[ the beautiful just get more beautiful...while the green just get greener ]
Author: muldy
Title: In A Single Moment
Pairing: Elphaba/Fiyero (seriously see what Millsy has done to me? He made me a shipper for them when I never really cared before!)
Fandom: Wicked - Musical.
Summary: "She had pointed out that he could’ve walked away back there, so why hadn’t he?"
A/N: So yeah I haven't written fic in FOREVER so apologees if it's crap, also I've never written Wicked fic lol. I just felt like writing it. I'll probably hate it tomorrow.
i.
The first time he laid eyes on her he was anything but impressed. Shocked, surprised, irritated…all of those things had come to mind the first moment he saw her, standing before him, kicking his cart, but impressed was not one of them.
Her being green wasn’t even the first thing he had noticed about her, her scowl and her creased forehead more prominent in that moment than anything. However the moment her skin colour had sunk in he’d taken his opportunity to mock her, because that’s what he did right? He made fun of people, he hurt them to make himself feel better.
At least that was the way he saw it now.
Before he had met Elphaba his entire life had been about looking popular, about being the cool guy.
ii.
It was that day in class he really saw her for who she was. He remembered his comment from the night before, how she didn’t care what people thought of her, but seeing her now standing in the back of the room practicing her hair toss he suddenly realised different. She cared very much what other people thought of her, she just pretended not to.
Galinda’s assessment had been accurate.
He also took note that with a little bit of Galinda’s influence, Elphaba was actually quite pretty. For someone who looked so strange.
“You don’t have to do that, you know…” he found himself telling her.
Before she could respond they were interrupted but he could see the shock in her face, the surprise that anyone would even notice the change. Or maybe she was simply surprised that he was speaking to her, in a way he was kind of surprised himself. But there was something about her that drew him to her.
Maybe they could be friends.
And it was half an hour later out in the woods that he realised maybe that wasn’t what he was feeling. He found himself staring into the eyes of the woman who had just magic-spelled the entire class with him being the only exception and he couldn’t help but wonder why.
Why him?
He could hear himself speaking to her but he barely realised his own words, and a moment after he spoke them he had already forgotten what he said.
He shook himself out of his daze.
“I have to get to safety, I mean, the cub…”
“Of course…” she spoke.
“I have to get the cub to safety.”
And with that he grabbed the cage and ran off, leaving her alone. It was as he sat by the river, the empty cage next to him, the lion cub long gone, that he asked himself the question that had really been bugging him.
She had pointed out that he could’ve walked away back there, so why hadn’t he?
What had made him stay when he knew usually he would have left?
iii.
She was leaving. It was only for a few days, but it was bugging him. He wasn’t even sure why, they barely talked and when they did socialise it was only because Galinda was around to do all the talking.
Yet the night before her departure he found himself sitting up in his room unable to think about anything other than what he was going to do without her there. What if she stayed longer? She had powers like no one else he had ever seen, and when the Wizard saw that would he really let her return to school? There was no reason for her to study, for she had more power than anyone who taught her.
And that was his biggest fear, her not returning.
He found himself a few times throughout the night walking towards the door with the intention of going to see her. But to say what? He could hardly tell her he was going to miss her, she barely knew him at all why would she care? That and she shared a room with Galinda and she was the last person he felt like seeing at that moment.
Eventually he did walk out the door, but instead of heading to her room to speak with her he went outside. The moon was bright and it was anything but chilly. He found himself picking out flowers from the garden bed out the front of the school, something he had never before considered doing. But he had to give her something, because if he never saw her again he had to let her know.
And maybe, just maybe, she would actually understand.
He returned to his room and placed the flowers in a glass he had stolen from the kitchen.
Maybe he would give them to her, maybe he wouldn’t. He’d decide in the morning.
iv.
“She’s gone.”
The single flower he was holding in his hand dropped to the ground as his fingers numbed with shock.
“What?” he refused to hear what he was being told.
Glinda stood before him, her usually bouncy hair was flattened by the rain and her dress had been reduced to what looked more like rags than riches. She was upset, even though he knew she was trying not to show it, the Glinda he knew would never allow herself to stand out in the wet long enough to look like a drowned rat.
