WHO Oz & Hermione WHAT Coffee break + Truth WHEN Friday afternoon WHERE WAMM WARNINGS None! STATUS Closed | Completed GDoc
Hermione really liked spending time with Oz. It was the kind of feeling she'd never really had around Ron so she wanted to savor it while she could. Madison Valley wasn't a complicated place in a lot of ways, but where it was complicated, that didn't quite do it justice. The dome was something that scared her if she thought about it too hard and that was one rabbit hole she wasn't ready to travel down. She was content spending time with the few friends she'd made, and that included Oz.
So, she made her way down to WAMM in the early afternoon with a coffee for him and a scone from the Tea House. They were one of her favorite snacks and Hermione was happy to share it with Oz. She had the rest of the afternoon off and while she didn't want to get in the way of Oz's work, she was hoping they might be able to spend at least a little time together. After spending time with him during the Full Moon, Hermione didn't have any trouble getting to his office once she confirmed at the front desk that he didn't have a client or anything.
"Hey there," she greeted from the doorway with a grin. "In need of a coffee break?" She had tea for herself, and another scone, so she was hoping he wouldn't mind the interruption.
~*~
“Hey.” Oz never really minded being interrupted. Sometimes people didn’t come interrupt and then he had to go find his own interruptions and that just didn’t seem as legitimate. He’d enjoyed spending time with Hermione during the full moon even if sometimes he hadn’t been able to talk. Maybe that wasn’t as noticeable with him as other people but he did like to be able to answer questions.
“Coffee breaks are good.” He pushed all his stuff together into a pile and put it off to the side to make room for her and the cups and bag with the scones. “Have a seat.”
***
Hermione grinned widely and stepped into his office. It wasn't like they were dating or anything, just friends, so it was nice that he wasn't turning her away or anything. "Thanks," she replied as she stepped into his office and took a seat. She set the drink carrier and the bag next to each other on the desk before pulling out his coffee for him. "Things aren't too crazy, I hope?" Looking around the office, she wasn't so sure how busy he was or wasn't.
"Have you had the scones from the Tea House before? I'm partial to the chocolate chip one, but I also haven't had one I didn't like." She was looking forward to the fall selections, since pumpkin flavored treats were one of her favorites.
***
“No, we’re on the low end of the crazy scale right now.” Oz took the coffee with a smile. It was good to have the caffeine brought to him instead of going out for it. Although usually all the farther he went for it was the kitchen when he was working in the office. “I guess the cheating slows down while people get used to the new school routine.”
“No, haven’t tried those yet. Chocolate chips are pretty much good in anything so I’m sure I’d like them.”
***
Not crazy was good as far as she was concerned. Considering what she knew of his life before coming to Madison, Hermione thought he deserved to have some peace and quiet more often than not these days. "I'm glad it's quiet for you," she replied. She was glad people weren't cheating on each other as much, but she was mostly glad for what it meant for him.
She opened up the bag and pushed it toward him so he could take whichever of the two he wanted. They were both chocolate chip, but still. "Cheating is a terrible thing to do. I don't really understand it. If you're unhappy with someone, you shouldn't stay with them anyway. That's what Ron and I did." She hadn't been unhappy perse, but she hadn't been happy and her work was more important than trying to make sure she carved time out for dates and things. It was different in Madison though, especially with working only part time at the Library.
***
Oz reached in to take the scone but his face went troubled at the mention of cheating. The memory of Veruca was never going to be one he would be comfortable with. He decided to not mention his own issues for the moment but concentrate on the work.
“Some people it’s a power thing. They want to have it all and they feel like they deserve it. They aren’t exactly unhappy with what they have they just feel like they can have the cake and the cookies at the same time.” Oz didn’t agree with that either. He hated that sort of thing more than someone who was just too cowardly to leave their partner for the new one.
***
Hermione just shook her head. She'd never understand what went through someone's mind when they deserved to cheat, regardless of the reason. "I guess the best we can do is make sure we're living the way we could be proud of. I wouldn't cheat on you," she pointed out, before taking a sip of coffee. She realized what she said a moment later and flushed just a little. That hadn't quite come out right.
"I uh. What I mean is, I like you and if we were dating I wouldn't even think about cheating on you." Nope. That wasn't better. That was actually probably worse because Hermione didn't have any clue why she was saying what she was saying. It was true, but still. This probably wasn't the time or the place. She couldn't bring herself to apologize though.
***
There had always been a little bit of a resemblance with Hermione’s love of libraries to Willow without them actually really being like each other but suddenly Hermione was doing a little bit of the Willow run at the mouth blurt all the things, thing.
“So...you’ve been thinking about us dating?” Oz kind of wanted to clarify just a little because that had been hard to follow. Nice, but hard to follow. “Because I kind of like the idea…”
What the hell? Oz blinked and looked to the side while he analyzed what he’d just done there. No, he hadn’t meant to say that but it was true.
***
"Yea," Hermione replied, without any hesitation. She didn't know what exactly was going on, but if this was the result, she was willing to go with it. "I mean, I wasn't. Hadn't. Until the full moon. That was a risky thing you did, trying the Wolfsbane potion, and I was worried about you. That's why I came to stay with you every night, and why I'm working with James on how to become an Animagus. You shouldn't have to be alone."
She felt really strongly about that, but she had wanted it to be a surprise. "I'm not really sure what's going on, but I'm glad it is." Hermione had a feeling that something was off because she wasn't quite so forward with someone so soon, but if it meant maybe she and Oz could get a little closer, it would be well worth it.
