Epilogue
The pub was crowded tonight, full of the usual Friday night patrons and those who had come in off the street seeking refuge from the snow. There was a group of carollers in matching sweaters and hats crowding the bar, and occasionally a refrain of one carol or another would make its way across the room to Elphaba's ear. Because Oz forbid more than ten minutes pass without having to hear a Lurlinemas carol. Otherwise, how would a person know it was Lurlinemas, right?
Her phone vibrated as it lay on the table and she nonchalantly swiped at the screen. She already knew it would be Galinda, with her daily deluge of Hamwise photos. She swiped through the dozen-odd photos of her godson, who was beaming at the camera with a face covered with some orange substance.
We tried strained carrots tonight, read Galinda's accompanying caption. I think he liked them.
Elphaba chuckled under her breath as she wrote back.
Elphaba: I see that, lol. I bought his Lurlinemas present today too- you're going to love it.
Galinda: Oh, I can't wait to see it! And you. And Fiyero. But mostly you.
Elphaba: Me too.
"Hey," said a breathless voice, and Elphaba looked up from her phone to see Fiyero standing beside the table.
"Hey," she replied, and he leaned down to kiss her before sliding into the seat opposite her. "How did it go?"
Fiyero presented his list with a flourish. "Lurlinemas shopping is done!" he said triumphantly. "I swear, I almost had to fight some lady for that Strawcat action figure thing Noak asked for. What about you?"
"I found something for everyone but Boq- AZO didn't have the book I want to get him, but I'll check Ebru's tomorrow morning when they open before we leave."
Fiyero nodded, reaching for her hand across the table. "Easy. I figure as long as we're on the road by eleven, we'll get there in plenty of time. Did you order yet? Do you want to eat here or at home?"
"Let's go home," Elphaba said. "I've had enough for the day."
Fiyero grinned. "I figured. So I already ordered Evian to be delivered, should get there in about half an hour."
Elphaba was overcome with affection for him. "I love you," she said gratefully, already moving to collect her things.
Fiyero got to his feet to help her with her coat. "Hey, you know what my Grandad used to say: 'The moment you stop wooing a lady is the moment that you don't deserve her.'"
Elphaba laughed. "Just out of interest, what would you have done if I said I wanted to eat here?"
"Hope none of our neighbours steal the food and eat it for breakfast?"
Elphaba made a face, but after three years of dating, she was no longer surprised by Fiyero's often unusual breakfast choices.
As they made the short walk home, Fiyero recounted everything he'd bought for his half of their Lurlinemas list.
"Oh, and my mom called too," he said, as they turned down their street. "Just to give us a head's up- the guest list for Vala and Huba's event this year is ridiculous. Mom thinks there's like twenty people on it-plus the family."
Elphaba grimaced, immediately dreading it. "Great."
"I know," Fiyero agreed. "But I need you to stay close this year," he warned her.
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "You do not."
"I do! I swear, I almost slipped up three times last year when people asked how long we've been together," Fiyero complained. "The second time, I actually said 'two years' and Kas was standing right there, and she was like 'isn't it closer to two and a half?' And then I said something stupid about only liking whole numbers."
Elphaba snorted. "If we just told them the truth, we wouldn't have to worry about it. Are you ever planning on telling them, or are they just going to find out when Julyan inevitably spills the beans in his speech at our wedding?"
"I have a plan," Fiyero insisted. "See, I figure we time it with the birth of our first kid. Because then it's like, 'hey, here's your grandkid… and by the way we weren't actually dating that first Lurlinemas.' They can't be mad about anything then when they're holding a baby."
Elphaba shook her head, although she couldn't help but smile. Sometimes it still caught her off guard, her own happiness; the ease with which she thought about the future, their future. And she wasn't the only one- the first time she'd casually made a mention of her and Fiyero's possible, eventual marriage, Galinda had burst into tears of happiness. And honestly, there were times Elphaba felt tempted to do the same.
She shifted the bags in her arms to be able to link a hand through the crook of his elbow. Fiyero glanced over at her, offering her a soft smile.
"You okay, hon?"
"I'm good," she said simply. "I love you."
Fiyero beamed, craning his head across to kiss her temple. "I love you too."