“She…” Glinda paused, looking at the ground, “…she had an argument with the Wizard and she ran off and now she’s gone…”
He was in shock. Elphaba had wanted nothing more than to meet the Wizard since he had met her. Not that she had ever mentioned it to him personally, but every time someone had mentioned the Wizard he had seen that look in her eyes - the look of hope.
“We should get inside, it’s not safe to talk out here,” Glinda grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the train platform, back towards their school.
He shook her off.
“I don’t want to go back there, I want to find Elphaba,” he spoke quietly, turning around to face her slowly. “We need to go back to the Emerald city, we need to find her.”
“Fiyero, she’s not there!” Glinda said, and now he couldn’t tell if it was tears or rain pouring down her cheeks. “We’re not going to find her.”
“I am.”
Glinda grabbed his hand and pulled it and this time he let her drag him back towards the school. He was going to find Elphaba, no matter what lengths he had to go to, he would find her.
That night when he finally managed to get the entire story out of Glinda, when he had tucked her into his bed for the night, he took rest on his couch. It was only when he was entirely sure Glinda was asleep that he let himself think about how he really felt, as though she were able to read his mind.
And as he pulled over a blanket to attempt to sleep he let a single tear roll down his face.
He missed her, and more than that, he feared for her life.
v.
“I’m proud of you son!”
Fiyero barely heard his father’s words as he stepped off the podium, and they only registered as he was slapped on the shoulder by him. He nodded thanks but said nothing, he barely spoke these days, he rarely found the need to. No one wanted to hear what he really had to say, they were all happy believing in this wicked witch who had taken over Oz and was slowly getting ready to kill everyone.
People never understood anything and he hated them for it.
Ignoring the loud cheers of the audience who had just listened to the announcement that he was to be Captain of the Guard, he stormed out the back, needing fresh air.
He looked to the sky as he leaned back against the wall of the auditorium.
“Where are you, Elphaba?” he whispered.
He wanted her to be there, by his side, in what should have been his proudest moment. But what hurt the most was knowing that if it weren’t for her disappearance then he would more than likely not be who he was today. He would never have bothered to study, to pass with decent grades, to enter the Guard, and never would he have become Captain of the Guard in so little time.
He was sure Glinda’s status throughout the community also had a lot to do with his promotion. It was to be announced officially to all of Oz the day after, tonight was a private function only, one the Wizard had organised personally.
“Fiyero?”
For a moment he tried to pretend the female voice calling him from the other side of the door was Elphaba’s but he knew better. He stayed silent, waiting for Glinda to pass by the other side of the door. A part of him wanted to run, to just leave the Emerald City and everything he had achieved and find her - but he knew the best way to achieve that was to be in a position that could save her if she were ever to be caught.
But he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold on. Because as strange as it seemed, with each day she was missing his heart grew heavier, smiling became more difficult and looking into the face of the woman who loved him hurt as he realised he was only staying with her because she was the only other person who understood his loss.
vi.
“I wish Elphaba could be here,” Glinda whispered as she leaned against his shoulder.
He fought the urge to let go, to stop dancing, but this was an official event and he could hardly let go of his new fiancé so suddenly.
“Me too,” he whispered in response, but he knew she didn’t understand how much he wished that were true, and how different things would be if it were.
He felt trapped, alone in a relationship with the only person who simultaneously understood everything about him and nothing about him. He wanted to hate her but he couldn’t, she was the closest thing he had to a friend left in this world and if she wanted marriage he would marry her.
“Fiyero, what’s wrong?” she leaned back and looked him in the eye.
“Nothing,” he responded, probably too quickly. “Everything’s just fine…”
What could he say? He was still angry about other people’s stupidity? He had always admitted to everyone that he was far from the most intelligent person on the planet, but he knew better than to believe stupid rumours and lies about someone he didn’t even know.
“Are you still mad I didn’t tell you about the engagement party?” she seemed hurt.
“No…it’s not that,” his voice softened as he spoke, and he wished the whole situation wasn’t so sad.
Glinda hadn’t done anything wrong, she couldn’t know how he felt or how much this was all eating him up inside, and he couldn’t tell her because then he would loose the only link he had to Elphaba and the only person he had left he could really talk to at all.
“I’m just mad at all those people, at everything the said about Elphaba…none of it is true and she should be here, with us, not out there living….” he paused. “Who even knows where she’s living…she doesn’t deserve any of this.”
