Chapter 51.
Rifiuto: Non Miriena
A/N: Kudos to lizziemagic for guessing the element right!
A/N: Elements in 50? the way Elphaba identifies people
Based on? the way Mary identifies people
Book and author? the later Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Elements in 51?
Thanks to StuckInSouthstairs for reviewing 30, 32, 33, and 34, and to lizziemagic 49 as well as, wicked1fan, and Wicked'elphaba-fiyero for reviewing 50.
She ran.
How dare Glinda. How dare she say that she deserved Fiyero!
How dare she throw the fact that she could see in Elphaba's face. What? Was she channeling Fiyero's line of thinking from that day three years earlier?
The bitch.
Blindly- literally- she ran through the woods, reaching out and grasping branches. She lost her footing, falling and landing among leaves. Slowly, she climbed to her feet, before reaching out and grasping the trunk of a nearby tree. Slowly, she slid down it, until she was sitting at the foot.
Her thoughts raced wildly through her head, and she dug her nails into her palms, her anger coursing through her veins. Suddenly, the smell of smoke met her nostrils, and she climbed to her feet, fleeing, as the branches of the tree she was sitting under burst into flames and came crashing to the ground. The sound of the tree hitting the forest floor, caused her already strained nerves to jump, and she fled, rushing to the one person she knew could help her calm her temper.
Her husband.
Pounding brought Fiyero from his History homework, and he jumped, causing the hot coffee in his cup to slosh out, over his hand, and onto his paper.
"Shit!" As he grabbed a couple paper towels to clean up the mess, he heard the pounding again. "Not now Crope! I'm working!" Over the last few days, he'd met a couple of guys that were in his Business class- Crope and Tibbett- and gotten to be pretty good friends with them. They ignored him. "I mean it Crope, I'm not in the mood for--"
"Yero! It's me!"
He stopped, mid-sentence, his head snapping up.
"Yero, please! I know you don't want to talk to me right now because you're busy with homework, but please, I need to talk to you! Please!"
He dropped the wet towels, and rushed to the door, pulling it open, revealing Elphaba standing on the other side, her hair hanging in wild strands around her shoulders, her dress damp, tears streaming down her face, her body shaking so violently, Fiyero was half afraid her brain stem would snap from the force.
"Y....Yero...."
Silent, he glanced quickly around the hall, making sure they were alone, before grabbing her wrist and pulling her into his dorm. Then, he closed the door behind her. If Madame Morrible caught them, both he and Elphaba would be out of Shiz faster than you could say Wizomania- which made perfect sense if you were single, but they were married, for the love of the Unnamed God!
"Dove? What's wrong?"
She sniffled, unable to say anything. Gently, he guided her to the bed, sat her down, and began to undress her. She jumped, letting out a screech as he reached behind her and unhooked her dress.
"Yero! I didn't come here for sex!"
"Shh. Hush. I know. I know, Dove. I'm going to draw you a hot bath, and clean you up, and then we can talk, all right? You're far to upset to talk now."
"But--"
"We'll talk when you're calmer."
He kissed her forehead, before getting up and going to the bathroom. She heard him turning the water on in the tub, and then, smelled his scent as he came back to her.
"All right, sweetheart." He helped her to her feet, and she managed to take a couple steps, before her knees gave out. Quickly, he caught her, scooping her into his arms and taking her into the bathroom. Once there, he set her down, and slowly, gently, removed her undergarments, working the stays of her corset loose gently. He removed it, followed by her camisole, pantaloons, garters, and stockings, before scooping her up and gently lowering her into the warm water. She didn't respond.
Once she was settled in the tub, he grabbed a cloth, dipped it into the water, rung it out, and gently, began to wipe the tears off her face.
"Yero?" Her childlike whisper stopped him, as he perched on the edge of the tub.
"What is it, Fae?"
Slowly, she turned her head to him, and reached up, taking his hand in hers, loosening the cloth and letting it fall into the tub. Then, she gently tugged on his hand.
"Please." He gently brushed his fingers across her cheek, before leaning over and kissing her forehead.
"Okay." She didn't say anything, just allowed herself to drink in the sound of her husband slowly undressing and joining her in the tub. She felt him hug her from behind, and slowly, turned her head.
"Yero--"
"Shh. Hush love. Hush for now." He whispered, grabbing the cloth and gently ringing it out before running it across her neck and shoulders, brushing her damp hair out of the way. Tenderly, his kissed her shoulder, breathing in her scent, a scent he loved dearly.
"Yero--"
"Let me take care of you. Two years ago, you took care of me when I broke down, even though I didn't deserve it. You did anyway. Now it's my turn. Let me take care of you, Fae. You're obviously upset about something. Let me take care of you. It's my turn." He whispered gently, as he continued to bathe her shoulders and neck in warm water. She sighed, her eyes closing instinctively, as her head tilted back.
"Yero..."
A smile graced his lips, and he grabbed the shampoo, poured a bit into his hands, and then ran his fingers through his wife's long raven hair, until it was a nice, frothy waterfall. Tenderly, he gathered her hair, and guided her to the faucet, before turning it on.
"Keep your eyes closed, love." He whispered. She did as ordered, allowing him to wash her hair. Once he'd rinsed her hair and washed and rinsed his, he pulled her back into his arms, and held her close. "I love you." He sighed, pressing his lips against her temple. "I love you, and yet...I don't deserve you."
