Disclaimer: Wicked? Not mine.

Fiyero wisely disappeared from Morrible's line of vision before she could decide to impart some cruel, unusual punishment onto him. Hopefully he wouldn't have gotten Elphaba into too much trouble. Then she'd probably be furious with him and he didn't think he could bear that. He decided to wait for her somewhere, so he could ask her what had happened and ensure that he remained in her good graces.

Where would she go next, though? He was fairly sure she had her next class with Galinda, but wasn't sure which class that was. (Galinda had told him, no doubt, but he'd been zoning out at the time and had heard only that the green girl was one of her classmates.) He froze. Not only were they classmates, they were roommates…he could wait by her room. Elphaba would probably stop by to drop off the books that she no longer needed. If he was there when she showed up, he could find out what had happened.

He hid in a corner of the hallway, where he couldn't be seen. It was easier than picking the lock and waiting inside the room, and anyway, he didn't think she'd take to kindly to that. He'd been hiding for what felt like hours before he saw her. Even from far away, he could tell that something had changed, though he wasn't sure what. She already had her key in the door when he called out to her.

"Oz, Fiyero, what is wrong with you?" she demanded, without even turning around. She didn't seem angry, though. In fact…was that affection in her voice? Or maybe it just seemed that way because she'd dropped the honorific that she usually used before his name.

"Sorry," he said apologetically, "but I wanted to find out what happened back there."

She turned to face him then, her key still in the door. "How long were you here?"

"How long were you gone?"

She arched an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. "I wanted to make sure you didn't get in trouble because of me." Her eyes were sparkling, and her ordinarily cool demeanor seemed almost like a façade.

"No," she shook her head, "no trouble."

"What, then? She had to want something."

"She did mention one small thing, yes." Elphaba was carefully calm.

He tilted his head. "Would it trouble you to tell me what it was while I'm still young?"

She smiled. "I shouldn't tell you now, since you're being impertinent, but I'll be kind. I'm off to the Emerald City."

Were she anyone other than Miss Elphaba Thropp, she'd have exclaimed it. As it was, this was the first time he had ever seen her really smile, and it hit him just how beautiful she was. "Congratulations!" He wrapped his arms around her in an enormous hug. She stiffened, surprised, but didn't protest. "When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow, early in the morning."

"Perfect. We can celebrate tonight, then." Fiyero decided, already planning said celebration.

"Celebrate?" she demanded suspiciously.

"Of course! Meet me under the giant tree toward the back of campus—the one from earlier—for dinner."

"I've got to pack." She protested.

"You've got to eat." He corrected her, pouting. "Come on, you've got all night to pack."

"Fine." She turned back to the door, pushed it open, and was halfway through the door when she turned. "Thanks." It sounded awkward and stiff coming from her, as though she wasn't used to it at all.

He nodded, and she disappeared.

She'd been excused from class for the rest of the day, in a sort of celebration of her achievement. So she decided to use the time to pack, so that she wouldn't have to be bothered later. I'm going to meet the Wizard. It still hadn't quite sunk in. After all, this was the Wizard of Oz, and he wanted to meet her! Only in her absolute wildest dreams had she ever imagined it.

Galinda came in when Elphaba was about halfway through packing. "Where were you, Elphie?" she inquired curiously, flopping onto her roommate's bed. "Are you sick?" She watched Elphaba for a moment, and then added, "What are you doing?"

"I was talking to Madam Morrible." Elphaba responded, deftly folding another skirt and dropping it into her bag.

"Ew." Galinda wrinkled her nose disgustedly. "Why?"

"She told me that I'm going to the Emerald City." Elphaba could no longer hide her grin.

Galinda squealed loudly. "Really? Are you going to meet the Wizard? Oh, if you do, you simply must mention me!"

"I'll try, Galinda. What do you want me to say?" Elphaba inquired amusedly.

Galinda blinked. Elphaba's question had clearly not occurred to her until that precise moment. She shrugged lamely, but then brightened. "Ask him if he knows who the most beautiful, popular girl at Shiz is!"

"What are you going to do if he mentions someone else?" Elphaba teased good-naturedly, unable to resist.

Galinda went pale. She gasped loudly and clapped a hand to her heart, and then, on shaking legs, lowered herself onto her fluffy, pillow covered bed. "Oh, Oz, Elphie, what if he does? He's the Wizard, what if he knows something we haven't found out yet?" She let out a wail and crammed her face into a particularly frilly, mint green pillow.

"Relax, I was only joking." Elphaba yanked the pillow away from her friend's face and tossed it back onto the bed.

Galinda's jaw dropped. "Really, Elphie, you can't joke about such things. Do you know how hard I've worked?"

"Extremely, I'm sure. Don't worry, I'll ask, and I'm positive he'll know that it's you."

Galinda sighed with relief, and then leapt to her feet and encased the green girl in a tight hug. "When are you going?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Can I come with you to the train station and see you off?"

"Of course, as long as you don't mind waking up early."

Galinda waved this off. "I need to remind you what to say to the Wizard. You've got to be careful, Elphie, you can't make me seem self-centered. I simply couldn't bear the Wizard thinking of me that way."

"All right," Elphaba sighed, "I'll wake you." Without so much as a goodbye, she left.

linelinelinelinelinelineline

Fiyero met her halfway across the lush grass. "Hello."

"Hello."

"Okay…" Fiyero grinned. "Close your eyes…I've got a surprise for you."

She stared at him as though he'd lost his mind and shook her head.

"Why not?"

She just glared at him, and he gave in. He did, however, insist on walking in front of her and blocking her view the whole rest of the way down. At last, he stepped aside, and, despite herself, Elphaba gasped.

Author's Note: I am SO SO SO SO SORRY you guys. I took forever, I know, and then I have to go and ruin it by making the chapter a filler...kind of. Forgive me, por favor? Review, even though it's a filler? And remember, it's turning AU, so some of it is different...