AN:

I guess, most people who read this will have read (or re-read) chapter one. For those who couldn't be stuffed: Hey, I'm back!

I'm so grateful for the reviews I received so far and for all the encouragement to continue this story.

A quick note to my guest reviewers...

*Ace guest:

I am so, so happy to have reached someone with a special interest in this particular version of Glinda. I would have PMed you like all the other registered reviewers, but since you don't have an account... now I only hope you'll somehow find this story again and continue reading! Fingers crossed.

*Glad it's not angst guest:

I'm so, so sorry. Because (sort of) angst is exactly what this will turn into. Chances are that you'll never even see this update after like over two years, so I'm happy you liked the one-shot version of it!

*Other guest:

So happy you enjoyed it so far!

...

As mentioned in the AN of chapter 1, the original one-shot is not overly representative of the story as a whole. I hope, it will be to everybody's satisfaction though :)

Happy reading!

xxx MLE :)

Chapter Two

It was only a few minutes shy of eight o'clock, when Glinda at long last shut and locked the door of the office building that housed the small financial brokerage firm she was now working for. It was still bright enough, but that didn't make her feel any less worn-out. As the most junior member, still in the process of familiarising herself with clients, the local market and other specifics, she stayed behind on a nearly daily basis, even though most her colleagues had left hours ago. All beginnings were hard, she knew. It would pass, she hoped and straightened herself, adjusting the strap of her handbag.

The next stop was only around the corner, and she was lucky enough to catch the tram that had just arrived. Sitting down, she melted into her seat. Her lids grew heavy, tempting her to close them for but a moment. Her flat, however, was only a couple of minutes away - too easy to miss if she didn't pay attention. Distracted, she reached for the key in her bag. As she pulled it out, she also found a chewing gum and a tattered piece of paper. The writing on it had rubbed off a little over the last few weeks in her overcrowded purse, yet she didn't need to read the name above the ten-digit number to remember what it said.

She sighed. She popped the chewing gum into her mouth, held the key firmly in her left hand, but let the note drop back into the bag. After more than two months at her now not-so-new-anymore work place, the promised lunch was terribly overdue. There was no easy explanation for her reluctance to meet up, after she had been so enthusiastic back then, asking for a phone number she was perhaps not going to use after all. Settling in after getting the job had been stressful, of course, but it wasn't like she had never left the house since then. In fact, going out with friends had been one of the best ways for her to put work off her mind whenever possible. A female voice announced the next stop through the speaker system, and Glinda was a little startled to recognise the name of her street. She pulled herself up with the help of the handrail next to her seat, absolutely ready to kick off her heels.

Peace and quiet was all she longed for when she finally set foot into to the kind of stylish, yet also rather clattered apartment. Unfortunately, her flatmates Tibbett and Crope around, peace and quiet were in rare supply. The first greeted her from the kitchen on the other end of the narrow entrance hall; the latter ambushed her before she could even take off her shoes.

"Hey Glin!" he cried, bumping into her and bestowing a noisy kiss on her cheek. "You're late, darling," he remarked with an affected pout. "Did you remember bringing the spice mix Tibbs asked you to get from the Quadling store? He's already almost finished cooking the sauce."

Not appreciating such a boisterous welcome, Glinda stomped past him with an irritated flick of her blonde curls. She produced a brown paper bag from her purse and almost slammed it onto the kitchen bench before turning on her heels, headed for the bathroom. The door clicked shut, dipping the room in darkness. She didn't bother flicking the switch; the little light that filtered through the narrow gap below was enough to find all she needed. The lack of visual stimuli was cathartic.

A few minutes later, her mood had improved a little. She still tried avoiding the boys as best she could when she joined them in the kitchen to prepare a pack of instant noodles.

"Sweetie," singsonged Crope, who was now sitting on the counter, legs dangling, "Who is" – he squinted as he tried to read – "El-pha-ba?"

Glinda's head shot up. She nearly dropped her spoon, almost spilt her dinner.

Crope and Tibbett exchanged amused looks.

"A potential suitor?" Tibbett asked, his eyes twinkling cheekily.

"I thought I'd never see the day," Crope added as he slid off his high perch to go and hug Glinda.

The blonde swiftly snatched the note from his fingers and freed herself from the unwanted embrace.

"Not your business," she huffed, storming off and disappearing into her room.

Through the closed door, she heard giggles. At the best of times, the couple were interesting, almost fun to share a flat with; and then there were those times, when she wished she had been willing to fork out enough to rent a tiny studio on her own.

Someone knocked on her door, prompting her to whirl around, exasperated.

