Day 4
Liir was thrillified when he heard that they were going to the mountains.
"Snow?" his eyes grew wide at the word.
"Today?" The pair of brown eyes grew larger.
"Can we go now?" he asked when he had eaten barely two teaspoons of his cereal.
"No." That came from Fiyero.
"Mommy?" he whined to Elphaba, who was trying to stuff another of Liir's sweater into her already-bursting backpack.
"No, Liir. It's cold up there and you'll be hungry easily. We won't go until you have finished your breakfast."
"But I'm full, Mommy." He pushed the bowl away and rubbed his stomach dramatically.
She did not even bother to look at him as she zipped her bag shut and looked around for the next item to pack. "You're not. We're not going until you have finished your breakfast."
The boy pouted, but he did as he was told.
Elphaba was almost done packing when a message came in. It was from Glinda.
Av knew Yummy from wrk. He cfm Yummy is not gay. Repeat. Not gay.
There was no emoji accompanying the message, but Elphaba could imagine her friend squealing as she pressed the Sent button to send what the blonde would think was the message of the year. She laughed softly and shook her head.
"Is that a new ringtone?" Fiyero's voice was so close she nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned around and found him standing behind her. She locked her phone immediately and slid it into her pocket guiltily. She wondered if he was able to see the tiny words on the screen.
"It's Glinda," she gave a nervous smile as she stood up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "She fiddled with my phone yesterday and set a special ringtone for her number. And she added her photo so that it will appear whenever she calls. Sometimes, I don't think she understands the concept of permission seeking." She chuckled at the memory.
Fiyero laughed. "I think that's where you got it wrong. She understands it very well. What you did not realise is that you have given her your permission."
She turned at the sound of his laughter. He was wearing a grey turtleneck, his coat on his arm and a plaid scarf wound loosely around his neck, and he looked absolutely y-u-m-m - Elphaba looked away, horrified, and covered her eyes with a hand. Lurline. What was she thinking?
She did not even realise that he had stepped up to her until she felt his hands on her shoulders and he turned her around.
"Are you alright?" he asked, concern written all over his face. "We can postpone this if you are not feeling well." He cupped her cheek with a hand, his thumb brushing against her skin gently and Elphaba's heart skipped a beat.
She took a step back, breaking the contact and putting on a smile as she took a deep breath. "I'm fine. Let's go; Liir has just finished his breakfast."
They set off in the car after Fiyero have keyed in the destination on his phone. He took the expressway, and the movement of the car and monotonous sound of wheels on asphalt sent Liir to sleep. The boy woke up an hour later when they were ascending, his eyes narrowing when he noticed the slush on the side of the road.
"That's snow, buddy," Fiyero told him.
"That's very little snow." The boy was clearly disappointed.
"We're just getting started. You'll get to see more the higher we go."
"Really?"
Fiyero laughed at the tone of his voice.
"You sounded just like Mommy when you said that," he commented and snuck a glance at the green girl.
"Like how?" Elphaba eyed him suspiciously.
Fiyero could not help but laugh. "Like now."
They left the expressway, joining a few other vehicles of holidaymakers, and the fields next to the road were coated with a layer of snow. Liir looked over the edge of the road, and he could see another long winding road under them.
"Is that where we came from?" he asked.
"You're right, sweetie," Elphaba confirmed.
"Are we going even higher?"
"Yes."
"Wow," he said, and he stretched his arms and imitated the sound of an engine.
"Oh, we're flying in an aeroplane
Looking out the window
Watching the clouds go by
Flying in an aeroplane
Looking out the window
Up so very high."
Fiyero gave Elphaba a questioning look and pointed at his steering wheel for emphasis, and she smiled.
There were not that many parking lots left when they turned into the small car park, and Liir's face lit up even before he got out of the car. From where he was, he could see the snow-capped mountains in the distance. But it was what was closer to him that got him excited. The open space before him and the slopes behind the buildings were coated with snow, so white it looked blue at certain spots.
"Look at the snow, Mommy!" Liir exclaimed. "There's snow everywhere!"