When they entered the apartment, Fiyero immediately went to turn on the lights on the Lurlinemas tree while Elphaba put their purchases aside to be wrapped after dinner. The first Lurlinemas they'd lived together, Fiyero had taken it upon himself to decorate knowing that it wasn't something that particularly mattered to Elphaba given her feelings about the holiday. The end result had been a tad more excessive than Elphaba could stand to look at on a daily basis for the better part of a month; so she'd taken over the next year. It was the first time she'd decorated for Lurlinemas since leaving Munchkinland, but this year had been a little easier.
Elphaba went into the bedroom to change into her pyjamas, navigating her way around the half-open suitcases lying on the floor. They were heading to Munchkinland tomorrow to spend a few days with Galinda and Boq before heading to the Vinkus for Lurlinemas, which meant they had to pack about twice as much luggage. For Elphaba, this meant a detailed list. For Fiyero, it meant tossing half the contents of his closet and just buying new things if there was something he'd forgotten. Except after last year, when he'd forgotten to pack socks and underwear, Elphaba had written him a list too.
After they'd eaten dinner, Fiyero washed the dishes while Elphaba started to gift wrap everything.
"I cannot wrap this," Elphaba complained, holding up the vase Fiyero had bought for Kastle.
Fiyero beckoned for it as he sat beside her. "Give it here. The weird shaped ones are my specialty."
Elphaba handed it over with a smile.
Elphaba could sense Fiyero shooting glances at her from the corner of his eye every so often as they wrapped, and she was fairly certain she knew why. She was also certain it was unnecessary.
Going back to Munchkinland would always be a bit complicated, she expected, but this wouldn't be her first trip back since leaving. They'd gone for a weekend back in August when Galinda had given birth to Hamwise, and no dramas had occurred. The difference was, however, that this time Nessarose knew she was coming. Boq's mother had mentioned it in passing after running into her in town, and when Boq had found out, he'd apologised profusely to Elphaba. She'd reassured him that it was fine, but a small part of her had wondered if it would prompt Nessa to reach out. But she hadn't, which made it almost three years since the last time Elphaba had received any form of communication from her sister. Elphaba had come a long way in accepting that in the past few years, but she suspected that was always going to hurt a little bit.
"Jip doesn't have you for Lurline's Lot again this year, do they?" Elphaba asked him, as she wrapped the gift for him, who she'd drawn this year. "Because we're running out of room for garden gnomes."
Fiyero snorted. "Nah. I'm pretty sure Fintan has me, and Kastle has you, judging by the random questions she asked me last week."
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "One year- just one year- I'd like to see you all actually keep it a secret who you each have."
"That is not any fun. I like working out the puzzle- it is literally my job."
"If that's how you need to justify it to yourself," Elphaba teased him.
Fiyero stuck his tongue out at her, and then went back to the gift he was wrapping. Elphaba watched him cut another length of wrapping paper to wrap the perfume he'd gotten for Isibeal, and then looked away as he shot her another sideways glance.
"You know," he said nonchalantly. "We could always find a place to put the garden gnomes."
"Where?" Elphaba asked without looking up.
"The garden?"
Elphaba looked up with a frown then. "What garden? I don't think the half-dead pot of basil on the kitchen windowsill counts as a garden."
"No," Fiyero allowed. "But… maybe we could start thinking about getting a place with a garden?"
Elphaba paused. "You mean buy a place?" she asked.
Fiyero shrugged. "We've been talking about it," he reminded her.
They had, since before she'd moved in with him, but it had always been a rather abstract idea. A 'one day' idea, an 'in the future' idea. An 'I never thought I'd have this life' kind of idea. A really lovely kind of idea.
"Well, maybe that's something we can talk about after the holidays," she agreed, and Fiyero beamed at her.
Elphaba at last lay down her scissors with a relieved sigh. "Alright. I still need to wrap Boq's book if I can get it tomorrow morning. And I still need to wrap yours, once you're not in the room. But other than that, I think we're done."
Fiyero grinned at her innocently. "Feel free to wrap mine. I promise to act surprised."
"Nice try," Elphaba said, her lips curving. "I'm going to make some tea before I finish packing. Do you want anything?"
Fiyero shook his head. "I'm good."
Elphaba went into the kitchen, and while she waited for the kettle to boil, she inspected the fridge to see what they'd need to get rid of in the morning before leaving.
