First thing for 2024! Soaking up the last days of my free time before I go back to work and have no writing energy for a month. This meet-cute was voted for in a Tumblr poll I posted, and this was the most popular answer by a LOT. So, here we are.

Pickup and Playdates

Honestly, Fiyero didn't think much of it when his daughter first came home from school and excitedly told him about her new friend and how "her mom is green, Daddy!"

Because well, she was six. A year ago, she'd been adamant that her new best friend's name was Almond (it was actually Almyn); and that wasn't even getting into the Baden/Bacon debacle of the preschool class that had led to a very awkward conversation with Baden's parents for Fiyero. So, realistically, Fiyero assumed that this girl's mother had merely been wearing green, or that their surname was something related to green.

There was also the fact that (not to brag) Beketah was a fairly popular kid- she took after her parents that way- and seemed to have a new "best friend" every other day, and Fiyero often struggled to keep track of who currently held the title. But by the beginning of November, "Muna" was a very familiar name in the Tiggular household. Fiyero had yet to meet the girl or her mother himself, but Beketah was beginning to be very persistent in requesting a playdate with her best friend.

"Beks, I can't arrange anything until I meet Muna's mom," he reminded her patiently, hastily packing her bag for the day.

"Then you should pick me up on time on your days," Beketah said flatly, so quickly that Fiyero could only stare at her for a beat.

"Hey, I am never late picking you up," he defended himself. "I'm just not as fast as Muna's mom apparently. Has Mom met her when she picks you up?"

Beketah wrinkled her nose in a way that was entirely reminiscent of his ex-wife. "No," she conceded reluctantly, and Fiyero would be lying if he said that didn't make him feel a little better.

The divorce between him and Galinda had been fairly amicable in the end; but even eighteen months on, Fiyero couldn't help but feel a little defensive about how he was managing this solo parenting thing. Bedtime stories and make believe games? Nailing it. Her clothes were clean and she never went hungry. If sometimes Beketah had cereal for dinner and he was a little late getting to school for pickup… well, Fiyero figured there were worse things.

But there was always that fear of failing his daughter. So that Friday, he made a point of taking the afternoon off of work and getting to the school in plenty of time for pick-up. He was the first parent there, and Fiyero allowed himself a moment to feel smug about that as the final bell rang out; which lasted right up until the moment Beks' teacher, Ms Skawt, made eye contact with him as she led the class out to the row of pegs outside the classroom where each kid's schoolbag and coat were hung.

"Oh, Mr Tiggular!" she said brightly, amid the chatter of the kids as they collected their things. "I'm glad you're here. Do you have a moment?"

Fiyero suppressed a wince, avoiding her gaze in favour of searching out his daughter. "Er, I mean, not… I was going to… is Beks in trouble?"

It would not be the first time- Bek was rather too much like her parents in some aspects.

Ms Skawt chuckled. "Well, while I would appreciate it if Beketah could grasp the meaning of 'silent reading' instead of using it as an opportunity to talk to her friends, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. It will just be a moment," she promised.

Fiyero found Beketah in a huddle with two other little girls- one brunette with ribbons in her hair and one with two black braids hanging over her shoulders- their heads close together as they peered at something the brunette was holding. He glanced around and didn't see any parents there that seemed to be hurrying the girls along, so he assumed Muna's mother (if one of the girls was Muna), hadn't arrived yet.

"One moment," he agreed reluctantly. "Beks, I'm just talking to Ms Skawt," he called over to her.

Beks merely held a hand up in acknowledgement, not even glancing at him. Fiyero rolled his eyes fondly and then followed Ms Skawt into the classroom.

In his eagerness to escape and not miss Muna's mother, Fiyero suddenly found himself having volunteered to both chaperone and provide a plate for the Lurlinemas class party a few weeks away, and having signed up to volunteer in the classroom in the next semester. Information in hand and with a hasty promise to talk to Beketah about talking to her friends during silent reading, Fiyero bid Ms Skawt as polite a farewell as he could manage and then left the classroom- only to promptly find Beketah sitting there patiently waiting for him- alone.

"Where's Muna?" he asked her.

Beketah pointed down the walkway, and Fiyero peered over just in time to see the dark haired little girl Beketah had been talking with round the corner, hand in hand with a woman that Fiyero figured must be her mother. All he noted was that she was slim with hair as dark as her daughter's before they disappeared from sight and Fiyero bit back a curse just before it slipped.

