Willow dug into her plate of pasta while Oz tore into a meatball sandwich. He had insisted on taking her out to dinner after their dry run, which she took as a good sign. She was dying to know what he thought, but had grown to know the taciturn man well enough to know that he would speak when he was ready. She resolved to wait until then.
That lasted about five minutes.
"So, what do you think? I'm sure it would work, she was really specific —"
He looked at her and she fell silent.
"I'm still thinking — it's a pretty awesome idea, that a big time goddess like her took an interest."
"She totally took an interest. Oh Oz, you wouldn't believe how beautiful she was."
He smiled. "I think if I was there I wouldn't have noticed her, what with you in a toga and all."
"It's not a toga, it's a chiton. A toga is when a guy wears it."
He watched her with that familiar mix of amusement and affection while he swallowed a bite of sandwich.
"The thing is, it's a big step, and doing that for a spell wasn't how I saw our first time. And I kind of didn't see chains being part of the picture, either."
Willow took a big gulp of iced tea.
"But it doesn't have to be our first —" she cut herself off.
Oz raised his eyebrows.
"Well, the whole how-to-do-the-ritual thing was all in one flash, but it's all still totally clear, especially as I think about it more, and it wasn't a first-time thing.
Cue eyebrows again.
"She not exactly big on the virginity thing. I mean, she was kind of amused that I'm still — but it wasn't like it was a big deal. It's the connection thing, the — act, you know, bridging the gap between you and wolf-you."
He watched her intensely. Willow felt breathless, pinned by his gaze.
"Okay," said Oz. "We've got a week 'til moon-time, so there's time to reconsider, but I think I'm good with this."
"Really?" Willow asked eagerly. "'Cause I don't want to push you into anything —"
Oz grinned. "That's supposed to be my line."
The witch grinned and blushed.
"I'm glad. Anyway, it will be better if you drive us since when I went out to do the divination I had to take the bus and it took forever because I thought it wasn't such a good idea to be out at night near Sunnydale alone because — grr — fangs, you know."
"I'm glad you were cautious-Willow. No worries, I'll drive."
"Great, I'm so glad you're good with this, Oz."
"How could I say no? Now finish that pasta. Keep up your strength." He took a big bite of his sandwich and growled through it. "You know not the might of wolfy-Oz."
Willow burst into laughter.