"Only we could have a party at the prospect of our funeral tomorrow." Mercus's lighthearted words reverberated in Fiyero's thoughts. True, there was laughter and friendship and all the earmarks of a celebration, but beneath it all was that tenseness, that undercurrent of fear.

Last night seemed ages ago, a dream of safety and warmth. He had held Elphaba close to him, secure in his knowledge of her safety and future, foolishly believing his love for her could keep her safe. Not tonight. There was such a finality to the air. One way or the other, this was their last stand. Fiyero was always good at betting, and he knew when a bad hand could be bluffed and when it was smarter just to count your losses. This was not a bet he would take, yet it was one he could not afford to lose.

Plans readied, they had stayed up for some time enjoying the company of each other, so long denied. He caught the adorably coy look Glinda cast toward his friend, and the totally smitten one Mercus directed back. He hoped for their sake that tomorrow was not a fiasco.

Nessa and Boq had retired early, with considerably more tenderness than they'd shown before the earth had shattered for them all. Perhaps some people need a wake-up call to keep their priorities in order. Glancing toward his emerald angel, he knew his priorities were well mapped out.

Her eyes shifted toward him, and she smiled softly before her attention returned to Glinda. Fiyero left his pensive brooding to rejoin the party. Overwhelmed with the need to touch her, he reflexively pulled her to a tender, soul-searching kiss. This completely disrupted the discussion of course, and Fiyero apologized. Elphaba blushed fiercely, but said nothing.

Mercus smoothly suggested they relocate to the couches. Fiyero sat with Elphaba at his side, his arm possessively draped around her more casually than he felt. Meanwhile Mercus and Glinda sat awkwardly on the opposite couch, flirtatious feelings mixing with shy insecurities. The smile that came to his face had nothing to do with the conversation. Watching the blooming attraction on their faces, Fiyero couldn't help but remember how he had begun to discover his true soul mate. He hoped his two friends could find that happiness in each other.

Conversation strayed to the next day's activities, and Mercus assured them that he could assemble the network for their assistance as well. Glinda smiled at him, and Fiyero almost laughed to see his old friend puff himself up a little at her praise. Elphaba oddly enough was the one to redirect them away from work. Turning to him before she looked back at Mercus, she questioned the other man, "Can I ask you something?"

Fiyero fought a smart remark as Mercus merely answered, "Of course. Ask away."

"How did you get pulled into all this? I mean, what made you start the whole Rebellion?"

Fiyero answered for him, "Oh, that's just his nature. Find the nearest fight, and side with the underdog."

"You should know. You trained me."

"Yes, well, someone had to teach you a lesson." Fiyero turned to his lover. "You know, the first time he met yours truly, he beat me to a bloody pulp."

Mercus shrugged, and with a pointed look at Elphaba, "Yes, well, you've always had far too much for me to be jealous of."

Glinda interjected, "Oh, I thought you were old friends."

Mercus looked down at her, an unusual gentleness in his posture and smile, "We weren't always. I actually used to hate him when we roomed together at boarding school."

Fiyero smiled. "Actually, it's quite similar to the two of you ladies." Mercus looked interested, but he promised to tell him later.

Mercus started again, "Fiyero comes in, this rich kid that's never known a day of trouble. He's had more advantages than I could've even dreamed of, and he's stuck with this angry, chip-on-his-shoulder scholarship kid that can only afford one change of uniform. I hated him before I even saw him. I hated the entire school for being better than me."

Fiyero took over, "And I was rather thoughtless at the time..."

Elphaba interjected, "No!" dripping in sarcasm, but he just ignored her.

"I wasn't paying attention and ripped his uniform by accident. I thought he wouldn't want it, so instead of apologizing, I just threw it away. He came back blustering, and I got all defensive."

"I'm sorry to say I went a little ballistic. I grew up on the streets, so you better believe I knew how to fight. Fiyero had no such luck I suppose, and I didn't give him an easy time of it."

"He means to say, he broke my nose and gave me a couple other scars to remember him by before I learned how to fight back."

"Nothing serious enough to stop you from stealing my first girlfriend."

Fiyero blushed, "Yes, well, I was also something of a...well...flirt back then."

"Flirt's not the word I would use for it, but..." Mercus mercifully cut off in respect of Elphaba's presence.

"So you hated each other?" Glinda asked curiously.

"Loathed," Fiyero said with more than a little mirth, having remembered her use of exactly that word to describe the early days of the girl's domestic partnership. They both turned red instantly, much to Mercus's confusion.

"But you became friends?" Glinda clarified.

"He's not all bad." Fiyero chuckled. "Eventually he figured out I wasn't out to get him. And he was much easier to get along with when he didn't talk with his fists."

"And Fiyero's actually the one that invested in my company. I've always had a something of a way with business, and that year I started my first company, which financed the rest. I owe everything I have to him."

"Makes you wonder if we'd never roomed together as boys, what would have happened," Fiyero was contemplative. "I'd actually asked for a transfer after the first week, but the headmaster wouldn't hear it. Something about how I was too much of a troublemaker."

"Yes, well, it turned out for the best didn't it? You've saved my life how many times now?"

"No more than you've saved mine."

"And for a prince, you're pretty good in a fight."

"Yes, well, you're the experienced one there."

At Glinda's searching look, he explained. "Fiyero was always the sensible one. I never seemed to be able to keep my mouth shut."

