AN: Because, you know, I'm horrible at actually going on hiatus - I miss you guys too much. So here's a one-shot. Hooray. And expect the first chapter of Dances with princes soon :).

This one is, as the description says, a sequel to Always there - because I realised that even though I had Elphie and Yero almost... eat pie... twice, I never actually had them have it. Do it. Eat it. Whatever. So no smut, because I don't do that - just fluff. Enjoy and please leave a review!

"Yero?"

He turned around from where he had been staring out of the window. Elphaba was sitting at the vanity, her long, thick hair pulled over her shoulder and a hairbrush in her hand, but she wasn't brushing. Instead, she was watching him via the mirror, a concerned look in her dark brown eyes.

He tried for a reassuring smile, but one corner of his mouth refused to be lifted, making it look more like a grimace. He imagined he looked rather pitiful.

She put down the hairbrush and turned around fully, so that she could look straight at him.

"I can see right through you," she pointed out quietly. "You know that. So you might as well stop pretending."

Realising that was true, his shoulders slumped and he heaved a deep sigh. He sank down onto the edge of the bed, closing his eyes for a moment.

"It's not like I'm unhappy," he tried to explain. "I'm okay with all this, I really am. I'm ready for it and I know it's going to work out in the end. I have Mum and even Cyara to help me… and of course I have you by my side – the Vinkuns are probably thanking Oz for that fact…"

She smiled, but it wasn't completely genuine. She knew there was more to it than just this. "But?" she prodded gently.

"But…" He sighed. "It's not supposed to be like this."

He fell silent, trying to find the words to explain what he meant. Unable to come up with anything, he started shaking his head and said again, quietly, "It's just not supposed to be like this."

She moved over to him, kneeling down in front of him and taking his hands in hers. He looked up to gaze into her eyes and she said softly, "He would have been very proud of you today."

Fiyero's eyes immediately filled with tears and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him as he cried. Even now, he was amazed at her ability to sense what he was thinking and feeling… though he supposed that maybe in this case it hadn't been so hard.

It just all seemed so surreal. Here he was, on his coronation day… and he felt anything but the way he had imagined to feel on this day. When he was still a little boy, he had been looking forward to this very day, picturing all the ceremonies and the power he would have afterwards. The general of the army would give a speech and his mother and Cyara would be beaming at him with pride. Later on, he had added Elphaba to that picture, standing by his side; and though she wouldn't pull a muscle and put on her mask for the crowd, he would take one glance into her eyes and he would see how proud she was and how much she loved him. And of course Galinda would be there, too, sobbing as she always did at practically every occasion that meant something – funerals, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries…

And it had been mostly like he had imagined. The general had indeed given a speech. The people had applauded and cheered for their new king. Elphaba had been positively glowing with pride. Cyara had winked at him, his mother had smiled at him, Galinda had started crying and used Gazilon as her personal living handkerchief – who in turn exchanged an amused grin with the newly-crowned Vinkun King.

But one thing, one vital thing, had been missing.

"Mum's speech was beautiful," he whispered, his face still buried in Elphaba's shoulder. "But it shouldn't have been her giving that speech. It shouldn't have been her placing that crown on my head, Fae. It should have been him."

"I know," she whispered soothingly. "I know, Yero."

He heaved a shaky sigh, pulling away from her slightly and wiping his tears away with his sleeve. "Sometimes… sometimes I just still feel like he can walk in here any clock-tick," he said hoarsely. "Like it's not real, he's not really gone, just… just temporarily. And it's times like this when… when I suddenly realise that…" He took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. "That he… he's not coming back. Ever."

She was still crouched down before him, her raven hair falling in loose waves over her shoulders and her dark eyes opaque as she looked up at him. She was already set for bed, he noticed, dressed in an ivory nightgown, her feet bare. He himself was still dressed up in his costume, a thick cloak with white fur at the edges resting around his shoulders, gold adorning his jacket, and a golden crown sitting on top of his head.

Suddenly disgusted with all the extravagance, he abruptly rose to his feet and yanked the crown off his head, planting it down on a table in the corner. He shrugged off the cloak and kicked off his shoes, pulling at his clothes until he was only wearing his trousers and a simple shirt. He exhaled slowly, letting out a long breath he hadn't even realised he was holding.

Then he choked out a short laugh that held no mirth at all. "And now I'm the king," he said. He scoffed. "King Fiyero Hamold Tiggular of the Vinkus." His voice caught slightly at the second name.

He turned to face Elphaba, who had straightened up now but not moved otherwise. She was still watching him silently and he shook his head at her.

"They call me 'Your Majesty' now," he said. "But that's not me. I'm not the king, Elphaba. I'm not. He is."

He sank down onto his bed and pushed his fingers through his hair.

"It's been years," he muttered, more to himself than to her. "You'd think I'd be over it by now."

"He is your father," Elphaba spoke up, her voice gentle but firm. "You'll never truly be 'over it'. Especially not after the way it happened."

He looked at her. "It wasn't your fault."

"I didn't say it was," she pointed out, moving around the bed to sit down next to him. She took his hand in hers. "That's not what I meant," she said. "What I meant is that he is important to you, you love him, and he has been taken away from you very abruptly and violently. You don't 'get over' that so easily, Yero. You shouldn't want to."

He kept quiet for a long time, mulling things over in his head. She stayed where she was, holding his hand and watching his face.

Suddenly he turned his head to look at her, his sapphire blue eyes pleading and more intense than she'd ever seen them.

"You won't leave me," he whispered. "Will you?"

