NOTE - Well this is my first 'bookverse' fic, and also my first 'Gelphie' fic (so please be nice) All reviews are much appreciated, as I'd like to know what people think.
Disclaimer - Unfortunately, Elphaba and Glinda do not belong to me.
All of me.
Elphaba paced the room; stopping every so often to look out of the window, as though the view that faced her might have changed, whilst her back was turned. Colwen Grounds was said to be beautiful; it's large expanse of land and colourful gardens made it the envy of many high society circles, but to Elphaba it was simply another place that held nothing but bad memories. It seemed beautiful, much like good and wonderful, was merely an opinion of those who looked no further than the surface; those who did not choose to see what was underneath. And in Elphaba's eyes no place that reminded her of her sisters tragic death, or her angry encounter with her oldest, and dearest friend, could ever be considered so.
Anger coursed through Elphie's veins, like blood as she thought back to her earlier conversation with Glinda. Once again, her friend had managed to ruin a perfectly pleasant moment with her lack of consideration, and it wound Elphaba up, beyond belief. Why had she given the girl, Dorothy those shoes? Why had she not realised what problems would be caused if the Wizard got his hands on them? And why, above all else did she not even seem sorry? The more Elphaba thought about it, the angrier she became and by the time she was disturbed by a knock on the door, her fists were clenched so tightly that her nails had begun to dig into her skin, slowly drawing blood from her palms.
She jumped when she heard the knocking; she wasn't expecting any visitors, she didn't want any visitors. For a moment, she thought about ignoring whoever it was that dared to interrupt her rage, but knowing it could be Frex, she decided against this. He'd looked so frail and distraught, when she saw him earlier that it had frightened her, and she hadn't the heart to turn him away in his hour of need, however much it pained her to have him close.
Slowly, she unclenched her fists and walked over to the door, drawing deep breaths in order to calm herself. But when she pulled it back, and found it wasn't Frex, or any of her family for that matter, any attempts to calm down were deemed a failure.
"Glinda"
Her words were voiced through gritted teeth, her eyes cold as they met with the other woman's.
"What do you want?"
"Can I come in?"
Elphaba didn't reply, nor did she move. Instead she stood firmly in the doorway, sure that if she tried, she could prevent another painful conversation with the woman she'd once regarded more highly than any other.
Glinda, however, was not willing to give in.
"Elphie, please; we need to talk"
Just the sound of her soft tone was enough to weaken Elphaba's resolve, and coupled with the use of her pet name she had no choice but to let her in, albeit reluctantly. She stepped backwards, opening the door just wide enough for Glinda to enter her room and hastily closing it after her.
"Make it quick. I don't have all night"
But, for Glinda she did, and even in her anger they both knew as much.
"I wanted to apologise for earlier" Glinda stood upright, speaking to Elphie with the clarity and confidence of someone giving a speech, "Things got out of hand and for that I am truly sorry"
"Oh, cut the crap Glinda; it's me you're talking to, not your adoring public" Elphaba perched on the end of her bed, tapping her foot, impatiently on the hard floor, "What have you really come here for?"
"To make amends" Glinda replied, "I hate fighting with you Elphie, I always have; you know that"
Elphaba scoffed but Glinda ignored her, and continued as though she hadn't heard, "I couldn't leave things as they were, I just couldn't. Besides, it all seemed so silly..."
Irritated by her words, Elphaba interrupted, "The shoes were not yours to give away"
"Oh, please don't start that again Elphie. I told you I came here to apologise, not to have the same row with you, all over again"
"You can apologize when the row, as you say, is over"
"Very well then, say what you need to. You always did like the last word" Or the sounds of your own voice, she thought but she knew better than to fight back this time.
"In the wrong hands, those shoes are very dangerous. Now you've given them to that annoying little brat, the wizard is bound to get his claws into them, and that will undo all the good work that's ever been done in Munchkinland"
"As you told me earlier" Glinda snapped; she already felt bad enough, without being put through it all again, "Anything else?"
"Yes, actually. Aside from preventing all the pain that will inevitably be caused now, I wanted those shoes to remember Nessa by; she practically became them, in the end Glinda, for better or for worse, and I wanted them to help keep her memory alive"
Elphaba's voice was no longer raised and despite her best efforts to hide the sadness she felt, Glinda could hear it, ringing in her tone.
