AN

Hello, my dearliest, darlingest readers!

Apologies for the long wait and apologies for the possibly terrible editing... because it's 2.30 am here now and I was just really determined to get this out right now xD

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

James Birdsong: Great to see you're still hanging around here and thanks for still reading and reviewing!

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Not much else to say... hope you're all okay, safe and coping and hope you'll enjoy reading!

xoxo MLE (=^_^=)


Chapter Ten

Glinda was mildly shocked when she left her guestroom the next morning and spotted Elphaba by the door, already fully dressed in black jeans and something akin to a biker jacket. Her hair was gathered in a messy bun, and she was busily fussing over a couple of large bags. Although she knew that they had some sort of plans for the day, Glinda hadn't paid much heed to the time so far. Had she overslept that badly?

"'Morning, Elphie," she called down from the gallery.

"Morning," the green woman more or less mumbled in reply before she looked up. When she did, she seemed surprised and perhaps even flustered for a moment. The odd expression on her face intrigued Glinda, but without asking directly, there was little she could find out. Elphaba smiled at her fleetingly, then directed her attention back to her bags, saying no more.

Unsure how much time she had left until their departure, and hoping that she wouldn't significantly delay Elphaba's intended schedule, she quickly disappeared into her room again to exchange her silk nightgown for something more practical. She brushed her teeth and styled her hair in haste and rushed down the stairs as fast as she could without taking a tumble. She found Elphaba in the kitchen.

"I didn't know we were supposed to leave so early," she apologised, grinning self-consciously.

"I promised Grokk that I'd collect the flyers from the print shop by nine thirty, is all," Elphaba explained. "It's alright, you don't even have to come. I can return home after that to fetch you."

But Glinda shook her head.

"No, I'd like to come if that's okay with you. I don't need breakfast."

Eyebrows raised high, Elphaba turned to the cabinet and produced a reusable takeaway cup.

"In that case, I'll just pour your coffee into this." She pointed at the drawers next to Glinda. "If you open the first one, you should be able to find some sandwich paper. I already made a bagel for you, so you can just wrap it up and take it along. We're leaving in five."

Beaming, Glinda did as she was told; however not before risking a sneaky peak between the bread: lettuce, cheese, fried egg and lots of beetroot. She loved beetroot, but Elphaba couldn't possibly have known. More likely, it was a shared passion.

"That's sweet of you, Elphie," she said, willing herself hard not to blush.

"Make sure not to lose crumbs all over your seat," Elphaba reminded her dourly as they got into the car.

Glinda brushed it off with a soft snort and appreciatively bit into her bagel. The bread tasted miles better than the cheap stuff she sometimes got from the fast food restaurant on her way to work.

She waited outside while Elphaba went into the shop to pick up the finished leaflets. She couldn't quite remember if Elphaba had told her what exactly they were advertising, but, naturally, it was something related to her activism. Her friend soon reappeared, along with the shop assistant – a young Ram – who helped her with the cart. The piles of paper were larger than she had anticipated. Unsure whether there was anything she could help with, she got out of the car. The assistant was busy keeping the cart in place while Elphaba was unloading stack after stack into the boot.

"They won't all fit in here," she said, her voice strained from the heavy lifting. "Would you mind lending us a hand and throwing a couple of them on the backseats?"

Of course, she didn't mind. Eagerly, she grabbed the first bundle. She allowed herself a moment to skim through the front page. There were several dates on it for various events. Some of them were theatre or musical performances, others were of more intellectual nature. As far as she could gather, there also was a rally planned.

When they waved their thanks to the young Ram and set off, the car felt very heavy. Glinda threw a glance at the back, wondering how many letterboxes they would be able to feed with all this paper.

"We won't have to deliver all of them today or even by ourselves," Elphaba reassured her, smirking lopsidedly while still keeping her eyes on the road. "I'll pass most of them on to the other volunteers and I can always continue with the distribution at a later time. There is no rush."

Glinda shook her head.

"I'd like to help as much as I can. It will be more fun if we do it together, and I think you have enough on your plate throughout the week."

If she was honest, she cared very little about what exactly they were doing, as long as she could spend time with Elphaba. She'd spend all day chopping vegetables for a soup kitchen if she asked her to, or stand out in the winter cold, manning a charity stall at the Lurlinemas Market. As long as they would do it together.

