A/N: Not so much a fluffy chapter as the others…just a warning.

Elphaba entered through the door to her dorm room to find the room vacant. That's when she heard the faint sounds of running water and knew Glinda must be taking a shower. How the green woman longed for the day that she would be able to join Glinda in one of those showers. She knew that would never come about however.

Elphaba was allergic to water. The mere sight of it even made her cringe. What the hydrogen oxygen mixture did to her skin was worse than anything that could ever happen to another.

Sure some people were lactose intolerant and could not have dairy. Sure some people had wheat allergies and could not have pasta's or bread. Others even had allergies to certain animals and could not be around them.

All of those allergies were tolerable however. Elphaba's was not. The green woman's allergy was life threatening. So much so that if the green woman was caught in a rainstorm she would surely meet her demise.

The thought scared the green woman more than she would ever let on. She had to be strong and act like it didn't scare her. She had to be the fearless warrior that everyone thought she was. If she showed weakness for one second, her whole world might crumble around her.

Elphaba Thropp Third Descending from Nest Hardings was not weak.

Or at least that's what she had told Glinda and so many other's.

Today was different however. It had been raining all day and the green woman had tried to remain inside. Even with her umbrella the renegade raindrop would often strike her skin leaving a welt the size of a dime. And that was only from one raindrop. What happened on this particular day was not one accidental raindrop. It was bad luck.

The green woman carefully made her way over to her bed and discarded her drenched book bag. The next thing she took off was her rain jacket followed by her shoes.

No matter how much Elphaba had bundled up on the way home she had been pelted with quite a few raindrops.

"Damn it." The green woman cursed as she tried to pull her gloves off of her blistering hands. Her hands had gotten the worst of it. The wind had been spraying the rain from every which direction causing holding the umbrella unbearable. The gloves were soaked.

"Okay calm down Elphaba. It's only a burn." The green woman tried to ease her fear as she continued to strip from her clothing. She wanted to be cleaned up before Glinda emerged. Her love would surely make a huge deal out of this.

"What's only a burn?" Glinda's sweet voice filled the air as the door to the bathroom opened.

Elphaba looked up at the sight of Glinda in a towel walking towards her.

"Damn it!" Elphaba cursed in her head as Glinda made her way over. Luck was not on her side today.

"Uh nothing. Nothing is a burn." Elphaba ignored Glinda as she tried to cover her hands underneath her somewhat dry sleeves. It wasn't very successful.

"Okay…" Glinda seemed unconvinced but she dropped the subject. She needed to get dressed for her next class.

"Is it still raining out?" The blonde asked her girlfriend as she looked through her wardrobe for something to wear.

"Yes." The green woman replied before entering the bathroom to shed the rest of her clothes.

"Did you have any problems getting back to the room?" Glinda called to the bathroom as she picked out a light yellow dress.

"No." Elphaba lied as she shed the last of her clothing. She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a little while before sighing. She had been lucky this time but next time she might not be. The rain had really only affected her hands and ankle area. Everywhere else seemed normal.

"Good." Glinda called back as she changed into the yellow dress that she had picked out. "I don't need to worry about you getting yourself hurt while I'm off in class. Promise me you won't go out again unless it's necessary."

"Promise." Elphaba half chuckled as she pulled on a robe. In her quick stride towards the bathroom she had forgotten something to change into.

"Good. Now come and give me a goodbye kiss." Glinda walked her way over towards the bathroom door.

The green woman emerged in her robe and walked to meet Glinda.

"What's with the robe? Are you planning on taking one of your oil baths?" Glinda asked as she wrapped her arms around her love to give her a hug.

"I am planning on doing just that." Elphaba lied as she hugged her love. She didn't need Glinda worrying about her burns.

"I wish you would wait until I could join you but oh well…" Glinda sighed dramatically as she pulled back to look into her love's eyes.

"Not every oil bath has to end up with a giggly blonde in the tub." The green woman smirked.

"Nope not every one. Just the best ones!" Glinda grinned as she leaned forward to give her love a goodbye kiss.

"Those do tend to be the best ones." Elphaba smiled as she pulled back from her love. "Now go to class and learn something." Elphaba patted her love on the behind, which earned her another giggle.

"But I could stay here and learn something too." Glinda smiled but released her grip around her love's waist.

"Learn something? You seem to be the teacher!" Elphaba chuckled as Glinda went over to pick up her books.

"Well maybe later I'll teach you a thing or two about proper oil baths." Glinda grinned as she went over to the door.

"Looking forward to it." Elphaba smiled as her love walked out the door.

As soon as the blonde exited, Elphaba's smile dropped. She was in a little pain and was having difficulty masking it anymore. Glinda could never know of her weakness.

Never.