Middle Ground
Chapter 5
A/N I had the day off unexpectedly and it results in an update :)
I hope you enjoy.
It was him.
It really was.
Fiyero.
He'd come back.
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that. A part of her wanted to let him know she was there, the other part told her to run. Yelled at her to run.
Like last time, she didn't listen to the wiser part.
She watched him look around, watched him search for her, because she knew, she knew, he was there to search for her. She watched as he sank down to the floor, his back against a tree.
She watched him for a little while and then slid down the tree and walked around it, to face him.
She didn't have to say anything, he was on his feet as soon as he laid eyes on her.
"Elphaba."
She wanted to look away, but there was a magnetic force at work that wouldn't let her.
"Fiyero."
She looked at her feet, annoyed with herself and then back up. She shrugged a little.
"I don't know what we're doing here."
He didn't smile, only got more serious and stepped forward.
"I know why I'm here. I've been back here a few times. I was hoping to see you."
She believed him. That was a problem.
Neither of them should be doing this. Neither of them should be here. They had other places to be. Other lives to lead. Lives that didn't include each other.
"Fiyero. This is pointless."
He didn't move.
"Then why did you come?"
A grim smile she couldn't stop tugged at her lips.
"I'm not sure."
He smiled a little, a small but not a nervous smile. How was he not nervous? Her whole body seemed to shake with it.
"Really?"
He moved forward a little and his face was so close to hers she almost had to back away to look him in the eye.
"Fiyero..."
He still wasn't touching her, but his presence became more oppressing somehow. He was getting too close, in every sense of the word.
"You really don't know why you came back here?"
She took one step back, her sanity a more pressing matter than her pride right then.
"Fiyero..."
He took another step as well and risked a hand up to cup her cheek.
"Okay, I don't even really know either. There's too much going on that I can't comprehend. But..."
His other hand grabbed hold of hers, his thumb gently rubbing over her knuckles.
He looked down at their hands and smiled, a small smile, a wistful one.
"I really wish it was a lot simpler than this."
She wanted to move away from him, she wanted to pull her hand back, but she could only stand there, entranced. He was becoming such a man. Was already a man and he was more honest, more open now than she'd ever seen him.
Gone was the Prince that had danced so skilfully through life. In his place was a man who didn't know his place in life yet but was searching for it. And he would find it, she was sure. There was a charisma and a power to him now that hadn't been there at Shiz. Not like this. She wondered what had happened to him to change him so, and the bitterness she felt at not knowing, at not having been there, was overwhelming.
"Elphaba?"
He must have noticed her distraction because he kissed her hand and smiled at her.
"I don't know what we're doing either. But I can't stop thinking about you. I know how that sounds and I know I probably shouldn't be saying it, but it's the truth. And I just want the truth for once."
She knew exactly what he meant. How he felt. This moment, this thing between them, as twisted and weird and wrong as it may be, was at least truthful.
Maybe that was why she'd been unable to walk away. Why she'd been unable to stay away.
He provided her with something real, in a world where nothing in her life was real. Nothing about her life was built on the truth. The lies, the deception, the unfairness of the world..it caught up with her sometimes and it took all her willpower to keep going. To not give up. But she was tired. She was so tired sometimes.
And Fiyero...
Fiyero was real.
He knew her still. He saw her for who she was, whatever that was at the moment. And he didn't judge her, or try persuade her to change or switch sides or even talk. He just stood here in the forest and held her hand.
She peeked back up at him and dared to smile back.
"I would like that. The truth."
She wasn't even sure what that meant, but he seemed to understand it well enough.
He let his hand move from her face into her hair and down her back and pulled her to him.
A hug. He'd never hugged her before. Very little people had, and the lack of experience with them made her uncomfortable with the sensation. This, though, was nice.
His body was pressed against hers but only lightly. His arms supportive but not heavy. Her head rested on his shoulder and she could almost feel his pulse. His body heat enough to ward off the evening chill.
Her arms came up to embrace him and she let herself relax for a moment. Just for a moment. She'd leave soon, they'd say goodbye and then she'd be back to business, to her job, her life, the cold. The lies.
But this...for now...it was more than she'd thought she'd have. She'd never stopped to think about moments like this, never wished for them or hoped for them, either.
Now that she was here, though, in his arms, wondering why on earth she was even allowing this, she let herself enjoy it.
Thanks as always :)
This weekend :)