"Boys need hot anger to survive. They need the inclination to fight, the drive the knife into the flesh, the energy and initiative of fury. It's a requirement of hunting, of defense, of pride. Maybe of sex, too."
"Yes, I know," said Elphaba, remembering.
Fire and water. They were opposite, two classic elements. Burning, rough, smokey, wild fire. Cooling, calm, soothing, flowing water. One was destructive to everyone, but she was much more opposed to the other. Water hurt her, it didn't soothe her at all. Maybe that explained why they worked so well together, fit so well together. He was like fire, his touch warming her, thawing her to the core. He awakened her heart, body, and mind. She had always been so cold and unfeeling. But now she wasn't, at least when she was with him. With him she was neither cold or heartless.
Actually, she felt quite the opposite, his warm hands on her body, his mouth pressed against hers. He had said she felt different, an improvement on her gender. She didn't see how sex with anyone else could be like with him, the way he awakened her senses. No one else could feel so much like blessed fire to her.
What was better was that he didn't leave. He could leave her as soon as he was satisfied. She wouldn't have said anything. But he didn't. He stayed curled with her, limbs still entwined in a tangled mess. He'd lay back on her bed, pulling her close to him as the sweat on their bodies dried. Outside the room, hell outside the bed, it was freezing. But curled up next to him, she could feel nothing but heat and fire.
