Rated well… like the title XD. I just need some happy Fiyeraba fluff right now.
Galinda knew that her roommate would be reading. Because what else would she be doing on her morning off before their afternoon lecture? The blonde had grown used to her roommate's enigmatic tendencies, and while she wanted to spend more time with her, knew that it would still take a while for a full mutual trust to be formed.
She entered the library, causing a few heads to turn, all wondering why the popular, social butterfly blonde was in the quietest place on campus. She made her way through the stacks to Elphaba's hiding spot. She'd discovered the green girl hiding there by accident when she was sent up there to look for an old biology textbook. She didn't know if Elphaba knew she knew, since her nose was always buried in whatever book that held her complete attention.
She snuck up beside her, waiting a few moments before speaking. "Are you reading smut?"
The green girl jumped and abruptly slammed her book shut. "Galinda!" She would never, for the life of her, understand how her roommate could be so sneaky. "No!"
"Yes, you are!" she nodded vigorously. "That's the smut-reading smirk."
She sent her a challenging glance. "How would you know?"
"Don't worry about that." She waved her off. "Come on. It's time for Social Sciences."
The two girls made their way across campus together. They were still on the receiving end of states from the public, and Galinda held her head high, ignoring them. But Elphaba knew better. She knew her friend was just pretending not to notice or care about the stares and whispers. Pretending not to see. Pretending not to care.
"You're joining us for afternoon tea, right, Elphie?" she asked, stepping through the door her roommate held open for her.
"Who's 'us'?"
"Me and Fiyero."
She was glad Galinda missed her shocked face, nor the blush that followed. "Fiyero?"
"Yes, Fiyero. Our friend."
"Your ex-boyfriend."
"It was a mutual breakup."
"I seem to recall having to hold you back as you shot magic curses at him, once hitting him square in the ass as he ran away, shooting him across the courtyard."
"He was fine."
"He was in the infirmary for almost two weeks."
"He lived. Plus, that was a whole semester ago. We've both moved past it, and we're friends now. You know that."
"Then I… suppose I'll join you."
"Good. I already made reservations for us in Crage Hall's North Parlor for three-thirty."
"So if I had said 'no'…"
"Saying 'no' was never an option, Elphie, and you know that."
They finally reached their class and took seats in the second row. Two minutes before the scheduled start time, Fiyero casually strolled in, taking the empty seat next to Elphaba, pretending not to notice how she was actively trying not to look at him.
The professor entered and began to drone on and on, while the students were divided between trying to stay awake, and not even bothering to try and hide their napping. Elphaba was the only one dutifully taking notes.
Or, at least, she thought she was.
"What are you doing?" she blinked when Fiyero reached over and turned a page in her textbook.
"I forgot my book, so I'm looking on with you," the prince said, tilting his head towards her.
"When were you gonna ask if it's okay with me?"
"I figured it was, since I've turned five pages, and you haven't blasted me into another dimension."
Her lips quirked. "Yes, well…" She didn't get to finish, since the professor was moving forward at a rate that forced them to table their side-chatter.
The prince grinned at her momentary defeat, turning the page, and his eyes drifted back to his notebook, but instead of copying what was on the board, he started doodling in the corner, only beginning to copy down a few words when he felt a hard pinch to his thigh.
Time seemed to sense how bored all the students were, and decided to mock them by passing even slower. By the time the lecture ended, everyone's stomachs had growled at least twice, and their eyelids struggled to remain open.
"Tea time!" Galinda smiled, stretching and glancing at her watch. "And not a clock-tick too late." She led the way to the Crage Hall North Parlor and signed them in, leading them to a small table by the window.
"Galinda, darling! Over here!"
The group turned to see Pfannee, Shenshen, and Milla waving them over, though 'them' meant 'specifically and only Galinda'.
She gave them a hopeful smile and a wave, and made to walk towards them, but remembered that she had prior engagements. The wave turned apologetic, and she turned back to Elphaba and Fiyero; the former pretending not to notice the exchange, and the latter finding the ceiling tiles very interesting. She took both their hands and led them to the table.
Galinda took the chair across from the window, leaving the other two to slide into the booth. Elphaba used every ounce of strength in her body to fight the blush trying to creep its way onto her face as she sat so close to the prince.
"I hate that tik-tok thing," the blonde frowned, watching as Morrible's animated collection of clanking gears whirl around, setting up tea services on the tables.
"Grommetik," Elphaba corrected, watching as it poured tea for another table. "It has a name, so we might as well get used to it."
