A/N - Fluff. What we all like :). Really, I'm sorry that it took a week to post this, I swear that I lost track of the time. But now I'm sick, so I can write. Everything works out, 'eh?

A/N - My sincere apologies - the site deleted my chapter o.O

Elphaba couldn't see worth a whit in the darkness that the forest had enveloped her in. She held onto Fiyero's hand all the tighter. The eerie sounds of branches cracking beneath their feet, and the mysterious way that the crickets sang their night song, made Elphaba feel….well, alive. There was something in the air tonight, she thought.

"Fiyero, where are we going?" Elphaba asked, not really caring either way. As long as she was with him.

He turned and smiled at her. "Would you know if I told you?"

"Maybe. You don't know what I've been up to for the past three years. Must I remind you?"

Fiyero gave her a quizzical look. "What have you been doing these past years, Elphie. You've barely said anything about yourself."

"We've barely said anything since…" Elphaba motioned behind her.

"That's beside the point."

"My dear Fiyero, you will learn enough about me in due time. But for now, keep your eyes on the path so we don't end up in a puddle of mud."

"Mud? I see no mud. I don't even think that it's rained this month. Why are you so eager to change the subject, Elphie?"

"Because, my current lifestyle is something I'd rather not discuss." She winced. "It's not all that pleasant." Elphaba could see the yearning for the knowledge of her life in Fiyero's eyes. She looked away, not being able to stand his pleading look. It was disconcerting. "Oh stop it, Yero."

"Yero? Since when do you call me Yero?"

"Sorry. It slipped out."

"Don't apologize, I kind of like it actually. Fiyero is so…formal?"

"You're a Prince, you're supposed to be formal."

"Says who?"

"Says the all of society!"

"Elphaba, since when do you listen to society?"

"Never-"

"My point exactly." Fiyero had won.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "You're so cliché."

Fiyero didn't respond. Instead, he put his hand on Elphaba's back and pushed her between two trees. "Through here. It shouldn't be much further, if I remember correctly."

"And how accurate is your memory, Sir Prince Fiyero?"

"Oh, stop. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were stalling."

In all truth, Elphaba was stalling. She was nervous about being alone with Fiyero. Her hand flew to her cloak pocket, longing for the knife to be gone from existence. She emitted a little whimper as her finger danced along the sharp tip. Peering out the side of her eye, she saw that Fiyero was looking to the right. So quickly, as not to miss her chance, Elphaba swiftly tossed the knife to the side. She was glad to be rid of it.

"You alright?" came Fiyero's gentle voice from the dark.

"Stop worrying about me, Yero."

(your hero)

"My hero," she added softly.

Her intuition told her that Fiyero had heard her. And usually the one to keep her feelings bottled up inside until they exploded, she wasn't sorry. She felt herself being lifted onto a pedestal, where she felt safe. If this was what….love did to people, she liked it immensely.

"Here. Turn right here," said Fiyero, motioning to a small gap between two trees. "It's not much, really, but I thought it'd be the best place for us to hide out."

"You know, Yero, you don't have to stay with me. You didn't even have to run off with me. You can go back, now, and no one will question your motives. Tell them I died…Tell them you killed me. I won't be responsible for your demise."

"They will question me. I'm a criminal in their eyes, Elphaba. Don't you see? I can't go back. Not that I'd want to," he muttered under his breath. "Being Captain of the Guard may be a coveted job, but it's not a good place to work. The stories they tell…"

"Stories?" Elphaba prompted, hoping for some slime on the Gale Force. It was, after all, her job - and she was going to stay as true to it as possible, even though she had already failed.

Fiyero shook his head. "Vulgar, really. I don't want to speak of their ludicrous jokes and indecent stories. It's too disturbing. Reminds of that simpleton I used to work for, and all the of the years I had to work as his ass-licker," Fiyero said angrily.

"Why did you decide to work there in the first place?" asked Elphaba softly.

Fiyero smiled at her dubiously. "I'm not going to be overmodest and lie, Elphaba. I did it so I could find you."

"I say farce," replied Elphaba. She found it difficult to believe that anyone could care for her.

"Say what you want, but it's true. Every single word of it. You think I am so cruel as to mock the face of enigma?"

"Dear Yero, I am not enigma's epitome. You poor naïve boy." Elphaba shook her head in mock commiseration.

"Here we are," said Fiyero, choosing to ignore Elphaba's last statement.

