Glinda, surprisingly enough, woke up before Elphaba. She stayed still, only moving her head a little so she could look up at Elphaba. Even in sleep, the green girl was tense. Her brow was furrowed, ever so slightly, and her breathing was so still and quiet that if Glinda wasn't pressed to her chest, feeling her heartbeat, she would have wondered if it was even there.

She continued to study Elphie's face, marveling at how different she was, and yet how exactly the same. The wrinkles in her forehead and around the bridge of her nose were just a little deeper, and Glinda resisted the urge to rub her thumb across them to smooth them out. Her hair was thicker, wilder, though maybe that was just from lack of care. Glinda wanted to fix that, too. She leaned back, just enough to see Elphaba's neck and shoulders, and the hand that was tucked beneath her head. There were more burns, little patches of skin that were just slightly darker or lighter than the rest. Her hand was calloused, too. Elphaba's hands were always rougher than the rest of her, covered in little scrapes and cuts from climbing over walls and through windows after curfew, but this was different.

Glinda's first thought was that it must be from some sort of weapon—maybe Elphaba had learned how to fight—but then she looked harder. Carefully, she brought her own hand up and held it next to Elphaba's, comparing them. Those marks weren't from a physical weapon. They were from magic.

Glinda stared, disbelieving, but just then Elphaba stirred. Glinda swallowed and blinked a few times, trying for a neutral expression, and she smiled gently when Elphie's eyes opened.

"You're awake," Elphaba murmured. Glinda leaned up to kiss her brow.

"Only for a few minutes. Did you sleep okay?"

"Mm." Elphaba reached over her and checked the watch on the table. "It's mid-morning. Breakfast?"

Mid-morning. Once today was over, Elphie would be gone again. Glinda pushed the thought away. "I don't want to leave," she said.

"Good." Elphaba pulled her closer and pressed her face into Glinda's neck. "I meant from my bag."

"Do you have enough?"

"Well, since we barely ate yesterday."

Glinda smiled, satisfied. "Okay. We should probably get dressed this time, though."

She felt Elphaba's brow furrow. "Why?" It was almost a whine. Glinda giggled.

"I can't stay in bed all day again. I have homework."

Elphaba sighed and shifted. She pulled Glinda closer and rolled so she was half on top of her, trapping her. "Homework can wait," she said softly.

Glinda squirmed, just to unpin her arms and wrap them around Elphie. "It really can't," she said, offering a half-smile. "Some of us have classes tomorrow."

Elphaba pressed her lips to Glinda's jaw, just below her ear. "It can wait."

Glinda shivered. Elphaba smirked and pressed her palm to Glinda's stomach. Even after all this time, she was amazed at how soft her skin was. Her hand drifted up, cupping one breast, stroking with her thumb.

Glinda arched into her touch. "M-maybe it can wait," she whispered.

Elphaba chuckled and kissed her way down to Glinda's chest. She shifted on her elbows, moving lower, but Glinda whimpered and tangled her fingers in Elphaba's hair, stopping her.

"No." Glinda's voice was thick. "Please, I need you up here."

Elphaba rose so they were even. She held Glinda's face with one hand and kissed her lightly. Glinda dug her fingers into her scalp and Elphaba deepened the kiss, pressing her into the bed. When she finally pulled back they were both breathing hard, their chests brushing against each other. Elphaba felt heat pouring between them, and she bent down again, her mouth exploring every bit of skin she could reach. Her hand ran up and down Glinda's body, caressing from her ribs down to her thigh, back up over her stomach, her breasts, her collarbone, tangling in her hair and pulling her head back to expose the point on her neck that drove her crazy. Elphaba scraped gently with her teeth, soothed with her tongue, working the spot until Glinda was writhing beneath her.

"Elphie," came out as a strangled gasp as Elphaba moved her hand lower again, between Glinda's thighs. She lifted her head and watched Glinda's face as she stroked lightly.

"You're so beautiful," she murmured, pressing their foreheads together. She stroked again, firmly this time, and kissed Glinda softly. "I love you."

Glinda moaned and gripped Elphaba's shoulders. "I love you," she panted. "Elphie, please."

Elphaba slipped two fingers inward, grinning when Glinda cried out and dug her nails into her skin. She kissed across Glinda's face as she moved against her, pressing her lips to her cheeks, her forehead, the corner of her mouth. She relished every movement Glinda made beneath her—how she shook her head back and forth, how her feet slid against the sheets, how her hips rose to meet Elphaba's hand.

Glinda arched against her, tensing and letting out a hoarse cry. Elphaba slowed her hand and watched her face as she came down. Her eyes fluttered shut and she fell back to the bed, too tired to even think of resisting when Elphaba pulled her closer. She rolled so that Glinda lay on top of her, head resting against her chest. Elphaba pulled the blanket over them and kissed the top of Glinda's hair, her fingers drawing aimlessly across her back.

