AN: Hi all!
I got inspired for this when I was reading Hunger Games fanfiction about Katniss and Peeta in a sleeping bag in a cave, and it was raining outside, and... yeah. I'd like to dedicate this one to Fiyeraba's Love Child for taking the time to review basically every chapter of a lot of my already finished fanfictions, which was awesome. Thank you!
Elphaba turned to lie on her back, listening to the soft sound of the rain pattering against the canvas above her. She sighed and turned back onto her side, pushing one arm underneath her head as she stared at the empty sleeping bag beside her.
It had been raining for hours already and she had been unable to sleep because of it ever since it had started. That was her theory, anyway. It could also be that her insomnia was not caused by the rain, but simply by the fact that she was lying in a sleeping bag in a tent. She'd never gone camping before and she didn't think she'd ever do it again after this experience.
When Galinda had suggested the idea of her, Elphaba, and Avaric – who happened to be Galinda's boyfriend at the moment, much to Elphaba's dismay – going camping together for a weekend, Elphaba had been sceptical. "Since when do you like camping?"
Galinda had just tossed her hair over her shoulder and declared, "I like being in touch with nature, Elphie. Avvy loves to camp and I want to surprise him, but I don't want to go by myself – would you please come, too, Elphie? Please? You can invite Fiyero as well – that way you have another friend there in case I spend too much time with Avaric, and Avaric will have a tent-buddy."
Elphaba would much rather invite Nessarose – at least her sister didn't make her feel as uncomfortable and out of control as Fiyero tended to – but the girl would never be able to go camping with her chair... plus it would mean Galinda would have to share a tent with Avaric and she did not want that. "I'm not that scandalacious, Elphie," she'd gasped when Elphaba had voiced her thoughts. "You should know that – you've been my roommate for over a year!"
"Which means I know exactly about all the nights you did not spend in your own bed during said year," Elphaba had pointed out, at which Galinda had flushed bright pink and dropped the subject.
Eventually, Elphaba had caved and conceded, agreeing to come with Galinda and Avaric. Galinda had invited Fiyero and so the four of them had set out one Friday afternoon after classes. They had gone to the forest on the opposite side of Suicide Canal; it was about an hour from Shiz by foot and they had steadfastly ploughed forward, all of them ignoring Galinda's complaints about her shoes being ruined, before they'd found a nice spot by a creek.
It hadn't been so bad at first. The boys had set up the tents while Elphaba and Galinda had made a fire and started cooking dinner – or, well, Elphaba had made dinner while Galinda flirted with Avaric and admired his muscles as he worked on the tent. By the time the two tents were standing, dinner had been ready and they'd eaten and exchanged stories.
Of course, Avaric could not go long without insulting Elphaba and he had almost caused a full-blown fight to flare up between the two of them, but Galinda and Fiyero had managed to calm them both down. They'd sat around the fire and roasted marshmallows while Avaric and Fiyero told ghost stories, which had been nice. After a while, they'd all gone to bed – Fiyero and Avaric in one tent and Elphaba and Galinda in the other. The two girls had kept on talking for a while longer, with the blonde needling Elphaba to gossip and share secrets with her. Galinda had had to use the bathroom and she'd come back grumbling she would never camp in her life ever again. "It's horrible, Elphie. How can I just pee in the bushes?! I'm a lady! I'm Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands!" Of course her roommate had just laughed at her.
They had decided to go to sleep then, and Elphaba had almost drifted off when her friend had suddenly started shrieking. "A spider! There's a spider, Elphie! Help! Fiyero! Avaric! HELP!"
"Shut up, Galinda," Elphaba had groaned in exasperation before grabbing the spider with her bare hands and tossing it out of the tent, causing Galinda's shrieks to grow so loud the boys had actually come to check up on them because they thought Elphaba and Galinda were being murdered.
After that, it had started raining and the two girls had been listening to that sound for a while when Elphaba realised she needed to use the bathroom as well. She'd pulled on her boots and shuffled out into the rain. By the time she was done, raindrops were dripping from the tips of her hair and her nightgown was soaked. She'd had to search for a towel and a clean nightgown in the dark – thank Oz she'd thought to bring an extra nightgown – and then she had finally settled back into her sleeping bag, fully intending to get some rest, even though it must have been well past one in the morning by then.
