AN: "I'm starting to enjoy this story more than the original movie" must be the biggest compliment ever, so a shout-out to PhantomoftheBarricade1832. Thank you so much!

Don't worry, you'll hate Avaric's guts again soon enough. In the meantime, enjoy something that is not quite Fiyeraba fluff, but is approaching it :).

6. Of Dances and Nicknames

When Elphaba saw a certain Vinkun prince standing at the bar when she entered the ballroom that night, her face lit up and she made her way over to him with a smile. "You're back!"

He grinned at her, putting down his drink and bowing for her. "Of course I am. I couldn't let you sit here all by yourself."

"You did for the past five days," she pointed out to him and he chuckled.

"True. I'm sorry. Though I don't think it has been more than four days," he said.

She shook her head. "No, it's definitely been five," she said firmly.

He raised one eyebrow. "Have you been counting?" he teased her, loving the blush that tinted her cheeks.

"No."

He laughed. "Well, I am sorry, but it's hard to sneak up to here every day," he explained. "Not all staff members are willing to let me through just because I tell them I'm the crown prince of the Vinkus."

Elphaba looked confused and he realised she didn't know. "I, um… I'm travelling second class," he said sheepishly, looking away. "My parents cut me off."

Part of him expected her to look at him with contempt, but she just laughed. "They cut you off?" She shook her head. "The stories about the scandalacious party prince are true, then?"

He grimaced and rubbed his neck. "Yeah…" he said faintly. "I guess you could say that."

She was still chuckling as she linked her arm with his. "Come on, let's dance. I'm bored."

As they swayed together on the dance floor, he brought his hand up to gently touch her cheek. "How's your bruise?"

She brushed him off. "It's fine."

"Won't Avaric get mad at you for dancing with me?"

"Fiyero," she said warningly, but he shook his head.

"I'm not trying to make him look bad or something," he said. "I just don't want you to get in trouble because of me. I love dancing with you, but not if it has bad consequences for you."

She softened at that. "He won't be mad," she said, smiling at Fiyero. "We talked this afternoon and he apologised. I did, too. He gave me a present to make it up to me and he said he'd try to not lose his temper again. I can keep seeing both you and Galinda, Fiyero, don't worry."

"That's good," he said.

She smiled softly. "Yeah."

She usually wasn't really one for dancing, but she did love to dance with him. He was a very skilled dancer and he led her through the steps and movements without forcing her. His arms were strong, his hand warm where it was placed on her waist, and their fingers seemed to fit together perfectly. It was so different from dancing with Avaric, whose grip on her was usually vice-like and who all but dragged her with him across the dance floor.

"So…" she said after a while, when the song was over and they sat down for a few moments to catch their breaths. "How much of your reputation is true?"

He coloured and cleared his throat. "Um…"

She playfully nudged his side. "Don't be ashamed. It's the past – I won't hold it against you. I'm just curious."

Feeling a bit better at that, he conceded, "A lot of it is true."

She just kept looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate, which he then did.

"I got flunked out of a few universities," he said. "Expelled from some others. I pulled a lot of pranks and threw a lot of parties. I drank and I fooled around with girls a bit, though nothing serious – I never really cared about any of them, and they didn't care about me, either. They just wanted a chance to spend some time with the famous Vinkun prince."

Elphaba nodded in understanding and Galinda, who was sitting on the green girl's other side and had overheard their conversation, bent closer to the couple. "I would have liked a chance to spend some time with the famous Vinkun prince," she said conspiratorially, with a small giggle and a wink at Elphaba, "if Elphie hadn't stolen him away from me already."

Fiyero grinned at that, but Elphaba flushed. "I didn't steal anyone away, Galinda!" she hissed, shaking her head. "We're just friends!"

Galinda giggled again. "That's right, I forgot. Sorry."

Elphaba squeezed her friend's arm tightly. "Don't say such things," she begged her friend in a whisper. "If Avaric hears you, or if anyone else hears and tells him…"

Galinda immediately sobered and nodded, eyes wide.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't think of that. It won't happen again."

Fiyero was frowning now. "Elphaba…"

"I'm engaged," she reminded him. "There's a thin line between friendship and something else, Fiyero."

