DISCLAIMER: Wicked is not mine.
AN. So, this one shot is at the request of severussnapefan123 who was the 250th reviewer of The Right Thing To Do. The request was simple- Fiyeraba fluff. Hope you enjoy this.
It takes place in the same universe as my Christmas oneshot The Lurlinemas Tree, but you don't need to have read that first.
A House is not a Home
By Vinkunwildflowerqueen
Fiyero was on a mission. A mission that completely perplexed his wife, and was long past the point of irritating her.
The Fliaan town they lived in, Acomb, had a population of 2,081 people, and covered an area of 348 square kilometres. Since they had arrived in Acomb three years ago, Elphaba and Fiyero had inhabited the same tiny loft apartment, nicknamed the "crapartment" by Elphaba soon after they had moved in.
Of course, the crapartment had undergone changes since then. As Elphaba and Fiyero had settled in and made a new life for themselves- helped greatly when Fiyero had regained his human form and was able to get a job and add another income to the household funds. Indeed, as Fiyero pointed out, the name "crapartment" didn't really apply anymore, but the name stuck nonetheless.
Yet for the past two months, Fiyero had spent countless weekends dragging Elphaba to look at properties for sale all around Acomb and almost every free moment pouring over the real estate listings in the paper.
Elphaba wasn't sure which part of this was the cause of her irritation- that Fiyero was so keen for them to move; or that Fiyero didn't seem to know what he was looking for. They had seen many perfectly acceptable houses, yet Fiyero rejected them and wouldn't even tell Elphaba why. At least, not in a way that made sense to her.
"It doesn't feel like home," was his explanation.
Elphaba had no idea what he meant. "Home" to her painted two pictures- the crapartment, and her Shiz dorm room she had shared with Glinda. The two places had little qualities in common. Most importantly, "Home" to her meant Fiyero. So, she couldn't understand why he was fussing so much over where they lived.
"It can't hurt to look," he had told her in the beginning. "It's not like we're actually buying anything."
Elphaba couldn't see the harm in that, although even just looking seemed rather pointless to her. But as the weeks had gone on, Fiyero had lost any pretence that they weren't eventually going to buy a house and move from the crapartment.
"Why do we need to move?" she'd demanded after a month of house hunting. "What's wrong with the crapartment?"
"Well, we call it the 'crapartment'," Fiyero had replied pointedly and she fixed him with a steely stare.
"Fae, this was only supposed to be temporary. Six months to a year, tops," he reminded her gently. "And I just thought… we both have steady incomes, we've got some money saved… why not buy a house?"
Elphaba had hesitated, thinking through his logic. Eventually, she'd agreed to keep looking- but made no promises on buying or moving. She was still reluctant to leave the crapartment. Despite the name, it had been good for them.
Yet here she was, at a quarter to nine on a Saturday morning, preparing to leave for another day of travelling the city looking at houses.
Fiyero stuck his head into the bathroom where she stood brushing her teeth. "Fae, are you almost ready?"
Elphaba rinsed her mouth out and shut off the faucet. "Yes, I'm ready."
As she exited the bathroom, she glimpsed the pile of papers in Fiyero's hand. "How many is there this time?"
"Five," Fiyero answered. "Come on, we're going to be late meeting Bam."
Bamidele, or Bam, was their realtor, who unlike Elphaba, seemed to relish how picky Fiyero was being and was as equally determined to find them the "right" house- whatever that meant. He and Fiyero had become fast friends over the past two months, much to Elphaba's chagrin. She liked Bam, but would rather Fiyero's endeavour wasn't encouraged- at least not until she worked out what was behind it all. And Elphaba was sure there was something behind this that Fiyero wasn't telling her.
The couple met Bam outside the realtor's office, and he greeted them warmly.
"Shall we find the two of you a house today?" he asked brightly, holding the carriage door open for Elphaba to climb in first.
"Try your best," Fiyero grinned, settling in beside his wife.
Bam chuckled.
