Just One More Candle
By Vinkunwildflowerqueen
Summary: Elphaba has never been one for birthdays, as far as she's concerned, there's not much to festivate. Fiyero thinks she just needs a new perspective on the day. Shiz-era. Fiyeraba. Musicalverse. AU.
DISCLAIMER: The characters of Wicked are neither my creation or property. I'm just borrowing them for a little bit.
AN. This oneshot is for a very special occasion- this weekend Wicked will overtake Rent as the 10th longest running Broadway musical. Whilst I can't actually see Wicked to festivate, I'm doing something almost as good- seeing Sutton Foster, Aaron Tveit, David Harris and Helen Dallimore (among others) perform in Sydney in Defying Gravity, a concert of all Stephen Schwartz music. Not a bad 2nd best option!
Thanks to Fae's Flower, Ultimate Queen of Cliffies and My Little Elphie for enduring a little rant I had this week on Twitter against the word "cute"- I hope this is not worthy of the word!
Elphaba's birthday was as significant to her as a dental check-up- only slightly less painful.
It had never been a day of festivation in the Thropp house, at least not in any of the years that Elphaba could remember. She supposed there was a small chance her mother might have festivated the day before she died, but Elphaba wouldn't know about that.
The only reason Galinda knew when her birthday was, was because she had seen it on her student identification card once. Galinda, for whom birthdays was a day that you looked forward to 364 days a year and festivated for a week, immediately ingrained the date on her memory as a significant day in her social calendar- and an excuse to have a party and go shopping.
"I don't do birthdays," Elphaba said bluntly when Galinda had asked her for gift ideas, a month before her birthday.
Galinda laughed. "Don't be silly, Elphie. Everyone has a birthday!"
"It's not that I don't have one," Elphaba corrected. "I just don't festivate it. I never have, you can ask Nessa if you don't believe me."
Nessa readily confirmed this, much to Galinda's dismay. The blonde tried to argue with Elphaba, but Elphaba refused to give in. She pointed out that there was no law that she had to festivate or even acknowledge her birthday.
"I'm still aging," Elphaba argued. "I'm not in denial about that or anything. I just don't feel the need to do anything for it. It's just a day, Glin."
Fiyero was on Galinda's side with this matter, when he had become aware of the matter; whereas Boq felt it was Elphaba's right to festivate (or not festivate as the case may be) her birthday in any way she chose.
Galinda and Fiyero let Elphaba have her way for two years- albeit grudgingly. They'd wish her a happy birthday, and Elphaba would accept a card that was pressed on her, but there were no parties and no presents.
But in their third and final year of Shiz, as Elphaba's twenty-fourth birthday approached, Galinda decided enough was enough.
"Next year, we'll be graduated and Oz only knows where we'll all be," she informed Fiyero, cornering Elphaba's boyfriend in the cafeteria one day in March.
"And quite frankly, Elphie not festivating her birthday is beyond the point of ridiculous," Galinda continued with a toss of her curls. "What's next? She's not going to festivate your wedding anniversary? Your children's birthdays?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Fiyero protested in alarm. "Glin, no one has said anything about a wedding or children!"
She rolled her eyes. "Please. We all know it's going to happen sooner or later. Now, about Elphie's birthday."
Fiyero sighed. While it did bother him that Elphaba deemed her own birth so insignificant, dating her for fourteen months had taught him to pick his battles. Fiyero was pretty stubborn himself, but he had to concede defeat to Elphaba; and he'd chosen to use his power and charm for a weekly date night rather than her birthday. It was only because of his influence that Elphaba had deemed to accept a birthday card. He and Galinda had deemed that a small victory.
"I can't say I haven't thought about it," he admitted to her.
Her eyes lit up. "Proposing?!"
"Her birthday," Fiyero corrected in exasperation. "Geez, Galinda!"
Galinda pouted in disappointment, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine. Don't marry her. See if I care."
"Galinda."
She heaved a sigh. "Sorry. What were you thinking?"
"Well, why doesn't Fae festivate her birthday?"
"Because her father's an ass," Galinda replied immediately.
Fiyero nodded. "True. But beyond that."
