The Maple Tree
Author: authorartist94
Rating: PG (Just to be safe)
Notes: Ugh. This story was a bitch to write. Hope you all enjoy it. Thanks so much to sumthnwicked for all of her help and support! It's greatly appreciated.
*Who knows what the title is sorta kinda based on a little bit?*
Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked. Isn't it sad?
The Maple Tree
Oz in the springtime was exhilarating. It was beautiful and it was entrancing, but most of all, it was colorful. The pale blue sky, the bright pink, golden and violet wildflowers that dotted the fields, the red of new berries and apples, and the occasional cardinal (or Cardinal) and of course, the entirety of Oz was as green as the Emerald City itself.
So Elphaba fit right in.
On this particular spring day, she and Galinda were relaxing beneath the maple tree beside the lake. They were sitting on a patchwork quilt that belonged to Elphaba, and the blonde had been surprised to find that it was not one of the green girl’s trademark colors, such as brown or navy, but rather a myriad of different tints and shades.
“That quilt is yours, Elphie?” She had asked.
“Yes, why?”
A confused look took over her features. “It’s not gray.”
Elphaba had chuckled quietly. “Glad to see you’re not colorblind.”
They sat on the quilt in different positions. Elphaba, always the intellectual, sat cross legged on the side of the quilt furthest from the tree, with a book in her lap. Due to the downward tilt of her head, her glasses slid off of her face, and she would constantly have to readjust them.
Galinda, on the other hand, lay opposite her roommate, on the side of the quilt that was closer to the tree. She stretched out on her back, feet dangling in the air, looking up through the leaves of the tree at the puffy white clouds in the sky.
Every so often, the two girls would glance at each other, eyes that matched the clear spring sky meeting dark brown ones the color of chocolate. A grin would appear on both of their faces, and they would return to their respective activities.
When the silence became too much to bear, Galinda sat up on her elbows and announced, “I’m bored.”
Silence.
“I said, I’m bored.”
Once again, Elphaba didn’t react.
“Elphie!” Galinda yelled.
The green girl jumped. “Sweet Oz, Galinda, what’s wrong?”
Galinda giggled. “I’m bored.”
Elphaba’s incredulous eyes hardened into a glare of annoyance. “And what do you expect me to do about your predicament?
“Entertain me!”
A blank stare. “How?”
“Hm…” Galinda sat up, crossing her legs. “Well…we could…play a game!”
“I’m not big on games.”
“Truth and dare is fun, Elphie.”
“Oh, of course, until someone gives you some inane dare to run through the campus naked or shave your head.”
“Alright, no games. How about…we tell each other secrets?” Galinda opened her mouth to speak, but Elphaba held up a hand to silence her.
“I know, I know, you’re going to marry Fiyero, and he doesn’t know yet. Your favorite color is pink. You like rainbows.”
Galinda felt her cheeks flood with color, surprised and somehow touched that Elphie had remembered those insignificant details of her life.
Elphaba didn’t notice, too preoccupied with her monologue. “Do you want to know some of my secrets? My father hates me; I believe we’ve covered that. I’m green,” She gestured to herself curtly. “In case it isn’t apparent. What else could you possibly want to know? My favorite color is navy, I love autumn but hate the summertime, I despise the rain, my favorite food is tomato soup, and I love to read, but my blonde roommate insists on bothering me on a daily basis.” Elphaba fixed Galinda with a withering stare.
A single tear slipped down the smaller girl’s cheek.
Elphaba noticed, and softened. “If it’s any consolation, I…” She paused, seeming to be struggling with her words. “…I enjoy spending time with my bothersome blonde roommate.” She said the phrase quickly, shooting the crying girl an uncertain, lopsided grin a moment later.
Galinda wiped the tear away and smiled softly. “Fine, you stubborn green thing. Return to your literature, I’ll entertain myself.”
Elphaba was submerged in her book before Galinda even finished the sentence, a wave of dark hair acting as a curtain to hide her face behind. The blonde girl had noticed the cause for Elphie’s sudden barrier; a slight blush in her emerald cheeks.