He drove them to the first property and the three of them climbed out. It looked a little small to Elphaba from the outside, but there was a little porch at the front which she liked.
"The roses are nice," Fiyero murmured to her, gesturing to the white rose bushes that followed the curve of the driveway.
Elphaba murmured faintly, but didn't say anything. They had seen plenty of houses that looked nice from the outside but were small and dark on the inside.
"Yero, pass me the paper?" Elphaba asked, and Fiyero obediently handed her the sheet of paper with the information for the house on it.
"So, we've got three bedrooms, two bathrooms," Bam explained, unlocking the front door and ushering them inside. "It's open planned living with polished wood floors… French doors over here, and you can see they lead to the outdoor eating area. The backyard is easy to maintain and it's a great space for entertaining."
Elphaba tuned out his words as she wandered the house. The kitchen had a lot of light, which she liked and there were lovely big windows in the lounge room, although Elphaba wasn't sure if that meant it would be very hot during the heat of the afternoon. The master bedroom was spacious, but the other two bedrooms seemed a little small- although Elphaba had no idea what they'd use them for.
But Fiyero was insistent they needed at least three bedrooms.
"What do you think?" Fiyero asked her quietly, appearing at her side.
"It's nice… we don't really entertain much," she pointed out.
Fiyero nodded in agreement.
"Yeah… I don't think this is the one."
Bam barely blinked when he heard, just nodded and led them out of the house.
Fiyero didn't even want to go inside the second property. The moment the carriage stopped outside, he looked at it and frowned.
"What?" Elphaba asked in exasperation.
"I don't think this is it either."
Elphaba took the sheet from him and skimmed it. Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, made of brick and iron with an outdoor shed and a tiled outdoor entertainment area. There was nothing there that sounded horrendible to her, and she was tempted to insist they look at it anyway. But they'd been in this situation before, and Elphaba knew Fiyero wasn't going to budge. The complete inside of the house could be made of chocolate and he wouldn't like it if he didn't like the look of the house from the outside.
Bam raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, and she nodded, a silent gesture to move on to the next house.
He drove them to the outskirts of Acomb, where the streets and houses turned to properties.
"This property is about eighty years old," Bam told them as they climbed out of the carriage and headed towards the door.
"The inside was renovated five years ago, but it has the original framework and stonework."
As Elphaba stepped through the door, her eyes widened. "It's huge!"
"Six bedrooms and two bathrooms," Bam nodded. "Total land size is 1800 acres, and it has a pool out the back. You're overlooking the Acomb River, as you can see from the front and the property has 30 paddocks."
Fiyero was looking around happily, but Elphaba put her foot down.
"No."
Fiyero pouted. "But, Fae, come look at the-"
"No," Elphaba cut him off firmly. "We do not need six bedrooms. And only two bathrooms? Who's bright idea was that? And we also do not need 1800 hectares of land. I don't think we need a pool either."
Fiyero looked around wistfully at the bedroom they were standing in.
"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. "But I'm getting a pool," he grumbled, leading her towards the front door.
Elphaba rolled her eyes.
The next property Bam showed them was close by, although a much smaller bit of land.
"There's only 3.81 acres here, including the house," he informed them as he gave them the tour. "Again, four bedrooms but only one bathroom. You can see all the brickwork."
Elphaba quite liked the brickwork, but she lost interest once she saw the tiles in the bathroom. Bam reminded her they could easily redo the bathroom, but Elphaba shook her head. Fiyero had already decided against the house, although he and Elphaba couldn't help admire the view from the back of the house, which looked over the open landscape.
Elphaba really thought the fifth house was perfect. It was actually not that far from the crapartment, Elphaba estimated she could walk between the two in less than twenty minutes. It was an older house again, but unlike the third property, this had not yet been renovated. As she wandered the house, Elphaba could envision all the changes they could make. Adding a second bathroom would be a must, once again there was only one bathroom in a four bedroom house.
The back garden was a reasonable size, not too large but large enough. Elphaba was caught up in admiring the brick archway out the back when she met up with Fiyero. The look on his face made her stomach drop.
