DISCLAIMER. Too tired to write a whole proper disclaimer. Just know the characters aren't mine.
AN. The other day, I received a message from BooksaremyBestbuddies, who was in dire need of some Fiyeraba fluff and requested a one-shot. Whilst that was the motivation for my diversion from working on Long Time Coming, there's been some events in the past week that earn an Author's Note mention/dedication:
To my little sister and her fiancé on their engagement on Friday night!
To Kelly, for her birthday today and our 4 year friendaversary last week
To Julia, for her birthday next week
To Wicked, for the 4 year anniversary of my 4th time seeing the show and my 1st ever trip to Stage Door.
Hope you all enjoy a little Fiyeraba fluff.
The List
By Vinkunwildflowerqueen
People might be surprised to know that Elphaba believed in love.
Or at least, those people who didn't know her very well. But even those that did- few as they were- might be surprised to know just how deeply she believed in love.
And she did. Elphaba believed love was an absolute, a fundamental. It was an ordinary miracle; one of life's great mysteries; a deeply complex and multi-layered emotion that was never quite the same from one moment to the next. Love was life, love was freedom, love was exposing your very soul to others, the world and yourself.
Elphaba believed all this. She just didn't believe that any of it could possibly apply to her.
There had been a single, life-changing, soul shocking moment in a clearing with a Lion cub where Elphaba had realised that perhaps she wasn't completely immune to the effect of her pheromones. Followed by several months of point blank denial, gut churning guilt, more than slight hesitation and extreme disbelief when it seemed to appear as though she may not be the only one experiencing the rush of pheromones.
Yet here Elphaba found herself, seven months later, the self-admitted girlfriend of the somewhat formerly scandalacious Fiyero Tiggular.
Elphaba wasn't sure how she felt about the role of "girlfriend". She liked Fiyero very much, and cared for him more deeply than she wanted to admit- or could admit. She liked the way he made her feel, and the way he seemed to see her differently than anyone else ever had before.
They had been dating for two months now, and whilst many people had marvelled over the change in Fiyero- not just in the past two months, but in the four months preceding that (after the prince's breakup with Galinda Upland); Elphaba was sceptical she'd had anything to do with the matter.
Galinda, Nessa, her father, Fiyero… everyone always wanted answers and information that Elphaba didn't have about their relationship.
Were they exclusive? (Nessa's question) Yes. Not that Elphaba had a whole bunch of options in the dating field other than Fiyero.
Were they sleeping together? (Her father. And Nessa. And Galinda, who really shouldn't have need to ask considering she was Elphaba's roommate) No. The very idea admittedly filled Elphaba with panic, and she had made it as clear as she possibly could that option was not up for discussion until she declared otherwise. If she ever declared otherwise.
Were they serious? (Her father) Was thing a long term thing? (Nessa) Would they get married one day? (Galinda) Elphaba honestly didn't know.
The only question Elphaba felt as though she had ever been able to answer that was deeper than "what do you want to do for dinner tonight?" (Fiyero) was Boq's hesitant query of "Do you think you could set up a double date for Galinda and I with you guys?" (No. Let go of the dream, Boq).
After two months, it could be a safe assumption that she and Fiyero were serious. They weren't dating anyone else, and if telling her father about their relationship wasn't a sign that she was committed to this, nothing was.
But when the hard questions about their future were hinted at, and Elphaba dared to let herself believe they had a future that stretched beyond Fiyero stealing her notes in History and taking her out to dinner off campus… she was hesitant.
Elphaba may have believed in love, but she didn't believe in fate or signs. But she was hoping for one.
A sign that she wasn't setting herself up to be hurt, that it was ok to stop holding back and maybe let herself fall. A sign that they had a future, or just that the possibility of a future wasn't ruled out.
If Elphaba was completely honest with herself, she was looking for a sign of Fiyero's commitment.
Thanks to Galinda, it hadn't escaped her notice that Fiyero had never had a relationship that had lasted longer than two months. He and Galinda had lasted a month and a half, but Fiyero's main average was about three weeks.
They had made it past the three week mark, but they were eight days away from the two month milestone, and Elphaba was expecting the ground to fall out beneath her feet at any moment now.
It was a Saturday afternoon in early May, and their group was in Fiyero's suite having a study session for finals. After three hours, Fiyero declared they were taking a break for lunch.
"What's for lunch?" Boq asked, not arguing with Fiyero and laying down his pen.
"I hadn't gotten that far," Fiyero admitted. "Do I have to think of everything?"
"You were the one who said 'let's study in my suite this weekend. I'm sick of being stuck in the library all the time.' It feels like the least you could have done was thought about snacks," Elphaba pointed out unhelpfully.
Fiyero narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you remember everything?" he demanded.
