26.
"Now, we'll just take a look at that nasty fracture…"
The munchkin doctor said as he flipped the black & white x-ray and clipped it on the board, illuminating the picture. Elphaba, who had been standing next to Fiyero with her arms crossed, furrowed her brows at the image.
"That doesn't look good." She commented dryly, trying to mask the worry.
The doctor, whose thick, bushy beard ruffled whenever he spoke, turned to her and shoved his hands in his lab coat. "See that thin, branching line running across his thumbs?"
She squinted slightly and nodded.
"Well, that's hairline, but it's extensive damage." He said gruffly and turned back to the x-ray. "I reckon you'll have to keep the cast on for another 3 weeks or so."
At this, Fiyero whined and leapt down from the examination table he'd been sitting on. "But it itches! I can't do that for another 3 weeks!"
"The itch would be the least of your concerns," Elphaba warned as she narrowed her eyes at him. Fiyero simply glared back at her, albeit a little weakly.
The doctor rolled his eyes at the two of them and walked around to the table, lifting Fiyero's cast to examine it. "Be careful about putting any sort of pressure on it and you might even get it off in 2 weeks." He allowed Fiyero to take back his hand and pointed towards his drawer, "Do you want a lollipop?"
Elphaba cackled while Fiyero burned red with embarrassment.
"Uh, no thanks." He muttered, and the doctor shrugged nonchalantly.
"Come back next week and we'll take a look at it again." He said.
Fiyero barely stifled a groan while Elphaba reached forward and gave the doctor a firm handshake. The two of them then went outside and Fiyero was made to sit while Elphaba headed for the receptionist's desk to fill out some forms.
The room around them was cold and clinically white. Bright florescent lights hung above them and the air was thick with the scent of antiseptic and various other chemicals. He sat on a plastic chair which was angled next to a faded leather couch. A man and a woman had already taken the two ends of the couch and neither of them looked very awake.
The man was a quoxan – he could tell by his peculiar features. He was dressed in a dirty plaid shirt and worn out jeans. The magazine that he was staring idly at was dated 6 months ago, and if the bags under his eyes were any indication, he hadn't had a good night's rest for a long time.
The woman on the other end was a vinkun. Her skin was tanner than Fiyero's, almost like the color of caramel. She was hunched and chewing on the loose skin of her thumb as she scrolled desperately on her phone - like she were looking for something in particular in a sea of useless information.
Neither the man nor the woman looked like they knew each other, but Fiyero was sure that when he came in, he saw the two of them with a little boy who was led into another room.
This little titbit wasn't pertinent, of course. It was just another reason why Fiyero hated coming to the hospital.
His eyes found themselves wandering towards Elphaba, and he felt his restless heart calm. She was leaning over the counter, listening carefully to the nurse who was speaking to her and showing her several sheets of forms that she has yet to fill up. After what felt like forever, Elphaba was finally released, and they headed out for lunch.
They spoke very little as they stepped out into the parking lot, which was a little odd, since Elphaba was usually the one who would start the teasing – but of course, it's Elphaba. Every time he thought he had her figured out, she turns around and does something else.
It was a Thursday afternoon in the city and despite that, there were plenty of people milling about the streets. Fiyero followed behind Elphaba, noticing that the loose, black linen shirt she was wearing seemed very well put together with her navy jeans. He felt a sudden swell of pride that he could say that this was his girlfriend… Then again, the word 'girlfriend' didn't seem to fit her.
The feelings between them seemed to fall under their own category.
Whenever he looked at her, he felt almost giddy at the thought of being able to hold her close to him and not have her squirming out of his reach like she used to. And it was that warming sensation in his chest whenever he felt her touch on his skin that really sold him.
Although, nothing beats the feeling when he heard her say those three words…
When he'd heard it, he honestly thought he could die right there. It sounds stupid when he really thought about it, but it was as close to the truth as he could get it. Elphaba was a hard woman to love.
Every so often, Fiyero would playfully slip in the 'I love you's, and never once did Elphaba acknowledge them. It was pretty easy to tell that she was actively avoiding the subject.
So to finally hear them from her, without any prompting from himself? Well, that's pretty neat.
He found himself grinning like an idiot even as he thought about the first time she said it, and he could see Elphaba raising her brows at him. She slipped into the driver's seat and he pulled himself into the passenger side, feeling a lightness in his heart.
"You're doing that weird thing with your face." Elphaba said warily. She clicked on her seatbelt and waited for him to do the same.
He clipped his seat belt on and beamed at her. "That's what happiness looks like, my dear."
"Ew."
Fiyero laughed at her ridiculousness. "What? I feel pampered and loved."
