Author's Note: I disclaim again. Apologies for being extremely tardy, but here is a nice bit of fluff for you.
Enjoy! x
They sat in the hot evening sun, unusual for the winter, but Kiamo Ko was carved out in a little niche inbetween the snow-covered mountain-tops and frozen valleys that meant the lake that sat at the back was liquid and warm and guarded from the winds by the fluffy evergreens. Elphaba sat barefoot sharing a picnic with Fiyero and his family. He and his brother had taken turns to paddle with their younger brothers and sisters in the water and Elphaba that morning had been introduced to Kip who was sitting up on the sand, the gentle waves rolling up occasionally and wetting his bottom, making him giggle and wriggle in pleasure.
He was a lovely baby. He didn't squak or wail like a lot of the fat babes in Munchkinland did. Nanda and Minas certainly doted on him, and Elphaba found she was not as annoyed when he was brought into the company as she had expected.
"Come on, Fae, one more! I swear I'll catch it this time!"
She sighed and raised an eyebrow. He had been trying to catch apple slices in his mouth for half an hour without success. Each time she tossed another one to him, she questioned why on earth she was partking in this, but it was hilarious whenever he failed, even when she went out of her way to aim for his mouth. "Alright." She said, eating one herself and spearing another in his direction.
"Aha! YES!" He exclaimed, when it landed beautifully on his tongue. "Ha! Ah - argh -ach!"
"Oh for Oz' sake . . ." He was choking on it now, evidently he had inhaled in excitement and it had gone down the wrong way. She went to slap him on the back, but remembered the trinket spells she'd learned in the first few weeks at Shiz and muttered the incantation under her breath, drawing a circle and a line across his chest. Fiyero stopped coughing after a few seconds.
"Ow . . . thanks Fae." He said hoarsely, kissing her hands. "Did you see that catch, though?"
"I did! Nice one!" Yelled Evard from the edge of the lake. He was squatting in the water, waist-deep, with Aure on his shoulders.
"Yes, Yero, it was wonderful." He smiled and kissed her, wrapping his arm tightly arround her waist to pin her closer. Elphaba laughed against him.
"Hey, hey! None of that! Come and give me a hand with these lot!" Evard yelled again, wading with extreme difficulty to the shore.
"You leave us alone, Vardi." Quipped Fiyero as he scooped up Kip. The baby cried out in excitement and Elphaba laughed, tickling his chin with one of her fingers. Kip copied her, using his chubby forefinger and reaching for her chin. "He likes you, Fae." Fiyero whispered, as his brother stuck out him arms to her, asking to be held. Elphaba glanced warily at Fiyero, before placing her hands under Kip's arms and lifting him onto her hip.
Elphaba laughed. The feeling of his weight was nice and the way he clung to her was just lovely; it made her happy to know that he . . . he kind of depended on her, even if it was only for the moments during which she held him.
"Hey Elpaha! Come play in the wa-yer!" Warbled Aure, splashing Fiyero and screaming in pretend peril. Elphaba walked calmly in and sat in the shallows, allowing Kip to play while he sat on her knee.
"It's Elphaba, Aure. Speak properly!" Nellary corrected her little sister, as she often did, Elphaba had found. Though it occured more often when Aure tried to pronounce Elphaba's name; Nellary seemed to have taken a liking to her. As she bounced Kip up and down in the water, Nellary did her best to swim over to her. "Elphaba?" She asked, with a child's inflection. "How'd you meet Fiyero?"
"She's already told you that, Nell." Fiyero said from the middle of the lake.
"I don't remember."
Elphaba smiled at the attention. She was unused to it. "We met at Shiz. Fiyero is in my History class, remember?" Nellary nodded and swam away, giggling. "I don't understand her." She said to Fiyero, who joined her. He had his hands on Kip's stomach and placed him in the water, so he could play at swimming. "It's like I'm one of those people in Galinda's sodding magazines. She never knows what to say when she spots one of them and ends up asking either a stupid question, or one she already knows the answer to."
"She just likes you. Apart from Mam, she's never had a . . . female role model." He finished, having found the phrase that had deserted him.
Elphaba scoffed. "I'm her role model?"
He nodded. "Yeah, sure. Why the hell not? You're smart and beautiful, I might add." She smiled. "You're at University, you're travelled and wordly-"
"Oh come on. I'm not travelled."
"You are to her; she's never been anywhere except here. She admires you, Elphaba." Elphaba looked away and followed the tumult of water in the distance that was Nellary trying to learn how to swim. "What is it?"
"Nothing . . . it's just really nice. That's all."
"Well, you know we all really like you, Fae." He kissed her and she placed a hand on his neck to keep him there. Kip squealed in Fiyero's lap and batted at his face. "I think he wants a kiss, too."
