To Conquer Death
by Rainne
Interlude: Dakota
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The sun was just peeking over the tops of the palm trees as three figures, arms slung across each other's shoulders, ambled out of the Restfield Cemetery and headed down the street. The wan light of the new day illuminated the trio while also seeming to drain some of their color, leaving them looking almost like a sepia-toned film of themselves as they strolled along. They looked tired and all of them bore marks of a struggle, as though they had been brawling. They all bore bruises and scrapes, were all dirty, and one had a torn shirt; but for all of that, they also appeared to be in extremely high spirits.
"Six vamps, two Veralnis demons and a lead on a coven of apocalyptic Satan-worshippers... what night! I feel positively giddy," teased the dark-haired one. "In fact, I think I feel like dancing!" With those words she took the hands of the blonde, who laughed and followed her in a sort of demented two-step that turned itself into the Electric Slide on acid and ended them both on either side of their companion, a laughing redhead.
"Ooh, look!" the blonde exclaimed. "A pretty girl. Just in time for smoochies!" She wrapped her arms around the redhead's waist and kissed her thoroughly, leaving them both quite breathless.
"Buffy!" the redhead exclaimed when she was finally released. Her face was flushed and she was obviously going to say something else, when suddenly arms were around her waist from behind her, as well, and a gentle set of teeth settled in the spot where her shoulder and neck joined. The merest touch of sharp fangs, combined with a gentle sucking sensation on her skin, caused her to gasp and fall silent.
Buffy stepped forward again and captured Willow's lips with her own as Dakota drew her fangs along the back of the redhead's neck, causing Willow to shiver with sensual pleasure. Finally the redhead gasped out one word. "Home." The three women immediately joined hands and moved rapidly toward their home with no further conversation or hesitation.
The house was empty when the three women arrived, and Buffy was silently grateful that Dawn and Mercedes had been invited to a slumber party at one of their friends' homes. They entered the house and went upstairs to the quiet of the master bedroom.
It had been four weeks since Dakota had relinquished her place as Willow's lover, and in those four weeks, the three women had come to a startling revelation.
In the few weeks that followed, the three women found that they were easily able to build a relationship together. It was made a bit simpler, in Dakota's opinion, by the fact that they did not all live in the same house. She had, in fact, rejected the suggestion that she and Mercedes immediately move in at 1630. The kids would need time to adjust to the concept of the three "stable" adults in heir lives having apparently gone insane, as well as even to the concept that they were in a three-way relationship. Mercedes needed stability in her life, something that she could depend on, and her home was that major stability right now. She knew that she could walk in the door and everything would be a certain way. There was no reason to upheave her life like that.
There was also Dawn to think of. Dawn was notoriously picky about things, (Dakota hated to use the term spoiled brat, but it fit so aptly in Dawn's case), and she needed time to adjust to the relationship as well before a new parental figure and — in essence — a stepsister came crowding into her space.
Dakota also thought, very quietly in the back of her mind, that with the two girls living in separate houses, she could limit the amount of influence Dawn's attitudes and behavior had on Mercedes. In fact, all of the adults in close contact with Dawn — even Anya, who was disgracefully insensitive to subtleties in human behavior — had noticed that Mercedes had actually been somewhat of a grounding influence on Dawn. As Buffy's sister watched the relaxed way Mercedes interacted with the world around her, she realized that the little Southern girl had a lot less stress in her life than Dawn did, and tried to emulate her manner with some small success.
The other major reason that Dakota didn't want to move in with her lovers was that she had a craving for personal space that she didn't really feel would be available in a house with three adult women and two young teenage girls. Not that she didn't love Buffy and Willow both dearly, but Dakota was her own woman and she needed that alone time to keep her sanity. Since she'd become a vampire, she hadn't shared living quarters with anyone, and she wasn't entirely sure she was ready to start. Time enough for all of that later, when they could be sure that this was really a love thing rather than a lust thing.
But there was little time to think about that now, because the trio had made it to the master bedroom and Willow was naked under her hands and teeth, and there was no more time for abstract thought.