AN. I wanted to give a shout out to a few of my twitter friends who read this story:

First of all to Kelly, because she's been very excited to read this chapter. We actually met in August at the stage door of Wicked in Perth, and now here we are! I never expected to get a new friend out of the trip, or to get you hooked on FF but it's made me love Wicked even more because i've made some awesome friends through the fandom!

Also a shout out to Micheala, who's tweets as she reads through this story make me laugh, because it's like I'm right there with you as you're reading!

37

Although Fiyero was ecstatic to have Elphaba permanently in the Vinkus once more, there was one element he was uncertain on and he somehow couldn't bring himself to raise the subject- where exactly did it leave them standing on the subject of marriage? Til June, Elphaba had asked him for, but that was only because she wanted to finish up her contract at the orphanage… which she was no longer obligated to.

Given the tragic circumstances under which that had occurred, Fiyero hadn't thought the best thing was to ask Elphaba her thoughts on the matter. But sometimes it felt as though the subject of their marriage was on everyone's lips, but Elphaba's.

Since Lurlinemas, Elphaba had taken Ibrahim's offer up and was beginning to learn what some of her duties would be as the Vinkun princess. Part of this also involved her fully stepping into the public eye for the first time since she and Fiyero had begun dating.

Of course, it had always been news that Fiyero Tiggular had changed all his past behaviour and was involved in a serious relationship- especially when they'd discovered that Elphaba had a… unique verdigris. But they'd never really been exposed to her, Fiyero, Kasmira and Ibrahim had all been firm keeping her from the public eye.

But now, Elphaba was making a point to go and meet the people and it was taken by a sign by most that an engagement announcement would not be far off. Galinda, well known to be best friends with Elphaba, was often drawn into conversations in town with civilians, hoping for information.

"There's just so much rumour and speculation," she said to Elphaba one day. "Innuendo… outuendo. I can't tell you how many times I've had to set the record straight."

But Elphaba was thriving, she'd always loved the Vinkus since her first visit and she found the people very welcoming. It gave her a new understanding of the political and social issues of the province, which Ibrahim was more than happy to discuss and debate with her.

It was late one night in mid-February when Fiyero was getting ready for bed as Elphaba was going into their en suite bathroom to brush her teeth. Fiyero groaned slightly with relief as he sat down on the bed and pulled his shoes off. He'd hard a long day and was definitely ready for bed.

"Fiyero."

He looked up tiredly at Elphaba's annoyed tone and looked up to see her standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips.

"What?" he asked her.

She held up the tube of toothpaste in her hand exasperatedly. "You're squeezing from the middle again."

Fiyero grimaced, it was one of his girlfriend's biggest pet peeves. "Sorry, Fae. I forget."

"How do you forget?" she demanded.

"I don't think about where I'm squeezing the toothpaste from when I brush my teeth!" Fiyero protested in his own defence. "And I've been doing it for twenty-six years, I just don't think about it."

Elphaba sighed irritably. Then she frowned as she noticed the grin on his face.

"You think it's funny?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Fiyero chuckled. "No, sweet girl, I don't."

"Then why are you grinning like an idiot?"

He shrugged. "I just find it nice that we're in that stage of our relationship where we can argue over toothpaste."

Elphaba stared at him for a moment blankly.

"Wondering why you love me?" Fiyero asked with a teasing grin even as he stripped off his shirt.

"Every day," she teased back and returned to the bathroom.

Fiyero laughed and leaned back on his elbows tiredly. He watched as Elphaba brushed her teeth, her long black hair in a ponytail and dressed in her nightgown. She rested her weight on one leg as she stood at the sink and absent-mindedly tapped her bare toes on the tiled floor.

It was a scene Fiyero had seen many times before, but never really studied. But now he watched her, and tilted his head in thought, that he loved the idea of watching her brush her teeth every night for the rest of their lives.

He stood up and went to stand in the bathroom doorway, watching as she spat and rinsed her mouth out.

"Marry me."

Elphaba's eyes shot up to meet his in the mirror, the large brown eyes wide with shock.

"What?" she asked, thinking she'd misheard.

"Marry me," Fiyero repeated, his tone quiet and solemn.