Elphaba frowned and looked at Kip, who was leaning forward to her and trying to purse his baby lips in a kiss. She laughed and pecked them. "Mwah." She said, and he wriggled and yelped, splashing frantically and blushing. "He seems to be much more grateful for one of my kisses than you ever are, Yero."
"Oh really?" He threw Kip into the air. "Trying to steal my girl, eh? Eh? We'll see about that!" And threw him up again. Elphaba laughed with him and kissed Fiyero on the cheek. "She's mine, you chancer!"
"Ha, Fiyero, you can't get jealous of your own little brother." She said, taking Kip into her arms and giving him little kisses all over his face, to which he squealed with delight.
"Why the hell shouldn't I? Look at him!" He said, but in real happiness, as he tickled his little brother.
"Well," came Nanda's voice from the picnic blanket, "he seems to have taken quite a shine to you, Elphaba." Elphaba smiled and Fiyero watched her eyes dance. He had never in his life seen her as happy, nor anyone else for that matter. "Minas," she said to her husband, smoothing down her skirts around her and settling back against a tree trunk, "don't you just hope she's here next year?"
Minas turned to her, frowning and smiling. "What are you insinuating?" Nanda kept her eyes down demurely and hummed quietly. "Nanda? What, I assume you mean you hope she is with Fiyero for . . . ever? Well, I must say . . . I do agree."
"I'm glad my dear. He would do very well not to screw this up." Minas chuckled at her colloquilism. "Just look at Kip and Nellary. It's nice to have a young female in this house for the children to see, don't you think?"
"I think you're a fabulous example for them, my dear." Nanda playfully hit his shoulder with a cushion and they watched Elphaba laughing at Fiyero crawling along the sand with Kip in a make-believe race.
As days rolled by, Fiyero showed Elphaba the woods around Kiamo Ko. It had always seemed so normal to him. Not boring, but limited in the lengths to which it could amuse him. Taking Elphaba to his favourite spots, admiring the best views with her and seeing everything through her eyes was thrilling. Especially when on several occasions she would wrap her arms around him and they would end up making love outdoors. Spending time in that manner meant they stretched out the 'tour' - as Fiyero termed it - for hours and hours, sometimes revisiting places they had found inspired their desires more than others, and turning what was essentially a safari into the most amazing time either of them had ever had.
It was exhausting, hot, sticky and glorious. The further they travelled, the colder it became and Fiyero would wrap her in huge furs. One night they had camped out in the snow to watch the lightning that lit the sky Elphaba had been so desperate to see. They had been frozen cold and so close under the blankets it was almost inevitable that they would succumb to the temptation that held them just perfectly that night.
Nanda noticed the deepening bond between her son and Elphaba. They seemed to move together, and though Elphaba was not demonstrative when around the family, she was loving and would watch him as much as he watched her. They had their own jokes and once, when she spied them alone from the corner of her eye, she was almost shocked at the passion she saw, before she hurried away and vigourously scrubbed the image from her mind.
After two weeks in the Vinkus, Elphaba and Fiyero, out of gratitude for their hospitality and kindness to her, offered to babysit to allow the King and Queen a night without responsibility. It had not originally been her thought to take care of children by herself (granted, Fiyero would be there, but she did not imagine him to be of much help) and it took careful persuasion and a kiss or two to convince Elphaba they could make a good time of it.
"I think you deserve it. You've been so nice to me." She said when they were alone, just her, Fiyero and his parents. "It's no trouble. We'd take them for the day. The whole day."
Nanda smiled serenely; she had a wonderful quiet way of doing things. "Well, Elphaba. That would certainly be lovely and we are glad you have felt so welcome. But we couldn't ask that of you."
"Mam," Fiyero said, pleadingly. "It's the least we can do. Come on, it's Lurlinemas."
In any event, they left Kiamo Ko to stay with friends further into the Vinkus. It meant they would be away for longer, but Fiyero said it didn't count as being left alone with the babies when Evard had not yet left to rejoin the Arjiki movements following their camping close to home during the winter. Therefore, it was with a reluctant heart that Elphaba watched Evard leave, Kip asleep in a crib in the nursery, Aure, Nellary and Sacho actually busying themselves fairly quietly. She had no penchant for childcare. She had no intention of talking like a child to them, though she was aware that her tendancy to discuss politics and her lack of consideration for social niceties was not really appropriate around children.
"Fae, he's gone. Suck it up."
"Hey! Language, Yero. We are around children, after all." He kissed her sweetly. "I'm just nervous. They'll cry."
"Look, they won't. Being without Mam and Pap is a novelty; they'll behave for us because it's fun and it's different. Try and enjoy yourself."