"You know, I always looked up to you," Fiyero added, knowing his friend was being modest. "Mercus was always the one who stood up when someone got picked on. Always. It got him in more fights than anyone, but it also got him the most respect."

"I suppose poverty gave me an important insight into the world underneath the surface of people. But that's enough about my personal history." Glinda had been impressed with the character Fiyero had described, and she had let Mercus take her hand. Mercus decided to turn the tables, saying, "Let's talk about Fiyero. He's much more interesting...more of a lover than a fighter as I recall."

Fiyero flushed, trying to redirect the conversation before Elphaba could kill him, but she was too quick, "Quite. He did manage to date my roommate, though not my sister yet."

Mercus asked, "Your roommate? I thought you roomed with Miss Glinda?"

The awkward look that passed between the girls was answer enough. Elphaba attempted to repair the damage, "Yes, well, she had the sense to foist him off on me."

Fiyero interrupted, "You know, that's not quite how I remember it."

Glinda giggled. "Oh, well, we let you think that you did the choosing." She didn't hazard a look at Mercus, fearing he would be displeased with the new information. Why had Elphie brought that up? Fiyero made a mental note to discuss ineffective matchmaking techniques with her.

Mercus shook his head. "Damn. You lucky bastard!" Fiyero moved to protect his arm before he even noticed it, and Elphaba burst into laughter so hard, she almost cried. "So you not only can claim the company of the magnetic and bewitching Miss Elphaba, you also got a chance with the charming and breathtakingly beautiful Miss Glinda? How do you do it? I mean, you're not all that attractive..."

He couldn't help but laugh at his friend's good natured ribbing. "It must be my super-intelligent brain." They all burst into laughter, and he feigned hurt. "My severe lack of arrogance? My impressive humility?" Glinda was still blushing slightly, and he felt the need to verify. "Well, lucky as I may be, Glinda was wise enough to ditch me after, what, a month?" She nodded.

Mercus turned to his side to face the pretty blonde, "So you're smart as well as pretty," to which Glinda flashed her adorable smile at him. The two were concentrated on each other for a moment, and Fiyero was glad to see Glinda truly happy for the first time in recent memory. He had gotten so used to her faking a smile that he didn't really remember how pretty her real one was.

Fiyero turned to his partner, tickling Elphaba lightly, "I blame her roommate for telling her the truth about my brainless foolishness, though I got her back for that I'd say."

Mercus responded, "Yes, well, we're all pretty glad she got a hold of you. Goodness knows what kind of improvement you are now from the carefree, egotistical ass you used to be." Mercus teasing was true despite the deep friendship Fiyero knew the man had always held for him.

He nodded, knowing exactly how lucky he was that Elphaba had come into his life.

When at last they retired, Fiyero and Elphaba in search of a suitable room in the apartment, he noticed the couple had stayed behind, facing each other on their couch and continuing their investigation. As they retreated, the established couple traded a sly glance at their friends. Fiyero slid his hand on Elphaba's waist, bringing a blush he hadn't seen in a little while. Perhaps young love was contagious.

They found a room and completed their evening routine. Before Elphaba returned to the bed after turning out the light, Fiyero pulled her close, fingertips tracing the features he had long ago memorized. Elphie by Braille, he thought comically to himself. A slow kiss bloomed between them, and he felt that pull to deepen it and lose himself in her. He kissed her as passionately as if it would be their last night together, knowing it very well might be.

She pulled him to her, dragging him to the bed. At least he still had the touch. Together they found that comfortable rhythm that joined them eternally, and he was filled with a deeper longing for her than could be filled physically. He called her name, needing her to prove she was his, needing her to love him, needing her. She answered with wonder at his name, as if surprised he were still there. In a way, he guessed she probably was. She had never come to expect his affection, much as he continually offered it. Each time was a miracle to her, and each time she was a miracle to him.

As they finished and held each other, Fiyero thought how perfect she was for him. He almost laughed, remembering when he had thought those words about Galinda. Such a naïve and misguided fool he had been then, too shallow to recognize true perfection, the counterpoint of matching souls below the surface. He tightened his hold on his love, as if to prove he had rectified his mistake.

Leaning over him, her long hair tickled his bare chest. "Yes my love?" he questioned lightly.

Probing eyes held his, but she shook her head. "You just seemed…thoughtful."

"Mm, did I? That doesn't sound like me." She made a face. She knew him better than that. "I just…can't believe how totally in love with you I am." She rolled her eyes, but he knew it reassured her. She was so needlessly insecure, despite her external confidence. His little enigma.

Exhausted, she fell asleep quickly. He slipped out of bed and dressed in his slacks and shoes, taking a late night stroll to clear his head. It was at the door he realized what a mistake that would be with them so vulnerable here. He pivoted, eyes falling on the two still on the couch, deep conversation keeping them oblivious to his presence. Mercus brushed Glinda's hair behind her ear in a gesture very reminiscent of his earlier one to Elphaba. He watched them for a moment, transported back in time to before Elphaba left and defied and faced what she had.

Quietly retreating so as not to disturb the others, he returned to the bed that held his sleeping heart. She stirred gently, and he admired her from the doorway a moment. The ring felt heavy in his pocket. He prayed that he would live to give it to her, but more so that she would live to wear it. Her voice slurred with sleep, "Fiyero? Come to bed."

He could never tell her no.