AN: Hi! Thank you all for the lovely reviews - I'm glad you like it so far! More fluff heading your way - but there's a dark cloud looming at the horizon, threatening to spoil the happiness... No killing off favourite characters in this one, I can promise you that much.

Every time someone writes OMO, I can't help laughing. I say (write) it myself sometimes, but I just think it's funny because OMO is a certain brand of laundry detergent here in Holland and the commercial has got the most annoying yet amazing song in it :P.

That didn't have anything to do with the story at all. Completely random. Sorry.

Disclaimer: Not that girl.

You like to think that you're immune to the stuff

It's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough

You might as well face it, you're addicted to love

It was two hours past midnight when Elphaba came sneaking into Glinda's room. The blonde, who was still busy cleaning off her make-up at her vanity, looked up expectantly, but didn't say anything. She hadn't known exactly what Fiyero had been up to tonight, but she was sure it had been extremely romantic, since he had asked her where he and Elphaba could look at the fireworks in private. She had her suspicions, of course, but she wouldn't tell Elphaba until her friend would tell her what had happened herself.

Elphaba was wearing a very unusual dreamy smile and her thoughts seemed to be miles away as she entered the room and plonked backwards on Glinda's bed, lying on her back. 'Fiyero and I are going to be married,' she announced dreamily.

Glinda giggled and decided to play along. 'He's asked you already?'

Elphaba nodded, still wearing that goofy smile. 'Yes. He has.'

Glinda squealed with delight, running up and jumping on the bed, capturing her friend in a suffocating hug. 'Oh my Oz, Elphie, that's so amazing! Congratulotions!'

'Thank you,' Elphaba said, sitting up. 'You knew, didn't you?'

'He didn't tell me, exactly, but from what he did tell me, I was pretty sure,' Glinda confessed. She giggled again with excitement. 'This is so thrillifying. You're going to be a bride! Can I go dress shopping with you? Please please pleeeease?'

Elphaba rolled her eyes, but was laughing at the same time. 'Who else would I take dress shopping?'

'Yay!' Glinda exclaimed, clapping her hands with excitement. 'When will the wedding be? Who are you going to invite? Will you wear white? You should wear white, I'm absolutely positive it will look gorgeous on you! Can I help you with everything? Have you told anyone else yet?'

'Haven't decided yet, haven't even thought about it, I don't think white will look good on me but I'm willing to give it a try, you have to help me with everything and no, you're the first one to know.'

Another squeal. 'Oh, that's so nice of you!'

'You're my best friend, Glin,' Elphaba reminded her, still smiling. 'Of course you're the first to know. Fiyero is probably telling Corrin right now.'

'He will be so happy for you both!'

'He's going to be Fiyero's best man.'

Glinda looked at her wide-eyed. 'Really?'

The green girl nodded. 'And there's something I need to ask you, too. Will you be my maid of honour?'

Now Glinda actually looked teary. 'Really?' she sniffled, once again hugging her friend. 'Thank you so much, Elphie, I'd love that!'

Elphaba laughed and patted the blonde on the back. 'You're ruining your make-up.'

'I was cleaning that off, anyway.' Glinda wiped her eyes with the sleeve of the nightgown she was already wearing. 'Oh, let me see the ring!' she squeaked and Elphaba proudly did so. Glinda examined the ring. It was silver, with two tiny little diamonds on both sides of a larger diamond in the middle. The blonde squealed yet again. 'Oh, it's so pretty!'

At that moment, the door opened and Corrin and Fiyero came in.

Glinda was immediately on top of the latter. 'Congratulotions, you finally asked her! Took you long enough,' she added in a scolding tone of voice and Corrin and Elphaba laughed. Corrin embraced the green girl warmly. 'And congratulotions to you, too, Elphaba.'

'Thanks, Corrin,' Elphaba replied, smiling. Glinda hugged her husband. 'I'm going to be maid of honour!'

'And I'm going to be the best man!' Corrin imitated her with a squeal that sounded so much like Glinda's, it made everyone laugh. Glinda punched him in the arm. 'You're mocking me!' she pouted.

