DISCLAIMER: WICKED is the amazing creation of many talented people who aren't me. I'm just obsessed with it and in love with Fiyeraba.

Far longer than forever

By Vinkunwildflowerqueen

AN. I was supposed to go see WICKED for the third time in January, but it was cancelled because of the Queensland floods. Well, I am beyond thrillified that they've rescheduled the performances and I will be seeing it on the 8th of March!

Today (Valentine's Day 2011) I start my Graduate Diploma of Education at uni, which is an 18 month course crammed into 10 months which will qualify me to teach.

Chapter 1

Fiyero sat restlessly in the library, tapping his pen against the edge of the table, absent-mindedly tapping out a rhythm against the wooden surface. He leaned back, noticing the detailed carvings and etchings on the ceiling of the library, and wondering why he'd never noticed them before. Probably most people never looked up at the roof, he reasoned. Who comes to a library to look at the roof? But then again, this whole thinking and reasoning thing was new to him… actually, so was being in a library.

Lost in his musings and the rhythm of his pen against the table, he was startled as a slim green hand abruptly slammed down on to his, pressing his pen to the table and ceasing the little drum solo. He lowered his eyes from the ceiling abruptly, completely distracted by the feel of her skin against his hand, and found the faintly irritated gaze of Elphaba.

"Fiyero, it's quite difficult to concentrate when you do that," she said quietly. "I know you're new to the concept of being in a library, but maybe I should point out that one of the most notable things about the experience is that it is a place of quiet."

Fiyero grinned at her sheepishly. "Sorry, Fae. Wasn't really thinking."

"Shocking," she muttered, but there was a faint smile around her lips as she returned to proofreading Fiyero's History essay for him.

As she bent back over his work, a few strands of long black hair falling over her face, Fiyero watched her, whilst trying not to watch her. He wished he could make sense of what his relationship with Elphaba was, and what his feelings towards her were. It was just so complicated and confusifying.

It was April at Shiz and a beautiful spring day was just beyond the library walls. A month ago, Fiyero would have been out in the sunshine, relishing not being in class or doing work… the library would have been the last place to find Fiyero Tiggular. But then… Fiyero had played out the scene between him and Elphaba and a Lion Cub a million times in his head, and each time he was just stumped at what exactly had transpired in the forest clearing just off campus.

They had been talking… well, Elphaba had been ranting and he had been sniping, and suddenly she had made him stop in his tracks.

"No matter how self-absorbed and shallow you pretend to be…"

No one had ever done that before. Everyone at each school Fiyero had attended and promptly been henceforth expelled from, they had all bought it. The students, teachers, the maintenance staff who Fiyero had bribed and charmed into helping him sneak back into his dorm in the middle of the night- or sneak some nameless, faceless, meaningless girl out of it…. They all believed that Fiyero Tiggular, the playboy, partying, Vinkus prince with the "scandalicous" reputation was nothing more than a pampered, vain, bored little rich prince who would rather dance his way through life than have to assume his royal responsibilities.

Girls would swoon at his feet and flirt shamelessly, and Fiyero had been more than happy to flirt back in return… or more than flirt. Every girl wanted him, and every guy wanted to be him- if only to be wanted by every girl. And then he'd met Elphaba.

He'd tried to defend his reputation to her- it scared him how easily and quickly she'd seen the truth, but she'd seen through that façade too.

"No, you're not. Or you wouldn't be so unhappy."

Fiyero had waved her away and tried to make an excuse to leave… and then she'd grabbed his hand, and that was all Fiyero could remember. After that it was all a dizzying blur, her closeness in the clearing, the tenderness in her eyes as she tried to comfort the poor Cub… the nearness of her mouth as Fiyero had almost leaned in to kiss her. But then he'd lost his nerve at the last moment.

He'd been suddenly aware that if he'd kissed her, it would mean something that it had never meant before, and that everything would change… changes that couldn't be reversed. It was only after he'd fled that he'd reflected that perhaps the fact he was also dating Elphaba's friend and roommate should have been a factor too. That had been a month ago, and even though Fiyero didn't understand what exactly was going on, he wasn't fighting it either.

Needless to say, he and Galinda hadn't lasted much longer after that. She'd suffered through about a week and a half of Fiyero being moodified, trying to remind himself not to think about a certain green girl and how he'd almost kissed her, or how when you got accustomed to the emerald tint of her skin, she was quite simply the most beautiful girl on campus- not in the obvious, physical way he'd always been drawn to, but in a deeper way that resonated through her entire being. And then one day, Galinda had turned to him and said that she didn't think they were going to work out in the long-term, but she was happy to be friends.

Fiyero, who when not thinking about Elphaba was feeling guilty for thinking about her, or wanting to think about her when he was with Galinda, had been almost relieved. He'd been worried for a moment that the bubbly blonde suspected about his feelings for Elphaba, but she'd never alluded to anything.

After the break-up, Fiyero had been aimless for a few days. Now that he was single, what did he do about Elphaba? After all, despite all his thoughts about her, he really didn't know her that well, and she was so hard to get to know. And then one day, he'd found his opening. He'd been informed by Madame Morrible that he was behind in three of his classes, in danger of failing two more, and if he expected to stay at Shiz, he'd have to pull his act together.

And for the first time after hearing the all-too familiar speech, albeit usually with the name of the school interchanged with whatever institution he was currently enrolled in, Fiyero decided to actually follow her advice.

"Elphaba!" he'd called out, seeing her headed towards the library.

