Usually I'd wait, but I know you were all dying for another chapter, so I'll post this now. Because I love my readers. 3

Chapter Ten: Wanting

She felt her eyes close. She felt her face get warm. She felt her heart pounding. She felt her stomach dropping. And she felt a wanting, a wanting she did not understand. It was a wanting she both feared and enjoyed. It only lasted a moment, but so much went through her that it felt like a lifetime. When their lips parted, she could only stare at him in silence.

"Don't look at me like that," he said nervously. "Say something, Elphaba."

"What was that?" That wasn't what she meant. She knew exactly what it was. Beneath that question were so many others: What did that mean? Why did you do that? What do you want from me? Did that really just happen?

Fiyero chuckled. "That's a better reaction than I worried I might get."

"What did you think I'd do? Slap you?"

"Actually, yes."

"That's not the point. What was that?"

"You know what it was."

"Why are you talking in circles, Fiyero? You know what I meant."

"I know what you meant? You're talking in circles just as much as I am!"

Elphaba sighed. He was right about that, as much as she hated it. "Fiyero, that was… what on earth were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I've wanted to do that for weeks now and I might as well go for it."

That made her pause. She had no idea how to respond to that. Elphaba swallowed hard. With that one kiss he had turned her completely upside down. "Well, what did you expect to happen – given that I didn't slap you?"

"I wasn't sure. But I know what I hoped would happen. I hoped you'd, well, return the feelings."

"What feelings, Fiyero? You haven't said anything about any feeling outside of want."

"There's more than that, but we can start there. Did you want to?"

"I hadn't really thought about it." That was a lie. But she had tried not to think about it. Close enough.

"Well, now that's it's happened, you've thought about it. I can do that again and you can figure out if you wanted it."

"Very funny."

"I was serious!"

Her face was hotter than the kitchen fires. She had liked the feeling. But the idea of it happening again made her uneasy. His parents would kill her if they caught them! Wait, no, they wouldn't. Fiyero's father had all but told him to… "Are you just doing this because your father told you to sleep with the servant girls?" She demanded.

"No. I had no interest in sleeping with the servant girls when he gave me that advice. But you weren't here then. Now, things are different."

"So all you want is to sleep with me?" Elphaba didn't exactly know what kind of answer she wanted from him.

"No. Well, not exactly. Elphaba, you know this is complicated."

"It doesn't have to be," she said suddenly.

"I'm supposed to be married to someone else and yet I want you. How is that not complicated?"

"Marriage is just a formality. You said it yourself, Fiyero."

"You really don't care?"

"I really don't," she said, looking him in the eyes. She didn't care, not much. It only bothered her that she could get in trouble if this went on. Elphaba hadn't been sent out here to be some prince's mistress. And she wasn't. Not now. Maybe this was all just a curiosity and when it had run its course and he got married she wouldn't care anymore, anyway.

"So you're saying you wanted this?"

"I'm saying I'm not opposing it."

He smiled and kissed her again, this time harder. His hands slid to her waist. She pushed him away.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down. I didn't say you could jump me, Fiyero!" Technically, he could do whatever he wanted to her. For a moment she'd almost forgotten. It was the first time she'd ever forgotten. She smiled.

He looked at her, confused. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because, Fiyero, for the first time, I genuinely forgot you were a prince."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"Can I kiss you again for that?"

Elphaba laughed. "If you keep your hands to yourself for the time being, yes, you may."

He brushed his lips across hers briefly. "So what happens now?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"Can I tell you what I want to happen?"

"You can tell me. It doesn't mean I'll agree," she said hesitantly. She wasn't sure if they were on the same page here.

"I don't want everything to change. Yes, I want some things to change. But I want to sit and talk with you every weekend. And not just about this. About bigger things. But I also want to explore this."

"Explore this how?"

"I like you, Elphaba. I want to see what that means, where it goes. And yes, I want to explore other things. Not now. But you can't deny that you didn't like that kiss just a little bit."

"Which kiss?" She was avoiding now, and she knew he could tell.

"The first one. I'm not going to ask you to admit it. I will simply satisfy myself with the fact that you didn't object." He raised his eyebrows at her.

"A valid assumption," she replied evasively.

He shook his head, smiling. "You are one of a kind, Elphaba. And that's what I like about you. But I do need something from you, Elphaba, before I continue. I need you to at least say that you feel something for me, something in the way of romance."

"I'm not the romantic type. How could I be?" When she saw him open his mouth, she cut him off. "But yes, Fiyero, I feel something in that direction."

"That's all I needed."

"I think when your father told you to sleep with the servant girls, he didn't exactly mean this. You realize that if someone finds out the details, we're in trouble, right?"

"I do. And I don't care."

"Of course you don't, you're a prince. Your parents won't punish you the way they'll punish me."

"They won't kill you, Elphaba."

"There are things just as bad."

"In all likelihood, you would be exiled. That's all."

Exiled. With nowhere to go. Dropped at the Vinkun border and left to fend for herself. That did not sound appealing. "That's all?" She rolled her eyes.

"Well it's better than being tortured or killed."

"I'm not so sure, Fiyero."

"If it scares you that much, we can forget I ever kissed you." He looked sad.

"One, it doesn't scare me enough to stop me from doing what I want. Two, even if I wanted to, Fiyero, I couldn't just forget that. But we have to be careful."

He cupped her cheek. "I will be. I don't want anything to happen to you. I'd never see you again."

She brought her hand up to his and gently took his hand away from her cheek but continued to hold it. He rubbed his thumb across her knuckles and she tried not to shiver at the small sensations she felt just from that movement alone. Yes, she wanted this. That much was clear enough to her.