Elphaba woke up with a massive headache, vaguely aware that she wasn't in her own bed, and that she was, yes, naked. Panic would have struck her instantly if not for the fog clouding her brain. As it was, it just sort of...trickled in. She looked around her and discovered that she was alone... in Fiyero's room.
At that moment, Fiyero entered, carrying to-go coffee cups and a paper bag which smelled very much like fresh baking. "Ugh," she moaned.
"Hey slugger," he murmured. "How'd you sleep?"
"I feel like I'm in quicksand. Throw a bucket of water on me?"
"Not a chance," he chuckled.
"I don't..." she paused. "I don't remember last night."
"At all?"
"At all," she said. "Did... I mean, how did I get here, and why am I naked?"
Fiyero toyed with the idea of messing with her, but after his slip-up with the passionate kissing, he didn't actually think he'd find it funny enough to make up for the sound lashing he was sure to get when he let the cat out of the bag. "Actually, when I got back from walking Galinda to your dorm, you'd done that yourself," he grinned. "You were already in bed, asleep."
"Thank Oz," she sighed.
"Thanks a lot," he grumbled.
"Fiyero, I don't mean it like that," she groaned. "I'm glad I didn't do anything with anyone. I'd hate to not have any memory of... I'm naked, Fiyero. I'm glad nothing noteworthy happened that I can't remember."
"I know," he said. "I'm just teasing you." He paused. "When you asked about last night, I briefly considered sitting next to you and saying earnestly that it was the most wonderful night of my life," he smirked. "But I thought you might murder me." He was so relieved that she didn't remember anything. He could pretend he didn't remember either, and they'd be fine!
"I very well may have," she agreed, as if murder were an everyday occurrence.
"Would you like some breakfast?"
"Yes, please," she said, sitting up and reaching for the cup he held toward her. He put the bag of food next to her.
"It's tea," he said. "I can whip up a hangover cure, but I thought..."
"It's perfect," she said, taking a sip. She looked into the bag, at the various assortment of breakfast foods crammed in there. "How hungry did you think I'd be? Isn't it usually that you're not hungry?"
"I wasn't sure what you'd want."
She pulled a muffin from the bag and took a big bite of it. "My stomach feels fine," she shrugged. "My head hurts a lot, but I think I'm okay."
"That's good," Fiyero said, tidying his desk anxiously. "Do you think, uh... Do you think you might get dressed at any point this morning?"
"Oh, Oz," she said, looking down at the sheet that covered her. "I suppose so..." He threw one of his shirts at her so fast, she almost spat out a bite of muffin. He'd been a millisecond from going insane, and he couldn't wait any longer. He kept his back turned while she slipped it on. "There." She chewed on another bite of muffin for a moment. "How did I end up here again?"
"I was pretty much carrying you back. Galinda needed her gloves, so we came up... You took one look at my bed and decided to crash there."
"Where was Kers?"
"He got drunk and had to head back sooner than you were willing to go."
"He left?"
"He was three sheets to the wind, Elphie, and you refused to leave, you wanted to stay. Which is a little ridiculous, considering it was his brilliant idea to agree with Galinda's brilliant idea. The guy should call himself Curse, not Kers," Fiyero muttered.
"He's not a curse," Elphaba said, surprised that Fiyero would be so harsh.
Fiyero shrugged. "What are your plans for today?"
"I think I might have to crawl back to Galinda on my hands and knees and explain where I was all night," Elphaba sighed.
"She knows you're here."
Elphaba froze. "What?"
"She saw you pass out, she knew I was headed back here after I left your dorm -"
"I thought you said you came here first..."
"Yes, we did. Then you passed out, but Galinda still needed to be walked home, to make sure she got there alright."
"And she knew I was here."
"I already said that, Elphaba," Fiyero said, wondering when his friend had become so dense.
"She's going to kill me!" Elphaba flew out of bed.
"What? Fae -"
"Fiyero," Elphaba spat, reaching in shame for her underwear. "She was mad that we went to the Emerald City and slept in separate beds! What's she going to think about naked samebed sleepovers of... of... DRUNKEN DEATH!?"
Fiyero froze in surprise. The look on his face would have been comical if Elphaba hadn't been so panicked. "Well, at least if she doesn't let you sit at the front, you can sit with Curse," he shrugged, trying to make light of the situation.
