Middle Ground

Chapter 41

A/N So here we are. An end once again. I think at one point, I aimed for 27 chapters.

This took forever to get out. RL took me away from ff for a while. Thanks to Vinkunwildflowerqueen for pulling me back into the fray with an email that reminded me I had this lying around :) As much to NymeriaFae, Sugarcoatedcupcakex and Ravencurls for reviewing and PMing, so I couldn't ignore this any longer. Oh, and thanks NastElilBuggr, for letting me b*tch about it.

I hope you'll enjoy it just the same.

"I think that went well."

Glinda turned around, a grim but strangely pleased look on her face as she looked at Avaric.

"What do you think?"

Avaric, naturally having made his way over to the liquor cabinet, turned around and waited till he had fixed himself a drink, before turning around to salute her with it.

"I think you did splendidly, my love. Excellent work."

Glinda barely flinched, but scolded him out of what seemed more habit than annoyance.

"Don't call me your love. And you should drink less."

"Au contrare. YOU should all drink more. We have a victory of sorts to celebrate."

The lights flickered, every candle in the room lost its flame and in the back of the room, a lamp shattered.

Fiyero grimaced. He'd been waiting for this.

"Do we?"

Everyone fell silent. Fiyero looked at Elphaba and fought every instinct to go to her. His offer of comfort wouldn't be welcomed right now. It was just who she was. She needed explanations before she accepted anything else.

He'd been waiting for her to speak up. He was surprised, if anything, that she'd waited this long.

Glinda looked at Elphaba only briefly, before a guilty look took over and she cast her eyes downwards.

Avaric, on the other hand, didn't seem put off in the slightest by the dangerously careful tone and the hostile look in Elphaba's eyes. Fiyero couldn't help but envy his former friend a little. Even he was intimidated by Elphaba when she became like this, but Avaric never had been.

"You're alive, aren't you?"

Glinda whirled around at that and punched him in the shoulder. Fiyero almost laughed.

"Avaric Tenmeadows! You are the most obnoxious, insensitive..."

Avaric stepped back a little, ducking to the side to escape Glinda's repeated slaps with a grin.

"Careful, Upland. That's precious cargo."

Glinda actually huffed at that, and opened her mouth to retort, but Elphaba cut her off with a steely tone of voice.

"Yes, why am I not dead?"

Three faces turned to look at Elphaba's, who stared back unflinchingly.

"Why, exactly, am I not swinging from a pole right now?"

He flinched at that, and felt panicked anger creep up.

"Elphaba."

His tone must have conveyed enough of what he was feeling, because she almost looked sheepish.

"Well, it's the truth, Fiyero! There was a deal. And it did not include standing here, debating about Avaric's drinking habits. Which, I am inclined to say, Glinda is right about."

Avaric only rolled his eyes and gave her a pointed look.

"You do have odd ways to thank the people who save your ass, Thropp. Just saying."

She whirled on him.

"Don't you start with me. You knew about all this?!" More statement than question, daring him to deny it.

The grin didn't leave his lips, but something flashed in his eyes. Something that betrayed the fiery impatience and swagger Avaric had been famous for at Shiz.

"Well, about most of it. Don't look at me like that." He set his glass down as he made his way over to the green woman. His eyes spit fire just as much as Elphaba's did.

"We had no way of warning you. And you would have mucked it up, if we had. Be grateful you're still here, woman!" He turned away, but turned back the next second, his shoulders relaxing, some of the fire gone. "Sweet Oz, you're trouble."

Fiyero barely listened, but he saw Elphaba clench her jaws, her eyes nearly popping out of her head. She was losing patience, and losing control, fast.

Glinda was lost, her head swerving back and forth between Avaric and Elphaba, a pained look on her face. Where would she start to explain?

"Look, Elphie.."

Elphaba's head in Glinda's direction, her hair nearly hitting Avaric in the face as she turned.

"Don't Elphie me, Glinda. What was that spectacle?"

"I was saving your life! In case you hadn't noticed, they were going to kill you!"

"I know that! What I don't know, or understand, is why you were suddenly there, spouting some ridiculous story!"

"Elphie.."

But Avaric was up again, stepping in between the two women as Elphaba leaned closer to Glinda, who refused to back up.

"She saved your life, Elphaba. Does it matter, right now, how she did it?"

