A/N: As always, I appreciate the reads/reviews! This chapter gave me some trouble since I feel like the mood of the episode dictates a certain seriousness that I'm not very good at (although it's by no means angsty—if you've read this far, you can probably tell I'm not a fan of the angst).

Chapter 8: New Moon Rising

RING!

Faith blinked her eyes open slowly at the sound of the phone. Slowly lifting her head from Buffy's shoulder, she glanced over at the blonde's clock and groaned when she saw it was only 8:30.

RING!

She turned back to her girlfriend, who was somehow still asleep. Faith tried to get to the phone, but it was on Buffy's side and the blonde was laying on top of her right arm, leaving it just out of reach.

RING!

"B..." Faith whined, "answer your phone!" She tried to stuff a pillow over her ears, nudging Buffy gently.

Buffy groaned, but reached up and snatched the phone from its spot beside her bed. "H-Hello?" she answered sleepily, sitting up in bed. She smiled at Faith, who looked like she had already gone back to sleep. Of course, it had been a rather long night, Buffy thought with a grin.

She turned her attention back to the phone call. She nearly dropped the phone when she heard the voice on the other end of the line.

"Oh my god!" she managed, which caused Faith to turn toward her and peek an eye open.

"No...she's not" Buffy sputtered into the phone. Faith quickly sat up, looking inquisitively at Buffy who just shook her head.

"O...kay. No...i won't...fine...bye." Buffy felt like she was in a daze as she returned the phone to its cradle.

"What the hell was that, B?" Faith yawned, entwining her fingers with Buffy's and giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"It was...Oz." Buffy replied.

"Wolf boy?" Faith asked, "Shit, didn't think we'd be hearing from him. Where's he at anyway? Tanzania or some shit like that?"

Buffy shook her head, "No, L.A."

"L.A.?"

Buffy nodded. "He's...well, he's going to be back here...tonight."

"Oh..." Faith managed.

"Yeah, I know...I didn't know what to say. He asked for Willow..."

Faith frowned. "B..."

"I know," Buffy replied softly, squeezing Faith's hand, "...then he said not to tell her he was coming. He wants to surprise her..."

"So what, he just thinks Red's gonna just be waiting for him?" Faith asked, clearly irritated.

Buffy shrugged, "honestly... it kinda sounds like it. But you remember how attached they were. He probably just assumed..."

"But you don't think-" Faith quickly cut herself off.

"What?" Buffy asked, scooting closer to Faith and playing with a strand of her hair.

"She's not gonna...go back?" Faith asked, her voice a little raw. Buffy was a little surprised at how upset about this whole thing Faith was.

"I don't think so...but...I don't know..." Buffy tried. She really had no idea. Willow seemed happier now than she'd ever been before and she and Tara were so close... But on the other hand, it was Oz...

"She better not..." Faith said quickly, feeling a hot flash of anger, "I mean, what, was this just some college experiment thing and then it's back to driving stick?"

Buffy paused, studying her lover closely. "Faith..." Buffy ran her thumb gently across Faith's cheek, "...I think I'm starting to see some subtext here..."

Faith leaned into Buffy's touch, letting the blonde's calm strokes soothe her. She shook her head, "no B, I'm not...I just..."

Buffy leaned forward and captured Faith's lips with her own. Her tongue began to glide across Faith's soft lips before the brunette pulled it into her mouth.

"Faith," Buffy whispered once their lips pulled apart, "whatever choice Willow makes, it doesn't mean anything about us and what we have." She kissed her softly. "I. Love. You." she said slowly, punctuating each word with another kiss. "This was never about experimenting with a girl. It's always been about being with you. It's about loving you so much that I feel like my heart is gonna explode. And nothing will ever change how I feel about you."

"Buffy...I know...I just..." Quickly blinking away the wetness pooling in her eyes, Faith lowered her voice to a whisper. "I don't think I've ever really been happy before. Not like I am with you. I...I'm not good with words, but I just wish I could explain how much I love you..."

"But I know, Faith," Buffy smiled breathlessly at her, "I can feel it every time you touch me."

Faith's mouth curled up into a smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Buffy nodded. "So anytime you wanna tell me, just kiss me."

Faith nodded and pressed her smiling lips against Buffy's, wrapping her arms around her tightly.

