AN: The Queen is back!

ItsUpThatIFell: Nah, my readers know me too well by now :). And do you know that I only realised that (about Katniss and Buttercup, I mean) when you mentioned it? I've read the books at least ten times - must have been a subconscious influence or something ^_^.

Anyway, so... I'm back. I had the most wonderful time ever. I'll try to keep it short. Willemijn was amazing. So was Savannah. Sue Kelvin is an amazing Morrible. Jeremy Taylor was a much better Fiyero than I had expected him to be. I wasn't into Sam Kelly - his voice had kind of a growl in it that makes it hard to understand him sometimes, and he totally forgot his lines during Wonderful, it's was kind of awkward - it got so bad that Willemijn started singing along just to get him back on track. Other than that, though, he was fine.

Highlights of the show:
The best ALAYM I've ever seen in my life, live or otherwise. The chemistry between them was brilliant and Jeremy behaved exactly like Fiyero should behave during that scene. You can probably expect another ALAYM one-shot from me one of these days :3.
The best NGD I've ever seen, too. Willemijn completely blew me away. Gooseflesh all over, tears in my eyes. She looked so magnificently and heartbreakingly beautiful, she sang the song so incredibly amazingly and there was so much emotion - you could just feel the heartbreak Elphaba is experiencing during that song and it exceeded every single NGD performance I've ever seen in my life by far.

I watched my friend fall in love with Wicked - I forgot how amazing that is to watch. I got all giddy when she reacted so enthusiastically ^_^. She said she might come out here and check out my fanfics, now that she knows what they're based on, and I hope she will :).

When I started writing this chapter this morning, I was on a high. I was giddy, exhausted but way too talkative and enthusiastic - I was like Galinda on energy drinks or something. Now, I'm experiencing that post-Wicked depression that many of you probably recognise, because I just realised that I have no idea when (if ever) I'll see the show again and it's over and I have to go back to uni tomorrow.

Anyway, when I was on a high, I was inspired to write Fiyeraba fluff; and right now, I just needed to write Fiyeraba fluff; so here's an entire chapter filled with Fiyeraba fluff. And we're nearing the end of this story.

Is that enough to keep the Maddy Hunters off my back?

Chapter 34. As long as you're mine

The first thought that crossed Fiyero's mind when he saw something green on the beach once again was, This is almost starting to become a habit.

Then his brain caught up with his eyes and he realised what he was actually looking at, and he suddenly felt like he was going to faint. He wasn't sure how long he stood there, just gaping at her, before he finally opened his mouth and croaked, not really believing that it was true, "F-Fae?"

Upon hearing the sound of his voice, her head whipped around and her eyes widened. "Yero," she breathed, and then she suddenly pushed herself to her feet and threw herself into his arms, burying her face in his neck. "Yero, I'm so sorry," she said, suddenly sniffling. "I'm so sorry for leaving you, I should never have done that, and I truly thought it was the right decision to make back then but it wasn't and I know that now, and I'm sorry for dying, I mean, I probably scared you to death and I swear I never meant to… Did I just say that I probably scared you to death by dying? That's not funny – that wasn't meant to be funny, I swear. I'm just… I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry." She took a deep breath. "And now I'm rambling. I never let anyone else talk, do I?"

She suddenly realised that he wasn't moving – he just stood there, completely stiff, and she pulled away slightly to look up at him. "Yero?"

He just kept on staring at her, his eyes wide and unblinking.

She let out a nervous laugh. "Oh. Yes. I should probably explain to you how I'm here right now when you saw me die, right?" She ran her fingers through her hair. "I, um…"

"A-are you even real?" Fiyero asked, his voice shaking.

She looked at him. "I am."

"Are you… dead?"

She suppressed a smile. "No, Yero. I'm not dead."

He blinked rapidly, his breathing coming in short, shallow gasps. "Then how…"

His hands were clenched to fists and trembling, and she covered them with her own hands. "Yero," she said.

He looked at her. She met his gaze.

"It's me," she said. "And I'm fine. I promise."

With a soft, strangled cry, he crushed her against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist, burrowing into him. "I love you," she whispered. "I'm really sorry."

He let go of her, taking her in eagerly. "But… but how…" he stammered.

She wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm not sure," she confessed. "I think it's because I am… or, well, was… a hybrid. Half mermaid, half human. I guess only the mermaid part of me was allergic to fresh water."