Their first stop was a neighbourhood not too far away from Glinda's flat, but of a visibly lower socio-economic profile than her own. She supposed the flyers were mostly addressing those who were either part of the Animal community or otherwise already familiar with and generally well disposed towards their kind. The events appeared to be intended as opportunities for large gatherings in open spaces, ensuring that their participants would be seen and heard by the general public, forcing them to take note of their existence. It wasn't a bad plan. From her own experience Glinda know perfectly well how oblivious upper and even middle class Gillikinese were of their furry, scaly and feathery fellow citizens. Yet the main question was whether most of them would actually care, even if they were more aware.

Going from house to house, two blocks at a time, then moving the car and re-stocking their huge messenger bags, they made their way through the area.

"You've never really told me about your involvement with this Animal rights organisation," Glinda ventured after a while.

Elphaba shrugged.

"We're not so much an organisation as a cluster of independent, mostly small groups. I'm active in several of them, but my contributions are small."

"Raiding a research facility and saving Lion cubs doesn't sound like a small contribution to me," Glinda pointed out, a wide smile on her lips.

"That's not part of my ordinary activities,"retorted Elphaba, avoiding her gaze. She looked uneasy, a tinge of mauve in her face. "I'm not a hero, you know? Usually I'm just a paper-pusher, dreaming of a better world where mere words can make a meaningful difference."

Glinda's smile remained, transitioning from cheery to wistful.

"I know you're doing the best you can," she said softly. "That's more than most can boast about themselves."

They reached an apartment block with at least four dozen letterboxes, neatly stacked. They started on opposite ends and silently stuffed their leaflets through each of the slits until they met in the middle. They had run out of leaflets after that and headed back the exact way they had come to grab more from their seemingly inexhaustible stockpile. Without the need to pay attention to every single post mounted box and illusive mail slot on the way, Glinda took the time to carefully consider Elphaba.

"So, if you normally avoid fieldwork, what actually made you participate in this one raid that one night?" she asked at last.

Massaging her neck where the strap of the heavy bag had dug into her skin, Elphaba deferred her answer for a while.

"Before that night," she finally said, "I'd always been eager to take the same risks that the most daring among us were willing to take. I imagined that putting myself out there would make it feel more real, that it would strengthen my conviction. I always wanted to see the direct impact of my actions, not just rely on imagination and wishful thinking. Like many of our young, over-enthusiastic volunteers, I also generally believed that risk stood in direct proportion to the good that could be achieved through any specific deed – the greater the danger, the greater the reward, so to speak. Or perhaps, you could look at it the other way around and argue that the undertakings that have the greatest potential for positive impact are the most risky ones. I still believe that to a certain extend. It's very hard to argue against that. On the flip side, how well can you support a cause once you're put under police monitoring, house arrest or even in jail?"

Glinda bit her lip, gaze downcast. They reached the car and Elphaba opened the trunk with her remote. The blonde sighed as she took a seat on the edge of the boot, suddenly feeling wearier than she had previously realised. Elphaba also seemed like she was ready for a break. She had removed her bag from her shoulder and dropped it to the ground.

"Has any of that ever applied to you?" Glinda probed cautiously, looking up to her friend. The sun was right behind her, and she had to slightly squint her eyes to protect them from the light.

Elphaba stopped rolling her shoulders and tilted her head. One corner of her mouth curled into the hint of a smirk.

"For a while. Turns out the Righteous Resistance's reluctance to have me in the field was well founded. I was only allowed to participate that one time because they were desperately short of daredevils for the operation. Things might have turned out better for me before the advent of colour security cameras, but no matter how well I tried to cover up, the occasional flash of green was bound to incriminate me. Law enforcement turned up at my place two days later for questioning. If I hadn't reached out to my great-grandfather, they would have taken things further, but His Eminence pulled all the political strings at his disposal and promised them that his future heir would cause no further trouble. I started my first role at TMB soon after, partially to demonstrate to the world that I had outgrown my rebellious youth. And while there were no official legal consequences, they did spy on me for at least a year or so. Not even very subtly, I might add. I lay low for that period and for some time after that, but I never completely stopped working for the cause, nor did I try to hide it. I'm just usually keeping it at a level that they are forced to tolerate as a form of freedom of expression."

'Usually' was the imperative word here, Glinda reckoned.

