Rifiuto: Non Miriena
A/N: Written: 2009. Found: 2018- Licia
They returned to campus in the early hours of Monday morning, as morning classes were starting.
Elphaba sighed, dropping her duffel by her bed before grabbing her notebook and book bag and slipping out of the room. Fiyero pushed himself away from the wall, sliding an arm around her waist as they headed down the stairs. Neither one had classes on Mondays, and instead of going to the rink, they made their way to to the cafeteria.
Thankfully, it was deserted, with classes.
"Morning Cattery."
"Just the usual, Elphaba?" The woman who ran the cafe asked, and the girl nodded. "On the house." She pushed the cup towards the girl, stopping her as she pulled her wallet out.
"You sure?"
"For today, you and Fiyero, don't worry about it. Congrats on winning, and on your marriage."
"How did you-"
"Watched the match in the lounge, saw everything."
"Please don't tell, Cattery." Elphaba begged, as Fiyero joined her, setting down a granola bar and an apple and pulled out his wallet, but Cattery waved it away as she set his usual cup of coffee in front of him.
"You won't hear it from me. But I can't guarantee other students won't already know. Quite a few people watched that match the other night."
Once they bid her goodbye, the two settled at a table by the window. They ate in silence for several minutes, before Fiyero spoke up.
"We just play it cool." She met his gaze. "We reached the Qualifications, and if we can just get through them and onto the team-"
"We're already on the team, for mens and womens'-"
"But for Mixed Doubles, we need to pass Qualifications." He caught her gaze. "Fabala, we're the best Mixed Doubles team the Vinkun Roaring community has. We got this."
So engrossed in their conversation, they didn't notice classes get out, or the wave of students headed for the cafeteria- many of whom stopped at the windows. It was only when they heard an ear-splitting squeal that they both jumped, their conversation ended. "Elphie!"
The pair turned, as the continuous wave of students entered the cafeteria, splitting off to find tables or get food; many, however, stopped by their table to shake hands and wish them congratulations, on both winning the match and their marriage. They took each in turn with smiles and thank yous. Suddenly, a blonde whirlwind in a light blue dress threw her arms around Elphaba. The green girl, unaccustomed to such a hug, jolted back in her seat. Fiyero watched, chuckling softly at his partner's wide eyes and dropped jaw. Eventually, the blonde pulled away.
"Oh, my Oz, Elphie, why didn't you say anything? You could have at least told me! I thought we were becoming friends-"
"We are, I just... it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision." She replied once she'd finally been released. The pair shared a glance, and Glinda furrowed a brow.
"Wait, you didn't want anyone to know?"
"Not for a while, no. Besides, we did this more than just because we love each other. There are other motives besides love, Glinda."
The blonde furrowed an eyebrow. "I don't understand."
Elphaba sighed, picking up her coffee cup. "If I'm married to Yero, I won't have to go back to my father. He has no claim to me anymore. By Munchkin law, if a child marries before they turn eighteen, the parent has no claim to them; they're considered an adult, even if they haven't reached eighteen, which is the legal age in Munchkinland. By marrying Yero, my father has no claim to me anymore, and whatever little tricks he tries won't work, because he would be breaking Munchkin law." She glanced at her husband, who set his cup down and broke off a piece of his granola bar.
"That means," He picked up where Elphaba had left off. "That as an adult, she can legally fight for custody of her sister, and if she wins, she can get Nessa out of there."
"So... she would be a parent?"
"A guardian." Fiyero corrected. "She would have the stability of a marriage, that would prove to the courts that Nessa is being well-taken care of because it's not just her looking over her sister, but me as well."
"So two is better than one."
"Bingo." Elphaba cut in, sipping her coffee.
"How old is your sister?"
"She just turned twelve." Elphaba replied, finishing her coffee. "But it started when she was six, just like it did with me." She stood, tossing her cup in the trash and grabbing her book bag. "I'm gonna go get my duffel, spend some time on the ice. You coming, Yero?" A moment passed, before he stood. "Have fun in class, Glinda."
"So Worlds is in two weeks, and then Qualifications are two weeks after that."
"Yep." Elphaba finished tying her skate, and then stood, moving to join him on the rink.
"Take a couple days to ourselves and then focus on Worlds?" She nodded. Though they'd won Regionals- called Nationals in some parts of Oz- that still left Worlds- and Worlds was when the best of the best were chosen. Worlds would give the four Mixed Doubles teams a place to shine; one team would be knocked out, leaving three to compete at Qualifications. Only two teams of the remaining three would be chosen at Qualifications, and if they didn't get chosen, their careers were basically over. Technically, all four teams would be allowed at Qualifications- only there if one team couldn't compete.
Elphaba slipped her phone into the portable speaker and started the music, before taking off. He chased after her, catching her around the waist and tossing her into the air, catching her moments later. Neither heard the doors open and footsteps enter, though the sight of Glinda and several other students gathering around the edge of the rink to watch.
"I didn't know they ice skated."
"Do they play hockey also?"
"They're really good. Like really good."
"How do they do those turns? Isn't it scary to jump like that?"
"Is he going to drop her? I can't look!"
He pulled her closer, sliding his hands down her waist, before lifting her up over his head. He tossed her into the air, catching her as she came down in a death drop, before setting her back on her feet. Seconds later, the pair pulled off a triple Salcow, followed a double axel and a split jump before moving into twizzles.
"I hate twizzles. They're so annoying." Fiyero laughed, grabbing her around the waist and throwing her, sending her into a quadruple which she landed effortlessly. So caught up in the music, the skating and each other, they didn't hear the cheering and applauding, or notice the crowd grow, as the boys from Briscoe and Three Queens came wandering in. Clearly, no one was attending class today.
"Do you trust me?" She met his gaze.
"What are you suggesting, Yero?" She took his hand, allowing him to pull her along.
"Do you trust me, Fabala?"
"Of course I do, but-"
He pulled her closer; they fell into a pair camel spin, before moving into a pair sit spin, facing each other. Once they'd stood and returned to skating, he grabbed her waist. "Do a Mulenkof."
"Yero-"
"You trust me, don't you?" She nodded, as he grabbed her waist, tossing her into the air.
The Mulenkof had been only performed once, by Mulhama and Liir Kolenhof- the very same Mulhama that now coached Elphaba and Fiyero. At one time, the best pairs skaters in all of the Vinkus, if not Oz, they had won a total of twenty medals over a ten year span- until Liir's death from a heart attack at the tender age of twenty-four. Mulhama had then turned to coaching- not just figure skating, but Roaring and ice dancing as well. She'd remarried a county worker, and devoted her life to her skaters and Roarers, so much so that she'd earned the nickname "Mother Maunt", as though she ran a mauntnary. Though she rolled her eyes at the nickname, deep down she was touched that her students cared so deeply about her to give her a nickname in the first place.
The Mulenkof was Liir's legacy- a throw jump, in which the woman was tossed into the air, going into a double-catch-foot where she grabbed the backs of both skates before moving to a split and finishing with a quadruple turn midair, while her partner performed a triple axel, triple toe loop, and finished off with a butterfly spin into a Biellmann before moving into a scratch spin- all before catching his partner as she came down before she hit the ice. The difficulty was immense, the pressure to get it right horrendous, and the injuries from even attempting to perform such a throw career ruining.
Elphaba finally let the breath she'd been holding out when he caught her around the waist, and set her back on the ice. Silence filled the arena, as everyone stared at the pair in shock, before,
"Did you see that?"
"I've never seen so many turns in my life!"
"Wasn't she scared?"
The whispers flew among the students, but all were silenced minutes later. "What the hell was that?"