A/N: Final chapter! Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed and favorited and followed-especially heatqueen and MyLittleElphie.

Feedback is so very much appreciated. Enjoy!

Both girls had thought it would take longer. Simply holding hands in public was trying enough. Glinda had never been happier, of course, but this new revelation in her life was mind-blowing, and she had struggled from the start to come to terms with it. She knew it would be months, at least, before she was used to the glares and whispers that were directed at her.

So it surprised them both when Glinda whispered the words, "I'm ready."

Elphaba lifted her lips from her neck and met glittering blue eyes. They were already on the bed, half-laying down, the green girl hovering over the blonde. Her raven hair cascaded down her shoulders and onto Glinda. Her dark eyes glowed. Oz, she wanted to. But…

"Glinda…are you sure?"

Glinda nodded, reaching up and caressing the smooth green face. "I'm ready," she said again. Her voice was quiet, but it held all the certainty in Oz. "I love you, Elphie."

Elphaba licked her lips, tilting her head slightly. She pressed her mouth to the blonde's once more. Her hands drifted, moving from Glinda's cheek down to gently cup a breast. Her lips trailed down her jaw and into the lines of her collar bone. Glinda shivered, letting out a small whimper, and pulled the green girl closer. Elphaba's other hand moved from the small of Glinda's back to her waist, and then lower, curling around her thigh, pushing the satin nightgown higher up her body.

"Elphie," the blonde breathed, her fingers tightening around green shoulders. Elphaba let her teeth graze the smooth skin of the pale neck. She grinned when Glinda let out a small moan. But as she moved her hand between Glinda's legs, the expression faded.

Elphaba gulped as nerves ran through her. She trembled. She wanted this, she had been thinking about this for so long now…so why was she so terrified? What was holding her back?

I love you, Elphie.

Glinda's words echoed through her mind. Guilt flooded through Elphaba. Slowly, she pulled her hand away and sat up.

"Elphie?"

The green girl moved to the foot of the bed and wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm sorry," she breathed.

"Elphie, what…?"

"I-I…I can't. I'm sorry." Elphaba winced at the quiver in her voice.

"Elphaba, look at me. What's wrong?"

The dark eyes rose to meet blue. "I…" She swallowed hard, searching desperately for something to say. And suddenly, the words came pouring out of her. "I'm so sorry, Glinda. I just…I can't do it. I want to—Oz, I want to! But how could I possibly do this…how could I even start to make love to you when I can't even—I don't even have the guts to say it out loud!"

"Elphie—"

"Why am I such a coward? Why can't I—I can't—what's wrong with me?!" Elphaba's voice had risen until it echoed off the walls of their dorm room. Glinda reached for her hand and gripped it fiercely between both of hers.

"Elphaba, it's okay. You're not ready. That's perfectly okay."

"No it's not, Glinda! What if I'm never ready? What if…" Elphaba shook her head. "You deserve better than this."

"Don't you ever say that," Glinda said, her eyes flashing. "You're more than I deserve. And even if you weren't, it doesn't matter. I love you. Nothing else matters."

The green girl shook her head. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Don't be."

"I still am."

Glinda squeezed her hand gently. "Well, then, make it up to me."

"How?" Elphaba asked quietly, glancing up at her. The blonde tugged on her hand, trying to pull her closer.

"Lay with me. Just…lay with me."

For a moment, neither girl moved. Then, with a tiny smile, Elphaba shifted and moved back to the head of the bed. The girls slipped under the covers and huddled together. Elphaba wrapped her arms around the blonde and held her to her chest. Glinda lay with her back to her. Her fingers traced soothing patterns on the green skin. She could feel, just barely, Elphaba's heart beat. The steadiness lulled her, and she snuggled in closer. She closed her eyes and smiled at the slight tickle of warm breath against the back of her neck. The last five minutes replayed in her head, and a slight frown creased her features.

Glinda would gladly wait until Elphaba was ready—after all, it was what the green girl had always done for her. She only wished there was something she could do to reassure her that everything was all right. She loved Elphaba, and more than anything else, she was afraid of the green girl not knowing that. But of course, Elphaba was afraid of getting hurt. She was too afraid of losing Glinda. That's why she could never say she loved her.

Then again, hadn't she said it before? Wasn't it spoken, just a little, in every embrace they shared? Images flashed through Glinda's mind. She remembered Elphaba helping her with her homework, believing in her when no one else did. She felt Elphaba's gaze as she looked at her with no makeup on and still called her beautiful. She saw herself in the green girl's coat, huddled in green arms as she was carried across campus in the freezing cold. She could picture Elphaba's warm eyes as she led her away from their awful, gossiping peers. She could hear her voice, singing softly into her ear, letting the music spell out the words she couldn't quite find.

And all at once, everything clicked.

"You do say it, though."

Glinda's quiet voice filled the room for a moment before fading away into the darkness. She felt Elphaba shift behind her.

"Pardon?"

"You say it," she stated simply. "Maybe you can't say the words, but you still say it every single day, in every way you can. And I hear you."

There was a pause. Neither girl moved. Glinda could just barely hear the sound of Elphaba's breath, but she didn't dare turn to see her face.

But then the tension in the air disappeared. Elphaba held her tighter and buried her face into the blonde's hair. Glinda closed her eyes again and sighed happily, and as she felt the green girl smile into her neck, she knew that Elphaba was saying it all over again. She had one last thought before sleep took her.

I love you too, Elphie.