11 Across: Engaged to wed (9)

Honestly, the question of how to propose had been much easier to answer than the question of when. Fiyero had known the how of it possibly since the moment he first knew that he would one day ask Elphaba to marry him. But the when, that had been a vague notion of "one day", until they were approaching the four-year anniversary of their first date and Fiyero had simply decided that enough was enough.

Then it was simply a matter of slipping into the offices of The Chronicle, meeting with the person who created the crossword puzzles, and asking her a small favour. And then hoping Elphaba didn't notice how nervous he was. That part went well until the day of, at least.

"Are you alright?" Elphaba asked him as they headed to the library after Sunday lunch. "You seem… deep in thought."

Fiyero scoffed. "That is offensive, Miss Thropp," he replied. "Who do you think you're talking to here?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes, as he knew she would. "Oh good, we're still doing this schtick," she said dryly.

Fiyero grinned in what he hoped was a nonchalant way, even while he second guessed every single element of his plans.

Why in Oz's name had he thought it was a good idea to propose with such a public message? What if she said no?

His parents would witness this- because he hadn't been able to think of a way to excuse them from completing the crossword with his parents. Elphaba loved that his parents had wholeheartedly welcomed her into their family and made her a part of their Sunday afternoon crosswords whenever she was in the Vinkus to visit. There was no way Fiyero could have found a way to get her agree to skipping it. But maybe proposing in front of his parents was a bad idea?

Or worse… what if Elphaba didn't pick up the clues?

That thought made Fiyero jolt himself out of his panic spiral and he would have rolled his eyes at himself if Elphaba wouldn't notice it. There was no way she'd miss the clues if the woman from The Chronicle had done everything as planned.

Besides, he thought glumly as they entered the library. It's too late to do anything different now.

"Who's reading the first round of clues today?" Ibrahim asked them all as he settled into his usual armchair.

"I'll go," Fiyero offered, the small box in his pocket digging into his thigh. "Gimme."

He made a show of dramatically clearing his throat and readying the pen as he read the first clue. "'What's stronger than might?' Four letters."

"Might," Kasmira repeated. "As in perhaps, or as in strength?"

Fiyero shrugged. "I dunno. Let's skip that. Four across: 'vow, pledge'. Seven letters."

Elphaba wrinkled her nose. "I was going to say oath, but that doesn't fit."

"It could be oath…ify," Fiyero suggested, in keeping with his tradition of doing crosswords with Elphaba.

Elphaba, at this point, just ignored any of his made up suggestions.

"What about promise?" Ibrahim asked.

"Maybe," Elphaba agreed.

"Maybe isn't good enough, let's circle back," Fiyero announced. "Moving on. Five across: 'Vinkun king who abdicated for love.' Oh, I know that one. Mazhar," he said aloud as he jotted it down.

"Uh, okay. Nine across: 'Vinkun King who loved Earl Jop Lovel.' Seven letters."

"You should know this one too, Yero," Ibrahim pointed out as Fiyero paused.

"Dad, I actually don't have our whole family tree memorised," Fiyero complained. "And I do know it… I just never remember how to spell it. It was King Roparzh, right?"

"Right," Ibrahim agreed.

"So, R-O-P…" Fiyero glanced around as he trailed off, and Elphaba took pity on him.

"A-R-Z-H," she finished.

"Thank you," Fiyero replied graciously, filling in the spaces. "Next. 'BLANK, myself and I."

"Me," Kasmira and Elphaba said almost in unison.

They made their way through the list of clues, taking turns reading the clues aloud. Kasmira held the newspaper when they came to the clue Fiyero had been waiting for and he held his breath as his mother frowned.

"Well, this is different."

"What is it?" Ibrahim asked her.

"Thirty-one down, one across, seventeen across, twenty-two across and ten across," Kasmira read. "It's three letters."

Ibrahim's eyebrow quirked slightly. "That is different."

"So, once we've solved all those clues, we have the answer?" Elphaba asked.

"I would assume so," Kasmira agreed. "So, we'll come back to that one too. Alright, what did we say was sixteen down?"

"Candlelight," Ibrahim reminded her. "If eighteen across was betrothed, that makes the D fit."

Kasmira nodded. "Of course."

Fiyero prayed desperately that neither of his parents would work it out before Elphaba did, but luck seemed to be on his side. On the final clue, Kasmira paused again, this time with a smile.

"BLANK Thropp," she read aloud, making Elphaba startle violently. "Long-time partner of Prince Fiyero."

Ibrahim laughed heartily. "I think we know that one easily enough."

"Is that for real?" Elphaba demanded.

"Certainly," Kasmira nodded, handing her the newspaper so she could see for herself.

