Author's Note: Deepest apologies for lack of update, excuses abound in moving back from uni and moving sister into her new flat. So, as a treat for my negligence, I shall update two chapters now. Besides, it would have been quite cruel to leave the end of this chapter without giving you an immediate follow-on.

Enjoy x

"I've never been on a date before." Elphaba confessed, lifting her head up to look at him. "What do you do? I mean, what happens?"

Fiyero thought for a second. He took in the happy glow that had recently appeared in her cheeks and felt a little pride in his chest. "You mean what do I do on a date?"

She giggled. "I suppose so. Tell me what Fiyero Tiggular does to impress his date."

"I tend to go where there are people. I'd take you to the best place in town; the most popular club." He seemed to deflate a little and he avoided her eyes, preferring the floor. "I would probably be showing myself off more than anything else, happy to have a girl there. I always liked that I had such an effect on them at the drop of a hat." Elphaba kept her eyes trained on him; she didn't care what he used to be and she shut out all her irrational assumptions. He brushed a hair behind her ear and she closed her eyes when his hand lingered there. "We'd flirt a little, I guess. You know, like I'm doing now."

"You're flirting with me?" She blushed and felt like a stupid little girl caught mooning over a man who was too good for her.

"Why wouldn't I flirt with you? You're my date apart from anything else." Fiyero leaned down towards her and ghosted his lips across her jaw line, a loving gesture rather than a seductive one. At least Fiyero thought so. "And I want to flirt with you 'cause you're pretty."

Elphaba's eyes snapped open; was he kissing her? Her! She had quite reasonably and perhaps foolishly imagined him kissing her before and obviously it was glorious. But here he wasn't even kissing her lips, he was barely even kissing at all and it was more thrilling than her wildest dreams. Elphaba's head tipped back to allow him greater pleasure. Adrenaline and a racing pulse accompanied her thoughts and she wondered that she might faint if he kept going and she didn't at least drink something. Wow, me fainting because of a boy? What has he done with me?

"You . . ." he breathed, on her neck this time, "you I can't read at all. You're exotic and unparalleled."

Elphaba felt his lips press firmly on the sensitive skin behind her ear, his hand completely tangled in her hair and she smiled, thoroughly enjoying his advances on her and not intending to stop him at any point. These moves were definitely seductive. She sighed. "Fiyero . . ." He kissed her neck again and smiled against her skin. "I'm exotic? That's definitely a new one."

Fiyero laughed. He opened his eyes to see the waiter pouring their drinks and setting down their food. Fiyero straightened up and looked her in the eyes, smiling. "You, Elphaba, are the first woman who has an effect on me at the drop of a hat and you don't even realise it." He smiled and took her hands from his neck, holding them tight. "Want to eat?"

Elphaba was giddy from his touches and giddy from his words and she knew she really should sit down, but a part of her wanted to stay in his arms. Her stomach made the decision, however, when it growled commandingly. "Yes." Oh Oz, he's going to kiss me tonight. Honestly, Elphaba had no idea why this realisation had not been fully appreciated; she and Galinda had discussed, she had imagined it and it seemed a reasonable enough event to happen on a first date, especially between two strong characters who had experienced such high levels of sexual tension during the course of their relationship. Now that the kiss itself was almost upon her, she was overwhelmed, as though she had been winded. It really was unlike any other feeling in the entire world; pleasant and exhilarating in equal measures.

As he held her hand and they walked back to their table with Elphaba sporting a significantly heightened shade of red on her face and neck, the consequences of Fiyero's attentions to her swam about in her mind and she observed that the tone had shifted again considerably; he was hitting on her and they were both aware of it. Elphaba became nervous at the thought that she couldn't pass off his compliments as teasing. Now she would have to acknowledge them and she didn't know how. She had absolutely no experience or idea of how she was expected to respond; would he want her to flirt with him, too? Would he forgive her when she did and it was embarrassingly bad or would he be appalled that she couldn't even be normal in this respect?

Fervently hoping it was not the latter . . . or the former, Elphaba let him pull out her chair for her and sit down. "Thank you." She said, delicately.