"Are you really going to govern Munchkinland one day?" she asked, as much out of the desire to move away from this serious topic as out of genuine curiosity.

"Can't you just see it?" Elphaba answered sarcastically, then half grunted a dismissive laugh. "How about we have our overdue lunch?" she suggested. "And after that, we can decide whether we want do any more work or simply call it a day."

Glinda found no reason to object to this plan. While Elphaba sorted out their bags and redistributed the stacks of paper in the back of the car, she used the Foodie app on her phone to locate a nearby restaurant.

"You know what's been bugging me?" Glinda asked over a plate of vegetarian pasta, struggling to scoop up the slippery, saucy bits with her fork.

Merely quirking her eyebrow in reply, Elphaba left it up to Glinda to supply the answer herself.

"Remember that" — she used her fingers as quotation marks — "homework you gave me? I half expected you'd demand a written report on it so you could mark it for me. But so far, you haven't even bothered mentioning it."

"Why would I?" Elphaba countered casually as soon as her mouth was empty enough to speak. "I really shouldn't mess with your personal affairs, unless they relate to me specifically."

Glinda threw an irritated look her way, exhaling noisily through her nostrils. As if Elphaba hadn't already 'messed' with her affairs by giving her an explicit deadline for dealing with the Fiyero situation. She freely admitted that she'd probably needed this little extra push — that was not the problem. Rather, she'd expected Elphaba to be more committed after so voluntarily involving herself. She'd expected her to care enough to at least follow up on the progress she'd made, or perhaps not made. Of course, Elphaba would have listened if she'd simply started talking, but, for some weird reason, she wished her friend could have brought up the topic first. When Elphaba at last decided to humour her, it still wasn't quite what Glinda had hoped for, but she accepted that it was the best she would get.

"I'll see him on Monday," she reported. "And I promised him that I'd explain everything to the last minor detail." Drawing breath through her teeth and clicking her tongue, she raised her shoulders.

"You sure you're up to that?"

Glinda laughed miserably.

"No. But you have no idea how terrible he sounded on the phone. I've got a lot to make up for."

There was no immediate reply as Elphaba watched her searchingly, through stern eyes that seemed to pin Glinda down and slow her breath, even her pulse, if something like that was possible to achieve with mere looks. The effect was calming and unsettling at the same time, and Glinda felt simultaneously compelled to hold the gaze as well as shy away from it. The sensation intensified before it waned. After a period that Glinda found impossible to define in any measure of time, Elphaba was the first to avert her eyes, redirecting her attention towards the food in front of her.

"You can't always give everyone as much of yourself as they seem to deserve," Elphaba then said evenly without looking up again. "It might feel cruel at times, yet ultimately, your own wellbeing is paramount. You need yourself the most. Everyone else has to find other substitutes if they can."

"Fiyero was the first friend I've ever had that really mattered," Glinda explained, her voice small and uncertain. "And I don't think that he's got many friends beside me, especially after he cut himself off from his family and his heritage. If he's got anyone else at all, they are far away in the Vinkus. Making friends in the Emerald City has always been quite difficult for him."

"Because of his skin colour?" Elphaba wondered, and Glinda shook her head.

"That as well, but he's also become somewhat of a hermit ever since this all went down. He's been working himself to the ground with his keyboard activism and freelance journalism. There is little money in all this, so he's even less inclined to leave the house for a good time and meeting people."

"Yes, I see how this can happen," nodded Elphaba. "How did you guys find each other then?"

"The internet. He does have a number of online friends from ace forums and such. We'd been interacting irregularly through various threads about your usual ace problems and stuff, until we coincidentally found out that we not only lived in the same city, but also went to the same university, learning at neighbouring campuses. That was when we first started sending each other PMs and barely three days later, we decided to go on a date."

This time Elphaba almost looked amused.

"Was it more like long lost soul mates or a marriage of convenience?"

"Mostly the latter, I suppose," Glinda shrugged. "Or rather it might have ended that way, if Fiyero hadn't discovered his aromantic side and decided to set an end to the entire charade and confess to his parents."

"Would you have been happy if things had progressed as planned?"

Inhaling heavily, Glinda let her gaze drift towards the ceiling. She'd asked herself that same question at numerous occasions, generally with mixed results. The best she was able to do was list the pros and cons.

