[ she'd known that would be his reaction, had gone into this talk expecting his control to wane at some point. she didn't blame him; it was a heated discussion for them on a good day. but she also knew what had brought out the wolf the last time they'd seen each other. tara. willow could never choose between them. well, she sort of had once, but that was somehow different. something had been present there that wasn't now. and with tara gone...
it was hard to think about, moving on from such an important person, but willow knew tara would want her to be happy. and it was that thought that allowed her to put her sandwich down and reach out to him. sure it was dangerous, probably even stupid on some level, but she couldn't help it. she'd never leave him for what he was, never. and he needed to know that. no matter what happened between them, what the future held, she would always be there for him. ]
I know. I'm different now. I'm really trying to control what it is, what's inside me. I can do things now that I couldn't do before. But I know what's important. This is important. My friends, the people I care about.
[ she took a deep breath and offered him a tearful smile. ] Y'know, when I said I wouldn't be surprised if I met you in Istanbul, I wasn't kidding.