Author's Note: It seems I'm killing off all my readers with all the fluff going on! Oh, dear. Well, we can't have that. Maybe I should just lay off the fluff. Afterall, we don't want anyone else spontaneously combusting like Thedoctor24601 did. ...Wait, I've already written the entire story. Sorry, but I'm afraid you'll have to suffer through some more fluff yet. Not quite as much in this chapter, though.

CHAPTER 11:

The next morning, Elphaba awoke at dawn. Turning over, she came face-to-face with Fiyero and she smiled as Fiyero's arm around her tightened in protest against her movement. "Fiyero?" she whispered.

Fiyero pulled her closer still. "Mmm…"

"Fiyero," Elphaba repeated, a bit louder this time. She touched his cheek. "Fiyero, we have to get up."

"Says who?" mumbled Fiyero sleepily.

"Says me. We have to be there at eight o'clock to start at nine."

"To start what at nine?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "We're manning the information stand today," she reminded him. "I told you that last night."

Fiyero frowned, his eyes still shut. "You did? When?"

The green girl sighed. "I just said, last n-"

"I mean, when last night?" Fiyero clarified.

"After we went to bed…"

"Before or after I fell asleep?"

"I would hardly tell you something after you fell asleep if I expected you to actually remember it, would I?" Elphaba pointed out. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you were still awake when I fell asleep – the last thing I remember is you nuzzling my hair and telling me that you like sleeping with me in your arms and you wish you could do that every night." She blushed at the memory.

"Hmmm…that sounds about right," Fiyero murmured, turning his head to nuzzle Elphaba's hair as he had the night before. "I can't think of a more perfect way to start and end each day."

Elphaba scoffed. "Now you're just being cheesy."

Fiyero grinned at her, finally opening his eyes. "Cheesy but truthful." He kissed her lightly. "Now, let's start over, shall we? Good morning, Elphaba. My, you look beautiful this morning. Did you sleep well?"

Elphaba laughed. "Fine," she relented. "Good morning, Fiyero. Yes, I slept very well indeed; thankyou for asking. How did you sleep?" she teased, playing along.

"Indescribably well."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "That well, huh? And why is that?"

"Because," Fiyero stressed, tangling his legs with hers, "I had you in my arms."

"Is that going to be your new answer for everything?"

"Yep."

"I can hear it now: 'Why are you so happy?' 'Because I had you in my arms.' 'Why are you angry?' 'Because I had you in my arms.' 'Why are you sad?' 'Because I had you in my arms.'"

"Well, maybe not quite –"

"'Why are you going to the supermarket?' 'Because I had you in my arms.' 'What's your name?' 'Because I had you in my arms.'"

"Okay, I get the –"

But Elphaba was on a roll now and had no intention of stopping. "'Would you like some milk?' 'Because I had you in my arms.' 'What does that sign say?' 'Because I had you in my arms.'"

"Alright, that's enough out of you," Fiyero growled playfully, pinning Elphaba beneath him.

"I haven't finished yet," Elphaba protested cheekily.

"Oh, yes, you have." And with that, Fiyero leant down and pressed his lips to hers – hard. After a few long moments, he pulled back, and both were breathing heavily. Fiyero brushed a stray strand of hair away from Elphaba's face. "I rather like that way of shutting you up," he teased her gently.

"Maybe I should talk more, then," Elphaba teased back without thinking. When she realized what she had said, she flushed in embarrassment, but Fiyero grinned at her. "Anyway," Elphaba said, "we should really get up now. It's getting late."

Fiyero groaned. "Aw, do we have to?" he whined.

"Yes." Elphaba pushed him off her and sat up.

Fiyero huffed good-naturedly. "Well, that was unceremonious," he said in a jokingly-sarcastic tone.

Elphaba cradled his cheek and kissed him lightly. "Oh, Yero."

Fiyero sat up and looked at her. "What did you call me?"

Elphaba frowned. "What do you mean? I called you 'Fiyero', didn't I?"

"No," Fiyero told her, a broad grin spreading across his face. "You called me 'Yero'."

"Did I? I didn't notice. I'm sorry. Must have just slipped out."

"Don't apologize. I rather liked it."

"You did?"

Fiyero nodded. "And the way you said it…it almost gave me shivers. Can you call me 'Yero' from now on?"

Elphaba hesitated for a moment. "Well…maybe just until the end of the trip. Okay?"

"Okay."

"But only if you get up now."

Fiyero heaved a sigh. "Fine, I'm getting up."

"Is it always this hard to get you up of a morning?" Elphaba asked, her eyes shining in amusement.

"No, it's usually a lot harder."

Elphaba laughed. "So why is it suddenly so 'easy' to get you up?"

"It probably has something to do with wanting to make the most of our time together."

"Yes, well, I'm afraid I have to return to my own room now."

"Aw, why?" Fiyero pouted.

"Because I have to get ready," Elphaba replied in exasperation.

"Get ready in here."

Elphaba quirked an eyebrow at him as she stared at him in disbelief. "Are you really that thick or are you just doing a really good impression?"

"What I meant was, you can bring your stuff in here and get ready…can't you?"

