Wow, another chapter in one day? Only because I left off with an admittedly crappy cliffhanger, a rushed one at that. So enjoy a nice, long chapter I actually took my time on. |D

And thanks to Ultimate Queen of Cliffies (and anyone else who might leave a review since I didn't give much time in between) for the review~ It always means so much. X3

He wasn't sure exactly what happened. First he was chasing her, telling her to stop. She screamed back, and the next thing he knew, she was skidded to a halt. He saw his chance, and went for it, lunging at her. She tried to tell him not to, but he was already in motion. He stumbled into her, sending both of them falling down, and the next thing he remembered was a loud splash, as well as the feeling of being thoroughly soaked.

And a loud, feminine screech.

Fiyero climbed out of the river, coughing up the water he had swallowed, his hands clenched into the dirt. He took deep breaths, slightly shocked as he didn't even know the river was there, or he wasn't paying attention. If he was watching his surroundings instead of Elphaba, he wouldn't have—wait, Elphaba!

"Elphaba?" he croaked out in fear, his eyes darting around. She wasn't there, didn't she climb out? He was struck with a wave of panic as he remembered her arms bound behind her back, and with a deep breath, he dove back in to find her.

The dirty water stung his eyes, but he refused to shut them, still looking for a sign of her. He ran out of breath, scrambling to the surface for a few seconds before submerging again, looking for the drowning witch. Then he saw it, a limp, emerald body floating underwater, and the next thing he remembered, he was grabbing her, and swimming up to the top of the river.

Fiyero inhaled sharply, his hair sticking to his face, his eyes heart still pounding from the adrenalin. He had pushed Elphaba out of the water, slowly lifting himself out as well. He starting coughing again, looking over at the girl, who was sprawled motionless on the ground. Her chest didn't heave like it should have, and her eyes were shut ever so lightly. His blood ran cold for a moment, "Elphaba, are you… okay?"

The lack of reply sent his spiraling into fear, as he did the only thing he could think of. He leaned over her, pressing his hands on her chest, pushing down in rhythm with his heartbeat pounding in his ears. "Elphaba, c'mon, breathe!"

He was frantic, no, desperate, as he suddenly placed his lips onto hers in addition with his previous actions, trying to blow a course of air through her. He continued a few more times, until finally, she began to flutter her eyes open. In confusion of the situation, and a slight foggy daze, she pressed her lips back against his, not fully aware of what she was even doing. Fiyero's eyes widened, feeling the green girl kiss him, her soft lips pressing against his, but his eyes closed for a moment, trying to process the surge of energy that jolted through him from this. Too quickly, it seemed, she pulled away, blushing bright red and coughing up the water she inhaled.

Fiyero wasn't any less embarrassed, kicking himself for not pulling away as soon as he realized what had happened. He had a girlfriend, he had Glinda. She was the Wicked Witch of the West, a fugitive. But… whatever he felt course through him, he didn't know why, something about it was so…

"Fiyero…?"

He snapped out of his thoughts, looking down at the panting green girl, her eyes somewhat hazy. "Yes?" "Th-thank you…" He smiled down at her, brushing her hair out of her face, "What, you thought I would have let you drown?"

She was silent for a moment, looking away, as Fiyero's expression hardened, "You did, didn't you?" She just softly nodded, staring at him, "Anyone else would have."

"I'm not anyone else, Elphaba," Fiyero sighed, "Look, you may be the wicked witch, but… you… you seem so… anyway, uh, I wouldn't let anyone drown, no matter who they are." He grinned softly, looking away. Elphaba just sighed, sitting up, as Fiyero inspected her wrists. "Hold still," he said, working at the knot.

"What are you doing?" she questioned, trying to look over her shoulder. Finally, she felt the bindings let loose, her arms finally free. "You were getting some pretty bad rope burns," Fiyero explained, "probably from wearing it so long… and the struggling underwater probably didn't help." She stretched her arms out, now able to get the stiff feeling out, wincing as her wrists flexed. Fiyero just sighed, looking at the female before him. He couldn't help but stare at her, admittedly she was somewhat attractive, in her own strange way. Not that he would go for it, but dang, if he got that same spark when he kissed Glinda, he would…

He pushed that thought out of his head, refusing to think about it anymore, no matter how special it felt. It was just the adrenalin, he reasoned, it had to be.

"Elphaba?"

She peered over at him, her head somewhat tilted, "Yes?"

"I just saved your life, right?"

She snickered, "What do you think?"

"That means you owe me one," he teased, giving her a smug grin. Elphaba rolled her eyes at this, "No way do I owe you anything."

"But I saved you from drowning."

"I wouldn't have been drowning if it wasn't for you tackling me," she replied.

Fiyero argued with, "I wouldn't have tackled you if you didn't run."

"I wouldn't have run if you didn't capture me."

"I wouldn't have captured if… you know what, screw it. I'm out of ideas, but you still owe me for saving you," Fiyero chuckled. Elphaba just rolled her eyes, snickering softly, "Depends, what do you want from me?"'

"All I want from you," he started, "is to know about you."

She blinked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion, "How so?"

"How in Oz's name did you become the Wicked Witch of the West?"