Extra birthday update! Fun fact: I'm turning 23 today and it's actually a total and complete coincidence that this is also the 23rd chapter, haha. In any case, I had a wonderful day with wonderful presents, both from online friends and 'regular' friends, so thank you all!

23. Date

The two men waited a little longer for Elphaba to make her appearance. The twins soon joined them, chattering excitedly to Fiyero about a friend of theirs who had been to Quadling Country and how awesome it was supposed to be there. Xalo complained that Elphaba was taking a long time, but Fawn reminded him that Auntie Galinda was probably helping her get ready and whenever Auntie Galinda was involved in prepping someone for something, things tended to take a little bit longer than they would have without her input.

When, after a while, Fiyero suddenly heard a sharp intake of breath from Fawn, he jumped for a clock-tick, convinced that something bad was happening. One look at her clasped hands and shining eyes, however, told him that was not quite the case. He noticed Xalo's jaw dropping and saw the awed look on Oscar's face. Only then did Fiyero slowly turn around.

Elphaba was standing in the doorway, clearly ready for a night out. She was wearing a short, dark purple dress, fitted around the waist and with a swishy skirt that flared out to her knees. The dress was made of a supple fabric that hugged her forms from the top down, but swirled around her legs when she walked, and it had a high halter neckline. She had paired it with low-heeled, open sandals in a silver colour and she was wearing some make-up, along with a few simple pieces of jewellery – silver stud earrings and a thin bracelet. Her hair had been swept up in a long, high ponytail. For someone who claimed to care or know so little about fashion, she sure knew how to pick exactly the right look for each occasion, even if Galinda had helped her. Fiyero understood the looks on her family's faces now. She always looked gorgeous, but tonight, she took his breath away. Galinda stood beside her, beaming at everyone's reaction.

"Wow, Mum," Xalo said, clearly impressed. "You look great."

"You're really beautiful," said Fawn and Elphaba smiled widely at her children.

"Thank you." She twirled around for them, making them cheer.

Oscar laughed and gave his daughter a thumbs-up. "You look wonderful, Elphaba."

She smiled at him and then turned to Fiyero, placing a hand on her hip and raising one eyebrow at him. "Well?"

"The most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life," he told her, maybe a little overdramatically, but sincerely nonetheless. Xalo made gagging noises, even as Fawn softly said, "Aww". Oscar chuckled slightly.

Elphaba blushed a little, but she pretended she wasn't affected by the compliment at all. "Thanks." She turned around again. "Isn't it a little too much?"

"Not at all," said Oscar and Fiyero had to agree.

"It's perfect." He rose to his feet and moved over to her, lacing his fingers through hers and pressing a light kiss to her forehead. "You're perfect," he murmured so only she could hear, which made her scowl, but he saw the sparkle in her dark brown eyes. Recognising the compliments made her uncomfortable, he changed the subject, offering her his arm. "Shall we go?"

She rolled her eyes, but accepted the arm nonetheless.

"Right, that's my cue," said Galinda, wiping at a few tears. "I'm going to go back to Coco now. Have fun, you two."

"Galinda," Elphaba said in amazement when her friend passed her. "Are you crying?!"

"No," the blonde sniffled. "Of course not. Don't be ridiculous, Elphie. Even I wouldn't cry about something simple as this."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow and the PA caved. "Oh, but Elphie, you two are just so sweet!"

The green woman just gave her a look. Galinda huffed and quickly brushed past her. "I'll see you all tomorrow, then. Don't stay out too late and be careful." Then she was gone.

Oscar chuckled. "That girl is getting more and more emotional every day."

"More dramatic, you mean," Elphaba corrected him, rolling her eyes once more. She turned and cast a stern look in Fawn and Xalo's direction.

"Listen to Grandpa," she instructed them. "Be good, okay?"

"Okay, Mum," they chorused before coming up to her to hug her tightly.

Xalo looked at Fiyero. "Nothing's going to happen to Mum, right?" he asked and Fiyero ruffled the boy's hair.

"I'll protect your mum," he promised him. "Don't you worry about that."

