The next three days seemed to pass by in a flash, and Fiyero admittedly hadn't seen as much of Elphaba as he would have liked. Once she'd noticed the mistrustful glares from the guards as she moved about the castle, she'd relegated herself almost exclusively to the north tower. They'd been able to coax her down to the kitchen for mealtimes, if only under the guise of needing her help with the cooking, but other than that she had made herself scarce.

Fiyero kept busy by refamiliarizing himself with the layout of the castle and all of its hidden entrances and exits. He planned to provide a comprehensive list to Elphaba before she and Glinda left so that she could slip in or out without being seen should the need arise. He'd also taken to cataloguing all of the displaced possessions his family had left behind over the years, sifting through them for anything that might be of use. He needed some way to channel the restless energy building within him as he awaited Elphaba and Glinda's departure.

Finally, a few hours before sunset, Fiyero found himself at the base of the staircase to the north tower once more. He and Elphaba had still not spoken a word about the kiss they'd shared on the day of their arrival at Kiamo Ko, and Fiyero couldn't bear the thought of her leaving before they'd addressed it. He'd rolled the idea around in his head for hours, debating whether such a conversation would fluster her too badly before her journey. But this was Elphaba, and Fiyero couldn't imagine she'd be rattled by something as paltry as his feelings.

And so, with a deep breath, Fiyero slung his rucksack over his shoulder, gathered his courage and ascended the stairs. He paused only briefly before the heavy door before he gave it three sharp knocks and then stood back, digging his fingers into his palms as he waited. After a few moments, Elphaba appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, Fiyero," she said, stepping aside to allow him entry. "We won't be ready to leave for another few hours yet."

"Oh, yes, I figured," Fiyero said, slipping past Elphaba and into the room, "but I wanted to make sure I caught you beforehand."

"Oh, okay, sure," she said awkwardly. She closed the door and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at Fiyero expectantly.

Fiyero cleared his throat and twisted his rucksack around so that he could reach into it. He pulled out a single piece of paper and offered it to Elphaba, who took it with a look of confusion. "It's a rough sketch of the castle and its various entry and exit points, including a couple that not even the guards know about. I thought it might be useful for you to have. Just in case."

Elphaba studied the page for a moment and then lifted her gaze toward him. "Thank you," she said, in a tone that belayed her suspicion that this was not the only reason Fiyero had come. "That's very useful."

Fiyero nodded and reached back into his pack. This time he pulled out two books and a stack of papers. Elphaba briefly studied them in confusion, before a look of recognition dawned on her features and she reached for them eagerly. It was the personal effects that he'd retrieved from her hideout when he'd first set out to find her.

"Where did you get these?" she breathed, running her hand over the cover of her journal.

"I stopped at your old hideout before I went by the Animal camp to ask about you. I found your secret compartment. Potentially not as secret as you'd intended it to be. You realize I'm two for two at this point," Fiyero said with a cheeky grin, feeling bolstered by Elphaba's positive reaction.

Elphaba was already shuffling through the rest of the papers Fiyero had given her. "Really, thank you," she said, her voice filled with sincerity. "I'd thought these were lost. They're the last remnants of my former life, the only evidence of who I was before they took it from me. It's silly, but sometimes I feel that if the last proof of Elphaba Thropp vanishes, all that will be left is the Witch."

Fiyero moved to sit beside her on the bed. Elphaba didn't even look up to acknowledge him, still staring down at the collection of papers in her hands. "I'm truly sorry for what the Wizard did to you, and for believing it myself for so long. You don't deserve it," Fiyero said softly.

Elphaba gave him a shaky smile but didn't respond. Fiyero went on, "It's funny. When we first met, I'd wondered why you would play the part of the Witch if it wasn't the real you. But I think I've come to realize recently that we're all doing that to different degrees. You, Glinda, even me. People have seen me as a vapid pretty boy for so long, I guess I eventually leaned into it. There was no point in trying if people already expected me to fail. My own family doesn't even want me to succeed to the throne. They don't think that I'm fit to rule," Fiyero said with a sigh. He'd never actually admitted that to anyone before.

