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Both Sides Now	By : addielogan Category: BtVS AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 6136 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Dawn woke up happy. She stretched
languidly in the bed, a smile on her face. As she thought back to the night
before, the smile grew. It was only nine o'clock in the morning, and she had
nowhere to go, but she didn't feel like staying in bed any longer. She could
barely make out the sound of the television in the next room, but it was enough
to let her know that Andrew was awake.
She got out of bed and started
towards the living room when she stopped, her hand on the door handle. She
turned around, going back to her vanity and looking at herself in the mirror.
She brushed her hair quickly, working out any of the tangles that had formed
while she slept. Still not completely satisfied, she added a light sheen of
cherry gloss to her lips and pinched her cheeks to make them rosier. She smiled
again, pleased with what she saw now, and left the room.
Andrew was sitting on the couch,
the television indeed on. Seeing him made all the nervousness she'd felt after
leaving the movie theater come rushing back. What if now, in the light of day,
he regretted starting anything with her? What if it had been fun for him then,
but he'd rather be with Caprice and Isabella? She took a deep breath, reminding
herself that this was still Andrew, and that he wasn't going to do anything
horrible to her. If he really didn't want her, he'd probably at least let her
down gently. She sat down beside him, trying not to look uneasy.
"Hey, Dawn," Andrew said,
looking away from the television and at her. "You look really pretty this
morning."
Dawn shrugged and tucked a piece of
hair behind her ear. "It's the same way I look every morning."
"Well, you always look
pretty." Andrew glanced behind him in the direction of Buffy's bedroom,
making sure the door was still closed. When he verified that it was, he leaned
over, giving Dawn a kiss. "Good morning," he said when he pulled
away.
The same sort of smile that Dawn
had woken up with crept to her lips. "Good morning."
"Are we still seeing what
happens from here?" Andrew asked.
"I want to," Dawn
replied. "I�I like you."
"I like you, too."
"That still shocks me a
little," Andrew said. "I mean, you know me. The real me�not who I've tried to be with
the women I've met post-Sunnydale. You know I like comics and talk about
Star Wars a lot and that I role play,
but you still like me."
"Maybe I have a Dungeon Master
fetish," Dawn said with a wink.
"That may be the sexiest thing
anyone's ever said to me."
"You know, I've never seen
myself as much of anything either," Dawn said, getting serious again.
"I've always felt sort of gawky and clumsy�like my feet are so far away
from my head that I can't control where they go."
"You're not gawky," Andrew
said, taking her hand and stroking it gently with his thumb. "And�and
you've got really great legs."
"I�I do?"
"Yeah. They're long in a sexy way." Andrew
blushed up to the roots of his hair. "You know, I worked really hard to
develop this whole suave persona thing, but two seconds with you, and it's
gone."
Dawn squeezed his hand. "Don't
be suave�be Andrew."
"You really like it when I'm
just myself? Because usually that makes people tell me I'm a loser and then run
away."
Dawn saw the pain in his eyes when
he spoke, and she thought back to how she'd treated him when he'd first showed
up at her house as her sister's hostage. Granted, at that point he had only
recently tried to kill Buffy, but she still wished she hadn't been quite so
mean.
However, that was the past now. She
could show him that she did like him with or without any suaveness. She slid
closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He took his hand out of hers
and wrapped his arm around her. "You're not a loser," Dawn said after
a moment. "And I'm not going to run away. I like it here�with you."
"Which works
out nicely, 'cause I like you here."
They both turned their attention to
the television for a while, enjoying the feel of simply being close to each other.
Andrew would occasionally reach up to stroke her hair, and Dawn sighed
contentedly. Any of the awkwardness she'd still been feeling seemed to melt
away now, and she felt completely comfortable there with him.
When Buffy's bedroom door creaked open, Andrew and Dawn jumped away from each other,
both going to opposite ends of the couch. Buffy went into the bathroom without
so much as a glance in their direction, and Dawn and Andrew shared a look of
relief. For their own reasons, neither of them was ready to reveal their
fledgling relationship to the third person in the apartment.
But then at the same time, neither
one was in the mood to have to act like nothing was going on either. "Do
you want to go somewhere?" Andrew asked.
"Like
where?"
"It's Sunday. Wanna go to the Porta Portese?"
Dawn's eyes lit up. "Ooh. Shopping. I'm in."
Andrew kissed her on the forehead.
"Great. Go get dressed, and we'll get out of here."
Dawn grinned brightly and hurried
into her bedroom. Andrew leaned back against the couch, fighting a bizarre urge
to giggle. He never would've thought just a couple of days ago that he'd be
here with Dawn now, but he was�and he was deliriously happy about it. Maybe she
didn't know how wonderful, how beautiful she was, but Andrew decided right then
that he was going to show her.

