NOTE – As I've been working on 'Absence of fear' quite a lot lately, I haven't much time for one shots but this is something I started a while ago and had the sudden urge to finish. It's a bit lighter than most of my other Gelphie stories, so I hope you all enjoy it. Don't forget to review ;-)

Disclaimer – Not mine, as I keep telling you.

What Glinda wants...

Galinda Upland had always gotten what she wanted. Be it an invitation to the most swankified party in town, the most expensive, new dress from her favourite fashion magazine, or the love and adoration of the most popular crowd at Shiz; if she wanted, it was hers, and there were no exceptions to that rule.

For Glinda Upland, however it seemed things had changed, for the one thing she wanted more than anything (or anyone) was the one it seemed she may never be able to have.

The object of her desire came in the form of her fascinating roommate Elphaba, whom after an initial (and almost certainly feigned) period of loathing, Glinda had become close friends with.

Elphaba was different, in more ways than one, and she intrigued Glinda as no-one ever had before. She was witty, smart and kind (although she would never admit to it) She had alluring eyes that drew Glinda in, and long, silky hair that she longed to run her fingers through, and she was – as Glinda had told her on numerous occasions – beautiful.

Whenever Elphie was around, Glinda was filled with an overwhelming sense of desire that she found hard to keep under control, and she had decided she shouldn't have to any longer. Glinda wanted her. And she was determined to have her. The problem was, how?

She'd tried all of the obvious options; the lingering glances she'd once fought hard to disguise, but had since become pointed attempts to grab Elphie's attention, the 'accidental' brushing of hands (and any other body parts readily available) when they passed in their dorm room, even the bed sharing, which only used to occur during a particularly bad thunderstorm, or after Glinda had, had a nightmare, had become more regular of late.

But despite this, Elphaba remained oblivious to Glinda's feelings for her. Subtlety, it seemed did not work with Elphie, and this could mean only one thing; Glinda had to change her tactic, before it was too late.

------

When Elphaba woke the next morning she found Glinda perched on the end of her bed, armed with a mug of coffee, and wrapped in nothing but a fluffy, pink towel.

Her eyes widened at the sight before her, and she sat up, willing her mind to find the right words in which to voice her confusion.

'Glinda...What the...'

For once, it failed her miserably.

'I bought you this,' Glinda held out the mug, and motioned for Elphie to take it with an encouraging nod. 'I went to the kitchen and made it myself,' she beamed. 'Especially for you.'

'Um...Thank you.'

'Oh, there's really no need to thank me. I wanted to do it.'

Elphie surveyed Glinda for a moment, hoping her expression might betray the reason for her strange, new behaviour. When it didn't, she decided to be blunt.

'Glinda,' she glanced down at her coffee, in an attempt to dodge Glinda's piercing gaze. 'Why exactly are you wearing so little?'

'Because I'm about to take a shower,' Glinda's nonchalant tone made it seem like her lack of clothing was a usual occurrence. 'Why? Are you complaining?'

'No,' Elphaba answered, a little too quickly for her own liking. 'I was merely...asking. Although, quite what you're insinuating, I do not know.'

Glinda simply smiled at this, then in a moment of bravery, leant forward and planted a gentle kiss on Elphie's forehead. 'Well, maybe you'll find out.'

With that, she jumped off Elphaba's bed and started towards the bathroom. As she neared the door she allowed her towel to drop to the floor. It landed in a large, pink heap, revealing every curve of her body to a shocked Elphaba, who felt her jaw drop in surprise.

Glinda gave her best and most flirtatious giggle, and then without even a glance in Elphie's direction, swept into the bathroom as though nothing had happened.

Elphie was just about to question the strange feeling (was it...desire? need?) flooding her body, when Glinda's arm slid out through a small gap in the door. Slowly, and with a grace that only she could possess, she dragged her towel into the bathroom, and allowed the door to close fully.

A very successful start to the day, she thought to herself.

------

Later that morning, as Glinda stood in front of the vanity, curling her hair, she gave a loud sigh. Since her obvious display earlier that morning, Elphie had barely uttered a word to her, and it was worrying to say the least. Glinda was sure she'd caught her roommate's attention; even Miss Elphaba, who subtlety had evaded thus far, could not have missed the obvious hints she'd been sending out. And Glinda had seen the look of shock on her face when she'd kissed her, however innocently. But since then, she'd barely even acknowledged her, and Glinda found herself silently praying to Lurline that she hadn't put Elphie off.