"Yes. It's part of the reason why I'm top of the year," she countered. "Seriously, do you have food here? I'm starving."
"And something that isn't full of carbs or sugar would be great," Galinda chimed in. "Some of us have a new dress we're trying to fit into before the OzDust next Friday night."
"Some of us like carbs and sugar," Elphaba addressed her roommate. "And maybe some of us shouldn't buy a dress that was a size too small."
"It was the only one they had left and it was on sale!" Galinda said indignantly.
"I don't know if any sale is worth restricting your ability to breathe," Nessa said doubtfully.
"You two just don't understand the sacrifices of fashion," Galinda complained.
Fiyero had gotten up from his seat sometime during this conversation and was inspecting the contents of the small kitchen that his suite boasted. Galinda was forever envious that Fiyero's private suite had a kitchen and hers didn't.
"I have… a few slices of bread, mustard and… I think this was once… a tomato? Cheese?"
"If you can't tell the difference between a tomato and cheese, we have bigger problems than being hungry," Elphaba said, resting her chin on her hand.
"What do you ever eat?" Boq asked in disbelief.
"I eat out," Fiyero shrugged.
"Then what is the point of having a kitchen?" Boq questioned.
Fiyero didn't really know how to answer that.
Eventually, Elphaba and Galinda went out to The Wilted Rose and brought back lunch for them all, as well as snacks to get them through the afternoon's study session- at Fiyero's insistence.
"What does everyone want to work on after lunch?" Boq asked them.
Neither Fiyero or Galinda looked especially excited about another study session, but the other three had really given them no choice. Although Elphaba had agreed if they studied for another four hours that afternoon, they could do none the next day.
"I'm going to work on Law," Elphaba answered. "If anyone's interested?" she was speaking to Fiyero and Nessa, both of whom were doing the subject with her.
"That sounds good," Nessa agreed.
Galinda pouted. "Law, Elphie? I was hoping we could revise some of the Sorcery stuff."
"No," Fiyero refused her. "Not after last time."
"Only theory stuff!" Galinda protested. "No actual spells, I promise!"
Fiyero shook his head. "I'm not willing to risk it. I'd like there to be at least a good mile between us before you start doing any magic, please."
Galinda frowned, and stabbed a piece of lettuce in her salad with a fork. "Geez, you mix up 'Ardor' and 'Arbor' the one time-"
"You grew a tree in the middle of the living room!" Fiyero yelped.
"By accident!" Galinda stressed.
"So you claim," Fiyero muttered. The said incident had occurred two weeks after he had broken up with the blonde, and Fiyero wasn't completely sure it hadn't been some kind of broken-heart revenge thing.
Boq intervened tactfully before Galinda could once again explain that all she had been trying to do was create a ball of heat. "So, Elphaba and Nessa are doing Law. Galinda?"
The blonde sighed. "Sorcery- theory only, I guess."
"Ok. Fiyero? What are you going to work on?"
"I dunno. What are you going to work on?"
"Actually, I was hoping you wouldn't mind revising some Economics with me?"
Elphaba, Galinda and Nessa all looked around to stare at the Munchkin in various degrees of surprise.
"You want Fiyero's help studying Economics?" Nessa asked.
Boq looked surprised to see their surprise. "Well, yeah. He really knows this stuff."
Elphaba turned to Fiyero with wide-eyes, who shifted sheepishly.
"He does?!" Galinda exclaimed.
"I thought you were only taking Economics because your father is making you? The whole thing about not wanting you to send the Vinkus spiralling into debt the second you take the throne?" Elphaba asked her boyfriend.
"He is," Fiyero shrugged.
"You never said you were good at it."
"Well, I'm bound to not suck at something, right?" Fiyero said lightly.
Elphaba winced slightly sighed. "I didn't mean it like that, Yero."
"I know, Fae," he smiled faintly. "It's just not a big deal."
"Well," Nessa said, her voice sounding extra bright. "Shall we clear away the lunch things and get back to work?"
Elphaba agreed.
"I'll go get my Economics stuff," Fiyero told Boq, who nodded.
Nessa and Elphaba set themselves up at one end of the dining room table, their Law books and notes spread out between them. Galinda took her sorcery notes and retreated to a deep armchair in the corner of the living room so she "wouldn't be distracted". Elphaba was pretty sure it was so she could secretly read the fashion magazines she'd snuck in without Elphaba nagging her.
Once Fiyero had found his Economic notes and textbook, he and Boq seated themselves at the other end of the table.
It was perhaps twenty minutes later when Boq's voice cut into Elphaba's spiel to Nessa about property laws in Munchkinland.
"Hey, what's this?"
When she glanced up, he was unfolding a piece of paper that appeared to have fallen out of Fiyero's notebook. On its own, not that interesting. But when Fiyero blanched and snatched it from Boq's hand, Elphaba's interest was piqued.
