Elphaba didn't usually let the remarks or actions of the students at Shiz affect her.
Or at least, if they did, she made sure not to let them know that.
But there was something about this time—maybe it was the way they'd all cornered her, throwing insults left and right, maybe it was the way they hadn't let her escape, maybe it was the pain in her shoulder from where Avaric had shoved her. Maybe it was just the sting of the constant humiliation, or maybe it was just a combination of it all. Maybe the green woman's tolerance for their ridicule was chipping away.
Whatever it was, she hadn't been able to bring herself to pull up even one witty retort, and had rushed away like a coward, clutching her books, their jeers at her as she fled still ringing in her ears.
She hated that they held so much power over her, that their worthless opinions could have this much impact on her.
Elphaba was lucky enough to have not been followed, her long legs taking her as far away from the courtyard as they could carry her—straight towards the only place she was sure she'd be hidden safely away from the monsters that made up the student body in this wretched place—the library.
Where she could find a corner, away from the mocking crowd, where no one could see her cry.
vvvvvvvv
Fiyero hadn't been paying much attention to Avaric that afternoon. His mind was elsewhere, where exactly, he wasn't sure, but he certainly wasn't in the mood to listen to the older brag about his conquests.
"...and the look on that artichoke's face when she fell, I swear, she looked ready to cry right there." Avaric was saying when Fiyero checked back into the one-sided conversation.
Artichoke.
Elphaba
Fiyero hadn't been listening, but he certainly was now.
"What?"
"The artichoke, the green girl, Elphaba—"
"I know who you meant, Avaric. What did you do?"
"Please, it wasn't that big of a deal," Avaric scoffed, shaking his head. "She's so used to being laughed at, it probably doesn't even phase her anymore. Didn't seem so used to getting shoved, though—"
"You did what?"
A broiling anger began to bubble up in Fiyero's gut, and he had to fight to repress the urge to punch the entitled bastard right there.
What mattered was finding Elphaba.
He could deal with Avaric later.
Tuning out Avaric's calls, Fiyero broke into a run, straight towards the towering building that marked one of Shiz's most famous landmarks, the place he knew Elphaba to most likely be hiding out in.
He had to make sure she was okay, he had to—
He had to.
It wasn't until the prince burst through the double doors, heart pounding, out of breath, taking in the monstrous interior of the library and the stares from its patrons, did he realize he had no idea, no plan on how he was going to find Elphaba.
Too worked up to think logically, Fiyero ran a nervous hand through his hair and glanced around the enormous space, full of students, either milling around or determinedly studying. All he could think about was Elphaba, caught off guard, cornered by her classmates, Avaric hurting her—the thought of that made Fiyero sick to his stomach.
What she had done to deserve this awful treatment, this torment, Fiyero didn't know, but he sure as hell wasn't going to sit back and let her go through it alone.
Her searched the aisles, up and down, checking every little nook and cranny he could think to check, every floor, every chair, every corner.
And then, he saw her.
Hunched over herself in the far corner of an aisle, hair hiding her face, bony shoulders shaking so violently he was afraid she might fall over.
"Elphaba," he spoke up, a reassuring smile spreading across his face as he approached her.
Fiyero's voice startled her, her head shooting upright to see who was calling her name, and as soon as he saw her face, tear-streaked and crumpled with grief, his heart shattered like glass thrown against a concrete wall.
"Fiyero," she whimpered, ducking her head and hiding her face behind emerald fingers, "what are you…?"
He was so struck he couldn't even bring himself to respond.
At least, not coherently.
"I...Avaric, he...he said that...and I was worried, about you, and I...Elphaba, Oz, Elphaba…."
Fiyero trailed off, swallowing his words, unable to take his eyes of the lanky girl, curled into herself on the floor, sobbing into her hands.
There was something about seeing her cry.
Sure, he'd seen Elphaba upset, he'd seen her angry, he'd even seen her sad, but never, in all the time they spent together, had he ever seen her in tears.
He had no idea what he could do.
So he panicked.
"Elphaba, Elphaba," he rambled, kneeling down beside her, wringing his hands, not sure if he should touch her or not. "Hey, hey, it's okay, listen, I...it's me, it's Fiyero, I...please don't cry, please, I don't…."
He let himself trail off again when he realized what little effect his words were having on her.
"I didn't want...you to see me like this…!" the green girl hiccupped, shrinking back against the shelf as far as she could go.
"Hey," he murmured, reaching for her, almost on instinct, taking care to be as gentle as possible, grasping her hands in his and moving them away from her face, cradling them against his chest. "Hey, Elphaba, hey, it's okay, look, it's just me, you don't have to worry, you don't have to be embarrassed, it's okay, you're okay, I promise."
His words seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Elphaba just sobbed in response, turning her head, refusing to look him in the eye.
"Come on, please," he begged, his grip on her fingers tightening. "Elphaba, look at me, please, it's okay, just trust me, you don't have to cry, please don't cry, please, Elphaba," he stammered, stumbling over his words, each sob she choked out stabbing at his heart, again and again.