At this, her cheeks seemed to darken and he had long figured out that that was the equivalent of a blush. The corner of her lips twitched slightly, but she quickly quipped back at him, "Oh you just wait. Once you get that cast off, you're driving me around for the next 3 months."
She pulled them out of the parking spot and began to drive eastwards, towards the outskirts of the city proper where there was a quaint little eatery that Fiyero liked.
"3 months?! I'm only in this cast for another 2 weeks!" He complained loudly.
Elphaba cackled wickedly, and Fiyero rolled his eyes, frowning. He could tell that she was observing him from the corner of her eyes, and she grinned – feeling particularly amused by his annoyance at her.
"You're evil." He said finally.
"Now he realizes." She laughed as they turned a corner. The car maneuvered smoothly and Fiyero could tell that they would be reaching their destination in a couple of minutes. She became quiet again, and Fiyero wondered if she actually thought that he was upset at her.
"You know I was joking, right?" He asked carefully. "I don't actually think that you're evil."
Elphaba seemed surprised and shook her head distractedly. "I know when you're joking." She said, and then paused for a little bit, as if she were ruminating, before finally continuing, "I've just… I have a lot to consider recently."
Before he could press her for answers, she pulled the car over and cut the engine. He blinked blankly at her and it took a while, but he realized that they had parked right outside the eatery.
"That was fast." He grumbled as he pushed the button for his seat belt and felt the strap retract away from his body.
Elphaba did the same and quickly got out of the car.
The eatery was a munchkin style joint with plenty of wheat and grain based foods that are accompanied nicely with a healthy jug of ale – not that either of them would be ordering that, of course.
Fiyero waited until they got inside and were seated before he tried again.
"So, what's gotten into you?" He asked as the munchkin waitress placed a menu in front of the both of them.
"Not you, apparently." She quipped with a smirk, her eyes still glued to the menu.
"Oi."
"Alright, alright." She sighed heavily and placed the menu down, wholly focusing on him. There was a little dip in her voice, and every word that she said seemed to feel elaborate. "There's a… chance… that I may have to head back to Munchkinland in a couple of months…"
"…Oh?" He felt his brows slowly rise, and a slow dread began to creep under his skin. "But you'll be back in time for the Calico summit."
Elphaba pursed her lips.
"I'll be going after the summit, so that's good, at least." She said empathetically, although it didn't sound very convincing to him.
"Is it something to do with your father?" He asked. Fiyero heard very little about Elphaba's father – just that he's a man of the cloth now, and that he used to be a congressman. "How long would you be gone?"
She shook her head. "It's not Frex. He's doing fine… Travelling to Ev on an evangelizing trip apparently. Although I suppose that does tie in with why I have to go back…"
"Have to? I thought you said that you might go back – not have to."
"The house in Nest Hardings is sitting on some prime land. Old, large, and very valuable." She sighed tiredly. "Frex would be on his trip circling Ev, Quox and Filaan for the next 2 years, and we can't leave the house unattended."
"Don't you have servants or something? They're attending the house, aren't they?" He frowned deeply, suddenly feeling panic slowly rise in his chest.
"It's tricky business." She said firmly, and he could tell that she wasn't too happy about it either. "Nessa won't be able to hold the fort. She's doing well in the conservatory and we can't rip her away from the only thing keeping her from turning into a religious zealot like my father… And it's not like I don't have a regional office in Munchkinland, I could still work—"
"—why do you have to go back there?" He asked sternly.
She paused for a long time, and then exhaled sharply.
"There are people who want to turn my ancestral home into a museum or a theme park… And I'm telling you, the property on Nest Hardings is old enough for the government to poke their nose into it." She said, her words were deliberate and careful. "I don't get along with my father much, and I care very little about his religion, but I know that it's all he's got. I'm not going to blame him for all of this."
Fiyero let this information sit for a while as he leaned away from the table. "They can't just take your house away from you… That's just ridiculous. I've got an apartment in Filaan and I haven't been back there in a couple of years – doesn't mean they can just claim it back."
"There are some people who're willing to pay a lot of money for the house." Elphaba sighed. "And when money doesn't work, they'll bring out the old laws, some ancient history about how the house is really public property or whatever convoluted madness their lawyers can cook up… There's just no way I won't be dragged into this."
He frowned deeply at that. The palms of his hands were suddenly slippery with sweat, and his head was spinning with the thought of Elphaba having to leave so soon after he finally caught up to her.
2 years.
She would be going home to Munchkinland for 2 years.
"How long had you known?"
