The Perils of Dating A Commotion
By Vinkunwildflowerqueen
DISCLAIMER: Wicked isn't mine.
AN. So, Maddy (AKA UltimateQueenofCliffies) was the lucky 200th reviewer of The Right Thing To Do (BTW, at the time of posting I'm 3 reviews off 250!). I offered her a reward for that illustrious honour (haha), and she requested "a cute Fiyeraba one-shot in the snow". I don't think this is what you were expecting, Maddy, but I hope you enjoy it!
As I post this, I'm watching Carols in the Domain, waiting for the Aussie Wicked cast to come on and perform.
Fiyero stretched sleepily, but kept his eyes firmly shut. He slowly reached an arm out to the other side of the bed, and he only opened his eyes as his brain registered that the bed was empty. He lifted his head and blinked, taking in the sight of the green young woman sitting on the end of the bed, watching him as she clutched a mug of something between her emerald hands.
"So, it's creepy when I watch you sleep, but it's ok for you to do it?" he mumbled, still half awake.
Elphaba smiled faintly, and handed him the mug in her hands. The aroma of fresh coffee reached Fiyero's nose, and he took the mug gratefully, sitting up.
"What's with that look?" he asked suspiciously, taking a sip.
"You know how I'm a commotion?" Elphaba asked in return, instead of answering.
"Sure," Fiyero agreed easily.
"And we've accepted that weird things happen around me, often causing confusion and havoc, but you love me anyway?"
Fiyero chuckled. "Yeah…"
"Just… hold on to that, ok?"
Elphaba took a breath, watching him warily as though he was about to explode. "I think we need to reschedule the wedding."
She braced herself, but Fiyero remained calm. He blinked at her, and then took a sip of coffee before responding.
"Reschedule the wedding? Our wedding? Our wedding that is today? Our wedding that is in five hours and forty-three minutes from now?" he asked, after a quick glance at the clock.
Elphaba nodded slowly.
Fiyero placed his coffee mug on the nightstand and reached over to take her hands, worry etched into his face.
"Fae, it's perfectly normal to get cold feet," he said gently.
"I don't have cold feet," she reassured him.
"Then… did I push this?" Fiyero asked anxiously, racking his brain furiously. Although he didn't know how he could have done that.
They'd been together for nearly five years now, and engaged for eight months.
"Yero," Elphaba cut off his frantic train of thought. "It's snowing."
He stared at her, mouth gaping. "What?"
"It's snowing," Elphaba repeated calmly.
He continued to stare at her. "It's the beginning of October," he finally said. "How can it be snowing?"
Elphaba gestured to herself dramatically. "Commotion," she reminded him.
"And… you don't want to get married in the snow?" Fiyero asked, puzzled.
"Fiyero, when I say it's snowing-"
She stopped mid-sentence as Fiyero got out of bed, and he winced as the cold air hit him. He crossed to the window and opened the curtains.
Elphaba got up to join him as he whistled softly.
"Wow. It's snowing," he breathed.
She rolled her eyes. "That's what I said."
Fiyero had been picturing a few flakes on the ground. But what met his eyes through the window was not a few flakes.
There was at least two feet of snow on the ground, and more was falling steadily from the sky.
"How does this happen?!" he demanded. "Can you fix it?"
"Can I fix the snow?" Elphaba asked him incredulously.
"You know, magically," Fiyero elaborated.
"No," she replied. "Weather was never my specialty. That was Morrible's thing."
A thought occurred to Fiyero. "Do you think she had anything to do with this?"
"You think she knows we're alive and engaged and sent a freak snowstorm to ruin our wedding day?" Elphaba said sceptically.
"Yeah, ok," Fiyero conceded.
He stared out the window. "So… no wedding?"
"I don't see how," Elphaba said practically. "The streets are piled with snow, and the church is a mile away. And the radio is estimating another at least another foot of snow to fall throughout the day. We can't ask people to go out in this weather. And as much as I want to marry you, I don't want to go out in this weather, either."