"The original intention would have been to at least try and make it work on a more or less conventional level, but we agreed from the beginning that we were both willing to be rather flexile if necessary. We both were mostly in it for our parents' sake, so the illusion of normalcy was more important to us than actual domestic bliss." She paused, chewing her lips. She cast her friend an anxious glance, then looked away again, blushing slightly. "When Fiyero eventually realised that romance wasn't his thing either, I was okay with that. When he asked whether we should call it quits, I told him that I'd rather continue the way we had up until then and he reassured me that it would be still okay for me to pursue other partners and relationships, even if he himself would not.

"I think the final blow to our attempt was when…" — the colour of her cheeks deepened — "when it finally dawned on us that our potential marriage would be a childless one. Feeling safe with each other, we tried to overcome our reservations, but failed miserably. Unable to produce the heir his family expected of him, Fiyero lost all motivation and I, too, had to concede that there was little point in further pushing ourselves. It was worse for him. His anxiety about anything physical was through the roof, poor guy. I still feel guilt over insisting on trying for so long."

Elphaba put aside her fork and folded her hands in front of her; contemplating, deliberating, debating with herself about everything she'd just heard.

"I think I understand better now. You two have been through a lot. Regardless, my advice more or less stays the same."

With that, she picked up the bill and headed towards the counter to pay. Glinda remained in her seat, a little dazed by the effort of this admittedly challenging conversation. When Elphaba returned, she extended her hand to help her up. Smiling tiredly, Glinda accepted.

"I think we're done working for today," Elphaba chuckled softly.


They took it slow for the rest of the day — watching TV, reading, talking and preparing snacks. Neither of them was hungry for dinner, so they hung out in the kitchen, nibbling on vegies, crackers and cheese. Glinda felt the drag of fatigue earlier than usual, yet was unwilling to cut short her valuable time with Elphaba. The green woman herself began to act antsy.

"I'm sorry," she said after her umpteenth look at the clock, sounding genuinely apologetic, "but I still have work to finish tonight." She offered her a playful smirk. "You look dreadful. Get yourself to bed."

"I'm fine!" Glinda protested. "Let me help you, I'm sure there must be something that I could do. Even you would benefit from some extra rest here and there."

"I don't think there really is anything—"

But protest was futile. Pushing herself up onto her tiptoes, Glinda pressed her index finger against Elphaba's lips.

"Shush. This is not up for negotiation. If you won't let me help, I'll simply sit there and play with my phone until you're done. If you want me to go to sleep any time soon, you'll have to let me do a share of your load. And that's the end of this discussion."

Defeated, but not too bitter about it, Elphaba led her to her study, a room the blonde only knew from their initial tour a few weeks back. It was incredibly old fashioned, framed from all sides by dark stained quoxwood book cases. There was a pair of stuffed chairs next to a small table by the curtained window and a huge stately bureau. The laptop that sat on top of it seemed entirely out of place.

Despite its size, the bureau offered only little room to actually sit. Most of its space was occupied by drawers and cabinets. When Elphaba took a seat, Glinda marvelled at how small she looked behind that wooden monster of a desk. After opening and starting her laptop, she bent down to pull out a small stack of folders.

"If you're really that keen, you can proofread these for me," she said, holding the files out for her to grab. "They are HR related reports, so technically I shouldn't even share them with anyone outside of the department."

"No worries," Glinda smiled, taking the bundle before Elphaba could change her mind. "I won't tell." She curiously flipped through the pages. Most of the reports contained a lot of text and very little in the way of graphs, quite unlike the work she was used to dealing with. "Anything in there about Shenshen or Pfannee?" she asked casually.

"No," Elphaba answered distractedly. She was already busy sorting through her own documents. "Most of them are not about—" She did a double take then and suddenly looked up. "How in Oz do you know Pfannee?"