"No, there's not," he began, but she cut him off.

"There is to all these people," she said, making a vague gesture to indicate everyone around her. "Don't play stupid with me, Fiyero. I like spending time with you, too, but we have to be careful. If we give anyone the impression that something more is going on, they'll run straight to either Avaric or my father; and Oz knows that whatever they will do, it will not be pretty."

"I won't say another word about it," Galinda promised and Elphaba smiled at her.

"Thanks, Glin."

The blonde's face brightened. "Glin," she echoed, smiling widely. "That's a nice nickname, Elphie. You're getting better at these things! So I can call you Elphie, and you can call me Glin… what shall we call Fiyero?"

He spluttered. "How about you just call me 'Fiyero'?" he suggested quickly, but Galinda was giggling behind her hand now, eyes dancing mischievously.

"I think 'Fifi' suits him."

Elphaba nearly choked on her drink and Fiyero groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Fifi, Glin, and Elphie," Galinda sang out, clapping her hands. "Perfect. Now, if you two will excuse me – there's a really handsome man over there and I'm going to try and get his attention." With that, she rose to her feet and started making her way over to the man, swaying her hips and tossing her blonde curls over her shoulder as she went.

Elphaba was grinning and Fiyero still had his face buried in his hands.

"Where does that girl come from?!" he demanded. "I'm pretty sure I've never met anyone like her in my entire life."

Elphaba laughed. "Me, neither. But then again," she said, pretending to toss her hair in imitation of Galinda, "she is Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands. I think she would be highly offended if anyone was like her."

Fiyero laughed, too. "True."

"So," Elphaba began, that same mischievous twinkle in her eyes Galinda had had only moments before. "Fifi?"

"No," he said pleadingly, wildly shaking his head. "Please don't."

"Such nice weather we had today – don't you think so, Fifi?"

"Elphaba, please?"

"What's the matter, Fifi?" she chortled and he cast his eyes heavenwards.

"Please have mercy on me," he begged, though he was begging Elphaba or some higher power above, the green girl wasn't sure.

"Mercy, Fifi? Let me think about that." She tilted her head a little to the side and thoughtfully tapped her cheek with her index finger. "No."

Fiyero grunted. "Fine, then. You asked for it… Elphie."

Now it was her turn to flush and he grinned wickedly at her. "What? You don't like that nickname?"

"Fine, fine, point taken," she said, grinning back at him.

"You could give me a nickname of your own," he suggested, at which she arched an eyebrow.

"Really? Why?" she wanted to know. "What's wrong with your name?"

"You have nicknames," he pointed out and she made a face.

"Well, I didn't exactly ask Galinda to start calling me 'Elphie'," she muttered. "She just wouldn't stop. And as for Nessa… she's been calling me 'Fabala' ever since we were small. I'm a grown woman now, Fiyero. I don't need a nickname."

"Hasn't Avaric given you one?"

She rolled her eyes. "Does Avaric look like the type of person who calls people by nicknames?" she asked sarcastically. "It's special for him to even call me just 'Elphaba', without an honorific. He usually sticks with 'Miss Elphaba'. Or 'darling'," she added as an afterthought, "which I hate even more, because he always says it like he's calling his dog."

Fiyero looked at her in horror. "But he's your fiancé!"

"It's not like either of us really loves the other," she said, but she wouldn't say anything else on the subject. She didn't want to talk about Avaric. Once they'd arrive in Gillikin, she would have to spend the rest of her life with him – she wanted to enjoy as much Avaric-free time as she could until then.

Fiyero seemed to understand that, because he changed the subject. "It's not true, by the way. What you said about the weather."

She looked at him quizzically and he elaborated, "You said 'such nice weather we had today'. We didn't. It was cold."

She laughed. "We're still near Munchkinland – it's always cold there," she said. "I like the cold."

He made a face. "Really?" He pretended to shudder and took a sip from his drink. "You won't like the Vinkus, then. It's almost always warm there," he said.

"Isn't it really hot there now?"

He nodded. "Which is why I really hated having to spend half of my summer in Munchkinland with my aunt and uncle," he said. "Not because I don't like my aunt and uncle – they're great – but because it was cold in Munchkinland."

