When Frex didn't find Elphaba in her own bed the next morning, he knew where he'd find her. But he was afraid of what he'd find when he went into the guest room, though he had no choice. Carefully, he opened the door and peeked in. "Elphaba?"

Yawning, she turned over in the bed and muttered, "Five more minutes."

"Elphaba, I'm afraid you can't have five minutes. We need to talk. I want you out here now." Frex ordered.

She woke up completely then and sat up, accidentally nudging Fiyero awake. "Oops."

Fiyero rubbed his eyes and looked at Frex guiltily. "Um, this is my fault…"

"Don't." Elphaba said, getting up. "I'll talk to you later. Just go back to sleep."

Fiyero shook his head in protest, but she gave him a look that told him he'd better go back to sleep or she'd get angry. Sighing heavily, he laid back in the bed.

Elphaba quietly closed the door behind her and looked up at Frex. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Sleeping?" She replied coolly.

"Very funny, Elphaba. What have I told you about having intimate relations before getting married?"

"Father, we were just sleeping, honestly."

"If I catch you and this boy doing anything out of line, I swear…"

"You'll what? You didn't even believe anyone could care about me and didn't even care that I was involved with someone until I could, Unnamed God forbid, be doing something sinful." She snapped heatedly.

He was taken aback by the way she'd spoken to him. "How dare you speak to me, your father, that way?"

"My father? You certainly don't act like one." She heard Fiyero's words behind her own and cringed, but knew he'd been right. "Besides, do I look like your daughter?"

For a moment, Frex was speechless. Calmly, he replied, "Nevertheless, I raised you and whatever you may be, you are my daughter by default, if nothing else."

"Default, is it? Nanny is more of a parent to me than you are."

Keeping the tension out of his voice as much as he could, he said, "Speaking of your Nanny, she'll be awake in an hour or two. I expect you to look after her. Nessa rises normally around noon on days such as today."

"Whatever." Elphaba said, shooing her father away. She edged back into the guest room and sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning her head against the wall in aggravation.

"Elphie?" Fiyero was holding her suddenly.

"Good morning." She said softly. Part of her wanted to pull him down onto the bed and beg him to do exactly what her father didn't want her to do, but she knew better. "I'm sorry you had to be woken up so rudely so early."

"I don't mind. Are you okay?"

"Fine."

Wiping a strand of hair out of her face, he asked, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"What'd he want to talk about, anyway?"

"Take a wild guess."

"I shouldn't have made you stay in here."

"You didn't make me. I chose to. I wouldn't have let you make me do anything."

He smiled gently and kissed her on the cheek. "When's breakfast?"

"Ugh. Do you have any idea how early it is?"

"No. But I do know that I'm hungry."

"Breakfast isn't for another hour or two, but I can grab you an apple or something from the kitchen."

"Sure."

She exited the room and tossed him an apple when she came back. "I've got to go look after Nanny and Nessa. Sit in here and do whatever. I'll get you when it's time to eat a real breakfast."

He nodded and munched on the apple hungrily.

Elphaba tiptoed into Nanny's room and found the old woman awake. "Nanny? How are you feeling?"

"I've been worse. I've been better." Replied Nanny. "How is your friend?"

Elphaba blushed. "Oh, yeah. Fiyero. He's fine."

"Is your sister awake yet?"

"Not that I know of." Elphaba set up a small table near Nanny's bed. "Now, do you want to eat breakfast in here or do you feel up to eating with everyone else this morning?"

"In here."

"That's what I thought." She set out a small tablecloth and grabbed some paper plates and cups. "I'll bring your breakfast into your room then. You just stay right here." She headed out of the room and almost ran right into Fiyero. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for you. Can I help you at all?"

She'd been ready to reprimand him for leaving the guest room, but his offer to help softened her a little. "Thank you, but there's not much to do."

"If you need me…"

"I know."

A week went by and Elphaba continually fell asleep in the guest room, to Frex's initial dismay. He seemed to become less disapproving as the days came along.

Fiyero had fallen asleep with his hand in Elphaba's blouse and he woke the same way, finding her asleep next to him. Trying not to wake her, he pulled his hand away and got up, dressing quickly.

"Fiyero?" She was staring at him. His chest was bare and the diamonds had once again entranced her. "My Oz, you're beautiful."

"And so are you." He assured her.

Frex knocked on the door and Fiyero opened the door after having pulled a shirt over his head. One glance at Elphaba's hastily buttoned blouse (the buttons all wrong, too) told him that Elphaba and Fiyero had spent most of the previous night kissing – as teenagers often would. He sighed and let go of the matter, too tired to deal with them at the moment.

"Sorry, father…" Elphaba began.

"It's fine. You two ready for breakfast?"

Fiyero nodded and Elphaba adjusted her blouse again. "Sure."

"Fabala, can you do me a favor and get Nanny to the table? I'll handle Nessa."

"All right."

When Frex was gone, Fiyero raised his eyebrows. "Your father seems to be acting nicer than usual."

She agreed. "I know. I guess it's because of the way I talked back to him before."

"Or maybe," Fiyero grinned, "It's because he realized how lovable you are."

She kissed him and laughed. "Fiyero…"

"Go get your Nanny, Elphie."

The winter holidays soon approached Lurlinemas, as well as the annual Unionist holiday as well. Fiyero insisted that Elphaba allow him to get her a Lurlinemas present, though she protested heavily. "No, Fiyero. I'm not getting you anything, so don't get me something."

"I don't care what you get me or don't get me. I've already gotten you something, anyway."

"Return it."

"What if I can't?"

"Sell it on the streets."

"I will not do such a thing. Elphaba, just let me give it to you?"

"No!"

"But I want to."