Fiyero saw Avaric's point and he couldn't help but agree with him a little, but he also knew Elphaba would never see it that way. She needed answers first. She always needed answers first.

"Avaric.."

Elphaba stepped forward and threw him a vicious look, then looked back at Avaric. Avaric, who just point blanc refused to acknowledge her anger, to see things from her point of view. He was, Fiyero had to concede, maybe doing the best job of them all. Glinda would flutter in the face of Elphaba's anger, tripping over herself to explain things, to meet her in the middle. He wouldn't say anything, afraid to set her off again, because his way of looking at things just so rarely matched hers. But Avaric…Avaric knew what she wanted. And he refused to give it to her. He seemed to know, somehow, exactly what he was doing and whatever she dished out, he took it in stride.

"No, please. Avaric." The words dripped with disdain. This was not going to go well at all. Avaric's drinking habits were starting to look more and more appealing.

"Tell me, please, what you feel should be the focus of my attention right now?"

Avaric sighed but held up a hand when both Glinda and Fiyero opened their mouths.

"How about the fact that you're alive? That Fiyero is. Glinda. That we all are. That Morrible is being escorted to a dungeon as we speak. How about any of that?"

Avaric shook his head as he turned away from her, put his glass back on the bar, and looked back at her.

"Oz, you're hard to please. Fiyero, I don't how you manage."

It was a low blow, meant to ease the tension. It would piss Elphaba off, but it would deflect the matter at hand. Avaric was truly a politician. Fiyero recognized it. So did Glinda, as he watched her glance at Elphaba from the corner of her eye.

And Elphaba, Oz, he loved her, Elphaba was not a politician. She didn't know how to play their games. She didn't know how to play at all.

Her eyes narrowed at Avaric and the glass he'd just put away blew into pieces. Fiyero wasn't sure if his former friend had seen it coming, or if he just had enviable reflexes, but he jumped aside fast enough to stay out of harm's way.

Glinda, however, wasn't pleased.

"Elphaba! Stop it!"

"Well, he.."

"I don't care! This is not how this is supposed to go! Dammit, Elphie..." Glinda sighed, tired and sad. Heartbroken.

"I will tell you what you want to know. There's no need to break stuff. Or people."

And that was all it took. Or maybe, Fiyero realized, Glinda was all it took. Glinda had always been able to get Elphaba to do things others would never get her to do.

Glinda was her weak spot. She would always cave, if Glinda truly dared to ask.

The blonde curls seemed to sag, as Glinda looked up and dared a smile at her former, but maybe always, best friend.

"I will tell you, Elphie."

She hadn't taken it well.

Of course, he'd never expected her to. It had been the part he'd been most worried about.

The danger of it all. To him, to Avaric, even to Glinda. He'd been able to look past that because the result would be worth it to him. To him.

But what would come after. What had come after. What was still coming now. To her, it might not be worth it at all.

Glinda had insisted on having this talk in private, leaving him and Avaric behind in a room with broken glass on the floor, an uncomfortable sofa, and a well-stocked bar within reach.

If that sounded like trouble, Fiyero didn't care. He was thankful for that well-stocked bar. He intended to leave it behind considerably less well-stocked.

"Want another one?"

Fiyero blinked, his thoughts fuzzy and clinging to his eyelids.

Avaric was swinging a bottle by the neck between his fingertips, eyebrows wagging. He didn't wait for an answer, just filled up both their glasses and plopped down next to Fiyero.

Fiyero glanced to the side from the corner of his eye. Even Avaric didn't seem to be enjoying his drink. He snorted, making Avaric look at him in question.

He gestured between them by way of an answer and Avaric sniggered.

Men were easy.

It came to him randomly but it was so true. Women….

"Women are ridiculous."

Avaric snorted at that, nodded.

"That they are."'

He looked up at Fiyero, one corner of his mouth lifted in appreciation.

"She'll be fine."

Fiyero didn't bother with an answer, just raised an eyebrow as he brought the glass to his lips.

Avaric laughed, short and dry, then grimaced.

"Yeah, okay. She won't be…you know…fine. But…she'll get over it."

"Will she?"