Fiyero sighed, seeing her point. "Ok, we'll reschedule," he agreed heavily.
He turned from the window and headed to the closet to get dressed.
"What are you doing?" Elphaba asked him.
"I'm going to get dressed and get to work," Fiyero answered. "Make sure we have enough firewood, and shovel a path from the door."
"I'll help," Elphaba offered, but Fiyero shook his head.
"No, I've got it. You should probably find a way to get word to the guests that the wedding is off."
"Postponed," Elphaba corrected him. "Not off. It's happening, Tiggular. I agreed to marry you, so I'm damn well going to marry you."
She lifted her chin stubbornly, and Fiyero grinned, crossing back over to her and kissing her softly.
"You'd better believe it. It took me this long to get you to agree, I'm not letting you out of it that easily."
Elphaba laughed, although they both knew Fiyero wasn't kidding.
It had taken a year after leaving Oz before Fiyero had even begun to broach the subject of marriage with her. That first year had mostly been taken up with settling into their new lives in the Evian town of Naporia; finding somewhere to live, finding work, and Elphaba's total focus on turning Fiyero back to human.
In the euphoria of Elphaba's triumph and in the joy of being human again, the idea of proposing had come to Fiyero so naturally, he was almost startled. Although he had… technically been engaged to Glinda, and although he knew with a hundred per cent certainty that he and Elphaba were going to be together for the rest of their lives; he'd never really thought of himself as a marriage kind of guy. He'd known that he'd have to get married eventually and to provide heirs for the throne, but the idea had never filled him with enthusiasm.
But the idea of marrying Elphaba had felt completely natural- and suddenly desperately important.
The first time he'd casually broached the idea to Elphaba, she'd stared at him as though she'd never heard of the idea before. Over the years, once her shock wore off, she was dismissive of the idea. As their friends in Naporia began to add their own views and suggestive hints about the subject, and as Elphaba had realised this might be something that Fiyero would not let go of easily, she became exasperated. And about a year ago, as Fiyero refuted all her arguments of protest and the logic behind her reasoning wore thin, Elphaba's exasperation had turned to a thoughtful silence on the subject.
In May, four years to the day that Fiyero had stood in the Wizard's palace and said the words that had changed his life forever- "I'm going with her"; Fiyero had taken the leap and asked Elphaba to marry him. And fortunately, she had said yes.
And now, after all their plans, when the day had finally arrived… a freak snow storm had ruined everything.
As Fiyero rugged up and braved the cold, Elphaba wondered what was the best way to get the news to their guests. For a moment, she wished Chistery or one of the other Monkeys was here- as much as she would have hated to subject a poor innocent Animal to this weather, she knew they'd be willing to deliver the messages for her.
Thankfully, they didn't have many guests to notify. Elphaba and Fiyero had formed a small friendship group within their street- or rather, their neighbours had adopted them from almost the moment they moved in.
It was Elphaba's natural instinct to be somewhat of a recluse, and being fugitives made her extra wary of meeting new people. But they soon discoverated that they had nothing to worry about. Apparently, many Animals whom Elphaba had helped rescue during her years on the run had made their way to Ev and indeed, two of them lived two houses down.
That gave Elphaba an idea and she headed for the door, picking up her coat and scarf as she went.
"What are you doing?" Fiyero demanded as she opened the door and he turned to her.
"I'm going to go see Gerel and Argi and ask them to help get the news out. They won't have any trouble with the snow," Elphaba pointed out practically.
Fiyero looked doubtful.
"It's two doors down," Elphaba said and he reluctantly relented.
Gerel and Argi were a pair of Lynxes, so indeed, they were quite well adapted to travel around snow. Elphaba had freed Gerel from the clutches of the Gale Force not long after defying the Wizard; and although she had quite forgotten about it by the time they arrived in Ev, Gerel and her mate Argi had not. They had taken it upon themselves to help Elphaba and Fiyero feel at home in Naporia and introduce them to other people in the neighbourhood, and they had volunteered to host a small reception for the couple after the wedding.
