The chapter you've all been waiting for! (Well, a lot of you, anyway.) As a reward for all the lovely reviews you've been leaving. :)

17. Passion

Elphaba stiffened when she heard footsteps, freezing with her glass of whiskey halfway to her mouth, but she relaxed a little when she realised the footsteps were coming down the stairs. It was probably just someone else who couldn't sleep. When Fiyero appeared in the doorway, she merely gave him a tired smile. "Hi."

"Hey," he said, obviously startled. "I, um… couldn't sleep. I figured maybe some milk or tea would help."

Elphaba wordlessly held out the bottle of whiskey she'd found and Fiyero's eyes brightened.

"Or that," he agreed, taking a seat at the table across from her. She poured him a glass and shoved it over to him, making him groan a little with satisfaction as he took a sip. "Thanks. I really needed that."

"Not just you," she muttered, taking another sip from her own glass as well.

He glanced at her. "You didn't strike me as the drinking type," he observed. "And yet with Duran I saw you drink, and then with me on that friendship date, too…"

She grumbled. "Please don't think I'm some kind of alcoholic. I almost never drink, actually, but with the recent stress… I guess I've been letting myself go a little. I don't even like wine," she confessed, which made him laugh; and he only laughed harder when she wrinkled her nose and added, "Or whiskey, for that matter," emphasising that statement by taking another gulp from her glass.

"I can't blame you there," he said. "With regard to the things that have been happening lately, I'd say you deserve a drink. Or twenty."

She chortled, but quickly sobered again. "Yero… thank you again for saving the twins," she said, meeting his gaze. "I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough for that."

His face fell and he looked down into his glass. He sighed. "I didn't do anything, Fae. They did most of the work themselves," he muttered.

Surprised by the change in him, she frowned. "You were quiet this afternoon, too," she observed. "It's very unlike you. What's going on? Spit it out."

He ran his fingers through his hair. "Don't you see it, Elphaba?" he asked unhappily. "Regardless of whether I saved them or not, they wouldn't have needed saving in the first place if it weren't for me. I was the target. If I hadn't been there, the kids wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"And if I hadn't been there, none of us would have these problems in the first place, because it's me this guy actually wants," she retorted. "That is ridiculous reasoning, Fiyero. This wasn't your fault."

"But it was," he insisted. "I'm supposed to protect you. Instead, I'm only putting you in more danger."

She rested her arms on the table and put her chin on top of them. "It wasn't your fault," she repeated, sounding weary. "It wasn't anyone's fault but the stalker's. We just… we need to find a way to end this." She sighed, rubbing her temple. "Even thinking about it is giving me a headache right now – or maybe that's the whiskey."

Fiyero chuckled, but she could tell his heart wasn't in it and she reached out to lay her hand over his. "Yero," she said gently. "Stop it. It wasn't your fault."

He nodded, clearly unconvinced, and she changed the subject. "Nessa suspects Avaric of being our guy."

Fiyero frowned a little as he considered that. "It would fit, in a way," he said slowly. "Didn't the letters start around the same time he first emailed you about the twins? It's possible that he developed some kind of obsession with you after finding out you had his children and that he convinced himself he's in love with you. Maybe that's why he emailed you again."

"But he keeps insisting he doesn't want anything from me," Elphaba objected.

Fiyero shrugged. "That could be a lie," he said. "A façade, to keep suspicion off himself. Or it could really be someone else. I don't know. It's an option we should consider, though – it would explain the stalker's jealousy towards other men, in a way. Especially if he doesn't want anyone else to become a father to his children."

"If the twins are so important to him, though, why would he risk hurting them with that bomb?" Elphaba wanted to know.

"It could have been a mistake," Fiyero speculated. "Maybe he wasn't counting on the twins to be there and potentially get hurt."

"But Benn and Rodger found a detonator in the grass. He saw they were with you when he made the bomb go off."

Fiyero chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "Maybe he doesn't care about them much, just about you. Maybe that's why he chose that particular moment to detonate the bomb, when Xalo was in the water – to give him a better chance at survival. He didn't really want to kill the kids, but he would if he had to in order to get me."

Elphaba looked aghast at the idea and he added, "Or maybe the detonator malfunctioned somehow, or maybe it wasn't Avaric after all."

She nodded, deflating. "So basically, we still don't know anything."

"We don't," Fiyero confirmed, frowning again as he thought it all over. "It's definitely something worth looking into, though."

Elphaba hid a yawn behind her hand. "Ugh. Maybe I should try to get some sleep after all now."

He nodded. "Good idea." He rose to his feet and put their empty glasses and the bottle away, offering her his hand. She took it and twined their fingers together, tiredly leaning her head against his shoulder as they made their way back into the hallway and up the stairs. He walked her over to her old bedroom, which she had to herself on this trip since the twins were in Nessa's room, Fiyero and the guards were sharing the guest room just down the hall, and Oscar had been installed in Frex's bedroom. They lingered at the door, neither of them really wanting to return to the darkness by themselves.