()()()()()()()()

When Buffy had to go to class, Faith decided to go for a walk, chiding herself for being so stupid earlier. She knew Buffy loved her, it was just hard for her to accept how lucky she was sometimes. She had never had anything like this before—had never been so happy before—so a little part of her was still afraid that it would all be taken away from her. For the first time in her life, she had trusted someone else with her feelings and emotions. And sometimes it kinda scared her a little.

But she realized Buffy had never given her any reason to be scared. Buffy had always been there for her. Like today, she had walked Buffy to her class like she always did, and Buffy had given her a little goodbye kiss right outside the doorway in front of all her classmates. Little things like that meant a lot to Faith. It showed how much Buffy really loved her. That Buffy would never let what people thought get in the way of how she felt for Faith.

So yeah, she had been stupid to doubt Buffy's love, even for a second; even unconsciously. Faith wanted to do something nice for Buffy to make up for her mental lapse, so she decided she would walk downtown and get Buffy lunch at this sandwich place she loved and bring it back to campus for her. Buffy always loved when she did stuff like that.

But first, there was something else she had to do which Faith was not really looking forward to. She and Buffy had decided they wouldn't tell anyone about Oz coming since he had asked them not to, but Buffy had agreed to the one exception Faith wanted to make:

Faith wanted to let Tara know.

Even though Faith was almost positive that Willow wouldn't go back to Oz, she didn't want Tara to get blindsided either way. Tara deserved to know. Plus, she and Tara had become pretty close friends lately. They would hang out most days whenever Buffy and Willow had class at the same time. Faith really liked spending time with her, too: Tara always had a different way of thinking about everything, which Faith thought was pretty cool. Plus Faith liked to tease her about her and Willow's sex life since she would get really, really embarrassed. That was always fun.

So Faith figured it was the right thing to do to let Tara know what was going on. More importantly, she wanted to do what she could to reassure her so that she wouldn't totally freak when Oz did show.

Faith took a deep breath after she made it to the blonde witch's dorm room before knocking on the door quietly.

"Hello?" Tara answered the door quickly, "Oh, h-hi Faith!"

"Hey, T, you got a minute?" Faith asked nervously. Even though she thought it was the right thing to do, she really hated having to do it.

Tara smiled and nodded, opening the door wide enough for Faith to come inside. Faith sat down slowly and turned to face Tara, not really sure how to begin. Heart to hearts weren't really her strong suit.

Tara noticed something was wrong immediately. "What's wrong?" she asked, her concern for Faith apparent in her voice.

"It's probably nothin', T..." Faith started, "..I'm sure nothing's gonna come of it..."

"Faith, w-what is it?" Tara asked softly.

Faith took a deep breath. "B got a call this morning. It was Oz."

"Oh." Tara said, her voice cracking.

"He's comin' back into town tonight. Guess he's been in L.A. Anyway, Red, er, Willow doesn't know yet..."

"Oh." Tara repeated softly, looking downward.

"He told B not to tell anyone, but we agreed you should know..."

Tara nodded, a small tear escaping down her cheek.

Faith put a comforting hand on her shoulder and tried to reassure her as best she could. "Look, you really shouldn't worry tho'. Will is crazy about you... I've seen the way you two are together."

Tara nodded slowly, "I k-know, but..."

Faith shook her head, "-but nothing, T. I just wanted you to know so you wouldn't be wigged when he shows."

Tara smiled, wiping her eyes.

"Or, if you want, I'll kick his ass for you," Faith offered with a smile.

Tara laughed quietly. "Thanks, F-Faith" she said, drawing Faith into a friendly hug.

"Do ya wanna walk with me downtown? I'm gonna get some lunch for me and B," Faith asked after they had separated.

Tara shook her head, "N-no t-thanks, I'm supposed to m-meet Willow soon. S-she has a test so she'll be out of c-class early."

Faith nodded. "Look, Tar...there's another reason I wanted to tell you. If ya want, I think you should tell Willow yourself. Like I said, don't think it'll matter. But if ya think it'll help..."

Tara shook her head. "Thanks, but I'll wait. I don't want to pressure her. I want her to do what makes her h-happy..."

"You make her happy, T" Faith reminded her as they hugged goodbye.

Tara nodded, smiling at her friend.

()()()()()()()()

Buffy left her classroom frowning. There had been a pop quiz and she hadn't remembered any of it even though she had done the reading. She was pretty sure most of it wasn't even in the reading... Humph! She sighed angrily.It was enough to put anybody in a bad mood.

Then, exiting the building, she immediately forgot all about it when she saw Faith standing there holding lunch from her favorite place that was all the way across town.

