I feel like with both Bennett and Kitty though, Whedon subverts the surface "cute girl" reading. Bennett's cute to Topher, but she's also a sociopath, whose humanity is a casualty of Caroline's war. And Kitty's primary relationship in Whedon's run is with Emma, not Peter--and Kitty has very strong agency in their relationship. Kitty is young, but she's very much an adult, with a very active dark side (in the scenario Emma imposes on Kitty, she tries to kill Peter, for example). That said, I do see your point about the stories; Kitty certainly means a lot to Whedon as she is one of the templates for Buffy. And it's interesting that Kitty's issues with Peter are connected to her father issues (her dream with Peter quickly becomes a nightmare where her father accuses her of letting her die).