He laughed and swiftly pulled her into his arms. 'I could never do that to you, sweetie pie.' He kissed her, and Elphaba turned to face Fiyero, one eyebrow raised. 'Just so we're clear: if you ever so much as think about calling me 'sweetie pie', you're a dead man.'

He pursed his lips at her, eyes half-closed, fluttering his eyelashes at her seductively. 'Oh, sweetie pie, I could never do that to you!'

Elphaba chuckled and Glinda frowned at them in mock anger. 'Now you are mocking me as well!'

'I'm sorry, sweetie pie, we didn't mean to!' Fiyero said, all wide-eyed innocence, and now it was his turn to be punched in the arm by Glinda. Elphaba laughed and linked arms with him. 'Perhaps we should go. That way, Corrin and Glinda can have some alone time,' she said with a meaningful wink to Glinda, one the blonde returned by sticking out her tongue. 'You are the one who just got engaged – if anyone needs alone time, it's you two!'

'Oh yes we do,' Fiyero said, raising his eyebrows at Elphaba meaningfully. That earned him another punch – from his fiancée this time, but he didn't really mind. He merely smiled goofily at that thought. My fiancée.

Never in his life had he imagined a single word could sound that good.

Glinda was skipping through the room happily. 'Fiyero proposed to her!'

'I know, honey,' Corrin said patiently. 'I was there.'

'It's so cute!'

'Yes, it is.'

She stopped frolicking to look at him. 'Aren't you excited?' she asked, lip trembling, and he suppressed a smile. 'Of course I'm excited, darling. It's just… I'm a guy. I don't dart around the room when I'm excited. Men are excited in silence.'

Glinda sighed dramatically. 'That's no fun at all.'

He laughed and started walking toward the bathroom to change into his nightclothes when she called after him. 'Do you want to go to sleep already?'

He quirked an eyebrow at her. 'Unless you had a better idea.'

'Fetch me some ice cream.'

She giggled as she watched his face fall. 'That was not exactly what I had in mind.'

'I know it wasn't,' she said playfully. 'But I'd really like some ice cream and I'm already wearing my nightgown, so you'll have to go. Please?' She gave him her best puppy-eyed look. 'If you get me some ice cream, I might just have other plans for us tonight as well,' she said with a seductive wink and he gave in, grinning. 'Ice cream it is. Did you want any specific flavours?'

'Yes,' she said, nodding earnestly. 'Strawberry and cinnamon ice cream, topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Oh, and chocolate and almond shavings on top.'

He chuckled at her specific request – she always had been, and still was, just the tiniest bit spoiled. Everything had to be extravagant one way or another; she would never just wear 'a dress' or buy 'a coffee'. It would always be 'a pale green, knee-length dress with a low neckline and ruffles' or 'a double sugar-free mocha cappuccino with caramel and vanilla syrup'. It could be extremely tiring and annoying at times, but mostly, he just found it adorable. It was one of the reasons he loved her so much – especially since she didn't even seem to notice that she was doing it.

'I'll be right back,' he told her, and she smiled at him gratefully. 'Thanks.'

While waiting for Corrin to return, the bubbly blonde went through the mail they had received that day. Usually, there would be letters from her parents or from Elphaba and Fiyero among them, but because all of them were staying here at the moment, those letters weren't there today. Corrin's parents had passed away a long time ago and he didn't have any other family; there were only two letters that didn't have anything to do with business. Those letters were from Fiyero's family and from Maráni, Doctor Dillamond and the other Animals that used to live at the hideout, to congratulate her on her birthday.

She mused about the latter senders for a moment. She didn't know Maráni and the others that well, but she had really liked spending time with them while she had been at the hideout months ago. She knew from Elphaba that they no longer lived at the hideout; a few months after Glinda had lifted the Animal bans, the people of Oz had started to accept the Animals living among them again, and most Animals had moved back to more populated areas. She smiled. Elphaba had been beaming with delight when she had told her friend that Doctor Dillamond was teaching History at Shiz once more, also volunteering as a doctor at the infirmary there. Maráni, the big Wolf, was leading an orphanage now that gave shelter to both Animals and humans whose parents had passed away – Nuki having been her inspiration. And talking about that Cat… apparently she was still living with Fiyero's sisters, being spoiled to death by those two girls hovering over her.