She had not yet fully been asleep when Galinda had suddenly started moving; she'd crawled out of her sleeping bag and disappeared from the tent. Elphaba had assumed she'd had to pee again, but then she had heard the blonde's giggles from the other tent, mixed with Avaric's voice, and she realised what was going on. She wondered what had happened to Fiyero – she did hope Galinda and Avaric would be more subtle than to mess around with Fiyero asleep right beside them.
As she turned to lie on her back again, she heard Avaric's voice, louder this time, shouting something. Galinda giggled again and Elphaba rolled her eyes. This was not how she had imagined their camping trip. She wished Galinda and Avaric had just gone by themselves.
Suddenly, the flap of the tent opened and a shadow came in.
She already opened her mouth to scream, even as she reached for her heavy flashlight to knock the intruder unconscious; but then she recognised him and she let out the breath she'd been holding. "Fiyero."
His hair and pyjamas were damp and he looked sheepish. "Hey."
She frowned at him. "What are you doing here?"
"Um, well... Avaric kicked me out." He ran his hand through his hair. "I slipped out of the tent to, um, you know..."
"Pee?" she suggested and he looked decidedly uncomfortable.
"Yeah."
She smirked at him and he gave her a lopsided grin. "Anyway, when I came back, Avaric and Galinda were making out in our tent and Avaric yelled at me to get out before pushing me out and then zipping the tent shut behind me. I would have gone back in, but knowing Avaric, he wouldn't have a problem with doing... stuff... in front of me... which I really do not want to see."
Elphaba sighed. "Stupid, stupid Galinda," she muttered, even as she scooted over. "Well, she's a big girl. She can take care of herself. I could come up with a billion guys that would be better than Avaric, but there's no reasoning with that girl when she's in love."
Fiyero chuckled. "So... could I stay here?"
"Sure." She wearily gestured at Galinda's sleeping bag. "If you don't mind a pink sleeping bag."
He moaned and she laughed softly. "It's dark," she said comfortingly. "You won't have to look at it."
"Thank Oz." He crawled into the sleeping bag and sighed. "It's wet outside."
"I noticed." Her own hair was still damp as well from her trip to the bushes a while earlier and she was shivering, even the sleeping bag not enough to properly warm her. "I am never going camping ever again."
"My dad used to take me camping every year when I was a kid," said Fiyero. She could hear the fond smile in his voice at the memory. "Just me. Between my parents having to rule the Vinkus and me having two younger brothers and a sister, there was not much opportunity for one-on-one time between us and our parents; but they made time for us. Mum sometimes took Cyara shopping or went to have a beauty treatment with her, for example, and she and Dad had other things they often did with my brothers. For me, it was camping. Every year in the summer, my father would clear his schedule for a weekend and we'd go camping in the Thousand Year Grasslands together. We'd hunt for our own lunch and dinner in the forest, or catch fish in the creek, and we'd build a campfire. Dad always taught me things on those trips – about the star constellations, or the Vinkus itself, or some political matters going on... I loved those camping trips."
She smiled. "I can imagine why."
They were quiet for a moment, the only sound the steady patter of the rain falling. Elphaba wrapped her arms tighter around herself, her teeth chattering, and Fiyero asked, "Are you cold?"
"A little." She would never let him – or anyone – think she was weak in any way. Not even regarding something as simple as her being cold.
Fiyero, however saw right through her. "You're freezing. I was out in the rain just now, too, you know. I know how cold it is outside."
"Are you cold, too, then?"
"A little," he mimicked her, laughing when she reached out to stomp his arm. He caught her hand between his own and started rubbing it. "Oz. "A little", you call that. Your hand feels like an ice cube." He scooted closer to her, sleeping bag and all, and held out his arms invitingly. "Come on. It's silly to both be shivering on opposite sides of the tent."
She hesitated, but she eventually relented, seeing the logic of what he was saying. She'd never be able to sleep as long as she was this cold, anyway. "Okay." She shifted closer to him as well and allowed him to wrap his arms around her, pressing her nose against his damp shirt. Despite the fact that he was shivering as well, his skin was warm; and she couldn't help the contented sigh that escaped her lips.