"Have you been here before?" Elphaba asked Fiyero when she noticed him trying to figure out which was the right building to go to.
He shook his head and gestured them to follow a family with children who looked like they knew where they were going.
"There are a few resorts here in The Madeleines, but this is my first time here," he explained. "This place has limited accommodation, so it's more suitable for young families on a day trip. You'll think that I'm biased, but Vinkus has the best snow and it's not overrun by tourists. And the snow is all-natural, not man-made."
They bought the tickets, and Liir sped ahead the moment they exited the building into the play zone.
"Mommy, snow!" He scooped up a handful of snow and threw it at Elphaba, but snow fell harmlessly to the ground before reaching her. That did not deter the boy, and he scooped up more snow with both hands, ran up to his mother and threw it at her.
"Now you got me." Elphaba laughed.
"Snow fight, Mommy!" He pulled at his mother. "Let's attack Daddy!"
"What?" Fiyero reacted just as a clump hit him on his face.
Liir ran away from Fiyero, screaming and running, and the Arjiki went after him, bending down occasionally to scoop snow into his gloved hand and throwing them at the boy. He caught up with the boy and tackled him to the soft snowy ground, rolling on the snow and laughing so hard they had to take a rest before they got up.
The place was small for a ski resort, and the visitors congregated where the activities were. Half of the park was for children who were learning how to ski. The other half, where they were, was cordoned off for non-skiers and younger children. There were sleigh rides, snowmobiles, snow tubes, snow rafts, sledges and colourful tents and other Lurlinemas decorations for photo-taking opportunities.
Liir was afraid to go near to the reindeers, and he shook his head at the snowmobiles. But he looked at a child coming down the slope on a snow tube and his face lit up.
"March on!" he commanded with a grin.
"That looks pretty fast," Elphaba commented after watching a few people sliding down the slope.
"Well, where's the fun if it is slow?"
"Is it safe for him?"
"I'm not going to lie. A child might get into an accident if he tries something funny, like standing when he is coming down. But it's safe if you follow the safety instructions, sit down and keep your hands inside the raft. And it's fun. We'll share a raft to make sure that he's alright."
Elphaba still looked worried.
"I tell you what. I'll go up with him, and you can watch from here and see how safe it is. We'll stop if you're still not convinced."
"I'll never put Liir in danger," he added. "You know that."
"Mommy," Liir held Elphaba's hands and whined.
Elphaba let out a sigh. "Alright, just once."
The two boys broke into almost identical grins.
"Are you sure you're an adult and not just a very tall teenager?" Elphaba asked, her forehead creasing.
His grin grew wider. "Maybe you've just found out my secret."
Elphaba shook her head, suddenly realising how ridiculous she was.
"Go before I change my mind," she said half-heartedly and shooed them away.
"You won't regret this," Fiyero promised, and he quickly grabbed Liir's hand and they ran to the place where the snow tubes and rafts were kept.
Liir selected a raft for two in his favourite colour. As Elphaba watched, they took the magic carpet uphill, with Fiyero holding onto the raft with a hand while his other arm was wrapped around the boy's shoulders. Even from afar, she could see how animated Liir was when he talked to Fiyero, his hands gesturing wildly as he pointed at something in the distance. He chatted as if he had known the older man for years. Liir leaned closer to Fiyero and rested his forehead against his coat with a groan when the Arjiki said something, and the latter laughed. For a split second, Elphaba wished that Liir could have a male figure to look up to, someone kind and who loved the boy –
She shook her head and pushed the thought aside. While she was unable to indulge Liir in the finer things in life, they never had to go hungry and always had a roof over their head. She knew that she should be contented with what she had; it was not wise to ask for more and wish for the impossible.
She let out a sigh.
At the end of the magic carpet, Fiyero pointed at the safety instructions on the notice board.
"Read this, buddy, and don't try anything funny. Mommy will kill me if anything happens to you, so let's not tempt fate."
"Mommy doesn't kill anyone. Mommy does not even hurt a fly," Liir told him.
"Really? I thought that she nearly wanted to kill me on several occasions," he deadpanned.
"That's impossible," Liir responded with confidence.
