AN: Like I said on Twitter, I am not entirely sure whether this three-shot is happy or sad... it could be a companion piece to my one-shot On the Other Side, though you don't have to have read that to read this one.

One Year

Lady Glinda the Good was sitting by the fireplace, warming herself in the heat of the flames as she stared at the large, beautifully decorated Lurlinemas tree standing in the room. The top of the tree nearly reached the ceiling and it was perfectly symmetrical. Lights and decorations adorned the green branches, with a star on top and presents underneath – mostly presents given to her by the Ozians, to celebrate their leader. Her staff had placed them underneath the tree for her and it was entirely perfect. Back when she was still at Shiz, she would have been completely elated at having such a tree. In fact, Glinda thought, if the Galinda from Shiz could see her now, she would squeal in excitement at all her dreams having come true.

Glinda felt anything but excited.

Her new role as the ruler of Oz was hard, but it was satisfying. It was everything she had ever dreamt of. She loved being adored by everyone, even more now than she had been before. She loved being the one to give the people hope, to encourage them, and to present them with a role model. She was less fond of the political side of things, but she had advisors for that. She was getting by. Oz was slowly settling down, the Animals being re-integrated into society and the peace slowly returning after the Wizard's departure and Morrible's imprisonment; and Glinda was happy about that. Things were better than they had been in a long time… for the land of Oz, at least.

Glinda's personal life, she mused as she looked at the flickering flames and then back at the decorated and lit Lurlinemas tree, was much less happy.

She was alone. That was the truth. No matter how much the people loved her and how many staff members, advisors, and other people she had around her every day… in the end, she was alone. Her family was far away in Gillikin. She had no real friends left… not since Elphaba and Fiyero had died. She missed them every day. She thought about them every day. She tried to move on with her life, to open up to new people and make new friends; she tried to keep going, despite it all… but it was hard. It hurt. No-one could ever replace the only real friend she'd ever had and she knew that especially Elphaba's death would never stop being painful for her.

It was true, what she'd realised a year or so prior, when she had basically tried to force Fiyero into an engagement with her. Happy is what happens when all your dreams come true… but there was always a cost, and she'd paid the price. She'd gained a lot, but she had also lost some essential things – not just her best friend and the man she used to love, but also her innocence; a certain lightness she'd always had about her and that was nowhere to be found now. She'd grown up. Maybe that was it. And despite it all, she knew Elphaba would have been proud of the woman she was today.

She scooted over to the tree and picked up one of the presents, examining it from all angles. She sighed and looked up at the tree again.

"Happy Lurlinemas," she said, even though there was no-one to hear her. She opened the present and found a card inside. It said, Merry Lurlinemas, my Lady Glinda, and it was signed by a name she did not recognise. Underneath the card, in the box, was the present itself – a scarf of Vinkun silk in the emerald green colour of the City.

The emerald green colour of Elphaba's skin.

Glinda clutched the scarf to her chest and closed her eyes for a moment. She rose to her feet and moved out onto the balcony, gripping the railing tightly with one hand as she looked out over the lights of the Emerald City and took a few deep breaths until she had calmed down a little. She should really stop getting so upset at every reminder of her best friend. She was living in a green city, for Oz's sake – everything here would always remind her of Elphaba, but she had to steel herself and stop getting so emotional over it.

It took a while before she went back inside, closing the balcony doors behind her and carefully placing the scarf back underneath the tree.

She did not open any other presents that night.

Instead, she moved to her desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out two items. The first was a thin, silver necklace Fiyero had given her for their six-month anniversary, back at Shiz. The other was Elphaba's green glass bottle. She wound a silver ribbon around the latter and used it to hang the bottle in her Lurlinemas tree.

"Merry Lurlinemas, Elphie," she whispered, ignoring the single tear rolling down her cheek as she hung Fiyero's necklace on a branch next to the green bottle. "Merry Lurlinemas, Fiyero."

She hoped they were together, wherever they were.

Fiyero had always loved Lurlinemas. Weeks in advance, he had already started decorating their tiny cottage with tinsel, lights, and other Lurlinemas decorations; and a small, decorated tree was standing in the corner of their living room. He'd bought Elphaba a small gift – he wished they had money for more, but unfortunately, they didn't – and she had spent the entire day in the kitchen to make them a nice dinner. This would be his first Lurlinemas with Elphaba and he was looking forward to it… even though it would also be their first Lurlinemas since they had left Oz, and it was bound to get at least a little emotional.

Or very, he thought when he turned around to look at his green girl. She was sitting in a chair by the window, her chin leaning on her fist as she stared outside with a wistful expression on her face.

"Fae?" Fiyero asked.

She sighed, apparently not even hearing him.

"Hey." He moved over to where she was sitting, crouching down next to her. "What's wrong?"

She looked up and blinked at him. "Oh…" She shook her head. "Nothing," she said, not at all sounding convincing. She made to rise. "I should go check on the pie."

He touched her cheek, stopping her movements. "Fae…"

She looked at him and then down at her lap. "It's just…" She heaved another sigh. "I miss Glinda," she confessed. "She used to make this big deal out of Lurlinemas, decorating our dorm room and squealing on about trees and lights and presents… and I miss her."

He cupped her face and kissed her softly.

"I know," he said, leaning his forehead against hers and looking into her eyes. "Believe me, Fae, I know." He heard her muttering the blonde's name in her sleep sometimes, and he saw the way she could stare into the distance, her mind miles away. He knew she missed her best friend. "I miss her, too. But –"

"It's too dangerous," she cut him off. "I know. You're right."

He pressed a kiss to her hair. "Why don't you go and open your presents? Present," he corrected himself, grimacing. "I'm sorry, Fae. I wish I could have gotten you more –"

She laughed softly. "Shut up, Yero." She slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. "All I need is you," she said, smiling as she brought her hand up and trailed her fingers down the side of his face. "In any shape or form."

He turned his head to kiss her fingers. "Personally, I very much prefer this form over that of a scarecrow, though."

She tilted her head slightly to the side. "And why is that?"

He grinned a lopsided grin at her. "Because now I can do this again." He scooped her up in his arms, despite her protests. "And this." He kissed her deeply. "And, you know, this." He started carrying her over to the bedroom.

After they'd had dinner and unwrapped presents, they went to bed. As she was lying in Fiyero's arms, she looked up at him.

"Thank you."

He seemed a bit startled at that. "For what?"

She smiled and leant her head against his chest. "This was the first Lurlinemas in years that I wasn't alone," she said softly, "and one of the very few Lurlinemases in my entire life that I did not feel alone. So, thank you."

Understanding, he kissed her softly, running his fingers through her hair.

"From now on," he promised her, his bright blue eyes unusually solemn, "I will make sure you will never in your life spend another Lurlinemas being, or feeling, alone."

She kissed him again in reply and snuggled into his arms.

He drifted off quickly, but she never fell asleep that easily. There was always too much on her mind. Now, she found herself thinking about her blonde friend again.

She wished, more than anything, that Glinda could know about them. That she could somehow tell her the truth… but how could she possibly do that without endangering herself? Not to mention without endangering Glinda? Fiyero was right – the knowledge in itself would be dangerous for the blonde. She'd only have to slip up once to give herself away and then all hell would break loose for her. She was better off not knowing.

But knowing that did not stop Elphaba from still missing her best friend every single day.

As always, reviews are very much appreciated :).