Title: Divine
Author: Lily
Spoilers: NMR
Distribution: Ask and ye shall recieve
Disclaimer: the usual
Summary: Oz comes back in a year or so. Something's changed...
"Once upon a time, We had the moon,
We had the stars, We were divine..."
~Nine Days ("Back To Me")
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Taking another step towards the door, I feel déjâ vu overcome me, accompanying my nervousness. It's been almost two years. I brace myself, controlling the urge to walk away, to go back to my life without checking in with them. It's strong, but I'm stronger.
The knock on Giles' heavy door sounds just as it did before, yet as it swings open, I know that everything is changed. They're standing there, but I barely register that Tara isn't among them before I know what it is. Wolf. I haven't smelled another wolf since *her*, and the wave of scent is like something I had thought only capable through computer graphics. Willow. She takes a few steps toward me and I gulp. It's too much.
"Hi." Her eyes shine with something completely unearthly that wasn't there before.
"How...?" I can only manage a single word, as my heart races faster than I'd thought possible.
"I think you should know. I got bit. It's the hellmouth, after all..." she smiles, trailing off.
"When?"
"About six months ago."
And she's standing so close. Her scent fills my nostrils, and an incredible needs wells up deep down in the pit of my stomach, worse--and better--than anything I've ever felt. I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment, before looking deep into hers. "I'm sorry." Nothing in me, no resent or bitterness, could have wished this curse on her.
But she looks at me through her half shut eyes, breathing once, and smiles a shrug of a smile. "It's not so horrible. I always had a dual nature thing going...I guess."
I think I know what she's talking about. But it's getting harder and harder to tell what she means by it. I don't hear her tone of voice. All I can hear is the deep inhale and exhale of breath, both hers and mine. And all I can see is her face, blocking out everyone and everything in the room. And all feel is her heartbeat, matching mine and pounding into my ears as it echoes through the air around us. And here comes the need again...
It really wasn't supposed to be like this. I was just coming around for a few minutes. To tell Giles some stuff I figured out about lycanthropy. Maybe just to see her face for a second. But here she is, different but all the same, and I know I'll never walk away. It's more than Willow. I look back in her eyes and almost jump with fear and recognition.
She lightly places a hand on my arm, sensing my fear. She can sense my fear. It's still soaking in, not registering that she's...like me.
"Don't be afraid," she whispers and I shy away even more, seeing the wolf in her eyes and hearing Veruca in her voice. But her eyes soften as she begins to speak, and her voice is her own. "I'm so sorry. For before. I know it's been a while, but I knew I'd made a mistake a long time ago...and if you can find it in you...because I knew I still needed you...and then, this...and I was alone in the cage...and...you...I needed...I need...even more..."
This is Willow and this is all I've wanted for years, as I draw her into my arms, inhaling her scent even more. I brush back her hair and whisper in her ear with a smile, speaking for both of us.
"To err is human."
To forgive...well, just a little bit more.
THE END