***
*** ***
Dawn stared at her closet full of
clothes, panicking. What the hell was she going to wear? She realized that in
light of recent events, this qualified as a date. Granted, Andrew had seen her
at her worst�the hang over of two mornings ago coming to mind�but she still
felt herself gripped by the irrational fear that a bad outfit choice now could
make him lose this attraction he apparently felt to her.
She pulled top after top out of the
closet, rejecting each one. Finally, she decided on a black spaghetti-strap one
with lace trimming on the top and bottom. The straps were a deep blue, and a
matching ribbon was threaded through the middle, a little beneath her chest.
She chose a pair of black hip-hugger jeans that she'd always thought looked
good on her, hoping Andrew would think the same thing. She added a necklace
with a string of blue crystals and matching earrings before going to her mirror
to put on her make-up. Her hands were shaky, and she cursed as she poked
herself with her eyeliner.
Finally, she deemed herself ready
to go out with�her boyfriend? Dawn frowned. Was that what Andrew was? Had they
moved to the stage already where she could call him that? They hadn't discussed
it, and honestly, she was afraid to. What if this was just a fling to him, or
even a 'friends with benefits' sort of deal? She didn't think she'd be able to
take it if he still wanted those tramps he'd been seeing either.
Dawn knew she should probably
discuss things more with Andrew, but the fear that he might tell her it wasn't
really anything prevented it. If it turned out in the end that he wasn't really
expecting things to go anywhere with them, well, she'd just enjoy it now,
blissfully ignorant to any bad that could happen. It was better that way.
Dawn went back into the living
room, smiling to herself at the way Andrew's eyes widened a little when he saw
her. Apparently she had chosen wisely as far as clothes went. "Are you
ready to go?"
"Yep," Andrew replied,
coming over to her.
Buffy walked out of the kitchen.
"You two are going somewhere? Together?"
"Shopping," Dawn replied.
"I was bored�Andrew offered to entertain me."
"Then I'm sure it'll be a
thrilling afternoon," Buffy replied, her sarcasm thinly veiled. "Be
careful. Andrew, if you let any harm come to my sister, I kill you. Have a nice
time."
Dawn bit her tongue at Buffy's
remarks. Granted, they were the way Buffy always
talked to Andrew, and Dawn wasn't sure how much she actually meant them and how
much of her saying them was just habit, but she didn't like it, especially now.
She linked her arm with Andrew, giving her sister a defiant look. "We'll
have a great time," she said. "See you later, Buffy."
Buffy raised an eyebrow at their
joined arms, but said nothing. "See you, Dawn. Andrew."
Andrew pulled away from Dawn when
they got out into the hallway. "Be careful with that. I don't want Buffy
to hurt me."
Dawn blinked. "Geez,
sorry. And it's not like she thought it meant anything." Dawn
walked a little faster.
Andrew sighed, aware of the fact
that he'd hurt her feelings. He caught up with her, taking her hand in his as
they continued to walk. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean� It's just, well, your sister could probably kill me with her pinky,
y'know."
Dawn giggled, and Andrew felt
relief that he hadn't ruined things. "Buffy might not take things as badly
as you think. She usually just ignores everything I do anyway."
"Except when you do something
she doesn't want you to do. She usually notices that."
"Good point."
"But do you want to tell her?
I'll risk my safety if that's what you want. She still has that rule where she
doesn't kill humans, right?"
Dawn shook her head. "Let's
just keep this�whatever it is�between us right now, okay?"
"Works for me," Andrew
said, giving her hand a squeeze. "It's kind of like having you all to myself."
Dawn smiled, squeezing his hand
back.