"Maimed me, then."
"No way, Daddy."
"Really?"
Liir nodded his head twice solemnly, and then he broke into a grin when he realised that it was their turn next.
Fiyero helped him into the raft, sitting the boy between his legs.
"Are you ready?" He asked the boy.
Liir nodded, too excited to speak.
Fiyero loved skiing. He loved the feeling, the adrenaline as he went down the mountain with no company other than the icy chill of the wind on his face and the trees and clouds as if he was the only person in a world untouched by others. The snow raft was slower, but there was something exciting about sitting down without any fancy gears, doing nothing and letting gravity take over. He could sense Liir's excitement as he gripped his knees, the laughter as they kicked off. As they picked up speed, Liir's cheers grew louder, and he felt his excitement grow until he was cheering together with the kid. It made him feel like a child all over again.
"That's so fun!" Liir commented when they came to a stop at the bottom of the slope. "Can we do it again?"
"That will depend on what your mommy thinks." Fiyero gestured to the green girl in the distance with his chin.
Liir climbed out of the raft and ran to his mother.
He tugged at Elphaba's coat the moment he was within reach. "Mommy, mommy. Did you see us?" She nodded with a smile. "It was so fun. We were just flying down the slope like a bird. Can I go again? Can I go again, please? I kept my hands inside the raft, we were so safe."
"Safer than flying. Safer than taking a long-distance coach," Fiyero added when he went up to them.
"Can I?" Liir asked again. "Mommy, please."
"Alright."
They ended up going for a few more rounds, with Liir going down on a tube on the subsequent rounds on his own. The two went back to Elphaba again, their hair tousled and their faces red from the cold, their smiles wide on their faces.
"Your hair is a mess," Elphaba chided her son affectionately as she tried to smooth his hair.
Liir giggled happily and looked at Fiyero. "So is yours, Daddy."
Fiyero smiled at the boy, and he bent his knees slightly and presented his messy hair to Elphaba with a cheeky grin.
"What about me?" he put on his best puppy dog expression.
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Of course not!".
And the Arjiki laughed.
"You know," he addressed Elphaba as he straightened and ran his fingers through his hair into some semblance of tidiness. "You should give it a try. It's really fun."
"Who's to say that I have not tried it before?"
"Then why the hesitation?"
"I'm too old for this."
"I'm older than you and I'm having fun. Trust me," he grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers so that she could not run away. "We can all go down together." Liir held her other hand, and there was nothing much she could do as they pulled her to the slope.
They went up the magic carpet again, and when they were at the top, Liir noticed a snow tube that was left there.
"I want to go on my own again," Liir told the adults, pointing at the tube.
"Sure. Shall we go side by side like before?" Fiyero suggested.
Liir nodded. "And we'll see who's faster."
Fiyero chuckled. "It's time you learn something about Physics, buddy."
"I guess I'll go down by the other way then," Elphaba said, her face turning red at the thought of only the two of them in the raft.
"There's only one way down, Elphaba. Come on, I don't bite." He pulled her into the raft, and Elphaba was barely seated when the boy was off.
"Hey, what happened to countdown!" Fiyero shouted after the boy and kicked off after him as Liir laughed.
The raft sped up as they went down. It spun without warning, and the sudden momentum threw Elphaba against Fiyero and she squeaked in surprise. Fiyero laughed, and he wrapped his arm around her. She held onto him for dear life, and he laughed again, and she wondered if he was having fun or laughing at her.
"We're catching up," Fiyero shouted, and Elphaba opened her eyes just in time to see them overtaking Liir. She laughed brightly, and Fiyero laughed along with her. They slowed down when they reached the end of the slope and gradually came to a stop, and Elphaba could hear her heart pumping and her breath coming out in bursts, forming vapour in the air.
"Is it fun?" Fiyero asked.
She nodded slightly. "Kind of."
He lifted a brow. "Kind of?"
She gave up being serious. "Alright. It's fun."
