AN: Patience, my friends, patience... also, why are you all thinking I'm going to do something horrible (or surprised about the fact that nothing horrible has happened yet)? I don't always do horrible things. Jeez. (Though I currently am working on my next Wicked fic, which will be pretty horrible... and that's putting it mildly. Heheh.)

Broadwaygirl21: No, Glin and Yero are not dating ;) and no, sorry... see for yourself, Musicgal3's review for the chapter was longer than yours xD. I'm afraid my twin sis is very good at setting unbeatable records.

Musicgal3: I'm not telling any of you anything about theories being right or wrong - you'll just have to wait and see... ^^

PerlogAnnwyl: That cracked me up xD.

Oh, whoops, I almost forgot: this chapter is dedicated to the 200th (!) reviewer of this story... *drumroll*... Queen Faeley! :D Good to hear from you again! You can pick out any sort of PIE as a reward! :D *cackles*

Chapter 12. A slave for you

He kept thinking about her all throughout dinner, still unsure of his feelings regarding her… and of hers regarding him. No matter how much he thought about it, analysing every feeling and thought he had about her, he just couldn't seem to figure it out; and that fact bothered him to no end. If he didn't even know what he was feeling, then how could he ever know if he should make a move or not?

By the time he returned later that night, carrying a small bag with dinner for Elphaba, his head hurt from all the worrying he'd been doing. He sighed as he pulled his key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He'd love to spend the rest of the night with Elphaba, but he didn't really have the energy to work on his song anymore. Maybe he should just go to bed instead… or maybe she'd be willing to stay and they could just do nothing together.

He was surprised to find the lights in his room off, and he called her name.

"Elphaba?"

No response. He lit a lamp on a side table and placed the bag next to it. Then he turned around to look for her.

He smiled when he realised she was still in the same position she'd been in before – sitting at his desk, glasses perched on her nose, books and notes scattered all across the surface. Somewhere during her studying, she must have fallen asleep, because her cheek was resting on her book and her eyes were closed.

He shook his head and approached her, carefully removing the glasses from her face. She stirred and muttered something unintelligible, but didn't wake up.

"Fae?" he whispered, stroking some hair away from her face. "Hey. Wake up, you. This is no place to sleep." His hand cupped her shoulder and he shook it gently, but she just swatted at him, trying to brush him off.

"Go away."

"Are you awake?"

She groaned. "No."

He chuckled softly and rubbed her upper back. When he felt how tense the muscles there were, he frowned.

"You know," he said, rubbing the spot between her shoulder blades, "it's not healthy to be hunched over a book or a stack of notes like this all the time. It's bad for your back. Oz, Fae, it's like I'm touching a rock here."

She grumbled something under her breath. "Studying is important."

"I know it is, but you should take care of yourself better. Here." He took her arm and helped her up. Still half asleep, she allowed him to all but drag her over to his bed. She flopped down onto her stomach, her face buried in a pillow, and he settled next to her. Then he swung one leg over her, straddling her back.

She immediately attempted to shoot up. "Fiyero, what in Oz –" she began angrily, but he interrupted her.

"Trust me?"

She hesitated for a long moment. Then she slowly lay back down.

He smiled and started gently rubbing her shoulders, trying to ease the tension from her muscles.

She buried her face in the pillow again and moaned softly. "Okay, I'll trust you from now on," she said, heaving a content sigh.

He chuckled, slipping his fingers into the back of her dress to gain better access to her neck and shoulders. "I should hope so." His fingers found a tight knot in her right shoulder and he shook his head. "Sweet Oz, Elphaba. What do you do to ruin your back like this?"

"Study," she said, her voice muffled by the pillow. "And like I said, studying is important."

"Maybe," he acknowledged. "But still." He worked out the knot in her shoulder, earning himself another happy sigh from the girl beneath him. He stopped.

She immediately started whining. "Fiyero…"

"I'm not doing this for free," he informed her, grinning. "I want something in return."

She groaned and dropped her head back to the pillow. "Like what?"

His grin widened as he tried to think of something – if he could make Elphaba do anything he wanted, he had to think this through carefully – but then she suddenly raised her head, a triumphant look on her face.

"You're not getting anything in return," she said smugly, "because you still owe me."

He blinked at her, taken aback.

"The bet," she reminded him. "This is what I get for winning."

"A massage?"

"A personal masseuse slave," she corrected him with a wicked grin, "for the next month."

"Week," he argued. "A month is too long for just winning a bet."

"Two weeks, then," she conceded. "Deal?"

He smirked and softly stroked the skin of her upper back for a moment before continuing to rub her tense muscles. "Deal."

In reality, he would have agreed on being her personal masseuse slave for the rest of her life if she wanted him to; but he didn't want to seem too eager.

