He stood warily in the doorway, looking like he was afraid to enter; but, encouraged by the wide smile that spread over Elphaba's face, he crossed the room in a few quick steps and crouched down next to her bed.
"Elphaba…" He repeated her name the way one would call a powerful deity; filling it with all the wonder and reverence and love that a single name could hold. He reached for her hand, bringing her palm to his lips, planting gentle kisses on each individual finger; and as she touched his stubbly cheek, she realized that it was wet and noticed his red, puffy eyes.
"Fiyero," she said softly, wiping away his tears; but hearing her voice made him break even more. "It's okay…"
He shook his head, trying to compose himself, and his voice came out in almost desperate gasps.
"Fae, I thought I'd never see you again," he choked out, cupping her face, stroking her hair, trailing kisses down her cheeks; restless, not knowing what to do with himself when he so clearly wanted to embrace her fully and yet could only hold so much of her at once. "You have no idea… I thought you would… I don't know what I would do if…"
He squeezed his eyes shut and wiped his face with his sleeve, taking a few rough breaths.
"I'm sorry," he said, letting out something between a chuckle and a sob. "I just… Sweet Oz, Fae. I love you so much."
She stroked his cheek, slowly and gently, looking him in the eyes, trying to memorize every single shade of blue in them, every speck of light, every little detail.
"I love you too," she whispered and somehow, the words tasted is if she'd said them out loud for the very first time. "And I'm sorry—"
"Atái k'raámir."
"What?"
For a second, Fiyero seemed surprised by his own words. A flush crept up his cheeks and he looked a little apprehensive; but that apprehension quickly turned into determination as he repeated his request.
"Atái k'raámir, Elphaba. Marry me," he repeated firmly, reaching for her hand, brushing his thumb over her knuckles, his eyes never leaving hers. "I know this is sudden. I don't have a ring for your finger. I know this is not the romantic proposal that you deserve and that I wanted to give you, even though you'd pretend to hate it."
"Yero…"
"But there have been too many times when we have almost lost each other. I'm not taking any more chances. I know what I want and I won't change my mind. I love you. I never want to spend a single day anywhere but by your side. Let me be yours. Please, Fae. Marry me."
"Fiyero…" she whispered again, barely able to get the words out.
True, Fiyero had mentioned the possibility of them getting married quite a few times before, but he'd only ever done so jokingly – or at least that had been Elphaba's assumption. And yes, she had on occasion allowed herself to fantasize about what it would be like to actually be able to call herself his wife; but she definitely hadn't thought it would become a possibility so soon, so unexpectedly.
She chose her next words very carefully.
"Right now, I can't say yes, but I need you to understand that I am definitely not saying no. I want us to have a future together, Yero, I really do. But I've had enough of rushing through things. I don't want you to marry me because you're afraid of losing me. I want you to marry me for no other reason than because you love me."
"Fae—"
"Ask me again in a while. Get me that ring; give me that corny romantic proposal that I'll pretend to hate. Or don't. That doesn't matter. But please, ask me again when I'm back on my feet, when I can stand up on my own and properly hold you, when I can actually comprehend more than a half of what's going on around me. Ask me again when we have any idea of what the future holds for us. And then, I will say yes." She smiled up at him. "Kyé téfiya't, Yero. I promise."