Kittens and Beasts and Spells Oh My!

By Larilyn

PG

Disclaimer - We all know I'm not Joss.

Spoilers - Takes place in early season 3, after Angel is back but before Faith is the big bad.

"It was so amazing, Will. It was like nothing had changed. Like we'd never gone to that bad place where he was evil and I sent him to hell."

Willow listened to Buffy ramble on as they walked down the halls of Sunnydale High.

"Good times," Willow agreed with a nod. A happy Buffy was always of the good.

"We were just…" Buffy stopped and formed her next words with more care. "We talked. And we talked and we talked until we fell asleep and then, as God is my witness, I think we talked in our sleep. It was so amazing. I mentioned that it was amazing, right?"

Willow grinned. "Once or twice."

"Listen to me, I've gone all Jabberjaw. I mean, you get it. You and Oz have nights like that, right?"

"Where we talk and talk and talk? Of course." Willow wrinkled her nose a bit and corrected, "Except that its not so much that we talk but that I talk and Oz nods." Willow felt somehow inadequate next to her friend and she felt obliged to defend her boyfriend, "But he nods emphatically. Oh and he grunts." She wrinkled her nose again. That sounded a lot more considerate-boyfriend-like in her head.

"Really? Cause I figured that when it was just you two that Oz'd be a real chatterbox. Because Angel totally is."

"Oh yeah, total chatterbox," Willow lied. "I was just kidding about the grunting."

Willow walked Buffy to her first class and then headed to the library to meet Oz. She smiled when she saw him. His hair was expertly spiked and he looked adorably sleepy. Her smile evaporated when she saw who he was talking to.

Faith. For some inexplicable reason, Willow just couldn't stand Faith. Suddenly, she wished Buffy were here. Feeling inadequate next to Buffy was okay because she loved Buffy. Feeling inadequate next to Faith was the worst feeling imaginable.

Willow plastered her smile back on her face and asked with what she considered to be appropriate enthusiasm, "Hey guys. Whatcha talking about?"

Oz rose and grunted, "Hey." His soft lips brushed against Willow's cheek, making her feel a little melt-y.

Faith answered, "The beast."

"Excuse me?"

For some reason that Willow couldn't fathom, every word out of Faith's mouth always sounded obscene.

"You know, the beast. The part inside us that drives us to stalk and hunt and unh." With her last little grunt, Faith bucked her hips forward. Willow understood now that it sounded obscene because it was obscene.

"Oh." A little worried about the connotation of this, Willow turned to Oz and asked, "You have a beast?"

"Werewolf."

"Oh…"

Faith dismissed Willow with, "I didn't expect you to understand."

Willow argued, "I have a beast. A baby beast, maybe."

Oz said, "We're gonna be late."

Willow was a little confused by Oz's abrupt change of subject. "Huh?"

"Class."

"Oh. Okay." Willow and Oz left the library arm in arm. Just before they reached their classroom, Willow felt compelled to assert one more time, "I have a beast."

Oz just smiled.

Willow could feel her forehead doing that crinkle-y thing that meant she was frustrated. She couldn't wait to seek advice from Buffy.

"Buffy?" Willow picked up some pudding from the lunch line. "Do I have a beast?"

"Um…I don't understand the question."

Willow shot a look at the lunch table where Xander, Oz and Cordelia sat chatting over their brown bag lunches. "Well, you and Faith have a beast because you're Slayers and Oz has a beast because he's a werewolf. Do you think I have a beast?"

Buffy assured her friend while she examined the many offerings of Jell-O, "Don't be silly. Of course not."

Willow tried and failed to hide her disappointment.

Buffy backtracked, "Wait. Did you want to have a beast? I'm not sure what the supportive friend answer is here."

Willow paid for her lunch and assured Buffy, "Never mind. Its silly."

As they walked to the table, Buffy asked, "So are you and Oz Bronze-ing it tonight?"

"Renting movies. What about you and Angel? Big plans?"

"Patrol. But it's good. It gives us a chance to talk."

"Talking's good," Willow said wistfully as they sat down with their friends. That inadequacy thing was bothering her again.

Willow usually felt like there was nothing in the world that could ever bother her when she was with Oz like this. The companionable silence between them was usually comfortable, but tonight it wasn't. Willow had too many things racing around in her brain.

"Can we talk?"

Oz muted the television politely, "Talk away."

"Do I have a beast?"

Oz looked confused. "Um."

"You know. A beast. That thing that makes you hunt and…" shyly, Willow stage whispered, "and you know what."

"Oh. Faith's beast."

"I have one, right?"

"Trick question?"

"No." Willow's brow went all crinkle-y with frustration again, "Just be honest. I know that I'm not all sexy and dangerous like Faith but I…"

Oz stopped her with, "Hey." After a quick kiss, he said, "You're a kitten."

"A kitten?"

Oz touched her face with his fingertips and explained, punctuating each word with a kiss, "Wide-eyed. Delicate. Soft."

Willow protested, despite Oz's sweet ministrations, "That wasn't the answer I wanted."

"Hey, have you ever seen a pissed off kitten? Scary stuff."

"I have a beast," Willow morosely told her fish while she fed them their little pellets. "I do. A big scary beast. I can be passionate and sexy and, and beastie."

She sat down on her bed and told herself one more time. "I can."

Willow sighed deeply and sat for several minutes while she hatched out a plan. Suddenly driven, she gathered her magic supplies: candles, seawater (with a thank you to her little fish friends), a bell and a feather.

