Fiyero woke to the sound of muffled sobs. He opened his eyes to find Elphaba kneeling at the edge of their campsite.
"Elphaba, what's wrong?" he asked, instantly by her side. He put his arms around her in a comforting gesture.
"How can you stand to touch me?" asked Elphaba, shying away from him. "After all I've put you through?"
"Elphaba, you saved me."
"Yes, but at what cost? Why were you almost killed? Because of me. What did I turn you into? A scarecrow. And now look at you. A man, but a man covered with scars, signs that you were tortured on my account."
Elphaba finished speaking only to break into tears again. "It should have been me. I should be the one with those scars, or better yet, dead. Then I wouldn't be able to ruin anyone else's life, just my own."
Fiyero's arms were around her again, shaking her. "Don't ever say that," he practically yelled. "I did what I did for a reason and I would never ask to change places with you. I would never wish to see you up on those poles in my place. I love you and would gladly go through the whole thing again."
"Why?" asked Elphaba, lowering her gaze and refusing to look at Fiyero, filled with shame at the condition he was in. When she'd reversed the spell that had turned him into a scarecrow, he'd reverted back to the state he had been in before the transformation—alive but beaten. He was now covered in scars that showed every part of his body that the guards had touched.
Fiyero shook his head. "When I was up on those poles, waiting to die, my one thought was of you. I was thankful that you were safe and I thought to myself that if my sacrifice ensured your safety, then my previously useless life hadn't been in vain. I'd been put on this Earth for a reason—to save you." He put a finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I love you."
Throughout his confession, Elphaba's sobs had quieted. She now whispered, "Show me."
In response, Fiyero pulled her into his arms and began to kiss her with a passion as yet undiscovered by the two lovers.