Sorry I haven't updated for a few days; I was waiting for my Higher exam results. Highers are the Scottish equivilent of A levels and...whatever exams you take between the ages of 17-18 in other parts of the world. I passed them all! I got As in Music, English and Drama, and I got a B in Dance. Epically proud of myself!
And in regard to this chapter...Sorry if it seems things are moving too fast. I simply cannot bear to keep the dream couple apart for more than a chapter or two.
Sorry about any errors in this chapter, by the way!
Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Elphaba leaned lazily on the wrought iron balcony, feeling goosebumps rise on her bare arms. The night was bitter and the sky was clear, bathing the gravel driveway in pale moonlight. She liked the night; she always felt a little better when the darkness came. It meant that another day was over, twenty four hours that she no longer had to worry about.
Out of the corner of her eye, Elphaba saw something move. Her analytical mind, though somewhat dulled by liberal amounts of intoxicating substances, immediately dismissed it as a fox or a cat or some other harmless little animal. She sighed and wound the strand of cobalt ribbon around her finger, the letters it had once bound now lying at the bottom of a drawer somewhere. She had often contemplated throwing both the letters and the ribbon away, but she never did.
The shadow to her right moved again, and this time the young woman looked towards it. It was unmistakably human, though it staggered from left to right, occasionally stopping gaze around. To her rational brain, the build was male: slim, but muscular. Far too tall to be from Munchkinland, not thickset enough to be Quadling. The moonlight caught the man's hair, and it illuminated a rich, dark brown. Gillikinese people were mostly blonde.
Elphaba's stomach lurched uncomfortably as the figure crept closer, and she took in his obviously impressive height. He was Vinkun. The girl crossed the balcony to look down at him, and the man stopped, raising his face to stare back at her. A cry of disbelief briefly escaped her lips when her eyes took in the beautifully familiar features.
"Yero?" she whispered, bending down and gazing through the bars for a closer look. The young man grinned at the nickname, a thrill of happiness coursing down his spine.
"Hello, Fae,"
"What are you doing here?" Elphaba hissed, fighting the urge to leap over the balcony and into his arms, just to touch him. To make sure he was real, and she wasn't just experiencing another cruel dream.
"Um…I think I've just come from a party over at…eh…over…there…" Fiyero replied lamely, gesturing vaguely in the direction opposite the one from which he had approached. "Will you come down?" he added, clasping his hands pleadingly. Fiyero had temporarily forgotten that he was supposed to be angry with the girl, and grinned like an fool when she nodded and hurried indoors.
As soon as Elphaba closed the front door quietly behind her, Fiyero felt apprehensive. She approached him and stood about a foot away, shuffling self consciously from foot to foot.
"What time is it?" Fiyero asked gruffly to break the silence, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Just after three," Elphaba replied quietly, amazed at how alive her senses seemed to be; like his very presence was like oxygen, breathing life into her.
The young man sighed. "Oh…" They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, unsaid things looming over their heads.
"How have you been?" Elphaba queried quietly, cursing Lurline that she hadn't thought to bring a jacket. Fiyero saw her shivering violently, and acted on instinct, closing the small gap between them to wrap his long arms around her waist. She stiffened, then relented, sinking into the welcoming warmth of his body.
"I missed you," whispered Fiyero.
Elphaba laughed coolly. "Obviously not enough to write to me," The young woman immediately regretted the jibe, and saw the hypocrisy of her words when Fiyero pulled away angrily, leaving the cold air to engulf her once more. Even in the faint light of the moon, she could see his brow furrowed incredulously.
"You left me!" he cried, his smooth tenor voice echoing around the nearby trees.
"You physically forced me to leave! You bolted your door on me and told me that you didn't want to see me again!" Elphaba alleged quietly, clamping her hand over Fiyero's mouth to stop him waking up the whole house.
After a few moments to calm his anger, Fiyero laid a gentle, repentant kiss on her smooth palm. Elphaba withdrew her hand, clenching her fist as though to keep the feeling of his lips there for as long as possible.
Fiyero spoke quietly, gently, apologetically. "I'm sorry for doing that to you, Fae."
"No, Yero, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been afraid to admit to my family how I feel about you."
"No, Elphaba, I'm sorry! I realised as soon as you were gone what things would have been like for you if you had been seen to get together with someone so soon after Rilt's death…"
"No, Yero-"
"This is ridiculous!" Fiyero laughed, cutting off Elphaba's next apology with a sudden kiss. Thus, the young couple reconciled.
"That party you ditched to come and see me…What was it for?" Elphaba questioned, dunking her sandwich cookie into the glass of milk on the table. Fiyero took a meditative bite of his own cookie, scrunching his eyes up in an attempt to remember.
"You know, I have no idea. I think it was a birthday party for someone." he muttered with a shrug, pulling the cookie apart and licking the creamy bit in the middle with a ponderous air.
"I think it was my birthday party…" Elphaba chuckled, brushing crumbs from her violet nightgown. Fiyero started and turned his bright eyes upon the green girl. He had to work to keep his voice low: the kitchen of the Thropp household was directly underneath Melena and Frex's bedroom, and neither of the young pair wanted to be disturbed.
"It's your birthday?"
"It was, yesterday. Mother and father threw a party for me, but I refused to go."
"Why?" the boy asked, reaching across the table and linking his fingers through Elphaba's.
She shrugged. "Didn't feel like it. I haven't felt like doing much recently. By recently I mean the last six months."
"I know what you mean. I'm ashamed to say that I've lapsed into my old ways. I think this is the clearest my mind has been since the night after I saw you last." Fiyero admitted bashfully, and Elphaba nodded sympathetically.
"Happy birthday for yesterday, by the way!" he grinned, leaning across the table and pressing a tender kiss to her willing lips. She smiled, thrilling at how easily they had lapsed back into being comfortable with each other. It seemed that she could not function properly without him, and that Fiyero could not operate adequately without her.
When Fiyero went to pull away, Elphaba stopped him by sliding her slender arms around his neck and capturing his lips with hers, trying desperately to believe that he was really there. He yielded easily, pulling the small girl into his lap and allowing a strident moan to escape him. Her arms tightened around him, and they picked up where they had left off six months before in the library.
And, once again, they were interrupted. Heavy footsteps from above filtered into Elphaba's consciousness, and she pushed Fiyero gently away.
"But Fae-" he complained loudly, his tone heavy with desire.
"Shush, Yero! It's my father!" the young woman muttered urgently, clambering from his embrace and tugging him with comical speed towards the back door.
"When will I see you again?" Fiyero quizzed, allowing his mouth to graze the tender skin of her neck, like a parting gift she was all too willing to accept.
"I don't know. Write to me, and I'll let you know," she replied softly, allowing her eyes to close briefly before snapping back to her senses, her father's footsteps advancing further towards the kitchen. Fiyero made to dart out of the back door, but skidded back for a final kiss and a few parting words.
"This is too uncertain, my Fae," he whispered. "I need to know that we'll be together, at least some day, and the only way I can know that for sure is…" he trailed off, biting his lip and searching her face uncertainly.
"What, Yero?" Elphaba hissed, shoving him unceremoniously from the house. His cobalt eyes found her sillimanite ones, and he smiled like a little boy asking for something impossible and wonderful.
"The only ways I can know for sure is if you marry me."
Hehe. Wonder how this one will pan out. -cackle-