Elphaba was studying. Elphaba was always studying! Well, that might not be entirely accurate, but that was how it seemed to Galinda. Elphaba was always studying whenever she wanted to talk with her. Well, that might not be entirely true either. She didn't just want to talk. But even just talking was better than sitting and watching Elphaba turn pages in her books. Not that there wasn't a little bit of fun in that. Elphaba had taken to wearing her hair down almost all the time, and Galinda had to admit that she enjoyed even the simple act of just looking at her. She was just so beautiful. Especially here, in their room, where Galinda had her all to herself. She was wearing her little nightdress, Galinda's favourite one, that was just a little bit too big, so that the shoulder straps were always slipping down and… Galinda blushed a little to think of it… but the neckline was too loose as well. Sometimes Elphaba sat in such a way that if Galinda positioned herself correctly, she could almost see right down the front of the nightgown. She had almost fallen on top of Elphaba the other night trying to get a better view. She had covered that up by instigating yet another tickle fight. She blushed again. Oh how she loved those! Elphaba's beautiful wide grin, her throaty laugh, their bodies twisting and writhing together, hands accidentally (maybe accidentally on purpose) brushing over parts of their bodies that friends who were simply friends had no right to touch.
And it was all so much worse since – Galinda didn't think it was possible, but she blushed even more – since that night. She had stayed out late with some of her other friends who had accused her of ignoring them. She had been forced to admit that she hadn't really spent any time with them at all in the past few weeks and had been talked into a late night gossip session. It had been nice to catch up on what was going on, she hadn't realized how much her passion for Elphaba had caused her to isolate herself. She had resolved on her way back to her room to remedy that. There really should be balance. There was no need for her to spend every moment in her room, hoping to maybe find a reason to talk to or even touch Elphaba.
When she reached the door to their bathroom, she instinctively slipped off her shoes, picking them up with one hand as her other rested on the doorknob. She stood there for a moment, realizing how much she had changed in the past weeks… coming in late and using the bathroom as a buffer so as not to let the light from the hallway into the bedroom… all of this had been the standard nightly (well, almost) fare for the first several months of school. She had avoided disturbing Elphaba in anyway… to be honest, she had avoided contact with Elphaba in anyway. Things were so different now. She shook her head, as she carefully and silently turned the knob and pushed the door open. She crept into the dark room, pulled the door silently closed behind her and waited for her eyes to adjust before padding across the bathroom tiles to the door to her bedroom. She pushed that door open even more silently, even going so far as to hold her breath before stepping into the bedroom.
The moonlight from the window streamed in and landed on Elphaba's bed, making her seem to glow. Galinda stared, reveling in the freedom she had to study and absorb the beauty of Elphaba while she was asleep. So very lovely. So very… Galinda's fingers itched with the desire to trace the line of Elphaba's jaw, to tease her lips, to slip into the neckline of that nightdress, to slip down inside those blankets to where… Galinda's eyes grew wide and she gasped. To where Elphaba's hand was! Elphaba wasn't asleep. Galinda looked back up at her face, her eyes were shut tight, and she was biting her lower lip, releasing it, licking her lips – all in rapid succession. She looked back down to where she could see Elphaba's hand working under the blankets. She could now make out Elphaba's breathing… panting really. Galinda closed her eyes as the sensations between her own legs threatened to overwhelm her, to cause her knees to buckle. She braced herself and then opened her eyes wide, not wanting to miss a moment of this. Elphaba began to whimper slightly, and Galinda realized that her own free hand was playing with one of her own breasts, kneading the nipple between her fingers. Elphaba's whimpers turned into muffled moans, as one of her hands came up and covered her mouth and her hips began to undulate in a way that made Galinda dizzy. Elphaba's hips moved faster and faster until her body went rigid and she emitted a sound that traveled directly to Galinda's loins causing her to whimper in sheer ecstacy. She froze in panic, worried that Elphaba might have heard her, but Elphaba merely collapsed back onto her bed, panting. Galinda had taken a moment to recover before slinking back silently into the bathroom to wait for Elphaba to fall asleep. She didn't know how long she had waited, but eventually she had snuck back into the room and into her bed. She hadn't slept a wink.
Ever since that night, the desire – no, the need – to touch Elphaba had been almost unbearable. And when she was touching her, the desire to touch her in a more intimate way, to make Elphaba make those noises again… she did not know what to do. She did know that this whole friendship thing was new to Elphaba and to move too quickly would probably frighten her. And beyond the physical desires that Elphaba awoke in her, she really and truly cared about her. She didn't want to make her uncomfortable in any way.
"Um… Galinda?" Elphaba said, turning from her book to where Galinda was standing, behind her.
Galinda jumped, she had been so lost in her thoughts she had for a moment forgotten she wasn't alone. "Yes?"
"Why are you standing there? You're making me uncomfortable."
Galinda's eyes grew wide. "What? How? Did I say something? Do something?" She felt panic rise in her chest.
"Well… I'm just nervous that you're going to tickle me." Elphaba turned completely in her chair, her face turning a slightly darker shade of green as she blushed. "It's not that I don't… you know… have fun when we have our tickle fights, it's just that you're always tickling me and it makes me jumpy when you stand so close."
"Oh," Galinda felt her heart pounding in her chest. She hadn't thought about that. She had just enjoyed the sensation of touching Elphaba. She hadn't really thought about how the threat of being pounced upon would make her roommate feel.
"I just… I mean, Galinda. You tickle me a lot. It's fun, don't get me wrong. But why do you tickle me so much?"
Because I want to touch you. Because the way your body moves makes my own body feel wonderful. Because I love the way you smell, and I never get to be close enough to you to smell you otherwise. Because I love the way your hands sometimes touch parts of me that ache for your touch when you fight back. Because I love… I love… I think I love you. Galinda closed her eyes as the torrent of her thoughts crashed over her. She took a deep breath as she said the only safe answer she could think of. "Because it makes you smile, and I like to make you smile."
Elphaba broke into a grin. "Well, you don't have to tickle me to make me smile. Galinda, you're the first friend I've ever had. It makes me smile just to think about you."
Galinda grinned in response, as she felt tears sting her eyes. "Oh Elphaba, thinking about you makes me smile too." It was true, but she wanted more. So much more. "You know, Elphie, I think I'm going to go for a little walk."
"But it's so late"
"I know, but I think I need some air. I'll see you later." And with that, Galinda strode out of the room, being sure to contain her sobs until the door was closed behind her. What was she going to do?