He sat opposite her. "I didn't think you'd let me do that." She only smiled in response. Let him do these things for you if he wishes and let tonight be the night for new things. The food, beautifully made and perfectly arranged, was sat in front of them. Fiyero and Elphaba both gazed uncertainly down at their plates and then looked across at one another. Laughter began to creep out of their mouths as they realised neither of them had any idea how to eat this food.

"I thought you'd know! You're the prince, Tiggular!"

He was hunched over, shielding the waiting staff from seeing him pick up and examine every one of the silver-polished utensils laid out neatly on his right and left. "Excuse me, smartarse," her eyebrow shot up, "that doesn't mean I know what the hell is going here. At home we tend not to show extravagance through our utensils!"

Elphaba giggled. "Okay, they're looking at us. Just use the one that's farthest out and work your way in."

By the time they had realised the use for all their utensils and consumed the corresponding meals along with almost three bottles of wine, the couple found this evening to be one of the best they could remember. With every glass that slipped down her throat, Elphaba became less and less concerned with her flirting skills or lack of them and reverted back to teasing Fiyero like she normally did, which he preferred to the insincerity of the other girls who would flirt with him.

Fiyero almost enjoyed her inexperience; he liked the idea that a woman like Elphaba who was so knowledgeable and had a deep-rooted grasp of her beliefs and principles would be made utterly speechless by a look or a touch from him. He started to imagine just how speechless he could make her.

Elphaba stroked some fish on her plate, deciding whether or not she could stomach it pleasantly. The food was so filling and she had never thought mere sustenance could make her feel so satisfied. "I think I'm more physically exhausted from eating tonight than I've ever been from exercise."

Fiyero barely chuckled; he was too full. "I know. It's almost painful. I think they'll charge me for the pleasure though."

Elphaba shook her head. "Well I think we've figured out where your extravagance does lie."

"Hey, I wanted to spoil you. Are you having the time of your life or what?" She couldn't disagree with him and smiled. At that point, a white-skinned beauty of a waitress came over to their table to remove their long-forgotten dishes. She had watched Fiyero Tiggular and his strange friend for about twenty minutes after they'd stopped eating, waiting for them to finally admit defeat with their food so she could have the chance to speak to the gorgeous prince.

Elphaba immediately clocked her confidant walk and Bronze curls. She was certainly exotic enough without being offensive. Elphaba felt a tweak of insecurity that was quickly overridden by a severe disenchantment.

"Well then, and did we enjoy our meal this evening?" Her icing-sugar tones made Elphaba feel nauseous. She wondered why Galinda's voice did not make her feel this way; originally they had brought about such passionate hatred that Elphaba was unable to stomach meals when she was around. Galinda, however, now represented a kind of happiness with which she had never come into contact and where this waitress seemed bitter and sarcastic, Galinda was joyful and sincere. She made it quite clear from her attentiveness to Fiyero that she was addressing him, despite the plurality of her words. Fiyero had been watching Elphaba all night and saw her manner change from drunk and happy to drunk and pissed off. He had his back to the waitress, and her words caught him off guard. He was a tactful man, though, and only nodded to her question. He kept his smile aimed at Elphaba so that when she did look up, she would see that his attention was only for her.

The perturbed waitress continued to pile up her wares. "You haven't eaten much of it, sir. Was there any problem?"

Fiyero knew exactly what she was doing. The girl was even batting her eyelashes at him and flashing a brilliant smile. Nothing, absolutely nothing compared to the magnificence of Elphaba's smile, though. Fiyero saw her roll her eyes and he spoke, knowing the girl wouldn't leave without an answer. "No, no problem. I was just distracted by the beautiful woman sitting opposite me all night. Thank you for asking."

Feeling thoroughly uncomfortable, the waitress tottered back to the kitchen with the theoretical tail between her legs. Elphaba didn't really notice her, as she directed her thankful gaze towards Fiyero and felt a strong shiver sweep over her.

