In which Glinda and Elphaba have The Talk

Elphaba rubbed at her temples whilst Glinda paced around their room. "You know I find it hard to talk about things, my love."

"Nonsense, Elphaba, that is nonsense. I've never known anyone talk so much as you – about anything, everything and nothing."

Realising that were probably true, despite her own ideas to the contrary, Elphaba remained subdued.

"I'd really like us to actually talk about this."

Elphaba fidgeted. A large part of her didn't want to hear what Glinda might say. Talking broke things, turned the spotlight on to things and melted them away.

But a larger part of her was going to be brave, do this properly. "This is important to you?"

"Well, yes."

"You know how I love you. That I am utterly devoted to you. Forever and always. That's not going to change, whatever we call ourselves." Elphaba hoped this heartfelt little display might take the conversation in a different direction. Perhaps towards the bed...

"Elphie, darling, I know that. I don't want anything to change. That's not the question. I just – I can't quite explain why but it is important to me."

Elphaba approached the worried looking blonde who was chewing adorably on her lip, clearly nervous about Elphaba's response. The response was to take Glinda's face in both her hands and look at her intensely.

"Then it is important to me," Elphaba said simply.

With a sigh of relief Glinda folded herself in to comforting arms. "Thank you, Elphie. Thank you."

They moved to Elphaba's bed where they lay together, Glinda playing with their entwined hands and staring at them intently while Elphaba just stared at Glinda, who eventually found the words to begin.

"It's just that two friends – or even just two people – who profess to love each other, like we do, in the way we do, and who kiss each other, like we do, in the way we do..."

Elphaba grinned wickedly at that thought and would have instigated some of that very kissing had she not been being good about this for Glinda.

"... and who touch each other and cannot keep their hands off each other in the way we... well, can't..."

Elphaba could only agree with that, there being no evidence to the contrary as they were wrapped together as close as could be, much as they were whenever possible.

"... those people, they are not friends. Well they are friends, rather they are more than friends. They are... involved. Romantically involved."

Glinda tipped a fearful head in Elphaba's direction to gauge how the word 'romantic' had been received.

"So..." Elphaba said ponderously, not appearing to have shattered in to glass at the concept. "I think what you are trying to say is that you would henceforth like to call our attachment one of romantic involvement. As in 'And may I introduce you to Glinda, my romantic involvement'."

Spilling over with happiness and adoration for the ridiculous green girl Glinda launched herself at her and kissed her to breathlessness.

"Girlfriend," Glinda panted. "You may refer to me as your girlfriend."

After they had properly consummated and celebrated their newly defined girlfriendhood they lay entangled in sheets, Glinda on her stomach kicking her legs happily in the air and Elphaba sinking in to the pillows whilst winding Glinda's hair around her fingers.

"What about the others?" Glinda marched her fingers across Elphaba's chest.

"What about them? We know Crope and Tibbett are at it whenever possible and frankly I have my doubts about Pfannee and Shenshen which is a horri-"

Although mildly intrigued that was not the question Glinda had been asking. "I mean about 'us' in relation to 'them'."

"In the matter of our romantic involvement?" Elphaba caught the fingers and brought them to her lips for kisses.

"Yes, as in us being girlfriends. What do you want to do?"

Elphaba looked back at her nonplussed. "Nothing?"

"Elphaba! What is the point of us calling ourselves girlfriends if we have no-one to call it to?"

"I thought that was just about us. Well, you, primarily. I didn't realise it was for everyone else's benefit."

"It is about us, sweetheart, it is. You know that's all I care about. But I also wanted something to say, when asked."

"Who's asking?"

"No-one, yet. But I'm not sure how long we can keep up this pretence. I'm not sure how long I want to keep it up."

Kissing Glinda's palm Elphaba nodded. "I know."

"You do?"

"What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't?"

As hoped she was rewarded with some more kisses for her appropriate use of the term and she wrapped an arm round Glinda in an attempt to pull her closer.

"Do you have a plan already laid out, my sweet? An advertisement in the Shiz Enquirer?"

"I said I wanted to drop the pretence. I didn't say I wanted a grand unveiling."

This distinction was interesting to Elphaba. Though for Glinda she felt she could find the stomach for announcements.

