Author's Notes: Let me just begin this with a small disclaimer. I LOVE WILLOW AND TARA. I love them fully and deeply, and I supported them through to the untimely end. But before I loved Tara, I loved Oz. And I always thought it ought to have been him to heal Willow's broken heart after she lost Tara. So that's where this came from. Okay, enjoy! And also I love reviews. Just sayin'.
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"Mmmmh," Willow sighs, basking in the warmth of the cozy little room. She isn't sure how long she's been asleep, but it must have been a while. Now, in her half-awake state, she can tell that the sun is just coming up. She's still too sleepy to open her eyes, but cutting pink-orange light plays on her eyelids. She nuzzles against her lover's chest, sighing again in absolute content. Oh, but wait... the only thing is...
"You're not..."
"Hm?"
Flatter chest than she is used to. And deeper voice.
"You're not Kennedy."
Strong hands caress her hair, her cheek. "Who's Kennedy?"
Oh. She recognizes that voice anywhere-- should have guessed it sooner, really.
"Oz," Willow says with a smile. "I'm still asleep."
He laughs. A silent laugh, but she feels it against her cheek. "Seems like it."
"What are you doing here?"
He is silent for a while, and when he speaks-- "I can leave, if you like"-- she wishes she were looking at his face so she could read the meaning behind his words.
"No," she says. "I didn't mean it in an 'intruder alert!' sorta why-are-you-here way. I meant like a, 'to what do I owe this honor' why-are-you-here."
He shrugs. "I was actually hoping you could tell me. This being, y'know, your dream."
Her mouth twitches, and she thinks it over. Since she and Kennedy have reached a Taking A Break phase in their relationship, it had usually been her in Willow's dreams, at least for the past month or so. Apparitions borne of loneliness, probably. But after a while Willow had needed a break in her relationship with dream-Kennedy, not just reality-Kennedy. Tara had featured in a dream once, too, but the result had been messy. Willow had awoken in a fit of shaking sobs, curled up and spent a day and a half mostly confined to the room in her pajamas. So her subconscious had probably gotten the message to push that down until a proper period of grief could be had(it seemed that all that time in England had only gotten her half-past the Tara thing). So maybe the next logical step back was Oz. Or maybe...
"I guess I miss you," Willow says.
His fingers running through her hair feels like heaven. "I miss you too."
She grins. "I know," she says. "I know."
And she tries to lose herself like old times, just basking in his company. But she's too restless. She's not very good at the just lying still thing. She always wants to break the silence.
"What I said, last time you were here..."
"About blue-rinsed hair?" There's a smile woven into his words.
"And rounding the corner in Istanbul."
"Yeah, I remember."
"Well," she says, "it's still true."
Oz brushes a strand of her hair back behind her ear. And then he kisses her softly on the forehead.
"Thank you," he says.
And when she wakes up, her heart is very warm. And just a little bit broken.