Elphaba turned around to face him, clutching her toothbrush in her hand. "Are you proposing to me as I brush my teeth?" she asked in disbelief.

Fiyero nodded. "Yes."

She was completely overwhelmed, not sure what to say or how to react. "Really?" she demanded. "So, when your parents, Galinda… our children… ask about this story, this is what you want to tell them? That I was brushing my teeth and you said 'Marry me'?"

Fiyero couldn't help but smile and shrugged. "Alright, fine."

He stepped forward and gently eased the toothbrush out of her hand, putting it away and turning off the tap, before taking her hand and leading her into their bedroom. He couldn't read Elphaba's face as he turned to face her and drew her close; but the fact she hadn't said "No" outright was a good sign.

"I wanted this moment to be perfect," he lamented sadly, thinking of all his grand proposal plans he'd been developing since Micah and Galinda's wedding. "Because you deserve that and you've already missed out on so many things that you should have had, that you deserved to have, in your life... and if I can spend the rest of my life trying to give you the perfect moments and the experiences you deserve, then I will."

Elphaba felt dizzy, like she wasn't sure exactly what was happening. She couldn't even speak, all she could do was meet Fiyero's gaze and remind herself to breathe.

"I know I promised you time," he said quietly. "But I can't wait any longer. I want to marry you Fae, and I want it to be soon. You asked for until June, and then I could propose whenever I wanted. But things changed… and I just… I love you, Elphaba. I love you and I can't live without you and I need you to marry me, because I can't wait anymore. Not when I would have married you as soon as I knew I loved you if I could have. So, marry me. Please?"

Fiyero waited anxiously as Elphaba just stared at him silently. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, but it felt like hours to him. And then she leaned up and kissed him urgently, winding her arms around his neck and pulling them together as close as she could. Fiyero responded eagerly, tightening his grip around her.

"Just so you know," he murmured, moving his lips to her neck. "I'm taking this as a 'yes'."

"You do that," she gasped breathlessly, jumping up and wrapping her emerald legs around his waist.

"How's next week for you?" he asked, moving over to the bed.

She laughed as he lay her down and hovered over her.

"May," she replied and Fiyero pulled back to frown at her.

"May? Why May?"

"Why not? Can we talk about this later?" she demanded impatiently and Fiyero grinned.

"Whatever you want, green girl," he agreed, and lowered his lips to hers.

Hours later, Fiyero drew lazy patterns on her back with his finger as he looked at her in the darkness.

"So, why May?"

She shrugged sleepily, moving closer to him. "I don't know. It just sounds nice for a wedding… and it's soon, but gives people a little more notice than next week."

Even with her eyes closed and face smooth, Fiyero could tell she was mocking him and Fiyero chuckled quietly as he kissed her nose lightly. "Can you blame me for being a little impatient?"

Her eyes opened then and she met his gaze seriously. "No," she answered in a whisper. "You've been more than patient with me."

Fiyero didn't miss the slight note of guilt in her tone and frowned, moving so that he was leaning over her.

"Hey," he said gently, leaning down and kissing her softly. "Just because I was impatient, doesn't mean I wouldn't wait forever for you, Fae," he whispered.

"Because you…my beautiful, brilliant, sweet, amazing green girl; my commotion; my beautiful tragedy; my princess… are so more than worth the wait."

Tears filled Elphaba's eyes and she shivered slightly as she kissed him.

"I love you, Yero my hero. I love you so much," she murmured.

Fiyero smiled as he held her in his arms and stroked her hair to lull her to sleep. "I love you too, fiancée."

Elphaba chuckled tiredly as she wrapped herself firmly in his embrace, allowing him to ease her to sleep.

Fiyero was gone when she awoke the next morning, and Elphaba actually had to stop for a few moments and wonder whether the night before had been a dream or if it had actually happened.

Finally she'd snorted and rolled her eyes at herself.

"Yes, Elphaba, because that's the type of thing you usually dream about," she muttered to herself, getting up and seeing it was already half-past ten.

She was surprised for a moment that she'd slept that long, usually if she could manage to sleep past eight that was a massive achievement for her. As she washed her face and dressed, she wondered where Fiyero could be.

It was a Saturday, and whilst it was unusual for her to sleep in, it wasn't for him. They had no plans, except for lunch at Galinda and Micah's with Corin and Elphaba could not think where he'd be.

