DISCLAIMER: Not mine.
SETTINGS: Season Four, 'Wild At Heart' and 'Hush' specifically.
SUMMARY: What would have happened if, instead of Willow going to the Wicca meeting instead of watching Oz, she'd asked Buffy to attend it for her? Not only does that mean that Oz never gets out of his cage, but Tara and Buffy meet first.
PAIRING: Buffy/Tara. Not sure why I'm so fascinated by this couple, I just am.
ONWARDS:
CHAPTER ONE: FULL MOONWillow Rosenberg awoke, completely and utterly content. She wasn't sure what it was about waking up in Oz's arms that made her feel so completely relaxed and at ease, but it was definitely that way she wanted to wake up every morning for the rest of her life. It was a feeling to be savoured, and a definite balm to her soul.
She wrinkled her nose, realising that she wouldn't be able to awaken in Oz's arms the next morning. It was the night before the full moon, which meant only one nighttime activity for Oz. He would be locked in a cage, and slightly sedated to keep him from trying to break out and run free, howling at the moon in his werewolf form.
Willow sighed, mentally going over her plans for that night. She hadn't yet missed Oz-sitting, as she'd affectionately dubbed watching him, but there was a Wicca Group on Campus who would be meeting for the next three nights for their Orientation week. She didn't want to miss watching Oz, but she didn't want to miss the meetings either.
She did a mental scale of balance before deciding that she'd prefer to spend the night with Oz. She hated not being able to watch her werewolf boyfriend, and with any luck, she could pull in at least one of the favours that Buffy owed her. And, even though Buffy Summers may not know any magic whatsoever, she was still interested in the topic, if only for Willow's sake, something that the redheaded witch was extremely thankful for.
Oz stirred and Willow closed her eyes, pretending she was asleep. It was a ritual with them, though she didn't know where it had originated from. Oz pressed a gentle kiss to Willow's lips and smiled at the 'sleeping' girl. He knew she was awake, and he knew that she knew that he knew. He smiled inwardly, and watched as Willow twitched and murmured something nonsensical about sandblasters and Geminis.
Oz tightened his grip on his girlfriend and breathed in the unique scent of strawberries and cream that clung to Willow. He closed his eyes, almost completely content, wishing, not for the first time, that he hadn't been cursed with lycanthropy, so that he wouldn't have to ever leave the comfort of holding Willow in his arms.
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"Hey Buff, can I ask a favour?" Willow asked as she took a seat beside her best friend.
Buffy looked up from the textbook she'd been skimming through and nodded. "Of course. God knows I probably owe you about a zillion of 'em, so…go for it."
Willow grinned happily, and went into a full ramble, hoping that Buffy would say yes. "Okay, see, I have this slight dilemma. No, nothing to worry about, promise. It's just…tonight's a full moon and…well, they're having the first Wicca Meeting for the next three nights, and well, I was hoping-"
"You want me to Oz-sit?" Buffy finished for her.
Willow shook her head. "I was actually kinda hoping maybe you'd go to the Wicca Meeting for me? Just to check it out? Hey, you could even make sure that none of them are evil or anything? Vamps, demons, that sorta thing."
Buffy paused for a moment, considering the suggestion. Patrolling had been fairly subdued lately, so there was no reason she couldn't take a few hours out of her patrol time to go to the meeting for Willow, and she knew that the redhead liked to be able to watch over Oz for herself.
"Count me in," Buffy finally replied. "I mean, I probably won't know if they're any good wicca-wise, but…I can definitely do re-con for you."
Willow grinned and bounced happily in her seat. Two birds with one stone.
"You'll have to give me the full report. Ohh, you should take notes or something," Willow suggested.
Buffy looked incredibly amused at her best friend's youthful exuberance. There was something to be said about the wiccan's delighted smile, and Buffy just shook her head in mock-concern.
"I worry about you sometimes," Buffy teased.
Willow would have retorted, but Professor Maggie 'the-evil-bitch-monster-of-death' Walsh walked into the lecture hall. Willow just settled on glaring at her best friend, who responded with a carefree grin. Willow couldn't help but grin back, thankful that her best friend was still able to smile even after the whole Angel and Parker trauma.
They'd drifted slightly after beginning to attend college, but after the Parker debacle, they'd managed to find their close friendship again. Willow had tried to set Buffy up with Walsh's Psychology Teaching Assistant, Riley Finn, but Buffy hadn't been interested. She and Riley were from two very different worlds, and Buffy couldn't ever imagine things between she and Riley working out. She knew that the TA had a crush on her, but Buffy was doing her best to discourage him, gently letting him down whenever he asked her on casual coffee dates.
The Slayer had concentrated on her studies, and had begun training seriously again, something that Giles was grateful for. He'd been drifting into a sea of uselessness, and had been somewhat adrift without a Slayer to train. When Buffy had asked him to help her train again, he'd been eager to help out.
For an hour and a half, Willow sat, writing notes furiously as Walsh went through different methods of communication, and how one can understand another person, just from their body language. Beside the redhead, Buffy sat, also taking notes, though nowhere near as detailed as Willow's. She'd found that she truly enjoyed studying Psychology, which had been a shock in itself. She'd never been one for school, but she was truly interested in what Walsh had to say. It was interesting and after so many hours of Giles' lectures, Buffy actually understood most of what Walsh actually said. It was surprising, but she felt that she was actually doing a fairly good job in the subject.
Walsh dismissed the class, and requested that they come down to the front to retrieve their assignments that they'd handed in. Willow went ahead of Buffy, and glanced over the comments and suggestions written in the border of her B+ paper. She squashed down a feeling of disappointment. She'd been a straight A student back at Sunnydale High, though she knew that the work in college was far harder.
She turned back to her best friend, who was looking down at her paper in shock. Willow's heart went out to her best friend. Willow had been slightly surprised by how hard Buffy had worked on the paper, and if she looked that shocked with her mark, it couldn't have been a good sign.
"Are you okay? How'd you do?" Willow asked in concern.
Buffy's face suddenly lit up with a brilliant smile and she held her paper up for Willow to see the red A at the top of the paper.
"This is good," Willow said in amazement. "I mean, this is excellent. You did better than me. This is so unfair!"
Willow suddenly realised something and grinned widely. "You made me jealous of you academically. Buffy!" she exclaimed, pulling the blonde girl in for a hug.
"I know. Can you believe it?" Buffy asked.
"Wow. I guess Professor Walsh isn't so ogre-y after all."
"And she wants me to lead a discussion group next class," Buffy said, completely shocked. She'd worked for days on the assignment, and she was more than shocked that Walsh had actually liked it. Her smile suddenly fell slightly. "That means more work, right? Shouldn't she have a better reward system? You know, like a cookie or a toy surprise like at the dentist?"
"She wants you to lead a discussion group?" Willow asked. "Okay. Jealous again. Jealous, jealous – okay, I'm back. Hey, I'm meeting Oz at the cafe. You wanna come? I'll buy you that celebratory cookie."
"Nah, I'm training bound," Buffy replied. "So, that wicca thing…when, where?"
"They're embracing the cliché," Willow said with a grin. "Sundown in the main area at Petersham Hall."
Buffy nodded, filing the information away so she wouldn't forget. Willow would kill her if she managed to forget the meeting.
"I'll fill you in tomorrow then," Buffy said. "Say hey to Oz for me."
Willow nodded and grinned happily, and the two wandered off in separate directions.
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So…the start of another B/T story. And would you believe, this fic is actually finished. Eight chapters and just over 10,200 words. Huzzah for finished fics. So, sit back, relax (and review) and enjoy the ride.
DKG.