Running on Faith, Season Two: 2.03: But It’s All Very Tastefully Done
by filmtheory
Giles sat in a chair at the front of the lounge in the Hyperion hotel. Faith, Spike, Gretchen, Xander, Connor, and new arrival Lorne trickled in and took seat s near him.

"I was planning to do this in the library," Giles said. "But due to its disheveled state, I figured we could talk in here."

"So I could get a scotch when things got too boring," Spike said.

"Don't touch my scotch!" Giles snapped. "Um, I mean . . . pay attention. Now where was I?"

Faith raised her hand. "You were about to answer my question on why you’re treating my hotel like a . . . um . . . hotel.”

"The council is in chaos," Giles said, answering Faith's question but acting like he wasn't. "We cannot train watchers quickly enough to keep pace with the demand for them. We have been fortunate in finding several former watchers and other experts in paranormal events. We've also been fortunate that Willow has managed to locate many of the old council's bank accounts. However, we do not have enough watchers. And the ones we've found we haven't all been . . . well, you remember Nigel McHenry. In any event, this hotel is currently the base for some of the most experienced demon fighters and researchers we have. Faith, you asked to remain an active slayer as opposed to a watcher. Fine. But you're going to need to train some of the new girls."

Faith groaned. "Son of a-"

"And try not to curse in front of them. Xander and Gretchen will be going on to other watcher assignments in the near future. Lorne will be here with Dawn for about a month, then he'll be going to New York. Your assignments may change because, as I've said, we're in chaos. Our one lucky break is that Angel, far exceeding his own expectations, seems to have dealt a rather crushing blow to Wolfram & Hart, thus putting them in as much chaos as we are."

“Angel?” Spike groaned angrily. “I was there, too, mate.”

“So you took out a law firm,” Xander groaned. “I was on the ground floor of helping save the world from the First Evil.”

Spike turned and looked at Xander. “You forget I played a not insignificant role in that as well, chum?”

“And with that,” Faith smiled. “The dick swinging begins.”

“How crushing?” Gretchen asked in a desperate attempt to get the meeting back on track and avoid arguing.

Giles smiled slightly, happy to be back on topic. “It appears Angel . . . and Spike, after their victory in the alley behind this hotel, effectively cut off the Senior Partners from this dimension. So-”

"In summary," Xander interrupted, looking at his cell phone. "Me and Gretchen go bye bye, you guys fill your rooms with lots of young girls. I got a call from Will." Xander stood and walked from the room as he answered the phone.

"That does about sum it all up," Giles said.

As the crowd dispersed, Lorne walked cautiously up to Connor who was now standing in the hallway. "Um, hey there," Lorne said nervously, wondering what the boy's reaction would be. Connor didn't look up, but only nodded. "I . . . I wanted to ask you . . . well, you know I don't really remember everything to do with you. But I . . . I also read you, so saw all that stuff. Look, Connor . . . are we alright?"

Still looking down, Connor shrugged wordlessly.

"From what I saw," Lorne continued. "You and I had our differences, kiddo. But I don't know how you . . . all I'm saying is I don't have any hard feelings."

Connor was still looking at the floor. He hated being cornered like this. He hated these kinds of conversations.

"So if you're alright with me," Lorne went on nervously, "then we're alright."

"Then we're alright," Connor said softly, but still looking down.

Lorne wanted to get more out of him, but figured he should take what he could get for the day. "Thanks," he said, walking toward the lobby.

"Hey," Connor called, finally looking up. Lorne turned to face him. Connor stared nervously. "I'm sorry I called you a filthy demon. And . . . and for trying to kill you."

"You called me a what?" Lorne shouted, looking outraged. "How can you call me filthy?! You're the one who used to crawl through dumpsters for food!" Lorne frowned, suddenly realizing he seemed to have hurt Connor's feelings. "Sorry. What I meant to say was, don't worry about it. I forgive you. For the killing me and the . . . well, that thing you said." Lorne glanced back at the lounge. "You old enough to drink yet? Cuz I was going to make myself a Sea Breeze."
**

"What do you mean 'weird,' Will," Xander asked. "Was she acting like she was under the influence of one of those modified Bezoars du Plessis put on Buffy?"

"No, no. Nothing like that," Will said over the phone. "Dawnie and I used to be able to talk about anything. But when I got back from London, she was all Miss-closed-off. I'm wondering if something's upsetting her and she feels like she can't talk to me about it."

"Tell you what, Will," Xander said, standing up from his seat in the office. "Dawn just got here. I'll go talk to her now."

"Shiny," Willow said with a smile.

"Not you, too. I hate when people say shiny.”

"Sorry.”

"Alright, Will, I'll talk to you." Xander hung up and walked toward the door. "Hey Dawn!" he shouted, with a big smile.

"Hey, Bit," Spike echoed, approaching from the lounge.

"Hi guys," Dawn said cheerily.