When she could speak again, Glinda murmured, "I really do have to do things today."

"I know," Elphie said softly. "But for now, just…stay with me."

It was around midday when Glinda kissed Elphie on the cheek and rolled out of bed. She grabbed a dress from her wardrobe and went into the bathroom to wash up. When she emerged a while later, Elphaba was dressed and sitting on her bed, pouring oil into her palm. Glinda immediately recognized it as the one she used on her hair. She walked forward.

"Let me."

Elphaba looked up. Glinda grabbed her hand in both of hers and wiped the oil onto her own fingers. She crawled onto the bed and settled on her knees behind Elphie. Elphaba sighed, her shoulders relaxing, as Glinda ran her fingers through her hair.

Glinda worked slowly, carefully combing through each dark tangle. She scratched gently at Elphie's scalp and massaged little circles across the back of her neck. Elphie's eyes fluttered shut and she let her head fall back into Glinda's hands, causing the blonde to giggle and press a kiss to her temple. She poured more oil into her hands and brushed Elphaba's hair back, working through it until it shined. Glinda thought about braiding it when she was done, but instead she let it fall over her shoulders, as soft and silky as she remembered.

"My Elphie," she whispered, wrapping her arms around Elphaba's neck and pressing their cheeks together.

"Always," Elphaba breathed back. Her cheeks flushed darker green and she cleared her throat. "Anyway. You, uh, had work to do?"

Glinda brushed her lips across Elphie's cheek, then rose and grabbed her bag from the floor, where it hadn't moved since she walked into the room Friday night. Elphaba scooted over to make room for her on the bed, and she settled back down, spreading her books in front of her.

The afternoon passed slow and quiet. Glinda worked through her assigned pages of math equations and skimmed through her notes to answer a few questions for life sciences. It felt like a waste of time, but if no one could know Elphaba was here, then she had to do everything normally. So Glinda did her best to finish quickly—and she probably would have, too, if it weren't for Elphaba.

The green girl started out fine. She pulled food out of her pack and set some by Glinda's knee, eating her own quietly and watching Glinda work effortlessly through her mathematics. Eventually she picked up Glinda's life science book and began flipping through it.

"Elphie," Glinda said after a while, poking her thigh. "I need that."

"No you don't."

Glinda huffed. "Fine. Then flip to the chapter on ecosystems and read it out loud."

Elphaba smirked and thumbed through to the right chapter. "Much of the natural world obeys a law of balance," she read aloud. "This chapter discusses the outward balance between predators, prey, and the environment they live in to create—"

"Alright, alright, I wasn't being serious." Glinda reached over and flipped forward a couple of pages. She stopped and traced her finger over a paragraph, mouthing to herself, then returned to her notes, writing something down. "That's all I needed."

"Happy to help."

"Whatever."

Apparently Elphaba found the exchange amusing, because for the rest of the afternoon she made a point to be a distraction for Glinda. She grabbed her hand and traced shapes across her palm and knuckles. She played with Glinda's hair, winding a lock around her finger. When Glinda wasn't looking, she grabbed whatever book or journal was closest and hid it behind her back.

Eventually Glinda snapped her notebook shut and gave her a look. "You know, you hated it when I did this to you last year."

"I didn't hate it."

"You sure complained about it a lot."

Elphaba smirked and scooted closer, wrapping her arms around Glinda's waist. "That's not the same thing. Are you done yet?"

Glinda looked down at her books. "I really should work a little bit on sorcery. Morrible assigned us our final projects."

"Finals are still a month away."

"Still a month away? This time last year you would barely speak to us, you were so stressed about exams."

Elphaba's grin turned sheepish and she tucked her face into Glinda's neck. "Maybe I'm being a little hypocritical."

"Maybe," Glinda mocked, running her fingers through Elphie's hair. "I don't mind the reversal, though."

"No?"

"No. It's good to mix things up once in a while. In fact, how about this: next semester you stay here and go to classes like a good little student, and I'll fly around Oz on a broomstick."

Elphaba snorted. "Not a chance."

"I'm still curious about it. An enchantment that powerful shouldn't hold up very long. At least, not without damaging the object. You didn't reinforce the broom first? Or have someone else—?"

"I have no idea what I did, my sweet," Elphaba said, chuckling. She let go of Glinda and nudged her. "But go on. I know you're dying to check it out."

Glinda hopped down from the bed and went over to her own. She picked up the broom and came back, nestling into Elphaba's arms once more.

"It's incredible," she said. "There's not even a real trace of magic. There's no explanation."

