Chapter 12

A/N

Thank you Wickedly Hope Pancake, ExoticPeachBlossom, LittleMissDelirious and Elphaba's Girl for the reviews. =)

LittleMissDelirious, I will try to tone down.

Mix the self raising flour with brown sugar. Beat to combine. In a separate container, mix the milk, oil and eggs. Pour the milk mixture and the mashed bananas into the dry ingredients and blend them together. Scoop the combined mixture into the muffin pan and put it into the oven, and you will have your own delicious banana muffins in no time.


She was cooking in the kitchen, enjoying the warmth from the stove and the steaming soup when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist.

"Good morning, Fae," Fiyero's still sleepy voice spoke next to her as he pressed his cold wet face against her neck.

She jumped slightly, almost hitting him with the ladle that she was holding.

"Fiyero," she admonished. "What did I tell you about your wet face?"

"That you love it?" he replied in a most innocent voice.

She rolled her eyes. Well, at least she could hear his greeting that morning. Sometimes it was gibberish. "Good mmmmmmm" or "… morning" or sometimes nothing at all. There was even once when he simply rested his chin on her shoulder and fell asleep again.

"Dry your face," she chided for the umpteenth time. "You are trying to freeze my neck off."

He laughed. "How about this?" he asked as he grazed his lips against her neck, sending a delicious shiver down her spine.

"It feels like some insect is crawling down my neck." She pretended to be nonchalant.

He laughed, knowing fully well the effect that action had on girls, and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Fae?"

"Hmmm?"

"How long have we been together?"

"About two months?"

"About two months?" he was indignant. "It's been nine weeks and three days."

Elphaba smiled.

"Nine weeks and four days," she corrected him.

He huffed.

"So what are you trying to say?"

"We have not gone on a date yet."

She dropped the ladle.

"What date?" She feigned ignorance as she picked up the utensil and washed it.

"I want to go on a date with you. That's what couples do."

"Fiyero, Green Café opens from seven am to ten pm, seven days a week. I don't have time for a date."

"Let Nessa run the café for a night," he suggested.

She rolled her eyes. "That's a recipe for disaster and you know it."

"How about closing the café for one night?"

"I'll never close the café unless it's life and death."

"That hurts," he told her, but grinned to let her know that he was joking.

"What if we stay in for our date? You can teach me how to bake, and we can kneel the dough together," he suggested cheekily as he wrapped his fingers around hers, his breath warm on her neck.

She turned her head to look at him with a smirk on her face.

"That is cheesy. You mean your previous girlfriends actually fell for this?"

He let go and shrugged. "I've never tried this on any girl before. They are all not interested in getting their hands dirty."

The next morning, Elphaba woke up early in the morning to find that someone had woken up earlier than her.

Fiyero was moving around the cafe as he placed a vase on each table. In each vase was a pair of roses; one rose was white, so white it held a tinge of blue, and the other was in a shade of green. The stems were cut short and tied together with a silver ribbon.

She stood there, her hands on her hips, as he placed a vase on the last table.

"What's this about?"

"Elphaba Fae, all these flowers are for you. I put them on every table so that you will get to see them no matter which customer you are serving."

She blushed.

"That's lovely."

"And will you agree to go on a date with me tonight?"

She frowned. "Fiyero, I thought I say no date. I will not let you burn down my kitchen."

"Not even a date outside? From eleven to midnight?"

"What?"

"Eleven to midnight. Or ten to midnight. You can close the café at exactly ten tonight. I will help you with the washing and cleaning up. You can go and prepare, then we will go on a short date."

She smiled at the idea. "I don't need to prepare."

"Bath and change?" he hinted. "I will bring you back around midnight so that you can wake up as per normal the next day. Trust me. You won't regret this."

Galinda squealed when she heard that they were going on a date.

"Elphie! Where are you going?"

She shook her head. "I didn't ask."

"Oh, Elphie, how can you not be interested in the plan? You need to dress according to the programme."

"I will just wear whatever I have."

She turned and looked at her ex-boyfriend.

"She's my boss," he declared cheekily. "She may just decide to cancel the date if I tell you where we are going. And she really didn't know."

She glared at him, and turned back at Elphaba. "Elphie! Remember the few dresses tailored by Mister Porti? Maybe you can wear one of them?"

"Galinda? Don't you have a class to attend?" Fiyero came to her rescue.

"Oh yes!" she exclaimed as she grabbed her books. Fiyero waited for her and opened the door as she exited the café. A man approached the café, his arms filled with sheets of papers that were rolled up, and Fiyero held the door for him. He murmured his thanks and went in.

Galinda and Fiyero made their way to the building where their classes were held. Galinda hooked her arm around his once they were out of earshot.