Hm…she pondered, but soon her boredom got the better of her and she lost her focus.
Galinda looked around at her surroundings. She could go swimming in the lake, but she hadn’t brought a bathing suit with her, and she preferred not to be seen in her underclothes in public. She looked up at the sky, wishing that she could just float on a cloud, or just float through the sky. Bubbles float. The stray thought passed through her mind so quickly she barely registered it.
Her crystal blue eyes fell onto the large maple tree before her. Like a bolt of lightning, an idea hit her.
Galinda stood up abruptly, pulling off her 4 inch heels that made her almost as tall as her verdant roomie. Almost. She threw the pink heels onto the quilt after nearly toppling over during her shoe removing escapades. And she approached the tree.
Elphaba looked up to see the 4’ 11” blonde girl attempting to climb the 50 foot tall maple tree, and all of a sudden felt a pinprick of nervousness in her stomach.
“Miss Galinda,” she said in smooth, even tones, not displaying her uneasiness. “I don’t suggest climbing the tree. You’ll most likely fall and damage yourself in some way.”
The blonde rolled her eyes. “Relax, Elphie, I’ll be perfectly fine.”
“You could break a bone, a very painful experience, so I hear.”
Galinda looked less than impressed.
Elphaba thought quickly, trying to come up with a reason besides physical harm that would convince the smaller girl to not carry out her plan. An idea popped into her head. “You could muss up your hair.” She paused, trying her damndest not to laugh at the horrified look on the other girls face. “You might even break a nail.”
Galinda gasped and held up her right hand, examining it. A sad, nostalgic look fell over her face as she considered the horrible ramifications.
We’ve been through so much together… she thought, staring at her pink painted nails.
Then, realizing the ridiculous of it all, she giggled and looked at Elphaba. “Oh, don’t tease. Nothing will happen.”
“It’s your blood on the ground.”
Galinda shivered involuntarily. She took a deep, steadying breath and began to climb.
Elphaba turned her attention to her novel, but glanced up every few seconds to check that no harm had come to the blonde girl.
The concern was not required. Galinda climbed the tree as naturally as any monkey (or Monkey) would. She was about 15 feet above the ground when an earsplitting crackling broke through the quiet.
The noise caught Elphaba’s attention, and she looked up and absorbed the horrifying sight of her roommate standing on the very branch that was breaking. Galinda’s terrified face stared down at her, and the situation became even worse when Elphaba realized she couldn’t do anything to help.
Then, as if in slow motion, the branch broke, and the blonde girl plummeted to the ground, too petrified to even scream.
And all Elphie could do was watch.
Galinda hit the ground with a thump, the branch hitting a split second after. She had enough time to cover her head as the wood split into several pieces, tiny splinters ricocheting everywhere.
Elphaba jumped up with inhuman speed, causing her glasses and book to go flying. She ran over to the smaller girl, looking around frantically for serious injuries. She saw that there was no excessive amount of blood, and took a breath, realizing that she had stopped breathing ever since the branch had broken. After realizing that Galinda was not in fatal danger, Elphaba took another look at the smaller girl, with her hair messy and full of twigs, and her dress spotted with dirt, and burst out laughing. Seeing little Miss Pink and Perfect with mussed hair and wrinkled clothing was too much. But when Galinda turned and looked up at the taller girl with tears spilling over the brims of her blue eyes, Elphaba’s cackling stopped immediately.
“Oh no…Galinda, I’m so sor…are you hurt?” She knelt beside the wounded girl, but the blonde turned her head away, tears running freely down her face. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…I didn’t know…Galinda…” Elphie stuttered, unsure of what to do. Then her maternal instincts, that she had acquired from the years of taking care of Nessa, kicked in. “Galinda, come on, let me help…where are you hurt? Talk to me.”