She shook her head. "Of course not," she said softly, sliding her hand up his arm and around his neck. "I'm not going anywhere."

He wrapped his arms around her again in a tight hug and she allowed him to hold her.

Things had changed. The threat from the Glikkuns was gone. Frex had been locked up. Nessa, by now, was the Governor of Munchkinland; and Gazilon had gone home to Gillikin with Galinda, where she'd introduced him to her parents as 'my soon-to-be husband who doesn't actually know we're going to be married yet'.

And now, three months after they had all graduated university, Fiyero had been officially crowned King of the Vinkus.

And Elphaba was, and would always be, right there by his side. They had been apart for long enough. They had been through so much together, neither could bear the thought of losing the other again.

She knew he was planning to propose – he had told Cyara, who then in her enthusiasm had told Galinda, who was absolutely terrible at keeping secrets – and she, in turn, was planning to accept once he would. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

And sometimes it was hard. Times like the day when it had been a year since the attack on Adurin Iir… since Hamold died. Or a year since the attack on Shiz, which had cost them Boq. Nessarose, Galinda, and Gazilon always travelled to the Vinkus during that time, so that at least they were all together. Nessa would lock herself in her room and cry a lot. Galinda would go very quiet and stick by Gazilon's side all the time. And though it got slightly easier as the years passed, the pain and grief never truly went away. Neither did the memories.

"I love you," she whispered now.

He pulled away and looked into her eyes, tenderly tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He kissed her forehead. "I love you, too."

She kissed his lips, and he pulled her back onto the bed with him, quickly deepening the kiss. She smiled against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He slid his hands down her arms, relishing in the feel of her smooth skin against his, and he moved one hand up to tangle his fingers in her hair. He cradled her against him and she curled up on his chest, listening to his heartbeat like she used to do when he had been unconscious and they hadn't known if he would ever wake up again. Back then, the sound convinced her of the fact that he was still alive; and though nothing was threatening his life now, it was still her favourite sound in the world. She never slept well if she couldn't hear his heartbeat.

He ran his fingers through her hair, lost in thought. She looked up at him for a moment.

"You're going to be a great king, Yero," she whispered. "It's hard now, I know, but we'll get through this, too… and I'm so proud of you."

He pulled her up and kissed her softly, then rested his forehead against hers so that he could look into her eyes. "What would I ever do without you?" he asked her.

She smiled and kissed him again. "The real question, my dear Yero, is what I would do without you," she corrected him.

He smirked and rolled them over so that he was hovering over her. "What would we do without one another?"

She rolled her eyes and he pinned both her wrists over her head with one hand. He looked down at her – her sparkling eyes, the way her hair fell down to frame her face, the way she caught her lower lip between her teeth as she looked up at him. She was so beautiful and soon she would be his fiancée… and then his wife.

If she said yes. But he was sure she would.

"You really won't leave me?" he asked her again.

She shook her head, her hair fanning out over the pillow as she did so.

"Never," she said. "I'll always be there."

He leant down to kiss her neck, murmuring, "Me, too."

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back as his lips travelled to her jaw and then to her own lips. He deepened the kiss and her fingers crept down to the edge of his shirt, slipping underneath so that she could feel his warm skin against her fingertips.

"Hey, Yero?" she whispered.

He nuzzled her cheek. "Hmm?"

When he looked at her, he saw that her eyes were twinkling mischievously.

"I locked the door," she said, "so no-one will interrupt us this time."

Realisation dawned in his eyes and he grinned at her. "And neither of us is hurt right now…"

She smiled innocently. "And don't they always say 'third time's the charm'?"

He laughed and kissed her again deeply. He could feel her tugging at his shirt and he allowed her to pull it over her head, his own hand sliding down her side to gently stroke the skin of her upper leg.

"Are you sure?" he asked her softly.

"I never do anything I don't want to do," she mumbled, kissing his chest, then resting her cheek against it to listen to the rapid thumping of his heart again. The speed of it made her smile. "You should know that by now."

He chuckled throatily and lovingly stroked her skin. "Fae?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

She blinked at him and sat up a little. "For what?"

"Being there," he said.

She rolled her eyes, though she was grinning. "You big oaf." She kissed his lips softly. "You're the corniest guy I've ever met."

He grinned at her cheekily. "Do I get bonus points for being corny?"

"You don't need bonus points," she said and he kissed her deeply, easing her down to lie on her back again. He looked into her eyes.

"Come on," she challenged him, smiling as she stretched her arms above her head and wrapped her leg around his waist. "Leave me breathless."

He grinned down at her and did just that.

She lay in his arms afterwards, her head on his bare chest again as he stroked her hip and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply. "Fae?"

"Yeah?" she whispered.

He pressed his cheek to the top of her head. "You're amazing."

She smirked a little. "You're not so bad yourself," she said teasingly.

He chuckled. "That's not what I meant… though that was amazing, too," he added, making her blush furiously. Thankfully he couldn't see that in the dark.

"I just meant you," he said softly. "You always know exactly what to do or say to cheer me up."

He could feel the corners of her mouth turning up again and he poked her side playfully. "That's not what I meant."

She giggled – a sound he rarely ever heard from her, but it made him smile.

"I know what you meant, Yero," she said, turning her head a little to plant a kiss on his chest. "You're amazing, too. I love you."

"I love you," he whispered, nuzzling her hair and closing his eyes. He kept on gently stroking her back, slowly lulling her to sleep; both of them drifting off until there was nothing left but bliss and dreams.