"You don't find it creepy?"
"Its intriguing nature interests me more."
"I'm glad ol' Horrible Morrible is finally starting to embrace the new technology," Fiyero shrugged.
"Shh! Don't call her that in public!" the blonde chided, but couldn't repress her giggle.
The large grandfather clock in the corner chimed once, signaling the half-hour. The tik-tok machine stopped, as if in a trance as it seemingly heard a secret message hidden within the clock chime. Its gears whirled loudly, followed by a clank, and it continued as if nothing out of the ordinary just happened.
Galinda stiffened when she noticed the machine approaching their table. It poured the hot water into their teacups, but the blonde let out a howl when the water spilled on her lap.
"Stupid machine!" she yowled as she leaped her feet, biting her lip against the string of curses dancing on the tip of her tongue. Her outburst had drawn the eyes of the entire room, and Elphaba quickly jumped to her best friend's aid, offering her napkins and a hand to squeeze until the pain dissipated. Fiyero went to work cleaning the water that spilled on the table, his lips slipping into a frown when he saw the machine wheel away to serve another table.
"You alright, Glin?" he asked, sitting back down once the general calm was restored.
The tik-tok returned to their table with the finger sandwiches and crème scones, delicately sliding the tray onto the table before whirling away.
"Yeah," she sighed, sitting and helping herself to a scone. "But Morrible will definitely be hearing of this incident at my earliest convince."
The conversation quickly shifted to proper tea-time-related small talk topics. Elphaba didn't know how it happened, but one moment, she looked out the window, and the next, she looked down to see Fiyero holding her hand. When had that happened? Why hadn't she felt it? Surely she should've felt someone taking her hand.
"… a very prescriptive contradiction."
"Huh?" She jumped back to the present at the blonde's half-sentence, her hand slipping from the prince's grasp.
"Morrible correcting me with the light spell. It's one of the 'constant cast' ones, which requires complete concentration. We can't just cast it and walk away. The moment I stop the spell, the light fades. She said that the light spell is one of the heaviest constant cast spells that requires the most energy." She gave an obvious shrug.
"I'm still not much of a tea drinker," Fiyero admitted, seeping a bag of green tea into the steaming water. "I prefer coffee, but if I have a cup now, I won't sleep until tomorrow afternoon."
"Tea is very calming. It's a familiar activity I'm glad we still get to continue while away at university. With all our busy schedules, it's nice to be able to sit down and relax together and partake in civilized conversations."
He spooned the honey into his cup and stirred, smiling when it reached the perfect level of sweetness. "So what else have you been up to?"
"Well, Elphie was reading smut earlier in the library."
The green girl sputtered, almost choking on her tea. "I was not!"
"You probably had the smut-reading smirk," the prince shrugged nonchalantly.
She gave him a sideways glance. "And how would you know about a 'smut-reading smirk'?"
He shrugged again. "We're all horny college students. No need to be embarrassed. Though, maybe reading smut in public isn't the best idea. We all know that thoughts and urges soon become -"
"I believe that enough of this inappropriate tea time topic," Elphaba interrupted tightly. "Master Tigulaar."
He teasingly wiggled his eyebrow, taking another sip. The green tea wasn't that bad, and not just because he added the honey. He never really had green tea before, nor 'afternoon tea', since it was an uncommon practice in the Vinkus.
"Is the tea good, Fiyero?" Galinda asked, helping herself to a small sandwich.
"Just the way I like it." Sweet and green, just like my women.
Oz, where did that thought come from? He didn't recall voicing it, but he noticed Elphaba looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. Had he said it out loud? Oz, he hoped he hadn't. Fiyero, shut up, he thought to himself, focusing on everything else to try to distract his brain from sending a rush of blood to his face, making his blush visible. He realized that perhaps a rush of blood to his face was better than a rush of blood to another body part, and tried to distract himself from trying to distract his brain.
Elphaba glanced over at him. There was something about the way he answered Galinda's question that made her realize that he wasn't just talking about the tea, if at all. Suddenly, it all made sense; the books, the hand holding, the subtle comments, the blush on his face, the way he would look at her when he thought she didn't notice, but of course she noticed.
Oh.
Oh.
She felt so stupid for not noticing before. She was fine being friends, but had pushed her stronger feelings for the prince away, thinking that he would never return the sentiment, and she wanted to save herself as much heartache as possible. But now, as she realized that the prince was returning feelings he didn't know existed, she knew she had to distance herself from him.