His voice came out gravelly. Run over. And it wasn't until he said that he realized he wanted an answer. He had no idea if she would indeed 'get over it'. What if this was what broke her? What if this was what ended it all? What if…

"She will"

There was no doubt in Avaric's grim tone. None at all, and it made him wonder why that was. Why he didn't have the same conviction. He wondered if it meant he knew her better, or not at all. Wondered if Avaric did.

"Fiyero."

Again, it was Avaric's voice that pulled him from the cobwebs in his head. He looked to the side, turned his whole head that way, looked into the determined green eyes of what used to be his friend. Was maybe his friend again. Had maybe always been his friend.

"She loves you more than she hates him."

He didn't look away. Neither of them did. Avaric believed in what he was saying. Maybe he should just believe it too.

They needed him.

That's what ate at her the most. Gnawed at her. Her nerves were on edge, her entire being felt like it was coming apart at the seams. Frayed edges that wouldn't take much more. Couldn't take this.

And yet, they'd have to. Because they still needed him.

Oz, how could she be okay with this? How would she ever find peace with this?

Her father.

Father.

Her stomach was in knots, her throat hurt. The muscles in her back coiled so tensely they felt like iron about to collapse.

This man, this pathetic, weak little man, was her father.

She would never be okay with that.

She would never make peace with that. Not ever.

She'd told Glinda as much, after she'd bitten her lip to let Glinda get her story out. The whole story. And every single detail she hadn't wanted to know. Glinda had told her, her lips trembling, her voice shaking at times, but soldiering on.

Glinda had grown into a woman she'd had not honestly thought she'd ever see her flighty, blonde roommate transform into. Had known she was capable of things, yes. But she hadn't thought she'd have the guts. The willpower. The strength.

Glinda had walked away from what was offered to her, had let go of what she wanted more than anything, and stuck to the belief of what was right.

Glinda knew how to do good. How to be selfless and actually do good.

She envied her.

But she couldn't keep her mind on that. She'd tried. She was trying still.

To keep thinking of Glinda. Of all she had become and what she had risked. Of Morrible, in prison now. Of Avaric, who had stepped up to her side, carrying his stoicism and his conviction wrapped in snark and careless charm right up to the frontline.

Of Fiyero.

Fiyero, who she wanted near her, but couldn't make herself reach out for. Fiyero, who she knew would be waiting for her.

She couldn't.

She loved him. She loved Glinda. She loved them both.

But she couldn't.

She couldn't.

He knew it was bad when Glinda came back alone.

"She's….she needs some time."

He nodded. Leaned forward into his knees, his head resting in his hands. She needed time. He understood that. He did. But….

"Unfortunately, we don't have that much to spare."

Avaric's tone was cavalier, but neither Glinda nor Fiyero were fooled. Avaric understood too.

"We can't force her, Avaric."

Glinda, so full of compassion and regret. How did she manage to sound like that, after all they'd done to her?

"I know that, but that doesn't mean we stop trying now. If we have to wait for her to come to us…."

Fiyero looked up, his head heavy. He was tired. And ashamed of it. Nothing with Elphaba was easy. Nothing had never been easy on her, and this was just another piece that would chip away at her. And he was tired because he wanted her here. And that was selfish. She needed time. And she deserved so much more than his impatience.

"What do you suggest then? Glinda was our best option."

"Fiyero."

He looked over at Glinda, saw her bit her lip, wanting to deny his words. Knowing she couldn't. They both knew Elphaba loved him. But they both knew she'd loved Glinda first.

"She…she loves you. You should try. Avaric's right. We can't just give up and wait for time to pass until it's too late."

He nodded.

"Yeah."

His eyes locked on Glinda's. Wanting to ask, knowing he never would, of course. What would he say? Where would he even start? What if nothing he said was enough?

"I'll go first."

They looked over at Avaric at the exact same time. Glinda's face carrying an expression of uncertainty, his one of amazement.

There was something in Avaric that wanted Elphaba safe. Saved. There was something in him that banked on her being okay, on her coming out of this. On their world to change. Avaric needed this as much as they did.

Still, despite what Avaric had managed to achieve with Elphaba, despite his obvious ability to get through to her on a level he and Glinda just didn't dare reach, Fiyero wasn't sure Avaric's prodding wouldn't do more harm than good right now.

"What are you going to…"

"I don't know. We'll see. But you should go. After that. She'll be so relieved to be rid of me, it might turn her around completely."