He chuckled softly and she could feel it rumble in his chest. "Better?"
"Yeah." She hesitated, then reluctantly said, "Thanks."
"I'm not doing this for you, you know," he teased. "It's pure self-interest – I'm much warmer now, too."
They were quiet for a while again before Elphaba confessed, "I don't think I'll be able to sleep. My hair is still wet and it's just generally strange to be lying on the floor in a tent instead of in my own bed at Shiz... not to mention the fact that I'm still cold, since Galinda took the only extra blanket we had with her to Avaric's tent." She scowled.
He laughed again. "You have a point. You should stop thinking about all that, though, and distract yourself with thoughts about something else."
"Like what?"
He paused as he thought about that. "Let's tell one another things not many people know about us."
She scoffed softly. "You sound like Galinda. "Let's exchange secrets, Elphie!". I'm not sure I'm up for that."
"Not secrets," he corrected her. "Just things about yourself that don't generally come up in conversation. For example..." He thought about it for a moment. "Not many people know about me that I have taken ballet lessons when I was a kid."
She blinked. "For real?"
"Yes." He grinned. "From four to ten years old, I was in ballet class with my siblings and a couple of other kids. It's one of the reasons why I dance so well," he added with a smirk before growing serious again. "And why I love it so much. I don't do ballet anymore, but I still love to dance."
She nodded and tried to come up with something herself. "You know how I wear my glasses all day long? I actually don't need to do that. They're only for reading, and even then, I don't need them that badly – I could go without them. It's just... easier to hide behind them, I guess."
He smiled and she could feel him nuzzling her hair. "I think they look good on you," he said softly, "but you look gorgeous without them, too."
She scoffed again. "Gorgeous. Right."
"I'm serious," he protested, but she waved him off.
"Your turn."
"Okay." He shifted a little beside her. He hesitated, and she could sense that his next confession would be something more serious than him taking ballet lessons as a kid. "You'll remember that I was acting so... difficult... when we first met?"
"You nearly knocked me over in a carriage, compared me to a traffic light, and then swept off the entire student body to a horrible party," she quipped. "Of course I remember."
He didn't laugh, however. "There was a reason for that. I mean... I've never been able to deal with my feelings well," he said quietly. "I'm used to pushing them away and pretending they didn't exist. The reason it escalated was because... when I was eighteen and in my first year of my first university, my mum and my younger brother died."
She sucked in her breath and his grip on her tightened. "It was tuberculosis," he said. "It swept through the Vinkus and many people died... including them. That's when I started rebelling and partying."
She reached out to him, moving a little so that she could lay her hand against the side of his face and look up into his eyes. "I'm sorry, Yero," she said solemnly. "I had no idea."
He forced a smile. "That's the whole point of the façade, you know."
"Thank you for telling me," she said and he squeezed her a little closer.
"Your turn."
After his revelation, she supposed she owed him the courtesy of telling him her own biggest and most painful secret as well. "You know that my mother died in childbirth because Nessa was born too early, right? And that that is the reason why she can't walk?"
Fiyero nodded and she took a deep breath. "It's my fault that happened."
She could sense his shock and she told him what she had told Galinda – about the milk flowers and how her father hated her for what had happened, all because of her. When she finally stopped talking, Fiyero suddenly sat up.
She sat up as well, confused. "Yero?"
He cradled her face between his hands and looked deep into her eyes. "Elphaba," he said in a low voice that was almost a growl, "you cannot blame yourself for that, do you understand me?"
She chuckled a little at his intense reaction. "Fiyero –"
"I'm serious." He loosened his grip and ran his fingers through his hair again. "Oz, Fae... I can't believe your own father would say such things to you. I can't even imagine..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "I mean, I lost two members of my family, but at least I know they loved me. Your father..." He trailed off again, clearly at a loss for words. He clenched his fists. "That was not your fault, Fae, do you hear me? It wasn't, and I don't want you thinking that it was." He brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You are amazing. Never forget that."
She was still a little stunned when he finally lay back down and pulled her down with him. "Your turn," she murmured and he decided the situation warranted something light this time.
"When I was younger, I wanted to become a teacher." He chuckled. "Ironic, right?"