Galinda frowned, slightly puzzled. "Because she doesn't think her birth is worth festivating," she said sadly.
Fiyero nodded again. "Yes."
"So? Is that your big idea?" she demanded.
"No," he chuckled. "I was thinking that maybe she just needs a reason to festivate."
Galinda's frown deepened. "Like what?" she asked slowly.
That was only the first planning session over the next few weeks. Fiyero honestly doubted Galinda's ability to keep it from Elphaba, but it seemed as though she didn't suspect anything- either that, or she was ignoring them.
On the morning of April twelfth, Elphaba's twenty-fourth birthday, Elphaba's alarm woke her up at half-past six as usual.
"Happy birthday, Elphie," Galinda mumbled sleepily as Elphaba passed her bed on the way to the bathroom.
"Thanks," Elphaba replied shortly and went to take a shower.
By the time she emerged, both girls were more awake and coherent.
Galinda got up from her vanity to hug Elphaba tightly. "Happy birthday!"
Elphaba sighed slightly, but chuckled and accepted the hug. "You already said that."
"Elphie, you know anything I say in the first ten minutes I'm awake doesn't count," Galinda said.
"I'm fairly certain you only imposed that rule because I got you to agree to clean the bathroom when you were half-asleep," Elphaba complained and Galinda merely grinned.
"Hurry up and get dressed! We have to meet the others for breakfast!" the blonde urged her.
When they met Fiyero, Boq and Nessa for breakfast, they all wished her a happy birthday.
"How does it feel to be twenty-four?" Fiyero asked her with a small smile.
"No different than being twenty-three," Elphaba replied, but there was some flicker in her eyes that made Fiyero frown.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," she said shortly, taking a sip of coffee and avoiding his eyes. "What did you expect? Even if I did festivate my birthday, twenty four is hardly a milestone year."
"No," Fiyero admitted. "But you know I'll take any reason to festivate your existence."
Elphaba couldn't help but smile as he grinned at her.
It felt like a normal day, which was exactly what Elphaba wanted. Except there was something that put Elphaba on edge- as though she could sense Galinda and Fiyero had planned something.
But it wasn't just Elphaba. It hadn't escaped any of their notice that Elphaba seemed rather despondiary, and it worried Fiyero. He'd known Elphaba for two birthdays, and on both occasions she'd merely treated it as an ordinary day. Today she seemed preoccupied, and he couldn't figure out why.
"I'd be despondiary too if I turned twenty- four and realised I'm one year off a quarter of a century," Galinda said with a shudder when Fiyero tried to talk to her about it between classes.
Fiyero rolled his eyes. "Glin, do you really think anyone besides you worries about that?"
"Yes!"
"Do you think Elphaba is worried about that?"
"Probably not," Galinda admitted. "You don't think she's going to be mad, do you?"
Fiyero shook his head. "No. She won't be happy that we've kind of ignored her wishes, but once we explain it, she'll be fine."
As per their custom, Fiyero met Elphaba outside of her Sorcery classroom when it let out.
"Hey," he greeted her. "So, I was thinking about dinner tonight."
"What, whether we should have it?" Elphaba asked him.
He laughed. "I'm always in favour of having dinner."
"Do you want to go into town or just eat in the cafeteria?" she asked him.
"Actually, I thought we could eat in tonight. Just the five of us, you know."
Elphaba regarded him warily. "Is that a subtle hint of asking me to cook, or are you planning to pick up something? Because you know the only one I'd trust to cook besides me is Boq."
Fiyero did know that. "Boq and Nessa are picking up the food," Fiyero reassured her.
Elphaba agreed, although Fiyero was sure she was expecting some big trick or surprise.
Whilst there was a small surprise, dinner was not part of it. It was a normal, casual meal, and Elphaba seemed more at ease than she had all day.
"Is it time for dessert now?" Galinda asked impatiently when they'd finished.
Boq looked pleasantly surprised. "There's dessert? I didn't know that!"
"There's dessert," Galinda confirmed.
From the kitchen, Fiyero retrieved a small chocolate cake, lit the lone candle atop it, and placed it before Elphaba.
She stiffened at the mere sight of it, and Galinda hastily dropped into the chair beside her best friend.