"What did Ms Skawt say?" Beketah asked him with interest as they headed towards the school gate, oblivious to Fiyero's admittedly irrational irritation towards Ms Skawt.

Fiyero sighed as his shoulders slumped, resigned to chasing down Muna's mother on Monday afternoon instead. "She wanted to talk to me about helping out in your classroom a bit," he said.

Beketah's face lit up, and Fiyero held the mental image close to his heart, knowing that in far too short a time, Beketah wouldn't be so thrillified at the idea of her parents being involved in her life.

"Oh!" she exclaimed brightly, slipping her hand into his as they walked. "That would be cool. Kiff's dad comes in for our art class on Wednesday afternoons. He's helping Ms Skawt teach us pottery! I'm making a ring dish for Mommy for Lurlinemas- don't tell her," she said warningly, fixing him with a stern glance that reminded him vividly of his mother.

Fiyero held up his free hand defensively. "I wouldn't dare," he promised solemnly.

Beketah nodded in acknowledgement. "And Fiorella? Her mom helps at lunch time sometimes. What are you going to do? Are you going to make decorations for the Lurlinemas party like Mommy?"

"Er, no," Fiyero said firmly. "I'd hate to deprive your mom of that joy," he said dryly and Beketah giggled.

Fiyero's talents did not lie in arts and craft. Thank Oz Beketah had taken after Galinda in that aspect.

"I'm going to look at your schedule and see where I can fit in around work," he explained. "And I'm going to make some food for the party. What should we make?"

Beketah eyed him warily then. "Daddy, you can't bake," she reminded him unnecessarily.

"I'm sure we can manage to follow a recipe to make some cupcakes, right?" Fiyero said breezily.

Beketah did not look confident. "Mom can't bake either, but she'd at least hire someone," she muttered under her breath.

Fiyero chose to ignore that. But wow, he thought they had more time before the sass kicked in. He thought that would at least happen with double digits.

"Muna's mom is making cake out of potato," Beketah said more audibly. "It sounds gross, but Muna said it's really good."

"Uh huh. And what about Muna's other parent? Can they bake?"

"It's only her and her mom," Beketah said simply. "Her dad died when she was a baby."

"Oh," Fiyero said, wincing faintly. But he supposed it was better he be corrected by Beketah now than by Muna's mother later.

Monday afternoon he arrived at the school, not quite as early as he had on Friday, but still before the dismissal bell; only to be informed by Beketah that Muna had left early today for a dentist appointment.

"Are you due for a dentist appointment?" Fiyero asked, distracted from the vague feeling of failure he felt at having missed Muna and her mother again as he tried to remember Beketah's last dental appointment.

"No," Beketah answered rather too quickly, flashing her teeth at him as if that was evidence. "See?"

"Yeah, I'm still going to check with your mom," Fiyero said, and then sighed slightly. Well, he'd just try again on Wednesday afternoon.

Per their custody schedule, Fiyero picked up Beketah from school every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Wednesdays, he'd deliver her back to Galinda's in time for dinner; and on Mondays and Fridays, he got her for the night- and every other weekend. Yet somehow every afternoon he was there, he kept missing Muna's mother. He did hear much about her though.

"We looked at maps of Oz today, and all the different provinces we've been to," Beketah informed him one night as she brushed her teeth. "Muna's been to the most in our whole class. She was born in Munchkinland and she used to live in the Emerald City before they moved to the Vinkus. I've only been to Gillikin when we visit Nanna and Grandpop."

"Muna's mom is magic," came on a Saturday afternoon as they drew a map of the mythical kingdom Beketah had long ago declared herself princess of (Fiyero being either the king or her loyal court jester- depending on the day and what Beketah required). "Muna wants to be magic too, but we don't know how to get the magic."

"I thought everyone had grandparents but Muna doesn't," Beketah said thoughtfully one day when she and Fiyero had been at his parents' place for dinner.

All the little comments she'd drop gave Fiyero very little real information about Muna's mother, but raised plenty of questions.

"Daddy! Can Muna come over and play this afternoon? Please?" Beketah greeted him one Friday afternoon in mid-November when he arrived at the school, rather flustered but immensely grateful for the little covered courtyard that was outside the classroom where Beketah and Muna were sitting on a bench.