At first, a sheepish "Oh," was all Glinda was able to offer in reply. Remembering how rudely they had talked about Elphaba, she was somewhat embarrassed to admit that she knew both of them outside of TMB. The fact that their meeting had been a pure coincidence and not her fault at all was hardly relevant. Recalling now how easily she had made conversation with the duo, simply dismissing any unkind remarks they may have made, a retrospective sense of guilt set in. It had been her mother who had taught her to always be generous and gracious towards anyone she met, regardless of her personal feelings. She'd encouraged and expected from her a personality that was outgoing and kind anytime, anywhere and to anyone. 'You are free to think about people whatever you like,' she'd often told Glinda, 'but you are not free to show any of it, until they are well out of sight.' And even then she'd been taught to be on guard, lest she say something to the wrong person and start rumours or scandals. Being raised that way practically from the moment she could speak, she'd understood her mother's perspective and long adhered to it. The more time she spent away from home, however, the more she began to doubt. She was much more inclined to speak her mind these days, and she was somewhat proud of it, too. So why hadn't she told those two ninnies to just bugger off?

"They are friends with one of my friend's old classmates," she explained in an effort to make their acquaintance appear as trivial as possible. "I don't really know them, but we met once."

She quickly moved towards the stuffed chairs and buried her nose in the first file, unwilling to talk any more of it.

For a good hour or so, Elphaba's persistent typing was the only sound in the room. She hit the keys unnecessarily hard, Glinda thought, and she wondered whether she would eventually be physically exhausted from the vigorous exercise. Glinda's own task had turned out more frustrating than challenging. No matter how hard she tried, she could find scarcely anything in Elphaba's reports she could improve on, and much less even that truly required amending. She felt useless as a result, as well as somewhat intimidated. A few files into her assignment, she'd paused, unseeingly staring at the page in front of her, contemplating whether Elphaba was just one of those few highly gifted individuals, or whether she'd always pushed herself at least three times harder than others did to make up for her unusual appearance. The former notion sat more comfortably with Glinda. For one, it implied that her own inferiority in comparison to her friend was entirely beyond her control.

At last, Elphaba's typing began to slow. It appeared that she'd either nearly completed her task or was too tired to keep up her enthusiasm.

"I think it's late enough," she announced a couple of minutes later. "I can finish the rest tomorrow."

"That's cool with me," Glinda replied, nodding gratefully. She stretched and yawned before picking up the files, squaring them up against the coffee table.

"Did you make a separate pile for the ones that need fixing?" asked Elphaba, stowing away her materials.

Hesitating for a moment, Glinda jogged the stack once more.

She cleared her throat. "No, it's all excellent work, actually. You write very well."

"Well, thanks for having a look at it," Elphaba replied as she took back the reports, tone and face perfectly neutral.

Watching her tucking everything away, Glinda wondered whether she was dissatisfied with the result of the 'work' she'd done, and already planning on proofreading the files all over again at a later point.


Glinda's Sunday started with a hearty knock on the door. Still drowsy, she pushed herself up and against the headrest of the bed.

"Yes?" she said as loudly as she could, her voice weak from disuse. When no response came, she shifted slightly, pulling the blanket closer to her chest. "Come in," she called, this time managing to produce more powerful volume.

The door opened ever so slightly, and Elphaba's head poked in. Seemingly half-frozen in the doorway, she did not immediately speak, so Glinda took it upon herself to initiate the conversation.

"Morning, Elphie," she greeted her, chuckling and blushing just a tinge.

"Yeah, well, thought I should let you know that Shell's home," the green woman replied clumsily.

"Oh, okay."

The corners of Glinda's lips twitched. One part of her was annoyed at the unwelcome intrusion in her weekend with Elphaba, while the other felt anxious about the impending meeting. It was long overdue, however, and ultimately unavoidable. She was probably imagining it worse than it would actually pan out to be.

"You alright?" asked Elphaba, her brow furrowed.

"Yes, peachy."

Putting her smile back in place, Glinda jumped out of bed to collect her clothes and other necessities.

"I'll be down in five minutes," she singsonged, but when she turned her gaze towards the door, Elphaba had already disappeared.

She'd half expected to find Shell hanging out in the kitchen, but to her relief, there was only Elphaba. They made pancakes, seasoned with some refreshingly nonsensical small talk. Only in hindsight Glinda began to ponder whether her friend's unusual volubility might have been a conscious effort to make her feel more at ease. By the time Shell did make an entrance, she'd almost completely forgotten about him.

"Good morning, ladies," he boasted dramatically, until he noticed Glinda. He seemed to stiffen then, his previously raised arms sank slowly. Cautiously and somewhat askance, he gauged her from head to toe before entering the kitchen. "Sorry," he mumbled, "thought you were someone else."

"That's quite alright," Glinda replied, confused and wondering who else he might have expected in her stead.