"No," she sighed.
Fiyero made a face as he looked around. "I just… it's not-"
"No!" Elphaba cut him off. "It's not anything! Fiyero, this is a great house. There's so much potential here."
Fiyero shook his head. "It's not the one," he insisted.
Elphaba sighed tiredly in frustration. "What exactly are you looking for?" she asked him.
Fiyero hesitated. "I'll know it when I see it," he said simply.
"What could you possibly want that this house doesn't have?"
"Look, Fae… it's just a feeling. I promise, we'll find the right place," he comforted her.
Elphaba lost her patience. "You know what? You find it. Clearly, I'm not needed for this."
With that, she stormed out of the house.
Irritated beyond belief, Elphaba didn't even say goodbye to Bam before walking back to the crapartment.
By the time Fiyero returned home twenty minutes later, she was sitting at the kitchen table doing the crossword in silence.
"I need a break from the house hunting," she said as he sat down beside her, clearly about to apologise.
"It's not like we need to move in the immediate future, and if you're just looking for a feeling…"
"I know it sounds stupid," Fiyero admitted.
"What if you don't find it?" she asked him, looking up from the paper. "What if you never get the feeling?"
"I will," Fiyero said confidently.
She looked at him in exasperation and he took her hand. "Fae, do you remember our first Lurlinemas here?"
"That was when we got engaged. It would be hard not to remember," Elphaba replied dryly.
Fiyero ignored that. "I had this whole thing about giving you the Lurlinemas that you deserve. And that still applies. I want you to have everything you deserve. The life, and the house."
"Yero, I like our life. I love the crapartment. And I have you. What else could I possibly need?" Elphaba asked softly.
Fiyero leaned over and kissed her without saying anything.
They went the next few weeks without looking at any houses or even mentioning the idea of moving.
Three weeks later, Elphaba had just finished work and was locking up the bookstore, when there were hurried footsteps approaching her and she turned to see a beaming Fiyero running up to her.
"What's wrong?" she asked in alarm.
He grabbed her hand and began to lead her down the street. "Just come with me," he said mysteriously.
Warily, Elphaba allowed him to lead her through the streets. She kept asking questions, although he wouldn't tell her anything. They ended up in an area of town Elphaba didn't think she'd ever stepped foot in… except maybe when they had explored the town upon first arriving.
At last, Fiyero stopped and pointed his wife towards a house. Elphaba took in the "For Sale" sign on the front fence and her wariness increased. It must have shown on her face, because Fiyero chuckled.
"Don't give me that look, Elphaba. Here."
He handed her a key.
"You didn't already buy the house without me seeing it, did you?" Elphaba demanded.
Fiyero rolled his eyes. "Of course not. Bam gave me the key so I can show you the house. Come on."
Elphaba followed him through the front gate and up the path, taking in the house. The style of the house appeared old, and there was a porch out the front. Fiyero eagerly unlocked the front door and led her inside and into the lounge room.
"Look how much sun this room gets," he said happily. "I was thinking we could put ceiling to floor bookshelves along this wall-" he told her, pointing to a wall. "And maybe an armchair or something for you to sit and read in the sun. Bam says it gets all the morning sun, so it's not too hot in the afternoons."
Elphaba barely had time to try and picture that before he dragged her off to the next room.
"It's all wood floors, which I know you like. Five bedrooms, two bathrooms. This is the formal dining room. I know the walls are pink, but we can easily paint them. This is the master bedroom-"
Fiyero pointed into the room, but didn't enter, he just continued leading her down the hall.
"I was thinking this room would make a good nursery. The yard is a really good size, too. Bam says the place is probably around fifty years old, but the new owners renovated it before they put it on the market. You'll love the kitchen, it's over here."
Elphaba followed more slowly.
"What was that first thing you said?" she asked faintly, not taking in anything of the kitchen.
Fiyero raised a quizzical eyebrow. "I don't know. What was it?"
"About- about the nursery?"