Glinda thought about that for a moment. It would be nice, she mused, to have a pet. A cat perhaps, or a little puppy… Or even to have an Animal live with them – an Animal like Nuki, one without parents… They could pick one up at Maráni's orphanage one day. Yes, she'd like that. Something to fuss over, to spoil, to care for… She had always wanted a puppy when she was a little girl, but her parents had never given her one.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Corrin re-entering the room, carrying two large bowls filled with ice cream. She took hers from him eagerly and started to wolf down the cold, sweet stuff as Corrin started eating his own. She raised her eyebrows when she noticed that there was twice as much ice cream in his bowl than there was in hers. 'Is there a reason for that?'

'I'm a man,' came his simple reply. 'Men eat more than women.'

She narrowed her eyes at him and quickly finished her own bowl before stealing his from him and starting to consume his ice cream as well, if only to prove him wrong. He watched with amusement as she consumed another large bowl of ice cream and smugly put it down, smirking at him. 'You were saying?'

'You know all that sugar goes right to your behind, don't you?'

She pushed him off the bed and he landed on the floor with a loud thump. He looked up at her, rubbing his back with a painful expression. 'All right, I guess I deserved that.'

'You most certainly did.' Glinda laughed and dropped onto her stomach on the bed, peering over the edge at him so that her curls were bouncing down her face. 'Apologise.'

He looked at her. 'There's something on your nose. Did you stick your nose in your ice cream?'

She giggled and wiped at her nose, but missed the spot where the ice cream was. 'No, I didn't. Is it gone?'

'No.' He reached up with his finger, but changed his mind and brought his face closer to hers instead to kiss her nose and thus remove the ice cream in a much more pleasant way. 'Now it is.'

She was blushing furiously now and still giggling as she reached to the bedside table and dipped one finger in a bit leftover ice cream. 'There's something on your face, too. Right there.' She smeared the stuff on his cheek and gave him an innocent look. 'Shall I remove it for you?'

He liked her playful mood and was all too happy to play along. 'Please do.'

She pulled him onto the bed with her and kissed the ice cream away. 'There's something on your chest, too. Wait, let me remove it…' She started unbuttoning his shirt, flashing him a mischievous smile, and he bent down to kiss her.

'Mm,' the blonde murmured, answering his kiss with equal enthusiasm. 'Perhaps some alone time wouldn't be a bad idea after all.'

'You know,' Fiyero murmured, his voice muffled because of the fact he had his face buried in her neck, 'I could get used to this.'

Elphaba rolled her eyes and shoved him playfully. 'Men!'

'Not just that part,' Fiyero said, smiling. 'Although you won't hear me complaining about that, either…'

She snorted.

'But I just meant this… in general. Having you with me. Fall asleep with you in my arms and waking up next to you the next morning. Being together. Forever.'

She looked at him solemnly, her dark gaze impenetrable. 'Forever is a long time, Fiyero.'

He caught the hidden meaning behind her words and he knew she still doubted his love for her. Somehow, she couldn't shake the feeling that she would be waking up soon to find herself alone again, as she always had been. But he was determined to prove her wrong about that.

He kissed her, slowly, but intensely. 'Not long enough.'

'Cheeeeeesy,' she teased him, stretching the word to emphasise it, but he could see the relief in her eyes. She just needed to be reassured about his feelings for her every now and then, that was all. And he didn't mind doing that. Not at all.

He traced his finger down her spine, a sensation that made her shiver with pleasure, before whispering in her ear, 'I don't intend to stay with you forever.'

She immediately stiffened, but he smiled as he cupped her face with both his hands and planted a kiss on her nose. 'I intend to stay with you far longer than that.'

He felt her relax again, and he started trailing kisses down her neck, sending another shiver through her body. 'I love you, Fae.'

She sighed with content. 'I love you, too.'

'More than anything in the world.'

'Yero…'

'No, let me rephrase that. You are my world.'

She wanted to tease him about being cheesy again, but when she saw the completely sincere and solemn look in his eyes, she found herself unable to. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him fervently. He responded immediately, pressing her body closer against his and deepening the kiss, making her gasp for breath when he pulled back a little. 'I can't believe I actually get to marry you now.'

She smiled at him. 'Well, believe it,' she said, a little out of breath. 'Because it's going to happen.'