Fiyero roared with laughter, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening as he did so. It was only then that she realised that she was still in his arms, her arms wrapped around his waist, gripping him so tight she could feel his waist underneath the multiple layers that he wore. Fiyero had stopped laughing, and he just looked at her with a smile, as if he was really happy to be with her, and Elphaba suddenly realised that they were so close. She had buried her face in his chest as they were coming down, and now there was just a tiny gap between them, a space so narrow it could be easily closed with the tilt of a face. They were so close she could see snowflakes on his long eyelashes, and he was looking so intently at her the pounding of her heart changed into another hammering equally fast, but no longer due to the exhilarating ride. And then Fiyero reached out and twisted a lock of her hair around his finger and –
"Mommy! I want to race again!" Liir ran into them, jumping into the raft and wrapping his arms around them as he laughed. "This is so fun! Can we race again?"
Fiyero looked at her. "I think Mommy needs a break. She looks like she is going to have a heart attack."
"I'm fine," she countered as she willed her heart to calm down.
"Of course you are," he said as he stood up easily. Elphaba followed, but she stood up too fast, and she stumbled slightly before Fiyero caught her and pulled her into his arms.
"See? You can't even stand on your own." The Arijik gestured.
"We're on a slope," she retorted, hoping that her face was not red.
"I don't have a problem with that."
"I just need a second."
"You're stubborn."
"Liir, we'll race again," she told her son and he cheered.
"Are you sure? It'll take hours for an ambulance to come here."
"I'm sure. Or maybe Liir and I should team up and race against you."
"Or maybe we should just share a raft," he suggested. "Everybody wins."
They agreed, or rather, Liir and Fiyero agreed and overruled Elphaba's opinions. They sat close together, with Liir between them, their legs tangled together, and Fiyero wrapped an arm around her waist as they went down screaming for fun. They took another few rounds before everyone decided that they should try out something else.
Fiyero was leading Liir away from the slope with Elphaba following behind and he suddenly felt something hit the back of his head.
He turned around.
"What's that for?" he asked a grinning Elphaba.
She shrugged. "For laughing at me just now?"
"Oz," he swore. Fiyero let go of Liir's hand and charged towards her without warning. The green girl yelped and tried to flee, but he was faster, and he caught her by her waist as she tried to sidestep him and pulled her down onto the soft snow. She landed next to him, and quickly swept the snow on the ground to him, covering his chest.
"Ha!" she gloated. And then Liir caught up and straddled him, and both mother and son piled more snow onto him, burying him.
"Alright, have mercy. I surrender," Fiyero cried as he raised his hands in surrender. Liir clapped as he climbed off Fiyero, and Elphaba laughed.
"What a lovely family," a woman who tottered past with her companion commented.
Elphaba's head snapped up and she tried to correct the old lady. "We're not –," she cried out, her words cut off mid-sentence when Fiyero tugged at her scarf and she fell on top of him, bumping her nose on his snow-covered jacket. Fiyero laughed, and he pinned her down with an arm as he smashed a fistful of snow down the back of her exposed neck with his other hand.
"Revenge is sweet," he hollered. Elphaba sat up and tried to reach behind her to sweep away the snow. She huffed, and Fiyero pushed himself to a sitting position and ran his gloved fingers on her skin, sweeping off the snow, laughing and apologising at the same time.
"I'm sorry. Don't be mad at me, ok?" he said as he pulled up her hood, still laughing, and she could not no longer keep her face straight.
It was hard to remain angry at him for long.
"Daddy?"
"Yes?" Fiyero turned at his voice. The boy had removed his scarf and used it as a makeshift carrier, scooping snow into it, and he swung the scarf and dumped more snow at the Arjiki's face. He spluttered with indignation as some of the snow fell into his open mouth, and the green girl laughed wickedly.
"You're right," she said with a smug look on her face. "Revenge is sweet," she added as she pulled her son to her and kissed him soundly on the cheek.
After that, they agreed on a ceasefire and went to the café for a break.
The café was warm, and the food hot and delicious, though all three of them agreed that the pancakes were nothing compared to Dorothy's. The open ground was crowded by the time they came out again, and they went in search of a secluded spot to build their snowmen. Elphaba and Liir decided to work on one, with Fiyero making another.