She didn't have to guess for too long.

"Is Sarima coming later as well?" Shell casually asked his sister while trying to light the gas stove.

Rolling her eyes, Elphaba nudged him aside with her shoulder to turn on the fire for him.

"I hope not," she scoffed. "We'll meet Brrr and the others at the Deer Park for lunch. If she comes here, she'll stand before locked doors. Besides, I'll see her at work tomorrow. There is no need to constantly hang out in our spare time."

'Constantly?' Glinda thoughtfully stopped chewing. She hadn't realised Sarima and Elphaba saw so much of each other. A familiar feeling began to spread through her belly. It was that same kind of feeling she'd had while observing Sarima's assertive interactions with Elphaba at their last get together — all those little touches and kisses. She'd since come to understand that it was some form of jealousy, and although this realisation came with a good measure of private embarrassment, she knew that she simply couldn't help it. Her only consolation had been, that it appeared as if she she was particularly jealous of Sarima's confidence, which, admittedly, was not the greatest of faults.

Unfortunately, her current feelings did not neatly fit in with her earlier assessment. It seemed, after all, rather possible now that she might actually be jealous of the woman herself. The very notion annoyed her. There was no need for such negative sentiments towards anyone. And for what reason? She did get her fair share of Elphaba, was getting it right now, this very morning and the past few days, of course. And furthermore, what claim did she have over Elphaba? With what right could she expect of Elphaba to see less of her other friends, especially when she herself was not around?

"Well," said Shell, interrupting her rampant thoughts, "I for one think that you two should finally hook up. You seem frustrated recently. I'm sure she'd help you relax and wind down a bit."

"If I really am frustrated, it's your fault," Elphaba snarled at him. To Glinda, she said, "don't listen to him, Glinda. He's just full of shit."

"Oh!" Shell unexpectedly lit up. "So you are that mysterious Glinda-girl!" Putting aside his cooking utensil, he briefly abandoned his half-done scrambled eggs to study the short blonde with new interest. "Didn't see that coming," he concluded his inspection. "You're way too hot to be ace!"

His eyes lingered on Glinda just long enough for him to take note of her momentary speechlessness. Only when he directed his attention back towards his food, did she manage to scowl at him.

"Like you would know," she growled under her breath.

The remark left Shell completely unaffected. Amused, he snorted a laugh and blissfully continued his cooking.

"You know, Fabala," he said to his sister, "I think I actually like her. Too bad she's not exactly up your alley."

"Oh, do shut up," groaned Elphaba. "I think your eggs are done," she informed him impatiently and turned off the fire underneath his pan. Grabbing a large wooden spoon from the holder next to the stove, she began to scoop his food onto a plate. "Now off you go." With those words, she firmly shoved the plate into his hands.

Shell shook his head, but made no attempt to argue. He took a fork from the drawer and leisurely strolled off.

"Sorry about that," Elphaba sighed, rubbing her forehead.

Glinda stirred, as if waking from a daydream, and found herself still staring at the doorway he had disappeared through.

"No worries," she said quietly, "we can't chose our family."

"He used to be less idiotic, but university changed him. When we were younger, he'd be very open with me and confide in me, no matter whether it was good or bad, scary or exciting, or all of those combined. You see, because we tended to move around so much, he received most of his education through home schooling and remote lessons. I think he felt more comfortable in his own skin back then. Now he tries ridiculously hard to measure up to everyone else's expectations, especially when it comes to his sexuality."

"Well, he's not the only one there," Glinda hummed softly. "I can relate to that."

Elphaba shrugged her shoulders.

"Except that you don't act like an asshole to everyone."

"I try not to," replied Glinda, smiling a little.

She'd finally finished the last of her pancakes and spooned the last remnants of her whipped cream. Stocking the dishwasher, she asked, "What does he officially identify as anyway?"

"Party animal," Elphaba deadpanned before finishing her plate as well. "I have no idea what he told his gang of friends, but he is definitely trying his best to compensate for all his perceived deficits. It's painful to watch sometimes, but he stopped taking my advice a long time ago."

Out of habit, Glinda took a cloth and began to clean the counter top. Chuckling, Elphaba grabbed a towel and used it to protect her hand as she snitched the wet rag from her.

"You're stealing our maid's work again," she said and tossed the whole bunch aside. "Besides, we better get ready to leave."

