Chapter 2
Over the next few days, there were no missions, so the team just went back and forth between training and getting to know each other better-- sometimes both at the same time. At Dick's insistence, every night, they'd all sit down together in the living room and share things about themselves with each other.
Normally, this would be the kind of thing that Donna would roll her eyes at, but somehow...the thought of getting to know Dawn better kept her from complaining.
Hank finished with a swig of his beer: "...and I swore right there and then, I'd never dance again."
Donna snuck another look at Dawn, who had thrown her head back in laughter. Hearing her laugh again sent that same surge through her again; it was music to her ears.
It was only then did she realize how she'd been paying the most attention to Dawn, how she couldn't keep her eyes off her for more than 5 seconds. There was something about her...her smile, her spirit... Just the sight of her, it was like a knife, and Donna just wanted to keep pushing that knife deeper and deeper into herself.
When it was Dawn's turn, she spoke about her family. About her abusive father, her sister, about her deceased mother...as she spoke, the smile faded slowly from her face, and she started to cry softly.
The others were quiet. Donna's lips trembled, her heart wrenching at the thought of that happening to someone as amazing as Dawn. She hesitated for a moment, and then slowly, put her arm around her shoulders in what she hoped would be perceived as an attempt at comfort.
To her surprise, Dawn closed her eyes and leaned into her shoulder, as Donna felt her body heave with sobs. Donna tightened her grip on her, thanks to that childish part of her mind that hoped that if she hugged Dawn tight enough, she'd be able to drain all of her sadness.
It was stupid, she knew.
Except, Dawn's sobs turned into sniffling, and she eventually straightened herself up, wiping her eyes. A moment later, she turned to Donna and smiled. "Thanks."
"No problem."
It was at this moment, that Donna realized she hadn't let go of Dawn, and awkwardly (yet reluctantly) released her from her embrace.
The next day, as Donna walked into the kitchen, Dick was leaning against the counter with a smug look on his face. Oh boy. Donna knew that whenever he had that look, there was gonna be a problem.
"So who's the lucky person?"
Even though Donna knew there was no point hiding it, she tried anyway. "Uh, who are we talking about?"
"The person you're completely in love with."
She gave it another shot. "Seriously, I have no idea what--"
"You've been smiling for no reason for the past week or so, you weren't really concentrating at sparring today, you didn't seem too pissed when I beat you TWICE at said sparring, and your search history on your laptop pretty much confirmed my suspicions..."
"You really need to stop hacking my laptop," Donna snarled through clenched teeth.
"...searching for 'how to confess feelings'. So, yeah, I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about. Again: who's the lucky person?"
She made a mental note to a) give her laptop more firewalls and b) seriously kick Dick's ass in their next sparring session.
"Okay, first of all, I wouldn't say I'm completely in love--"
"Which you are."
"Fuck you. Second of all, this person's name is...
...none of your fucking business."
Dick shrugged and took a sip from his cup. "Okay, then. Forget I said anything."
Donna thought about it for a moment, swallowed her pride, and sat down at the countertop.
"...but just for laughs," she started slowly, "if I wanted to, uh, tell this person...y'know...that, how would I go about doing it?" That was as much of an admission from her to Dick that she needed his help, and he seemed to accept it.
"Well, first things first, does this person know you're in love with them?"
"....no, I think?"
"Alright then you gotta drop a hint. Let them know how you feel."
Donna felt a rush of panic. She'd never done anything like this before. "Wait, wha-- I just walk up to them, tell them how I feel, and that's it?"
"No! Of course not."
"Oh okay, thank God because I--"
"You need to bring a rose with you when you do it."
She took a moment to think about it, then sighed in acceptance. "Fuck me. Okay. Okay, okay, okay. I'll do it."