"When it comes to my magic, there almost never is."

Glinda stared at the broom, looking for any flaws that would indicate wear from the spell. "Is that why you've been practicing it so much?"

"What?"

She set the broom down and reached for Elphaba's hand, holding it up and rubbing her thumb across the palm. "These calluses," she said. "They're from magic."

Elphaba stared at their hands. "I didn't even notice…"

"It leaves marks, once you start casting enough. What have you been doing?"

She shrugged. "Basic things. Moving objects around, creating fire. Once in a while I'll mend my shoes or something."

"Have you just been teaching yourself?" Glinda asked.

"I've been reading about it."

Glinda smiled. "Of course."

"But the broom was just…panic."

"Adrenaline and emotion makes magic stronger."

"Yeah." They were quiet for a while. Elphaba grabbed the broom, running her hand up and down the wood. "It's amazing, really."

"What is?"

"Flying. It's such a rush. It feels…free."

"It sounds terrifying," said Glinda. "Especially on that dusty old thing."

Elphaba chuckled. "It hasn't let me down so far."

"That's good, because if it ever does, it's a long way down."

"Funny, my sweet. Very funny."

Glinda turned her head to press a kiss to Elphaba's jaw. "I do try."

Later, after they had eaten dinner and the light outside the window was fading, Glinda stood and stretched and cleared off the bed. She tossed the broom back onto her own bed, then took her books to her desk, sliding what she needed for the next morning into her bag and neatly stacking the rest.

She thought about how normal it felt: winding down for the night, preparing for tomorrow's classes, Elphaba sitting in the bed, waiting for her to crawl in beside her. Glinda grabbed a nightgown from her wardrobe and began changing, allowing herself, for just one moment, to pretend.

She imagined walking to classes tomorrow, Elphaba at her side. The new students this year would have gotten used to the green a while ago, and now they could just enjoy the brisk morning air together. They'd sit next to each other in the back of the classrooms. Nikidik would be arrogant, but he was no match for both of them. Morrible would still be terrible, but at the end of her class Elphaba would be waiting outside the sorcery building, and together they'd meet the boys for dinner. And Boq or Fiyero would debate something with her, and Crope and Tibbett would flirt and joke, and Glinda would hold her hand under the table. And when the day was done they'd come back and do homework, cuddling and talking and it would all be so simple, so easy. They shared each other's space and lives and hearts so naturally.

Why couldn't they anymore?

Glinda shook her head. It wouldn't happen. Elphaba's visit came with a time limit—she had known that from the moment she stepped into the room two nights ago. And yet, Glinda couldn't help but wonder. Did they really have to be apart?

She paused at her desk and glanced sideways at Elphaba, who was packing her bag to leave in the morning. Could they share each other's space and lives and hearts somewhere else? Would it really matter, so long as they're together?

Glinda looked down at the books stacked in front of her and asked, quietly, "Elphie? Why didn't you ask me to go with you?"

Even she could hear the trepidation in her voice. There was a long pause, and Glinda didn't dare glance across the room at her. Finally, Elphaba sighed.

"The same reason I left. To protect you."

"What if I hadn't waited for you to ask? What if I just followed you?"

"I wouldn't have let you."

"And now?"

Silence. Glinda screwed her eyes shut, waiting. When nothing happened, she took a breath and forced herself to turn around. Elphaba was just staring at her, helpless.

"Now?" Glinda asked again. "If I followed you now, what would you do?"

"Glinda…"

She took a cautious step forward, holding Elphie's eyes. "What would you do?"

"Don't ask me that. Please."

"I'd follow you." Glinda had moved to the edge of the bed, and she stood in front of Elphaba, for once the taller one.

"No."

She reached out, brushing Elphaba's hair back. "I would. I'd leave Shiz and go with you. I'd go anywhere you asked."

Elphaba closed her eyes. "I wouldn't ask."

"You don't have to."

"Glinda." Elphaba caught her hand, pushing it away so it hovered inches from her face. "No."

"I'd go with you."

"No." Her voice was hard. "I can't ask you to come with me."

Glinda blinked, her brow furrowing, and took her hand back. "You're not asking. I'm telling you."

"You can't come with me. I won't let you."

"You won't…" Glinda pressed her lips together, breathing through her nose. "Why?" The question was little more than a rasp.

"You know why."

Elphaba started to wrap her arms around Glinda's waist, but she pushed them away and stepped back.

"So you're leaving me instead. You're leaving me, again, to stay at this stupid school and keep my head down while Morrible tries to control my life, while you—"

"I don't want to leave you. Glinda, please, I never wanted to—"

"But you did! You left, and you're leaving again, all because you think you have to do everything yourself. You have to go be a hero, and you don't trust me enough to—"

"I trust you!" Elphaba jumped to her feet, but Glinda only retreated further away. "And it's not about trust, it's about protecting you."