"Yero?" she said quietly.

He made a non-committal sound in his throat and she laid her hands against his chest, looking up at him.

"I know it seemed like I only cared about the twins' safety this afternoon, but… well, I wasn't just concerned about them, you know." She blushed a little and she was glad he couldn't see that in the dark. "I'm really glad you're all right, too."

He looked down at her, their eyes meeting, and they just stared at one another for a while. She could see his gaze flit down to her lips for a brief moment; she saw his throat bob as he swallowed and she felt his breath and heartbeat quicken a little under her hands. She glanced at his lips, too, wondering what it would be like to kiss him. He'd probably be a great kisser, what with his reputation and all.

And why not? She hadn't been with anyone since Avaric – the one and only time she'd done anything with a boy and it had been horrible. She'd never dared to open up to any man again after that, but Fiyero was different. They were already friends; he knew the things about her only her closest friends and family members knew and despite her reservations in the beginning, perhaps even despite her better judgement, she trusted him. Besides, she was no longer an insecure school girl – she was an adult now. It didn't have to mean anything. It would just be nice.

Just as she was thinking that, he swallowed again and he made to move away. "'Night, Fae."

"Wait." She grabbed his hand before he could take a step and she pulled him back to her, their lips crashing together. She stepped back, guiding him into the room with her without breaking the kiss. She let her tongue trail along his lips and she felt his mouth open, allowing her to deepen the kiss as she buried her fingers in his sandy hair. Oz, this was so much better than she'd ever imagined it to be. Why had she waited so long?

Maybe she'd just been waiting for the right person, though. She considered that as she pulled him back onto the bed with her, his body heavy against her own as they continued to kiss. The fingers of his one hand were running through her own hair, cradling the back of her head to keep her face close to his; his other hand was gliding down her arm, down to her waist, and then back up, tracing her spine with his fingertips. She arched her back and sighed against his lips, hooking one leg around him. "Yero…"

"You're not going to slap me for this later, are you?" he murmured against her lips and she let out a throaty chuckle, her fingers already dancing along the hem of his shirt.

"No," she breathed. "I had entirely different ideas about what I want to do to you, actually."

He kissed her again before allowing her to pull his shirt off, even as his own hands started roaming her body a little more boldly. She smiled and pulled back a little to look at him, her eyes dark and glistening slightly in the faint light.

"I never knew this could be so good," she confessed. "I mean, the only experience I've had really sucked. Maybe I should have tried this sooner." She gave him a mischievous grin, but Fiyero froze suddenly, staring at her in mild horror.

She grimaced in embarrassment, catching her lower lip between her teeth. "I'm sorry. Talking about past experiences is the biggest mood killer ever. Ugh, please forget I said that." She tried to kiss him again, but he stopped her.

"Fae," he said, rolling off her and falling down onto the bed next to her on his back, trying to catch his breath. "Oz dammit, I should have realised. I'm sorry."

"What?" she asked, genuinely confused. "You should have realised what?"

He turned his head to look at her. "You've had one experience," he stressed, "and that one sucked, as you so eloquently put it. Have you ever even kissed anyone else aside from Avaric?"

She shook her head, her cheeks flushing. "Not until two minutes ago," she said cheekily and he chuckled softly, then sobered.

"That's my point," he said. "We shouldn't do this now. The next time you do this, it should be with someone you love, when you've both taken your time to get to know the other and when you feel ready. Not with someone you may or may not have some weird spark of attraction with after your children nearly got killed and you have both alcohol and adrenaline coursing through your veins in the middle of the night. I'm not going to take advantage of you – not after everything you told me about what Avaric did."

She hated to admit it, but he sort of had a point, she supposed. She heaved a frustrated sigh. "Oz, Yero, talk about killing the mood…"

He grinned. "Sorry."

"You're not really," she muttered.

He eyed her suggestively, from her dark eyes and swollen lips to the gorgeous figure she usually hid in stiff or baggy clothing. "Trust me," he said, his voice husky. "I really am."

She tilted her head a little to the side, a mischievous twinkle coming into her eyes. "Don't be," she purred, pushing herself up and climbing over him, leaning down to bring their faces so close their breaths mingled. "We can still do a lot of other things," she whispered, grinning wickedly. "I mean… I have no objections against kissing. Do you? We already did that, anyway, so what could it hurt?"

A grin slowly spread across his own face as well when he realised she was right and he hauled her back against him, kissing her senseless.

Awakening in the morning was awkward. Elphaba found herself half sprawled on top of Fiyero, her face buried in his neck and one of her legs tangled with his, and for a moment she wondered if they'd had sex after all. Then she realised they were both still fully dressed – not counting Fiyero's shirt, which was on the floor – and she sighed, rolling away from him and covering her eyes with her arm. Oz, what had she done? She'd just attacked him like some desperate harlot! Had she even given him a choice in the matter?