It was absolutely pouring rain, he'd gotten delayed leaving work, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was forgetting to do something vitally important. But seeing the little girl next to his daughter gave him pause. She had long dark hair, grey eyes and she was tiny- much smaller than Fiyero remembered her appearing when he'd first glimpsed her weeks ago. She also seemed rather shy as she hovered close to Beketah's side, and Fiyero forgot all about being cold and wet and flustered as he squatted down to their level and smiled.

"Hi, Beks," he said pointedly. "It's nice to see you too. My day was insane, but thank you for asking; and how was your day?"

He was satisfied to see Muna crack a smile, even as Beketah giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Dad."

"Hi Muna," Fiyero said, even as he reached out to squeeze Beketah's hand in silent comfort. "I'm Beks' dad. It's nice to meet you finally- I've heard a lot about you. Where's your mom?"

He looked around, but there were no other parents or kids, save for Ms Skawt tidying up the classroom.

"She's running late," Muna offered quietly. "Ms Skawt's waiting with me until she gets here."

Fiyero nodded. "Well, look girls. I'd love for you to have a playdate; but-" he added quickly as Beketah's face lit up. "Before we can arrange that, Muna's mom needs to meet me or Bek's mom. So today isn't going to work, but we'll work on it," he promised.

Beketah pouted. "Can we wait for Muna's mom?" she asked instead.

Fiyero winced. "Not today, kiddo. We need to get home," he said apologetically. "Say goodbye to Muna."

Beketah heaved a sigh, but turned to hug Muna tightly. "Bye, Muna. See you tomorrow."

Fiyero felt a little bad leaving Muna there alone with just Ms Skawt for company, and hoped that her mother was close by.

"What do you know about Muna's mom, Beks?" he asked once they were home and in dry clothes, finishing up a snack.

Beketah's brow furrowed. "She's green?" she offered.

Fiyero still had no idea what that meant. "So, her job? She's a…" he trailed off, trying to think of jobs that involved green.

Something environmental?

Beketah stared at him nonplussed. "I think she works in a lobby," she finally said.

Fiyero stared back at her. "As a receptionist?" he guessed.

Beketah just shrugged and went to go play, ending the conversation.

Fiyero tried asking Galinda if she knew anything, but all she knew were the same things Beketah had already told him and that she hadn't met her yet either. So he kept trying.

For Fiyero, the worst part about school pickup was trying to time it right. Too late and you could be deemed as a bad parent for keeping your child waiting; too early and you were forced to make small talk with the other parents- and somehow it was always the most painful (read: gossipy) ones that roped you in to talk. Fiyero's personal sweet spot was usually a minute either side of the bell- enough time to politely wave and greet other parents, not long enough that Beketah got annoyed waiting for him. But when he was desperately trying to make contact with Muna's mother, he was usually getting there earlier, which was tricky. Even if he managed to avoid talking to the other parents, that didn't necessarily mean he was out of earshot of their gossip.

"You have to wonder about the father, don't you? When she's like that? I mean, the child seems normal, but compared to her…"

"Oh, naturally. Setarah says that there was some kind of scandal involved."

"In the marriage or the death?"

Fiyero was fairly confident the mothers gathered near the school gate were talking about Muna's mother, and he had to swallow back the urge to interject and tell them to mind their own business. He knew firsthand what it was like to be the talk of the schoolyard- his and Galinda's divorce had been the hot topic of conversation for a good three months when it had become public. It had been even worse for Galinda, who had considered many of these women her friends until that moment.

"Well, from what Setarah heard," one of the mothers said in what was a poorly hushed tone, "both their families were against the match. He was from… the Glikkus, I think?"

"I thought he was Evian?"

The dismissal bell was Fiyero's favourite sound in the world for drowning out the rest of that conversation.

But of course, the school wasn't especially large- less than five hundred students- and so it was only a matter of time before a parent dared to approach Fiyero directly about it.

"I hear Beketah has befriended Muna Dyrubin," one mother said to him one afternoon at the beginning of December, after Fiyero arrived at pickup to find out Muna wasn't even there that day.

"Yep," Fiyero said distractedly, waiting for Beketah to return after she'd needed "just one second" to get her scarf which she'd forgotten inside the classroom.