"And don't get yourself killed, either," Fawn warned, which made all the adults laugh.

"I'll try my best," said Fiyero, which was apparently good enough for her, because she nodded and let go of her mother. The kids then both hugged Fiyero as well, much to his surprise, before letting go of him and returning to Oscar.

"I want them in their beds by half past eight at the very latest," Elphaba told her father, who nodded obediently. He placed a hand on each twin's shoulder.

"Have fun," he said.

Elphaba nodded and finally allowed Fiyero to lead her from the room.

"They really are observant," said Fiyero as they made their way down the stairs.

Elphaba smiled a little wryly. "They're afraid, too. As Fawn told you this morning," she said teasingly, "they're nine, not stupid, and indeed a lot more observant than you'd think."

He laughed, took her hand, and kissed the back of it. "You really do look beautiful tonight, Fae," he said, which made her blush again.

He pretended to sigh and grumble as they moved down yet another flight of stairs, which made Elphaba stomp him in the arm. "If you hate stairs that much, you could've just taken the lift!"

"And miss out on five minutes of your company while you go down the stairs by yourself?" He winked at her. "I don't think so."

She rolled her eyes again.

"So," he said cautiously as they reached the second floor and took another flight of stairs down. "What did Galinda say to you this morning? After, you know, busting us and kicking me out of your rooms?"

Elphaba made a sour face at the memory. "Not much that was actually coherent," she said. "It was mainly squealing and gasping because finally and was I sure and were you sure and does this mean we're actually together now because oh my Oz it's about time we make up our minds. Something like that."

Fiyero grinned. "That sounds like her."

"Nessa was harder to calm down," Elphaba added, looking rueful. "We usually text back and forth in the morning to let the other know we're okay, but she didn't get any response from me this time and she tried to call me, but I didn't pick up, obviously. She was a little frantic by the time I called her. It took me half an hour to convince her that everything really was okay, and then of course I had to tell her why I hadn't responded… she squealed nearly as loudly as Galinda over that, though."

Fiyero laughed.

They reached the hall and walked over to the front door, which Fiyero opened for her with a bow. "Milady."

He'd gotten Benn to drive them to the restaurant, which was, as they drove, already being checked by some of the guards. Elphaba thought it was all a little excessive, but after everything that had already happened, she didn't dare protest. The only thing she really hated about it all was the fact that once again, she couldn't walk and she couldn't open a window as they drove.

Fiyero managed to distract her through most of the drive, however, and it was only a few minutes, so her anxiety wasn't too bad. They had a delicious dinner together, talking about all kinds of things – from the stalker, Avaric, the twins, and their families and pasts, to lighter topics such as university memories, friends, and both their interests. Fiyero asked her about her friends and about Shiz, which she told him about.

"I already told you about how Galinda and I became friends, but did I ever tell you how I met Duran?" she asked him and he shook his head. She grinned. "Well, he nearly ran me over."

Fiyero's eyebrows rose and Elphaba smirked. "I was reading whilst walking and he was trying to find a parking spot for his car. He wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings and neither was I, so he nearly hit me – he hit the brakes just in time. Judging from the fancy car he had, I thought he was going to come out and scream at me for being a stupid artichoke who nearly ruined his precious vehicle; but he was all apologies, asking me five times if I really was all right and didn't need to go to the ER. In hindsight, it was pretty funny."

Fiyero laughed. "How did you become a friend group, though?" he asked.

She paused thoughtfully. "I don't really know," she said. "It just… happened. I met Duran that day when he nearly ran me over and I saw him around on campus a few more times, but we didn't really become friends until we had to work on a class assignment together a few weeks later. Galinda and I still hated each other back then, but I'd already met Cohvu and Gaz, who were best friends even then, and they tried pretty hard to befriend me, for some reason. Once Galinda and I became friends, somehow we just ended up together as a group a few times, studying or having coffee or lunch, and eventually we became virtually inseparable."

"It must be nice to still see Galinda and Cohvu so often," said Fiyero.