She placed them on her bedroom floor, with a reminder that she really needed to find an altar, and began her spell.

Willow had never felt freer. The spell she cast last night, to set her desires free, made her feel more…Willow-y than she had ever been. She wouldn't quite call herself a beast, but by golly, she felt good.

Oz was waiting for her by her locker and greeted her with an enthusiastic wave. "Hey honey. You won't believe what I did this morning. I watched a flower bloom. Each petal opened one by one and…"

Willow had to kiss him, right then and there. She pushed him up against the locker aggressively and plastered her lips to his. Take that Faith.

"Rosenburg!"

Willow pried herself away from Oz and turned to sneer at Principal Snyder. She'd never really been a big sneer-er. She kinda liked it.

"No groping in the halls," he hissed.

Willow felt an irresistible urge to tell Snyder off. So she did. "Oh shut up, you troll."

Snyder huffed and puffed and his ears turned bright red.

"That's it. My office. Now."

Oz called out after Willow, who stomped down the hall after Snyder, "I'll see you later, honey. I love you. Try not to get expelled, okay?"

"Rosenburg, you confuse me. You have this great big brain and yet you choose to associate with truants and imbeciles."

Willow picked at her fingernails, bored silly.

"Are you listening to me, Rosenburg?"

"Not really," she sighed.

Snyder smacked his hands down on his desk and threatened, "You're pushing it, Rosenburg."

Willow rolled her eyes at him. She took a moment to revel in the nifty-empowered feeling and then asked, "Can I go now?"

Snyder's mouth opened and closed in shock.

Willow stood and hefted her backpack on her shoulder. She reached for the door and felt Snyder grab her arm from behind. Willow swung around and belted Snyder square in the jaw. He crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

Willow grinned from ear to ear. "I've always wanted to do that."

Yup, the spell was working nicely.

Willow watched with interest as Xander bounded into the library. She licked her lips at the sight of him. The spell seemed to be intensifying her feelings as the day wore on. Willow loved the way it felt, but she hated the circumstance that it had landed her in. Clearly, her friends did not appreciate Willow's beast.

"Uh, Buff? Have you seen Oz today? He talked my ear off for twenty minutes about the sunrise. I cannot begin to convey to you the levels of wrongness…" Xander stopped and for the first time noticed Willow, "and why is Willow in the cage?"

With a sultry voice, Willow said, "Hello Xander."

"Um. Hi?" Xander turned to Buffy who stood guard over Willow. "What's going on?"

Giles answered, "She punched Principal Snyder."

"Hey, go Will!"

Buffy added, "And she kissed Giles."

"Blah! Why would she do that? Why? Why?"

Willow answered, "Its that accent. It drives me crazy."

Buffy explained, "We think she did a spell."

"A horny spell?"

"I think she wanted to unleash the beast."

"Willow has a beast?"

Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them obsessively, "I can assure you, she has a beast. I know this because she bit me."

"It was a love bite," Willow protested.

Xander approached the cage and scolded, "Willow, I think you did a bad, bad spell!"

"What's wrong, Xander? You want a little nibble too?" Willow wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively.

Xander retreated behind Buffy. "Help," he whimpered.

Giles asked, "Willow, what spell did you do?"

"Oh that accent," Willow moaned, "It's killing me."

Giles admonished, "Willow, please try to concentrate."

"Oh yes…keep talking…mmm."

"Okay," Buffy commanded, "Xander, you and I will go to Willow's and find that spell. Giles, stay here and watch Willow…quietly."

"Wait," Xander said, "What about Oz?"

Buffy asked her caged friend, "Will? Did you do a spell on Oz?"

At the mention of his name, Willow was flooded with emotion. "Oz. I love Oz."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna take that as a yes."

Giles concluded, "If Oz is being affected by the same spell as Willow then reversing it should cure them both."

Willow whimpered, "Oh my God, Giles!"

Xander begged, "For the love of God man, stop talking."

Buffy dragged Xander toward the swinging library doors, "Let's get that spell before she gets any worse."

Oz chose that moment to come charging into the library, full of excitement. "Hey. You guys won't believe what I just saw. It was this little bug and he was crawling up my locker and…"

Xander interrupted him. "Hey, that's fascinating." He took Oz's shoulders and spun him toward Giles. "You should tell Giles all about it."

"Oh hey, Giles. You won't believe what I just saw…"

Willow sat in front of the fireplace and stared into the flames. She had explained to Oz what the spell had done and a little of why she had done it. She kinda missed the beast.

The beast wouldn't be so nervous about Oz's response.

"A spell, huh?"

"Sorry."

Oz just shrugged.

"No really, I'm sorry. I should never have tried to change you," she asserted guiltily.

Oz conceded, "I can be a little stoic."

"But that's good. That's you. And I love you."

"What about you?"

Willow wrinkled her forehead. "Um. I love me too?"

"Don't try to change you. You're perfect."

Willow smiled shyly. Oz placed a soft kiss on her forehead and then said, "Thanks for the roses."

They were a peace offering and apology but they seemed inadequate, so much like Willow had felt lately. She apologized. "I know roses aren't really what you're supposed to give a boy."

"I like flowers."

"Me too." Willow snuggled against Oz. Whether she had an inner beast or not, Willow was determined to never compare herself to Buffy or Faith or anybody again. Oz thought she was perfect and that would just have to be enough. "You know what? I don't want to talk. I think that if we spend the whole evening together and not talk that it would be really amazing. What do you think?"

"Really amazing."

End