Fiyero was scooping the snow with his hands when he suddenly dug deep into the ground using both hands.
"What is it, Daddy?"
Fiyero dug deeper and he picked up a light blue clip. "I thought that it's an Arjiki tear."
"What did you say?" Elphaba asked.
"Arjiki's tears. It's a flower, native to Vinkus, and it can only be found in the mountains. There was a sappy love story about how the flowers came to be. There was a Vinkun pauper prince who fell in love with a witch. And when he was murdered, the tears that she cried for him when she buried him in the mountains turned into small blue diamond-shaped flowers that the men called Arjiki's tears. The flowers are so hardy they can withstand the harshest Vinkun winter. And here I thought that they have somehow found their way to these mountains."
"Sappy love story," she smiled at his choice of words. "But you remembered it."
He shrugged. "It's an interesting story, but there's no way it's true; you can't turn tears into flowers. It's impossible."
"Well, sometimes olden tales and legends have a certain element of truth in it. I will not be surprised if you dig into the specifics and realise that it is an actual event but was embellished generation after generation until it is no longer recognisable."
Fiyero laughed. "I almost forgot that history is your cup of tea. I still find it hard to believe that all the Vinkun myths and legends about gods and spirits, sorcery and spells are real though. Come and think of it, I think there's a Vinkun legend that you'll be interested in."
"Really?"
He chuckled at her enthusiasm.
"I'll tell you on the way down. Meanwhile, our snowmen are waiting for us to breathe life into them.," he replied with a wink.
Fiyero had almost finished the body of his snowman when his phone rang.
"Surprise, surprise," he muttered to himself. He recognised the caller by the ringtone, but he had not expected any phone call from him. He answered with a friendly hey, and the smile on his face was slowly replaced by a frown. Without another word, he walked away from Elphaba and Liir, the phone to his ear. The frown was still there when he came back to them ten minutes later.
"Is everything alright?" Elphaba asked.
He shook his head.
"The office called. One of the customers wants to have a mid-point presentation on his project tomorrow. Maybe he's lonely and has no one to talk to during this holiday season." He shrugged. "I'm afraid I got to go."
"We'll go with you."
He proposed an alternative. "No, you stay here with Liir, and I'll see if I can get two coach tickets back to the city. It may not be as comfortable as a car ride, but at least you'll get to stay longer."
But he came back later with disappointing news just as Liir pressed the blue clip onto the snowman's face to complete the face. "The tickets are all sold out." He turned to Liir. "I'm so sorry that we have to cut it short, but we got to go now."
"It's alright, Daddy." He clapped his hands to dust off the snow from his gloves like an adult. "My snowman is done anyway. But can we take some photos with him before we go?"
They stopped at a supermarket on the way back and picked up some frozen pizzas and milk. Fiyero had to go back to his office to work on the presentation for the meeting the next day, and he had no idea if he would be back on time to bring them out for dinner.
"What about you?" Elphaba asked.
"There are some cafes around my office that should be opened. I'll just go over to Dorothy's place if they're closed; she's just a few streets away."
He dropped them at his house and was out again after a quick change of clothes, leaving his house keys with her so that she could go out if she had to.
Elphaba moved around the house, putting away the groceries and taking the chance to put some of the dirty clothes into the washing machine. The machine turned and churned, while the refrigerator hummed, but the house suddenly felt huge and empty.
She went over to the couch where Liir was reading a book with his teddy bear and sat next to him.
"So it's just me and you now," Elphaba told her son.
"Daddy will be back soon," the boy replied, and Elphaba had no idea if he was consoling himself or her.
She smoothed his hair, and a thought came to her mind. Maybe it was a good time to check if there were any vacancies in a motel within her budget. She brought up the browser on her handphone and entered her search but gave up after a while. The peak season and the last-minute booking meant that prices had shot up, and even the cheapest accommodation was now beyond her budget. She put her phone down with a sigh, though she knew that she might not go ahead with a booking even if she found one. Fiyero would try to dissuade her from moving out, even though their presence had inconvenienced him, and the thought of disappointing him made her heart sink. She tried to read but put the book down when she found that she had not gone beyond the first page after twenty minutes.
