"I'm so glad you finally have some free time! I so needed to have a girls day with you!" Galinda squealed happily, tugging at Elphaba's arm.
The green girl smiled and squeezed Galinda's hand. "Me too."
Fiyero had been out of town for a couple of days. She'd previously had her royal duties with Helena and her private classes to preoccupy her, but today she'd been absolutely free. Galinda had stopped by and whisked her away before she could busy herself with anything else. Elphaba had to admit that shopping wasn't as bad as she'd thought, as long as she didn't have to try anything on.
"I'm telling you Elphie," Galinda searched through the racks of skirts, "that woman needs serious fashion advice. I mean, who wears a dark color on top and a light color on the bottom?"
Elphaba shrugged, slowly searching through the rack opposite of Galinda. "I don't think it's that bad."
"Oy, you need serious fashion advice too," the blonde shook her head.
"My style is just fine, thank you very much."
"Black?"
"It's the only color that doesn't clash," Elphaba defended.
"Oh please, you said that the first time I forced you to go shopping and even you admitted that this shade of pink," she pulled a short skirt out of the rack, "looked ok on you."
Elphaba chuckled a bit, then her face turned serious. "I don't remember that. I haven't really been able to remember much of anything."
"Oh," Galinda frowned slightly. "Well, that's why we're having this girls day, we're making memories," she offered a soft smile.
"Mhm."
"You want me to tell you what went down that day? I remember it like it was yesterday!" Galinda giggled.
"Oh dear Oz," Elphaba said, but she was smiling under her curtain of hair.
"Oh shush! Anyways, we were trying to find something for the Ozdust…"
"Come on Elphie! Please?!"
"Galinda for the last time, 'no' means no."
"But you can't just wear the same black frock you wear almost everyday!"
"It's the only thing I don't clash with."
"Oh my Oz, Elphie."
"Galinda," Fiyero stepped in, wrapping an arm around Elphaba, "you're already pushing the boundary by making Fae go to the Ozdust and dragging her to come shopping with you."
Elphaba gestured to her boyfriend as if to say 'he's right'.
"But wouldn't you like to see her in something other than…" she motioned to Elphaba up and down, "that."
"Hey."
"I don't care what she wears."
Galinda rolled her eyes. "Boy did you get lucky, Elphie."
Elphaba rolled her eyes at her even though she admitted to herself that the blonde was right. She would never say that out loud though, Fiyero could go with less ego boosts.
One hour later, Galinda was still trying on different dresses while asking Fiyero and Elphaba to rate them.
"Kill me," Elphaba buried her face in Fiyero's neck.
"I heard that!" Galinda yelled from the dressing room.
Fiyero chuckled. "It'll be over before you know it," he whispered.
"It'll be over sooner if you just smack my head against something hard."
"Alright! I think this one is it!" Galinda stepped out in a sleeveless, high neck, poofy-skirt, emerald green dress. The bodice had some sparkles on it and accentuated Galinda's curves.
"You look great," Elphaba complimented.
"And I found the perfect one for you too, Elphie," Galinda pulled a dress from the dressing room.
"No," Elphaba shot it down.
"Oh come on!"
"It actually doesn't look bad."
"Fiyero!" Elphaba whacked his shoulder.
"What?! It's simple, it's elegant - "
"It's pink."
"It's long sleeved," Fiyero pointed out.
"It is backless though," Galinda turned the hanger in her hand to show the other side of the dress.
Elphaba scoffed. If there had been even the slightest part of her that was considering at least trying it on, it vanished as soon as she saw the back. "No."
"Ugh," Galinda tried one last attempt. "Please? We'd be wearing each other's signature color."
"You should be in a black dress then."
Galinda laughed. "Pff. Like I would ever be caught dead in black!"
"Like I would ever be caught dead in pink!"
"Fiyero! Convince your girlfriend!"
"I can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to," he shrugged and Elphaba flashed him a smile.
"Ok how about this," Galinda went to her last resort. "At least try this on, Elphie. If you hate it, you hate it. If you love it - "
"Doubtful," Elphaba said.
" - you love it," Galinda ignored her. "But if you at least just try it, I won't force you to go to the Ozdust or to come shopping with me for the rest of the year. Starting tomorrow, of course."
The green girl's eyebrows shot up and she glanced at Fiyero. That actually wasn't such a bad deal Galinda was offering. And all she had to do was try on that pink dress.
"What do you say, Fae?" Fiyero prompted.
Elphaba sighed. "Fine."
Galinda squealed in delight and dragged Elphaba into the dressing room. Fiyero laughed softly at the remarks he could hear Galinda making from inside the dressing room, raging from 'you are going to look so good!' to 'hold still' to 'Elphie! You are too thin!'
"Fiyero! Doesn't she look gorgeous?!" Galinda stepped out of the way and let Elphaba step out of the changing room.
Elphaba smoothed out the dress at her stomach. The fabric was soft against her skin. Fiyero's jaw dropped. The dress was a bit loose on her, but it didn't look bad. Oz, Elphaba was absolutely beautiful.
