7 Down: Sign of a wish to make peace (5, 6)

The Wilted Rose was crowded that morning, which did nothing for Fiyero's mood. Was it always this crowded so early, or was it because the weather had suddenly turned distinctly summer-like and it had urged people from their beds? Or maybe it was the panic of upcoming finals that had done it- as their teachers kept reminding them, exams were just a week away. Fiyero ordered at the counter, and then turned to survey the café for a place to sit while he mentally cursed his Economics professor who claimed the only time he could meet with Fiyero was at nine-thirty on a Monday morning.

Fiyero's gaze skimmed vacantly over a few tables of girls who were eyeing him with interest; and managed a polite but faint nod when a few townspeople caught his eye. There were plenty of students who had chosen the café over the Shiz dining hall for breakfast that morning, but few that Fiyero actually knew, and he wasn't in the mood to make friends this morning. He was rather surprised to see Pfannee and Shen-Shen at a table near the window, who he knew didn't like to be up early any more than he did himself, but he made no move to take the empty seat at their table. Given the icy glares Shen-Shen shot him when their gaze met briefly, he wouldn't be welcome anyway.

He was still in their bad books over his and Galinda's breakup then. Despite the fact it had been two months now, and Galinda had been at the OzDust with some guy on Saturday night and looked definitively over Fiyero.

Just when Fiyero thought he'd have to resort to drinking his coffee standing up, he caught a glimpse of emerald tucked away in a corner. Fiyero hesitated, took a breath and made his way over. When he dropped into the empty chair opposite her, Elphaba jumped a mile as her head rose sharply from her newspaper and she eyed him warily as she steadied her mug before it spilled.

"Hi," Fiyero offered quietly.

Her eyes flickered around before meeting his gaze.

"Hi?"

"It's busy in here this morning."

Elphaba's brow creased. "What are you doing?"

Fiyero gestured around the room. "Getting coffee. It's crowded. You have an empty seat…"

Elphaba's brow furrowed, her tense shoulders a sharp contrast to how they'd been when Fiyero had first spotted her.

"Isn't that… against the rules?" she asked finally, much to Fiyero's surprise. "I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to be talking…"

She gestured minutely with her chin and Fiyero turned in his seat to see Shen-Shen and Pfannee glaring at them.

"I told Galinda I wanted to be friends."

"But you're not."

Fiyero shrugged. "I thought she needed some time."

Elphaba shifted in her seat, her eyes downcast.

"I want to be friends with you too, you know," Fiyero said, attracting her gaze once more.

An eyebrow arched slightly. "And that's why this is the first conversation we've had since…"

Elphaba's voice trailed off and her cheeks flushed slightly. Fiyero cleared his throat and looked over his shoulder as though that would make his coffee arrive faster, more so that he would have something to occupy his hands than anything else. Anything to keep his mind from dwelling on that clearing.

"I guess I thought some time would be good for everyone," Fiyero replied quietly.

Time to stop thinking about Elphaba's hand on his cheek, or their intertwined hands.

Time to stop noticing the way that Elphaba seemed to carry herself differently now that she and Galinda were friends. It was obvious that Galinda was making what she deemed "improvements" on her roommate, but what Fiyero had told her on that fateful day was true- she didn't need to do that.

Two months of time, of carefully keeping his distance, of waiting and watching and wondering if being friends with Elphaba was even a possibility; of hoping these feelings might disappear. It had done nothing to help him ignore the way Elphaba's cheeks darkened slightly when their eyes met in class.

Fiyero was tired of time, tired of waiting. He'd never been good at it.

"Consider this an olive branch," he said. "A fresh start."

Elphaba regarded him carefully, less wary this time. "And Galinda?"

"I've spoken to Galinda," Fiyero nodded.

Well, he'd said 'hey' to her on Saturday night, but she'd said 'hey' back and it been perfectly cordial. It was a start, right?

At last, Fiyero's order was brought over to him and he took a grateful sip of his coffee.

"Give me a clue," he said, gesturing towards the newspaper before her.

Elphaba's eyes dropped to the newspaper as though she'd forgotten it was there.

"Proving we can be civil?" she asked dryly, one corner of her mouth quirking.

Fiyero grinned, a jolt rushing through him, either at the memory or at the thought of Elphaba recalling the same moment. "Exactly."

Elphaba picked up her abandoned pen, running it down the list of clues. "Alright," she said. "Folk singer Dara BLANK, singer of "Hetzah's Garden."' Seven letters."

"Oh, easy," Fiyero said confidently. "Dara Pipsega. My mom loves her album. Still talks about her sad it was about her death. Come on, Give me a real one- unless you think I'm stupid or something."

Elphaba tensed, her eyes flying to his. Fiyero grinned at her easily, almost fascinated by the faint flush that spread across her cheeks; but she held his gaze, studying his face like she wasn't sure if he was serious or not.

"Come on, green girl," Fiyero said, taking another sip of his coffee and completely forgetting why he was even up this early. "Give us another clue."

"Why?" Elphaba asked bluntly.

Fiyero couldn't help the defensive prickles that rushed over him. "Why?" he repeated. "Why what?"

Elphaba didn't react to his tone. "Why are you doing this?"

"I told you," Fiyero said. "I want to be friends."

Elphaba hesitated, and Fiyero wasn't sure if it was because of his past relationship with Galinda, or if because she doubted his sincerity. He reached over the table, holding out a hand.

"Clean slate," he offered. "Hi, I'm Fiyero."

Elphaba eyed his offered hand, did another sweep of the room and then returned to meet his gaze.

"Elphaba," she said carefully, finally reaching out and shaking his hand.

The brush of her skin against his sent that same spark through Fiyero as it had in the clearing, and for a moment, all sights and sounds of The Wilted Rose disappeared and the world narrowed to just Elphaba's hand in his. Elphaba pulled her hand back so quickly that Fiyero felt almost dizzy while the world righted itself, and he wondered if she'd felt it too.

Fiyero straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat. "So, I see you're doing the crossword puzzle," he said nonchalantly.

Elphaba rolled her eyes and shook her head, resting an elbow on the table and covering her mouth with a fist, but Fiyero saw the twitch of her lips and grinned broadly at her.

"Yes," she finally agreed. "I do it pretty much every morning."

"Pretty much every morning?" Fiyero repeated.

Elphaba shrugged. "It helps my brain wake up. But if I don't get to in the morning, I'll do it when I get a chance before I go to bed."

Fiyero nodded, filing that tidbit away for future use.

"May I help you with today's crossword, then Miss Elphaba?" Fiyero asked, dipping his head courteously, as close to an approximation of a bow as he could manage while seated.

Elphaba regarded him for another long moment and then lowered her eyes back to the paper, the end of the pen disappearing in between her lips as she studied it. Fiyero wrenched his eyes away from that sight as the world threatened to narrow once more.

To distract himself, he took another sip of coffee and leaned forward.

"What do your friends call you?"

Elphaba's eyes rose, her brow furrowed. "What?"

"What do your friends call you?" Fiyero repeated. "If we're going to be friends, I should know that."

The furrow in Elphaba's brow only deepened. "…Elphaba."

Fiyero wrinkled his nose. "Doesn't Galinda call-?"

"No," Elphaba cut him off. "You're not calling me 'Elphie'. Quite frankly, Galinda is lucky I let her call me that. And let is a very strong word."

Fiyero tilted his head. "Don't worry, I'll think of something," he reassured her.

"Oh good, I was worried," Elphaba said dryly. "Here. Twelve down."

Fiyero grinned at her expectantly.