Fiyero's face cleared and he cleared his throat sheepishly. "Well, I was just thinking… about the future. We haven't really discussed it in a while."
They hadn't. Fiyero had first broached the subject when they had been engaged, but Elphaba had wanted to get through the wedding first. And then afterwards, they had decided just to enjoy being married for a while. And somehow, time had gotten away from them.
"Is that what all this was about? Kids?" Elphaba asked.
"No… not entirely," Fiyero defended himself.
Elphaba stared at him and Fiyero sighed, recognising the silent request for him to explain himself.
"This is the feeling I was looking for," he began. "The feeling of being able to picture our lives here. Our family. I wanted a home, not just a house."
"We have a home-"
"Yes, we do," Fiyero agreed. "And I love the crapartment, I really do. But Fae- it's a one bedroom loft apartment. It's not where I want our kids to grow up."
Elphaba bit her lip and said nothing.
"I want our kids to have the best home. I want you to have the best home. I want all our kids' friends to be insanely jealous at how awesome our family is, because they want to be a part of it. I want our kids to feel all the love I know you never grew up with, so much they feel suffocated by it."
He grabbed Elphaba's hand and led her back to the front of the house.
"I want to hang a million baby photos- probably the most embarrassing ones all over this wall. And to mark the kids' height on this doorframe," he said, pointing to the doorframe in question.
"I can see it all in this house, Fae. That's what I've been looking for this whole time," he explained.
"It's just… I'm ready for it. I think I can be a really good dad," he said earnestly.
Elphaba looked at him in amazement. "Do you think I've been hesitant because I don't think you'd be a good father?" she asked incredulously.
Fiyero hesitated. "Well, I know the whole 'dancing through life' phase doesn't set up a great parental image…"
Elphaba shook her head firmly, closing the distance between them and kissing him softly.
"Yero, I know you're going to be a great dad. I don't have any doubts about that, that's not what this was about," she said softly.
Fiyero wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close to him. "Then what is it about?"
It took a moment for him to make the obvious connection, and then he felt rather stupid for not thinking of it before.
"You doubt yourself? Or are you worried about us having a green child?" he guessed.
Elphaba sighed. "Both," she admitted. "But it's more than that. It's the fact that we're still technically fugitives," she reminded him. "I'd never forgive myself if someone found us and we had children. Oz only knows what would happen to them…"
Fiyero kissed her forehead lightly. "Fae, we can't stop living," he whispered. "I'm not going to let Morrible and the Wizard take anything more from us than they already have."
"I don't want to either," Elphaba agreed. "But it doesn't mean that I don't worry."
She rested her head against Fiyero's shoulder and they stood in silence for a few moments.
"Do you really see all this here?" she murmured at long last.
Fiyero smiled. "Very very clearly. Kids, dog, grandkids."
Elphaba winced. "Ok, let's not think about grandchildren before we actually have children, ok?"
She drew back and looked around. "I want everything you said," she said quietly.
Fiyero's heart lifted. "Here?"
"Here," she agreed, a small smile spreading on her lips.
Fiyero grinned and kissed her. "I'll go see Bam tomorrow and make an offer," he promised her excitedly.
Elphaba chuckled and buried her face in his neck contentedly.
"I love you, Fae," Fiyero whispered.
"I love you too. Yero?"
"Hmm?"
"You're not thinking of filling up all five bedrooms of this house, are you?"
Fiyero was glad she couldn't see his face right now. "Why don't we start with one and see how we go?" he asked and he was reasonably sure she was rolling her eyes at him.
"Because may I remind you that I'm the one who will be doing the childbirth part?"
Fiyero rolled his own eyes as he pulled away. "Thanks for clearing that up, I was confused how this whole biology thing works for a moment," he teased and she laughed.
"Why don't we go have another look at the kitchen?" she suggested and made to move in that direction.
"Hey, Fae?" Fiyero said and she turned back.
Fiyero leaned over and kissed her gently. "Welcome home," he whispered.
Elphaba smiled at him in return.
AN. The picture used for the cover is the actual house I was thinking of.