"As in, we should just be ourselves." Glinda continued.

"Ourselves minus the pretence? These selves?" Elphaba gestured to their naked selves.

Glinda ignored that. "Just... just don't hold back." As soon as she said it she regretted it, seeing the spark in Elphaba's eyes. "Wait, no, do hold back. Inasmuch as one should, in public. But little touches, kisses, just like any other couple in love."

Elphaba could scarce believe her luck. "I am allowed to kiss you in front of our friends?"

Glinda chuckled. "Yes, if you like."

"On the lips?" Elphaba clarified.

"Of course." Glinda looked at Elphie with amusement and curiosity. "I didn't think you would be so interested in public displays of affection."

"Hang the public, I don't care about them. It's just we spend so much time, so regrettably, out there..." she indicated the rest of the world beyond their room with a flick of the wrist, "that this increases my kissing quota exponentially."

Glinda laughed and added further kisses to Elphaba's eager tally.

"Oh, and," she thought it prudent to mention, in between kisses. "If Pfannee ever hears you say anything like that about her there will be absolute hell to pay."

Elphaba was interested – in a purely scientific way, she would have you know – to try this new experiment the next time they met with their wider circle of friends. Along with Nessarose and Nanny the pair entered the pub holding hands.

No-one batted an eyelash.

They sat as close together as possible. Elphaba's arms were around Glinda's waist. Glinda was almost in Elphaba's lap and leaning her head in to the crook of Elphaba's neck.

No-one blinked an eyelid.

They looked deeply in to one another's eyes, murmuring gently with contented little smiles. Elphaba planted a long kiss on top of Glinda's head in her hair. Glinda raised Elphie's hand to her lips and kissed it not once but several times.

No-one even glanced over.

"I think, my love," Elphaba pointed out once back in their room, "We may have been a lot less discreet than we had imagined."

The next time they committed themselves with a bit more gusto. Nessa rolled her eyes, knowing how unnecessary this all was, but did not intervene.

Glinda did actually sit in Elphaba's lap for a while. Elphaba raked her fingers up and down Glinda's arms. Glinda, blushing furiously, put her hand on Elphie's thigh. Elphie's head rolled back and her eyes closed as Glinda drew little circles on the back of her neck.

They were thoroughly and completely ignored.

Elphaba turned to Glinda. "Your plan? Not working."

Glinda could only agree that her plot for a stealthy unveiling had been ruined by the complete obliviousness of their social circle – helped in no small part, she was sure, by the immunity they had built up after seeing constant acts of affection between the two best friends.

It had been such a tantalisingly long road to this point and though Glinda had loved every minute of it she simultaneously had been desperate to get here. A place where she didn't have to hide anything from Elphaba, didn't have to resist the impulse to shower her with adoration, to love her freely and openly. And now they were here and gloriously in love and wanting to take the next step in their newly defined relationship and their friends were unwittingly impeding them.

If Glinda were to ask she knew that Elphaba would climb on to the table and declare their love not only to their friends but to the whole pub. Elphaba would climb the bell towers of every college of Shiz University and declare their love, if Glinda were to ask. The thought caused her to tremble. Glinda had never known it were possible to have another person feel so completely a part of you and she felt overcome by the sensation.

"Kiss me!" she exhaled.

Elphaba looked at her, startled. But this was not for show, whatever Glinda had been pondering had ignited something. Elphaba felt Glinda's hand on the back of her neck and did not hesitate to lean forward and deliver a slow, long kiss.

The table was silent. But as tables are generally quite taciturn creatures that was little to remark upon. More interestingly all the people sat around it fell silent themselves. Glinda and Elphaba both could only correctly assume that this was on their account.

"Ahem!" Crope leant over towards them. "You do know you're supposed to be pretending – to us at least – that you don't actually do that."

"Now then, Crope," said Elphaba languidly, breaking off from the kiss. "Because I am in such a good mood I am not going to detach your head from your shoulders."

"There's not going to be any more pretending," Glinda told everyone, feeling almost shy.

"No more pretending!" Avaric called in a toast, raising his glass. Everyone called out in reply and drank along and a few minutes later it was as if nothing had ever happened.