Chapter 12: Hug Me?
Elphaba stared out the window. her leg bouncing from the nerve. The day had finally come.
They were officially traveling out of the Vinkus and all throughout Oz for the competition season. And she was finally on a plane. And for some reason, that scared her more than the first.
She vaguely heard Fiyero's voice. She couldn't even make out what he was saying. Everything was becoming a blur as the plane started to move. She kept her gaze to the window. Her leg bounced even more furiously.
Did Fiyero just say something again?
"Hey!" A hand grasped hers. Elphaba whipped her head to side and found Fiyero's blue eyes staring back at her. "It's ok. You're fine," he whispered, rubbing small circles on the back of her hand.
"Sorry. I'm just kind of…scared?" Why did that come out as a question? She mentally smacked herself.
"Don't apologize. I get that riding a plane for the first time can be scary," he soothed.
Elphaba nodded and took deep breaths. She turned back to the window and watched the plane lifting off the ground. The flower got smaller, then the trees, the buildings. Pretty soon, there were only clouds below them. The sky was actually beautiful. It was actually very soothing to look at.
When her hands relaxed, she realized she had been holding on to Fiyero's hand this entire time. "Sorry," she blushed, but didn't let go. She could see his blood slowly returning to where she had been squeezing it.
"It's ok." He chuckled.
She kept staring at their hands. Their skin tones were so different, yet they somehow, they seemed to compliment each other.
Fiyero had placed his other hand on her knee. "See? Everything's alright."
"You're right." Elphaba leaned back in her seat. "That's a first." she teased, and Fiyero retaliated with a hard squeeze to her hand. "Ow!" She squealed.
"That's what you get." He pointed his finger at her and she playfully slapped it down.
"Would it bother you if I took a nap?" She snuggled more into her seat. The early airport arrival had made her freak out about missing her alarm, and she'd barely gotten any sleep. Eventually, after waking up every twenty minutes to check the time, Elphaba had decided to just stay up the rest of the night. As her adrenaline faded, the exhaustion made her eyelids droop.
He smiled at her. "No. Rest, I'll wake you up if you're still sleeping when we arrive."
She yawned and brought her feet up on the chair. She pulled Fiyero's arm closer to her. His shoulder made such a nice pillow. She felt him place a kiss to her hair. Her eyes slowly closed.
His hand was still in hers.
After they arrived in their hotel, Madame Morrible reminded them to check their schedule packets.
"You are free to do anything you want for the rest of the day today and tomorrow. On Monday, I expect to see you on the third floor, second room on the left; 7 a.m. sharp. Whatever you decide to do before that, be safe and do NOT…" Morrible snapped forward, and all the dancers leaned back with wide eyes. "Embarrass me." She flipped back to her cheery tone. "See you later."
Elphaba blinked. She leaned to Fiyero and whispered, "I feel like I'm gonna find out why the older dancers call her 'Horrible Morrible'."
Fiyero chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, instructors don't mess around when competition season starts."
"There must be a reason the studio always does so well at nationals."
"What are your plans for the rest of the day?" Fiyero asked as they walked to their designated rooms.
Morrible trusted them enough to put all the women and men on the same floor. Elphaba made a small 'Yay' exclamation when she saw that Fiyero's room was right across from hers.
"Probably just stay here. If I'm gonna see the city, I'd rather start early."
"Can I join you?"
Elphaba shot him a look "Why is that even a question? Of course!"
He smiled. "Hang on a sec then."
They both opened the doors to their respective rooms. Elphaba held the door open while he dropped his suitcase on one of the beds. He met Elphaba back in the hallway and held the door for her.
"Ladies first." He put his arm out.
The green girl rolled her eyes but smiled as he followed her into the room.
She was loving this evening. Once they'd figured out the TV remote, Elphaba and Fiyero spent the day watching many movies, eating snacks, and laughing together. At one point she even showed him the "awful" clothes Glinda had taken from her own closet and stuffed in her suitcase.