"What?!"

"Your food," Tibbett's voice came from the other side."

Glinda bit her lip and took a moment to make up her mind. In the end, she opened the door. She took the bowl and spoon from him, glaring at his grinning face.

She placed her dinner on the desk. The paper with Elphaba's number, she pinned to her pink miniature cork board. There was a strange, uneasy feeling that spread through her tummy. It spoilt her appetite, but after hardly eating all day, she dug into her noodles anyway. From her experience, things usually only got worse when she ignored her body's need for sustenance. Chewing, she took her laptop out of the top drawer. It was quarter past nine, but there was still work to be done.

One hour later, she was dissatisfied with the amount of work she had been able to complete. Too often, her gaze had drifted away from the screen and towards that distracting note on the wall. She capitulated and saved the file one last time before pushing down the lid of her computer. Perhaps, she should deal with this issue sooner rather than later. After all, it wasn't a big deal, shouldn't be a big deal. All she needed to do was to meet Elphaba as she had promised. It simply wouldn't be fair toward Elphaba to make her believe that they could stay in contact without following through with it. Not to mention, something that day had made her want to meet the green woman again. Although her impulsive choices were generally a matter of hit and miss, she felt that she shouldn't ignore them, for better or worse.

Lunch was no longer an option though. Much to Glinda's dismay, Elphaba had ended up being right back then – whether it had been her impractical footwear, her sudden, inexplicable urge to ask for Elphaba's number or the throng of people that had taken too long to move out of her way, she had ended up late for the interview, which had not impressed her potential employers. That might not have been the only reason, but since she had not been able to secure the job at 305 Ozma Street, even if they were to meet midway, it was impossible for her to do so within the one and a half hours of accumulated breaks she was allowed each day. Dinner was one alternative, the other was a weekend brunch. Somehow, taking time out of her private time seemed to make the meeting more intimate, more involved. Looking at it like that, made her even more anxious and this realisation, in turn made her feel ridiculous. She needed someone sensible to come around and set her straight.

Her weekend was surprisingly quiet. Her supervisor had picked the worst possible time to give her 'a few days' rest,' leaving her with no work to occupy her thoughts with. Even Tibbett and Crope had gone out of town for a brief getaway with a group of friends.

On Saturday morning, she had every intention to make the day a good one, hoping she could make the positivity carry through until Sunday night and – if at all possible – all the way to the next week. As she prepared pancakes with berries and cream, her favourite songs blasted out of the boys' expensive Hi-Fi system. The amount of effort, let alone the money she had invested in this breakfast was unusual for a Glinda breakfast for one. She finished preparations just in time for her favourite morning programme, so she parked herself in front of the TV, plate balanced on one hand, fork in the other.

However, this week's episode turned out frustratingly boring. Half-way through, she went back to the kitchen to wash her dirty dishes. By the time she returned to the sitting room, the show was over, and she was not the least bit sorry for it. She picked up the remote and zapped from channel to channel, yet nothing tickled her fancy. She gave up.

Urgent buzzing and ringing almost immediately replaced the empty silence the from the switched off telly. Hopeful, she jumped to her feet to retrieve her phone from her room. It was still beeping away when she picked it up from the desk, but there were only a bunch of notifications from her deal hunter app. She was about to miss out on nine – no, ten – amazing offers if she didn't act quickly. She couldn't care less.

She went on to check her various social media accounts for updates. There were a few, but not enough to keep her occupied for long. When she looked up from the screen, pondering her next move, she once again found herself looking at the note with Elphaba's number. The constant sight of it was irritating her more and more. It had to go. She ripped it off the cork board, ready to toss it out. She thought better of it though and quickly punched in the number to add it to her contact list. For a moment, she stared at the newly created profile. Phone in hand, number ready, she could simply get over and done with it now. Why not call Elphaba or at least shoot her a message?

Her attention shifted to the name right beneath Elphaba's on the list. Almost relieved, she tapped Fiyero's name to send her best pal a text. He replied barely five seconds later, and Glinda felt saved. A couple more messages later, it was decided that he would come over to keep her company.

"You're my knight in shining armour," Glinda sighed gratefully as she opened the door to let Fiyero in.

"I'm only here for the food," he deadpanned. "My fridge hasn't seen any stock in weeks and my purse is as empty as granny Tigelaar's panties."

Glinda crossed her arms, leaning against the wall.

"Well, I don't have much more left than a soggy pancake."

When Fiyero turned on his heels to leave, she grabbed him by the shirt to pull him back inside.

"Fine, we can order Pizza for lunch."