"Have you met her mother yet?"

"Not officially," Fiyero said, rummaging through Beketah's schoolbag to see if the scarf was inside (it would not be the first time).

The woman (Fiyero could not remember her name for the life of him) hummed. "I don't know if I'd want my child to be friends with a family like that," she said.

Fiyero looked up blankly. "A family like what?"

The woman (Oz, what was her name?!) gestured like the answer was obvious. "Well, she's a single mother. And look at the two of them- who's to say that Muna is really her daughter? She's green, after all."

Fiyero straightened. "My daughter's mother is a single mother," he pointed out coolly.

The woman wrinkled her nose slightly. "Not really. Look at you- you provide financial support don't you? You share the parenting? Oz, you're a more active father than my husband," she laughed lightly, although she trailed off awkwardly when Fiyero didn't chime in.

"Found it!" Beketah announced, bounding up to them, scarf in hand.

Fiyero had never been more grateful for his daughter's timing. "Great," he said briskly. "Let's go, Beks."

The next Wednesday evening when he dropped Beketah back at Galinda's- the first time in a while he'd seen Galinda long enough for them to actually sit down and properly have a conversation about things that weren't their daughter- he had to mention it. Galinda just rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Haria," she said, gliding around her kitchen making tea. "Nattaya's mother? She's horrendible. I never realised before we divorced that there was such specific criteria involved in what makes a single mother. And only Haria is capable of looking down on single mothers while simultaneously decreeing who is worthy of the title. How such a lovely child came from someone like her is beyond me. Fortunately, Elphie says she's heard much worse and isn't bothered by it."

Fiyero looked up from absently studying the pattern on the teacup in front of him. "Elphie?" he repeated.

"Muna's mother?" Galinda said slowly. "Keep up."

Fiyero blinked. "I didn't know Muna's mother's name," he defended himself. "Wait- you've met her? Finally? When?"

"Of course," Galinda said dismissively. "I met her yesterday at pickup. Beks and I spent the afternoon there yesterday so the girls could have a playdate."

She paused, peering towards the doorway. Fiyero glanced over his shoulder too, despite the fact he could clearly hear the noise coming from Bek's bedroom as she "had to finish this present I made for you, Daddy" before he went home.

"Muna just got a new kitten," Galinda said in a low voice. "Bek got quite attached, so expect the hints to start. She's already said something to me, but I said no. I'm not dealing with cat hair all through my house."

Fiyero nodded and paused. "Wait. Is this a thing where if I say yes to a cat, then I'm making myself 'the fun parent' and you get annoyed at me?"

Galinda laughed. "Fiyero, if you want to get a cat, get a cat," she reassured him. "I don't want one is all."

Fiyero frowned slightly as she finished making the tea. "I don't know if I'm a cat person…"

Galinda laughed again. "You'll be getting a cat," she predicted wisely.

Fiyero made a face at her, but couldn't argue. She was probably right.

"What's she like? Muna's mother?" he asked curiously.

Galinda paused thoughtfully, taking a sip of tea before answering. "She's not what I expected," she admitted, looking slightly guilty. "Honestly, if Beks wasn't friends with her daughter, I wouldn't have approached her."

"Meaning you would have been over with Haria and the other parents gossiping about her?" Fiyero said knowingly.

Galinda flushed slightly. "Sometimes it can feel like being in school myself again sometimes," she conceded.

"Miss Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands rides again," Fiyero teased her.

"Oh like you were any better, Mr Scandalacious," Galinda retorted and Fiyero shrugged.

It was like what everyone at Shiz had said from the time they started dating- how well matched they were, how they were perfect together. It was practically the mantra for their wedding, and then Beketah had arrived- the final perfect piece of the perfect family. Until it wasn't perfect anymore.

"Okay, so… Elphie?" he prodded.

Galinda blinked and then straightened. "Right."

"Not what you expected?"

"She's very… sharp," Galinda mused, like she was considering her words carefully. "Very bright. But very… guarded? And she's doing a wonderful job with Muna all by herself- she's got no family nearby."

"Beks said she works as a receptionist?" Fiyero asked.

Galinda frowned at him. "What? No?"

"Beks said she works in a lobby?"