Elphaba stared at the puzzle in disbelief. "That is such an odd feeling," she said finally, shaking her head.

"I think you mean awesome," Fiyero corrected her with a grin.

She shot him an exasperated look, and Kasmira chuckled, passing her the pen. "Here, Elphaba. You should fill it in."

Elphaba obliged, taking her turn at reading the clues as they continued onto the next clue.

Fiyero found himself almost holding his breath as they got closer and closer back to the clue. The box in his pocket seemed to be growing warmer and heavier with every clue that was completed.

"Thirty-one down, one across, seventeen across, twenty-two across and ten across," Elphaba read out, and then just stared at the paper.

Fiyero could practically see the gears in her head beginning to turn, and even while he wondered if he was about to be sick from nerves, he couldn't help but grin.

"What is it, Fae?" he asked helpfully.

"Thirty-one down is my name," Elphaba said slowly, not looking up from the newspaper.

"And the others?" Kasmira prodded gently, and Fiyero wondered if his mother had already begun to put it together too.

He slipped his hand into his pocket and removed the box from within as Elphaba read out the other clues, her voice trembling.

"One across is 'will'; seventeen across… 'you'; twenty-two across is 'marry', and ten across is- is 'me'. I…"

Kasmira had a hand pressed over her heart, her other hand reaching out to grasp her husband's hand furiously, who was beaming at them. Fiyero swallowed hard and tried his best to keep his focus on Elphaba as he slowly slid off the couch to kneel before her.

Seven down: Proposition (8); eight down: traditional pose for SEVEN DOWN (5).

Elphaba's gaze rose from the newspaper slowly, lingering on the box in his hand before continuing up to his face, her face seemingly growing paler the higher her eyes moved.

"Elphaba," Fiyero said quietly, his voice sounding remarkably steady to his own ears for how jittery every nerve within him felt. "You are the love of my life. My favourite person. And there is nothing in this world I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Elphaba stared at him for a moment that seemed to last an eternity. Then she opened her mouth, and Fiyero's chest clenched in apprehension.

"How did you do this?!" she demanded hoarsely.

Fiyero's shoulders sagged and he swallowed back an exasperated groan. "Fae, is that really the most important thing right now?" he asked her.

He distinctly heard his father stifle laughter from behind him.

"Come on, I even spelled it out for you," Fiyero continued, pointing to the puzzle.

Bewilderment flickered over Elphaba's face and she looked back to the puzzle. Fiyero watched her brow furrow slightly as her eyes swept over the completed clues and lingered onto the three-lettered word that was linked to the clue.

She breathed out a gasp of laughter as it clicked, breaking into a smile as she looked back at Fiyero.

"It's 'yes'," she said in realisation, tears welling in her eyes. "The answer to nineteen down is 'yes.'"

Fiyero grinned, raising an eyebrow pointedly at her. "So…?"

Elphaba blinked back the tears, self-consciously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she nodded. "Yes, you idiot. Yes."

Fiyero's cheeks hurt from smiling so widely as he slipped the ring on her finger, kissing her softly before he wrapped her tightly in his arms, feeling almost light-headed with relief. Then his parents were there and the crossword puzzle was completely forgotten as they both had to hug Elphaba and himself tightly. They were both crying, and Fiyero wasn't quite sure what to do with that.

"Yero, you could have said something," Kasmira scolded him lightly, while Ibrahim hugged Elphaba.

Fiyero shrugged sheepishly. "I didn't want to jinx it," he said, as though there'd been any real chance of Elphaba saying no.

Kasmira eyed him knowingly, kissed his cheek and then went to ring for something for them to festivate with.

"Oh, there's the bottle of Brigoment that I bought when Yero was born! We always said we were saving it for a special moment- what could be more special that this?" Ibrahim suggested excitedly, hurrying after his wife and leaving Elphaba and Fiyero alone for a moment.

"How did you do this?" Elphaba asked again, rather weakly as Fiyero managed to sweep her back to his side and out of the dizzying vacuum that was his parents' excitement.

"I have connections," Fiyero said vaguely. "Was it okay?" he couldn't help but ask, the last remnants of his anxiety stubbornly clinging to the lining of his stomach.

Elphaba's face softened. "It was… perfect," she said softly.

And then she paused. "So… all of the Vinkus now knows that you've proposed to me?"

"Well, only those who do the Sunday crossword," Fiyero replied with a shrug. "It's one way to get the word out, isn't it?"

"True," Elphaba acknowledged. "But I'm going to let you explain to Galinda and Nessarose why the Vinkus now know that we're engaged before they do."

Fiyero had not thought about that.

Oops.

AN. I really enjoyed writing this proposal, not so much for the romance, but for the creativity behind it.