Epilogue
A year and a half later
Elphaba let herself into Fiyero's suite, and promptly almost tripped over a box marked 'Kitchen'.
She steadied herself against the wall and sighed impatiently.
"Yero?"
"In here," came his voice from the bedroom.
Elphaba crossed the suite, sidestepping the boxes and suitcases that scattered the room.
"Are you ready? We have to pick up our caps and gowns in the next fifteen minutes."
She stopped in the bedroom doorway, staring around exasperatedly.
"Seriously, Fiyero? You haven't even finished packing?"
"I'm almost done," Fiyero reassured her.
Elphaba looked sceptical. "You remember that your parents want to leave right after lunch, don't you? Ceremony, lunch, leave. That's the plan."
Fiyero glanced at her in the reflection of his mirror as he fiddled with his tie.
"Yeah, but you're not coming with us. So, leave the nagging to my mother, please?"
Elphaba folded her arms over her chest and looked at him pointedly. Fiyero sighed and threw the tie on the bed. Elphaba moved into the room and picked it up, sliding it around his neck.
"Yero, we talked about this," she reminded him gently. "We agreed."
"I know," Fiyero sighed again as she deftly knotted the tie into place, his fingers curving around her hips. "I know. I just hate not seeing you for months."
"One last summer," she promised.
Fiyero dipped his head to kiss her. "One last summer," he repeated.
Reluctant to be apart from one another post-graduation, and wanting to spend more time in the Vinkus, Elphaba had accepted a job with a law firm in the Greater Kells. However, she wasn't starting until the fall, wanting one last summer at home with the family in Munchkinland.
Fiyero was thrillified she would be close by, but not so thrillified to be away from her for the summer.
"Ok, tie is done," she said. "Can we go? Before I can't resist the urge to finish packing for you?"
Fiyero laughed. "Fae, I swear, I'm almost done. Look."
He grabbed a handful of clothes from the bed and threw them into an empty suitcase on the floor, making Elphaba flinch.
"See?"
She shook her head. "I need to leave," was all she said and headed for the door.
Fiyero grinned, grabbed his key and followed.
"Finally!" Galinda exclaimed as they found her outside where students were picking up their caps and gowns for the graduation ceremony.
She handed them each a robe. "I convinced Dr Dillamond to let me pick up yours as well as mine," she explained. "That way you won't get stuck with one that's stained or faded."
Elphaba chuckled at the look on her friend's face.
"Thanks, Glin. Have you seen Nessa?"
"She's somewhere with Norfina, Salmythe and Vicnia," Galinda said absently, fussing with her own robe. "Boq's still in line, I think."
"You didn't get his robe?" Fiyero asked her.
"No. He was already in line," Galinda replied.
Elphaba put her robe on over her dress, frowning up at the bright blue sky.
"We're going to melt if the ceremony goes on for more than an hour," she said. "The auditorium is going to be sweltering."
"So, keep your speech short and sweet," Fiyero suggested.
Galinda was no longer paying attention to them. "I'm going to find Momsie and Popsicle before we go inside," she said. "I'll see you there."
"Ok," Elphaba replied, still frowning slightly.
Fiyero sighed. "You're going over your speech again, aren't you?"
"The last draft was better," she said. "Should I have kept that paragraph about-"
Fiyero interrupted with a groan. "Fae, come on. The speech is perfect, ok? Don't change a thing. Now, we have half an hour before the ceremony. Do you need to eat something? Should we try and find our parents?"
Elphaba agreed and they disappeared into the ever-growing crowd, hand in hand. Several family members of their fellow students glanced at them in interest as they passed, but they ignored them.
They'd been together for almost two and a half years, and the press had never quite lost interest in them. As they neared graduation, the rumour mill kicked into overdrive- the news Elphaba had accepted a job in the Vinkus clearly meant an engagement was imminent, but the news that she wasn't starting for months spread whispers that the relationship was in crisis. But at this point, Elphaba and Fiyero were used to it, and very experienced at ignoring the gossip printed in the tabloids.