"What is it?" she asked herself.
"It's nothing," Fiyero said hastily, tucking it inside another notebook.
Galinda seemed to appear out of thin air from the other side of the room as she grabbed the notebook from the table and grabbed the piece of paper he had taken from Boq, dancing away as he lunged to snatch it back.
"List of Things to do as King," she read aloud.
Boq grimaced. "This isn't going to be like when you decided to outlaw Mondays, is it? Or the whole thing about fining people for putting up Lurlinemas decorations before November?"
"I don't know, I thought that one had merit," Elphaba defended him.
Galinda's face softened as she read the list, and her blue eyes flickered between the piece of paper, Elphaba and Fiyero for a moment.
Then she simply handed it back to Fiyero with a small smile, and retreated to her armchair.
Elphaba, Nessa and Boq exchanged bewildered glances.
"What-?"
"Shall we get back to work?" Fiyero cut Boq's question off.
They all worked in relative silence for the next few hours, until even Elphaba called it quits for the day. Galinda hurried Nessa and Boq out of the suite fairly quickly, leaving Elphaba and Fiyero alone with a few more maddening glances between them.
"What's going on with Galinda?" Elphaba finally burst out.
She'd managed to suppress her curiosity this long, but she couldn't stop wondering just what was on the piece of paper Fiyero had been trying to hide.
Fiyero had been stacking all his books to take back into his bedroom. At Elphaba's question, he hesitated, and then retrieved the list and slowly walked over to where she was standing.
"I started writing this in class two months ago," he said simply. "I mean, I guess I've been having thoughts about it for a lot longer, but it's been two months that I've been actually writing them down. I've just been adding to it ever since whenever I think of something."
With a frown, Elphaba took it and slowly unfolded it.
"List of Things to do as King," she read aloud.
As her eyes drifted down the page, she couldn't find her voice to read the rest aloud.
Pass Animal protection laws- Equity Act? (Ask Dad about sovereignty from EC)
Make university easier for all classes to access- scholarships? Cut fees?
Create tolerance program in schools- anti-bullying.
Improve access between Vinkus and Gilikin.
Improve postal service through the Pass (esp. between Vin and Munch).
New Library?
Overhaul curriculum K-12? (Not really sure if it needs fixing, tbh. Talk to Dad, Min of Ed and Fae about improvements)
Start literacy program for kids in school.
Check into maintenance of royal residences (Fae would like B.F)
Housing for less fortunate?
Mentoring program for teens/kids. Counselling centres? (This should probably be free. Possible?)
Check on privacy laws for royal family. Probably need fixing.
"It's really rough," Fiyero said quietly, not quite managing to sound nonchalant. "I mean, it's just some ideas, nothing really solid."
Elphaba slowly sank into the nearest chair at the table, feeling a little dizzy.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Well, like the title says, it's a list-"
"Yero," Elphaba interrupted. "I mean… what is this?"
Fiyero looked at her blankly. "I don't really know what you mean."
Elphaba faltered. Neither did she.
"Why are you writing this list?"
Fiyero let out a breath and sat opposite her.
"I started writing it the night of our first date," he began. "After I dropped you back at your room… it just happened that my Economics notebook was the first bit of paper I found," he admitted. "And then it just made sense to keep it there, because we didn't have that class together so I didn't think you'd see it until I was ready to show it to you."
"Why that night?" Elphaba asked.
Fiyero reached out over the table and took her hand. "Because that was when I knew for sure that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you."
And the ground fell out beneath Elphaba's feet. Just not in the way she'd been expecting.
"I don't understand," she said faintly. "This list has nothing to do with me."
Fiyero gave an odd chuckle. "Fae, it has everything to do with you," he said softly, his eyes earnest.
"Our future together is complicated, I know that," Fiyero continued. "I mean, I'm going to be King one day. I can't change that. Believe me, I've tried," he joked.
"I know the kind of life royalty is exposed to, and I know it's not easy. And it's different with us. It's the only life my father and I have known. Even my mother is used to it- her family is still nobility, even if they aren't royalty. But I know how private you are, and this life isn't exactly… I know the sacrifices you'd be making."
"I still don't understand what this list has to do with me," Elphaba said.
"I want you to like the Vinkus," Fiyero gave a small shrug. "I want you to be happy there, I want it to be your home."
He got up and moved to sit next to Elphaba, taking her hands back into his and grasping them firmly.
"This list is everything to do with you," he repeated. "Because I wanted to have it as proof. I wanted… Oz, I wanted this moment to be different," he admitted, grimacing a bit and looking around the room.
"Different how?" Elphaba asked warily.