"Now, Fifi, can you tell me where you are bringing her tonight?"

Fiyero went back to the café after his lessons, and the first thing he noticed was that Elphaba was seated at one of the tables. Secondly, the man who had entered the café earlier was still there. His papers were on the table, and he was talking to her.

She laughed at something he said.

"Fae?"

"Fae?" the man echoed as he looked at Elphaba. "Fabala, is that the name that you are using now?"

"Who are you?" Fiyero asked.

The man stood up and stretched out a hand.

"I'm Nick."

"Fiyero Tiggular."

"The Arjiki prince," he said as he shook Fiyero's hand. While Nick's voice was friendly, Fiyero was pretty sure that this man did not have a good impression of him.

He wanted to put an arm around Elphaba, to claim her as his, but it was as if she could hear his thoughts and the green girl cleared the plates and moved away.

"So, are you friends with Elphaba?" he asked Nick.

"Childhood friends. One of my aunts lived near to her place, and I used to go there every summer. I remembered she used to have her long hair in plaits and always wore dark colour dresses."

He looked at Elphaba who was busy at the counter.

"She was the first girl that I had a crush on. But I never tell her. I just pulled her plaits and tried to make her cry. Or I would snatch her apple from her and told that she had to kiss me if she wanted it back. When I was older, I promised myself that I will tell her how I feel when I go back the next summer. I wanted to tell her that I will marry her and I will protect her from all the idiots who harass her. But she was gone when I went back the next summer. It totally breaks my heart."

Elphaba looked up at him, and Fiyero could not help but noticed that she was blushing slightly.

"That is an interesting story, Nick."

"It's absolutely true," he insisted, and Fiyero cringed at the idea of Elphaba kissing Nick just to get her apple back. He hoped that she had stamped on his foot in retaliation. He wondered why this man with supposedly Munchkin blood was not short like Boq.

Nick looked at his watch.

"Oh, I have a meeting with your head mistress in ten minutes. I'll see you around, Fabala."

"Sure, Nick."

Fiyero asked Nessarose about Nick the moment she came back. She did not remember the name, but remembered a kid who came during the summers. Just one of the many who would taunt Elphaba during play.

"So he bullied her to hide the fact that he liked her. Does that mean that all the boys in Nest Hardings had a crush on Fabala since they all bullied her?" she asked. Fiyero looked at her in shock.

Galinda came, supposedly for dinner, and then went upstairs and pulled out the three dresses that Mister Porti had made for her. She came down one hour later, a look of defeat on her face.

"Elphie, you have nothing to wear!"

"Oh, did someone steal my wardrobe?" the green girl deadpanned.

Galinda fumed. "Elphie, you need more dresses! All three are not suitable for your date tonight!"

Elphaba looked at her. "You have taken one hour and you still cannot decide which of the three dresses I should wear, Galinda. What will happen if it's twenty dresses? Two days of thinking?"

"It does not work that way! The more dresses there are, the easier it is to decide!" the blonde stamped her feet.

Her ex-boyfriend, who was standing behind her, subtly shook his head. Elphaba fought to suppress a grin.

"It's a first date, Galinda. Fiyero is supposed to say I look good no matter what I wear."

"Exactly, and I will be speaking the truth."

Galinda glared at the two of them.

"You two are nauseating," she declared as she stomped out of the kitchen.

Fiyero washed the dishes before the café closed. While it was not exactly his daily job, he had done it often enough not to chip the plates again.

When he was done, he took a quick shower and then knocked on her door, a satchel bag slung across his body.

Galinda opened the door.

"She's ready," she announced as she opened the door wide to show him the girl who was behind the door.

Elphaba was dressed in a dark blue dress with short sleeves. The cutting was simple, with slight gathers below her bust to emphasize her small waist and an A line skirt that flared out and ended below her knees. The side of her hair was pulled back and fastened with a crystal crusted hair clip, on loan from Galinda.

It was the first time he saw her in a dress, and he had to admit that he liked what he saw. Fiyero stared at her, a silly grin on his face, until she blushed and looked down, tucking an invisible strand of hair behind her ear.

He gave her his arm but Galinda took it instead.

"You got to send me back to my room," she declared.

He rolled his eyes.

He took out a paper bag from his bag the moment Galinda was safely back in her room, the door closed behind her.

"Just in case you are hungry," he explained when Elphaba's eyes widened at the sight of the familiar item that he took out from the doggy bag.

"My muffin?"

"Well, I am supposed to impress you, ain't I? So what's better than to bring you the most delicious muffins in Shiz? I did pay for them by the way."

She laughed, but accepted the muffin.