She smiled in the dark. "A little." She thought about something she could tell him that he didn't already knew. He knew surprisingly much about her – she'd opened up more to him over the course of their friendship than she'd realised. "I cheated on a test once."
"What? No!" Fiyero burst out laughing. "You?!"
She was laughing too. "I know. Shocking, right?" She grinned. "It was in high school and I was taking an exam in Geography. I knew the answer to every question, except for one; and no matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn't remember the answer." She blushed, although he couldn't see that. "So I glanced at the paper of the girl next to me. I felt terribly ashamed afterwards and I never did it again – mostly because the answer I read from her paper turned out to be wrong." She grinned and Fiyero did, too.
"I never knew you had it in you," he teased her lightly and she poked out her tongue at him.
"Shut up, Tiggular. And if you ever tell anyone about this," she threatened, "I will make you pay."
"Trust me." He placed a hand on his heart dramatically. "I won't tell a soul."
She smiled and closed her eyes, starting to feel sleepy. "You again."
He was silent for so long that she almost drifted off to sleep, but his next words instantly yanked her back to the present. "I'm in love with you."
Her eyes snapped open and she sat up to stare down at him. "What?!"
"It's something no-one knows about me," he said simply. She kept on gaping at him and he sighed, finally sitting up as well.
"It's true, Fae," he said. "I don't know how it happened, or when, exactly... but it's true. I'm in love with you. You're the most beautiful, smart, passionate, and amazing girl I've ever met. Trust me – I tried to fight it, because you know my past reputation and I was trying to hold on to that... but I couldn't. You've changed me in so many ways, more than you'll ever know, and there was no fighting my feelings for you. I'm sorry if I'm putting you in an awkward position here," he apologised, running his hand through his hair once more. "I just... I thought you should know."
Her head was spinning. Fiyero was in love with her. She was surprised at the light and fluttery feeling that fact gave her – she'd never really thought of it before as love. Of course, she'd often felt awkward around him, blushing for no real reason and sometimes even almost giggling – could you imagine that? – but she had always tried to ignore that feeling, brushing it off as unimportant, not really realising what it was. The way she felt at his admission, though, clearly told her that something was going on.
She opened and closed her mouth a few times before she stopped, frowning slightly at her own inability to form words. Fiyero was watching her cautiously and when she opened her mouth, words finally came out.
"I... I think I love you, too," she said, confused about that fact, but at the same time knowing it to be the truth, deep down.
A huge grin lit up his face and he moved even closer to her, cupping her face with one hand and stroking her cheek with his thumb. He slowly leant in closer and she let him, moving closer to him herself. She held her breath and closed her eyes, right before their lips touched for the first time, and it felt like fireworks were going off inside of her – as cliché as that sounded.
She let him kiss her for a while before murmuring, "So what happens now?"
"Now," he said, wiggling out of Galinda's bright pink sleeping bag, "I'm going to be scandalacious and join you in your sleeping bag, since we're both still cold and the other's body heat will help warm us up; and then we're going to sleep."
She blinked, puzzled. "But..."
"Let's not worry about what happens later," he mumbled, squirming to fit beside Elphaba in her sleeping bag and putting his arms around her. He softly kissed her lips again and she felt warmer instantly. "We'll just see where it goes. Okay?"
Normally, she would have protested; but she was starting to feel warm and drowsy and just this once, she decided to not worry about the future and enjoy the moment. And so she snuggled up against Fiyero's chest and murmured, "Okay." She could feel him stroking her hair and she sighed.
He yawned. "'Night, Fae."
"'Night," she whispered. She closed her eyes, feeling him rest his chin on the top of her head, and she silently thanked Galinda for dragging her on this trip and abandoning her to sleep in a tent with Avaric instead. She smiled a little. This camping trip had definitely not turned out the way she had expected it to; but despite the fact that she'd hated that an hour ago, she now decided that she did not mind so much anymore.
I just wanted to let you know that yes, I am still writing; but between uni and my original story for Camp NaNoWriMo (look that up if you don't know what it is), I don't have much time to work on my new fanfics... I've got two in progress, but I'm not sure yet when I'll start posting again, so this was just a little thing to keep you occupied in the meantime :).