Fiyero wanted to pull her into his arms, hold her and never let go, whisper into her hair that he loved her, over and over, that he would never let anything like this happen to her ever again.
His own conviction to this desire surprised even himself.
"Elphaba, Oz, Elphaba," he groaned, positioning himself to sit beside her, desperately wanting to bring her hands he held to his lips, to kiss her until her tears subsided.
He released his grip on Elphaba's hands, watching them fall into her lap, not realizing she was pushing herself to her feet until she had begun to rush away.
"Elphaba, wait, please, please let me help," Fiyero pleaded, his tone rich with desperation as he jumped up from the floor and reached out a hand to grasp her shoulder.
Elphaba let out a cry of pain, wrenching away from his touch, her back hitting one of the shelves, knocking books to the floor on the other side.
Fiyero yanked his arm back, stopping fully in his tracks, eyes wild with guilt.
"Avaric," she rasped, her face twisted in agony.
"Oh, Oz, that's right, Avaric... Elphaba, I'm...I'm so sorry, I didn't...I didn't know, I didn't realize," Fiyero stammered, sounding close to tears himself, grimacing with shame.
The prince felt that cutting pain rush through his chest once more, pangs of guilt, he realized, when he looked at the fragile, tearful girl, backed against a bookshelf, arms wrapped around her thin frame.
Elphaba looked so small, so sad, the trembling of her bottom lip only increasing the ache in Fiyero's heart.
"Hey," he whispered, softly, taking slow but deliberate steps towards the green girl. "Elphaba, please, breathe, please don't cry, please, I don't…."
By the time he got to the end of his jumbled mess of comfort, he was close enough to touch her, to run his hands along her arms, to snake them around her, to pull her against his chest, to cradle her, to breathe into her hair, to rub tender circles into her back, to let her wail and sob into his shoulder.
"Oz, Elphaba, if you keep this up," his voice cracked, "you're going to...I'm going to cry, too."
"Fiyero," she choked, "I'm sorry, Fiyero, I can't…!"
"Elphaba, don't apologize," he mumbled, into her hair. "None of this is your fault, none of it, and I...I'll cry if I have to, this isn't about me, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, Elphaba."
Every sob from Elphaba sent a jolt of misery racing through Fiyero, until he just couldn't take it anymore.
The dam broke.
He stood, clutching the green woman in his arms, crying harder than he'd ever cried before, his sobs almost rivaling hers in volume.
"You're okay, you're safe, Elphaba, I've got you, I promise, I've got you."
Her whimpers muffled by his shirt, his own muffled by her jacket, all the two could do was cling to the other and cry.
"Oz, Elphaba, my love—"
Wait.
What
Elphaba's spine went rigid when she heard those words slip out of Fiyero's mouth, her tears stopping in their tracks.
"...What?"
"I... Elphaba, I...I meant...I didn't, I mean, Elphaba, I…." Fiyero gasped out, his words tumbling out in a confusing mess, his own sobs dying down to just a hiccup here and there.
He'd gone and done it now.
Now she would never speak to him again, he was sure.
"Oz, Fiyero, I never thought you'd sink this low."
"...Excuse me?"
Elphaba wrenched herself away from him, her bitter laugh ringing through the musty air. "Was this supposed to be funny? Some sort of cruel joke, to get me close to you before you cast me aside?"
"What? Elphaba, what are you talking about—"
"Don't lie to me," she spit, grinding her teeth together. "And to think, to think I was stupid enough to trust you. I should've known it was too good to be true."
"Elphaba, please, listen to me," Fiyero begged, hands shaking. "I could never, I would never—look at me, look me in the eyes, Elphaba, and tell me if you think I'm lying—I could never do that, I would never put you through that, Oz, Elphaba, I swear to you, I'm not that cruel."
He watched as her conviction wavered for a moment, hesitation flashing in those earthy brown eyes.
"I care about you, I love you, Elphaba," he continued, "I have for a while now, and I'm so sorry I kept it from you, I...I didn't...I didn't think...I didn't know what to do," he rambled, his words jumbling yet again as he searched his mind for something, anything to say, anything that would convince her. "This isn't some sick prank, I promise you, I would never hurt you like that, ever."
She eyed him, warily, but he could see in her gaze that her doubts were melting away by the second.
"Then, you…."
"...really am in love with you, yes."
Now that her anger, her hurt, had dissipated, it made way to shyness, embarrassment, her face flushing a dark green.
"Is that why you...when I cried, why did you—"
"—lose the ability to form coherent sentences?" he finished for her with a laugh.
"...Yes."
"I don't...I've never been able to...I can't take seeing someone I care about—someone I love—cry," Fiyero confessed, "especially since I'd...never seen you cry before."
"Fiyero…."
"But it's alright," he insisted, reaching for her, grasping her hands, "because...because I love you, and I will go through hell and back for you, Elphaba."
"Never in this lifetime did I ever think I'd be hearing you say those words, Fiyero."
"Well, you'd better get used to them," he chuckled, pulling the green woman closer to him, "because you're going to be hearing them a whole lot more."