Gerel met Elphaba at the door as she trudged up the front walk of the cottage, and ushered her through the door.
"Good morning! It's quite a change in the weather, isn't it?"
Elphaba chuckled as she stepped inside. "Since when does it snow in October? Four years we've lived here, and no one ever mentioned snow in the middle of fall."
Gerel smiled. "Apparently it does happen occasionally. You just got lucky it happened today of all days, my dear. They say it's good look to rain on your wedding day. I can only assume snow is twice as lucky."
Elphaba grimaced. "I don't know how lucky it is if it snows so heavily there is no wedding."
Gerel gasped. "Oh, Elphaba! You're not-"
"There's two feet of snow with more on the way," Elphaba explained. "We can't expect everyone to come out in this weather, and even walking two doors down just now-"
"I understand."
"I'm sorry you went to all this trouble," Elphaba said apologetically.
"Oh, sweetheart, don't worry about it! Are you ok?"
The green woman laughed. "I'm fine. The wedding's only postponed, it's not off. We just need to wait until we can actually get to the church. But I was hoping you'd be able to help me get word to the guests?"
"Of course," Gerel nodded immediately. "I'll take care of everything."
Elphaba shook her head in protest. "No, if you could just help with the guests, that will be plenty. There's the church, and the florist and-"
"Elphaba," Gerel interrupted firmly. "I'll take care of everything. You and Fiyero are not to worry about a thing, understood?"
Elphaba hesitated, and then nodded. "Ok. Thank you."
Elphaba only stayed for a few minutes before returning home to their little house, where she set about making stew for Fiyero when he finished working outside.
The day passed slowly, as the snow continued to fall on and off throughout the day. Elphaba was sitting curled up in an armchair by the fire with a book, when she suddenly felt as though she was being watched. Looking up, she saw Fiyero staring at her from the doorway.
"What?" she asked self-consciously.
"It's one o'clock," Fiyero explained.
The time that their wedding ceremony was supposed to be held at.
Elphaba's face softened and she smiled softly at her fiancé.
"I know."
She closed her book as Fiyero crossed the room and squished himself onto her armchair.
"You could have just asked me to get up," Elphaba grumbled as she rearranged herself so she was slightly more comfortable and not as squashed.
Fiyero pulled her onto his lap, and held her close.
"I want to marry you," he murmured.
"Well, you're the one who wanted to get married in a church," Elphaba smirked. She chuckled at the look he gave her in response.
"I'm sorry. I know. It will happen. Just not today."
Fiyero gently tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I would marry you right here in our living room, right now," he told her solemnly.
Elphaba was pretty sure she had suggested just that once they had gotten engaged, but had been shot down. Fiyero had insisted they deserved a grander wedding than being married in their living room.
"We may not be able to have the wedding we want, we can at least do better than getting married just standing around our living room," he'd argued.
Of course, neither of them had exactly spent many years in their youth dreaming of their respective weddings; but they both knew certain things would be missing from their wedding- namely, their families. Well, Fiyero's family. Maybe Nessa… if she had lived. And Glinda.
Nearly five years, and Elphaba still missed her best friend more than she could say. They heard little snippets of news from Oz from time to time, which had worried Elphaba in the beginning. She had been afraid that if they could get news from Oz, it would work the other way- and the last thing they needed was for someone to get wind of a green woman living in Ev.
But they had been lucky that enough news of Elphaba's cause- the real cause, and not the Wizard's propaganda; helped along by the escaped and rescued Animals and in Naporia at least, Elphaba and Fiyero were safe.
They knew that Glinda was still ruling Oz and had repealed many of the Banns that the Wizard had put in place during his reign. And they knew that she had married a Gilikinese man a year and a half ago, and was currently expecting their first child early in the new year.