"You're practical. I don't remember you being so practical when you first came to Shiz."

"Things change, I guess. You show me a lot of things."

"Me?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Yes, you." He tapped her nose with his finger.

"What did I show you?" She was curious.

"You show me that I can have good grades if I work hard enough. You show me that there are people who have to work hard for their money. You show me how someone can make sacrifices for the ones that they love. And you show me that two person in love can be happy without the partying, going to fancy restaurants and expensive gifts." He turned and placed his hands on her shoulders, his nose touching hers. "You open my eyes to so many things, Elphaba. You've changed me. For the better."

She smiled slightly, embarrassed by his confession.

"I love you," he told her as he tilted his face and kissed her, his hands on her face.

"We'll be stuck here the whole night if this continues," she teased him when he stopped for air.

He flushed, but gave her one more kiss before he led the way.

"This is so peaceful," Elphab said as they cut across a patch of grass. "I love running the café, but it is always noisy. There is always someone at the café even during the off peak hours. I don't think there has been any time in the past few months when I am truly alone."

"Yeah, because there's this irritating prince who keeps badgering you," he snorted, and then winked at her.

"Do you know that I used to come out at night?" she asked.

He was aghast. "You came out alone?"

"Not you too!"

"Not me too what?"

"'It is too dangerous for a girl to come out alone at night. You are inviting danger. The students of Shiz may be all law-abiding students, but this is an open campus; we cannot stop outsiders from coming in.'" she spoke in a high pitch, raspy voice, imitating the head mistress with her hands at her hips.

Fiyero cracked up.

"So why does Shiz suddenly become a dangerous place just because I am a girl?"

Fiyero wiped away the tears from his eyes. "She's right, you know. It's dangerous for a girl to be out alone at night. Let me know the next time you want to come out for a midnight walk. I'll keep you company."

"You are usually asleep by then, Fiyero."

"Wake me up," he was insistent.

"I want to be alone."

"I will bring you to wherever you want and then I will hide behind a tree and zip my mouth." He made a zipping gesture across his mouth with his fingers.

"I don't need protection."

"You are my girlfriend. It is my job to protect you."

"I am not good at this girlfriend thing - " and then she stopped when she saw what was ahead of them.

They were near to the edge of the campus. It was a part of Shiz that she had not been before. In the daytime, it was just a cluster of nondescript trees and bushes along the Suicide Canal.

But now, late in the night, there were thousands of tiny lights of among the trees and bushes. Some of the lights moved. The light flashed greenish-yellow, blinked on and off. A light flashed on one side, and was seemingly answered by two others on the other side. They were all over the place, and formed a picture of nature at its most beautiful, strings of inter-crossing luminous display, stars that were within reach. One of the flashes left the trees and flew towards them, as if welcoming them.

Fiyero looked at the awe on her face.

"I hope you are not scared of insects," he said mischievously.

She looked at him, her jaw slightly opened, the question in her eyes.

"You can go in. They will not fly away."

He led her into the cluster of trees and they stood there, surrounded by the fireflies as they punctuated the darkness with their luminescence. A firefly landed on Elphaba, blinking its bright light.

"It's beautiful," she whispered.

"Just like you," he whispered back as he wrapped an arm around her. Elphaba rested her cheek on his shoulder as she looked at the beautiful show that nature had put on for them.

She felt his hand curved around her waist as his other hand held her hand.

"Good food, romantic location… do you know what will make this the perfect date?" he whispered into her ears.

"This is already perfect," she told him softly.

"Not really. What we are missing is a dance."

She protested lightly, but Fiyero raised her hand.

"You don't have to be embarrassed. Nobody's watching," he told her as he began to sway and sing.

"I saw you light the ballroom

With your sparkling eyes of brown

Graceful as an angel's wing

I dreamed a dance with you"

Elphaba tried to stifle her laughter.

"You're right. You can't sing." And she placed her hand on his shoulder and silenced him with a kiss. Fiyero got the hint and hummed the rest of the song.

You whispered slyly, softly

You told me you would be true

We spun around a thousand stars

I dreamed a dance with you

They swayed gently among the flashing lights, holding each other close. Undisturbed by anyone, witnessed by thousands.

A/N the song mentioned above is I Dreamed A Dance from Next To Normal. A totally poignant song (those who have watched the musical will know) but I thought it will be a suitable song for their first dance together. The eye colour has been changed though, because Elphaba does not have blue eyes.

I tried to draw another picture for this chapter, but it did not work out no matter how many times I tried (still very stress at work actually). It seems that I am destined to only draw once in my whole life. =) Or maybe someone was praying hard that I will not pollute the cyberspace with my amateurish drawing? :P