Glinda nodded, her cheeks slightly warm.

"There will be mostly Animals today," Elphaba told her. "And Boq," she added, casting Glinda a long look. "Maybe you have some friends you'd like to join us? I don't want you to feel too overwhelmed."

"No," Glinda said slowly, chewing her lip pensively, then shaking her head. "The only ones who might be remotely interested would be my flatmates, but they actually don't know I'm seeing you so much. They think I'm at Fiyero's."

Elphaba's brows rose at that, but she mercifully refrained from commenting.


On their way to the Deer Park, they stopped at a supermarket and a bakery to pick up some food and drinks. Glinda balanced the bags on her lap, since the flyers were still in the boot. Brrr and some of the others were supposed to each take a big stack home with them so Elphaba didn't have to do all the work by herself.

After all their errands were completed, they were the last pair to arrive. Glinda immediately spotted the colourful group of Elphaba's friends, even though the large Lion was the only one she could recognise from the distance. As they approached, she could see that the rest of the group was made up of Chistery, two Dogs, a Hare, a Goat, a Llama, two Kangaroos and three Foxes. And Boq, of course.

The Munchkin was the first to notice them.

"Miss Glinda!" he called out and jumped up to welcome her. "Hi, Elphaba," he added briefly.

Glinda nodded at him before greeting the entire party as a whole and Elphaba quickly made the necessary introductions. Eventually, they settled down on the cluster of picnic blankets that the others had spread out on the lawn — Elphaba next to Brrr, with Glinda on the other side and Boq next to Glinda. Chistery was happily playing with twigs and leaves just a few metres away from them.

"Here, Elphaba," Brrr said, producing a folder from his messenger bag. "I brought the forms we talked about."

He handed it to Elphaba and she immediately began to flick through the pages.

"And you think the application will be processed and approved by next week?" she asked doubtfully. "This looks like a lot for them to go through and they tend to take their sweet time with this sort of stuff."

Not knowing what the two of them were talking about, Glinda grew curious. When she tried to catch a subtle glimpse of the forms, Elphaba immediately noticed.

"Custody forms," she explained readily without waiting to be prompted. "Caring for Chistery has turned out more challenging than we'd hoped, and I decided to help Brrr out some more. In order for him to stay with me without his custodian present, I have to become a custodian myself. This way Brrr can take some time off every now and then."

Glinda wouldn't say that she was surprised, yet she still couldn't help but stare at Elphaba in awe.

"That's a wonderful idea," she almost gushed.

Elphaba averted her eyes, looking flustered, as she so often did when praised.

"It's just going to be for a few days here and there," she deflected. "I could never handle as much as Brrr does every day. He is amazing with Chistery.

She fished in her own bag for a pen and went through the pages one more time, signing and dating every single one.

"I don't think the approval will take as long as usual," the Lion said after taking back the completed forms. "They already have all of your records on file. I wrote down a reference on page five. Did you see? Anyway, that should speed up the process considerably."

"If you guys are done with your boring paperwork, can we please start with our lunch?" Mikitty, one of the Foxes, demanded and everyone was happy to agree.

Glinda enjoyed her food and enjoyed the company, but spoke little. Boq did his best to keep her entertained, but most of the time she only listened with half an ear. She wasn't really in need of any entertainment anyway. She might have appeared abandoned to Boq, but in truth, she was quite content watching Elphaba as she fervently discussed and debated with her fellow activist friends.

Chistery gingerly approached her, a piece of sweet bun in his hand. He tilted his head one way, then the other. He sniffed. Eventually, he sat down next to her and begun to munch his treat. His mannerism was still so much like a normal monkey's, she could hardly keep her hand from reaching out and patting him as she would a pet. With a sigh, she decided to gently touch his free hand instead. The Monkey paused to consider her for a clock-tick, before offering her a morsel of his food.

"How kind of you," she giggled as she accepted the gift. "Thank you."

With a loud, gleeful noise, Chistery jumped up and trotted off, on the search for a new diversion.

When Glinda looked up, she realised that this time it hand been her that had been watched. Her eyes met Elphaba's and a bashful smile spread across her face. Elphaba's expression was harder to decipher, and she wished she could have taken a moment to study it more carefully. However, she did not dare to hold the contact for too long and soon reached for her drink in a way of distraction.