"Convinced."

While she busied herself in the kitchen, locating some juice that hadn't gone off yet, Fiyero went through the flyer of the local pizza parlour that he had found pinned to the fridge.

"You are hungry," Glinda remarked, amused, as she placed a full glass before him.

He flashed her an impish grin.

"You thought I was joking?"

"Your parents still haven't come around then?" she carefully probed in a suddenly much more serious tone of voice.

Shaking his head, he took his first gulp, almost as if the juice were alcohol and he was trying to drain his sorrows.

"Do you not have something stronger?" he asked.

Glinda huffed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad you can still joke about it."

"It's called acceptance. You should try it sometime," he recommended.

Noticing that he had already finished his glass, she swiftly moved to refill it. She didn't like where this little banter was going. Consciously or not, he made her feel guilty, inferior even, whenever they discussed the fact that he had come out to his parents and suffered the consequences, while she had, so far, left hers in blissful ignorance. There was still a decent chance, she reasoned, that she could lead a life that would appear perfectly ordinary to her family, including a good looking, well-heeled husband and a child or two. Her motives were not at all of monetary nature. Right from the cradle, she had always been trained to please everyone, especially her parents, and was now too afraid of being a disappointment. The pain her dearest Mumsie and Popsicle would suffer was her first concern; how she herself would handle their withdrawal of love and adoration was something she generally chose not to ponder.

"You know that I respect you for being so honest with everyone," she said after a moment of silence, offering him a brief smile. "But it's not a requirement. My way of dealing with things is just as valid."

He shrugged, then tilted his head. "Will it make you happy though?"

"I am happy enough right now. Keeping my aceness from my parents is not what I'm currently losing sleep over."

The last remark, subtle as it was, was not meant to slip out. She took a sip of her juice, hoping Fiyero hadn't noticed.

But the great hunter had already caught scent.

"So, what does make you lose sleep? You're blushing. You don't have a crush on someone, do you?"

She smacked him lightly, feigning playfulness, nervous because his wild guess had hit too close to the mark. Except that it hadn't. Not really. At least, that's what she told herself. She considered lying, simply to avoid the topic. But what use would it be?

In the end, she told him the entire story, leaving out not a single detail. Fiyero listened intently, delighted even, when she came to the part where Elphaba declared her familiarity with asexuality. By the time Glinda finished with how she had asked for the green woman's number, he was on the metaphorical edge of his seat.

"So, when are you two going to meet up?" he asked, nudging her with his elbow.

Glinda lowered her gaze to avoid his excited look.

"We probably won't. Now that I'm not working anywhere close to TMB, I simply don't have the time to see her."

He didn't say anything at first, but even without looking up, she could feel his eyes boring into her.

"This isn't up for discussion," she quickly declared, waving her hands about. She snatched up their empty classes and dumped them into the sink.

"You're stupid to let a chance like this slide," Fiyero reprimanded her.

Glinda opened the tap.

"And what kind of chance are you talking about?"

"I don't know. That depends on what you want it to be. She pretty much said that she would be open to dating you."

That elicited a wry laugh from Glinda.

"Wow, you're reading way too much into this."

"And I don't remember you ever saying that you're only after guys," he continued, undeterred.

"Fiyero!"

She turned around to cast him a warning look.

"Well, at the very least, you could do with a friend."

"I have plenty of friends," she tossed out.

She was right, of course. There was a whole flock of girls Glinda could summon with a single text whenever there was a party in sight. She was somewhat popular. Fiyero knew them from one gathering or another. Few of them were to his taste.

"And how many of them are ace?" he wondered out loud.

Drying the glasses, Glinda walked over to him and shrugged casually.

"In real life?" She tapped her lips, pretending to give the question serious thought. "That's just you, I suppose, and so far, I've survived just fine."

"And how many of your friends even know that you're ace?"

That question went unanswered.

"Wouldn't it be nice to have someone else to talk to about this stuff?"

When there still was no reply, Fiyero decided to change the grave tone the conversation had assumed.

"You never know," he said nonchalantly, "I might not be around forever. I might starve to death before the month is over."

Glinda smiled despite herself.

"I shall spend every last penny I have on your upkeep," she promised.

"Which reminds me: Can we have lunch early? My breakfast today didn't consist of much more than a muesli bar."

They considered getting the pizza delivered, but the service surcharge and Fiyero's hunger forbade it. Walking the ten minutes to the pizzeria, they saved money and were able to choose flavours that were already done and ready for them to devour.