Galinda's brow smoothed out in an instant as she laughed at him. "Fiyero! Are you taking our six-year-old as a reliable source of information on anything besides the best sundae toppings?"

Fiyero shifted slightly, averting his gaze sheepishly. "I keep missing this woman!" he defended himself. "And I figured Beks would be a better source than the women gossiping at the school gate at least."

Galinda was still laughing, even as she nodded in acknowledgement. "Elphie does like to avoid the other parents," she conceded. "I practically had to corner her."

Fiyero wondered if that was why he was yet to meet Muna's mother and felt a little better for it.

"Okay, so what does she do then?"

"She's a lobbyist," Galinda replied. "She didn't say much yesterday about who she's working for, but she did say that she's doing research for some education bill."

Fiyero blinked. "Oh."

He hadn't expected that. "Why does Beks think she's green?"

Galinda stared at him, and then put her teacup down. "Wow. You really haven't seen this woman at all, have you?"

Fiyero held up a finger. "I have seen her from the back twice, and seen her from a distance like, three times now, maybe? I told you I keep missing her."

Galinda chuckled. "Fiyero, she's green. As in, her skin is literally green."

For a moment, Fiyero felt like an idiot for not assuming that was what Beketah had meant. And then he reasoned that he could hardly be expected to assume that. When was the last time you saw a green-skinned person, after all?

"That does clear a few things up," he said, thinking back on some of the comments he'd heard the other parents make.

It didn't make them right, or make things better, but they definishly made more sense.

Naturally, his next question was how one became green, especially when Muna very clearly wasn't. But Fiyero at least had enough common sense to know that this wasn't a question you asked, and that Galinda was unlikely to know the answer after only one afternoon of conversation.

"At the very least, you'll meet Elphie at the class Lurlinemas party. You're chaperoning, right?"

"Right," Fiyero confirmed.

"So is Elphie."

Fiyero was oddly relieved to hear that. If he kept missing this woman for much longer, he may have begun to doubt her existence at all.

The Lurlinemas party for Beketah's class was held in the second last week of the semester before winter break on a Friday afternoon, and Fiyero was pleased to have an excuse to procrastinate his own work for a bit, even if that meant watching twenty-seven six-year-olds get steadily more sugar-infused in a classroom that looked like Lurline's fairies had thrown up on every surface- a comment Fiyero decidedly would not tell his ex-wife when she asked his thoughts on the decor she had helped with. He felt a little bad for Ms Skawt; she'd be finding glitter around the classroom until next summer, he suspected.

Fiyero arrived early, cupcakes in tow that he and Beketah had baked on Wednesday afternoon. As instructed by Ms Skawt, he placed them on the food table and then studied them critically, hoping the mountain of frosting on each one disguised the fact that some were a little burnt on top and no doubt a little dry. Still, Fiyero was sure they were edible and he was quite proud of that.

The kids were still at lunch and would be for another twenty minutes, and Fiyero just hovered awkwardly for a moment before he asked Ms Skawt if there was anything else he could do to help.

"Just take a moment to breathe," she advised him. "It will be complete chaos in here soon enough. Besides, we're all set. We're just waiting for Mrs Dyrubin to arrive, and I'll put the music on before the kids come in."

Fiyero nodded and awkwardly eased himself into a chair to wait. On the wall nearby was a series of artwork from the students, beneath a banner labelled 'What I Want To Be When I Grow Up'. Fiyero immediately searched out Beketah's. The ballerina part was easy to interpret, but what she was holding in her hand was a mystery until he read the caption: "When I grow up, I want to be a ballerina mailperson". Fiyero snorted quietly, wondering if Galinda had seen this yet. This was certainly the first time he was aware of their daughter's future career plans- last time he'd checked, Beketah had announced she was going to be a divorce lawyer. Galinda had been mortified, but Fiyero had felt rather good about it. If the thing Beketah had taken from her parents' divorce was a well-paying career path, he'd take it. A ballerina mailperson? Fiyero couldn't say how well that paid.

Muna's drawing was just below Beketah's; and given how many cats were in her drawing above the caption that she was going to be a veterinarian, he guessed this activity had been done fairly recently. At least since she'd gotten her kitten.

"I've tried explaining to her that being a veterinarian isn't just playing with cats all day, but so far, she's not convinced."