She waved him away. "If you insist."

So Lurlinemas morning, Fiyero woke next to Elphaba and very cautiously got out of bed. He shuffled through his things until he found what he was looking for. After placing it where he wanted it, he said in Elphaba's ear, "Happy Lurlinemas."

She jumped slightly and her eyes fluttered open. Her first instinct was to bury her face back in the pillow, but she realized what was around her and she giggled.

"Do you like?"

She sat up and grabbed the large stuffed bear and hugged it, smiling. "Yero…"

A nasal voice came from the bear, "I'll always be here for you."

She shook her head, blinking back tears. "Really, Yero, you didn't have to."

He didn't know when she'd started calling him Yero, but he didn't mind. "Oh, but I did."

She buried her face in the bear's fur, laughing. "Thank you."

"I do want something in return."

Confused, she looked at him.

He took her by the waist and kissed her deeply. "There."

"I want to give you more than that." She whispered.

"Not now, or here." He replied, taking her hands.

She nodded and hugged him sweetly. Giggling, she let him pull her down onto the bed, kissing playfully. Their games were innocent and childish; there was nothing behind their lighthearted teasing. Though they'd just awoken, Elphaba fell back to sleep quickly, still clutching the bear, Fiyero holding both of them.

He soon fell asleep as well. Frex, nervous at having heard the bedsprings creak, came into the room a few minutes later to find them sleeping soundly. Smiling, he shut the door and left them to their slumber.

When Elphaba woke up again early that afternoon, she shook Fiyero awake as well. "Happy Lurlinemas."

He smiled. Since their first kiss, he realized, she'd thrown away much of the tension that had existed between the two of them. It was as if they were childhood playmates become not-quite-lovers - though he was aware that would happen soon enough, neither of them had any shame in how much they yearned to lie with one another with only skin between them – and everything between them was easygoing and pure. "Happy Lurlinemas to you, too, Elphie."

She knew she'd changed, as well, and though her pride often prevented her from showing it, she enjoyed her closeness with Fiyero. If Glinda only knew… she'd never let her live it down. Perhaps this is why she was so much freer with him when they were alone. It was nice to be real with someone, she'd discovered, and she used every moment that they had alone as time to let go. She wished she'd known this comfort before. With Glinda, at times, she could be herself, but never as it was with Fiyero. A point came when she worried if she might need him too much, if she might, Oz save her if she had, have fallen in love with him. The passion she felt when she thought of giving up herself emotionally equaled the passion that which she felt when she thought of a similar thing physically. Except of course, when the physical aspect of everything came to her mind, she felt a different sort of passion, one that pooled at the bottom of her stomach.

It was scary to feel how she could want him in that way with so much strength. And the strength with which she did want him! The physical tension they both felt when they kissed was almost more than she could bear. She wondered if he felt the same way, physically, about her as she felt about him – though she doubted anyone could want her that way. It would've surprised her had she known how he wanted her.

Shaking herself back into the moment, she pulled Fiyero out of the bed. "I think it's about time we actually leave the room."

He took her hand and they exited the room. Both of them were surprised to find what greeted them the moment they came into the living room.

"Father?" Elphaba couldn't believe it. Beneath the Lurlinemas tree was a gift for her.

"Open your present."

Numbly, she sat down and slowly tore off the wrapping paper and opened a box. Curiously, she asked, "How'd you know my size?"

Gesturing to the new dress Elphaba was holding, Frex said, "You have been sleeping a lot. It's not hard to measure you."

"Father, thank you!"

Her father smiled when she hugged him and then ran off to try it on. When Fiyero looked at him curiously, Frex said, "What?"

"Nothing." Said Fiyero, happy to see Elphaba happy. "Nothing at all."

She came out wearing the silky black dress, which Fiyero thought accentuated her figure nicely, though he didn't dare say that in front of her father. Instead, he said, "You look beautiful."

Elphaba's father and younger sister nodded in approval while Nanny gave Fiyero the once-over, as if she hadn't seen him every day for the past few days. It made him shiver, as if the woman could read his mind and knew exactly what he was thinking about Elphaba.

When Fiyero looked away from the old woman, she muttered, "You and my Elphaba are very close, aren't you?"

Stuttering, Fiyero answered, "Well, y-yes."

"I mean very close."

"Sure."

Nanny cackled and some sort of knowledge twinkled behind her eyes. Before dinner, she pulled Elphaba aside. "You really like that boy, don't you?"

"Yeah…"

"How much?"

"What do you mean how…? Nanny!" Elphaba suddenly realized what Nanny was getting at.

"I see the way he looks at you and I see the way you look at him. You just promise me that you'll be careful."

"What do you mean 'careful'?"

"You know what I mean. I'm not going to bother telling you not to do anything. Your mother didn't listen and I don't see the point anymore. But I want you to promise me that, when the time comes, you will be careful."

"Nanny, how can you say that? I would never in my life even think of…"

"I know you're lying, Elphaba. Just promise."

"But, Nanny…"

"Promise me."

"Fine. I promise, I promise."

It was late at night when they left to head back to Shiz. Elphaba, in her new dress, was high on excitement and attention. She was still having difficulty believing her father had begun to appreciate her more.

"I told you." Fiyero said, waving his hand.

She climbed over him in the seat and straddled him, kissing him forcefully. "Don't talk for a little while, okay?"

He grabbed her waist, pushing her against him harder, and mumbled, "Okay."

After half an hour of very extreme kissing and teasing, Elphaba finally did pull away and rest her head back on Fiyero's shoulder, smiling. "Thank you for coming with me. This winter wouldn't have been the same without you."

"Nothing in my world would ever be the same without you," he replied, whispering her to sleep.