"Well, it will be warm again in Gillikin," she pointed out to him with a small grin and he sighed dramatically.

"Why can't all provinces of Oz just be equally hot or cold?" he demanded of no-one in particular.

Elphaba was stifling laughter. "Because that's not how it works, Fiyero."

"I know," he grumbled.

She raised an eyebrow.

"It just doesn't make sense to me," he declared. "It would be much more logical for the weather patterns to be the same everywhere." He folded his arms and leant back in his chair, looking like a stubborn child.

"You know what?"

He looked at her. "What?"

"You really are a spoilt prince," she said. The fond tone of her voice, though, as well as the smile playing around her lips, softened the sting of her words. He'd usually get mad whenever someone said such things about him; but from her lips, it almost sounded like a compliment.

"Elphaba!" Frexspar Thropp, who had walked up to them and overheard his daughter's last statement, chided her. He looked mortified. "You cannot say such things to people – especially not to royalty! Have you completely lost your mind?"

"It's alright, Governor Thropp," Fiyero interjected, smiling reassuringly at the older man. "Don't worry – your daughter has not been behaving inappropriately at all. I was just being obnoxious."

Frex was frowning, but didn't press the issue. "Elphaba," he addressed the green girl, "I just came to say that Nessarose and I will be retreating to our rooms now – your sister is rather tired. Avaric is staying here, but we will see you two again in the morning."

She nodded. "Okay."

He nodded, too. "Behave."

"I will." She watched him leave and she gave a small wave when Nessarose looked over her shoulder. The younger girl waved back and then they disappeared from the room.

Elphaba turned back to face Fiyero. "I'm glad you don't think I have been behaving inappropriately," she said sarcastically, at which he chuckled.

"Well, I do consider the fact that you refuse to give me a nickname a bit rude," he teased her and she sighed, casting her eyes heavenwards.

"Alright then, Fifi."

He cringed. "Not that one," he admonished her. "You need to come up with one of your own."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, Yero."

He grinned happily at her. "There you go. I like that one," he said. "My parents used it, too… until I started driving them crazy to the point where the only name they ever called me by anymore was "Fiyero Hamold Tiggular!"." He made a face, but she could tell that he was a little ashamed.

"You were young," she said. "You were just trying to run away from your responsibilities."

He sighed. "I still am. I just… wish I could make my parents understand how hard it is for me," he said, lowering his eyes. "At the time, I felt like the only way to show them was to act out… and by the time I realised I was wrong, they didn't really take me seriously anymore. I don't think they even know how I feel about all this, and I don't know how to tell them…"

Elphaba thought about that for a few moments. She felt bad for Fiyero – she knew what it was like to have a family that didn't really listen to you… but Fiyero's parents sounded reasonable enough to understand if he'd just talk to them. "Maybe you can write it down," she suggested, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Send it to them in a letter. I always find that when it's hard for me to say something, writing it down can help. That way, you can really think about everything you want to say, and make it as clear as possible for them to understand."

Fiyero looked at her in mild amazement. "You know what?" he said. "That's a really good idea. You're brilliant, did you know that?"

She smiled self-consciously and he put his hand over hers and squeezed softly. "Thanks, Fae."

Both her eyebrows shot up. "Fae?" she echoed curiously and he grinned at her.

"That's my nickname for you," he declared, leaning back in his chair.

"Why?" she wanted to know, amused. "It doesn't sound anything like my name. I thought you'd come up with 'El', or something."

He shook his head. "Everyone is going to call you 'El'," he said. "All your friends and whoever else you meet that is going to give you a nickname. I want a nickname that no-one else is ever going to call you by, and 'Fae' seems to suit you, somehow. So 'Fae' it is."

"Alright then." She smiled. "It's better than 'Elphie', at least," she said with a chuckle. "But then again," she added, "pretty much any nickname is."

"So you approve, then?" Fiyero asked hopefully and she laughed at his enthusiastic face.

"Yes," she said. "I approve."

He smiled. "Good."

Virtual kruidnoten for the ones who can guess my own favourite line from this chapter :).