"Here, look at yourself in the mirror!" Galinda pulled Elphaba to stand in front of the mirror, giving Fiyero a full view of the green girl's bare back. "Doesn't she look pretty?"
"Galinda - "
"Yes, she does," Fiyero managed to choke out.
Elphaba and him exchanged a small glance through the mirror. She looked away immediately, blushing at the intense stare he was giving her.
"How do you feel about it now? Honest!" Galinda asked, fixing the skirt of the dress.
"I…" Elphaba rubbed the satin material between her fingers. She had to admit, she actually kind of liked this dress. And even if it made her skin stand out a bit more, it didn't exactly clash. "I don't hate it," she whispered.
"Aha! I told you! Pink goes good with green. I'm going to go buy it!"
"I'm also not sure what happened afterwards, but when I came back from purchasing the dress - which I'm pretty sure it's still somewhere in your closet - you and Fifi were having a little private moment. He had his arms wrapped around you from behind, you rocked back and forth for a little bit. Then he whispered something in your ear and it made you both smile, he turned you around and - "
"And you watched all that?" Elphaba stared at Galinda with eyes wide. Weirdly, she felt a little exposed even if she had no memory of that day.
"Hey, if you two wanted privacy, you probably shouldn't have kissed in the middle of one of the busiest stores in the mall."
Elphaba laughed and shook her head.
"I just had a test. I think I did pretty well on it though; there were only a handful of questions that stumped me."
"That's great, Nessa," Elphaba squeezed her sister's hand.
After spending the afternoon with Galinda, Nessarose had invited Elphaba to have dinner with her. Her roommate would be out of town for a couple of days, and it gave the sisters an opportunity for some time alone.
Elphaba had initially worried about Nessarose being by herself for three days, but she could handle herself, and it helped that the small house was accommodated for her.
"So, did you have fun with Galinda today?"
"I did," Elphaba nodded. "Did you make this yourself?" She pointed to the pasta with her fork.
"Yep. It was really just a matter of experimenting with the seasonings to get more flavor."
"It's really good."
"Thank you," Nessarose beamed.
They made small talk for a while. Nessarose told Elphaba about school and some fun things her and her roommate have done in the past couple of weeks. Elphaba had yet to meet the girl her younger sister was residing with, the only thing she knew was that her name was Yessenia. But so far, she seemed like a nice girl and Nessarose enjoyed living with her from what she'd been told by her sister.
Elphaba in turn told Nessarose about some of the royal duties she was relearning, how her own classes were going, how things were with Fiyero, and some drama between the castle's staff.
"One of our female cooks was involved with one of the guards, now she's carrying his child," Elphaba grabbed both plates and walked over to the sink. "Or, so she says. We actually don't know who the father is."
"It's not the guard?" Nessarose's eyes widened.
"Well it could be, but in her words 'it could also be Frich or Reygahn' who are a cook and a male maid respectively."
"Oh dear Unnamed God. How are you going to handle it?"
"Oh I'm not," Elphaba shook her head and began to rinse the plates. "I'm already stressed with learning how to run the castle and the test I have coming up. Helena's to take care of that for me."
The sun was almost down, but Elphaba assured Nessarose that she could stay a while longer.
"Besides, even if I went back now, Fiyero's supposed to be out of town until tomorrow. I'd have nothing to do," she reasoned.
Nessarose noted the small glimpse of longing in Elphaba's eyes. "Aww, you miss him!"
The green girl blushed. "I do."
"Why is he out of town anyways?"
"Gillikin is running low on natural resources like minerals and wood, so they reached out to neighboring lands. Tristan had to go, since he's the king, and see if it would be a good investment in starting a trade with Gillikin. Fiyero went with him as part of getting some experience in what he'll have to do when he takes the throne."
Elphaba helped Nessarose put away the leftovers and clear some things out of the living room. As she gathered the mail, Elphaba froze at seeing a specific letter. It was from Munchkinland. From their father.
And there was a stamp on it that said 'Return to sender'.
"Nessa?"
"Yes, Fabala?" Nessarose popped her head in the living room.
"What's this?" Elphaba held up the letter.
Her sister frowned. "Oh. It's nothing important. I was going to mail it back. Or actually," she rolled herself towards her, "just give it to me, I'll throw it away," Nessarose snatched the envelope from Elphaba's hand, who was too taken aback to react.
"You haven't opened it?"
"I'm not interested in anything he has to say," she went back into the kitchen and threw the letter in the garbage can.
Elphaba stood by the doorway. "Nessa, Father loves you. I bet he misses you," she may not have had a good relationship with their father, but he absolutely adored Nessarose.
Nessarose sighed. "A small part of me misses him, too," she admitted. "But…I just can't look past what he almost did to you, and the fact that he hasn't even apologized to you doesn't help his case."
Elphaba then realized something. "What exactly happened?" She whispered. She knew they'd had a falling out and he'd disowned her when she and Fiyero announced that they were engaged. But what exactly was said that Nessarose won't even return his letters?