Elphaba wasn't sure what hurt more- that she was missing all these important events in her best friend's life, or that Glinda would miss them in hers. Although even now, she admittedly wasn't sure how supportive Glinda would be of her and Fiyero's relationship.
Elphaba settled more comfortably against Fiyero, and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"We're going to get married, Yero. I promise."
She smirked faintly at him. "Do you think I actually went and bought a dress- a white dress, of all things, to not go through with this wedding?"
He grinned.
"I am looking forward to seeing that," he said teasingly and she laughed.
At about six o'clock that evening, Fiyero glanced out the kitchen window.
"It's stopped snowing, I think."
"Great. That would have been really helpful twelve hours ago," Elphaba snarked.
Fiyero ignored her. "We've got left over stew… do you want that for dinner, or something else?"
Elphaba shrugged. "I'm not that hungry, really."
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Who could that be?" Fiyero wondered aloud.
Elphaba was two steps behind him as they found Gerel and Argi on their doorstep, both Lynxes beaming.
"Hi," Fiyero greeted them. "What's up?"
"We all felt bad that the two of you couldn't have your wedding," Gerel began.
"All?" Elphaba asked.
"Of course," Argi nodded. "All the guests."
"You say that like there was more than twenty people invited," Elphaba muttered, but was ignored.
"So, we put together a little surprise for you," Gerel said excitedly.
"We?" Elphaba mouthed at Fiyero in confusion, and he shrugged at her as they were pulled out of the door and into the street.
Elphaba drew in her breath softly. Their street had been transformed. Countless strings of lights had been strung up in trees and lanterns hung from every surface to illuminate the street. The snow glistened in the lights, and they could see their guests standing around in the street wearing heavy coats over their formalwear.
"We wanted you to have your wedding," Argi explained softly.
"You did all this?" Fiyero asked in wonder, looking around.
"Oh, it was nothing, dear," Gerel waved a paw dismissively.
"You're all going to freeze!" Elphaba exclaimed anxiously.
Gerel and Argi chuckled. "In case you haven't noticed, sweetheart, many of your guests have fur," Gerel reminded her. "And those who don't have coats. And there's plenty of hot food and beverages for everyone at our house after the ceremony."
Elphaba looked to Fiyero. "What do you think?" she asked him.
Fiyero met her gaze with a small smile. "I think I want to marry you today."
Elphaba returned the smile, which was answer enough for their friends.
"Alright, then. Fiyero, you go get ready. Elphaba, you come with me," Gerel ordered.
Elphaba had left her dress with Gerel since she had bought it for safekeeping. Initially, she had brought it home with her, but Fiyero had been paranoid about accidentally seeing it before the wedding, in case it brought bad luck. Which, until now, had all seemed rather moot.
When Elphaba and Gerel entered the cottage, they found the baker's wife, Clover waiting for them; along with another woman, Ima. They were the closest friends Elphaba had in Naporia.
"We came to help you get ready," Ima explained before Elphaba could ask.
"You guys don't-"
"We want to," Clover cut her off firmly.
Elphaba couldn't help but admit to herself that she loved her wedding dress. It wasn't the kind of thing she had ever expected to pick, but from the moment she saw it there had been a little voice in her head- one that sounded suspiciously like Glinda- that had insisted that was the one.
It was- according to the saleswoman in the dress salon- a mermaid style backless lace gown with a sheer scoop neckline, long lace sleeves and a sweep train. Elphaba had decided against a veil, not wanting the hassle, not matter how much the saleswoman tried to insist otherwise.
The dress was hanging up in Argi and Gerel's spare room, waiting for Elphaba. After she'd dressed, Clover did her hair, pulling it back into a simple ponytail, and Ima convinced Elphaba to apply a small amount of makeup. She was ready to go when Gerel handed her a box.
"I thought these would be better than heels."
Elphaba opened the box and found a pair of white boots inside, that would indeed, be much better for a wedding in the snow than the heels Elphaba had reluctantly bought for the dress.
