"Okay, what is wrong?" Elphaba asked, sitting crossed legged on Fiyero's bed as he paced around his room and barely registered every other word she was saying. The sudden change in her tone was what finally caught his attention.
"Huh?" he asked and his head shot up. Elphaba sighed.
"Don't pretend like it's nothing," she said sharply. "You've been acting strange all day. I'm leaving tomorrow and I thought it would be nice to spend some time time with you, but you're acting like you just want me gone. What is it?"
Fiyero looked embarrassed.
"I'm sorry," he said and finally looked her in the eyes. "I guess I was just hoping we'd have some more time together before this day comes."
Elphaba didn't know what to say to that.
"But we did…" she began to protest, but Fiyero didn't let her talk.
"That doesn't count. All that hiding, sneaking around… How is it different than what happened last time? Elphaba, this was supposed to be our chance to actually live our lives together."
"It's not that simple," she said, biting her lip. "We have a war to fight. And we're fighting it so that we can have a life together in a better world, when it's all over."
"And how long does it take us to get there?" Fiyero snapped, and Elphaba flinched in shock, her eyes going wide. "Months? Years? Decades? What if we don't live to see the better world we're fighting for? What if we never see each other again after tonight?"
"Fiyero…" she said quietly, shocked at his outburst.
"Sorry, I know I'm probably overreacting," he muttered, averting his eyes. "I just can't stop thinking about what happened last time. I was too much of a coward to tell you how I felt. And then you went away... and I lost you. And I'm just… I'm so scared of losing you again."
Elphaba looked down.
"I'm scared too," she admitted quietly, and felt him sit beside her and reach for her hands. "But that's just why I want this… us… to stay secret. I want to know you're safe, just in case anything goes wrong."
"I'm willing to risk it, if it means I can stop wasting my time pretending I'm anything but hopelessly in love with you."
"That's not all, though," she said, looking into his deep blue eyes. "It's just that…," she lifted her hand almost subconsciously and run her fingers down his cheek. "You just still feel too good to be true. And I'm afraid that it's all just going to disappear the moment I acknowledge it."
"Let me prove you wrong," he begged, but she shook her head.
"Fiyero, please…" she said, biting her lip. "Please, let's talk about this when I get back."
"But—"
"Please. If I keep thinking about this for even a minute longer, I will never find the strength to leave."
He looked at her for a long while; his eyes sad but understanding.
"Come here," he murmured, leaning against the wall and letting her settle into his embrace. He held her close, planting little kisses all over her face, stroking her hair; wanting to have her image imprinted under his fingertips, underneath his eyelids, on his lips. She snuggled closer to him, brushed a strand of hair out of his forehead and kissed him, slowly and longingly, trying to convey everything she felt.
I love you, she wanted to say. I love you so much. But somehow, she couldn't say it. So she settled for kissing him, again and again, and finally closing her eyes, her forehead resting against his.
"We will see each other again," she whispered. "And we're going to be together. Always. I promise."