Not that he'd seemed to mind it much. He still didn't, she thought, watching as his hand groped around, apparently missing her beside him. He groaned and squinted at her.

"Hey," he muttered sleepily. "What time is it?"

She shrugged. "Alarm clock is on your side of the bed."

He turned his head and moaned. "A quarter past seven. Too early. Get back here."

"We're not a married couple," she bit at him, probably a little harsher than she had meant to. "We fell asleep together last night, but let's not make that a regular thing."

"Why not?" he queried, giving her a lopsided grin that was even cuter than usual because it was so drowsy. "I wouldn't mind making it a regular thing."

She ignored him, pushing her hands through her tangled hair. "Oz, this was stupid," she muttered. "Why did we do this?"

"Because you pretty much dragged me in here with you last night?" he joked and she glared at him. He laughed, shaking his head. "Fae, we just kissed. It's not a big deal." He hesitated, then added, "Unless you want it to be."

She flared up. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she demanded. "There's nothing between us, Fiyero. It's nice being friends with you and now I ruined that last night, because things are going to be awkward now and we can't even afford that because there's an Oz-forsaken stalker on the loose and all that because I couldn't keep my stupid hormones under control and now you want to, what? Date?"

"Slow down," he told her, running his hand over his face and rubbing his eyes. "You're giving me a headache so early in the morning. Elphaba, if you don't want it to mean anything, then it didn't mean anything. It was nice and now it's over and we can go back to being friends. I won't be awkward about it if you won't be and all of this has nothing to do with my capability – or willingness – to protect you and your family."

She looked at him uncertainly.

"Why did you kiss me?" he asked her. "Not that I minded, obviously, but… well, it came a bit unexpected."

She shrugged. "Maybe you were right about the combination of adrenaline and alcohol in the middle of the night," she admitted. "Although I do think there's been something between us for a while already."

"Yeah." He chuckled. "I noticed that, too. There's nothing wrong with attraction, Fae – even to someone you hated in the beginning."

"I didn't hate you!" she protested. He raised his eyebrows at her and she sighed in frustration. "Fine, maybe I did. A little. You hurt my son on your first day!" she reminded him hotly.

"That's beside the point," he said. "My point is that sometimes two people are just attracted to one another and if you don't want to act on that, that's fine too. We were friends first, Fae, and that hasn't changed. I'm the one with all the experience, but I'd never take advantage of you. It's up to you if you want to do anything with all this or not."

She finally lay back down, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about everything. Fiyero reached for her and when she didn't protest, he pulled her into his arms, nuzzling her hair. "Your hair smells nice," he mumbled. "Like rain. And flowers."

She shuddered. "Now you're being weird."

He grinned and put his arms around her again. She heaved another sigh.

"Fiyero?" she asked. "Have you ever been in a relationship?"

"A relationship?" he echoed dumbly and she rolled her eyes.

"I think you know what a relationship is, Yero," she said drily. "Man, woman, kissing, dates, possibly sex, lots of feelings – and I'm referring to the actual boyfriend-girlfriend kind of thing, not just casual sex."

He thought about that for a moment and then had to admit, "No. Casual sex, yes – lots of it – but never an actual relationship. That has always felt too… I don't know. Committed."

"Like studying and becoming an adult?" Elphaba asked knowingly and Fiyero made a face.

"Well… yeah," he said. "I fell in with the wrong crowd when I was a teenager and I could never really shake their influence. I told you, I was supposed to take over my dad's job as president of the bank and that seemed like a lot of responsibility, not to mention something I didn't even want. I never liked the idea of running a business or working for a company. I preferred to do my own thing – something cool, like…"

"Being a professional bodyguard?" Elphaba filled in again and he looked at her in mild surprise, as if not expecting her to see through him like this.

"Exactly. I never wanted to grow up. Getting kicked out of the house forced me to, and I do believe I'm better for it now, but… well, commitment is still something I'm not used to."

She pursed her lips. "Have you ever even been in love?"

He shook his head. "I never really got to know any of the girls I slept with," he confessed. "I mean… it's never been the way it's with you. I never befriended a girl or woman first and then somehow ended up in her bed." He grinned at the way Elphaba flushed at that. "It feels… different."

"Maybe you're in love with me," she teased him, chuckling at her own joke even as she pushed herself off the bed. She had her back to him, so she didn't see the way he stiffened at that or the realisation dawning on his face.

Aww, poor Fiyero... He's so brainless he didn't even realise before! Don't worry, though, this won't be dragged out very long. They're both adults in this, after all. Still, if you want to encouragerise Fiyero a little, reviews are the way to do it! :P