The joke fell flat, but Fiyero appreciated it nonetheless.

Avaric headed towards the door, but looked back, eyes on the defeated posture of his friend, before he disappeared around the corner.

He didn't bother with niceties. No soft tones, like Glinda's sugar-coated words, trying desperately to ease her friend's mind, to soothe her, to aid her where she could.

None of that with Avaric.

"You can't hide forever."

Of course, she'd known that right away. She figured it made sense, this changing of the guards. If one way didn't work, then try another. She wondered if Fiyero was next in line, then. Save the best for last.

"I'm not hiding."

Avaric just pulled up an eyebrow.

"No? Great. Let's go."

He looked inappropriately casual; his back against the doorpost, hands in his pockets. But his face was drawn, his eyes sharp and edgy.

"So?"

He was egging her on. Again. Why was he always egging her on?

"You go."

And why did it always work?

"Taking the mature route, I see."

She curled her lip, unable to hide her distaste for his methods.

"As if you have any right to say anything."

He shrugged, and she noticed the small stains of whatever had been in that glass on his sleeve.

"Probably not. But that hasn't stopped me before."

She shook her head, pushed the glass, the drink, the risks Avaric had taken to be here, to get her here, and focused on the fact that he was annoying her.

"Ugh. Just get out, Avaric. I need time to think."

She didn't look at at him, but saw him pushing himself off the wall and rolling his shoulders. It crossed her mind that he was probably tired. Stressed. They all must be. She was.

"You've done too much thinking already. Which is bloody useless, if you ask me, since you don't actually have a choice here."

She'd almost given in, then. For their sake. For his, and the people she knew waited on the other side of that door. But Avaric pushed her buttons too easily, and she couldn't fight her own responses. Fighting her own instincts, dialing back her natural responses. She'd never been any good with that in the first place.

"Excuse me?"

He sighed and moved to stand in front of her, sank down into a crouch and put a hand on her knee. To balance himself or to ground her, she couldn't say.

"Look, Elphaba. I get that you're angry, alright? We all get it. I get that this shook you. That you need time. Thing is, we don't have any to offer. This needs to be dealt with, and it needs to be dealt with now."

She hadn't looked up yet, and kept her eyes trained on his hand now too. He didn't wear any rings, but there was leather strap around his one wrist, a silver thing, old and worn, on his other. She wondered who'd given it to him. If there was anyone waiting for him, outside the castle's walls, or if he would come home to silence, like she had so many times. Avaric had broken that silence for her when she'd needed it. He'd been there. He'd been there for her. She owed him this. She owed him his chance at whatever it was he hoped to gain from all this.

But…

"Who says I want to deal with it?"

She looked up, found his eyes, focused on the light hairs on his chin. Stubble. He needed to shave. He smirked a little. It was the one thing she knew she could count on with this man. He knew how to appreciate childish responses. Sarcasm. Stubbornness. Human emotions at their most useless.

"It doesn't matter what you want." He turned the smirk into an actual smile, soft and hard all at the same time.

"Because if you don't do this, then Glinda and Fiyero risked their hides for nothing. And we both know that you won't let that happen because as infuriatingly difficult as you like to make things, you wouldn't risk a hair on their disturbingly flawless heads." She smiled back a little. Couldn't make more of it than that.

Avaric ducked his head, his hand gripping her leg tighter.

"Let's just go, Elphaba. Let's go and Get. This. Over with. And then, you can sulk. And process. And drink, hopefully. I thought that went rather well, last time."

He smirked at that last one. That annoying, utterly charming -if you didn't know better-smirk that had gotten her in trouble before. And gotten her out of trouble on several occasions as well.

She didn't say anything, but she didn't need to apparently, maybe her resolve shone through, because he tightened his grip on her leg once more, pushed himself to his feet and stepped back.

"What do you say, Thropp? Are you good to go, or do I need to send Tiggular in here to work the puppy-dog eyes?

She grimaced at the truth of his words, and narrowed her eyes at him for good measure.

She ignored his satisfied grin, got up and walked past him out the door, sat next to Fiyero and raised her eyes to meet Glinda's.

"What now, then?"

"It is my belief that Madame Morrible found out the truth about my daughter, and she was afraid the power to rule Oz would fall in the hands of Elphaba, instead of her own."