She walked around the house, trying to calm down this newfound restlessness when she noticed a photo that was taped to the side of the refrigerator. She did a double-take when she saw the photo – Fiyero was seated on a couch, and a woman sat on the armrest, leaning towards him, her arm draped across his shoulders. On closer inspection, she realised that was not a woman, but a slim man with long hair. There was another man in the photo, and they had their wine glasses raised in a toast. The timestamp showed that the photo was taken a few years earlier. She looked around, but there were no other photos in the open.
Elphaba sat down again next to her son again and read a book with him.
It was past midnight when Fiyero returned. Elphaba had found an online radio station after Liir had gone to sleep, and the songs and the DJ had been keeping her company while she read.
"Hey, I'm sorry for keeping you up so late. Is Liir asleep?" He looked up at the loft as Elphaba closed her book.
"Yes. Have you had your dinner?"
"Yes, the cafes were opened. What about you?"
"We finished the pizzas. They're delicious. I'm sorry we didn't leave any for you but we're really hungry."
He smiled at her answer. "That's alright. I can always buy more next time. So what were you reading?"
She showed him the book that she had bought from the bookstore a few days earlier.
"How's work?"
"I managed to finish it and I think it's just what the client needs, though I'm sure Sir Chuffrey will still think that it's not good enough."
"You don't like him."
"The feeling is mutual. He's the most boring, unlikeable sob I've ever met. And I'm not the only one who thinks that way. Anyway, it's just business. He has very nice people working for him, and we're fine working with them, but once in a while, Call-me-sir-chuffrey will decide to drop by personally and insult everyone's intelligence just to prove that the customer is always right. And then he'll ask for changes and more changes only to fall back to the original design. It's his money, anyway."
He shrugged as he opened the fridge and took out a bottle of beer.
"Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I love ideating and bringing them to life. Most of my customers are nice, appreciative, and open to suggestions. And I have no problem keeping my cool and working with difficult and demanding customers. He just irritates me for some unknown reason." He took a swig from the bottle.
"Have you ever regretted anything in your life?" he asked.
"Me?" Elphaba pointed to herself. He nodded.
She thought for a while.
"I guess not. Maybe I'll regret ordering a sandwich instead of a flat or reading till late at night instead of going to bed."
"Like now." He smiled, gesturing at her book, and she chuckled.
"But I've never regretted the major decisions in my life. Not leaving the mauntery, not …" she looked up to the loft. "Of course, there are bad days, when I'm tired and feel like giving up, but … no regrets."
He gave her a toast.
"Liir couldn't have a better mother," Fiyero told her, meaning it, and she blushed.
"I'll have to go back to the office tomorrow for the presentation. And I don't know when I will be back. Are you planning to go somewhere with Liir? Maybe I'll meet you there after my meeting. Or is Glinda still in the city?"
"No, she left this morning. It's really a quick trip for us to meet up; she's in and out of Emerald City in less than twenty-four hours."
"She's really keen to meet you. I guess I would do that too if I have not met my best friend in years."
"Thank you, Fiyero, for giving me the chance to meet up with her and to explain my situation to her so that she won't get the shock of her life when she meets Liir."
Fiyero laughed. "She does not seem like the type who will be shocked easily."
"That's true. She's very resilient."
He laughed again.
"What's that sound?" he noticed the music for the first time since he entered the house.
She reached for her handphone. "I couldn't find a radio in the house, so I tried to search for an internet radio station online. It's playing Lurlinemas songs most of the time though."
"I supposed all the radio stations are playing Lurlinemas songs this week. Thank goodness I have my playlist in the car."
"I'll turn it off," she offered.
"No, it's alright. Enjoy the music. I'm going to take a shower and maybe go to bed after that."
As if to prove him wrong, the last strains of the Lurlinemas song ended, and another song came on. It was a slow piece, the singer's voice low and soulful.
He paused. "I know this song. It's my mother's favourite."
"Really?" She increased the volume without him asking.
"She would dance with my father whenever the song came on if he was at home. It's their song, she used to say, even though the song is about a woman missing the man who left her."
