Birthmark
Elphaba lay still, gently tracing Fiyero's well-toned chest with a slender finger. "Fiyero?"
Fiyero instinctively pulled her tighter against him. "Mmm?"
"How…" She trailed off, unsure of how to say it. She didn't like showing her insecurity – even to Fiyero – but she had to ask the question, hard as it was. She tried again. "How can you love me?" It came out a whisper.
Fiyero tilted her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "What do you mean?" He frowned.
"Well, you have to admit, I'm not exactly the prettiest girl to have existed."
"Fae," Fiyero said seriously, "believe me; you're beautiful."
"But I'm green, for Oz' sakes!" she exclaimed, the words coming out louder and more forcefully than she'd intended.
"So?"
"So, it's…weird. Unnatural."
"You sound like those idiots who can't see you for who you are."
Elphaba glared at him.
Fiyero shrugged, ignoring her. "I prefer to think of it like a birthmark."
Elphaba snorted. "Yeah, one that happens to cover my entire being," she said bitterly.
"A birthmark may commonly take the form of discolouration of abnormality of the skin."
"A birthmark may commonly take the form of slight discolouration of an area of skin," Elphaba countered. "I'm covered."
"So the area of skin happens to be your entire body. Even better."
"A small area. And the discolouration is usually slightly lighter or slightly darker than the rest of the skin – it isn't usually green."
Fiyero shrugged again. "So you were blessed with a better colour. All the more for me to love you for."
Elphaba sighed. "You're determined to win this one, aren't you?"
"Yep." Fiyero grinned down at her.
"Fine. I've had enough of arguing for one night."
"Good." Fiyero bent his head down and kissed her.
But she still didn't believe him.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of the characters mentioned in the above story; they belong in their entirety to L. Frank Baum and Gregory Maguire. I DO, however, own the story, which is protected in my name under Australian Copyright Law dating back to 2012.