Fiyero shook his head, realizing that he'd sidetracked the conversation by talking about himself. "What I mean is, I understand the fear of losing yourself to the way people perceive you. But for what it's worth, I think Elphaba Thropp is an amazing person. Even if you lose the physical proof, I promise that's not going to change."

Elphaba's gaze found his and Fiyero felt it yet again, a static charge that seemed to permeate the air between them. Fiyero raised a hand tentatively towards Elphaba's face and, when she didn't stop him, gently cupped her cheek. Elphaba leaned into his touch, and then turned her face towards his. They stayed like that for a few more moments, their eyes locked, until they slowly began to gravitate towards each other. Fiyero moved his hand from Elphaba's cheek and gently brushed her hair behind her ear, before he leaned in and closed the remaining space between them with a kiss.

This kiss held none of the confused urgency of their first or the shy trepidation of their second. It was simply the inevitable result of two people unable to deny their feelings any longer. Fiyero moved his hands down to the small of Elphaba's back and felt heat rise to the back of his neck as she threaded her fingers through his hair. He turned from his place at her side and leaned over the bed to straddle her, dipping her backwards so that she rested against the headboard. He ran one of his hands up and along her back and tangled it in the hair at the base of her neck, feeling a rush of satisfaction when she pressed her body closer to his in response. Emboldened by his success, Fiyero lowered his other hand to the skirt of her dress and slipped it under, pushing the material up to caress the outside of her thigh.

He broke from his trance as he heard Elphaba's breath catch, one of her hands flying up to still his own. Abruptly, she pulled away from him, and Fiyero's eyes flew open to see the fear and uncertainty in hers. Her hair was messed, her face flushed, but she had frozen in place, her hand wrapped tightly around his wrist to keep it from progressing any further.

Fiyero jumped backwards at once, pulling his hands back to his sides as if burned. His face was hot, and his heart was pounding. He'd forgotten where he was for a moment.

"I'm so sorry!" he said quickly, rocketing backwards onto his knees so that he was no longer pressed on top of her. "I didn't mean-"

"No, it's okay," Elphaba said quietly, pushing herself up into a sitting position with her elbows. "It's just that…I've never…" she tore her gaze from his, clearly too embarrassed to finish the sentence, but Fiyero took her meaning.

"I didn't mean to get so carried away," he said hastily. He swung his legs back over the side of the bed and hunched over with his hands in his lap, attempting to calm himself. "Oz, Elphaba, I don't think I've ever felt like this before," he said breathlessly. "This is new for me too."

Elphaba sat up and joined him, settling close enough that their shoulders were touching. She looked up at him with questioning eyes. "But surely you've…" she trailed off yet again. Fiyero thought fleetingly that no one in Oz could possibly fear the Wicked Witch of the West if they could see how hard she was blushing right now.

"Oh yeah, I mean, I have," he said awkwardly, "but not like this. This is different. This feels…like it matters more, somehow."

She was still looking at him in confusion. "I don't understand," she said, searching his eyes.

Fiyero wasn't quite sure how to best explain himself. "I mean…I've been with a lot of women," he started, then hastily added, "Not a crazy number or anything! It's just that I was young and handsome and stupid, and that part came easily to me. But never with someone I cared about like this. I've never actually been in love before."

Elphaba's eyes widened at the word 'love', and she opened her mouth to speak. Fiyero jumped in again before she could, worried that he was about to scare her off. "Not that I'm saying I'm in love with you, or that we're in love," he said frantically. "I know that we hardly know one another. I don't want to rush anything, so don't think I was trying to pressure you just now. This is just different and deeply confusing for me."

Elphaba let out a small laugh, clearly amused that Fiyero seemed almost as frazzled as she was. "It's different and deeply confusing for me too," she said with a small smile. She tentatively placed one of her hands on Fiyero's knee, and he moved to cover it with his own. They sat like that for a while, both unsure of what else to say.

It was Elphaba who broke the silence. "Your family is wrong about you," she said quietly. Fiyero glanced over at her in confusion, and she elaborated, "You said your family doesn't think that you're fit to rule. I think they're wrong about you."