Elphaba thought he had never been so attractive; he was leaning back in his chair with one arm draped over it and the other resting on the table. He was staring at her intensely and Elphaba could have sworn she saw actual smoulders swirling around him. No wonder that girl had taken her swoop at him; if she hadn't been green Elphaba would have done the same thing, though she got to spend the whole night with him in this scenario. Fiyero let her sit under his gaze for a moment before he leaned forward and spoke. "May I have this dance, Fae?"

As if she were under some sort of trance, Elphaba nodded mechanically. Her eyes never left his as they lost themselves in the crowd. Though it was busier at this time of night now, Elphaba only paid enough attention to her surroundings to note that it still didn't surpass the claustrophobia of her first night out.

Fiyero considered his movements to be 'loving'. He was lovingly holding her in his arms as they barely danced. He lovingly smiled at her and led her around the floor. Did he even love her? Or was doing something lovingly the step before that? For Oz' sake, Fiyero, you've not even kissed her yet. Let's not jump the giant gun here. "I think there's something very important that we've forgotten to do." He said. "I mean here we are on our first date and I've had a nickname for you for ages," She smiled at him and he thought it was quite provocative. Fiyero had a shot of courage and spun her around, catching her again firmly when she slammed into his chest. "But you don't have one for me."

She was giggling, high from the alcohol and the spinning. "Fiyero! Don't do that, I can't stand properly because you plied me with wine."

He laughed. "I quite like plying you with wine, Fae." She sighed, no longer feeling bashful at his compliments. To his surprise, she brought the hand that was on his shoulder to the back of his neck, pulling herself closer. "Seems to have a positive effect, though I hope you remember tonight."

"Get over yourself, I'm not that drunk. I'm just happy." He nodded, not quite believing her. But she was lucid and she was managing to dance better than all the other women in the room despite her inexperience at the skill. "So, you want a nickname, Fiyero?"

"Yes I do, Fae." They were very close now. He still held her hand, but it was against his chest and level with her cheeks. Very slightly, Fiyero pressed his lips to her forehead.

"You're my hero, Fiyero." She breathed. "My hero." She smiled and looked up at him. "That rhymed, Fiyero! My Hero . . . Fiyero." Elphaba giggled and let her head fall against his chest as she laughed. "You saved me from that son of a bitch in the library and you're my hero."

Fiyero shook his head. "I'm not a hero, Fae." He laughed.

She smiled and put both her hands behind his neck, holding his gaze. "Maybe not . . . but you are my hero." Her eyes were distracted for a moment and she wore the focused expression he had noticed she always had when she was thinking. Smiling, she said, "Yero, my hero." He grasped her a little tighter, feeling his heart melt and his patience run out. "What about that for a nickname?" Her smile disappeared when she saw the passion in his eyes. Fiyero stepped a little closer. "Yero, my hero." She whispered.

Fiyero suddenly didn't care about how much effort he had put in to this evening. He didn't care about the way the room had been designed to filter moonlight through the whole building and provide a truly romantic and peaceful atmosphere. He would have made himself bankrupt if it had been what she wanted, but she did not want anything like that. He could feel her pressing her body against his. He felt her hands pull him in and felt his own arms snake around her body and draw her in even more.

The only thing preventing her hands from shaking from the newness of this experience and its precarious outcome was her firm and steady grip of his neck. Elphaba closed her eyes when he leaned towards her and gently touched her lips. She had never been kissed, but her natural response was eager. Elphaba let her fingers play with the locks of hair at the bottom of his neck. She sighed into his kiss, letting her body be wrapped by the strength in his arms.

Elphaba had never felt like this before; that is, she had never felt it to such a degree. It was almost intoxicating. It made her breathing speed up and she panted, knowing Fiyero was doing the same thing. It was a longing for him, desire and lust. Elphaba wondered if she would have a hangover purely from kissing him. Though for the moment they were happy just to be kissed.

Eventually, their kisses became fewer. Fiyero revelled in the climactic joy of kissing her, of the sensation of her lips pressing themselves to his, locking with his. It was glorious. He knew before that he was attracted to her and he knew that he desired her, but he had never felt so in danger of losing control of himself with anyone else. He had to stop. He had to create distance between them. He lifted his head a pressed soft kisses to her nose and her cheeks, feeling the heat of passion on her face and neck.

Ooh la flipping la!