Before she could speak, they were interrupted by the waitress, who came back to them with a nice glass of iced tea for each of them. She placed them down on the coasters and walked away.
Elphaba took a sip from hers before speaking. Her voice was oddly detached.
"Maybe 2 weeks? We were right in the middle of dealing with all the preparation for the summit and we got busy, and then the fight happened and you got yourself hurt—"
"—no no no, we're not talking about me, we're talking about you." He grumbled as he begun to feel irritated, an onset side effect of the hurt. He felt angry just looking at her. Those pretty hazel eyes, and the exotic green skin… Augh. Why'd she have to be so mesmerizing?!
He took a large gulp of his iced tea and groaned at the dull pain at the base of his brain. "Gahhh. Even the tea is out to get me."
"Then don't drink it so fast." She narrowed her eyes at him worriedly.
"Well, I'm angry!" He snapped back haughtily. "When were you gonna tell me? When you're on the plane to Munchkinland?!"
"I was going to tell you when – you – got – home." She said bitingly, beginning to feel annoyance at his anger at her.
"Auugh, I am so pissed at you right now." He groaned frustrated, "I mean, I love you, but for Lurline's sake, 2 years?!"
"W-Wha-?! How is this my fault?!"
"That's why Ted Huntley was so happy to leave you alone, wasn't he?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "He quit Soloman and went back to Munchkinland just two days ago to set up his own firm… He knows, doesn't he?"
"Ted didn't know anything for shit's sake." Elphaba said through gritted teeth. "I could care less about what he's doing."
"Ah Lurline, he's going to be coming up to your doorstep every single day with roses," Fiyero groaned frustratedly and ran his one good hand through his hair. "Do that every day for 2 years and I might fall in love with him too."
"W-What?!" She furrowed her brows at him and frowned. "I mean, you'll visit, won't you? Even if he did try to do something, as long as…" She trailed off and bit her tongue, flushing deeply.
"As long as?"
She exhaled sharply, "As long as you're mine."
Fiyero paused – and suddenly the anger and irritation seemed to dissipate. His frown twitched, and it was in danger of up turning. Oh, he's still pissed off – but it was hard to stay mad when the usually stoic Elphaba is forcing herself to say cheesy, romantic things.
"As long as you're mine?"
"I mean, so long as we got that out," she mumbled awkwardly, trying to sound nonchalant, "As long as you're mine, and I'm yours, it doesn't matter what he does. I'm not interested… If anything, I should be the one who's worried about women jumping your bones the moment I'm out of the city."
Fiyero felt his cheeks flush, and he scoffed, raising his cast at her. "Hey! I nearly killed a man for you. I don't do that for just anybody y'know?"
"I'm more worried about the women in this city than about you doing anything of the sort," She snorted and rolled her eyes at him.
He glanced at her as his lips twitched into a smile, and she looked back at him with a smile of her own. There was a knowing silence between them.
"... If Frex asked me to do this 6 months ago, I probably would've said no." She said suddenly, in a small voice. "But I suppose that after having made a new… friend—"
Fiyero snorted, and she laughed lightly, averting her eyes in embarrassment. "—well, I guess I learned that it was okay to show that I care… and that I should show it more often… For my family, friends… Yada yada, blah blah."
He couldn't help but grin at her now, and he felt that warmth flooding into his chest. She grinned back at him, and he felt his body move on its own. He stood suddenly and walked over to her, accidentally bumping his hip on the edge of the table.
The stunned look on her face was quickly replaced with something akin to bliss as he leaned down and kissed her soundly.
It's going to be a very odd day.
There was just something in the air that unsettled her, and as she rushed to get her things into the little hard drive she had plugged into her computer, Milla felt her pulse rushing. A day after she received the email from corporate, she had noticed that everyone seemed to be scrambling.
There was a lot to do for the Calico summit and business strategies carried most of the stress when it came to helping Elphaba prepare for things like that. If they did it right, a bonus was surely on the way for them at the end of the year. If not, there was a good chance that half of them would lose their jobs by winter.
Milla was not going to stick around for that.
They said to pull out by the end of the month but she was getting nowhere with Boq, and company secrets were incredibly closely guarded around here. So long as she grabbed whatever she could off the cloud, maybe she could at least sell enough of it to buy a ticket out to Ev… Getting a decent apartment when she got there would be another story all together, but money for a ticket would be nice.
20 minutes later, her files had finally downloaded. She had never felt so relieved in her life. She finally took the time to observe her surroundings.
Papers and files were stacked high on everybody's desks. There was a queue at the printer, and many of them were typing furiously into their computers – either they were rapidly replying emails, or crawling through the internet to look for information that maybe helpful for their cause.
