Content

Disclaimer: Characters copyright Stephen Schwartz, Gregory MacGuire, and anyone else involved in the creative team of Wicked. I do not lay claim to any of it. If I did, I would be Elphaba on Broadway forever.

The two wayward travelers entered the large cave as the wind started to pick up and the smell of rain was drifting through the air. The man headed deep into the cave and slouched against the wall, trying to catch his breath, as the woman muttered strange incantations out of a book she carried. The man's stature became straighter and more rigid as the straw that he was made of slowly disappeared and he again took a human form. Her work done, the woman turned to stand at the mouth of the cave, gazing out through the light mist that was falling. In the distance, she could vaguely make out the Emerald City, where Glinda was, alone and not knowing that she was, in fact, alive. If only Glinda could know that she was okay, not melted, safe, the woman would be able to sleep at night. Back when life was simpler, she would have said that things were not supposed to turn out like this, but this was what she had gotten.

A hand on her shoulder caused the green-skinned woman, called Elphaba, to jump and turn. There was her companion, the Winkie prince, Fiyero, running a hand through his reinstated brown hair and grinning sheepishly.

"I have to tell you, Fabala, I appreciate what you did for me," he said with a laugh, "but being a scarecrow was really no great shakes. Thank Oz you could turn me back." He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her to him, kissing her gently. When they broke apart, he grinned at her again and tossed his coat onto the floor, constructing a makeshift bed. Elphaba turned back to the mouth of the cave. She was confused. Hadn't this been what she wanted, for Fiyero to prefer her and share his love with her? Why did she feel so uncomfortable and nervous now that this is what she had? He cleared his throat behind her and she turned again. Fiyero patted the cave floor next to him.

"Elphie, aren't you going to try to get some sleep? You might get wet if you stay there too long." Elphaba looked around nervously, and, finding no escape, laid next to him. She could hear Glinda in her head, silly talks from long ago about boys and what they liked.

"The best thing to do when you're next to a boy you reeeeally like," she could hear the blonde girl saying, "is to wrap your arms around him and lay your head on his chest. It's so romantic!!!" Elphaba's mouth went dry as she thought that maybe Fiyero was expecting her to do just that. So, she squeezed him tight around the middle and thrust her head onto his chest. He uttered a quiet "Oof!" and laughed softly.

"Is this right, Fiyero? Is this how we're supposed to sleep?" She was nervous, jumpy and extremely uncomfortable. This was very uncharacteristic of her. Why was she acting this way? Fiyero laughed again.

"Sweet Oz, Elphaba. It doesn't matter how we sleep. Sleep however you're comfortable."

"Oh, good," Elphaba said with relief, and she let go of his waist and rolled away from him. He was quiet.

"Alright, Fae, if that's what you want..." Elphaba felt horrible. She could tell she was disappointing him, but this concept, this idea that someone as brilliant as Fiyero had run away with her, could actually love her, was strange and foreign to her. She didn't understand, and, quite frankly, wasn't sure she wanted to. No one had ever shown her real love before, and the one time that someone did, she didn't know how to respond. So, to compromise and show that she did care about him, she turned over to face him. He grinned again and reached out a hand to stroke her cheek. Her eyes fluttered as her cheeks grew warm, and she more than appreciated the darkness in the cave.

"I guess we got our happy ending, didn't we, Elphie?" he whispered.

"Happy ending? Fiyero, I wouldn't exactly call this a happy ending. There's no such thing as a happy ending with me." Fiyero frowned.

"No, Elphie, you're wrong. Just the two of us, together, for as long as we live. That's a happy ending for me. Elphaba, I care about you more than you could ever know. I'm just sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Elphaba could feel unexplainable tears well up in her eyes. She did not deserve someone like Fiyero, and she hated herself for making him be here, away from all he was accustomed to, and especially with her. She sat up and stared at the ceiling of the cave.

"Fiyero, you should go back. You need to be with people back in Oz, people...people that deserve you." He sat up and turned her to face him. His face was fierce.

"Elphaba, don't ever say that. I want to be here, and nowhere else. I love you. Please know that." She looked at him for a moment, as one tear slowly escaped her eye. She threw herself at him and kissed him deeply, forcefully, and Fiyero wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down with him. When they broke apart, he lay on the floor, looking up at her. She took a deep breath and locked her eyes with his.

"I love you too." She laced her fingers in his. "I've never said that before. To anyone."

Fiyero looked startled.

"It feels nice, doesn't it, Elphaba?" She looked at him longer still, seeing so much more than Fiyero, seeing a real man, someone whom she would risk anything for. This really was love. Suddenly knowing just what to do, she lowered her head and laid it on his chest, her body in the crook of his arm. He held her close and she held him too, and she could hear the steady beating of his heart.

"Yes," she answered finally, and her eyes grew heavy as sleep overcame her, and she drifted off, content in the arms of the one who truly loved her.