He took another sip from the bottle.
"And then he stopped coming home. Work, he said. His business was expanding, and he had to travel all over Oz to meet his business partners, to fulfil business opportunities; there was always so much to do. He missed birthdays, anniversaries, holidays. And even when he was back, he would be busy meeting other people, or cooped up in his room working on one proposal or another."
He tapped the neck of the bottle with a finger, deep in thoughts.
"She started to turn off the radio whenever she heard the song, and after a while, she no longer listened to the radio anymore."
He put the bottle on the countertop and looked up.
"Dance with me."
"What?"
He did not repeat his request but stretched his hand toward her.
Elphaba could think of a few reasons to excuse herself, a few reasons why she should not take up his offer of a slow dance, but she stepped up all the same. She bit her lower lip and looked at the palm that was facing her before she hesitantly pressed her hand into his and placed her other hand on his shoulder, bracing herself for the somersaults in her stomach. He curled his other hand around her waist and led the dance, swaying gently to the soulful music and the voice of the singer longing for her lover.
They moved together, her fingertips on the seam of his shoulder, too shy to curl them around the curve of his shoulder, her fingers loosely interlocked with his, burning with his warmth. She felt her cheeks burning and looked away, looked down, looked anywhere but his face, unable to maintain eye contact. The singer repeated the chorus, an octave higher, and she closed her eyes and tried to relax. She let the music flow through her body and guide her, not knowing when her hands moved on their own and linked at the back of his neck, his hands moving to the small of her back, the warmth of his hands sending tingles through her blood, pulling her closer until she was nuzzling his neck.
He could smell his shampoo on her hair, but somehow it was different – she had turned it into something light, something feminine, something distinctly hers. He closed his eyes, feeling the way her fingers brush against the hair on the back of his neck, her breath warm like the summer breeze on his skin, until he nearly forgot how to move to the music, how to breathe. He lowered his head, his nose brushing against her hairline, taking in her scent, swaying as if they were in a world of their own, the singer's voice the air that they breathed. She shifted in his arms, and he imagined his lips grazing her temple, trailing down her nose, hot against her mouth. He imagined her whimpering against his kiss, her lips parting, her hand on his chest as he buried his fingers into her raven tresses when he thought he heard something.
He opened his eyes.
She was not looking at him. Her face was turned, and he knew that she had heard it too. She reached for the phone, lowering the volume, and then they both heard it again, a soft moan. It was coming from upstairs.
"Liir." One word and she was off, running up the stairs to the loft.
The boy muttered in his sleep, his eyes squeezed tight. He opened his eyes when he heard her voice.
"Mommy, I don't feel good." He fidgeted under the blanket.
Elphaba put a hand on his forehead.
"He has a fever," she told Fiyero.
The Arjiki nodded. "We'll bring him to a doctor."
"To the hospital?"
"This is the Emerald City. The city operates twenty-hour seven. The hospital will most likely be crowded. I know of a clinic that should still be opened. Bundle him up."
They found the clinic opened as expected, and they were in and out within thirty minutes. The doctor assured them that Liir had caught a cold, and should be up and about in a few days.
Liir took the medicine when they reached home, though he did grimace at the taste.
"Will I be alright soon, Mommy?" he asked when Elphaba put him to bed.
"Of course, sweetie. The doctor said that you will be fine very soon."
"Does it mean that we can't go anywhere tomorrow?"
"You'll stay in bed tomorrow."
"Awww. I want to go to the aquarium."
"We'll go when you have recovered. We still have a few days before we have to leave."
Liir nodded and he burrowed under the quilt.
"Goodnight, buddy," Fiyero said.
"Goodnight, Daddy."
Fiyero went for his shower, and Liir snuggled closer to his mother.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, sweetie?"
"When are we leaving Emerald City?"
"We still have a week to go."
"Is Daddy going back with us?"
She shook her head. "He'll stay here, Liir. He lives here."
Liir paused as he took in the information. "I'm going to miss Daddy when he's not around, Mommy." She did not expect him to understand, but it seemed that the boy had a better grasp of the situation than she thought.
