To quote Dorothy Gale in the novel 'Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'..."Oh, will this nightmare never end!" [or something to that effect]. That's what I feel like with this story at the moment, because there are still a few places I want to take it...But I've run out of villains, and I'm afraid of dragging it on too long. What do you think? Round it up soon, or keep it going? I only have two weeks of summer holiday left, so...Yeah. :) I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this one. It just...happened!

Review? :D

"When can we tell them?" Fiyero whined, pulling random books from their places on the shelves. Elphaba didn't turn.

"Tell who what?" she replied distantly, admiring the little vase of poppies that stood on the table by her right hand. Fiyero groaned impatiently.

"Tell everyone that we're together!" cried the young man, wrapping his long arms around Elphaba's enviably slim waist from behind. She laughed dryly.

"Yero, Rilt died three days ago. Glinda's parents haven't even arrived to escort his body home yet. I'm supposed to be in mourning. Think what people would say about me!"

"But-" Elphaba turned in Fiyero's arms and pressed one long finger to his lips. He frowned, like a child who had just been scolded.

"We have to keep our secret for a bit longer, darling. Quite a while longer, I should imagine." she smiled gently, and her companion kissed the tip of her finger before drawing his face away.

"But I don't want to wait! I want to tell everyone how much I love you! I want to be able to kiss you in public, I want to be able to hold your hand, and I want to be with you at night and I want to marry you and I want you to have my children-" Fiyero pleaded, until Elphaba's eyebrows shot up.

"Slow down, Yero!" she gasped, feeling her face flushing. She turned away, unsure of how to react.

The young man bit his lip in worry, realising he may have jumped the gun a little. As had become the norm when he was with Elphaba, he forgot to hold in his feelings, and he simply let everything out.

"I'm sorry, Fae…I didn't mean to put pressure on you." he murmured apologetically, taking her in his arms again. Elphaba looked up at him, a tight smile appearing on her features.

She stared at him for a moment, then spoke, "Did you really mean all of that?"

"Of course I meant it, silly." Fiyero replied, venturing a tiny smile. The girl tapped her fingers on his shoulders, swaying back and forth to a rhythm in her head. She furrowed her brow, evidently deep in thought. The young man suddenly had the irrational fear that she was going to tell him where to go, so intense was her expression. There was a slightly pained look about the creases around her mouth, and yet a new softness to her eyes.

Elphaba stayed quiet for a good few minutes, overseeing the battle between her head and her heart. In all honesty, she had thrilled to hear Fiyero say everything that she would have once deemed 'sentimental nonsense', but a part of her suddenly felt like she had been thrown into deep water without warning, and the current was pulling her under.

That was what her head was thinking, anyway.

Her heart, on the other hand, knew she felt the exact same way, even though to hear it verbalised was daunting. Thanks to some strange turn of events, she even felt the same about the children…One day, at least.

Fiyero's heartbeat quickened as he waited, truly afraid that she was going to bolt away from him. But she didn't.

"You know something?" she said, the softness in her dark eyes almost completely easing his fear.

"What?" His voice was hoarse, nervous.

"You're possibly the most over-sentimental fool I have ever met," she laughed, "And I think that I feel the same way that you do. About everything. I love you." He kissed her then, pushing her back against the shelves of the bookcase.

Elphaba quickly noticed that Fiyero had never kissed her like that before…There was something almost carnal in the way his lips caressed hers, and she was rather enjoying it.

"You've been holding out on me…" she sniggered, pulling back and resting her head on a shelf filled with books on plant life. Fiyero offered no reply other than a low grunt in the back of his throat, before bringing his mouth forcefully back upon hers.

Elphaba melted against him, her frame moulding effortlessly against his. She reached out her hand towards the table and slid onto it, sending the vase of poppies crashing to the floor. Neither of them took any notice, and Fiyero was glad that Elphaba had shifted her position. Stooping down all the time was a little difficult, and with an extra few inches thanks to the table, the activity was much easier to pursue.

Their actions became more vigorous, and they let their hands roam for the first time. So taken up were the young couple in their lusty explorations, neither of them heard the door creak open.

"You couldn't even wait until he was in his grave!" Glinda shrieked in horror, her emerald eyes wide at the sight before her. Elphaba's head spun at the familiar voice, and Fiyero's hands dropped abruptly from their station at her hips. The blonde let angry tears flow unhindered down her aristocratically pale cheeks while advancing towards her friend.

"Glinda! What in the name of Oz are you doing here?" Elphaba stuttered, her eyes wide and her hair bedraggled.

"What am I doing here? What am I doing here? I'm here with my parents to collect the body of my grandfather: your husband, who died three days ago!" she shrilled, balling her hands into fists. "The King said you might be up here, because it was your favourite room in the castle, and Fiyero had given it to you as a way to 'cement your friendship'. Friendship my big toe! How long has this been going on? Were you doing this before the wedding? I wouldn't put it past you. I should have know that you were nothing more than a sly little-"

"Miss Glinda, do you mind if I-" Fiyero tried to cut in, but Glinda silenced him, her face now glowing crimson with rage.

"Oh yeah, Tiggy, I mind!" she snapped, flapping her hands at him to shut him up. "I thought you were my friend! I felt sorry for you! Couldn't you even have waited a month? A week?" Glinda dissolved further into distraught sobs, hugging herself for comfort.

Elphaba struggled to remain silent, but knew any protests she could make would be useless. In an attempt to comfort her friend, she reached out a hand and laid it on Glinda's arm. The blonde stiffened, then shook her off.

"I don't want your comfort!" she croaked quietly, turning on her heel and marching purposefully from the room.

Fiyero felt his heart drop. "She's going to tell, isn't she?"

Whoooops. How did Glinda get there?

Hehehehe.