"Fiyero…"

"Fine, go and get ready in your room."

"No need to be like that," Elphaba scolded him.

"Be like what?"

"All sulky and petulant. It doesn't become you."

Fiyero sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Look, I promise I'll be quick, alright?"

"Alright," Fiyero agreed with a nod.

True to her word, Elphaba spent no more than ten minutes getting ready and was soon back in Fiyero's room, sitting on the bed, plaiting her hair while Fiyero shaved.

"You know," Fiyero mused, "I could get used to this."

Elphaba paused in her plaiting to look at Fiyero. "Get used to what, exactly?"

Fiyero came over to stand in the doorway and gestured between them. "This. Us. Just doing…you know…normal, everyday things together. Getting ready to go out. It just feels so…I don't know…natural, somehow."

Elphaba was looking at him with an odd expression on her face.

"What?"

The green girl shook her head. "You're loony."

"I'm serious!"

"This is sounding scarily like you're about to propose marriage – which is really crazy, given we've really only just realized that we don't actually hate each other," Elphaba said drily.

Fiyero smirked. "Don't tempt me."

Elphaba threw her hairbrush at him, which Fiyero dodged by ducking back into the bathroom. "It wouldn't be a smart move," she warned him.

She heard him sigh. "I suppose not. Shame. I don't want that kid beating me to it."

"Yero, no-one's ever going to marry me. And that's a fact."

"Sure they will. I just hope no-one beats me to it. Least of all that cute kid. That would mean I left it for way too long."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "As I said, you're loony."

Fiyero shrugged, before setting down his razor and leaning over the basin to wash the soap off his face. "Think what you want; you will, anyway."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "You can't come up with an original line, so you have to steal one of mine? That's scraping the bottom of the barrel."

Fiyero shrugged but didn't comment as he began to brush his teeth. "Anyway, I thought you were going to wear your hair out today?"

"I was?" Elphaba blinked at him innocently.

Fiyero threw her a look over his shoulder.

Elphaba sighed and began to unplait her hair. "Fine, unplaiting hair."

"Thankyou," Fiyero said happily as he finished brushing his teeth. "Could you bring me my clothes, please?"

"Get them yourself."

"Elphaba…"

"Come on," Elphaba teased, "show me you're not entirely useless."

"Hey!" Fiyero protested, glaring at her in the mirror. "I'm not useless at all, thankyou very much!"

Elphaba smirked. "Prove it."

Fiyero whirled around and, in an instant, was pinning her to the bed. "I am not useless," he told her firmly.

"Now you've got that out of your system, could you let me get up, please? I really don't want to have to make myself presentable again before we leave."

With a grunt, Fiyero released her, and Elphaba sat up.

"And while you're here," Elphaba continued nonchalantly, "you can get your clothes yourself."

Fiyero stared at her for a moment, open-mouthed. Finally, he shook his head. "Oz, I can't believe I fell for that."

Elphaba smirked. "I can't believe how easy it was to get you to fall for that!"

Fiyero reached over to grab his uniform and sauntered haughtily into the bathroom with a sniff.

"Get over it, Tiggular!"

Fiyero turned around and poked his tongue out at her, and then shut the bathroom door.

Elphaba chuckled and shook her head, then decided to entertain herself by reading some of the brochures they would be handing out at the exhibition.

When Fiyero emerged fully-dressed, Elphaba gave a soft smile, which Fiyero returned in slightly more puzzled form. "What?"

Elphaba shook her head. "Nothing. It's just…when you actually put effort into making yourself look presentable, you really do carry off that uniform rather well."

Fiyero glanced down at himself self-consciously. "You really think so?"

Elphaba blushed but nodded, biting her lip. "Mmm-hmmm."

"I always thought I looked rather…I don't know…clown-like, I guess, in this uniform."

Elphaba was shocked. "How could you think that? I'm the one who looks like a clown – in anything. I'm sure you could wear whatever you wanted and still look gor-" Elphaba cut herself off, her eyes widening as she realized what she had been about to say.

Fiyero looked at her curiously. "I would still look what?"

Elphaba hesitated, averting her gaze, before whispering, "Gorgeous."

A slow smile spread over Fiyero's face, his eyes lighting up. "You really think that?"

Elphaba nodded shyly.

Fiyero crossed the room and kissed her firmly. "Thankyou. And you're not a clown. You're beautiful."

"There's not need to lie to me, you know."

"It's not lying," Fiyero insisted, kneeling in front of her and cupping her cheek. "It's…looking at things another way." He kissed again, slowly and sweetly this time.

Elphaba felt tears stinging her eyes at that, and when Fiyero pulled away, the green girl choked back a sob.

Immediately, Fiyero looked concerned. "Elphaba, what is it? Did I say something wrong?"

Elphaba shook her head. "No-one has ever called me beautiful before. No-one except for Galinda."

A look of pure shock plastered itself across Fiyero's face. "What about Nessa? She's your sister; hasn't she told you that you're beautiful before?"

"No, not even Nessa has said that."

"I can't believe that," Fiyero said incredulously.