And the phones.
The constant, incessant ringing of the phones.
That's something she wouldn't miss.
As if sensing that she was already listing her office pet peeves, her computer rang out with a sharp ping and it indicated that she had received an email. Milla sat down and sighed, knowing that she could simply pick up her bag, leave her resignation letter on Boq's desk, and leave the city forever – but habit forced her to sit down and take a look at the mail.
She clicked on the notification and read through the contents of the email… Her brows raised slowly as she realized that it was a draft of the quarterly company finance report… except that the numbers seems a little low… And she wasn't supposed to be looped into this…
Accidents like that rarely happened, and most times, Milla would be suspicious - but after her string of bad luck, she liked to think that perhaps she had finally found her golden ticket out of here.
Imagine what Grizzle would fork out for actual evidence that Thropp Co. was running red?
Of course for one, they would have the Calico license deal in the bag.
"— Elphaba's going back to Munchkinland after the summit—"
Milla perked up at the mention of Elphaba's name and leaned back to listen to Darius and Collins gossip… Most of what she compiled for Grizzle up till now had been mostly consisted of their break time gossips and pantry rumours.
"How'd you know?" Collins asked curiously as he sipped his cup of coffee, leaning casually against Darius' desk that was right behind Milla's.
"Overheard her tell Boq when she was walking out this morning." Darius said. "Sounds like a rushed trip… One way ticket too."
"You can't possibly know that!" Collins sounded unconvinced.
"It's true! Every word." Darius assured confidently. "She was getting Boq to prepare the details for her. I'm tellin' ya… it doesn't sound like a holiday."
"Maybe something's happened in the regional offices? Remember when she first stepped up as CEO? She flew out to Ev for the first couple of months to deal with some stuff over there, personally."
"That was after she shut down the office in the Ruby Marshes, wasn't it?" Darius seemed to recall. "Something big must be happening then… The Munchkinland offices is only second to HQ seeing that they used to be HQ before we moved out into the city—"
It was then that Milla decided to stop listening in.
If Thropp Co. was really running red, it would make sense for Elphaba to personally fly down to Munchkinland to deal with whatever was happening there, especially since Munchkinland offices handles over 30% of Thropp Co. assets alone. HQ handled 50%, and the rest were spread out evenly between the offices in the Vinkus and up in the Gillikin Counties.
The report must be true then… And oh what a gold mine she just stepped into – or in this case, accidentally email looped into.
She might be able to afford that new apartment out in Ev after all.
There was 2 months until the Calico Summit.
To help ease the stress that everyone was carrying from the preparations, Arjiki Tradings held a little soiree at the Red Wood Gardens for the employees and it included a live band that played on the medium sized stage that sat by the pond and a large tent in the clearing that had free food and drinks flowing all day.
The grunts were ecstatic, and most of everyone had brought someone with them to enjoy the festivities. There was a corner on the far end of the gardens that had balloon artists and face painting for the children, and when Elphaba had walked around with Fiyero, many of the children stared at her like she was the greatest thing that had ever seen.
One of them even came up to her to ask why she didn't want to do the lion face or the tiger face paint like the other kids.
Fiyero had been worried that she would get upset, but Elphaba had told him that she had come to terms with her condition decades ago, so he shouldn't be the one worrying for her when it came to the color of her skin.
"Hey you guys!"
The two of them, who'd been standing in a quieter spot with their drinks near the pond, turned around to see Glinda with Chuffery, and Boq with a bagel in his mouth. Glinda and Chuffrey were like a matching pair of golden angels.
Their strikingly blond hair were perfectly coifed and their pale skin looked almost like pure alabaster. Even their clothes were in perfect synchrony. She was dressed in a light, strapless floral sun dress that was accompanied with her Karen Ozmaz handbag, and Chuffrey wore a white Arimini dress shirt that had its sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and beige pants from the same designer.
It was as if they stepped right out of a gillikinese fashion magazine.
Compared to them, Boq, who stood next to Chuffrey, looked like he wore rags and bargain bin pants.
"Elphie, I'm telling ya, this bagel has got to be the best bagel in the entire city," Boq moaned blissfully as he chewed. "I'm gonna get this guy to set up shop in the building."
"Hey!" Fiyero greeted, happy that his friends were here, but a little shocked by their presence as well. "What are you guys doing here?"
Glinda laughed, and ran her hand up and down Chuffrey's arm, "This guy here was invited by Baldr so he brought me."
"Please tell me that you two then found Boq wandering the streets of the Emerald City so you decided to adopt him." Elphaba quipped playfully as her eyes flashed towards an indignant Boq.
