally stopped into her room. He stared at the unpacked boxes stacked in the corner for a long time before softly saying, "We're not going anywhere, honey. I promise."
Just those simple words brought tears of relief into her eyes. The burden was finally lifted, and until then she hadn't known it had been weighing so heavily on her. When he left, she started to unpack slowly, carefully sorting everything out and finding homes for her objects.
The unpacking took hours, but Dawn didn't notice how the time passed, or that Buffy, Joyce's only daughter, was watching her from the doorway. "You're kind of like a neat freak," Buffy finally observed, breaking Dawn from her work.
She didn't see Buffy very often, and was positive that the older girl didn't like her, so Dawn had steered clear of her from the very start. It was probably the first time Buffy had really said anything to her. The stare was getting made her uncomfortable, but Dawn hardened her face in return, schooling herself like any kid with a military dad could.
"Geez, I was just sayin'," Buffy said when the tense silence dragged on. She sighed softly, shifting her weight, clearly reluctant. "Dinner's ready. You coming down or just going to skulk around in your room all night?"
"I'll be down," Dawn responded softly, letting herself relax. Buffy gave a quiet snort and walked off, leaving Dawn alone again.
The girl seemed too harsh, too rude. Dawn had to wonder how much of that just came from her anger about having an unwanted sister. If she saw Buffy at school, it was a miracle. On the first day, Buffy expressly informed her that they didn't know each other, and never to speak to her, and that was the end of it.
Dawn was more than fine with leaving her alone. It surprised her to note how passive she and her father were. They were always soft-spoken, but they chose what they said wisely. When he did raise his voice, it was terrifying in contrast, but she'd only heard him do that a few times in her life. She adapted the same quiet confidence from him, and he was always very protective of her. His loud, boisterous buddies had always made her nervous, and when Buffy was around she felt a similar nervousness.
Dinner might have been unbearable, but her father and Joyce kept up a buzz of conversation. Dawn responded or smiled when necessary, and Buffy did the same, playing the part of the perfect daughter, until the adults finally collected the dishes and left, giggling and acting like a lovesick couple. Dawn was left in a state of awe, wondering how her dad could be so strangely bubbly.
"It's sickening isn't it?" Buffy asked. Dawn glanced at her, torn between agreeing and taking offense, and then noticed that there was a more light-hearted undertone to Buffy's comment.
"Are parents always…"
"Gross?" Buffy guessed.
"Yeah."
"It's pretty much a twenty-four hour thing. They live to make their kids suffer," Buffy stated melodramatically, standing up and picking up her dishes.
"They're doing a good job of it," Dawn said lightly, standing up and following Buffy's example, hesitantly pleased that Buffy was finally speaking to her.
"Just wait; it only gets worse," Buffy muttered, rolling her eyes as she walked off.