She nodded, smiling. "It is. It's a shame I can't see Duran or Gazilon more often," she admitted. "Gaz lives quite far away and Duran is in the army – and of course it's not like I have a lot of free time to spare, either. It's hard for us to see one another on a regular basis, but we try. I'm looking forward to seeing them again next weekend." She looked troubled again at the thought, however, and Fiyero took her hand.

"Don't worry about next weekend," he told her. "Just relax and try to have a good time with your friends. Try not to worry too much. Leave that to me." She chuckled slightly and he smiled, pressing his lips briefly to the back of her hand. "You'll be fine, Fae. You concentrate on having fun and my guards and I will concentrate on catching our bad guy. Okay?"

"Okay," she whispered, smiling a little.

They moved on to the cinema not long thereafter, escorted by some security guards. As promised, however, they did not enter the movie theatre with them. Fiyero didn't think Elphaba's stalker would make a move there, anyway; it was a Friday night and the entire theatre was filled with people. They got some soda and popcorn and took two seats in the back, both so they had a clear view at the screen and so Fiyero could keep an eye on everyone else.

As it turned out, however, they didn't see a lot of the movie and Fiyero didn't keep an eye on anyone but Elphaba herself. The young witch felt a little like a love-struck teenager, but somehow, she and Fiyero ended up kissing most of the movie away. They were occasionally given the evil eye by some of the people around them, which made them giggle childishly. Just for a few hours, they didn't think about stalkers or threats or security measures. They were just two young people in love, acting silly and having a good time together.

The rest of the week passed, thankfully, quietly. Fiyero continued to work on tightening security and Elphaba remained mostly indoors, taking to going for long walks in the garden instead to satisfy her desire to not be cooped up between four walls all the time. She allowed Fawn and Xalo to go out a couple of times, but always under adult supervision and always with at least three guards there. She didn't want to take any risks with them.

She herself had a lot of things to take care of and people to meet, but every night, she spent time with either her family or Fiyero. It was weird, she thought, to finally be 'dating' like the girls at Shiz had all been doing so many years ago. She'd never really done that before. Here she was, twenty-six years old, and she was making herself look pretty for a man. Still, she didn't really mind.

Their 'dates' mostly took place inside the Palace – a few hours of reading together, a stroll through the garden, a private dinner, or just watching a movie in either of their bedrooms. More often than not, they spent the night together and Elphaba found herself quickly getting used to falling asleep and waking up with Fiyero's arms around her. It was strange, but it was also nice.

It wasn't long before the next Friday rolled around – the day of their group date. She was a little nervous about it all, despite Fiyero's reassurances.

"What if one of them gets hurt?" she asked that morning when she and Fiyero were still in bed, both of them too comfortable to get up.

"No-one will get hurt," Fiyero murmured, pressing kisses to her throat and neck. "There'll be security. We'll protect you all."

"But what if you don't notice him?"

He ran his fingers through her hair. "We'll all be keeping an eye out. If he's there, we'll notice him."

"And if he isn't there? What if he doesn't show up at all?"

Fiyero shrugged. "Then at least we tried," he said, cupping her cheek and turning her face in his direction. "Stop worrying, Fae. It'll be fine, one way or another. We'll figure it out." He kissed her softly.

"You keep saying that," she said, drawing away. "But you don't know if we'll figure it out. Maybe this guy will end up killing me after all. Maybe I'll be stalked by a creep the rest of my life."

He groaned and rested his forehead against her temple. "Oz, Fae, do you even know how to be optimistic or did that particular characteristic just didn't get programmed into your system?"

She stuck out her tongue. He grinned and rolled them over, pinning her beneath him. "It'll be okay," he said again, stressing each syllable. "Don't worry. Okay? Just have fun with your friends tonight."

"Mmh." He was kissing her again, almost reverently at first, but the kiss soon grew more passionate. "Okay," she mumbled against his mouth, just when he tried to deepen the kiss. His chuckle was muffled by her lips.

A nice and fluffy chapter. Enjoy it while you can, because the next chapter is going to have a cliffy once more! Muahahaha! (I mean, come on, I gotta start off this new year for me on the right foot, right?)