She'd turned, seen him and hesitated. Not only was it slightly awkward between them since the Lion Cub incident, she wasn't quite sure if she was allowed to talk to her friend's ex-boyfriend, although it had been Galinda who initiated the break up and remained quite friendly with the prince.

"Hi," she said as he came with speaking distance.

"Hi," he'd replied awkwardly. "Elphaba, I need your help."

Elphaba was never one to refuse someone help they desperately needed and sincerely wanted, so she'd agreed to help Fiyero with his studies. Fiyero had convinced himself that he was only doing this, wanting to stay at Shiz, because his parents would kill him if he got expelled again.

But the first assignment that he'd completed after meeting with Elphaba was handed back to him with a smile from the teacher and a friendly B in the top corner. Fiyero didn't even remember the last time he'd received a B, and was so elated he ran up to Elphaba's dorm to tell her.

"I got a B!" he grinned excitedly, handing her the paper to see for herself.

Elphaba couldn't help but smile as she took the paper from him. "Congratulations. Do you mind if I-?"

"Not at all," he gestured and Elphaba ushered him into the room as she began reading the essay.

"Well?" he'd asked her apprehensively as she finished.

Elphaba handed it back to him with a small nod. "It's deserving of a B."

Fiyero frowned. "Why does your tone suggest there's a 'but' coming?"

She chuckled faintly. "Well…"

Fiyero waited expectantly, but then she hesitated and shook her head.

"Never mind."

Fiyero raised an eyebrow. "Never mind? Come on, Elphaba. I'm a big boy, I can handle whatever criticism you're going to dish out."

"Oh really? Because I'd hate to be the one to deflate your big head," she teased him, and Fiyero laughed.

"I wasn't going to criticise you anyway, Your Highness," she corrected him. "I was just going to say something that I have no business saying. I'm not qualified."

Fiyero snorted and rolled his eyes. "Elphaba, you're top of the class, I think that qualifies you to give feedback on your classmates work."

She'd hesitated, but finally shrugged. "Ok. This paper is deserving of a B. But I think you're capable of getting an A."

Fiyero stared at her for a long moment, not sure if she was joking or not. No one had ever said that to him before.

"Ok, maybe you're not qualified," he joked, trying to pass it off but she shook her head persistently.

"I mean it, Fiyero. And by the looks of these comments in the margins, Dr. Mudic agrees. All the stuff he's said are just little things on structure and argumentation. If you're willing to put in the work, you could be getting A's. You're not as brainless as you pretend to be, and we both know that."

Fiyero met her gaze, once again her words from the clearing echoing through his head. Then he remembered what had happened just after that. She seemed to be thinking of that too, because she suddenly tore her gaze away from his to stare at her hands in her lap.

"You really think I could be getting A's?" Fiyero asked her, breaking the silence.

She looked back at him and nodded. "I really do. If you put the work in."

Fiyero saw the belief and sincerity in her large brown eyes and was blown away. He didn't think his own parents believed he was capable of getting A's, and he was suddenly struck by a strong desire to prove himself to Elphaba.

"Would you help me?" he asked and after a long pause, she'd agreed.

And now here Fiyero found himself, a month later, in a library. He'd worked extremely hard at improving his work, and although there were times when he swore he really was brainless because he could hear the tumbleweeds rolling through the space between his ears and he wanted to give up and go back to the way he'd been before Elphaba and before the Lion Cub; it was all worth it when he was able to show Elphaba an A at the top of his work and see the pride in her eyes.

His grade's really were improving, he was in no danger of failing anyway, and his parents were impressed. His father's last letter had been completely void of the reminder that if Fiyero had just paid attention and worked hard, he could have already been finished school, instead of doing his freshman year for what he couldn't remember if it was the fourth or fifth time. His father was pleased that finally, at twenty-two years old, Fiyero finally seemed to be maturing. Little did he know it was all to do with a certain green girl.

Lost in his thoughts, Fiyero had returned to tapping out his drum solo on the table top, but stopped when Elphaba looked up at him and raised an eyebrow silently. Without being asked, he handed her his pencil silently and offered her a sheepish grin.

"You used Scuito's argument on the abolishment of the Animal Labour and Property Act for your supporting evidence," she said to him in surprise now, handing his proofread essay back across the table to him, and tucking his confiscated pencil into the loose bun her long dark hair was encased in.

Fiyero frowned bewilderedly, confused by her surprise. "Yes… why, did I use it wrong?"

She shook her head. "No… no, it was good. How did you know about that?"

"You mentioned it last week, when you were arguing about the duties of Animals and animals with Boq," Fiyero replied. Now he was surprised, didn't she remember mentioning it?

"Yes, but I didn't think you were listening," Elphaba was still stunned. She and Boq, often had debates about the historical or political issues they were learning about in class when they were hanging out.

Somewhere along the line, they had formed a little group with Galinda, Fiyero and Nessa, who Boq was dating.

Fiyero looked at her in amusement. "Now Fae, why would you think I wasn't listening?"

She smirked. "Probably because you spent the entire time trying to build a tower from a deck of cards."

Fiyero looked slightly sheepish. "Ok, yes… but that doesn't mean I wasn't listening."

Elphaba was sceptical. "No one ever listens."

"I listen to everything you say," he answered her quietly and she blushed under his intense gaze.

Then she stood up abruptly. "Come on, didn't you promise Galinda we'd meet them under the oak tree at three?"

Fiyero stood up too, disappointed she'd ended the moment. "Yeah, I did," he agreed. "Can I have my pencil back now?"

She smiled slightly. "Nope."