"… Do you know how bad it is when the senile person has to ask you if you're okay?"
She snapped back to the blonde, her daydream thoughts instantly removing themselves from her memory. "Sorry?"
"Elphie, you're not listening to me. Are you alright? Your mind seems elsewhere."
It was. She couldn't focus on anything. "I… I have to go."
"Elphie, wait!" Galinda called as her best friend abruptly stood from the table, drawing a few eyes, and dashed out.
Fiyero rushed behind her, also ignoring the blonde's calls.
"So much for a nice tea break," she huffed, indignantly throwing her napkin onto the table.
"Elphaba! Fae, wait!" Fiyero called, chasing after her. He caught up at the top of the stairs and gently grabbed her hand, slowing her down to a pace where he could keep up.
"Leave me alone."
"Not until you tell me what's wrong."
She whirled around. "You can't."
"Can't what?"
"Like me."
He blinked. "I can't like you?"
"No. You're my best friend's ex-boyfriend. I may still have a lot to learn about friendships, but I know you're not supposed to like me."
"That was last semester, Fae. I'm pretty sure this is no longer a rebound." As soon as the words left his mouth with a slight chuckle, he realized it might have been the wrong thing to say.
Elphaba's face darkened and she yanked her hand away before continuing her march towards the library.
"Wait! I'm sorry I teased you about the smut!"
That came out louder than he intended, but thankfully, the hall and most of the rooms were empty. But that didn't stop Elphaba from sending him a hard glare over his shoulder that made him momentarily stop in his tracks.
"It wasn't smut," she whispered tightly. Her gaze relaxed and she continued. "It was a regular novel. A… romance novel. Non-smut."
"You were reading something that wasn't your biology textbook?" he snickered.
She ran her hand through her hair with a grunt. "I don't know why I thought you'd be capable of having a decent conversation without making a stupid joke."
"Wait, I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. "What's the novel called?"
"'The Proudliest Sight' by Ain Yoj. It's about a young woman who is able to rise from her circumstances and prove that she is worthy of the life she wants to create for herself… and the love of the guy she wants."
That last sentence gave the prince some hope. "You found yourself wanting to live her life?"
"I do with most book characters."
"Does the guy prove he deserves her and her love?"
"Well… he doesn't fail. He doesn't quite succeed, either, though."
There was still a sliver of hope. "I don't see any reason why that book can't become a reality."
She fought a blush once she realized he was talking about her; about them. "I can give you a whole laundry list of reasons."
He brushed his fingers against hers, gently grasping her hand when she didn't pull away. "And I can give you an equally long list. Can't we at least… talk?"
She let out a slow breath, but nodded, unlocking the door to her shared dorm with Galinda. She figured the blonde would stay downstairs to have tea with her other group of friends, so they had at least half an hour to be able to talk without worrying about any interruptions.
She led him inside and closed the door, but when she turned around, Fiyero was standing directly behind her, gently wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. A new feeling emerged, but she didn't fight it.
"This isn't talking," she protested weakly, her heart not fully into wanting it to stop.
"We are talking. Or… not with words… anyway."
"What does that mean?"
"Kiss me," Fiyero whispered in her ear, and she felt her knees almost buckle as she complied.
Seeing as this was her first kiss, she had no logical idea of what to do or expect, but her body took over, telling her brain that it could probably sit this one out. Her heart rate increased, and she felt her body temperature slowly rising as she became acutely aware of every movement her body was making, and every movement his body was making against hers.
"Oz, Yero…" she moaned, feeling Fiyero's fingers dig into her sides.
They ended up on her bed, their hands still exploring each other's bodies, and their lips brushing against the others, though didn't meet into a full kiss.
"Fae…"
She made a face. "I still don't know how you came up with that ridiculous nickname."
"Fiyero and Elphaba is F-A-E. Fae. It's adorable, so don't try to argue it!"
The face stayed, and she added an eye roll. "Should we rejoin Galinda for the remainder of our teatime?"
"I think we can take our tea up here."
"What kind of tea?" Her eyebrow quirked and she shifted to look up at him.
He rolled his hips against hers. "I've recently discovered my liking for green tea with honey, as well as green women with a dash of sweetness."
"I thought you were more of a coffee drinker."
"My taste palate has expanded."
Her lips quirked and she kissed him again, tasting the honey. "I think I can give the sweetness a shot."
"You deserve sweetness."
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