Elphaba shrugged. "It's just how things are. I'm not beautiful. How could I be? I'm green."

"You are beautiful," Fiyero told her firmly.

Elphaba scoffed. "I don't know how you can see me like that."

"Because it's true," Fiyero said simply.

A single tear slid down Elphaba's cheek, and Fiyero took off her glasses and quickly kissed the tear away.

"Please don't cry," he begged.

"I'm not," Elphaba protested, prompting Fiyero to laugh softly and kiss her again.

After a few moments, Fiyero murmured, "We should probably get going."

Elphaba nodded as she composed herself.

"Do you want breakfast?"

"I'll probably regret it later, but no, thanks. You can get something, though."

Fiyero shook his head. "I might just have a coffee on the way."

"Okay." Elphaba gave one last sniffle before standing and grabbing her bag.

Fiyero stood as well and replaced Elphaba's glasses on her nose, then pecked said nose lightly. "Come on, beautiful. Let's go and show you off at this exhibition."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "You make it sound like I'm going to be parading around in the nude."

"Well, I wouldn't have any issue –" He broke off with a cough when Elphaba narrowed her eyes at him. "I mean, I wouldn't have any thought of that…"

Elphaba raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, you know what? Let's just go."

"Probably a good idea," Elphaba agreed drily.

They arrived with time to spare, and Fiyero nicked next door to get himself a cup of coffee. By the time he got back, Elphaba had their designated area completely organized and she was sitting up straight, looking completely calm. Fiyero didn't have to be an absolute genius, however, to realize that was not the case. He could see how tense she was. She always sat straight-backed, but Fiyero thought that at that moment, she looked more like a ramrod.

"It'll be fine," Fiyero told Elphaba soothingly, pulling up a chair beside her and sitting down.

"Huh?"

"Today. It will be fine."

"Oh. Yes, of course it will. I'm not worried."

Fiyero gave her a pointed look. "Yes, you are. I can see it in your eyes and in your posture." He reached over and took her hand. "Come on, everything is going to be fine. You'll be brilliant."

Elphaba rolled her eyes with an impatient sigh and pulled her hand from Fiyero's grasp. "Oh, shut up and drink your coffee."

"Hey, I was just trying to be reassuring."

Elphaba immediately softened. "I know. Thanks."

The two sat in silence for some time until nine o'clock rolled around and the doors were opened to the public. Immediately, Elphaba was on her feet, a bunch of pamphlets in her hand, ready to be given out.

"So what do we do?" Fiyero asked, slowly standing.

Elphaba turned to him in exasperation. "Really, Fiyero? You couldn't have asked me that half an hour ago when we were sitting there doing nothing?"

Fiyero had the good grace to look sheepish. "…Oops?"

"Here." Elphaba shoved another pile of pamphlets into Fiyero's hands. "Just do what you do best: stand there and look pretty. If anyone asks you a question, pass it over to me."

Fiyero quirked an eyebrow. "You really think that's what I do best?"

Elphaba blushed. "You know what I mean."

"You don't think my real talent is kissing?"

Elphaba ducked her head. "Oh, look, someone's coming over here. Hello, how are you today?"

Fiyero watched on in silence as Elphaba spoke to the teenage boy and his parents. He marvelled at the professional manner in which she conducted herself and handled the situation, answering their questions without "um"-ing and "ah"-ing over everything.

"I am officially in awe," Fiyero commented once the people had moved on.

Elphaba shot him a sidelong glance. "In awe of what, exactly?"

"Of you. You can be really good with people when you want to be, you know."

Elphaba snorted. "When they allow me to be, more like," she retorted and Fiyero cringed.

A few more people came by, including a couple of groups of giggling girls who had recognized Fiyero and come over purely to flirt with him. They were obviously competing with each other to see who could get the furthest with him, much to Elphaba's amusement and…was that envy she felt? Fiyero tried his best to be polite without flirting, but none of the girls seemed to notice his surprising lack of interest in them, instead taking every little gesture as encouragement.

Apart from those few episodes, Fiyero had to admit it wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be, but that thought was quickly pushed aside when yet another group of girls came up, this time staring at Elphaba. Fiyero noticed Elphaba stiffen immediately, and then one of the girls spoke.

"Well, look who it is! It's the Artichoke, right here in the Emerald City! How fitting!"

Fiyero stiffened as well.

"Who is she?" another girl asked in a mixed tone of horror and awe, and the first girl turned to smirk at her.

"She's the freak daughter of the Governor of Munchkinland. Only he's so ashamed of her, he doesn't want anyone to know she exists. Isn't that right, Freak?"

"So how do you know she exists?" a third girl asked.

"My mother told me all about it. What a shock it was when she was born." The girl's tone was mocking, and Fiyero felt his blood beginning to boil.

"Alright, that's enough," he said loudly.

The group of girls noticed Fiyero for the first time, and the first girl clucked at him sympathetically. "You're Prince Fiyero, aren't you? Oz, I feel so sorry for you, being stuck here with her."

Fiyero's outrage was increasing with every word that left the girl's lips and his eyes narrowed at her dangerously. "She," he said through gritted teeth, "is my girlfriend."