No worries, the awful summary will be changed!

Hey everyone. I want to start this by explaining that I expect this to be my last full length fic. I've been in this fandom for a couple of years, and I feel like I've left my mark. I also start college next month (I know we start really late) and know I'm going to have less time. I also realize it would've been smarter to finish my last story before school started, but I wanted my last story to be something great, not just average, so this is where we are.

I don't plan to drop off the face of the earth- I know I have one short project beside this to do before I officially retire. And even then, I plan to continue reading, reviewing, and betaing.

Now that that's done with, on to the story. While this is set post-musical, I don't want anyone to confuse it with my previous post-musical story. This story is more line with things I've written as of late, and has some dark themes to it, possibly warranting me raising the rating (I'll let you all know before I do that, though).

Thanks for reading and reviewing, not only this fic but everything else.

I'm dedicating this story to alinaandalion, who not only listened to my ideas for this story but listened to me when I was in a really bad place and needed someone to hear me. I love you, hon! I also beta for the fabulous lady, and let me tell you, she has great things in progress. So after you're done with this, go check her work out.

Enough of the Author's Note, on with the story.

Climb and escape from those seeds that you planted

You slew all my giants, ignoring your own

- Ever After, Bare

The last of the snow had melted the week before and spring had rapidly come. After a long, cold winter, it was finally warm enough to go outside without a jacket. The little house was beautiful, tucked out of the way and completely undisturbed. It was well off the beaten path so no one ever came near- a little touch of magic helped with that. Her little world, the home, the garden outside. How her world had shrunk since they had left Oz! She had gone from the Wicked Witch of the West, the terror of Oz to a hermit. She knew she couldn't complain. She was safe, she had a roof over her head, food, clean clothes- and, most importantly, she had him. Fiyero lived at her side, or lived as much as he could given his state. But he never complained about being trapped as a Scarecrow, he just lived by her side, steadfast and sure.

Even in Ev, the story of Dorothy was well known. They knew of the wretched Witch as well as of Dorothy's companions. The Scarecrow was warmly welcomed and the Witch... well, the Witch was best off as long as she stayed out of sight. Fiyero regularly made trips to a nearby town, buying food he couldn't eat, other supplies that were much more useful to her than him.

He also brought back news of Oz to her. Lady Glinda, the beautiful ruler of Oz had quickly repealed many of the laws that the Wizard had put into place. Some people were charmed by her, content to follow her... others were not so supportive of her, not liking the rapid change. Elphaba worried about her, but Fiyero had the obnoxious habit of reminding her that there was nothing she could do about it.

If there was anything she knew, it was that. She couldn't do anything to help the Animals, she couldn't do anything to protect Glinda. She knew it was the only way she could stay safe but increasingly often she felt like life was passing her by. She seriously doubted what good keeping so safe was good for if she couldn't live- not that she could do anything about it, not that she could do anything about, well, anything-

"Hey! Elphaba, what are you doing?" Fiyero's anxious voice accompanied by his footsteps startled her, and she realized that the tree branch she had been staring at had burst into flames.

She shook her head, feeling flustered. "Nothing," she said as she extinguished the magical flame with a flick of her wrist.

He put down the bag of groceries he had carried back from the village so he could reach out to her. She hugged him halfheartedly, giving him a brief peck before pulling away from him. "What's the matter, love?" He asked, with growing concern and mild disappointment at the rather cold greeting.

"Nothing," she insisted, grabbing the bag and bringing it inside, him following her.

"I'm sorry for being less than convinced, but things tend to only blow up when you're upset. So what's wrong, you can tell me. You can tell me anything." She put the groceries away, attempting to ignore him, but he wrapped his arms around her waist, turning her around so she faced him. "Talk to me. You've been down lately. Quiet."

She stared at him for a moment. The burlap that had replaced his skin, the straw that had replaced his flesh... she couldn't get comfort from that. Even he was a reminder of the past. She felt the words spill out of her mouth, as if from their own accord. "Yero, I love you so much, but I can't keep going like this. This isn't a life. I might be alive, but I feel like I'm dead. It never changes. I wake up, eat breakfast. Chat with you, work in the garden, eat lunch, talk with you. I clean the house, eat dinner, have one last chat for the day, and go to bed. I can't I- I feel like I'm just waiting to die, passing the time. I can't keep going like this," she heard her voice crack, tears she didn't even know she was holding back breaking past the floodgates and spilling down her cheeks.

She could sense his shock, knew he hadn't been expecting that sort of confession. She longed for the past, when she'd been able to feel his warmth, feel safety in his embrace without the need to hide away. But no, his arms crinkled with rough straw that she couldn't sink into and only reflected the warmth from her own body. "What am I supposed to do, tell me what to do. I'll do it in a heartbeat, if it could make you happy again." He gently cupped her face with his hand, lifting her chin. "You don't have to do this all on your own, tell me what's wrong, what you need me to do."

She tore away from him, still crying. "Go back in time, don't save me. That would make me happy. Go back in time, when Glinda and I fought. Let the guards capture me. I would've been able to die happy. I would've been fulfilled, dying for a cause and knowing you loved me. And you would've still been your beautiful self. Whole and human. You could've apologized, said it was all some massive misunderstanding. You could've been happy again someday and neither of us would've been trapped in these damn half-lives."

He reached for her again, but she'd had enough. She ran down the hall to her bedroom- her's, not theirs as he had no use for sleep. He could hear her sobbing through the door, but he couldn't bring himself to check on her, terrified that it was him that was making her so unhappy. Her cries lessened eventually, and he was glad she was able to get some comfort in sleep.

Really, the outburst did not surprise him. He'd seen it coming, building in her for months. She was moody, withdrawn. She had been increasingly short with him, avoiding him however much she could- and that was an accomplishment as he had become the only figure in her life. He felt so guilty about it all. Despite his form, he could still interact with people, he didn't have to hide himself away from the world. He didn't know what he could do for her, but he knew something would have to change, soon. Or he would lose her, one way or another.