Fiyero blinked at her for a moment. He'd forgotten that he'd revealed that bit of deeply personal information. "I don't know about that" he said, pointedly studying the palms of his hands. "I've always sort of been the family screw up."

"Fiyero," Elphaba said pointedly, in a tone that convinced Fiyero to lift his gaze to meet hers. "In the short time I've known you, I've seen you change your entire world view when contradictory evidence was presented to you. I've seen you rally to a cause you knew almost nothing about just because you saw injustice being done. You're intelligent and kind and resourceful. You were even willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, when I sincerely doubt anyone else in Oz would have. You can't convince me that anyone would be a better choice to rule the Vinkus."

Fiyero was mortified to feel the hot prickle of tears behind his eyes at her words. He had so rarely been complimented on anything other than his looks, the overwhelming praise she had leveled his way caught him entirely off guard. Uncomfortable with the sudden rush of emotion, he attempted levity. "Wow, would you mind repeating all of that for my parents sometime?" he said around the lump in his throat, flashing what he hoped was an easygoing smile.

He got the sense that Elphaba could see right through him, but she didn't remark on it. Instead, she gave his hand a squeeze and said, "I'm just saying, don't sell yourself short. And don't give up on yourself just because others tell you to."

Fiyero didn't protest this time. He simply squeezed her hand back, still not fully believing her words but grateful for them, nonetheless. Suddenly, he remembered something and jumped up from his place on the bed.

"Oh! There's one other thing I'd wanted to give you," he said, snatching his rucksack from its place on the floor. He dug through it for a moment and produced a silver pocketknife with a small compass in the hilt. He held it out for her to take. "I found this while I was rummaging around the past few days. I think it belonged to my grandfather. I thought you might like it. You know, for your journey."

Elphaba gently accepted the small knife, turning it over in her hands to admire the craftsmanship. "Oh Fiyero, I couldn't take something that was your grandfather's," she argued, holding it back out towards him.

Fiyero shook his head. "If you won't allow me to come with you, then you at least need to accept this. If you're that worried about it, you can give it back to me when you return."

Elphaba seemed to accept this and gave a slow nod as she placed the pocketknife on the bedside table. "Thank you, then," she said sincerely. "I'll be sure to take great care of it."

"Just please be sure to come back safe," he said, stepping towards her once more.

Now that the heat of the moment had passed, Elphaba seemed reluctant again. She took a step backwards as he moved towards her and said, "And then what?"

Fiyero stopped and looked at her curiously. She continued, "It's not that I haven't enjoyed the change these past couple of weeks. Being here with you and Glinda has brought me more happiness than I'd thought I'd ever feel again. But what future is there for us, realistically? I'm still Oz's most wanted fugitive. Even here, I see the way your men look at me. Their loyalty to you doesn't override their hatred or mistrust of me. It would be the same for the rest of Oz. Being anywhere near me guarantees nothing but a life of hardship and strife. I can't ask that of you,"

"You're not asking anything of me," Fiyero said, unable to keep a slight note of annoyance out of his voice. He was frustrated that she was backpedaling when they had finally been making progress. "I'm a big boy and I can make my own decisions. I'd rather brave a life of hardship with you than go back to the one I had before. You know that if you don't return to this castle, then I'm bound to go off and get myself killed looking for you."

She let out a short huff, but Fiyero could tell that she was smiling. "I suppose I can't argue when you've already presented overwhelming evidence in support of that fact."

"That's right," Fiyero agreed, glad that he seemed to have tabled any doubts she might have, at least for the moment. "Besides, where else are you going to find a temporary home for a dozen flying Monkeys?" he joked. When Elphaba didn't respond, he said, "Look, just worry about freeing the Monkeys and getting back here safely. We can figure the rest out later."

Elphaba nodded at that, though she still seemed somewhat uncertain, and her gaze was purposefully fixed on the floor.

"Hey," Fiyero said, closing the gap between them and gently lifting her chin so that her eyes met his, "We will figure this out. Just be careful, okay? I'll be here when you get back."

With that, he stole another quick kiss, collected his pack, and left her to her preparations.