"Hey, Fae?" Fiyero called out. "While you're in there, I'm going to set up your Lurlinemas present, okay?"
"Okay," Elphaba called back.
Just a few seconds later, her phone vibrated in the pocket of her robe, and she checked it absent-mindedly, frowning slightly when she saw that she had a text from Fiyero.
"Yero? Why are you texting me from the living room?" she called out as she unlocked her phone.
Fiyero didn't answer.
Fiyero: I haven a huge favour to askew u
Elphaba wrinkled her nose and looked over her shoulder towards the living room, but sent him a text in return.
Elphaba: What?
Fiyero: Merry men
Elphaba stared at her phone screen. Usually she could make sense of even Fiyero's most nonsensical sentences, but this one was lost on her. Because the only thing that made sense couldn't possibly be what he'd meant to write.
"Fiyero," she said, her voice cracking slightly as she turned and left the kitchen. "I'm not sure what-"
She came to a dead halt in the doorway to the living room, her eyes falling on Fiyero down on one knee, with the only lights in the room being the ones on the Lurlinemas tree.
"This isn't exactly how I planned this," Fiyero confessed. "I had this whole thing planned for when we're in the Vinkus."
He shrugged a little self-consciously. "I was going to ask you when we went hiking, at the top of the trail on Mount Attleline. I thought it seemed appropriate, considering that was the spot where everything began to change. But then I was thinking just now, that really the moment where everything began to change was here- three years ago. When I asked you an insane, most ridiculous favour that no one actually does in real life, and you said yes."
Elphaba choked out a half-sob, half-laugh, her vision blurred with tears.
Fiyero held out a hand towards her, and she moved towards him, her hand trembling as she took his extended hand.
"Fae, when you agreed to pretend to be my girlfriend, I told you that I'd owe you forever," he reminded her solemnly. "And I still mean that. But more importantly, I promise you today that I'm going to love you forever. I love the life we've built together, and that we're going to keep building. I want to give you a lifetime of happy Lurlinemas memories, and even though I'm about a week early, I'm hoping we can count this one."
With the hand not holding hers, Fiyero pulled a small box from seemingly nowhere, opening it one-handed to reveal the most beautiful ring Elphaba could have ever imagined.
"Elphaba, will you marry me?"
Elphaba had a lump in her throat the size of a Quadling tree, and she couldn't seem to manage to make her throat form words. So she just nodded, the first tears spilling from her eyes as she sank down onto her knees and kissed him. Fiyero cupped her cheek in one hand as he deepened the kiss and she could feel him smiling against her mouth. When they finally broke the kiss and pulled apart, Fiyero was beaming brilliantly at her.
"I love you," he murmured.
Elphaba swallowed back a sob. "I love you," she said hoarsely.
Fiyero took the ring from the box and slipped it onto her left ring finger, then tilted her hand slightly to watch the Lurlinemas tree lights reflect off the diamond.
"It's beautiful," Elphaba said softly, staring at it.
"I've been sending Galinda pictures for like two months," Fiyero admitted sheepishly. "Trying to make sure I got the perfect one."
Elphaba wasn't surprised by that in the least, but she was rather surprised Galinda had managed to contain her excitement and keep the secret. She also knew that Galinda's reaction when she saw the ring on Elphaba's finger when they arrived the next day was going to be priceless.
"Merry men?" she asked suddenly.
Fiyero blinked. "What?"
She chuckled, unlocking her phone and holding it up so he could see the screen. She should have expected this, really.
"Merry men," she repeated.
Fiyero stared at the screen and then grinned at her. "Would you believe that I totally wrote that on purpose?"
Elphaba burst out laughing. In Elphaba's experience, the universe tended to have a weird sense of humour. But for once, it had worked out in her favour.
The End
AN. I wrote this chapter like three times but it never quite felt right, until I landed back at the pub where it all started. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this foray into Modern AU's and Hallmark Christmas movie world. I haven't really decided if Modern AU's are something I'll revisit in the future, it would probably depend on if the plot needed it- and if it was something people want to read.
I also haven't decided what is next for me. Pretty focused on moving all my old stuff over to Ao3 still before I pick through my WIP folder and decide what I'm feeling.
But thank you to everyone who read this. I loved hearing from those who reviewed, it's always fun to hear your thoughts.