Oz kept his eyes firmly in front of him and Buffy's
body between himself and Willow as they walked through
the park. It had taken a great deal of self control to
keep his mouth shut when the redhead had appeared at
Giles' door, reeking of the blonde vampire.
Spike had managed to nail him with a smug, knowing
look before Oz had quickly busied himself in shrugging
on his jacket. But after an hour-long parade through
the local cemeteries, sixty minutes of watching the
vampire drape his arm over Willow's shoulder, reach
for her hand, exchange soft snatches of conversation
that even the wolf's sensitive ears could not
decipher, all he really wanted to do was feel his fist
connecting against the undead bastard's jaw.
Realizing that such an action would only further
weaken the already tenuous position he held in
Willow's heart, Oz chose instead to concentrate on
putting one foot in front of the other as they headed
back toward Giles' place, all the while wishing to
hell he had opted out of this little hike around
Sunnydale.
"You're quiet tonight, Oz," Buffy forced a tone of
easy lightness into her voice in a desperate attempt
to ease the obvious tension that stalked along beside
them. "Cat got your tongue?"
"Pussy, more likely," Spike jeered just loudly enough
for the wolf to hear. "What was her name? Formica?"
Oz's head snapped around as though he'd been struck,
and he stared coldly at the vampire.
The redhead squeezed his hand tightly and looked up at
him, "Spike, don't--"
"Sorry, pet," he smiled down at her. "I'm just trying
to figure out how he could turn away a beauty like you
for a literal bitch."
"Shut the hell up," Oz's composure finally gave way.
"You don't have any idea what happened."
"You're probably right," Spike agreed casually. "You
know, you could have just been suffering from a bad
case of worms."
Buffy gasped as Oz stepped around her and slammed his
fist into the blonde vampire's face. Spike reeled
backward and regained his footing. He lunged at the
wolf, and Oz planted his foot in Spike's chest,
shoving him back as the vampire clutched his head,
snarling in pain, and sank to his knees.
"Stop it!" Willow shouted, pushing the wolf away from
Spike, and knelt down beside him to cradle his face in
her hands.
Oz stared down at her, "You heard him! He started it!
He--"
She glared back up at him, "Listen to yourself. You
sound like a damned schoolboy. Leave him the hell
alone."
"Leave him--" Oz stopped with an angry sigh and
scrubbed his fingers through his hair. "Will, you know
what happened between...."
"I know exactly what happened," she agreed icily.
"Then you know it wasn't like that," he told her.
She stood and took a step toward him, "I know what you
told me. I've heard your excuses. Has it ever occurred
to you that maybe I just don't give a damn anymore?"
"No," he shook his head. "I don't believe that."
"Well, you'd better," she hissed. "And if you ever go
after Spike again--"
"If I go after HIM!" Oz shouted. "Willow, I loved you!
I still love you! I--"
She drew her hand back and slapped him with enough
force to leave a red imprint on his left cheek. His
mouth dropped open, and he stepped back a pace.
"Don't ever speak those words to me again. Go back to
Giles'. Go back to wherever it is you came from. Just
GO!" she demanded.
"Will--"
"Oz," Buffy took his arm in a strong grip. "Come on."
"No. She has to listen to--"
"Not now," the slayer insisted, pulling him away as
Spike rose to Willow's side.
"You're not leaving her alone with him," he protested.
"She's been alone with him more times than I can
count," Buffy answered. "She'll be fine. Come on."
Willow's cold eyes followed him as Oz allowed Buffy to
drag him away. She turned to look up at Spike.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm great," he grinned.
"That was nasty, Spike," she reprimanded him.
He chuckled and pulled her into his arms, "I know."
End.