Still, she'd never been one to back down. The Uplanders were known for their confidence and determination, and she was sure her plan would succeed. At least, she hoped it would succeed, and for that moment, hope would have to be enough.

'Elphie,'

Glinda drew her attention from the mirror, and turned to face her friend with a bright smile.

For the first time in well over an hour, Elphaba looked up from her book. 'Yes?'

'I was wondering what you thought to me wearing my hair like this.'

She had styled it so meticulously that each of her golden curls sat perfectly in place, and bounced straight back to their original position even after being tossed. It was a flawless do, even if Glinda did say so herself.

'It looks beautiful,' Elphie said, and immediately looked away again, unsure as to why Glinda would be remotely interested in her opinion.

'Really?'

'Really,' Elphie sighed at her roommates seeming loss of confidence. "Glinda, your hair always looks beautiful.' She assured her. 'You always look beautiful. And I'm sure you don't need me, of all people to tell you that.'

But she was the one person Glinda did need to tell her. And once she had, it spurred her on to no end.

-------

It wasn't until later, when Glinda had worked up all the confidence she needed (or at least, as much as she would ever be able to muster) that she decided to really go for it.

Elphaba was sat on her bed, her nose still buried in the book she'd been reading all day, whilst Glinda was hovering by her wardrobe, staring at the array of colourful outfits, and matching accessories that were housed within it.

She wanted to look good for Elphaba, wanted to wear something she would notice her in, and hopefully like, but what exactly was another matter. The majority of Glinda's dresses were bright and sparkly (hardly Elphie's own first choice in clothing) and she'd seen them many times before. What she wanted, that night was something different, something new, something...her train of thought came to a halt, as her gaze fell upon the perfect outfit.

The dress in question was a strappy, black number, which fitted Glinda in all the right places, and was short enough to show off her shapely legs, without being overly revealing. Although, it was by no means her usual colour, or style, it seemed perfect, and she knew for a fact that Elphie had never seen it before. If this didn't elicit a reaction, nothing ever would.

She dressed in the bathroom, telling herself it was so as not to spoil the surprise, but knowing it was because she wasn't yet brave enough to reveal herself fully, to Elphie, without first knowing the gesture would be appreciated. Then with a deep breath, she walked back into the bedroom, and gave a light cough in order to get her roommates attention.

Reluctantly, Elphie tore her eyes away from her book, once more, half expecting another question about hair, or clothes, or something else she knew very little about. But what she saw instead, caused her breath to catch in her throat.

She had meant what she said earlier, Glinda really was beautiful (even when she hadn't spent hours in front of the mirror styling her hair, or choosing which earrings would best suit her outfit) but Elphie couldn't remember ever seeing her look so elegant, and sophisticated before. It was as though the mask of naive, school girl had finally been lifted from Glinda, in order to reveal the woman that she had recently become. And Elphie couldn't quite find the words to sum it up.

'Glinda...Wow,'

Glinda gave a delicate spin, and then clasped her hands together in front of her. 'What do you think?'

She watched her friend intently, desperate for a response (a positive response)

'I...Um...'

Elphie was rarely lost for words but, at that moment she felt as though she was standing in the middle of the woods with no map, and little incentive of which path to take. However, as her brain searched for something intelligent, or witty, or at the very least complimentary, to say, the paranoia at the back of her mind surfaced, and she couldn't help but wonder what game it was that Glinda was playing.

'What exactly are you doing?' she asked, unable to help herself.

Glinda's face fell, but knowing she had to keep up appearances she feigned innocence, and managed to force a smile. 'What do you mean?'

'You know what I mean, Glinda. You've been prancing around the room all day like you're trying to impress someone, and I can't say that I understand why.'

Glinda swallowed hard, she could feel her confidence slowly ebbing away, but she stood firm, determined for her plan to succeed, if only for her hearts sake. 'Well maybe I am trying to impress someone.'

Elphie sighed, as puzzled as ever by her roommate's odd behaviour. 'In case you haven't noticed there are only the two of us here, and although I wouldn't entirely put it passed you, I seriously doubt you are trying to impress yourself'

'And you'd be right,' Glinda smiled, although it was the last thing she actually felt like doing. 'You still look confusified.'

'That's because I am still confusifi...Confused,' Elphie corrected quickly, and gave another sigh.

Her slip up made Glinda grin, and the Gilliken felt herself relax a little, deciding that Elphie was more perplexed than put off.

'And I thought you were the smart one,' she teased, and gave Elphaba's shoulder a playful prod with her finger.

Elphie swiftly pulled away, 'Look Glinda, just tell me what's going on. That way you can get back to it, and I can do something a little more worthwhile.'