Slowly, she turned, tilting her face towards his, as her hand reached up, feeling his cheek.
"When are you going to let this go, Yero?" He looked into her face, sighing.
"I--"
"Deserve me. Yero, you've done everything you possibly can to make my life easier--"
"Not those first few months after your accident." He interrupted.
"Yero, it was just a fight. We had a fight, all couples have fights. Let it go."
"Fae...it wasn't just a fight. I hurt you...more than I ever thought I could...and you....did nothing to defend yourself...you just...let me rip into you like that without a word of protest...and then...I....I avoided you which...only made everything I'd done to you before even worse...I...rejected you....and...and so everything I've done has done nothing but destroy you....I....I crushed your spirit, I broke your heart.....I...I told you that....that it would have been better if you'd died...and I shouldn't have...especially since...since you did nearly lose your life in that fire...I hurt you and I shouldn't have...I crossed a line that I shouldn't have...I should have kept my mouth shut....I thought....that I...that I wanted to back out of this marriage to protect you and...now I...now I realize that... that I was only doing it to protect myself... I lost my temper, and I had no right too...I shouldn't have...I should have told you about wanting to dissolve our marriage instead of having my father tell you, or leaving you out in the cold....I should have asked for your opinion....I....I don't blame you if you want me out of your life forever-"
He stopped when she pressed her fingers against his lips.
"Yero. Yero. Yero! Hush! Thank you." Gently, she removed her fingers, and cupped his face in her hands. "Now, you're getting yourself all worked up over something that happened two years ago. Yero...my beautiful brainless husband...hush. It's all right."
"No it isn't, Fae. It's not...it never was...this marriage was a bad idea from the start--"
"I don't think that." She interrupted. "And I know deep down that you don't either. This marriage was the best thing to ever happen to us." He shook his head.
"No it wasn't. It was a mistake- for you and for me- we...we never should have--"
"We didn't have a choice, Yero. But we worked through it. And we fell in love along the way, didn't we?" He nodded, silent. "I never regretted marrying you. Never. We...we've been through so many milestones...so many....rough patches that...that I can't imagine my life without you. And I know you feel the same."
Gently, she kissed him, as his arms went around her waist. Her forehead pressed against his, and she breathed in his scent, as the water cooled around them. Slowly, he grabbed the cloth out, and gently, tenderly, rang the water out over her skin, causing water to race down her neck and collarbones, over her small breasts and down her taut, smooth stomach. He repeated the process several times, until the water was cold. Then, he got out, pulling on a robe, before helping his wife out and wrapping her in an extra robe. As the water drained in the tub, he took her back into the living area, seating her gently on the sofa, before going back to the bathroom and grabbing a couple more towels and a brush. He dried her hair, as she grabbed the extra towel and dried his, before taking both towels and setting them on the table. Then, he turned her around, so that she sat with her back to him, and gently, he began to brush her hair.
For a while, it was nothing but the soft rhythm of the brush in her hair. Once he had finished, he set the brush on the table, and got up, kissing her head before going to the kitchen. Elphaba heard him pour a cup of tea, and soon, felt him take his place behind her.
"Here Dove." He whispered, gently placing the cup in her hands.
"Thank you."
They sat on the sofa, wrapped in each other's arms, the silence reigning around them. When the tea was drunk, he got her a shirt of his to wear. Instead of taking it however, Elphaba untied robe, and slowly, removed it, before going to her husband and repeating the process.
"Fae-"
"I want to stay with you tonight." She whispered. "Please."
He nodded gently.
"Of course." Tenderly, he kissed her, but soon pulled away. "But if Madame Mor-"
"She can kick us both out if she wants. I don't care. All I know is that I want....I want to stay with you. I want to sleep in your arms."
"It hasn't been the same, sleeping without you near." He whispered.
"Tonight it will be." She whispered, moving back to the bed and pulling him with her. Slowly, they became one...
Milla had exploded. She accused Glinda of attacking her best friend, and then shoved her out of the dorm and slammed the door. Sighing, Glinda returned to her dorm. The door was still locked, and Elphaba was nowhere to be found. Pissed, she stormed off.
First, she searched for her key, to no avail. The only thing to do now, was find her green-skinned roommate. She searched the entire campus, before deciding to check Briscoe Hall. Elphaba seemed pretty pissed that she wasn't allowed to live with her husband. So, Glinda decided to check there. Who knew, maybe she'd get lucky and walk in on Fiyero shirtless...they could have a little fling...he'd dump Elphaba and realize he wanted to be with her....
Finally, she made it to his dorm. Softly, Glinda knocked. The door opened slighty, and she poked her head in.
"Fiyero, I can't find El--"
Her eyes widened. Elphaba was wrapped in her husband's arms, as he made sweet, tender love to her. She lay with him on top of her, her legs gently hugging his waist, as his hands tangled in her hair. Thier lips met in soft, loving kisses, and Glinda noticed that Fiyero's eyes were closed. Softly, their loving, whispered words reached her ears.
"Are you all right, Dove?" She nodded slowly reaching up to brush her fingers over his closed eyes.
"Yes." Tenderly, her fingers- her eyes now- trailed down his cheek, passing over his lips. "I'm all right, Yero." They kissed again, and silence reigned, until they broke apart. "I'll always be all right with you. I love you."
"I love you, Dove."
Slowly, Glinda closed the door with a soft click, horrified at what she'd seen, and fled back to Crage- the image of the lovers wrapped around each other seared into her mind.