"I'm sorry" this time her words were sincere, and no longer proffered as a meagre peace offering, "I didn't realise. I never wanted to upset you, I just...I didn't think"
"No, you never think, do you Glinda? That's always been your problem"
"Elphie, that's not fair and you know it"
Elphaba looked down, her gaze falling to the floor as though it suddenly held new interest. Glinda moved to the window and stared straight ahead.
"And" she continued, "I find it ironic you should believe that, when for years I've done nothing but think"
"About what exactly?"
"About you, Elphie" the picture perfect garden in front of Glinda began to blur, as her honest words caused tears to surface. She lowered her voice, to little more than a whisper, "about you"
Glinda turned to face Elphaba, who was staring at her with a look of astonishment that aggravated the Gilliken, "Oh, don't look so surprised. You must've known, when you left that I wouldn't be able to just forget. You might've been able to go on as if nothing had ever happened, but I couldn't. When you told me to hold out, I thought you meant for you. I thought you were coming back for me so I waited for you; a part of me is still waiting for you, even now."
"I didn't know" Elphaba couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with Glinda, as she struggled to find the right words, "I just imagined you'd forget all about me once I was gone; I never, for a minute thought you'd still..."
She couldn't finish the sentence, the words were choking her. She swallowed hard and fell silent, refusing to show weakness in front of Glinda; even after all they'd shared.
"I don't believe you" Glinda's voice was uncharacteristically cold, and rang with a bitterness that, although suppressed had only grown over time. "How could you think that? We were best friends...and so much more"
"And you were fickle. I presumed you'd just cast me aside like one of your dresses. And I hoped, for your sake that you would"
"I loved you" Glinda spat the words at Elphaba, as though they were the very pain that had engulfed her for so long, "I still love you. But you never were going to let me in, were you?"
Without waiting for an answer, Glinda strode towards Elphaba and grabbed the front of her dress. She pulled her to her feet, her actions forcing Elphie to make eye contact.
"It was always me with my heart on the line, whilst you held back, hiding yourself away. Always touching, but never touched. Always there, but never really"
She loosened her grip on Elphaba, and pushed her away as she allowed her upset to take control; Elphie remained silent and made no protest, choosing instead to let her friend get out, everything she'd been holding in for so long.
"I gave everything that I had to you. I gave you all of me, and not once did you so much as offer yourself back. I would've taken anything, however small but you never let me close enough to even try"
As soon as Glinda finished speaking, the room was filled with a deafening silence that roared in both women's ears like thunder. Elphaba knew what she had to do, what she wanted do, but it took her a moment to draw up the courage.
She watched Glinda closely, as the silence grew louder, and saw that behind the make-up and feigned smiles, she was still the same intelligent, young woman she'd once cared for; the young woman who had, so long ago tossed 'Galinda' to one side, and decided to take a stand, do some good. The years had taken their toll on her youthful confidence, and caused her to put all thoughts of truly helping aside, but Elphie could see that somewhere inside, she was still her Glinda; and, despite everything, she still loved her.
"Then, take me now" Elphie's words startled Glinda and, for a brief moment she found herself frozen to the spot, as she watched Elphaba hold her hands out in submission. "Take whatever you want of me. All of me, if you like"
Glinda's body ached with desire at the words and the thoughts they conjured, and her moment of stillness quickly passed. She ran to Elphie, pushing her back against the wall and kissing her with a passion that had begged for release, since that day in the Emerald City.
"I love you" Glinda said, as she tangled her fingers in Elphaba's soft, raven hair. And to her amazement, Elphie responded in kind.
"I love you too"
After that, few words were spoken but lips touched, hands explored and, finally, after years of waiting, Elphaba gave herself completely to Glinda; the first person to ever truly steal her heart.
It was a moment, never made to last and they both knew that all too soon, they would be forced back to their respective lives and made to pretend that everything was OK. Elphaba knew the end, for her at least, was drawing closer and she didn't want Glinda to get hurt. Glinda knew there were things Elphaba needed to do that she would never quite be able to understand, and she couldn't face the inevitable argument, trying to convince her to re-think her options would cause. But for that one moment, none of it seemed to matter; the past and the future merged into insignificance, as two bodies merged into one, and both Elphaba and Glinda were given a taste of what might've been, if only things were different.