Elphaba wasn't sure where Gerel had gotten them from at such short notice, given that Lynxes didn't have a huge need for footwear, but she appreciated them nonetheless.
They headed out to the street, and Gerel handed Elphaba a bunch of red roses from a vase on an end table to use as a bouquet.
As they stepped out into the street, faint murmurs reached their ears as the small assembly of guests spotted them. The crowd seemed larger than it had been before, and Elphaba wondered if people had come out of their houses to see what was going on.
All Elphaba focused on was Fiyero, standing in the light of a streetlight, waiting for her. He beamed at her as she walked towards him, until they were standing face to face and he took her hands in his.
The minister, a Reindeer, stood before them and cleared his throat to gesture for the guests to be silent before beginning to speak.
"We are gathered here tonight to witness Elphaba and Fiyero commit their lives to one another," he spoke into the night air.
"Many of us gathered here tonight have known Elphaba and Fiyero since they moved to Naporia, and this has been a long awaited occasion. Although, I'm sure none of us have hoped for this day as long as Elphaba and Fiyero themselves."
Fiyero squeezed Elphaba's hands tightly, and Elphaba chuckled faintly.
"Now, as it's quite cold, we're going to keep this short and sweet," the Reindeer continued. "Elphaba and Fiyero have written their own vows. Fiyero?"
Fiyero cleared his throat and let out a breath, his gaze never leaving Elphaba's.
"I didn't think we'd get to do this," he admitted. "I thought that fate was conspiring against us, and maybe that this wasn't meant to happen. And I know you want to roll your eyes at me, because I know you don't believe in fate," he grinned at her and Elphaba didn't deny it.
"And I think… you don't believe in fate because you don't like the idea that all the bad things that have happened to you was meant to happen. That all the pain and suffering was part of something bigger. I wish I could change so much of what you went through, Fae. But at the same time, I can't not believe in fate and hope that everything does have a bigger meaning.
Because I have to believe that everything that I've done in my life, a lot of which I'm not proud of, happened so that it would lead me to you. My love for you is the only thing that I'm sure of in life, and I know that I am the man I am today because of you.
I love you, and to be able to call myself your husband and refer to you as my wife… there is no greater honour I can think of. You're the only thing that gives my life meaning, Fae. My life was shallow and empty until the moment I fell in love with you, and everything I've done since then has been to make myself worthy of you. And I'm going to continue to try and make myself worthy of you for the rest of our lives. I love you, Elphaba. And there's literally no one else in the world I would want to marry and to have as my wife."
Elphaba and Fiyero had written their vows before today, but she was sure that what Fiyero had just spoken differed greatly from what he had originally written. Likewise, what she had planned to say no longer seemed to apply.
"This isn't the wedding we planned, but that's what you get for marrying a commotion," she said with a smile and Fiyero laughed softly. "And I know that it's not entirely the wedding we want. There's people who should be here, who can't be. But as much as I wish they were here, I can't imagine a more perfect wedding than this for us."
"You just like the snow," Fiyero muttered and she laughed.
"Yero, you are my family. My home. You've given me more than I ever imagined I'd have, and I love you more than I knew was possible. Falling in love with you and loving you is my greatest joy. And being loved by you is my greatest privilege. I am grateful every day that you love me, and for everything you've sacrificed and given up for me."
Fiyero tightened his grip on her hands. They both knew he'd do it again in a heartbeat, he didn't have to tell her that.
"You once told me that we were going to be together always. And it took me a long time to actually believe that. But I do now. And I don't know exactly what 'always' entails, but I know whatever happens, we'll face it together. I love you, and I can't wait to spend my 'always' as your wife."
The rings were exchanged, and then the minister spoke once more.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Fiyero grinned and drew Elphaba close. And as he kissed his bride and the guests applauded, it began to snow once more.
The End
AN. Check my blog to see a picture of Elphaba's wedding dress and boots.