"Good morning, Elphaba. Did you sleep well?" Kasmira greeted her warmly when she met her in the corridors.

Elphaba paused for a moment, wondering whether to mention the engagement or not.

"I did," she finally replied. "Have you seen Yero? I was surprised he was up," she laughed and Kasmira chuckled.

"So was I," she replied dryly. "He said he had something to do, I think it might have been something Ibrahim asked him to do. He said if he wasn't back before lunch, he'd meet you at Micah and Galinda's."

Elphaba relaxed at that answer and went and got some tea from the kitchens. And when she arrived at Micah and Galinda's, he hadn't arrived yet.

Galinda was eight months pregnant by then, and although she insisted miserably that she was huge, she was still actually quite small.

"Have you heard from Nessa lately?" Galinda asked her as they sat in the living room.

Elphaba nodded. "Yes, I got a letter from her the other day. She said she and Boq are hoping to come visit during the summer."

"Oh, that would be great!" Galinda said excitedly. "Early or late summer?"

"She didn't specify, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was early… like May," Elphaba replied, smiling slightly to herself.

Galinda sighed. "Good. We're planning the christening for late May or early June, so this way Nessa and Boq will be able to come!"

Elphaba laughed. "Glin, don't you have to wait until the baby's actually born before you can plan the christening?" she asked and Galinda giggled.

"That's what Micah said. I don't understand why, though. I'm due in March and we know we have to wait three months, which takes it to June- so if we have a date, why can't I make plans?"

Elphaba couldn't actually see a flaw with her logic, and said so. It was a Vinkun tradition to christen the baby three months after its birth, so Galinda's reasoning did make sense.

Corin arrived then and looked faintly surprised to see Elphaba sitting with Galinda, but no Fiyero.

"Where's Fiyero?" he asked in confusion.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Who knows?"

Micah, who had been finding a book he'd promised Elphaba she could borrow, entered the room in time to hear her question and grinned.

"Well, if he's much longer, we're not waiting for him. Lunch smells too good to wait."

He handed the book to Elphaba and sat beside his wife.

"How much longer is 'much longer'?" Corin asked hopefully and Elphaba laughed.

"Are you hungry, Corin?"

"I skipped breakfast so I'd fit in lunch," he admitted.

Galinda giggled. "The Cook will be thrillified with that praise."

"Yeah, for Corin to miss a meal purposefully is the highest form of compliment," Micah laughed. "What is that Corin? The first time since we were thirteen?"

Corin made a face at his friend. "Shut up, Micah. Hey, Elphaba, I wanted to ask- what are you doing for your birthday next month? Twenty-five, the big one!"

"I thought twenty-one was 'the big one'?" Galinda frowned.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "If I get my way, nothing. But when it comes to Fiyero and Galinda and my birthday, when do I ever get my way?"

"Is someone dreading turning twenty-five?" Corin asked her teasingly.

Galinda shuddered. "I am," she replied, making a face. She would be twenty-five the following January.

"No, I'm not dreading turning twenty-five," Elphaba answered Corin. "I just don't like a big fuss. And Glin, why in Oz's name are you dreading turning twenty-five?"

"Because, Elphie! It means I'm only five years away from being thirty, and that means I'm only thirty years away from being sixty!"

She looked horrified at the idea, she even had tears well up in her eyes, and Elphaba rolled her eyes, but said nothing, knowing how hormonal and emotional her best friend was.

"I wonder what's keeping Yero?" Micah wondered aloud, tactfully changing the subject.

Corin sniggered. "Maybe he ran into a bunch of teenage girls wanting to touch his hair."

The others all laughed. Fiyero had been horrified when Galinda had told Micah about Yulia's parting request, who of course had immediately told Corin. And the four of them, Elphaba included, relentlessly teased him about it.

Finally, at long last, there was a knock on the front door and Micah went to let Fiyero in.

"Where have you been, Your Highness?" Corin demanded. "Us mere peasants here have been starving while you take your own sweet time getting here!"

Fiyero raised an eyebrow as he sat next to Elphaba, kissing her lingeringly which made Micah and Corin roll their eyes.