Lorne and Connor filed into the lobby. Dawn looked at Connor nervously. "Hey," she waved nervously. "I don’t know if you remember me, but I'm Dawn. I'm taking over your-"

"Yeah, I know," Connor said grumpily.

Lorne forced a smile. "This is a Sea Breeze," he said, pushing the drink into Dawn's hand. "If you're going to be working with our boy here," he said, nodding toward Connor. "You're going to want one of these oh . . . about once a day."

“Not sure I want her having alcohol," Spike frowned.

"Need help with your bags, kitten," Lorne asked.

"Yeah," Dawn said. "I've got like a dozen bags."

"Wow," Connor said, perking up slightly. "You must have a lot of weapons."

Dawn looked at Connor, then started chugging the sea breeze. Lorne was right. This would be hard.

"We'll go get those," Lorne said, patting Connor's shoulder. Connor, Lorne, and Spike headed out to the taxi.

"Hey, Dawn," Xander said, nodding toward the office. "Can we chat real quick?"

"Sure," Dawn said, following Xander to the office.

"Willow called," Xander said as he closed the office door for privacy.

"Oh no. Is she pissed?"

"She's worried. She says you were acting weird. I would've disagreed with her until about a second ago. What's wrong?"

"Nothing.”

"Nice try. If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay. But I know when something’s wrong. And you can always talk to me, Dawnie. I'll always-"

"I kissed Kennedy," Dawn blurted.

"What? Like, like, like quickly or . . . like . . ."

"Like for five minutes. There may have been some touching, too. I kind of blocked it out."

"Man that's hot!" Xander said. Then, remembering the specifics of the situation, he added, "And wrong! Dawn, what happened?"

"I feel like such a bitch. I love Willow. I mean, not in the frenching for five minutes way, but like a big sister. How could I do this to her?"

"Still waiting for details." Catching a glare from Dawn, he quickly added, "Concerned older brother buddy details. Not dirty old man details."

"There was this Anslawe demon we were fighting. We kind of got caught in its nest down in this cellar. We'd hacked our way through her hatchlings and holed up in a back room with no way out. We were pretty sure we were going to die and then, then, I just leaned over and-"

"Say no more. When you think you're going to die and all that stuff, you tend to do stuff like that. Like me and Will when Spike trapped us in the factory. If Will found out about this, she'd probably understand. She wouldn't like it, but I think she'd understand.”

"So I should tell her?"

"What, are you crazy? If Will knew, she'd understand. But there's no reason to tell her. Chalk it up as a battlefield indiscretion in which no one was killed. But . . . Dawn . . . and it's okay if you are, but are you . . . you know?"

Dawn threw her hand sup. "No, I don't know. That's the problem. Back in Sunnydale and in Rome, Buffy chased away every guy that was ever interested in me."

Xander grimaced. "Well, to be fair-"

"Even the ones who weren't vampires or had magical lust football jackets," Dawn interrupted. "But I liked guys. And I'm pretty sure I still do. But the only people I got to hang around were all these girls and . . . and . . . and then I kissed one. But even before Kennedy, I guess I kind of looked at girls . . . well . . . the way I looked at boys, only less so. Do you think I'm . . . you know."

"That other you know?" Xander asked.

"Yeah," Dawn said. "That one."

"I don't know. If you are, well, then . . good for you? But you're right. It could just be prison fever. Locked up with only people of the same sex. Especially at your age, when the hormones are firing and all. But I'm thinking there's going to be no easy answer on this. You're probably going to just wait for the next person who you think is cute and french them, too."

"Great," Dawn said, rolling her eyes. "Can't wait for that."

***

Xander and Dawn walked back into the lobby.

"Let me help you with those," Faith said, grabbing the bag in Spike's hand.

"I can handle it," Spike said.

"Yeah," Faith said, flashing a slight grin. "But let me help. Okay?"

"Right," Spike releasing the bag.

Faith walked into what would be Dawn's room, followed by Spike. "Look, Spike," Faith said. "I don't know what's up with you. And me. And you and me. But things between us are weirdish."

"If you say so.”

"I say so. I'm thinking-"

"This is all Buffy and Angel mopey, angsty bollix. I'm personally not interested."

"Neither am I," Faith replied with a slight smile. "So what are we going to do about it?"

Spike lit a cigarette. "I'm leaving. Tonight.”

"What?! Your solution is basically to act just like Angel."

“Just not interested in being your boy toy.”

“And I’m not interested in being your poor man’s Buffy Summers, but . . . you know what? You wanna go, go. Because I’m not Buffy. I’m not going to sit here and beg you not to leave.” Faith turned and stormed out of the room.

“Well that was bloody brilliant,” Spike sighed to himself.

****

“This is your room?” Dawn asked as she stepped in with Connor.

“Yeah, this is me,” Connor said dourly.

“Then lets get to work. Take your shirt off.”

Connor quickly unbuttoned his shirt and angrily tossed it onto the bed. “Can we get this over with?”

