Author:
For: tinpanalley.
Pairing: Dawn/Spike.
Setting: post-"Not Fade Away."
Rating: G.
Request: Spike/Dawn and Rockefeller Center
"Are we there yet?" Dawn bounced in her passenger's seat. They'd been driving all day from Cleveland to New York City. Traffic was bumper to bumper to Rockefeller Center, her after-Christmas present.
But it was also a present for himself. A job well down, a get the fuck out of California. Cleveland, the Hellmouth, the only place he could afford to travel after Angel's wrath against the Senior Partners. "How old are you?" Spike pointed toward the mile sign.
Dawn smiled, the only one to see him, to fly across the ocean to see him. "Almost 18."
He chuckled and pushed the car faster. One of Angel's sports cars that he'd jacked and had made it through the battle. He adored her, every part of her. "So are you like mini-Watcher now?"
"Nope. School first." She took out another of her seemingly inexhaustible supply of lollipops. "My Sumerian's getting better, and Giles is letting me teach the basics to the Slayers. He wants me to start learning some dead demon languages too."
"Maybe you should." As he continued to drive, they avoided her name – Buffy.
Dawn grew silent when her name glazed the tip of her tongue. And Buffy would've love this, ice skating at Rockefeller Center.
They arrived three hours before sunrise. And they pulled out the skates that he'd bought them for Christmas. The closed sign blocked their entrance, but they didn't care. They seemed a few apocalypses beyond normal human hours.
Dawn twirled around Spike; her skates made sharp scraps over the ice, nagging him on. Her hair blowing in the light wind. Eyes sparkled against the street lights.
Stumbling on his skates, Spike hadn't done this in forever. His legs wobbled underneath him, and he felt Dawn's hand, holding his elbow. "Thanks, love." Soon he had his ice legs, still shaking a bit.
She made circles around the rink, giggling and smiling. Forgetting life, homework, lovers, and demons. "Look it's snowing." Tilting her head, she let the snowflakes melt on her tongue.