Chapter Text
Fiyero woke to the sound of steady breathing at his side and a warm body pressed against his chest. He stayed that way for a few moments, inhaling her cinnamon and poppy scent.
In sleep, her features were softened, making her look younger.
You look tired, Fiyero.
He was. He had been. Until he found her, his life was nothing but parties and banquets and playing at being the happiest man in the world. It was an affront to his very soul to have to pretend that that was who he was as a person.
Slowly, so as not to disturb the sleeping woman bundled in her robe beneath the blankets, he slid off the bed. The top button of his shirt had popped open somehow in the night.
Elphaba’s hut was…incredible. There weren’t enough words to express the surprise he’d felt entering the space. It was so her, with flowers running rampant across the walls and maps marked with known Animal hideouts.
The sun was just beginning to ascend, bringing out a chorus of birds to sing their sweet melodies.
Fiyero glanced around the hut, running his fingers along the coarse wood of Elphaba’s workbench. The Grimmerie was set on a little table near the opening, sealed tightly against those who couldn’t read it.
A pop of bright orange appeared out of the corner of his eye.
There it was. He would have recognized the flower anywhere, the way it inhabited his dreams.
“Looking for something?” Elphaba asked, appearing at the circular opening to the hut. She followed his gaze to the poppy on the wall and smiled.
“You kept it,” was all he said in turn.
She nodded. “It’s a small spell to keep things alive for a long period of time.”
“But you kept it.”
“I did.”
He reached up to brush its soft petals. Oz, he had spent an hour in that field, searching for the best one to give to her.
From behind him, he could feel her drawing near. “They were your favorite. Dillamond told me.”
Her gaze was incredulous. “You asked Dillamond?”
“I wanted to impress you.”
At that, she laughed, but not callously. “That was sweet of you. I’ve never forgotten it.”
“Neither have I.” He turned to look at her. “I remember everything about that day.”
Elphaba tilted her head up so that they met eye to eye. “There were so many things I wanted to say then.”
“And now?”
“Even more.”
Fiyero brushed her lips with a finger. “So do I.”
Her gaze was almost taunting. “So why don’t you?”
“I wanted to tell you how much you meant to me. That I love you.”
Clearly she hadn’t been anticipating that.
She took a step back, her mouth partially hanging open. Fear coursed through Fiyero. He had been too forward, he had scared her, and now she was going to tell him to leave and never come back.
And he would. He loved her so much that he would leave if she told him to, though it would tear out his heart to do so.
But she didn’t. There was no rejection, no yelling, nothing.
Instead she smiled. It was a slow, soft smile, one that made him melt to see after four years without her.
“You did? I mean, you do?”
Fiyero nodded. “More than anything.” Tears sprang to her eyes, and he crossed the room to hold her as they spilled over her cheeks. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before.”
“Oh, Elphaba,” he breathed, pressing her gently against his chest. “I love you.” And he would say it again and again, to make up for all the years she spent never once hearing it.
Her hands wound around his waist, holding him close. “I love you too.”
He closed his eyes, savoring the words.
“From the moment you took that cub out of its cage, I knew,” she continued. “I just never thought you would ever feel the same.”
“I’ve been a goner since I first met you.”
“You mean when you almost ran me over?”
A gentle laugh burst through him. “That was Feldspur, not me.”
She chuckled, the sound reverberating against his chest. “I thought the defensiveness was my job?”
“Funny.” Turning serious, he tilted her chin up with a finger. “I love you, Elphaba Thropp. I have loved you for a very long time.”
Elphaba brushed his hair back away from his eyes. “And I love you.”
Then she kissed him.
Fiyero had been kissed many different times by many different people, but never like this. When Elphaba kissed him, it was like setting a thousand electric sparks into his body and setting them off at the same time. To feel her lips against his own it made him feel as if he had spent his entire life in darkness and was only now stepping into the light.
Gripping his waist firmly, her mouth opened with a groan of pleasure. His own hands went to her hair, threading themselves in the soft braids. She felt so delicate, like he was holding the world in his arms.
She pulled back for air, though she was laughing.
“What?” he couldn’t help asking, resting his brow against her head.
“Nothing,” she beamed, shaking her head. “It’s just…for the first time, I feel…wicked.”
Something snapped in him at the sheer desire laced in every word.
Fiyero hoisted her upward, bracing his hand under her legs, which locked around his waist. Their mouths met again, her nails digging into his back.
Oz above, just the taste of her was enough to drive him mad.
He took her back to the bed and laid her down gently. Elphaba gave him a knowing look as her hands went to the sleeves of her robe, revealing toned green arms. Fiyero slipped off his shirt, watching as her eyes widened.
“I didn’t know you had tattoos,” she breathed, her fingers running along the blue diamonds on both of his shoulders.
He sat knee to knee with her. “Go ahead, touch. I don’t mind.” Not when it was her. “They’re Vinkun markings. I got them when I turned sixteen.”
“They’re incredible. Beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.”
She started. “You don’t have to lie to me,” she whispered sadly.
“It’s not lying,” he replied instantly, pained at how simply she dismissed herself. “You’re the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”
Her chest began to rise and fall much faster than normal. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Their kisses resumed, this time with less rush, less fierceness. There was reverence in the way their bodies moved together, like they were both trying to drink in as much of one another as possible.
Elphaba watched him as she slipped her nightdress over her head. Fiyero’s gaze did not waver.
“Beautiful,” he breathed.
She smiled shyly, taking his face in her hands. He leaned down and pressed his lips against the freckles above her breasts, and her head tipped back, enjoying the sensation.
His pants were quick to follow her robe and dress. Fiyero couldn’t deny the flash of amusement that coursed through him as her eyes widened slightly.
“Enjoying the view?” he quipped.
She leaned back against the pillows. “So full of yourself. Yero my hero.”
And he melted.