He reached out to trail his finger down her upper arm, which was a lighter shade of green now than it had been before. "Your skin…"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure why that is, either," she said. "It's part of the transformation, I think."

He looked at her sharply. "What do you mean, transformation?" he asked anxiously. "What kind of transformation?"

She cupped his face with both hands and looked into his eyes. "The transformation I went through when I died," she said. "I shed my mermaid form, Fiyero. I still have some magic powers, but I can't breathe under the water without a spell and I can't change myself into a mermaid anymore."

Realisation slowly dawned on him. "Are you saying…" he began hopefully.

She smiled when she saw the look in his eyes, and he reached out to trace the dimples in her cheeks with his index finger. "Yes," she said.

He hardly dared to hope. "Yes, what?" he asked instead, a bit worriedly.

She raised her gaze to meet his again. "Yes, that means I'm completely human now," she confirmed his unspoken thought. "And yes," she added before he could say anything else, "that also means I can't return to be the Queen of the merpeople now, since I'm not a mermaid anymore myself."

She slowly traced his jaw line with her fingers. "But even if I had been able to," she said softly, "I wouldn't have done it."

"Really?" he asked her, not entirely convinced, and she nodded. Her fingers started playing with the buttons on his shirt and she kept her gaze fixed on them as she said, "All this time, I thought that I needed to get away from here to… to find the place where I was supposed to be, you know? And when I learnt about my true self, my past and my heritage… I thought that was it. I thought that was home for me – or that it was supposed to be, anyway. But after what happened…" She swallowed. "I mean… me dying… it made me realise that I was wrong all along. Galinda always said that I belong right here, with you guys, but I never really believed her. And Aurya, at some point… She told me to look deep inside of me and see what I really wanted. She told me to follow my heart."

She looked up at him and just for this once, her eyes weren't shielded. Just for this once, he could see everything she was feeling in her eyes.

"So here I am," she said simply.

"Fae…" He looked like he was going to cry. "Are you sure?"

She took a step closer to him, so that their noses were almost touching. "Of course." She took his hand, lacing their fingers together, and brought their joined hands up to rest over her heart.

"I love you," she said. "Where else would my heart lead me?"

He couldn't speak because of the sudden lump in his throat.

"And then I realised…" She took a deep breath. "I don't belong here," she said. "I don't belong at Adurin Iir, and I don't belong on the land in general."

He thought his heart stopped for a moment. Was she really doing this? Was she going to leave again? He already started panicking, but then she added, "And I don't belong down there in the sea, either."

He blinked.

She shrugged. "I've always been trying so hard to find a place that truly felt like home," she said, "that I didn't see that I found that place a long time ago. Not until I was dying."

He looked confused. "I don't get it," he said. "If you don't belong in the ocean, and not here at Adurin Iir, then where –"

"That's the mistake I made," she said. "I thought it had to be an actual place, but that's not true. It can be anything, you know. A place, a thing… a person. And I know mine now. I know where I belong."

He looked at her questioningly. "And where is that?"

She shook her head, smiling. Then she kissed him.

"With you, Yero," she said. "Where else?"

He started gaping at her again.

She looked up at him, her dark eyes catching the light. "It doesn't matter where I am," she said. "As long as I have you."

He sniffled.

She stared at him a little incredulously. "Are you crying?" She reached up to wipe his tears away with her fingers. "Oh, come on, Yero, don't cry!" she almost begged him. "I can't stand it when you're crying, you know that!"

"Sorry," he sniffled. "I'm just happy."

She wiped her nose. "See? This is why I hate to see you cry," she complained. "Seeing you cry always makes me cry, and I hate crying!"

He laughed despite his tears and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "So…" He was still a little bit afraid to ask the question, but he had to know. "Does this mean you… you're staying?" he asked tentatively. "You're not going anywhere now?"

She looked up at him. Seeing him like this made her feel incredibly guilty about what she had done, the way she had left him; but the look in his eyes now seemed to wash that guilt away. He didn't blame her. He would never hold it against her.

He loved her.

"I'm staying," she said softly, her throat clogged with unshed tears now. "For good."