The rest of the day was spent reminiscing, watching ridiculous docusoaps on TV and laughing about them as well as watching online clips of concerts they regretted not going to – neither one had currently enough money left over to buy expensive tickets. The topic of Elphaba did not come up again until after dinner, when Fiyero was lying on the couch, idly going through Glinda's phone, while she scoured the freezer for ice cream.

"Why are you so intent on avoiding that Elphaba?" he asked her seemingly out of nowhere. "You were the one who asked for her number, if I remember that correctly."

She paused and thought in earnest this time. Having been around Fiyero all day, she had finally begun to drop her guard and rekindle the trust they had shared back then when they had actually been a couple.

"You know, I'd like to think that I'm just lazy, that I just can't be bothered."

Fiyero pulled himself up and leaned over the backrest of the couch so he could see her.

"But you're afraid it's something else," he finished for her, and she shrugged tentatively. "Why are you suddenly afraid of putting yourself out there? That doesn't sound like you?"

"Doesn't it?"

A tense chuckle followed the nearly inaudible question.

"Making friends always seems like a breeze for you. You're not afraid of talking to people."

Sighing, she pulled out the container of ice cream that she had spotted underneath Tibbett's countless containers of frozen meals.

"You're right. I don't mind spontaneously engaging people. But this is different. It's so… premeditated. It feels like it's loaded with expectations. I don't like that kind of pressure."

"Is it because she knows your secret?"

"That, too, I suppose."

"If you ask me, it sounds like she already has a pretty good idea of what to expect. Maybe it's your own expectations that you're worried about?"

"For that, I would first have to know what my expectations are," Glinda replied, spooning some ice cream right from the container and into her mouth.

Fiyero grinned.

"So, you are considering something beyond casual acquaintanceship?"

"Oh, what do I know!"

In her irritation, she plopped the ice cream out just a little too aggressively. Only about half of it made it into the bowls.

"Mhm… If you ask me, that attitude of yours only goes to show that, for whatever reason, you do care about seeing her."

Fiyero disappeared behind the backrest again, while Glinda quickly cleaned up the mess she had made on the counter. When she came around to place the big bowls, filled with melting ice cream on the coffee table, she noticed him typing away rapidly on her phone.

"Fiyero?" she said apprehensively, her eyes narrowing. "What in Oz are you so busy typing? You could just connect to my Wi-Fi and use your own phone, you know?"

With an exaggerate flourish of his index finger, he tapped one last button before putting the mobile down on the table. For a second, Glinda stared at it suspiciously, then decided to let it slide. She made herself semi-comfortable in the stuffed chair opposite the couch, sitting on her folded left leg.

"You could stay overnight, if you like. I might even go so far and buy some eggs and sandwich bread tomorrow morning, so we can have a proper breakfast."

Her phone buzzed and rang, and Fiyero quickly finished his desert.

"I shouldn't overstay my welcome, he said abruptly, jumping up from the couch."

Glinda blinked in confusion, watched him stride towards the entrance of the apartment, then intuitively looked at her phone. She stretched to reach for it.

'Monday is fine,' the curt text message read; the name of the sender was Elphaba. Glinda thought she might faint.

"Fiyero!" she cried, but behind her, the door already fell shut.

She jumped to her feet, rushed to the door and ripped it open. Fiyero was hurrying down the stairs, so she made to follow in her bare feet.

"Fiyero! What in goodness' name possessed you to do that? Have you lost all your wits?"

"Sorry, Glin, but I'm just helping. You can thank me later."

"You really crossed the line here! And how am I even supposed to meet her on Monday? I have work."

They arrived at the main entrance. Fiyero stopped for a moment and allowed her to catch up with him. She was furious, of course. He, on the other hand, seemed unfazed.

"All you need to do," he said as he tucked a blonde curl behind her ear, "is to call in sick."

She slapped his hand away, but not too severely.

"I can't do that. I could get in real trouble."

"And who is to find out?"

Huffing, she averted her gaze. Fiyero gave her shoulder a light pat and left.

It took Glinda a few minutes to pull herself together and make her way back upstairs. Back in her flat, she stood in front of the coffee table, staring at her phone. Hesitantly, she picked it up and checked her messages. She made a mental note to implement some kind of lock function to prevent further disasters such as this.

Fiyero's message to Elphaba was short and simple, asking her if she could do Monday lunch. Neither had suggested a time or location yet, though. Glinda took a deep breath and tapped the input field at the bottom of the screen.

'Great. How about twelve o'clock, same café we went that other time?'

She pushed /send/ and chucked the phone on the nearby couch. What she needed now, was a long, hot shower.