"A clearing?"

Fiyero shrugged. "Tell me, would you rather be back in the woods, or in a clearing? Besides, it's beautiful here in the morning."

"Is it? Well, the beauty of your aurora will be ruined by a certain green-skinned girl. So enjoy it while you can."

"Again with the negativity," said Fiyero, sitting down on a log on the edge of the clearing.

As hard as Elphaba tried, she couldn't pull her eyes away Fiyero's. She felt über uncomfortable with his eyes watching her every move. But she liked it, too.

"Can't you tell me something? I've been deprived of all useful knowledge for years now," said Fiyero after a moment of silence. Elphaba could tell he was becoming desperate.

"What happened to Mr. Dancing Through Life? Wasn't that your philosophy?" asked Elphaba, not feigning curiosity.

Fiyero sighed. "Nobody dances anymore. That was a childish thing, when we still thought that the world was still smiles and rainbows. Nobody dances anymore, nobody takes chances anymore. And you were right, Elphaba; I was never as shallow as I pretended to be. I guess this sort of proves it. I never lived by 'Dancing Through Life', but it was easier to pretend to than to find something you actually believe in….So, tell me. Anything, anything at all."

"Fine. You want to know about my life? I'll give you an outline then - Earthquakes and sharks to start us off. If Chupacabras aren't enough, black widow spiders and killer bees. There's no shade and no trees. Heat, polluted air, and there are traffic jams beyond compare. Good enough for you?" she asked, sitting down next to him.

"Chupacabra? Elphaba, where did you live?"

"You call it living? Oh, I knew that there was a word for it. I lived in the slums, in the downtown area of the City. It was the farthest thing I could get from the palace, which is how I needed it."

"Slums?"

"Oh, Yero, don't look so surprised. I was never extravagantly rich or anything. After this deadbeat ran from Shiz, I realized I had left everything back there. Running had been a preconceived notion, Fiyero. I had no choice."

"I know, Glinda told me all about what happened. Which is, I guess, the reason I got this job in the first place. Of course, Horrible Morrible and Sir Sleazeball had no idea that I wasn't the naïve boy that everyone thinks I am," he said, smiling pointedly at Elphaba.

"Sorry about that," she answered meekly.

"Don't be." He stared into Elphaba's eyes, trying to see into her enigmatic mind. He wanted to know her every feeling, her every thought. He had never met anyone so…Dare he say it? Yes. Beautiful. He had never met anyone so beautiful. He leaned forward a little, trying to telepathically ask her if he could touch her.

Something told him yes. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her headlong into a passionate kiss.

Elphaba found her body naturally reacting to his touch - a surprising feat for someone who had been told her whole life that she was a hermaphrodite.

She gently pulled away, so as not to make him feel rejected. "Why?" she asked, feeling herself on the brink of tears.

Fiyero furrowed his brow and gently wiped away her tears with his finger. "Why what?"

Elphaba gave a small laugh while she wept. "You seem so sincere. I can hardly stand it." She looked at him then. "I don't like to have things held up before me that I can't have, Fiyero."

Fiyero shook his head and kissed her hands. Intertwining his fingers with hers, he pulled her into his chest. Holding her, he said, "Elphaba, I'm not playing with you. Please believe that." When she didn't say anything, he pulled her face up gently. "Please."

Elphaba swallowed and nodded, wiping her tearstained face. "I feel so vulnerable right here, before you, crying. I don't ever cry, Yero." She laughed again. "Look what you've done to me."

Fiyero smiled and pulled her close again. "I'm terrible sorry, Miss Elphaba. Can you ever forgive me?"

She wrapped her arms around Fiyero's neck. "I'll try."

Kissing her again, both Elphaba and Fiyero were overwhelmed by their strong feelings for one another. "I don't think there's been a day when I haven't thought of our 'escapade' with the Lion cub," he told her, breathless.

"I've tried to forget it, telling myself I'd never see you again, but it never worked. I thought about you everyday." Elphaba blushed. "Forgive me, I don't usually tell people my feelings…"

Fiyero put a finger to her lips. "Shh. Don't say anything." He leaned back against a tree, still holding Elphaba. She closed her eyes, and Fiyero saw her take in a heavy breath. Or was it a sigh of relief? He didn't know. Deciding that he didn't care, he kissed Elphaba's ebony hair and closed his own eyes.