He kept on massaging her back, trying to be as thorough as possible. He'd prefer to have her take off her blouse to give him better access, but he didn't want to push his luck and so he settled for merely slipping his hands underneath the piece of cloth to reach her back. She didn't even protest, just murmured a quiet encouragement.

By the time he was done, she had fallen asleep again, looking relaxed and peaceful.

He carefully swung his leg back over her and sat down next to her, crossing his legs, to watch her sleep. Her face was smooth and free of the frown she often wore when awake. There was even a small smile curling her lips. He watched her, and he realised with a sinking feeling that it was getting harder and harder to deny it. Right reasons or no, he could no longer pretend that he wasn't in love with her… and he had to do something about it, too, before he would burst. One more of those back massages and he was sure he would explode.

Maybe it was time for him to face the music and tell her how he felt.

But no. He couldn't.

Could he?

He looked at the photograph on the mantelpiece again. Aliyra was smiling at him, eyes shining.

"What do you think I should do?" he asked her. "Should I tell her?"

She just kept on smiling at him, not pulling a muscle; and yet he knew what her answer would be.

No matter what happens, Fiyero… I want you to be happy.

He felt a lump in his throat at the memory, but at the same time, he felt an odd sort of relief. Maybe Aliyra had been right and he really could move on. It had been long enough by now. It was time for him to grow up and go on with his life.

Tomorrow, he promised himself. Tomorrow, when I take her out for what she thinks is a 'thank you' dinner… then I'll tell her.

For now, he just stroked her cheek. After all this time, he found that he was still slightly startled by the electricity that seemed to shoot through him at the slightest touch of his skin against hers. Her skin was so soft, too…

He shook it off. "Fae?"

Her eyes slowly opened, still foggy with sleep as they focused on him.

He smiled at her. "I wouldn't mind you spending the night here," he said, "but I think you would, and I think Galinda would, too."

"Mm." She turned away from him, hugging the pillow. "Let her mind, then. Or send Boq."

"You should go home," he persisted.

She cast a glare over her shoulder. "I'm too comfortable," she murmured. "Goodnight, Fiyero."

He chuckled. "You still have to eat, too."

She sighed and finally rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling in exasperation. "You're really not going to let me sleep?"

He smiled apologetically. "No."

She grumbled and sat up. "Fine, then." She smoothed out her hair, then rose to her feet to grab the dinner Fiyero had brought her. She ate it quickly as he gathered her notes and books and put them back into her bag for her. When she was done, he silently handed her the bag, and she kissed his cheek in thanks.

"I'll see you tomorrow in class," she said, slipping out of the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He stayed in the doorway, watching her walk away until she turned a corner and disappeared from sight. Then he quietly closed the door.

"Elphie," Galinda said firmly, "you can not go out wearing…" She wrinkled her nose and waved at Elphaba's frock. "That."

Elphaba looked down at the dress. "But it's the nicest one I own!" she protested.

Galinda shook her head and patted her roommate's arm sympathetically. "Now," she said, "I know we all agreed that you didn't have to dress up for this date, but –"

"It's not a date," Elphaba interrupted her. "It's just him taking me out for a 'thank you' dinner."

"Right." The blonde girl took Elphaba's hands and sat her down on the pink-covered bed. "So you don't have to dress up," she continued. "But Elphie, please let me help you. Please. Nothing extreme, I promise. I'll just make sure you look nice, that is all."

Elphaba hesitated.

"Nothing fancy," Galinda promised. "No pink, no sparkles, nothing. No high heels and no hours of fiddling with your hair."

"And no make-up," Elphaba added.

"Except for a tiny little bit of eyeliner?" Galinda asked hopefully.

"Fine," her friend agreed.

"And mascara?"

Elphaba sighed and nodded.

"Lipstick?"

"You're pushing your luck, Galinda."

"Blush? Please, Elphie?"

The green girl just narrowed her eyes and Galinda gave her a quick smile. "Right. Okay. Just eyeliner and mascara, I promise," she said solemnly. "Will you let me help you get ready, then?"

"I'm going to regret this," said Elphaba with a sigh, "but yes, Glin, I'll let you help me."

The blonde squealed so loudly Elphaba had to cover her ears with her hands. "Yay! Ooh, Oz, I know exactly what I'm going to do with you!" She jumped up and down. "Okay, okay, let's not get too excited," she said, giggling. "We only have about an hour left, so… hmm." She tilted her head a little to the side, studying Elphaba.

"First we need to get rid of that frock," she decided. Her eyes lit up. "And I have just the dress for you to wear."

Much to Elphaba's surprise, instead of running to her own wardrobe, Galinda moved over to her roommate's. She started rummaging through the dark blue and black articles of clothing and finally pulled out a black dress.

"Is that the dress I wore to Pfannee's party?" Elphaba asked curiously and her roommate nodded.