"Don't look like that, Elphie," she scolded her lightly. "Yes, it's a birthday cake, and yes, it's your birthday but… I can't explain it right. Fiyero, you tell it."
Fiyero sat down and took Elphaba's hand, clearing his throat.
"In the Vinkus- well, not so much now, but in like the olden days, when my dad was a kid-"
"I can't wait to tell your father you said his childhood was 'the olden days'," Elphaba interjected and Fiyero shushed her.
"Traditionally, birthdays mean something a little different," he explained. "It's not the anniversary of your birth so much, but a chance to reflect on what the last year of your life has brought you."
Elphaba just looked at him, frowning slightly.
"So, today isn't just that you were born today twenty-four years ago," Fiyero continued. "It's you finishing your twenty-fourth year of life and reflecting on the changes that have happened in the past year."
Elphaba mused on that for a moment, and Fiyero and Galinda exchanged a slightly anxious glance.
"And how does cake work into this tradition?" she asked finally.
"It doesn't," Fiyero said immediately. "Cake is just delicious, and I know chocolate is your favourite."
Elphaba rolled her eyes, but had the shadow of a smile playing across her lips.
"Will you blow out the candle, Fabala?" Nessa asked her sister gently.
"Happy birth-" Fiyero cut himself off mid-song as Elphaba's eyes narrowed. "OK, no song. Just blow out the candle, Fae," he urged her.
Elphaba quickly blew out the candle out and the cake was served.
"So," Nessa began conversationally. "Fabala, are you going to reflect on the last year of your life?"
Elphaba chewed a mouthful of cake thoughtfully. "I don't know. I mean… I can't think of anything that happened in the last year."
Fiyero looked offended. "What about me!"
"I knew you more than a year ago," she reminded him. "I've been dating you for more than a year."
Fiyero had to concede she had a point there.
"Well, something must have happened in the past year!" Galinda cried, almost indignantly.
Elphaba racked her brain. What was anything significant that had happened in her life in the past year?
"Well, I saw snow for the first time. That was nice," she said softly and Fiyero beamed.
He had taken her to the Vinkus for Lurlinemas especially for that reason. The previous two Lurlinemas's they'd been at Shiz, Elphaba had returned to Munchkinland for the holiday (mainly at Nessa's request).
"And your father finally accepted our relationship," Fiyero added. "I think that's significant."
"I don't know if he accepted our relationship, as much as he accepted the fact he can't forbid it," Elphaba corrected.
Fiyero shrugged. "Ah, I'll take what I can get."
"You finally chose a major… or two," Boq reminded Elphaba.
It had been a long-running joke of Elphaba's inability to pick a major and she had changed her mind at least three times that they knew of.
Nessa and Galinda chimed in with a few more suggestions and Elphaba found her spirits lifting at the reminder of things she had forgotten or never really considered significant.
Which, of course, was just what Galinda and Fiyero had intended.
"I have to admit," Elphaba said as the evening appeared to be wrapping up. "If you're going to do some acknowledgment of your birthday, this is a nice way to do it. The reflection thing- not the cake."
"What do you have against cake?" Fiyero demanded indignantly and she rolled her eyes.
Galinda was the first to exit, claiming fatigue, but Elphaba suspected she was just trying to evade helping to clean the kitchen. Boq and Nessa soon followed, leaving Elphaba and Fiyero alone.
"I have a confession," Fiyero said. "I broke your 'no-presents' rule."
Elphaba barely looked up as she was tossing the empty food containers into a trash can.
"I'm surprised you lasted three years," she said. "Actually, I think I'm more surprised you caved before Galinda did."
Fiyero grinned, he was rather surprised about that too.
"That's it? No reprimanding? No refusing?"
"Would it do me any good?" Elphaba retorted.
"No. In fact, you should just start getting used to it," he chuckled.
Elphaba heaved a sigh, and put down the trash can.
"Alright," she said. "Let me see it."
Fiyero ducked into his bedroom and retrieved the wrapped package he had stored next to his bed. Elphaba was visibly surprised as she took it.
"It's a book?"
"Just open it, Fae," Fiyero urged her.
