Chapter Ten: Keeping It Simple

Elphaba knew she had to tell her father about Fiyero before Nanny or Nessa beat her to it, and this time she was looking forward to the conversation so there really was no need to put it off. As soon as she put her things in her old room, she went into the main room and waited for her father to finish getting Nessa settled again. When he entered the room, she smiled widely and said, "Father, I have so much to tell you."

Frex's face betrayed his unease at her attitude and she reveled in it. "You do?"

"Well, I met this young man this last semester, and we've been dating."

He took a moment to process that; it wasn't what he'd expected to hear. "Dating?" He repeated.

"Yes, Father." She pretended to be ignorant of the shock in her father's eyes. "He's a prince, actually. His name is Fiyero."

She could see he was registering what that meant. "A prince from where?"

"The Vinkus." Elphaba answered simply, watching him eagerly.

Her father sat down and sighed heavily. "All right, young lady, I get the joke you're playing. Very funny."

"It's no joke. Is it, Nanny?" She turned to Nanny, who had just pushed Nessa into the room. "Fiyero is very real."

"Father, please try to talk some sense into her. She's been running about with this heathen for the last month or two and it's just vulgar!" Nessa's brow furrowed.

"Nessa, what have I told you? You're so judgmental."

Her father folded his arms across his chest and looked to Nanny. "She's really seeing this Winkie boy?"

"Father!" She glared at him.

Nanny shrugged. "Don't blame me. You know very well she does whatever she wants."

"Father, please don't be like this. You haven't met him. He really is a good man."

Frex leaned back in his chair. "It's serious, then?"

"Very." Elphaba told him. "I love him." Had she just said that? Oops. Well, she was playing the part, after all.

"She's going out to the Vinkus in the spring," Nessa added disapprovingly.

"Unsupervised?"

"Father, he's very respectful. And it's perfectly safe out there. He wants me to meet his family. I told him I would go and I'm going, whether you like it or not."

"Then when will he come here?" Her father demanded.

"Summer, if you like." She wasn't sure she was fond of the idea, and hoped they could arrange it to only be for a week or so. Elphaba wanted time away from Fiyero. It made it difficult to think when he was around.

"Then I expect him here at some point this coming summer."

"I'll let him know and we'll make the plans. Father, I know you're uncertain right now, but you'll love him. He's very kind."

"And very godless," Nessa muttered.

"So what? He cares about me. I don't care what god, if any, he worships." Elphaba watched her father's eyes get big as she spoke.

"Fabala, please tell me you haven't done anything... unladylike?"

"Of course not." She wondered if they'd ever have to pretend like they had been intimate. With the way her father seemed to feel about it, she almost hoped so, just to vex him further.

A day after they returned for the next semester, she headed over to his room, ignoring Glinda's skulking about. She knew it was just for show, but his smile when he opened the door and saw her warmed her heart. He pulled her into his arms. "I missed you, Elphaba."

"I missed you, too." She let him drag her into the room and stepped away from him when the door closed. "How did your family handle things?"

"They can't wait to meet you." He said, sitting on the bed. "What about yours?"

"You'll probably have to come out at some point over the summer. My father was very concerned. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want me going with you for the spring holidays, but there's not much he can do about it."

"The summer is fine. I expected as much. Come here."

She'd avoided his bed, and he'd respected that for the most part. When he held her hand, or put an arm around her, she wanted to melt into him, and she didn't trust herself with him alone like that. But she also didn't want to refuse him, so she sat beside him. "Glinda made a comment about the bracelet. My family didn't notice it, though."

"What did Glinda say?"

She'd made a comment about the fact that it was very nice for someone who was, in reality, just a friend. "She just said it was nice."

"Speaking of Glinda, I was thinking about the next step. I know we've been sort of practicing in front of her, but I think kissing in front of her, at least at first, might be a bit awkward, don't you think?"

She nodded. So that's why he'd wanted her to sit with him.

"Are you ready to do that, though? I think we should, but if you are uncomfortable with it, we can try and find another way."

"No, no, it's fine." Elphaba had thought about it, actually. She wanted him to kiss her, wanted to feel his lips on hers. And there was nothing wrong with a little physical attraction to him, she'd decided. She might as well enjoy this.

He put a hand on the back of her neck and ran a thumb over her cheek. When his lips met hers, an arm slid around her waist and drew her closer. She let him and opened her mouth slightly at the pressure of his, feeling his tongue tease at her lips, forgetting for a moment that this wasn't supposed to feel real. She put a hand on his chest, clutching at him helplessly, her breath gone. Desire pooled in the pit of her stomach and she could feel her heart beating in every cell of her body. When their lips finally parted, he was just as breathless as she was. "Well, um, that was... I think that would be convincing. I mean, I don't know what it looks like to anyone else..."

"Let's not practice that for Glinda," she murmured, her face still only precious inches away from his. "And maybe that should be reserved for special occasions. It was a little, uh, much to be doing that all that time, especially in front of people."

He gave her a lopsided grin and pressed his lips against hers briefly. "So more like that?"

"Yes. Not that I'm opposed to the other..." She needed to just stop talking.

"I'm not, either."

She dragged herself away from his bed, trying not to trip over her own feet. "Fiyero, are we going to need to pretend, at some point, that we're sleeping together? A lot of couples do that, even before they're engaged."

"I'd been meaning to talk to you about that. In the Vinkus, it's really not traditional to wait at all. So, yes, at some point we may need to act as though we've spent the night together. I can sleep on the floor or something. And if you'd rather we don't act that way here, if you're worried about your reputation or something, we don't have to..."

"No, it's fine. I've never cared what anyone has thought of me, Fiyero, you know that."

"But that can wait, anyway. The spring holidays are months away. And that'll probably be easier than kissing, since we don't actually have to do anything in front of anyone in that case."

"True. It'll just be like a very platonic sleepover, really." The thought of the two of them alone in the dark danced through her mind. "Anyway, I suppose I should stay a bit longer." She'd dropped her knapsack in the corner and she went to grab her book.

"What classes are you taking this semester? Are we going to have any together?"

"I'm taking advanced life sciences, intermediate sorcery, political theory..."

"I'm taking political theory, as well. Tuesday mornings?"

"Yes."

"Good."

She looked down at her book, but found she couldn't think of anything but his mouth, the way his kiss had made her feel, the lust that suddenly filled her at the idea. It was just a physical lust, nothing more than that, she told herself. Elphaba hadn't even felt such yearning with that boy back home - she'd done that more out of pressure than want. This she wanted. Wanting was simple. Loving was what was complicated. Right now she just needed to keep it simple.