"Dude, limit the PDA please? We're about to eat," Corin complained and Fiyero ignored him.

"What, you mere peasants?"

Galinda sniffed delicately. "I should hope you're not including myself in that 'us' Corin."

"Yes, Galinda's anything but 'mere,'" Elphaba commented dryly and quickly turned to Fiyero.

"You were up early this morning."

He shrugged casually, a slight grin on his face. "There was something I had to get."

She frowned. "What?"

Fiyero reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box, which contained a delicate silver ring with a simple, beautiful diamond set on the thin band, which Elphaba noticed, was in the shape of a snowflake.

"Yero…"

"Because you love the snow," he explained. "I had to find the perfect one. Do you like it?"

She met his gaze, her eyes shining. "I love it. It's perfect."

Fiyero smiled at her softly, but then waved it teasingly before her face. "You don't get it yet though. You haven't actually said yes yet."

Elphaba only raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe that's because you haven't actually asked yet."

Fiyero distantly recalled his own words the night before and laughed.

"Alright, I'll give you that," he admitted.

He slipped off the couch beside her and knelt down on one knee, taking her left hand formally in his.

"Elphaba Melena Thropp, I love you more than life itself. Will you marry me?"

Elphaba smiled softly at him.

"Yes," she replied quietly, her eyes never leaving his.

Breaking into a grin, and privately thinking he could propose a million times and never get tired of it, Fiyero slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed her tenderly.

"I love you, Fae," he said softly.

Elphaba started to say something, but then stopped, her eyes looking behind Fiyero. Confused, he turned and saw what she had. Galinda was starting at them wide-eyed, her mouth gaping wordlessly. Micah and Corin looked a little confused, but equally shocked.

As silence fell in the room, Elphaba and Fiyero exchanged a look.

"Galinda?" Elphaba asked her best friend cautiously and Galinda could only stare at her.

Elphaba was slightly worried and wondered if perhaps Galinda had gone into labour. "Glin, are you okay? The baby-"

"Uh, what the hell just happened?" Corin interrupted.

Fiyero realised he was still kneeling on the floor and hastily stood up to resume his seat beside Elphaba.

"Elphaba and I are getting married," he announced, feeling almost giddy at the words.

"Since when?" Micah demanded. It was perfectly obvious by the scene they'd witnessed that it had been prior to this moment.

"Last night," Fiyero admitted happily.

Elphaba was still worried about Galinda, it was so unlike her best friend to be silent for this long whilst awake.

"Glin?"

She got up and went and sat beside Galinda, reaching out and touching her arm.

Galinda turned to her then. "How could you not say anything?" she demanded, sounding hurt. "Why did you let me go on about christening plans and the baby and not mention you're getting married?"

"I was waiting for Fiyero!" Elphaba explained patiently. "Glin, did you really think you weren't going to be the very first person to know?" she asked gently. "You're my best friend… why do you think I'm asking you to be my matron-of-honour?"

That did it, and Galinda burst into tears of joy. "You're finally getting married!" she sobbed happily and pulled Elphaba into a tight hug.

Letting the two women have a moment, Fiyero looked over at Micah and Corin expectantly.

"You finally did it," Micah said almost in wonder, and Fiyero grinned.

"Yes, I did."

"Congratulotions, dude," he said sincerely and Fiyero was touched as his friend hugged him.

"Thanks, man."

"Took you long enough," was Corin's response and Fiyero smirked.

"Thank you, Best Man."

Corin's jaw dropped. "Really? You want me to be your best man?"

Fiyero nodded. "Yes, really. So keep… well, keep May free and we'll let you know the exact date when we pick it."

Corin was ecstatic. "Wow, thanks, Yero," he said sincerely and the two men embraced warmly.

When Corin pulled away, he looked over at Elphaba and Galinda. Galinda was still crying and Elphaba suspiciously looked as though she might be in tears too, but they were both smiling and talking softly.

Corin watched them for a moment and then sighed. "Well, this sucks royal hippogriff."

Micah and Fiyero stared at him in confusion. "This sucks what now?" Micah questioned, puzzled.

"What sucks?" Fiyero asked at the same time.

"We're not going to eat for ages now, are we?" Corin asked miserably.

AN. Sorry, I was watching AVPM again as I wrote this.