Before they found either of their parents, they found Ottah and Melia, who had been invited as Elphaba's guests to the ceremony, along with Nikita and Akio. Every student had been given four tickets to the ceremony for guests. Frex, Annalie and Tomaz had been given Nessa's tickets, and Fiyero had volunteered one of his spare tickets so that the girls could invited their grandparents. This was a move which had won him points with the whole Thropp family, and Lilou and Pim.
"Hey, Fabala!" Ottah greeted her. "Happy graduation! Hey, Fiyero."
"Hey," Fiyero nodded.
Elphaba smiled. "Hi. Where is everyone?"
"Around somewhere," Ottah shrugged. "Tom is already bored out of his brain."
"Me too," Fiyero agreed and Elphaba rolled her eyes at him.
Ottah grinned knowingly. "So, you're finally graduating, huh?"
"The seventh school is apparently the charm," Fiyero nodded.
"Yero, I see Papa and Anna," Elphaba interrupted. "I'll be back."
She left them chatting and made her way over to her parents. Annalie beamed at her as she approached and hugged her tightly.
"Hi, sweetheart!" she said. "How are you feeling? Are you nervous about your speech?"
"Not nervous," Elphaba replied. "Just… still not sure if it's as good as it could be."
"I'm sure it'll be wonderful," Annalie reassured her.
"We had coffee with Ibrahim and Kasmira this morning," Frex informed Elphaba. "They have some more apartment listings. You can look at them over lunch."
Elphaba smiled faintly. "Great."
The subject of her living arrangements once she moved to the Vinkus had been much discussed since she had accepted the job back in April.
Fiyero had been keen for her to live in the castle, but Elphaba insisted on keeping as much as her independence as possible, which meant having her own place to live.
"Once we get married, so much of my life isn't going to be mine," she'd said imploringly to Fiyero. "And that's a choice I'm prepared to make, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to give that up yet."
Fiyero had understood that, as had his parents. However, all their parents had their own concerns. The king and queen had come to Shiz in the beginning of May to discuss the subject with Elphaba and Fiyero, as had Frex and Annalie.
"You'll be more in the public eye once you're living in the Vinkus," Ibrahim reminded her.
"Between the press, the public and the security risks-"
"Security risks?" Elphaba repeated.
Ibrahim hesitated. "There's always the risk of kidnapping, assassinations, assaults. Now, there hasn't been an assassination of a royal in a century," he reassured her. "But it is a risk."
Elphaba nodded solemnly, exchanging a glance with Fiyero.
"Unfortunately, due to protocol, the royal family can't formally offer protection until an engagement is announced," Ibrahim continued.
"But Ibrahim and I would feel better knowing that once you move to the Vinkus, you're living somewhere secure," Kasmira said gently.
"As would we," Frex added firmly.
"The good news is that we can help somewhat. Under the guise that Fiyero will be spending time there," Ibrahim said.
Ibrahim and Kasmira had been searching for appropriate apartments for her ever since, keenly observed by Frex and Annalie- as best as they could from the opposite end of Oz.
They were supportive of Elphaba's decision to move to the Vinkus, but Elphaba knew they were taking it harder than they let on. Nessa was not taking it well and making no effort to pretend otherwise.
The graduation ceremony droned on for an hour and a half. Elphaba got through her speech without incident, and much to Fiyero's disappointment, no one tripped on the stage when receiving their diploma.
"Who would you want to trip over?" Elphaba demanded when he whispered this to her.
Fiyero shrugged. "Shen-Shen?" he suggested. "Her shoes look ridiculous. I'm surprised she didn't trip."
Elphaba rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched.
It had been planned for weeks that the Thropps, Tiggulars, Uplands and Underhills would all have lunch together after the ceremony to festivate the occasion. They had booked a private room above the pub in town, and the room seemed to be bursting at the seams with all their families and friends inside.