Elphaba stroke his hair and kissed him on his forehead. "I know, sweetie."
"Will you miss Daddy too?"
She was about to reply when she remembered that he could be downstairs and might overhear their conversation. She let out a sigh. Lurline, it was all Glinda's fault for putting all those strange ideas in her head. She closed her eyes, and she remembered the way he always smiled when he looked at her, the way he went out of his way to help them, the way he leaned close to her until she could smell his scent and feel the heat from his body. The affection he had for Liir. The way his breath on her skin sent a tingle down her spine and the butterflies in her stomach soaring. His hands on her back as if he would never let go.
The way she wanted to rest her head on his shoulders and feel his arms warm and steady around her.
"Mommy?" She opened her eyes. Liir was looking at her, his eyes wide and alert.
"Don't you feel drowsy, sweetie?"
"What is drowsy, Mommy?"
"Drowsy is like sleepy, when you want to close your eyes and fall into a deep, deep sleep. The medicine is supposed to make you sleepy."
"I'm not sleepy, Mommy."
"Oh my, did the doctor dispense the wrong medicine? Are you going to stay awake the whole night?" She walked her fingers on his chest and Liir giggled. "But you must sleep. It will help with the recovery, and then we can go out again."
"Can you sing a song for me, Mommy?"
"Which song do you want to hear?"
"The lemon song?"
It was not really a song about lemons, but Elphaba knew which song he was referring to. She started low, singing about rainbows and Liir joined in when she sang about the troubles that melted like lemon drops. Someone clapped as she finished singing.
They looked towards the stairs. Fiyero was standing there, a smile on his face. She had no idea how long he had been there, watching them. Listening to her sing.
"I didn't know you could sing so well."
She flushed at the compliment. "It's nothing," she stammered and turned her attention to Liir so that she did not have to look at him.
He padded his way to the side of the bed and sat next to Liir.
"And did I hear you giggle just now, buddy? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"I'm not tired, Daddy."
"You should be sleeping. Your body will be fighting the virus when you sleep so that you'll recover faster. There are still lots of places waiting for you to explore."
"Why do you sound so much like Mommy, Daddy?"
Fiyero chuckled and then he touched the boy's forehead with the back of his hand.
"Because we're both very wise, and we love you very much." He looked at Elphaba with a smile.
"I love you too, Daddy."
"Now will you go and sleep?"
"Can you stay with me tonight, Daddy? Teddy wants you too." He lifted his small teddy bear, turning his wrist so that the soft toy was nodding its head.
Fiyero looked at Elphaba for permission. She nodded and got out of bed.
"Goodnight, sweetie."
"Where are you going, Mommy?" there is a tint of fear in his voice, and Elphaba stopped in her tracks.
"I'm going downstairs. Didn't you say that you want Daddy tonight?"
"But I want you too." His voice quavered, and he bit his lip at the thought of his mother not being with him.
"The bed is not big enough, Liir," she tried to reason with him.
"Look, buddy," Fiyero tried to help. "It's going to be really uncomfortable if all three of us have to squeeze into the bed."
The boy just shook his head and rubbed his face against Fiyero's chest.
"I'm sorry, he's usually not like this," Elphaba apologised.
The Arjiki nodded. "He must be feeling terrible," he whispered back.
"Alright, Liir, we'll do it just for one night. And no kicking and punching in the middle of the night. I'm not going to meet my customer with a black eye tomorrow."
"I won't," the boy promised.
Fiyero pulled Liir to him and shifted to the edge of the bed so that there was enough space on the other side of the bed for Elphaba to get in before he turned off the light.
"I stand corrected, there're four of us. Goodnight, Teddy."
Liir giggled. "Goodnight, Daddy. Goodnight, Mommy. I love you, Daddy. I love you, Mommy."
"Love you, sweetie."
"Goodnight, buddy."
AN : the Vinkun legend about Arjiki's Tears is actually from a previous Fiyeraba one shot that I wrote- The Prologue. There's no relation between the two stories though - i.e the Elphaba and Fiyero in this story is not the reincarnation of the pair in The Prologue.
One more chapter to go!