It was the wrong thing to do. "Don't call him that," Elphaba spat, somehow managing to put her bra on underneath his shirt. Fiyero's mouth went dry at the sight of it. "Don't be such a jerk, Fiyero."
"Hey, Elphaba, I -"
"Just... Save it." Elphaba finished dressing quickly, then turned to flee.
"Thanks for breakfast," she said, quickly, before she left.
Fiyero couldn't believe how badly that had gone so quickly.
Galinda was appeased with Elphaba's promise that she had slept fully clothed in the bed and Fiyero had slept on the floor. Elphaba didn't know why it went over so well with the blonde, but she didn't dare question it. Later, she would think back to how easily Galinda had sighed and said, "Of course I don't mind, Elphie! I trust you!"
Later, she would think back to how readily it was accepted that Fiyero would put himself in harm's way for her, and wonder if, perhaps, her friendship with Fiyero was like playing with fire. Had it really been safe to spend so much time with him? Was it really fair that she would sleep naked in his bed, and that Galinda would be expected to believe that nothing happened? Elphaba couldn't remember, but she trusted Fiyero when he said that nothing had gone on; what could possibly have gone on? But still, Galinda was very understanding, and she shouldn't have had to have been.
Did it really make sense that Fiyero stubbornly went wherever she went, just to ensure her safety?
"You're going drinking with the Quotch team?"
"They won their game, so the whole team is going," Elphaba said, avoiding his gaze.
"So they're celebrating at The Philosophy Club? And you're going?"
Elphaba shrugged. "I've never been. It might be fun."
"You can't be serious," Fiyero growled. "Elphaba, just last weekend -"
"I'm not going to drink," she shrugged. "I've learned my lesson."
"The Philosophy Club is a nuthouse," Fiyero hissed.
"Well I'll be with Kers, I'll be fine."
Fiyero rolled his eyes. "We're coming," he said, finally. "Galinda and I will come."
"Fine," Elphaba snapped. "I can't figure out if you're my mother, my father, or some strange older brother I never knew I had." Fiyero said nothing, somehow crushed that she thought of him as family. Family was so... platonic. "I can make my own decisions."
"Of course," he snapped. "Just do whatever your boyfriend says. How mature of you."
"I don't do whatever he says," Elphaba growled.
"Your entire life is about Kers," Fiyero shot back. "You spend all your time with him. He comes along everywhere. It's never you and me, or even you me and Galinda, it's -"
"Oh so that's what this is about. You're mad that you don't have two girlfriends anymore. For months, the moment Galinda got boring with her talk of shoes and skirts, you could run off to me and I'd be there for you. Now, when your shallow, pretentious relationship drives you insane, you've got nowhere to go because there's someone in my life who doesn't just see me as a back-up plan! If you want me all to yourself so bad -" Elphaba couldn't continue with that train of thought, and she knew it. So, instead, she turned on her heel and fled, feeling awful.
Fiyero felt worse. He admitted that he didn't like to share Elphaba, even if he only admitted it to himself. But he did want her to be happy, and he thought she deserved all the love and attention in the world. Had he made her feel like she was just an alternative resort to hearing about fashion and gossip magazines? Didn't she know that she was his favourite person in the world? ...And did she have a point, about him maybe thinking of her as another girlfriend? After all, if she was the person he really wanted to see all the time... He shook his head, and decided that he'd think about it later. For now, he had to find Galinda and tell her they were going dancing.
Elphaba was surprised that she'd exploded at Fiyero the way she had, but his bitter comments had been eating away at her for awhile, and she simply couldn't take it anymore. He never came out and said the things she knew he meant, but he undermined her relationshipmm and her boyfriend, at every turn. Kers wasn't good enough for her? She deserved better? She should find someone else? Fiyero's subtle jabs about her boyfriend had all stopped short of him actually suggesting someone for her to be with, and left her on the verge of shouting, "Well you think you can do better? You want to give it a whirl? Come on, Fiyero, be my boyfriend. I dare you!"
But she would never say that to him. Why would she? She knew that his seeming jealousy must be something else. She wasn't sure what, but she knew that he couldn't want more than friendship from her.
Somehow, it made her feel the need to forget it all.