Fiyero jolted slightly, jumping up from the chair so that he wasn't addressing the new arrival's waist. And at long last, he got a proper look at Muna's mother. She was, indeed, green; and now Fiyero actually saw it, he couldn't believe he'd missed this woman for a whole semester. She was also, he absently noted, rather pretty. He blinked at her for a moment, his mind blank; before registering that she was probably expecting some kind of response, and staring at her wasn't exactly the impression he was hoping to make.

"If the vet thing doesn't work out, maybe she can be a cat artist," he offered. He gestured vaguely towards the drawing. "They are very recognisably cats. Without the caption, I'd be lost on my kid's picture."

Mrs Dyrubin's gaze shifted behind him to the artworks with a slight crease of her brow, and Fiyero realised that she may not realise who he was.

"You must be Muna's mom," he said, offering her a hand. "I'm Fiyero Tiggular."

Her face cleared as she met his gaze once again, shifting the cake tin in her hands so that she could reach out to shake his hand. "You're Beketah's dad," she noted.

"Yeah," Fiyero nodded, instinctively smiling.

"Elphaba Dyrubin," she introduced herself. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Elphaba," Fiyero repeated, and it was his turn to crease his brow slightly.

She noted it with a quirk of her eyebrows and Fiyero hastened to explain. "Sorry. No. It's just that my ex- Beks' mom? Galinda? She said your name was Elphie."

Elphaba nodded knowingly. "Oh. No. It's Elphaba," she said firmly. "Your… Galinda took it upon herself to give me a nickname," she explained.

Honestly, Fiyero should have expected that.

"Sounds like her," he said with an easy grin, his shoulders easing. "Galinda loves a nickname. She nicknamed her college roommate 'Dollie' and honestly, I do not remember her actual name anymore," he admitted.

Elphaba chuckled slightly, and to Fiyero, it felt like a win.

"So," he said, stepping a little closer. "I understand you're the reason why Beks has been dropping some very unsubtle hints about getting a cat lately?"

Elphaba laughed lightly and Fiyero couldn't help but note the way her hair spilled down her back as she tilted her head up.

"Sorry," she said, not sounding sorry at all. "Muna has been asking for a cat since she was two. I said when she started school, we could talk about it- if she proved she could be responsible enough to take care of it. Her bedroom has never been so clean as it has been this semester. So, we got a cat."

"Oh, maybe I should try that with Beks," Fiyero mused. "Buy me some time."

Elphaba just smiled and then turned away to put the cake tin with all the other food. "Oh, that is a lot of sugar," she said, surveying the table.

Fiyero wasn't sure if she was talking to him or to herself, but he couldn't help but say something anyway.

"I'm thinking Beks' dinner tonight will just be a giant bowl of vegetables to try and balance this out," he quipped.

Elphaba made a noise that Fiyero couldn't really decide if it was a murmur or a chuckle, seemingly oddly lost in thought as she stared at the food table. Suddenly she whirled around to Fiyero, and Fiyero blinked, a little taken aback.

"Muna keeps talking about this book series Beketah is reading, she wants it for Lurlinemas. Something about sister detectives?"

Fiyero nodded readily. "Yeah. Uh, Phern & Iset: PI. Galinda's parents bought Beks the first two books in the series for her birthday in September, and she loves them. We're reading the fifth one right now on the nights she's with me."

Elphaba smiled slightly. "According to Muna, Beketah thinks you do the best voices."

Fiyero preened a little bit. "I do," he said modestly and Elphaba laughed again.

"Thanks," Elphaba said. "I meant to ask Galinda, but I haven't caught her since the girls had their playdate. Work has been so insane, I feel like I'm getting here ridiculously early or late."

Fiyero nodded knowingly. "Right. Galinda said you're a lobbyist? Working on some education bill?"

And by Oz was he glad he'd spoken to Galinda already about Elphaba's job before he made an idiot of himself.

Elphaba nodded tiredly. "Yes. Hopefully it will be worth all the headaches in the end. Getting a break to be here was almost impossible. What do you do?"

Fiyero waved a hand dismissively. "Mortgage broker. It's not that exciting," he shrugged. "Not exactly a dream job."