The smaller girl’s body was wracked with sobs, and she shook her head spastically. Doing the only thing she could think of, Elphaba pulled the smaller girl into her arms and hugged her. Galinda clung to the green girl as if her life depended on it. A thought crossed Elphaba’s mind that she would get burned by the tears, but she ignored it. It didn’t matter. Elphaba waited patiently as Galinda cried, and when the sobs began to settle, she whispered, “Come, let’s get you off of the hard ground.”
She began to stand, only to find that the blonde girl didn’t let go of her as expected, but rather snaked her small arms around the taller girl’s waist. Elphaba found that Galinda was stronger than she appeared, and carefully placed a long, lanky arm around her roommate’s thin shoulders as not too hurt her. She led the way to the blanket, and gently sat the two of them down. Galinda snuggled closer to the green girl, the tears still streaming silently.
“It hurts, Elphie.” She sobbed.
Elphaba placed both arms around the blonde and pulled her closer. “I know.”
“Will…will you…”
She rested her chin on the top of Galinda’s head. “Anything.”
“Kiss it and make it better?”
Elphaba felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She lifted her head and looked down at the girl in her arms. Galinda stared up at her innocently, a mixed look of hurt and hope in her crystal eyes. Elphaba let go of the blonde girl and back away quickly, leaving Galinda stunned and confused.
Elphaba’s thoughts were in turmoil. She didn’t know what to do. One part of her insisted that she do whatever need be done to comfort her roommate who had just fallen out of a tree, but another part of her argued that she could get herself hurt in the process. Elphaba kept to herself for exactly these reasons. She felt that getting too attached to a certain person or object could hurt her. Whatever she did to comfort her roommate could have terrible repercussions. Galinda could be taking advantage of her.
It was quite unexpected when her hot, bubbling brain suddenly froze, and a single stream of words that didn’t come from her conscious mind appeared in her head.
Maybe I don’t mind being taken advantage of. For her sake; she needs me right now.
Elphaba shook her head a few times, trying to clear it.
Where in Oz did that come from?
The green girl took a deep breath and inched towards Galinda, who had pulled her legs up to her chest and curled into a ball. The taller girl knelt beside the blonde, placing a verdant hand on each of the other girls’ knees. Red-rimmed blue eyes glanced up.
“Where does it hurt?” Elphaba whispered.
Galinda spoke softly, voice laden with tears. “My shin,”
Elphaba, heart beating rapidly, moved forward and lifted the edge of Galinda’s dress. She observed her wounded legs, and leaned down to place her lips against the bloody cut on Galinda’s lower leg. The blonde girl’s leg twitched, but Elphaba had a tight grip on the ankle, preventing Galinda’s foot from giving her a rather nasty black eye.
“My knee,”
Elphaba crossed to the opposite leg, moving up and placing a kiss on the scratched and muddy skin of the pale pink knee.
“My hands,”
The green girl reached out and took Galinda’s hands in her own, bending her head and placing butterfly kisses on each torn up palm.
“I…I think I hit my head,”
Elphaba placed her hands on the blonde girl’s face and kissed the top of Galinda’s head, leaving her lips there afterwards. “Is that all?” she murmured against the blonde hair, thumbs stroking the sides of Galinda’s face. The green fingers burned from the tears, but it went unnoticed.
“My lips,” Galinda breathed.
Elphaba moved her face so their eyes were level, and ever so gently pressed a kiss to Galinda’s lips.
For a sheer moment they held the kiss, and then they both pulled away, blushing. They gently pressed their foreheads together. Elphaba removed one hand from the blonde girl’s face, feeling overheated. She left the other, which Galinda placed her small hand over. The other pale hand found its way to the back of the green girl’s neck.
“Is it all better?” Elphie asked quietly, the slightest hint of a smile gracing her lips.
Galinda nodded, and giggled softly. “I can’t believe I fell out of a tree.”
Elphaba smirked. “I told you so.”
“Oh, Elphie,” Galinda smiled despite herself. “Shut up.”
Pink lips leaned forward and touched green ones for the second time that day.