She smiled widely as Faith strolled up sexily to her. Buffy threw her arms around Faith, pulling her into a deep kiss. "You are the sweetest girlfriend ever" Buffy smiled happily as their lips parted.

"I love you, B" Faith whispered softly into ear.

Buffy felt her eyes well up at Faith's sweetness. "I love you too, Faith."

She slipped her hand into Faith's and the two walked over to a nearby table to have their lunch.

()()()()()()()()

That night, Buffy, Faith, Willow, and Tara were all at The Bronze for a previously scheduled double date—or "lesbians night out" as Willow referred to their nights out together. Ironically enough, the bronze was also where Oz said he was headed as soon as he got into town as well. The unfortunate coincidence was not lost on the others, but they figured it would be best to just go on about their evening as if nothing was different. Willow had noticed the others acting funny a couple of times, but someone had always managed to change the subject or distract her.

But soon enough, Oz walked through the front doors, glancing around the large room. When they saw him enter, the others went silent for a moment and subtly glanced in Willow's direction. Tara could feel her heart beating so fast that she could barely breathe.

Willow's shock at Oz standing there in the doorway was plain to see. He quickly noticed them and slowly walked over to their table.

Willow couldn't move or speak as she slowly processed the information. She was surprised when she realized how little she had thought about him the last couple of months. In fact, she realized that she hadn't given him a second's thought since that night her spell had gone wrong with Buffy and Faith. Willow smiled when she thought of how well both she and Buffy had kept their 'no boys' promise.

But she knew it wasn't the promise that had given her other things to think about: it was Tara. She realized she needed to let Oz know where they stood. It wouldn't be fair to him otherwise. She slowly leaned forward in her seat as Oz came up to their table, but she also reached out her hand to take Tara's. She also needed Tara to know that it was her she would choose. That it would always be her.

Buffy and Faith noticed the subtle gesture and smiled in relief. Tara finally let out a breath when she felt Willow's hand in hers.

"Hi" Willow faced Oz nervously, unconsciously tightening her grip on her girlfriend's hand.

"Hey." Oz replied, his face expressionless.

"Wha...what are you doing here?" Willow managed.

Oz shrugged and evaded her real question. "I'm staying with Devon while I'm in town. He's playing here tonight."

Willow looked confused. "Oz..." Willow started, " what... it's...surprised...surprising... but g-good to see you." She took a deep breath. "I... I want you to meet someone. This is my girlfriend, Tara."

Tara smiled nervously, "h-happy to m-meet you." Willow instinctively put a protective arm around her girlfriend, giving her shoulders a quick squeeze.

"Huh" Oz stated flatly. His demeanor didn't change, but everyone could tell he was a little taken aback. "Hi," he finally said to Tara, giving a small smile at the blonde witch.

Soon Oz took an offered seat and somewhat awkwardly talked about his trip and all the places he'd gone. The others were particularly interested in how Oz had been able to cure himself of his curse. Overall, Oz didn't say much, but was amicable enough.

After he left to go meet Devon, the others decided it was time for them to pack it in for the evening as well.

Willow, Tara, Buffy, and Faith all started the walk back to the dorms, both couples holding hands. Like most nights, Willow and Tara would stay in Tara's room while Buffy and Faith would stay in Buffy and Willow's room.

Willow and Tara walked a little bit behind the other two. When they were almost there, Willow turned to Tara and smiled. "You've been kinda quiet tonight, honey, is everything okay?"

Tara smiled back at her girlfriend. "Everything is perfect. It was just a little weird finally meeting Oz."

"Yeah, but I'm glad it happened, cos it made me realize something." Willow replied.

"What?" Tara asked gently.

"That there is only one thing that I want for the rest of my life" Willow said, stopping to look into Tara's eyes.

"What?" Tara repeated, taking Willow's other hand in hers as well.

Willow smiled. "You." Then she leaned forward and pulled Tara into a deep kiss and wrapped her arms around her tightly.

"Hey, c'mon you two!" Buffy complained from up ahead a little "We all wanna make out with our girlfriends, but let's get back to campus to do it!"

The witches giggled and ran to catch up with Buffy and Faith.

Faith chuckled at the witches, sharing a conspiratorial smile with Tara before turning her attention back to the only thing she wanted for the rest of her life.

Buffy smiled back at Faith, giving her a quick kiss and nuzzling her nose into Faith's neck. Faith's arm tightened around Buffy's shoulder, and slayers led the way back to the dorms.

TBC...