Before they knew it, lunch was over and the classroom was filled with a bunch of excited children. Beketah barely spared Fiyero a greeting before disappearing, Muna and another girl close behind. And as he watched his daughter socialise with her friends, she reminded him more vividly of Galinda than she ever had. Fiyero had always been popular in school, but Galinda thrived on it in a way he never had and that was Beketah in a nutshell.

He didn't realise that he wasn't the only one watching her closely until he found himself standing beside Elphaba once more halfway through the party.

"I didn't get a chance to say this when I met with Galinda," she said to him abruptly, turning to him. "But I'm really grateful to Beketah."

Fiyero blinked. "Grateful?"

Elphaba nodded, looking back to where their daughters were playing together. "Muna's such a shy kid- always has been. She went to preschool and kindergarten when we lived in the Emerald City and it was hard for her. I was worried when we moved here," she admitted. "But Beketah seems to have taken her under her wing immediately, and I've really seen Muna come out of her shell these last few months. You have no idea how wonderful that is."

There was nothing more Fiyero loved than hearing good things about his daughter, but Elphaba's tone was so earnest that he wasn't sure what to say for a moment.

"That's all Galinda," he said awkwardly. "Beks is… her mother's daughter. Like to be fair, Muna probably didn't even get a choice in the matter. There's every chance Beks just decided they were best friends and that was the end of it."

Elphaba said nothing and when he looked back at her, she was watching him thoughtfully. "I think there's more of you in her than you think."

Fiyero suddenly felt rather warm. Elphaba's gaze was still as earnest as it had been talking about her daughter, and Fiyero felt almost unnervingly exposed beneath her gaze. Something in his chest clenched unexpectedly in a way that took him aback; something he wasn't sure if he was ready to think about just yet, when some days he almost forget that he was no longer married.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, he looked back over to the girls and gestured in their direction. "What do you think they're playing?"

"Sister detectives," Elphaba replied without hesitation.

Fiyero turned to her in surprise and she smiled faintly. "It's what they play every lunch, according to Muna. Like the books- it's why Muna wants to read them."

Honestly, Fiyero should have expected that.

Watching Beketah and Muna interact throughout the rest of the party, and seeing the way Beketah watched out for her friend and made sure she was included, Fiyero was overcome with pride. And then with the sudden realisation that, yes, they would be getting a cat.

Damn.

Fiyero didn't get a chance to really talk to Elphaba again until the party was over and the class was dismissed. Muna and Beketah were sitting together whispering as their parents helped Ms Skawt clean up- although as Fiyero studied the remnants of cake somehow smushed into the carpet, he suspected it was rather a lost cause.

"You know," he said to Elphaba as they straightened furniture. "Beks has said that you and Muna don't have much family nearby. If you ever run late to pickup- you know, work and all- I'm happy to have Muna over until you can come get her. I mean, on my days. But I'm sure Galinda would say the same on her days."

Elphaba paused and then straightened up slowly. Fiyero waited.

"Oh," was all she eventually said.

Fiyero wasn't sure exactly how to describe her tone, but he got the impression from the look on her face that she just wasn't accustomed to offers of help.

In a sudden burst of inspiration, he turned to her brightly. "Hey, why don't you and Muna come over for a bit?" he offered. "You can see the place, the girls can… well, hopefully burn off some of their sugar rush and you can… ask whatever you need to ask to make you feel comfortable with the idea," he promised.

Elphaba regarded him for a long moment, and then nodded slowly. "Alright," she said hesitantly.

She started to turn away but then paused and turned back. "Why?"

Fiyero just shrugged. "You said Beks has helped Muna this semester. Well, Muna's helped her too, I think. Galinda and I are both only children, so Beks doesn't have any cousins or anything. And when Galinda and I told her we were splitting up, her only real worry was that she'd never have a sister. She's had friends before, but nothing like Muna. So, if I can help… can't we all use some help sometimes? Or a friend?"

Elphaba still looked slightly hesitant.

"Plus, it looks like I'm getting Beks a cat, so I could use some tips with that," Fiyero added lightly, offering her a grin.

That made Elphaba's posture ease and she laughed slightly. "Okay. Friends."

Fiyero grinned, his chest clenching slightly once more. He wasn't sure what the next few months would bring, but maybe it was time to start thinking about the next chapter of his life. At the very least, it would give him a new friend at pickup.

AN. I've been asked by someone if people can suggest ideas/prompts for meet-cutes. The answer is yes!