Don't worry wicked7914, the story isn't over. There's still a ways to go yet :)

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Oh, his younger self would slug him in the jaw if he could see Fiyero now. He had been convinced by Boq to accompany him in his work at the Three Queens library on more than one afternoon. It wasn't that Fiyero truly had anything against libraries; on the contrary, more than once he would venture into the one near Briscoe Hall for academic resources and even go into the Crage library, which was decidedly less useful educationally but often had a brilliant Munchkinland girl spread out across a table in the back, taking advantage of the calm of the girl's archives to study. The thing about libraries to Fiyero was that to him, they were to be utilized selfishly and fleetingly, as the men in the Gale Force claimed to use the capital prostitutes.

So, finding Fiyero amidst the musty stacks in his free time, assisting Boq as he cleaned ancient manuscripts for no personal gain, was shameful and discreditable by popular standards. Well, truthfully, Fiyero did very little to help but kept Boq, Tibbett and Crope company as they worked, instead preferring to think of himself as moral support. The titanic Rhinoceros librarian, with its beady, watchful eyes and intimidating tusk, would often huff grumpily if he caught Fiyero lounging with his boots on the work surface. With a shameful wave he would remove them until the head archivist would thunder on and he would resume the comfortable position.

Tibbett and Crope, as brainy as they were uncouth, could as easily fall from debates of origin myths that predated the Oziad – dropping words like terricolous into casual discussions, much to the amazement of Boq and Fiyero – to bantering about professional goals of being abducted by desert pirates. Some conversations inspired Fiyero to chip in, but other ones caused him to venture off into his own mind, thinking about green girls or phony Wizards or Vinkun laws.

Boq had interrupted such an instance, in which Fiyero was glazed over, staring at the ancient lozenged window panes as they misted over with small but relentless raindrops. He had interrupted Tibbett and Crope too, much to their amusement.

"I wish to meet with Galinda." He was wide-eyed, flummoxed at his own outburst, and he cleared his throat as boys often do to prevent cracking.

"Oh?" Fiyero said interestedly. "To what end?"

"In hopes that she will see me, from time to time."

"You minx," Tibbett said with a wink. "We've been waiting so long for this day."

"Fiyero, I don't want to step on your toes. I know you two have a relationship."

"We're just friends," Fiyero said. "I hold no claim to her."

"Oh good," Boq said, relieved. "Do you know if she thinks of me at all? Is it foolish that I seek her out?"

He had an idea, but he shrugged as if he didn't. "She hasn't mentioned you," he said truthfully, adding, "to me anyway."

"Of course she wouldn't," Crope said, tossing his brown hair in a talented imitation of the blonde beauty. "One does not speak of other men while flirting unless it is to incite jealousy!"

"Speaking of, Master Your Highness, why haven't you responded to her charms out of all the girls? She's a pretty thing."

"She's not my type," he answered, and once more Boq seemed comforted.

"You mean perfect isn't your type?"

"Bollocks!"

"Shenanigans!"

"Bullshit!"

"I appreciate her as a friend," Fiyero said simply, and Crope and Tibbett made obscene noises at his copout and gave up their prying.

Crope decided to steer the conversation back to the decidedly more interesting option. "So tell us about this amusing campaign for the heart Galinda the Ice Queen."

"When I see her I'm so smitten with longing, it's like fire in my veins. I can't speak, I can't think!"

"I would probably work on those things if you intend on speaking with her," Fiyero said with a chuckle.

"So I have your support?" Boq asked, anxiously.

"Oh, why not."

The next day in Life Science, though he started off in his original seat, he climbed over the back of the chair in front of him and dropped into the one at Elphaba's side, causing her to squeak cutely in her surprise.

"Fiyero!" she said between clenched teeth. "What are you doing?"

"You're upset? I figured you would prefer this, given it would be harder to stare at you from here. Women are so hard to please."

She glared at him, not amused, and he decided to get right to business. "I thought you would like to know that Boq intends on asking Galinda out."

Elphaba snorted derisively. "That should be interesting. Why are you telling me?"

"After everything that happened with Nessa, I wanted to tell you myself that my involvement does not extend past simply knowing this rather funny bit of news and congratuloting Boq on finding his rubies."

"Thank you for that," she said, before making a face as his crude idiom registered in her head. She shook it away. "Poor Boq. Galinda still hasn't bothered to learn his name. It won't end well for him, you know."

"I'm aware."

"You are?"

"Sure, but who am I to tell him that?" he asked, and she gave him a look. "I'm not going to meddle anymore. I'm just going to act like I don't have any thoughts at all."

"Ah." She smiled at him. "Shouldn't be too difficult for you."

"Not at all."

"Perhaps I can help arrange this little meet, sooner rather than later, so as to get his heartbreak over with more neatly and entirely. If that's what is to happen," she added, as if to not seem mean. "How could I predict someone's affection?"

Fiyero held back a reaction at the question as he pondered the very thing about the girl at his side. She was hard to read. Still, he took the fact that she did not ask him to move seats as a sign of increased tolerance for him, which was a step in the right direction, and he resisted the urge to let their shoulders, elbows or knees rub together during the rest of the lecture.