***
*** ***
Dawn's hand remained locked with
Andrew's as the walked through the market. She thought about how before, when
she'd seen couples together this way she'd been jealous. She'd wanted someone's
hand to hold, someone to walk with instead of always having to present herself
as alone to the world.
They stopped at one booth, and as
Dawn looked over the merchandise, she heard Andrew having a conversation with
the vendor, an elderly lady. "What did she say?" Dawn asked as they
walked away.
"That we make a cute
couple." Andrew replied with a bashful smile. "She wished us luck in
the future.'
"Really?"
"Yep."
"Sure she wasn't just saying
'ditch that horse you have over there and come marry my much more attractive
daughter?'"
"No." Andrew chuckled.
"Besides, even if she had said
that, and her daughter was that hot
Vulcan chick from Enterprise, there's
still no way that I'd leave the girl I've had a crush on for like a year and a
half."
Dawn stopped in the middle of the
market, ignoring the complaints of the people behind her. "What did you
just say?"
Andrew grew nervous. "What did
I say about what?"
"The thing
about you having a crush on me for a year and a half."
"Oh. That."

"Yeah,
that. Is it true?"

"Dawn,
we're sort of in the middle of a walkway here."

"I
don't care. Answer my question."
Andrew sighed. "Yes, it's
true. I've had a crush on you since Sunnydale. And I've always thought you were
really pretty�even that night when we were running away from Willow."
"But why? There were so many people in that house
more crush-worthy than me. Why me?"
"I don't know! I guess 'cause
you talked to me, and you were nice to me sometimes,
and�and when you look at me with those big blue eyes of yours, you have this
way of making me feel like I'm really here."
Andrew let out a deep breath.
Dawn stared at him, silent for a
moment. "No one else even noticed me."
"I did. I always did. I told
you that."
"I know. I guess I'm just
having a hard time believing it."
Andrew smiled at her. "Well,
believe it."
"I'm starting to." Dawn
reached up, ruffling his hair, and he blushed.
"It's getting kinda
long," Andrew said, smoothing his hair with his hands.
"I like it. It's cute."
Dawn kissed his cheek. "Come on. I want to shop some more."
"Then shop we shall,
milady."

***
*** ***
As they were leaving the Porta Portese, Andrew reached
down and slipped something into Dawn's hand. She opened her palm and saw that
it was a silver bracelet with blue crystals dangling from it. "When did
you get this?" she asked.
"When you were looking at all
those shoes," Andrew replied. "I thought it matched your necklace and
your earrings. And�and your eyes."
Dawn gave him a quick peck on the
lips. "Thank you. I love it." She stopped, handing him the bracelet
and holding out her hand. "Help me with the clasp?"
Andrew did as she asked, then
kissed the back of her hand. "Looks even prettier on
you." They started walking again, their joined hands swinging
lightly between them. "Do you want to go back home?" he asked after a
moment.
"Not really," Dawn
replied. "Can we find something else to do instead?"
Andrew was happy to hear her
answer. He wasn't ready to go back and see Buffy either. "Anything you
want."

***
*** ***
Dawn and Andrew walked slowly on
their way back to the apartment. They'd stayed gone for as long as they could,
but they both knew that they had to let the day end sooner of later. "I
guess this is for the best," Dawn said, taking another reluctant step.
"I have school in the morning and all."
"And you did skip the last
couple of days you were supposed to be there."
Dawn winced. "Noticed that,
huh?"
"A little,
yeah."
"Buffy didn't. Hell, I don't
think she even knows I have classes on Saturdays." She kicked a pebble in
front of her. "Stupid Italian schools and their desire
to work me to death."
Andrew frowned. "I thought you
were doing well."
"Yeah, well, the thing about
that�I lied. I'm really not. And it's not like before in Sunnydale when I just
wasn't trying�current truancy not withstanding. They expect me to know way more
than the California school system did, so I was already behind when I came
here. And then to make things worse, I can't learn enough Italian to follow a
class discussion. My teachers make as much sense to me as the adults on Charlie
Brown." Dawn sighed heavily. "The year's almost over, and I'm going
to fail. With my luck, that'll be the one thing Buffy does notice. And
explaining to her that the failing here isn't such a big deal and stuff so
won't help my case."
"I could tutor you in Italian,
Dawn. May not be much help for this year, but next year you could go back understanding it better."
"Thanks, but I doubt it'll do
any good. I'm just too stupid for Italian school."
Andrew stopped, then
grabbed her shoulders, turning her to look at him. "You are not stupid. Don't even think that. You
went through a lot, and then you had to adjust to a whole new culture. In light
of what you've faced, it's amazing you're doing as well as you are. Don't ever
sell yourself short, Dawn. You're nothing less than amazing."
Dawn blushed, her eyes looking
downward. "Keep saying stuff like that and a girl might start to think
it's true."
"It is." Andrew kissed
her then, his hands moving from her face to her waist, pulling her into an
embrace. Dawn felt herself reacting similarly to the way she had at the movie
theater. Andrew's kisses warmed her, made her knees weak. Never would she have
imagined that Andrew could possibly be such a good kisser, but one touch of his
lips to hers, and everything else melted away.
When he pulled back for air, he
reached up and stroked her cheek. "See�amazing."
Dawn smiled dreamily, her eyelids
hooded. "Yeah, it was."
"I really, really don't want
to go in," Andrew said.
"Me either. But we'll get to
spend some more time alone together soon�right?"
"Of course! And�and we'll be in the same apartment at
least."
"Yeah, that'll be good."
Dawn sighed. "Time to go face the Slayer," she muttered.
Andrew gave her one more quick kiss. "We'll just have to make out when
she's not looking."
"I like that plan," Dawn
said with a giggle."
"Then consider it in
place," Andrew replied, taking her hand and continuing to hold it tightly
until they reached the front door.