"I am." She whispered. "I just don't know how to discipline. Nor do I particularly want to." Fiyero rolled his eyes and kissed her hand.
"It'll be fine. You are completely overreacting."
"Aure! What are you doing? We don't climb out of the bath! You could hurt yourself! Get back in!"
"No! Fiyero, she can't get back in, what if she drowns or something?"
"You're telling me she was fine to do that herself?"
"Of course not! But she's out now so you may as well just dry her off! SACHO GET AWAY FROM THE STAIRS!"
Elphaba and Fiyero were soaked. Water dripped from their noses as they attempted to bath the children who seemed to view their parents' absence as some sort of wild holiday and the bathroom as a waterpark. At first it had been fun, but trying to get them to leave the water and go to bed was more of a nightmare than either of them had ever anticipated. Screaming, yelling, crying and now, hitting and escape attempts. All three children seemed to be running or splashing in different directions.
Elphaba scooped Sacho up in a towel. "No! NO!" He moaned. "I wanna go back in the bath! Pleash! Pleeeesh!"
He kicked hard at her stomach and she doubled over, dropping him. Sacho bolted to the bath and bomb-dived back in, sending a small tsunami over Fiyero's head as he tried to wash Nellary. "Aaaah! Sacho! I'm gonna kill you!" He turned to wrestle his brother from the water but saw Elphaba squinting with her hand on her stomach and the other gripping Aure as she skidded dangerously in the debris from Sacho's stunt. "Fae? You alright?" He picked up his little sister easily and wound a huge fluffy towel around her like a baby cocoon.
"Yeah, I'm bloody fine." She sneered in Sacho's direction as he thrashed about excitedly trying to make as much mess as possible. He had turned the taps on and water was everywhere. "Let me take her," Elphaba gently cradled the now calmed Aure, "I'm not going anywhere near him." Fiyero shook his head in anger and made his way towards Nellary. He would have to have a serious talk with Sacho. Kicking people? What the hell kind of behaviour was that? In the distance, they heard Kip begin to cry.
"Oh kill me." Elphaba whispered as she dragged herself from the room, feet sloshing from the wet and Aure dangling under her arm, to comfort the baby.
Fiyero stood above the bath and wondered what to do. Sacho was loving this; he had always been stubborn and cheeky and taken every opportunity to defy the rules. He had never learned that he was the child and others were in charge. He had never learned to respect the fact that there were people who knew better than him and it had never bothered Fiyero much because Sacho was usually very good with guests, but kicking Elphaba was out of line. His parents would be hearing about this.
Fiyero's first thought was to grab Sacho with all his strength and wrestle him out of the tub. But that could so easily backfire on him and either or both of them could be injured. It was just too wet in here. Fiyero realised what this thrashing about was; Sacho wanted attention. Well then, that's exactly what he wouldn't get. Fiyero ignored his brother and walked out, leaving the door open (Sacho hated that; he always wanted it closed), collecting Nellary who was feeling too awkward to make more trouble and went to help Elphaba.
Elphaba sat in the dimly lit nursery with Kip snuggled into the crook of her arm. Aure had jumped up onto her lap and curled up, too. It felt oddly fulfilling to have two small people happily receiving comfort from her, but she relished it. Kip was still girning.
"Sing him, Elpaha." Aure said quietly, leaning her head down and trying to wrap her tiny hand over Elphaba's. "Sing him songs."
Elphaba looked from her to Kip, who wailed out occasionally. He obviously needed comfort, but she wasn't sure she was the one to give it. Nevertheless, she sucked it up, as Fiyero had said, and searched her mind for the one lullaby she had ever had sung to her. And that was how Fiyero had found her.
Above the cacophonous rage of water from the bathroom, he heard her humming. It was so beautiful and when he saw her, rocking the three of them gently with her wet little green foot, his heart broke a little. He loved her so much and leaned against the door to watch and listen.
Eventually, the noise from the bath stopped and Fiyero recognised the beginning of the next stage of Sacho's 'act'; the wait-out. Well, Sacho's water would get uncomfortable much more quickly then Fiyero's bed would. Elphaba looked up as she realised both Aure and Kip had fallen asleep.
"Sssh, darling, he's sleeping. I got him to sleep." Elphaba touched a little curl on Kip's head.
Fiyero knelt beside her. "Aure . . . Aure?" Elphaba smiled as the little girl did not wake up. "I'm going to put her to bed." With a sleepy whine or two, Aure was removed from Elphaba's arms and tranferred her weight, heavy with sleep, to Fiyero's shoulders. "Elphaba?" He whispered from the door, as she stood to tuck Kip in. "I think this went quite well."
She smiled. "Yero, my Hero."
Back to Shiz soon . . .