'Just a few more months or so,' he murmured, brushing her soft skin with his lips. 'Then I can finally call you mine.'

'Oh, Yero,' she laughed, kissing him again and pressing herself even closer against him, leaning her forehead against his. 'I've been yours since the very moment I first laid eyes on the amazing man hiding behind that shallow and brainless, although very handsome, appearance of yours.'

'And when was that?'

'Lion cub day,' she said softly. 'Although it probably kind of started before the Lion cub thing happened. Do you remember that? When Galinda had given me a makeover and you saw me and said…'

'"You don't have to do that, you know".'

She stared at him in amazement. 'You remember.'

'Of course I remember.' He chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully. 'I guess mine was "Or you wouldn't be so unhappy". The fact that you saw right through me, after having spoken barely a few words with each other… It scared me. More than I could admit even to myself back then. But it intrigued me at the same time – I guess that's when I first started looking at you… well… another way.'

She smiled at his choice of words.

He traced the features of her face with his fingers. 'So… you're mine, then?'

Her smile broadened as she kissed him eagerly. 'I'm yours.'

'Hmm.' She felt him smile against her lips. 'I think I can get used to that.'

The announcement of the engagement between Prince Fiyero Tiggular of the Vinkus and Miss Elphaba Thropp came the next day, and all of Oz rejoicified at it. The people adored the couple almost as much as they adored Glinda and Corrin and most of them were genuinely happy for the young couple. They found it enough reason to throw more parties, which Glinda only encouraged, and so the entire city was celebrating again that day.

Atol was watching the people with a frown. Do any of them even have brains? he wondered. Or do they just follow whoever is leading them, like a herd of sheep, believing everything that person tells them?

The answer to that question was probably the latter, he decided. He had seen it for himself; the Wizard said the Animals were the cause of everyone's problems, and so everyone hated Animals. Morrible declared some green girl a Wicked Witch, and all of Oz believed her. Now Glinda had lifted the Animal bans and suddenly, everyone was agreeing with that as well, and on top of that they accepted some strange, unknown girl as a new celebrity to worship, only because she was a supposed friend of Glinda the Good and the lover – no, fiancée, he corrected himself – of the popular Prince of the Vinkus.

People were so empty-headed sometimes.

He looked at the book in his hand, narrowing his eyes. In his mind, there was absolutely no doubt possible about the identity of said new celebrity. She hadn't been lying about her name – a big, big mistake on her part, for it had made it incredibly easy for Atol to figure out just who exactly she was: Elphaba Thropp, the Thropp Third Descending of Munchkinland. Eldest daughter to Frexspar Thropp and elder sister to the former Governor, Miss Nessarose Thropp. Her entire family was dead now, and she should have been, too… because he had watched Morgana Morrible kill this girl months ago.

He had noted her looking familiar to him, but he hadn't been able to name it. He didn't know where he had seen her before or how he would know her. Now he did. This girl, loved by all of Oz, best friend of the ruler of Oz herself and fiancée to Prince Fiyero Tiggular of the Vinkus… this girl was the former Wicked Witch of the West.

It had taken him so long to figure that out because she had hidden herself well, namely in plain view. The only thing she had done to disguise herself, was change her skin colour.

Because Elphaba Thropp's original skin colour was green as sin.

At first, he had felt betrayed. Utterly betrayed. Glinda the Good had to know who her supposed 'best friend' was, didn't she? That would mean their bubbly blonde ruler was involved with the Wicked Witch by choice. And that made her a traitor.

He had played with several possibilities. Perhaps the Witch had blackmailed Glinda – and probably Fiyero as well – into making her popular. Perhaps she had put a spell on them. But he had dismissed those ideas quickly. They were probably possible, but he was extremely good at reading people and he was quite certain that Glinda was not being forced to do this by any means. Which would mean she was working with the Wicked Witch. She was betraying the trust of all of Oz, and he swore there and then to take the task upon himself to rid Oz of its traitors. He would kill the Wicked Witch, for once and for all this time, and he would kill Glinda the Good and Prince Fiyero as well, to make a statement.

Because no one betrayed Atol's trust and got away with it.

Dum dum dum...

Review please! :)