*Fiyero and Elphaba talk about what they mean to each other, while Elphaba confronts her suspicions that Fiyero's feelings could not possibly be real.*

Disclaimer: All characters and plot settings from Wicked belong to Gregory Maguire and all of his genius. Lord knows what I would do with Fiyero if he did belong to me…

Fiyero: I heard that…

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Elphaba awoke and turned slightly, curled up in the tight grasp of Fiyero's arms. She glanced at the candle she had left lit when Fiyero first arrived, and she studied the shadows dancing on her wall as the small flame flickered. Elphaba smile softly as she felt Fiyero's warm breath caress the nape of her neck. She then realized he too had awoken when he slowly moved his hand along the curves of her slender, green waist.

"Yero," she giggled. "What are you doing?"

"I'm disturbing the sleep of the most beautiful woman in the world…" he smiled "… for my own selfish reasons."

Elphaba smiled as he softly kissed her neck while wrapping his arm around her waist, slowly moving his eager hand along her emerald green stomach and taking in the sweet smell of her jet black hair. She gleamed beautifully in the soft glow of the moonlight, like a precious stone untouched by man. To Fiyero's surprise, Elphaba quickly turned to face him, resting her delicate hand on his cheek.

"Yero…" she whispered. A small smile graced her lips as he slowly moved in to kiss her. "How could you possibly love me… someone like me?" Fiyero stopped all movement at this and looked her straight in the eyes with a fierce and stern look.

"Elphaba, why do you constantly think you're not good enough for me? I don't know how you keep finding ways to put these ideas in your head." He sat up with her and held her close enough for her to hear his heartbeat.

"I'm not good enough for you, Fiyero. I don't deserve someone like you at all. You give me too much."

"Elphaba!"

"Just don't say anything, please!" Elphaba brought her knees to her chest and hid her face from Fiyero's. "I just wish I could give you half of what you've given me…" she murmured. "… I wish I could be beautiful for you…"

Fiyero enveloped her hands in his and kissed the top of her head. Elphaba began to shake in a crying fit. Fiyero lifted her head only to see streams of tears burning down her cheeks.

"Fae, you listen to me. You are the most beautiful, bright, fiery, spectacular, and magical human being I have ever met in my life, inside and out. You could not possibly give me more than you have given me since the moment we met." She tensed and looked away from him, but Fiyero turned her face to his. "Elphaba! I love you so much more than you could ever know."

Fiyero pushed Elphaba's long hair away from her face, but she quickly glanced down to hide her tears from him.

"Elphaba, please don't cry… please Elphie." He whispered. He wiped away her tears and she slowly began to smile.

"Oh, sweet Oz, I'm a mess…" she giggled softly. She rested her head on his cheast, scaling his blue diamonds with her index finger. "I know in my heart that you do love me. So why does my mind question that truth?"

"Because you question everything, as stubborn as you are." He laughed.

She grinned, knowing he was right. This was the one time in her life where logic was the enemy.

"The heart beats louder than any fact or fable you have ever heard, Elphaba. Yet, people still don't hear it or they simply choose to ignore it," he said. "Please don't ignore it, Elphie. Any fool could hear my heart beating for you from miles away… well, hopefully not Sarima, but you know what I mean."

Elphaba laughed and fell into his arms. He kissed her all over her neck and slowly made his way up to her lips. They slowly sank back into another session of love-making and drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

Not so much as an hour later, Elphaba awoke again, eyeing the same flickering candle as before. She still felt some suspicion behind Fiyero's feelings for her, but she would not let the vicious cycle continue.

Fiyero loves me… I just know he does she thought to herself.

She tucked herself even closer to his warm body and quietly listened for the beautiful sound of his beating heart. To this soothing sound, she drifted back off to sleep, letting the sound continue on into her dreams.

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