***
The long history with Buffy and Sunnydale made Oz wary of the whole truth thing but for the moment it was helping and not hurting. “You want to be an Animagus for me? That’s kind of cool.” He didn’t really want to use the potion again and change but if something happened he would have company.
“There’s...the werewolf thing. I don’t know how that will work with dating. I want to try it but I don’t want to hurt you. I lost control and almost killed my girlfriend, then the girl she was dating after me.” He wasn’t sure he could ever actually get over the loss of control but he would try.
“And I’ve killed.” And there was the truth thing going a step too far. Thanks.
***
Hermione nodded, because even if she was an otter, they'd figure it out. It was better to have the skill and not need it instead of feeling helpless if he ever transformed again. She didn't mind in the slightest that he didn't want to use the potion. At least they knew now that it would be able to help other wolves who were forced to transform during the full moon.
"It doesn't bother me," she assured him. "None of it does. Everyone loses control sometimes, and you said almost." Hermione scooted forward on her chair and put her hand over his. "I can defend myself if I need to, but I trust you." Unwaveringly, actually. It surprised her just how true that was.
"I've killed people, too. During the war, I had to, to keep my friends safe. I know it isn't the same, but it's in the past." She gave his hand a squeeze so that he could be sure that she wasn't afraid of him, or what he was.
***
“People stopped me. Shot me with tranquilizer darts and kept me from doing something horrible.” Oz had great friends to count on for that. The hand on his felt pretty damn good. It had been a long time since he’d left Sunnydale the second time and he’d never let himself be close to someone during that time. He’d missed it.
“I did it to keep people safe. It was another werewolf but she thought that killing people was her right, that she was better because of what she was. I tried to stop her by locking her in with me...but the only real way was to kill her.” He put his hand over hers. “This. It’s been a long time.”
***
She couldn't help smiling softly at his reply. Oz was a good man from what she could tell and that was readily apparent from what he was telling her. "Your friends really care about you, and I do, too." Hermione couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't want to know Oz better, let alone care about him the way she was starting to. The way she had been for a while now.
"Sometimes, that's the only way," she replied quietly. Hermione wouldn't ever judge him for what happened in the past, but she would always be there to talk about whatever he needed to. She turned her hand so they could properly hold hands. "For me, too. I'm glad I met you, Oz." Whatever was happening between them, it made her happy. Maybe that was all that mattered in the long run. Or, for however long they were both in Madison Valley.
***
“I was just used to other people doing it.” Buffy, Faith, Angel, sure he’d helped with the vamps but they had no soul. Veruca had a soul. It might not have been a good one but it was there. “But you’re right. Sometimes there isn’t another way.”
“I’m glad I met you too. And I figure I should tell you before someone tells you about Willow, my ex girlfriend, that despite her being a fan of the library straight A studier there’s a lot more that’s different about the both of you than is the same. I don’t want you to think I’m looking for a replacement for her.”
***
Hermione knew about hard decisions that people faced in difficult situations, and just because their situations were different didn't mean she couldn't understand his point of view. "Feeling bad about it, regretting it, that's what makes you human." If he hadn't felt anything at all, she would've reconsidered her attraction to him.
She stayed quiet as he told her about Willow. It wasn't too surprising to hear that she shared some traits with his ex-girlfriend. Oz shared some traits with Ron, after all. "I don't think that, and not just because I didn't know about her until now. People have types, I know." Hermione gave him a reassuring smile. "I didn't realize I had one until I met you." That was in part because she hadn't really dated anyone aside from Ron, so two could just be a coincidence.
"So...what's next?"
***
“I’m not sure. Although this whole spate of being open and honest to the point of weirdness might need some looking into.” It wasn’t that Oz wasn’t honest but this was sort of above and beyond what was usual.
“And maybe a date. For us.”
***
She grinned. "That's probably a good idea. I meant everything but, I wasn't exactly planning on telling you all of that," Hermione admitted. She could look into the weirdness later though, after they had their coffee break.
"I'd like that, too. Dinner sometime?" They could have a nice meal out without there being anything weird going on. "After this thing goes away, maybe." Hermione wanted to be able to open up to him on her terms, and not because she was being more honest than usual about how she felt. She thought he'd understand that.
****
“I really like the idea of after this goes away. In my experience this sort of thing doesn’t go well in the long run. Sunnydale kind of shoved that point home more than once.” Oz would rather no one ended up having awkward confessions past what they already had done. Who said it wouldn’t get worse?
***
Hermione was glad that he understood where she was coming from. She knew how bad the Truth Serum could be and this felt a little like that, just less compulsory maybe. Still, it'd be better for both of them if they could wait.
"I hope it doesn't last too long, then," she admitted with a smile. "I'll get out of your way for now, I think." It'd be better to remove themselves from a situation where they'd end up saying more truths that they might not be ready to share. "Maybe we'll get lucky and whatever this is, it's confined to just in person communication. Text me later?" They could at least give it a shot.
***
“I’ll give it a try. If it doesn’t work I’ll text as soon as all of this is over.” Oz found himself smiling back at her. “Things done’t usually last more than a week. So it shouldn’t be too long.”
***
She grinned as she stood. "That's a plan," Hermione replied optimistically. Feeling a little bolstered by the open conversation, she moved around the side of his desk to press a kiss against his cheek. "I'll talk to you soon," she promised, before gathering her things. "Have a good day." And with that, she slipped out the door. Probably for the best, she thought.