Chapter Twenty-Two: Near Perfect

Elphaba was packing when Fiyero's mother walked into the room. "I've been meaning to talk to you, Elphaba."

The woman hadn't talked to her alone since Fiyero had told her the truth and Elphaba had no idea what she could possibly want. "Really?"

"Sit down."

She obeyed, concerned about the commanding tone she only usually heard in Fiyero's father's voice. "I want to thank you so much for letting me stay here, especially given that I'm not… I'm not a member of your family. Fiyero's been so good to me and so have you and I assure you that this is the last time I will impose upon you like this."

"Honey, don't you worry about that."

"You're too kind."

"Stop groveling, Elphaba. You know that's not why I'm here."

"You're right. But I don't know why you are."

"Because my son loves you. And I think you know that."

Elphaba stared at her with wide eyes. She gathered her wits and said, "Ma'am, if Fiyero feels that way, I do believe he should be the one to tell me."

"I have told him that."

"Then why are you telling me?"

"My son, for all his wonderful qualities, is too gentle with you. He's afraid you can't handle this conversation."

"Another of his wonderful qualities: he's always trying to protect me from things I don't need protecting from."

"He does it because he loves you, Elphaba. And the people we love also irritate us. They also might hurt us. And that love might change us. That doesn't mean we shouldn't love them."

"Some people just weren't meant to love."

"I don't believe that. And I don't think you do either. Maybe you did believe it, but I think you're starting to realize that's not the case."

"I realize that you're trying to help, but you don't know anything about what I feel or what I've been through."

"I don't. But I know what I see in your eyes. I see you fighting the way you feel about Fiyero. I don't know why."

"Love is dangerous."

"It's also the best thing that can ever happen to you."

Elphaba sighed. "It can break you."

"But it's worth it. So I'm going to ask you one question, and I want you to tell me the truth. I don't want you to hide from me or talk around it. You can't play the games you play with Fiyero. They won't work on me. So you're going to tell me. I will not, however, tell my son. I promise you that. You only need to give me a one-word answer. Do you love my son?"

"Does it have to be only one word?"

"Does it need more explaining than that?"

"It might."

"Just answer the question, Elphaba."

"I do." She held up a hand to stop the woman from saying anything. The answer had impacted Elphaba probably more than it did Fiyero's mother. "But I can't. You don't understand. You don't know me. It's not good for him. He'd be better off marrying some woman he can't stand."

"He'd be better off happy. And that's what he is with you. That's all that matters. When he tells you - because he will tell you, even if it takes him much longer than it should - you need to tell him how you feel. Give it a chance, Elphaba. I don't know why you're so desperately afraid of love, but take it from me, when you love someone who actually loves you back, you shouldn't give that up." Tears sprung in the woman's eyes. "I would know."

Elphaba didn't know how to respond to that. "I… you must think I'm terribly ungrateful."

"I think you don't realize what you have."

"I realize it. I do. Your son is wonderful. He really is. I would never disagree with you on that point. But that's also what scares me. He's too good. I don't deserve that and I'm not… I'm not worthy of that."

"Love doesn't care if you're worthy, Elphaba, it just happens. I want my son to have real love in his life, and he's completely in love with you. And you love him. I'm not asking you to go to him now and confess your feelings. I'm just telling you that maybe you need to think about if being afraid of this isn't ruining something that could be perfect."

"There's nothing perfect."

"Well, then pretty damn near it."

"Fiyero is pretty close, isn't he?" Elphaba found herself smiling a bit. "I don't know how to tell him."

"I think he'll tell you first. That might make it easier." She squeezed Elphaba's shoulder gently. "You take care of yourself. And him."

"I'll try." She said quietly, watching the woman walk out of the room. They were to leave the next morning, and they had a large dinner that evening to send them off.

"Have you two set a date?" Fiyero's father asked. "We've been so busy celebrating that I haven't had time to ask that question."

Fiyero looked at her as he said, "We haven't. We're taking our time. I'm thinking probably sometime after graduation and coronation."

"There's no reason you can't get married before you take the throne, Son."

"Elphaba and I need to focus on finishing school, though. We don't need the added stress of planning a wedding on top of that. I'd like to wait."

"And you'll have it here, of course?"

"Of course."

"When do we get to meet your family, Elphaba?" Fiyero's father didn't realize that his kind question was an unpleasant one. "I'd like to meet them and talk to them before the wedding. I'm sure your father feels the same."

Fiyero slid a hand onto her knee under the table. "Father…"

"My father won't be there." Elphaba said shortly. "And I don't think anyone else will, either." She had no family. She had no best friend, at the moment, either. Fiyero really was all she had. Suddenly, she felt incredibly lonely. Elphaba had always enjoyed solitude, but now that it was about to be forced upon her she started to feel panicked.

Fiyero's father raised his eyebrows at looked at his son. "I see I've hit a nerve."

"Father, let it be. They don't approve of me. It's as simple as that. She doesn't care and we're getting married anyway. It doesn't matter."

"What could they possibly have against you? You're a prince, for Oz's sake!"

"We're not Unionist, for one. I told you Elphaba's father is a minister."

"So that's why you cut your visit short?"

Elphaba nodded.

"It doesn't matter. Fiyero is right. After all, you're going to be part of our family."

She didn't talk to Fiyero alone until they were in their train compartment and she'd set herself on the bed. At the moment, despite the fact that he was standing right there, she felt so isolated. Elphaba hadn't ever realized how much she longed for human connection. She felt like she was being pulled in a million different directions and she needed to be grounded.

She looked at him, watching the way the diamonds danced on his forearms when he moved even the slightest bit. "Fiyero?"

He sat down next to her. "What?"

"I promise you this is what I want, and I'm not doing it because I feel like I should or because I owe you. I know you want to talk, and you don't want me right now, but… Please, I need you. And when we get back, I swear to you we will talk about whatever you want to talk about and I won't fight."

His face softened and he cupped her cheek in his palm. "You know I always want you, right? It's that I didn't want you regretting it or hating me or doing it because you thought you had to."

"I need to. I need you. Fiyero, please."

His only response was to kiss her.