“Sure.” Dawn knew it was mostly the fact that he was filled with a kind of supernatural bile that was causing him to act so rudely, but Dawn couldn’t help but feel hurt. She pressed the crystal on his bare chest over his heart.

“Haseth,” Dawn she whispered, looking into Connor’s eyes. She wanted to see if she could see the pain draining out of him. “Haseth massitat. Haseth chantra. Edo Quar’Toth. Edo naught. Haseth. Haseth massitat.”

Again, the crystal turned black as Dawn’s body was wracked with pain and sorrow and hatred. She began to slump backward, but Connor quickly reached out and grabbed her, preventing her from falling.

Instinctively, Dawn dropped the crystal and grabbed Connor’s shoulders, helping him stabilize her. She looked into his eyes. “Sorry,” she whispered. But she didn’t let go. She ran her hand softly over his scarred yet smooth shoulders.

“They’re so soft,” she said. “I thought they’d be rougher. Because of the scars and all.”

Connor let out an embarrassed laugh. It was a faint but excited sound then seemed as if he'd exhaled after holding breath for a long time. He didn't know why she was touching his collarbone and neck.

Throughout Connor's life, all romantic encounters, from kissing to sex, had been instigated by the woman. He merely thought it the dominant social convention that females were the ones to initiate romantic contact. Now he wondered if touching someone's neck was some kind of romantic gesture akin to kissing. Dawn's hands on his neck and chest certainly felt nice. Her touch was certainly arousing.

Connor reached up nervously and brushed a strand of hair from Dawn's face. Inhaling nervously and hoping not to be rebuked, he traced her hairline down, behind her ear to the back of her neck. He left his hand there for a moment, wanting to lean in and kiss her but fearing it would be improper.

Dawn smiled shyly as Connor brushed her hair away. She stood still, her hand on his bare chest, as he ran his hand behind her neck. She awaited his kiss. But she hadn't kissed him. All he felt he had permission to do was touch her.

Connor moved his hand softly from behind her neck toward to her throat. His touch was soft, barley a touch at all. Still he could feel the movement and warmth of the
blood rushing through her veins beneath the skin his finger tips lightly brushed over. Inside, he felt and heard his own blood rush more fiercely. His own heartbeat speeding up. He moved his fingers lightly down her collarbone, as low as her shirt would allow him without breaking the now somehow sacred barrier of her shirt's neckline. Connor exhaled a soft breath of ecstasy, as if experiencing an orgasm by merely touching her neck.

Connor gasped, feeling himself out of breath as his fingers slid across her throat. He tried not to pant but found himself breathing only more deeply as he stared longingly into Dawn's eyes. Her eyes were so blue and deep and beautiful. They were like the ocean and he was lost in them.

Dawn stared back into Connor's eyes. His touch was nothing short of perfection. It lightly glided over her skin. She felt her nipples harden. She wondered, with his sense of smell, if Connor knew she was wet for him. But he wasn't kissing her. She was desperate for him to kiss her. She wanted so badly for him to lean down and place his lips on hers, to slide his tongue against hers and explore her mouth as his hands had explored her neck. She thought that she should maybe kiss him, but was afraid he didn't want her to. If he wanted her to kiss him, why didn’t he just kiss her? She was paralyzed with a fear of him rejecting her. All she did was stare.

"You two okay?" Faith voice came from the door.

Dawn and Connor jumped back at the sound of her voice. Connor, so deeply lost in Dawn's eyes, hadn't even heard Faith coming. "Yeah," Connor said dully, picking up his shirt. "She did the spell."

"You okay there, Dawn?" Faith asked with a prying look. "You seem out of breath."

"Spell took a lot out of me," she said, looking down with embarrassment.

"Thought it was supposed to take a lot out of Connor," Faith said.

"It did," Connor said sullenly as he pushed past Faith to leave the room. He began buttoning his shirt as he walked down the hall.

"Then why's he still so pissy?" Faith asked quietly as Connor stormed off.

"I heard that," Connor called back without turning around.

Faith looked at Dawn. “Looks like you’re the head watcher in charge again.”

“Giles left then?” Dawn asked.

“Apparently Spike’s going with him. Actually, went with him.”

“Spike’s leaving?!” Dawn said.

“Left. Come on. Let’s go down to the lounge and get drunk.”

*****

As Faith and Dawn came downstairs, they saw Lorne on the phone.

"Yeah, she's here," Lorne said. He covered the mouthpiece and looked at Faith. "Call for you.”

Connor was practicing his sword work in a corner of the lobby. Seeing Dawn looking around, he said, “Gretchen and Xander are in the library.”

“Oh,” Dawn said. “Thanks. But um . . . Spike?”

“Gone,” Connor said with a thrust into his imaginary opponent.

"Hello?" Faith said, picking up the phone. Her features grew dark. "How did you get this number?" she asked angrily. She glanced around the room nervously. “Where’d you get that information?” Faith nodded. “Okay. Thanks. But don’t call here again.”

Faith hung up and turned to the room. “Load up guys. du Plessis has Spike and Giles.”

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