"Um," Nessarose bit her lip. She really didn't like to think about that day. "Maybe you should talk to Fiyero about it."
"He's not here."
"When he gets here."
"I'm asking you," Elphaba approached Nessarose and took her sister's hands in hers. "Please Nessa?"
The younger girl sighed and glanced at Elphaba before motioning the green girl to follow her and wheeling herself into the living room, her sister right behind her. "Sit with me."
Once Elphaba was settled on the blue sofa chair, Nessarose took a deep breath before beginning the story.
"Fiyero had just proposed to you; you both came over to tell father and me the news…"
"That's ama - "
"This wedding isn't happening," Frex cut Nessarose off.
"Father," she said.
"With all due respect sir," Fiyero began, "I'm not asking for your permission or blessing, we both know I'm not getting either. I'm telling you; I've proposed to Elphaba and she's accepted. We're getting married. I thought I'd at least just let you know so you wouldn't be shocked on the day of the wedding."
Elphaba grabbed Fiyero's hand in a not so discreet way so her father would see her engagement ring and that Fiyero was telling the truth.
Frex glared at Elphaba. "Are you pregnant?"
"No," she scowled.
"Well then stop kidding yourself. How could you possibly think - "
"Think that someone like him could actually choose someone like me?" Elphaba started to raise her voice.
"I'm glad you realize it, too."
"Yeah, well it's happened. It's real - "
"Oh please," he shook his head, his temper rising. There was no way the Winkie actually even liked Elphaba, he probably had a specific reason for wanting to marry her, and she was insane if she thought she could bring any more shame to his family than she already has. "You really think he loves you?" Frex sure as hell didn't.
"I know he does. And I love him."
"Keep telling yourself that," he muttered, and Elphaba's glare hardened. "I swear, of all the selfish things you've done - "
"'Selfish'?" Elphaba interrupted. "This is the first time in my life that I'm putting myself first," she let go of Fiyero's hand and walked towards Frex, still keeping space between them. "I want to get married; I'm going to marry Fiyero."
Frex turned away from her. "I wish I would've gotten rid of you when you were a baby."
Nessarose gasped. How could he - "Father," she whispered.
Elphaba laughed dryly. "Why didn't you?"
"Because your mother - "
"Well! Wouldn't she be disappointed at the poor excuse for a father you've been?"
Frex's face got red and his face contorted with anger. "Why you little - " he pulled a knife from the drawer.
"Elphaba!" Fiyero pulled her behind him.
"Stop it!" Nessarose wheeled herself between the couple and her father. He froze at seeing the look of horror on his little girl's face.
"It wasn't a pretty day, needless to say. What pissed me off even more was the fact that he apologized to me and tried to justify what he'd done."
"Wow," Elphaba sighed. If she was completely honest with herself, what her father did didn't really surprise her. What did surprise her was that Nessarose took her side. "And you chose me?" She covered her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that outloud.
Nessarose sighed, a small smile on her face. "Of course I did. Elphaba, I'm so sorry if I don't say it enough or show you, Oz knows I haven't been the best sister, but I love you so much. I'll always stand by you. And when I saw Father coming at you with a knife - " she choked, "Oz, I'd never been so scared. And when I heard about your accident - Oh, dear Oz."
Elphaba wrapped her sister in her arms when her voice broke. She wiped away Nessarose tears and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, Nessa. And you're the best sister anyone could've ever asked for," she hugged her tighter.
Nessarose sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the comfort of Elphaba's embrace.
Elphaba rubbed her eyes. Oz, she was really tired. It'd been a long yet fun day. She stopped walking and her eyes widened at seeing the entrance of the castle. The royal carriage was in front of it.
Fiyero.
Was he back?
She started to walk, then her steps got quicker. Then she was running.
"Yero?" She asked, hanging up her jacket.
"Elphaba," the queen greeted her.
"Hey," the green girl closed the door behind her, "are they home?"
"They are," Helena smiled.
"I thought they wouldn't come back until tomorrow."
"They settled the trade agreement earlier than they'd thought they would. They got here not 10 minutes ago. Fiyero's upstairs."
Elphaba blushed but nonetheless made her way upstairs. "Fiyero?"
He stepped out of his room, his shirt halfway unbuttoned. "Fae?"
She turned around and smiled and walked to him quickly. "Fiyero!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. She hummed when she felt him squeeze her back. "I missed you."
He kissed her hair and inhaled, the familiar scent of her apple shampoo making him feel even more at home. "I missed you, too."
She hugged him for a couple more seconds, not wanting to let him go just yet, then pulled away slowly. "Um…" she glanced at his open shirt and blushed slightly.
"I was about to take a shower, sorry," he was about to button up his shirt again, but she stopped him.
"No it's ok. I'll leave you to it then, we'll talk more tomorrow."
"Ok," he nodded. He kissed her hair again. "Goodnight, hon'."
She gave him another hug. "Night."
He held her hand until she was too far away.
I survived my first week of classes yay ! And I love my roommates, all 3 of them (I'm so lucky)
Tell me what you thought :)