New Moon Rising Revisited

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of these characters. If I did Os would never have left, or would've come back to stay. (Sorry Tara, I love you but I love Oz more…)

This is a Willow/Oz story. Willow and Tara were only ever friends; Tara had a girlfriend named Hannah. Tara became part of the Scooby gang because she and Willow worked well together with their powers. Begins with my version of how Oz should've come back. (Sort of the same as in the episode)

~*~

The whole Scooby gang was sitting in Giles' living room as Buffy and Riley briefed them on the current demon situation. Willow sat with her new friend Tara, occasionally explaining what Buffy and Riley meant. Finally, Buffy decided that it was time for her and Riley to patrol.

"Yes, well. This meeting was entirely pointless. It wasted time that Xander and I could've spent copulating!" Anya exclaimed.

"Ahh. Ahn, hun, let's not talk about what we do in our private time, alright?" Xander said ushering her towards the door. He reached for the handle but stopped suddenly when it turned before his hand touched it. A collective gasp was uttered by the rest of the room's occupants when Oz stepped through the now open door.

"Oz?" Willow said softly.

"Hey," Oz said uncomfortably.

"When did you get back?" Willow asked.

"Pretty much now," he said with a half smile.

"Who is that?" Tara asked Buffy softly.

"That's the man that broke Will's heart," Buffy told her.

"Well, Anya and I are gonna be going now, nice seeing you again Oz," Xander said, clapping the red-head on the back as he and the ex-demon walked out the door.

"Riley and I really need to patrol, I'll see you tomorrow Will." Buffy said as she and Riley headed towards the door. "Good to see you Oz."

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you," Riley said, following his girlfriend.

"Um, I've um, I promised Hannah I'd meet her at the cafe," Tara said apologetically. "It was nice to meet you Oz, and I'll see you in class tomorrow Willow," the blonde managed a small smile before she left.

Willow shifted uncomfortably. "Um, so, you're back," she said.

"Yeah, I figured it was time," he said.

"For how long?"

"I'm not gonna leave again, there's no need to. Everything and everyone I love is here."

"So..." Willow said.

"Will you go for a walk with me?" Oz asked. With all the awkward silences and hellos, dusk had waned away and night was upon them.

"Sure," she said, and the two of them went out into the night. They walked for a while before Oz took her hand and pulled her to a stop. "What is it?" she asked.

"Look up," he told her.

"What?" she said confused.

"Look at the sky," he said with a small smile.

Willow looked up and she couldn't believe what she saw. "It's a full moon! Oh, Oz!" she exclaimed throwing her arms around him. His arms instinctively encircled her.

"I guess you stopped keeping track of them, after I left," he said sadly.

"How?" she asked, pulling away slightly but staying in his embrace.

"I got a few talismans and some wolf's-bane. It's mostly about meditation and control though."

"Oh, I'm so happy for you!" she said exuberantly, hugging him tightly and resting her head on his shoulder.

"But enough about me, I wanna hear about you!" Oz said as the heady scent of her filled his nostrils. "From what I've heard, you're becoming a powerful witch."

Willow smiled taking his hand in hers as she started walking again. "You heard right! The big bads won't be able to beat me up so easily anymore. Especially with Tara around. She and I have become very close."

"How close?" Oz asked.

Willow smiled brighter and her heart fluttered at the slightly jealous tone in his voice. "We're like sisters. We're both witches, we like the same kinds of music and the same books, and we're both very studious."

"It's great that you found a good friend like her," he said as the reached her dorm-room door. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"No, don't leave!" Willow said frantically, before calming down slightly. "I mean, Buffy's spending the night at Riley's, so we have plenty of time to talk about things. Do you wanna come in?"

Oz smiled his usual half-smile. "Yeah, that sounds nice," he said softly. The two of them spent the entire night talking about the good times they'd had together, neither of them seemed too eager to speak of their time apart.

"Do you remember the night before graduation?" Willow asked suddenly, after a long, comfortable silence.

Oz's eyes became slightly glazed and a full smile graced his lips. "I could never forget than night, even if I lived for a thousand years." he said softly, taking her hand in his.

Willow tried to smile and her eyes flooded with tears. "I thought you'd never come back," she said in a breaking voice.

Oz sat up, his eyes full of concern and despair. "I never wanted to hurt you Willow," he said pulling her close. "I've never loved anyone as much as I love you, and I almost couldn't bear the pain of leaving you."

"Then why did you?" she cried.

"I had to. I was too dangerous! I swore that as soon as I found a way to control the wolf that I'd come back to you. So here I am. I'm yours, totally and completely and I'll do whatever you want. If you want me to leave I will. Just say the word and you'll never have to see me again. But if you still love me than I'll stay by your side until the day I die, I promise you." His eyes were flooded with tears as he held her face in his hands, silently begging her to forgive him.

In that moment Willow realized just how much she truly loved this man. She'd always known that she loved him, but seeing him in this vulnerable state threw into light the reality that if given the choice, she would die for him. The realization made the quantity of her tears increase ten-fold. She pulled him to her and sobbed into his chest until she had no tears left to shed. They sat there on her bed in silence until Willow broke it with a soft plea. "Stay with me," she murmured.

Oz squeezed her gently, kissing the top of her head. "Always," he said. "Always."

"Make love to me Oz," she said, and he did. Hours later the lay there on her bed dozing, soft smiles on their faces. They continued to murmur words of love to each other until the fell into a deep sleep. When they awoke the next morning they both felt more rested than they had since Oz had left. It overjoyed them that they had at least one thing look forward to for the rest of their lives. Each other.

~*~The End~*~