"And I mean, look at this! It's practically a bra!" Elphaba held up a sparkly, pink piece of fabric. It was a very small strapless crop top. Fiyero's eyes widened, and he swallowed. The image of Elphaba in something like that set him on fire.
"You're right," he managed to spit out.
"She's insane if she thinks something like that will ever be on my body," she crunched up the cloth into a ball in her hands and threw it back inside her suitcase.
"I hate to break it to you, but you may wear something worse than that depending on what costuming Morrible wants for specific routines."" Fiyero looked down. Elphaba's eyes widened at the thought of possibly having to be practically naked while dancing, while Fiyero struggled with the brand new image that popped into his head.
He tightly closed his eyes and shook his head.
"I still have so much to learn about the competitive dance world," Elphaba let herself crash on the bed. Fiyero sat near her head. "Is it weird that I haven't even learned the dances, yet I'm nervous?"
"Not at all." He laughed softly. "It'll be fun though. I can promise you that."
"Can you tell me a bit about the routines?"
"No, I can't."
"Not even a little bit?" she pouted, knowing Fiyero had a soft spot for her when she did that.
He groaned and looked up at the ceiling. Elphaba smirked. Mission accomplished. He brought his gaze down to her again. "There are no solos."
"Really?" That's it?
"That's all you get."
"Ugh. I guess that's fair," she reluctantly admitted.
"Ready?"
"Yep!" Elphaba smiled.
"One, two-"
"Three!" Elphaba took him off guard; his arms buckled under him, and instead of lifting her up over his head like they'd planned, she fell on top of him. Luckily for Fiyero, the bed was right behind him.
They both laughed and Fiyero turned both of them to the side, his hands never leaving her waist. "You alright?"
"Me?! Are you alright?"
"You think this is the first time this has happened to me?"
Elphaba stood and exaggeratingly placed her hands on her hips. "You mean you've been in hotel rooms with other women jumping into your arms and falling into bed together?" She smiled as she said it, but inside, she fought a pang of jealousy. Did he actually?
"No." He furrowed his brows playfully at her. "You know what I mean. At least there was a bed to break the fall. Much better than the floor."
"I bet." Elphaba said, relieved.
It was quiet for a long while with only the sounds of the TV filling the room. Elphaba was dozing off in Fiyero's lap, his fingers lightly treading her long hair.
He could tell her, he realized. Right now. They'd just spent a wonderful afternoon together and she looked so beautiful in her pajamas. He could tell her he loved her, she could possibly feel the same way. They could kiss goodnight before he had to go back to his room, then talk about it tomorrow.
"Elphaba?"
"Yeah?"
"I-"
Or she could look at him with sympathy, not feel the same way at all, ruin their friendship, and make the next four months very uncomfortable for her. He couldn't risk that. He didn't want to risk losing her. Even if he technically didn't even have her.
"I…I better go to my own room." He petted her head, and she groaned.
"I was just getting comfortable." He chuckled softly. She sat up, allowing him to get up from the bed. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Of course." He held her hand.
"Ok. I love you."
'Eyes are the windows to the soul.' Elphaba never really believed in that until that moment. Fiyero's eyes said what his mouth didn't. Or, couldn't, she realized.
"I love you too."
He really did. He liked her like Glinda had said, and he did in fact love her. Oz, he truly did. And she loved him too.
She walked with him to the door. "Hey, Fiyero?" He turned around, his hand resting on the doorknob. You know you can tell me anything, right? That sentence hung on her tongue as she remembered what she'd overheard that night in her apartment.
He wanted to tell her himself. And he would. She finally believed it. She wouldn't pressure him. They'd go at his pace.
"Hug me?"
He didn't hesitate. His embrace felt warm and safe. He whispered a soft "Goodnight" to her and pulled away. The door shut behind him, and Elphaba laid down on the bed again. She stared at the ceiling with a small smile on her face and reached for her phone.
'You were right.' she texted Glinda.
She received a reply almost immediately. 'Cold you specify? I'm right a lot.'
Elphaba rolled her eyes. Her gut told her she was going to sleep pretty late tonight.
R&R! :)