***
*** ***
Buffy leaned against the frame of
the bathroom door as Dawn brushed her teeth. "You were gone a long time
today," Buffy commented.
Dawn rinsed out her mouth and put her
toothbrush back in the holder. "I was having a good time."
"With Andrew?"
"You know, Buffy, he's right
out in the living room. He can hear you."
"I know. I was just�sort of
surprised. Since when did the two of you hang?"
"We have before. Even back in Sunnydale."
"Huh? Where was I with this
was going on?"
"Stopping the
Apocalypse," Dawn said with a shrug. "When everyone else was out
slaying ubervamps and stuff, Andrew and I ended up
alone in the house a lot. So we'd hang. You know, watch movies, play cards,
talk."
"Talk? About what? Comic books?"
"Again, he can hear you, so
stop being such a bitch. And he is capable of talking about something other
than comics, Buffy."
Buffy lowered her voice. "I'm
not being a bitch. I'm just surprised. I never noticed you two being all
buddy-buddy, and suddenly you're gone all day."
"Yeah, well, you don't notice
a lot of things."
"Oh no. You are not
starting that again. I pay plenty of attention�"
"To what? To your stupid
boyfriend?"
"Dawn! What is your problem?
I'm sorry if you don't like the Immortal, but�"
"God, can you even hear
yourself? 'The Immortal?' Come on, Buffy. Nobody
worthwhile calls them something lame like that. It's not a name. It's like 'The
Artist Formerly Known as Prince.' I mean, do you actually call him that in
conversation? Is it like, 'Can you pass me the TV remote, The Immortal.' Or
maybe, 'Who drank the last of the milk and left the carton in the fridge? Oh,
it was The Immortal.'"
"Dawn�"
Dawn held up her hand. "Don't,
Buffy. Just, don't. I'm going to bed."
"Fine. Good night."
"Good night."
Dawn shut her door and sat on her
bed, tears springing to her eyes. She was tired of this, tired of Buffy always
putting her last and pretending that Dawn was making it up. Dawn had thought
that when Buffy stopped being the one and only Slayer that maybe she'd get a
little more attention from the only family she had left, but instead Buffy
seemed more interested in some guy, as usual.
Dawn wasn't sure how long she'd
been crying when she heard the door open. She looked up to see Andrew standing
in the doorway. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm great. Don't let the
tears fool you. Where's Buffy?"
"She went out for a walk. Probably looking for things to kill." Andrew went over
to Dawn and wrapped his arm around her, letting her cry against his shoulder.
After a bit Dawn sat up, wiping her
eyes. "I got snot on your shirt. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. I think I can
handle a little Dawn snot," Andrew replied. He wiped her eyes gently.
"You feeling any better?"
"A little. Thanks for letting me cry all over
you."
"No problem. What are
boyfriends for, right?"
"You're my boyfriend?"
"I�I guess. I mean, I thought
that's what� Is that what you want, or�?"
Dawn nodded. "It's what I
want. I just wasn't sure if it was what you wanted."
"It is."
"What about Caprice and
Isabella?"
"Consider them dumped."
"Glad to hear it, cause I'm not good at sharing."
"I'm all yours, sexy."
Andrew waggled his eyebrows.
Dawn giggled. "I'm going to go
on to bed, okay? I'm tired."
"All right. Sleep tight."
"You,
too."
Andrew kissed her before getting
up, and Dawn had a smile back on her face when she climbed into her bed.

***
*** ***

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Are people still reading this? Please let me know if you are. I need to know if
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Both Sides Now