"Oi!"
"Oh, we did happen to meet Boq on our way here though." Chuffrey said helpfully, oblivious to Elphaba's jab.
She cackled while Boq scoffed at her, finishing off his bagel and dusting the crumbs off of his hands. He wiped his fingers on a clean corner of the napkin that his bagel used to sit in. "We figured that you'll be here since it is an Arjiki event and you two have been fused by the hip ever since you finally got together."
"No we're not."
"No we're not."
They both said in unison and both flushed deeply after.
It was Boq's turn to laugh, though it came out more like a snicker for Elphaba's benefit. She gave him a look that promised physical reparations later when she wasn't forced to be polite in front of other people, and he gulped.
"Hey, so where's Tibbett and Crope?" Glinda asked as she glanced around. For some reason, men who walked by her seemed to stare with sparkles in their eyes before accidentally walking into each other or tripping over something.
Fiyero jutted his thumb towards the crowd that was dancing in front of the stage where the band played. "They've been at it they got here."
The group peeked across the pond and watched as Tibbett and Crope, the only two men dancing with each other, swung and swayed with the music, laughing and making a nuisance of themselves while the other couples tried to stay out of their swinging trajectory.
Glinda laughed, and tugged at Chuffrey's arm. "Let's do that!"
He seemed surprised and for an older man like him, he probably didn't really want to do that, but Chuffrey was obviously very enamoured with Glinda, so he smiled and allowed her to drag him towards the crowd.
Boq wandered off to grab more bagels and Fiyero was left with Elphaba, who glanced at him just as he turned to her. Just as he smiled, the crowd that had been dancing stopped suddenly and they were applauding the band as the song ended. Another song began to play, and this time it was a slow dance.
Fiyero recognized the song – his mother used to play it all the time on the antique gramophone they had in their house in the Vinkus. Hearing it again after all this time made him both hopeful and a little sad. His smile began to falter.
Elphaba raised her brows and seemed to realize that his change in attitude was because of the song. He was surprised when she suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him around the pond, towards the stage and the dancing crowd. Glinda and Chuffrey were huddled on the other side of the crowd, and Tibbett and Crope were holding each other closely as they swayed to the music.
"But you hate—"
"—I'm off to Munchkinland in 2 months, are you sure you want to argue with me right now?" She replied as she stopped in the middle of the crowd and stood awkwardly in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders. Elphaba was only a little bit shorter than him, and it made for a comfortable fit between the two of them, he realized.
Fiyero found himself grinning at her as a warmth began to spread in his chest. He placed a kiss on her cheek as he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him. The band continued to play the song, and Fiyero began to sway… Laughing when he realized that Elphaba didn't know how to dance at all.
She was scowling at him and trying very hard not to step on his toes, muttering curses whenever she accidentally knocked her shoes against his.
"Stupid bloody shoes—"
"—you're doing fine, Elphaba." He chuckled amusedly as he spun her and she nearly barrelled towards another couple who strayed too close to them. The couple gasped and danced away from them, giving them the evil eye.
"No I'm not," She rolled her eyes at him and punched his chest, "And don't do that again without warning me."
Fiyero touched the spot where she punched him and pretended to be hurt, whining and pouting. Elphaba simply scoffed. "Weak."
"Well that's definitely something I would miss when you're gone," He huffed sarcastically. "All this domestic abuse."
"Oh I'm sure." She snickered.
"Such love and affection."
"Don't forget about all the attention I shower on you."
"Ah yes. That 2 hour buffer before you reply my texts."
"Sometimes 3 when I feel like you really deserve it."
"And the way you scoot away from me when I touch you? That's fun too."
"I feel like I've made it up to you that night after we got back to your apartment from the munchkinlander eatery."
"Hmph… Yeah I guess so… Can we do that again tonight?"
"…Depends."
"On?"
Before Elphaba could reply, someone had come up behind her and tapped on her shoulders. When she turned around, Fiyero saw that it was Boq – and in the first time in many months, he felt like he could toss the munchkin into the pod behind them.
"Trouble." Boq said hurriedly, and he glanced towards Fiyero. "You're gonna want to see this too."
A/N Glad that you guys enjoyed the previous chapter! Just a heads up, Chapter 29 would be the last chapter, and Chapter 30 would be a shorter 'epilogue' of sorts to wrap things up. I've been terribly busy with work recently and haven't been able to sit down and post these... But I do receive the email notifications when you guys review, so that's fun ;)
Also, Pride Month has begun (especially around my neighbourhood in San Francisco) so happy Pride everyone! Here's to the freedom to love!