AN: This AN was supposed to be a happy one, about the film premiere and about Musicals in Concert... and that will come - later. For now, however, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my neighbour, who passed away of cancer last night.

He was one of the kindest and warmest men I have ever known and we will all miss him very much. Ad, thank you for everything - the books you let me borrow, the conversations, the dishes you made and brought over to let me taste... RIP. 3

8. Love Can Touch Us One Time

When Fiyero approached the bow of the ship and saw her standing there, he couldn't help but smile. She looked beautiful in a simple black dress, with her hair in a braid and ballerina flats on her feet. Like this, without the expensive fabrics, high heels, and shiny jewellery she usually wore, she looked more natural, somehow. Like she was more in her element like this than she had ever been in a corset and with her hair pinned up.

Not wanting to startle her, he called out to her. "Enjoying the view?"

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "It's not by far as beautiful as it was the other night," she said, clearly regretting that fact, but Fiyero just chuckled as he moved closer to her.

"I'm glad you had fun," he said. "I did, too."

He joined her at the railing and she hesitated only briefly before she rested her head on his shoulder. His heart soared, but he didn't dare let it show.

"So what have you been up to?" he asked casually. "I haven't seen you in a few days."

She shrugged. "Spent time with Galinda and Nessa," she said. "Sat there and looked pretty while everyone else around me was having 'sophisticated' fun. Avaric took me to the theatre one night – did you know they even have a theatre on this ship? I didn't, but Avaric showed me. I think he was just trying to placate me into being his obedient little pet, but I didn't really care – the theatre is one of the very few forms of high-class entertainment I actually enjoy. The play we saw was lovely… I just wish I could have seen it with you instead. Or with Galinda," she added as an afterthought, a slight blush creeping up into her cheeks. "Or with anyone who is not Avaric, really."

"Well…" He hesitated, unsure of whether he could suggest this or not; but then he blurted out, "If you could get away from Avaric one night, maybe I could take you again. To the theatre, I mean."

She grinned at him. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said, grinning back.

She smirked. "And how are you going to pay for that?"

"I…" He faltered, realising she had a point. He didn't have any money – by far not enough to pay two tickets for the theatre on a luxurious cruise ship, that was for sure.

Elphaba chortled. "Oh, Yero, it was very sweet of you to suggest that… and I'd love to," she said sincerely. "But I can't. Avaric hardly ever lets me out of his sight."

Fiyero's face fell and he sighed, leaning his elbows on the railing and huffing like a spoilt child. "It's not fair."

She smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Life never is, Fiyero."

She looked around, her demeanour a bit skittish. "I should go. I'm sorry – I can't really let myself be seen here anymore," she said, sighing. She pulled the ribbon from her hair and started pulling it loose from the braid, running her fingers through it. "My father doesn't think it's proper for an upper-class young lady to be seen on the second-class deck." She rolled her eyes.

Fiyero snorted. "Oh, please."

"I know." She sighed again. "But he'll be furious if he catches me here again."

"Come on, then." Fiyero took her hand and tugged at it. "Let's get out of here."

She turned large, questioning eyes on him and he pulled her with him across the deck and back inside, through some hallways and into a common room. It was empty at the moment and Fiyero turned to face her.

"There," he said. "At least now we can talk freely without having to worry about anyone seeing us."

She looked up at him, biting her lip. She seemed a bit hesitant and he was just about to ask her what was going on when she suddenly stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.

He was so startled he didn't even respond at first; but then he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, kissing her back. It was a soft and relatively light kiss and it didn't last very long, but Fiyero felt dizzy and giddy when he finally pulled away.

Elphaba was biting her lip again, looking down. "I'm sorry."

He let out an incredulous laugh. "Are you serious? Fae," he tilted her chin up so that she would meet his eyes, "you have nothing to be sorry for."

A hesitant smile spread across her face and she nodded, blushing a little. "Okay." Then her face darkened and she pushed her fingers through her hair again. "Oz, what am I even doing? I can't… I mean, we can't… if Avaric ever finds out, or my father –"

"Hey, hey, hey." He cupped her face, making her look at him again.

"It's okay," he told her. "No-one saw us – there's no-one here. And I understand you can't do this. You're engaged. It doesn't have to happen again."

She looked up at him through her eyelashes. "What if I want it to happen again?"

He swore his heart skipped a beat. "What?"

"Never mind." She looked away, but he caught her chin again to bring her back to him and he kissed her again, a little firmer than before. She responded immediately, slipping her arms around his neck as they kissed.

"We shouldn't," she breathed at some point when they broke apart to breathe. His forehead was resting against hers, one hand on her back and the other tangled in her hair. He could feel her breath on his lips when she spoke.

He started to pull away. "If you want to stop –"

"No," she cut him off, kissing him again.

"But –"

"Stop talking."

He pushed her away gently, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "Fae," he said. "I don't want to get you into trouble."