As people finished eating, Elphaba was sitting in a corner of the room with Annalie and Kasmira as the queen showed her the details and photographs of several apartments in the Greater Kells city that they thought she might like.
"This one is beautiful," Elphaba said, picking up one photo. "Is that floor to ceiling bookshelves?"
Kasmira laughed. "I did think you'd appreciate that one," she replied. "There's a lovely little reading nook."
Elphaba skimmed through the details about the apartment and her heart sank.
"It looks wonderful, but it's out of my budget."
Annalie and Kasmira exchanged a look.
"We thought you'd say that," Annalie told her. "Your father and I discussed it, and we want to help by covering the difference."
Elphaba immediately shook her head. "Anna, no," she protested. "You don't need that expense."
"Sweetie, it's not that much of an expense," Annalie reassured her. "We can afford it. We'd just be bridging the gap between your rent budget and the actual amount. You'd be paying the majority of it yourself. And honestly, Papa already suggested just buying the apartment for you."
"The building is in a very quiet, safe neighbourhood," Kasmira added. "It has a doorman, so it's secure. It's a ten-minute walk to the law firm, and I think you would really feel at home here, Elphaba. Which is important to all of us."
Elphaba looked to Annalie hesitantly, who smiled.
"Contributing a little to your rent is a much lesser expense than buying the apartment for you," she pointed out.
Elphaba bit her lip and finally agreed.
"Thank you, Ima," she said, hugging Annalie tightly. "I love you."
Annalie sniffled. "Oh, we're going to miss you Fabala," she murmured in a choked voice.
Elphaba blinked back tears. "We've still got a few months," she said.
"I know. But it's so far."
Elphaba pulled back with a laugh. "Anna, you were planning on moving to the Vinkus after Shiz," she reminded her.
Annalie smiled sadly. "Somehow it didn't seem so far away back then."
Elphaba hugged her again and then went to find her father to thank him.
He was in a discussion with Boq's father about crop rotation when Elphaba found him. She excused herself to Mr Underhill with a polite smile before turning to her father.
"Did Anna and Kasmira show you the apartment?" he asked her before she could say anything.
"Yes," Elphaba said. "Thank you, Papa."
"We'll worry less if we know you're taken care of," Frex told her simply. "I know you'll have Ibrahim and Kasmira there, and Fiyero. But it's not quite the same."
"I know, Papa," she said gently.
Fiyero appeared at her side a moment later, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Hey, can I steal you for a few minutes? Before I leave?"
"As long as it's not to finish packing for you, yes," Elphaba agreed.
Fiyero laughed. "It's not," he promised.
They returned to campus and Fiyero led her up to his room.
Elphaba was rather distracted by all the boxes and luggage around the room, she was unable to stop herself from mentally listing everything he still had to do.
"Elphaba, ignore the packing," Fiyero told her firmly. "I swear, it'll be finished in a minute."
Elphaba grimaced. "Fine. So, what are we doing up here?"
Fiyero reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, which he handed to her. It bore her name on the front, in Fiyero's handwriting.
She stared between it and him in bewilderment. "What's this?"
"Read it," he urged her.
Elphaba sat down on the couch and opened the envelope carefully, unfolding the letter within.
June 12, 1937
Dear Fae,
Tomorrow we graduate, and I find that I'm oddly nostalgic. I'm almost sad to leave. Almost. I will not miss dealing with school.
I've spent a lot of time living in school dorm rooms. They're never home, they're not meant to be home. Yet this place does feel like a home, and that's all because of you. This room has so many memories that I'm going to remember for the rest of my life, and they all involve you.
There's so many moments I could mention. Above all though, I think my favourite is the night of the bonfire (although the night of the dance is a very close second). That night was when I realised how important you'd become to me and how much I needed you in my life. And now you are my life, angel.