Fiyero looked on in disbelief. How anyone would ever believe this stuttering, fumbling old man, was beyond him, but it seemed to work just fine.

The crowd had reassembled mere hours later. Nobody in the Emerald City had gotten any sleep that night. The pubs had been full, kitchen lights on in every house that held people. Nobody knew what to make of this turn.

People were impatient, scared and skeptical. As they should be. They deserved answers. As much as Fiyero despised every person out there that had ever dared to think bad of Elphaba, that had ever said a word against her, he knew they deserved answers.

And the Wizard, The Wizard, was the only one who could give it to them. Glinda's word would not be enough. The people really loved Glinda, but they needed more than that here. Still, he'd doubted if the Wizard's word would be enough. Would that old fool really convince them to accept this complete turnabout?

How would they, how could they, ever make it plausible that the woman they had been taught to fear for the past years, was suddenly no more than the victim of bad press?

It didn't matter that that was basically what had happened. It didn't matter that it was the truth. The truth was often harder to believe than lies were. And the wizard's tale of deceit and betrayal wouldn't change that.

But it did.

He'd seen the awe on people's faces as the Wizard had stepped forward. He'd seen them hang on to every word he said. He'd seen them beckon Glinda to his side, as he told his story, and he saw, now, how Avaric and Glinda had believed this could work.

The crowd's doubt, the anger, the indignation that he had feared wouldn't be erased….it wasn't. That was never the goal. But the focus was shifted, the scape goat was now Madame Morrible.

The Wizard had been right; what the people needed was a good common enemy. And who that enemy was, mattered a lot less than one would think.

That enemy was now no longer Elphaba, never again to be referred to as the Wicked Witch of the West, who had been cheated, deceived and hunted, but the woman who had been behind it all in the first place.

He wanted to be relieved, but it made him just a little bitter, that people would so easily swallow whatever story they were told.

As long as there was someone to blame, the peace would be kept. And this time, for now, the blame was finally put on the right person.

He shook it off, and focused on the Wizard and his captivated audience again.

For now, the blame was on the right person. And off of Elphaba. She had a chance now, at least. Despite the damage done, and all the fall-out they would undoubtedly have to deal with.

At least they had a chance.

That would have to do for now.

"Absolutely not."

"Come on, now Glinnie."

"Do NOT call me that."

"You know how people would love the idea of it. I'm a friend of Fiyero's, after all. It's like it was always meant to be."

"It is not. It was never. You're too good at lying."

"As if you wouldn't see right through me."

"True."

"One chance, Upland. What have you got to lose?"

Elphaba stood in the corner of the room, watching Glinda and Avaric battle it out, and tried not to let her mind take her back to the events of the last few days. Of the last few hours.

She still had very little understanding of all that had transpired. She had been saved. She was free now. She had a chance to start over, as best as she could.

That would take a while to sink in. Fiyero was here, she felt his arm brush up against hers as he came to stand beside her, his eyes on Glinda and Avaric too but all of his attention on her.

It was the first touch between them since things had spiraled out of control, and she had half expected it to feel like an electric shock

It didn't. It was just a brush of his arm against hers and it shocked nothing. There was no electric current, no flash of lightning, no shot through the heart.

It was just his arm touching hers. The way it had so many times before, consciously felt or not, and the way it would for many years to come.

It wasn't a scary thought.

It was the only damn thing that made sense in all of this. That Fiyero was here, standing beside her, his arm brushing against hers.

It was the only thing she knew how to respond to.

She leaned to the side and let her body rest against his just a little. Their legs and hips, their arms touching. She felt his body relax and his hand found hers.

Her fingers curled around the rough texture of his hand. His fingers clasped hers and linked them together.

She pushed every thought of her family, the wizard and everything that was to come away.

This would do, for now.

This would do.

I hope you enjoyed this little tale, and again I hope, more than anything, that I did Fiyero and Elphaba justice.

To make sure I don't do what I did with this fic, I will hold off on the multi-chaps for a while. RL just gets in the way sometimes, even when we believe differently. Or maybe especially when we believe differently.

I do have a need to come back to writing though. I miss it. If you have requests or one-shot ideas, drop me a line. It may take a while, but I could at least give it a try.

Let me know what you thought of this story, and perhaps how you would feel about a next story.

Thanks for sticking with this. I hope to see you again soon.