She pushed her fingers through her hair in a frustrated gesture. "I'm getting myself into trouble, regardless of what I do!" she burst out. "I feel like a child, constantly being supervised by Avaric and by Father! I don't even want to think about this now, Fiyero. I like you. A lot. This is the first time in my life I'm kissing someone because I actually want to." She looked up at him. "There's no-one here to see us," she said. "I mean… I know nothing can happen, and… and whatever this is can't last… but can we please just not talk about that right now?"

"Okay," he whispered, lowering his face to hers again. This kiss was fiery, passionate; he gently pushed her against a wall and she laid her hands flat against his chest, losing herself in this feeling of being in his arms with his lips on hers and his scent enveloping her.

It seemed to last forever and at the same time it seemed only moments later that they broke apart again. She lowered her gaze, staring at one of the buttons on his shirt. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"I have to go back," she whispered after a while. "Avaric is probably going to start looking for me soon."

Fiyero nodded, but he didn't let go of her. Instead he leant down to kiss her once more.

She closed her eyes and let him. She never wanted to stop kissing him… but if she didn't go soon, she might never get to do it again.

She tore herself away from him and took a deep breath. "I have to go." She gently drew away from him until he finally let go of her. He was watching her with a sad look on his face that she could hardly bear. She knew how he felt, too. What she wouldn't give to stay here with him, rather than go back to Avaric and her family…

"He is out for lunch tomorrow with a few businessmen," she said in an impulse. "They're going to the finest restaurant on board. They'll probably stay there for a few hours, at least." She bit her lip. "I promised Father and Nessa that I would have lunch with them, but I'll think of something." She looked up at him, silently asking him to agree – which he did, of course. His eyes lit up.

"Are you sure?" he asked, worried.

She nodded. "I'll meet you here at one o'clock," she said.

He cupped her face and kissed her gently one last time, squeezing her hand.

Then she turned and left in a hurry.

"Elphaba?" Frexspar called, knocking on the door. "Are you ready? Don't keep us waiting!"

She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. There were dark circles under her eyes – thanks to a bit of dark eye shadow. She looked tired, which wasn't even intentional, but she hadn't slept well ever since she had first set foot on this ship and was forced to share her rooms with Avaric. Despite the fact that he was a gentleman and would probably never make a move at her until their wedding night, she was still afraid, somehow, to find him hovering over her at night, which affected the amount of rest she got each night.

She opened the door and tried to make her voice sound hoarse. "I'm sorry, Father," she said, blinking up at him. "I don't think I should join you and Nessa for lunch today. I haven't been feeling well all morning."

Frex frowned and placed a hand against her forehead. "Do you have a fever?" he demanded.

She shrugged listlessly and he glanced over his shoulder at his youngest daughter.

"Don't come closer, Nessa," he warned. "You don't want to get sick as well." He looked at Elphaba again. "Well then, I don't suppose there is much use in taking the risk of you infecting us. Get some rest, Elphaba – you look horrible." With that, he walked away.

Elphaba closed the door behind him and immediately went into the bathroom to wash the eye shadow from her face. She re-applied some make-up – something her father always insisted on, since she was supposed to be a lady – and ran a hairbrush through her tangled raven tresses before slipping out of the room and into the hallway.

When she turned the corner, however, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Galinda, who was leaning against the wall, arched an eyebrow. "Going somewhere?"

Elphaba spluttered something unintelligible and the blonde giggled. "Oh, Elphie. I knew you weren't sick, I just knew it. When I met your father and Nessa in the hallway and they told me you weren't feeling well, I suspected something." She tilted her head a little to the side, blonde curls tumbling over her shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"To… get some aspirin?" Elphaba tried, but Galinda just giggled again.

"You're going to see Fiyero." She watched smugly as Elphaba's eyes widened. "Aren't you? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she said immediately upon seeing the panicked look on her friend's face. "I have a keen eye for these things, you know. I figured this would happen from the moment I first saw you two dance."

She came closer and squeezed Elphaba's arm. "Be careful, Elphie," she warned her. "If your father finds out, or Avaric…"

"I know," Elphaba whispered, looking down. She shook her head. "Oz, I should not be doing this…"

"Did you two kiss?"

The green girl bit her lip. "Yes."

Galinda squealed. "Was it any good?"

Elphaba buried her face in her hands to hide her fierce blush. "Yes."

"Oh, Elphie!" The blonde girl threw her arms around her friend in a hug. "I'm really happy for you that you get to experience this before you marry Avaric," she told Elphaba. "Just… please be careful, okay? He is still your fiancé. You won't be able to get out of marrying him. You know that, right?" Without waiting for a reply, she rambled on, "Well, I'll be in my room if you need me. If anything happens, I'll try to cover for you, okay?" With that, she bounded down the hallway.

Elphaba, however, had stilled completely.

Because Galinda was right. What was she even thinking? She wasn't going to be able to get out of marrying Avaric. Never in her entire life. No matter what this thing was that she felt for Fiyero, she had to push it away. It would only end up hurting her – in more than one way if Avaric ever found out, that much was for sure.

She pushed herself away from the wall and took a deep breath. She was going to have to tell Fiyero they could not see one another again.