"Yes, because Shiz is so safe."

Elphaba crossed her arms over her chest. "It's safer than where I am."

"And where are you?" Glinda challenged. "What are you doing? If you trust me, why can't I know? Why can't I be with you?"

"You could get hurt. If anything happened to you, I'd never forgive myself."

Glinda glared. "I can take care of myself."

"I know that, but this isn't about you. Don't you get it? This is a war I'm fighting." Elphaba rubbed her forehead and started pacing, turning sharply every couple of steps. "The Animals, the Munchkins, the Wizard—they're fighting, all of them. This isn't just some dangerous research. This isn't sneaking in and out of libraries. It is so much more than that."

Glinda watched her. "So you're trying to keep me away from it. But what happens when this war reaches the rest of Oz? How do you plan to protect me then?"

Elphaba had no answer. Instead, she stopped and scowled at the floor, muttering, "You're not coming with me."

"Has it ever occurred to you that this is my choice?"

"Try to follow me, then," Elphaba said snidely, still looking away. "What will you do, run below the broom?"

"Don't be cruel."

"Do you think you can fit all your shoes into one bag? Because you know, you can't take your entire wardrobe around with you."

"Elphie—"

"What will you do when all of Oz thinks you're a traitor? How will you manage that, when you couldn't even handle a couple girls gossiping about you?"

"Fine!" Glinda shouted. "If you don't want me with you, then go."

Elphaba faced her again, regret and pain mixing in her eyes. She reached out. "Glinda—"

"Just go." Glinda turned away, starting for her own bed, but then she froze. Her sheets were dusty and untouched, and on top of them was the broom, ready to take Elphaba away from her again. She felt her whole body start to tremble, and with a sob, she collapsed to the floor.

Elphaba was with her in an instant. Glinda fought the arms that wrapped around her, but only for a moment. She gave in with another cry, letting Elphaba pull her close and hold her tight.

"Please," Elphaba whispered. "Don't do this."

You did this, Glinda thought, even as she clung to Elphie. "You're going to leave," she said.

"In the morning," said Elphaba. "Tonight, just…"

"What does it matter?" Glinda asked. She swallowed back another cry and pressed her face into Elphaba's shoulder. "You're going to leave, and then what? What happens to us?"

Elphaba searched desperately for something—anything—to say, but she had nothing. She held the back of Glinda's head and swallowed past the lump in her throat long enough to whisper, "Come to bed. Please."

Glinda took a ragged breath. "Is that all you have to say?"

"Tonight is all I have to offer." Elphaba bent her head so her forehead rested on Glinda's shoulder and their cheeks brushed together. She ignored the sting of Glinda's tears and went on. "Tonight is all we have. I want to make the most of it."

"How?" Glinda breathed.

"Just…come to bed." She pulled Glinda's arms around her shoulders and grabbed her waist, lifting them both to their feet. She moved to the bed and eased Glinda onto it, then crawled over her and pulled the blanket over them. "Let me hold you."

Glinda blinked hard and wiped her cheeks. Elphaba wrapped an arm around her and pulled their bodies together. She slid her leg between Glinda's and kissed her forehead.

"In the morning," Glinda breathed, "don't you dare leave without saying goodbye."

"I won't," Elphaba promised. "I love you. More than anything."

Glinda screwed her eyes shut and breathed her in. "I love you, too."

Elphaba woke before dawn and immediately closed her eyes again. She didn't want to move. Not when Glinda was so soft and warm and peaceful against her. She had thought leaving was hard the first time.

But the sun would be rising soon, and she had to leave while it was still dark. She forced herself to slip out of Glinda's arms. Glinda whimpered, and Elphaba paused to cup her face, stroking across her cheek until her eyes fluttered open.

"It's okay," Elphaba breathed. "I'm just getting dressed."

Glinda grabbed her hand and squeezed, hard, but she let her go. Elphaba quickly braided her hair and pulled on her shoes and cloak. She could feel Glinda's eyes on her as she wrapped Ama Clutch's scarf around her neck. She reached for her bag, but Glinda's hand caught hers and turned her around.

Glinda took her face and kissed her, full and sweet and desperate enough to justify the small, pleading noise that escaped one of them. When they parted, Glinda stumbled back until she hit the bed, then fell onto it. Her cheeks were wet, but she made no sound. She simply watched as Elphaba put on her bag and hat and grabbed the broom.

She went to the window and pushed it open, and when she turned back their eyes met. Elphaba wanted to say something—no, she wanted to say everything—but there were no words, so she ducked her head and turned away, disappearing into the still-dark morning.