She was trying her hardest not to let the tears fall, but upon seeing the look of pure joy and love on his face, she burst into tears anyway. She sagged against him, sobbing, and he lowered them both onto the sand so that he could pull her into his lap and wrap his arms around her, holding her close to him.

Even after they had both stopped crying, they didn't move. Elphaba just snuggled further into Fiyero's arms, her head on his shoulder.

"Did you see Aurya already?" he asked quietly after a while, and she nodded.

"I did," she said. "She was sad to see me go, but she understands. I promised her I would visit every now and then."

She could feel him nodding. "Of course."

"And I'll have to go back one final time," she said. "To name the new Queen of the merpeople."

He smiled. "I don't think I have to guess for long who that's going to be."

Elphaba smiled, too. "Yeah," she agreed. "I think Aurya will be a great Queen. Probably much better than I ever could have been."

Fiyero threw her a stern look. "Fae…"

She rolled her eyes. "Not because I couldn't rule," she clarified. "I mean… I think I did pretty well during my one month as Crown Princess. But Aurya has lived among them her entire life," she explained. "She knows what it's like to be a mermaid, she knows the kingdom, she knows the people – she knows much more about life down there than I do. She's experienced it. I think she'll do great."

"I think so, too." Fiyero put his arms around her again, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Fae?"

She leant back against him, her eyes closed. "Mm?"

"I love you," he said.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I love you, too."

They were silent for a while. Then Fiyero asked her softly, "Did you really mean that? You really want to stay with me forever?"

"Or until you get tired of me."

"That will never happen."

She looked up at him. "Yes," she said. "I meant it."

He leant down and kissed her softly, and she closed her eyes as she kissed him back. They settled back into their former position again, both of them staring across the ocean, lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked her after a while.

She sighed. "That we should probably go inside to let the others know that I'm alive," she said. "Only… Is it selfish of me that I don't want to do that yet?" she asked him a bit worriedly. "I mean, I don't want to intentionally let them think that I'm dead while I'm really not, I'm just… I'm really, really tired – have I mentioned yet that dying is incredibly exhausting? And I also haven't been alone with you in a while, and… well, I missed you. A lot. I really just want to stay here for a little bit longer."

"That's fine, a chroí," he said quietly. "We can stay here for as long as you want."

She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "What were you thinking about?"

He was silent for a moment, not sure if he should tell her, but then he just blurted it out. "That I really, really want to marry you."

She didn't jump. She didn't stiffen. She didn't turn around to slap him. Actually, she didn't respond at all, which worried him slightly. "Fae?"

She stayed quiet for a while longer, up until the point where he started to be really worried, but then she said, "Okay."

He blinked. "What?"

"I said okay." She turned to look at him. "If that was meant as a proposal, then I'm saying yes," she said. "And if it wasn't, well, then I promise that I'll say yes whenever you do decide to propose. Because I really, really want to marry you, too."

His entire face lit up and his grin was so radiant it could compete with the sun. "Are you serious?"

She laughed, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I've never been more serious about anything in my life," she said honestly.

He narrowed his eyes. "Wait a clock-tick. Who are you and what have you done with Elphaba?" he wanted to know, only half joking.

She rolled her eyes. "The old Elphaba died," she said sarcastically.

He winced visibly and she immediately regretted her words. "Oh, I'm sorry, Yero," she sighed, cradling his face between her hands. "But it's true," she added. "It… it did change me. In more than one way. It… made me realise what's really important in life."

"And what's that?" Fiyero asked her.

She fidgeted with the hem of her dress. "Friends," she said. "Family."

She looked up at him. "Love."

"So…" He pulled her closer, looking deep into her chocolate brown eyes. "Elphaba Thropp, can I ask you a very important question?"

She smiled, making him resist the urge to kiss her dimples. "Of course."

He softly kissed her temple, then down her cheek to her jaw line, his lips lingering at her throat for a moment before coming back up to capture her own. "Marry me?" he breathed against her lips.

"I'd love to," she whispered back, and he startled her by suddenly pulling her flush against him, kissing her deeply.

"I love you," he mumbled, kissing every inch of green skin he laid eyes on. "So, so much."

"I love you, too, Yero."

He pulled away. "We really should go inside now," he said, regret visible in his eyes, "but I'll make it up to you later."

She smiled again. "You'd better."

He kissed her one last time, then scooped her up in his arms bridal style and carried her all the way back to the castle.