Elphaba carefully unwrapped it and revealed a beautiful leather bound journal.
"I thought if you liked the whole reflection idea, you could write stuff down that happens throughout the year. So when it comes to your birthday, it's easier to look back and see the things that happened during the year," Fiyero explained, feeling a little nervous as he watched her.
Elphaba looked up at him and smiled softly. "Thank you, Yero. It's a beautiful idea, I love it," she said sincerely.
Fiyero kissed her with a smile and then decided to push his luck a bit further.
"So, not that you're usually… Galinda-like when it comes to your birthday, but you've been quieter today than usual. Weirder. What gives?"
"Weirder? Gee, thanks," Elphaba replied dryly.
"Come on, Fae. Talk to me," Fiyero said, ignoring her comment.
Elphaba gently placed the journal on the counter and resumed cleaning the kitchen in silence. Fiyero watched her expectantly, just waiting patiently.
"Look, just because I don't do anything for my birthday doesn't mean I don't think about it," Elphaba said finally.
"And like I've said, twenty four isn't a milestone year or really significant in any way."
"But?" Fiyero frowned.
"But… I realised I'm now the same age that my mother was when I was born," Elphaba replied simply.
"Of course, she was closer to twenty five," Elphaba acknowledged. "But she was still my age now. And I kept thinking how, I can't possibly imagine having a baby at this age or let alone dealing with a green baby. Then I thought about Nessa, and I realised… I think it's the first time it's hit me that I'll outlive my mother."
Fiyero didn't know what to say to her.
"She never made it to thirty, Yero," Elphaba continued softly. "She was twenty-eight when she died, and for as long as I can remember I've been able to try and put myself in her shoes."
"What do you mean?"
"She was nineteen when she met my father. Twenty-one when they got married. And when I got to twenty-one, it seemed so young and I tried to imagine being in a position of getting married at this age. Of course I couldn't, because it was before Shiz and before you, and anyone who said it might be a possibility for me one day, I would have called them crazy."
She met his gaze, almost begging him to understand what she was saying.
"I've spent the past few years trying to form a connection to my mother by putting myself in her shoes. And I've only got a few more years where I can do that, and I don't know what to do once I turn twenty-nine and I have to remember that she never made it this far."
Somehow, the idea that Elphaba would be thinking of her mother on her birthday had never occurred to Fiyero.
"I don't have an answer for you, Fae," he said honestly. "I wish I did."
She shook her head, seeing the regret on his face. "Don't feel bad. It doesn't matter."
"Of course it does!" Fiyero protested. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Fae… I don't think your mom would want you to be thinking about that. I also think that if your mom was here, she'd be ten times worse than Galinda when it comes to festivating your birth," he murmured to her.
"What makes you say that?" Elphaba asked curiously.
"Because you're her child, her first born," Fiyero replied simply. "And if she was doing this reflection thing, you existing would have been the most significant moment of that year- of her life."
Elphaba looked up at him as though she wanted to believe him, but wasn't quite sure.
"I guess my dad rubbed off on me," Fiyero admitted. "Every year on my birthday, I don't make a wish when I blow out the candles. I just think of one thing in my life that I'm grateful for in the past year. And for the past few years, it's been you every year."
He kissed her lightly and Elphaba tightened her grip on him, a silent display of gratitude and affection.
"Is this your way of convincing me to festivate my birthday? For my mom?" she asked him finally.
Fiyero grinned. "By the time you turn thirty, I'll have you attending your own birthday party and enjoying it," he promised her.
Elphaba looked doubtful.
"And I promise Galinda will be kept far away from the planning process," Fiyero swore and she laughed.
"You've got six years," she replied. "It's a long time. We'll see what happens, shall we?"
Fiyero agreed and kissed her again. She was right, six years was a long time. In his mind, that just meant he had five amazing birthday festivations to plan for her in the meantime. He was well up to the challenge.
The End
Just Me- if you're reading this, I'd love to talk to you about one of your LTC reviews, but obviously I don't have a way to contact you! If possible, feel free to hit me up!
If anyone's interested- the 9th spot is held by Beauty and the Beast with 5, 461 shows.