My life is so much better because you're in it. And I need you to know that I am aware and appreciative of every sacrifice you have made and will make for me and this life that I don't have any hope of avoiding. I'd give it all up for you in a heartbeat if I could, but knowing I'll have you by my side through it all makes me dread it so much less.
I love our story, Fae. I love everything about it, and I love that Alivia and Kole became a part of it along the way.
Do you remember that first Valentine's Day fair? The fortune teller?
"There's a lesson in the past we have to learn from" she said (I'm not going into the past life thing). We've talked a lot in the last year and a half about what that lesson is, mostly about the whole bubble thing.
And I'm so proud of how far you've come, because I know you still fear that. You know this, I tell you this all the time, so this isn't news to you. But I need you to have it in writing.
I still think the lesson here for us to learn is bigger than the bubble though. I think the lesson here is no matter how a story ends, even if it doesn't end necessarily happily, it's still important. The ending doesn't take away from what the story is.
I firmly believe our story is far from over, angel. But I'm writing you this letter as a record that at this time, on this day, I love you more than life itself and what we have is special and important.
You're the love of my life, Fae. And all I hope is that one day, people know our story. The real story. That people know how much I love you, how much you've changed my life and changed me.
I love you, Fae. Until the end of time.
Yero.
Elphaba couldn't speak and could barely see through teary eyes by the time she finished reading. She kissed him deeply, burying her face in his neck.
Fiyero kissed her forehead before he gently took her hand and led her into the bedroom.
"Look at this."
Elphaba wiped her eyes and gasped as her blurred gaze found a hole in the floor beneath the window.
"What the hell did you do?"
"I pried loose a floorboard," Fiyero shrugged nonchalantly.
"Why?!"
"For the letter."
Elphaba's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously? You write me… this beautiful letter, and I don't get to keep it?"
Fiyero grinned. "No. Because I kind of hope in another hundred years, someone finds this letter and gets to track down our grandchildren and find out about how awesome we were."
A smile spread over Elphaba's face, even as she brushed more tears away.
"You're not worried that everyone's going to find out how sweet you are, despite the fact you pretend otherwise?" she asked teasingly.
Fiyero shrugged. "I'll be dead, so no."
She chuckled and leaned up to kiss him. "Yero, this is the sweetest thing," she said softly. "I love you."
"But?"
She laughed outright at that. "No 'buts'!" she insisted. "I think it's a beautiful idea. Except, you know that you've called me only 'Fae' and 'angel' throughout this whole letter, right?"
"Well, yeah. I'm not going to make it too easy for whoever finds this," Fiyero said as though it were obvious. "Got to give them a challenge, right?"
Elphaba bit back a smile. Reluctantly, she handed him the letter and watched as he placed it beneath the floorboard and replaced it carefully.
Fiyero tossed the last few of his things into suitcases and closed them, stacking things in the living room so they were ready to go.
"So, this is it," he said, standing with Elphaba in the middle of the suite. "End of an era."
"Yeah," she said softly.
She raised her head to look at him. "This really feels like home?"
Fiyero shrugged. "Yeah. But you're my home, Fae. That's all that matters to me."
Elphaba kissed him softly.
"Should we go find the others?" he suggested.
She nodded. "Yeah, let's go."
He opened the door for her and they left the suite with their hands entwined, ready to close the first chapter of their life together, and excited to see what awaited them, as Annalie would have said, in the next epoch of their lives.
The End
AN. And here we are. I have a few more "cut" scenes to post and there is going to be a little sequel (just a few chapters. I think I'm writing the last chapter now, but not sure yet). The title of which is still to be decided.
But I wanted to thank everyone who read and reviewed. Thank you for caring about Alivia and Kole's story as much as Elphaba and Fiyero's. I loved writing this story and this universe, but you never know how stories are going to be received when you hand people characters they don't know, and never actually meet and ask them to be interested.