"More romantic," he answered easily. "I wanted to have proof that I have ideas, that I know what kind of King I want to be when the time comes. That I'm worth you investing your future in," he said, staring at their joined hands.
"I need you to know that I take this- us, our future, being king- I take it all seriously. I do, any it's because of you, Fae. You made me really think about what I want my future to be, and I want it to be our future and I want it to be a future where you can be proud to stand beside me."
Elphaba couldn't see Fiyero very well any more, her vision was blurred by tears she was furiously trying to blink away.
"You- you want me to be queen?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Fiyero looked up at her, and his face softened.
"I want you to be my wife," he said softly, raising his hand to her cheek. Elphaba felt his thumb gently wipe something away off her cheek and realised she was crying, despite her best efforts not to.
"Being my Queen is just something that has to go along with that. I love you, Elphaba."
It was the first time he'd ever said those words to her, the first time anyone had ever said the words to her that she remembered.
Elphaba couldn't even speak.
"I know it's only been two months," Fiyero said hastily. "It's soon, it's very soon. And I understand if you're not… there yet. But if there's a chance that maybe you could… that you're open to the idea. I know it's a lot to ask- like I said, the royal thing and everything that goes along with that; and I know you'd worry about leaving Nessa. But I'm not talking about anything right now, I just mean one day. After Shiz. Like, down the road."
He was starting to ramble nervously and Elphaba couldn't help but roll her eyes slightly as she placed her hands on either side of his face.
"Yes."
Fiyero blinked. "Yes? To what?"
Elphaba had wanted a sign, and the list that lay on the table in front of her was a hard sign to ignore or fight against.
Elphaba closed her eyes briefly, took a breath, and let herself fall.
"I love you."
Fiyero seemed to sag in relief in an instant, and then kissed her fiercely.
"Oz, I'm glad. Because I'm pretty sure I've been in love with you since the clearing," he murmured when they drew apart.
Elphaba tensed as a jolt seemed to rush through her.
"In love?" she whispered faintly.
"Well, yeah. I said that," Fiyero chuckled breathily.
She shook her head. "No, you just said love."
There was a difference.
Fiyero kissed her again gently. "I'm in love with you," he told her sincerely. "And you're the only girl I've ever been in love with, Fae. You're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with."
"You're going to be a really great king when the time comes," Elphaba murmured.
"Well, I'll have a pretty amazing queen to help me," Fiyero grinned.
Elphaba flushed slightly, and her gaze drifted to the list again.
"Can you explain 4 and 5?"
Fiyero followed her gaze and then shrugged. "To make it easier for Galinda to visit. And for you and Nessa to write to each other."
Elphaba smiled. Most of the things made sense to her as to why Fiyero had picked them- the Animals, the education stuff. Even the anti-bullying program she was fairly stemmed from what she'd shared of her childhood with him.
"I love the list," she said honestly. "But you do realise you can't plan your entire reign around me, yes? Do you have anything on here that's not trying to impress me with?"
"Fae, the entire point of the list is to impress you," Fiyero laughed. "But yes. The housing idea is mine- nothing to do with you. And the mentoring program."
"Really?" Elphaba asked.
"Yeah. You know, there may be some flaws with my 'Dancing through life' philosophy," he admitted as though it caused him great pain to do so, and Elphaba rolled her eyes. "I figured some kids might be in need of some help but come up with better philosophies for their own lives."
Elphaba beamed at him. "This would almost be my favourite thing on that list if it wasn't for number one," she told him.
"I know how important the Animals are to you," Fiyero said. "And if it's important to you, it's important to me."
"If Boq hadn't found this, when exactly were you going to show me?" Elphaba asked, the thought just occurring to her.
"I was kinda thinking for our two- month anniversary next week," Fiyero replied.
"I didn't mean to spring the whole future talk on you."
"I think we needed the talk," Elphaba said softly.
"Had you thought about it before now?"
"Yes," Elphaba replied honestly. "But I didn't really let myself hope that it would actually happen."
"It's going to happen," Fiyero said firmly. "I wrote a list," he added as though that decided everything, and in a way it did, and Elphaba laughed.
"Of course, it was going to be written more neatly when I actually gave it to you," Fiyero said, making a disgruntled face. "I was going to have more details in case you had questions..."
"I have many questions," Elphaba nodded.
"Figures," Fiyero sighed. "I don't really have any answers," he warned her.
"Well, I may have answers too," Elphaba grinned.
He grinned back at her. "And that's why I love you."
And people might be surprised to know that Elphaba had no trouble believing his words.
The End
AN. Re: Galinda's spell mishap that's mentioned- "Ardor" is the Latin word for "heat/brightness"; "Arbor" is the Latin word for "tree".
I wanted a title that was a little more poetic, but this was all I could come up with.