"Yes. It's black, and not frilly, and yet it's very classy and it looks beautiful on you," she declared.

Elphaba sighed, but conceded. "Alright."

"Go get dressed," Galinda spurred her on, "and then I'll find everything we need to tick off the next items on the list. Let's see, we need shoes – would you agree on wearing those silver ballet flats I let you borrow from me the other day?"

"Um… sure," Elphaba said, feeling a little overwhelmed already.

Her friend pushed her into the bathroom as she continued to ramble. "And then I'll get the eyeliner and mascara, and we have to figure out what we're going to do with your hair… do you want to wear it up or down? I won't let you wear it in a braid, Elphie, you know that… but maybe a nice hair clasp? Or a ribbon in your hair? Or a hair band… Let me think…"

When Fiyero came to pick the young witch up for dinner about an hour later, Galinda was still working on her roommate. He heard a muffled, "Just a clock-tick!", that sounded like the blonde had something in her mouth.

"Glin, spit out those hairpins before you choke on them," he heard Elphaba order sternly from within the room and he smiled.

A heavy sigh sounded. "Fine."

"Am I done now?"

"Not yet." There was some more noise, sounding like Galinda was rummaging through a pile of things – probably her make-up supply or her box with hair decorations – and then a triumphant, "There! All finished! Oh, Elphie, you look so beautiful!"

A derisive snort from the other side of the door. "Of course I do."

Galinda huffed. "Shut up, Elphie. You do. I bet Fiyero would agree with me."

The door suddenly flew open and Elphaba was standing there. She was wearing the short, black dress Galinda had made her buy for Pfannee's party, combined with a pair of silver ballet flats and a matching silver hair band that kept her long, ebony hair out of her face. Galinda had applied just a touch of make-up to her eyes, making them look even larger than usual.

He gawked at her for a long time and Galinda giggled. "Fiyero definishly agrees with me," she said smugly.

Elphaba blushed. "Do you really?" she asked him uncertainly.

"Oh yes," he breathed, unable to take his eyes off her. "You look beautiful, Fae."

Her blush deepened.

He shook his head and offered her his arm. "Shall we go?"

She nodded and linked their arms together as they walked off.

Galinda waved at them from the doorway. "Have fun!"

"I'm glad she didn't get to you any more than she did," Fiyero said with a small laugh. "I mean… I won't say I don't love seeing you in slightly more flattering dresses and with your hair down, but I meant what I said before. You don't need any of that."

Her blush deepened, and he decided to change the subject, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable.

"So how is the studying going?"

She smirked at him. "Nice attempt to change the subject, Yero," she said, amused, "but not very subtle. You'd never voluntarily talk about studying."

He laughed again. "True. Okay, then. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," she said, after which she added teasingly, "The studying is going great," which made him laugh again.

"So where are we going?" she asked him as they left the building and turned a corner.

"I was thinking of taking you to Arctica," he said. "You know, that new restaurant in town? It opened a couple of weeks ago."

"Okay," she complied a little hesitantly. "But… isn't that rather fancy?"

"No," he said a little too quickly.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Okay, maybe a little," he conceded with a sheepish smile. "But I'm not going to take you to a barn or something to have dinner, Fae. And it's not too fancy. Please?"

She grumbled something under her breath. "Why do you always get me to give in to you?" she demanded.

He gave her a lopsided grin. "Because you love me?"

She fell silent at that, unable to come up with an appropriate answer or even a witty comeback.

"And," Fiyero continued smoothly, squeezing her hand, "because after studying all day today, and studying all day again tomorrow, your back is probably back to its horribly tense and painful state and if you give in right now, I might agree on giving you another of my famous massages tomorrow?"

She snorted. "Famous?" She put a hand over her heart mockingly. "And here I was thinking you were only my personal masseuse slave," she said, pretending to be hurt. "How many girls have you seduced with your 'famous' massages before?"

"Only one," he said, looking at her intently.

She stared back at him, trying to look unfazed.

"Who, then?" she asked.

He blinked, taken aback. "I, um… I mean…" He rubbed his neck uncomfortably, shuffling around a little. "I meant you, of course. I mean, I've never… done anything like that with another girl before –"

"Okay," she cut him off, smirking slightly. "I'm going to stop you right here. One: what makes you think you 'seduced' me?"

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, then grinned slightly. "Right."

"And two," she continued, "you're making it sound like we did something inappropriate. You've never 'done anything like that with another girl before'? What's that supposed to mean?"

Now his lopsided grin returned full-force and he brought their joined hands up to his lips to kiss the back of her hand, marvelling at the tingly sensation spreading through him.

"It means," he said with a dazzling smile, "that my amazing massages are reserved for you, and you only."

She nudged her with his elbow. "They better be."

He chuckled and drew her a little closer, wrapping his arm around her waist.

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