'You have to work it out for yourself,' Glinda replied, and tried to ignore the feeling of hurt that Elphie's words had, inadvertently thrust upon her. 'Now, I'm off for a walk, but when you figure things out, you can come and find me, and tell me if it worked'

'If what worked?' Elphie asked, raising her voice in frustration.

'Me, silly. If I worked,' Glinda flashed Elphie a dazzling smile. 'If I impressed'

And she was out of the door before Elphie could stop her, fleeing as much from embarrassment, as from the nervous tears that were threatening to get the better of her.

------

Glinda had been pacing the corridors of Crage Hall for what seemed like an eternity. When she left her room, she'd expected Elphaba to follow her, catch up with her fairly quickly; she'd even stayed close by, at first so she wouldn't have any trouble finding her. But, so far there was no sign of her roommate, and the mere thought that she'd simply tossed Glinda's advances aside, caused her eyes to fill with tears.

As if it wasn't humiliating enough to be wandering around in her most sophisticated attire with no-one on her arm, and no party or function to attend, now she was crying. Enough, Glinda decided, was enough!

She'd made her feelings more than clear to Elphaba, done everything she possibly could without actually spelling it out for her, and she had received very little in the way of reciprocation. It was obvious that she simply wasn't interested, and with that in mind Glinda resolved to give up her seemingly futile attempts at chasing Elphie, once and for all. Quite how she would do that when, even the prospect seemed too much for her heart to bear, she didn't know. But do it, she would, even if it was the last thing she ever did.

She had just started to make her way back to her room, deciding she couldn't stay away forever (as appealing as that prospect had begun to look) when she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

'Glinda,'

She turned to see the person she'd been longing to see for well over an hour, and immediately tensed.

'Yes, Miss Elphaba?' she replied, determined to play it cool. 'Can I help you?'

Glinda's cold attitude (one she generally adopted whenever she was sulking) caused Elphie to grin, despite herself.

'What's so funny?" Glinda asked, in a tone that rang with distain.

Elphie forced herself to be serious, 'Nothing,' she replied, and took a step towards Glinda. 'I hope you know I've been looking everywhere for you.'

At Elphie's words, Glinda felt her hope slowly returning to her, and her decision to be cool dissolved almost immediately. 'You have?'

'Of course I have. After the way you've been acting all day, I thought I'd better come and check you were feeling alright,' she teasingly placed her hand against Glinda's forehead, and then gave a playful smile. 'No, no temperature.'

Glinda felt a smile tugging at her own lips, but as the day's memories flickered through her mind, and mingled with her earlier thoughts of Elphie's disinterest, she felt tears begin to prickle at the back of her eyes again. Her upset demeanour did not go un-noticed.

'What's wrong?'

'Oh Elphie, I'm really sorry if I offended you, or put you off me. I never meant to do that. I just wanted to show you how much you...'

'Hush,' Gently, Elphie placed her finger over Glinda's glossy, pink lips, silencing her. 'You don't need to apologise, my sweet.'

As she moved her finger away, she placed her hand on the back of her head and slowly, pulled her towards her. When their lips were close to touching, she stopped, almost teasingly and allowed their eyes to meet before she bridged the small, gap between them and kissed Glinda passionately.

Glinda's body tingled with desire, and she felt her hands reach around Elphie's waist, pulling her closer as she deepened the kiss she'd been craving for so long.

When Elphie finally pulled back, Glinda's eyes were filled with a need she had never seen before, and her body rushed with a desperate longing.

'So, you worked it out then?'Glinda asked, breathlessly.

'Eventually,' she smiled. 'And just for the record, you impressed.'

'I'm glad,' Glinda tightened her grip on Elphie's waist, deciding she never wanted to let go, and then she leant in for another kiss.

When she was forced to draw back for breath, Elphie asked, 'Shall we take this elsewhere?'

'Are you asking me back to your bedroom, Miss Elphaba?' Glinda asked, with feigned shock.

Elphie grinned, 'I suppose I am.'

'Well then, I couldn't possibly say no.'

Elphie took Glinda's hand in her own, and began to lead her back to their dorm room.

'You don't know how long I've waited for you,' Glinda said softly, as they walked.

Elphie squeezed her hand tightly, 'Well you don't have to wait any longer,' she replied, and Glinda couldn't help but smile.

Glinda Upland always got what she wanted. But the fact seemed rather irrelevant to her after that day, for once she had Elphie, there was little else she could ask for that would ever mean as much, and little else she truly wanted, in comparison.