Right at that moment he spotted two of the guards run from the ballroom in the direction of the Wizard.
“I’ll be back…” he muttered, turning and running after them, grabbing his weapon on the way out.
A flash of green greeted him as he reached the other guards.
It was her.
And immediately the heaviness rose from his heart. She was alive, and she looked OK and this was the moment he had been waiting for, the reason he had studied and trained to become Captain of the Guard.
“Fiyero…” she spoke his name and suddenly he knew.
This was the right thing to do.
Title: In A Single Moment
Pairing: Elphaba/Fiyero (seriously see what Millsy has done to me? He made me a shipper for them when I never really cared before!)
Fandom: Wicked - Musical.
Summary: "She had pointed out that he could’ve walked away back there, so why hadn’t he?"
A/N: So yeah I haven't written fic in FOREVER so apologees if it's crap, also I've never written Wicked fic lol. I just felt like writing it. I'll probably hate it tomorrow.
i.
The first time he laid eyes on her he was anything but impressed. Shocked, surprised, irritated…all of those things had come to mind the first moment he saw her, standing before him, kicking his cart, but impressed was not one of them.
Her being green wasn’t even the first thing he had noticed about her, her scowl and her creased forehead more prominent in that moment than anything. However the moment her skin colour had sunk in he’d taken his opportunity to mock her, because that’s what he did right? He made fun of people, he hurt them to make himself feel better.
At least that was the way he saw it now.
Before he had met Elphaba his entire life had been about looking popular, about being the cool guy.
ii.
It was that day in class he really saw her for who she was. He remembered his comment from the night before, how she didn’t care what people thought of her, but seeing her now standing in the back of the room practicing her hair toss he suddenly realised different. She cared very much what other people thought of her, she just pretended not to.
Galinda’s assessment had been accurate.
He also took note that with a little bit of Galinda’s influence, Elphaba was actually quite pretty. For someone who looked so strange.
“You don’t have to do that, you know…” he found himself telling her.
Before she could respond they were interrupted but he could see the shock in her face, the surprise that anyone would even notice the change. Or maybe she was simply surprised that he was speaking to her, in a way he was kind of surprised himself. But there was something about her that drew him to her.
Maybe they could be friends.
And it was half an hour later out in the woods that he realised maybe that wasn’t what he was feeling. He found himself staring into the eyes of the woman who had just magic-spelled the entire class with him being the only exception and he couldn’t help but wonder why.
Why him?
He could hear himself speaking to her but he barely realised his own words, and a moment after he spoke them he had already forgotten what he said.
He shook himself out of his daze.
“I have to get to safety, I mean, the cub…”
“Of course…” she spoke.
“I have to get the cub to safety.”
And with that he grabbed the cage and ran off, leaving her alone. It was as he sat by the river, the empty cage next to him, the lion cub long gone, that he asked himself the question that had really been bugging him.
She had pointed out that he could’ve walked away back there, so why hadn’t he?
What had made him stay when he knew usually he would have left?
iii.
She was leaving. It was only for a few days, but it was bugging him. He wasn’t even sure why, they barely talked and when they did socialise it was only because Galinda was around to do all the talking.
Yet the night before her departure he found himself sitting up in his room unable to think about anything other than what he was going to do without her there. What if she stayed longer? She had powers like no one else he had ever seen, and when the Wizard saw that would he really let her return to school? There was no reason for her to study, for she had more power than anyone who taught her.
And that was his biggest fear, her not returning.
He found himself a few times throughout the night walking towards the door with the intention of going to see her. But to say what? He could hardly tell her he was going to miss her, she barely knew him at all why would she care? That and she shared a room with Galinda and she was the last person he felt like seeing at that moment.
Eventually he did walk out the door, but instead of heading to her room to speak with her he went outside. The moon was bright and it was anything but chilly. He found himself picking out flowers from the garden bed out the front of the school, something he had never before considered doing. But he had to give her something, because if he never saw her again he had to let her know.
And maybe, just maybe, she would actually understand.
He returned to his room and placed the flowers in a glass he had stolen from the kitchen.
Maybe he would give them to her, maybe he wouldn’t. He’d decide in the morning.
iv.
“She’s gone.”
The single flower he was holding in his hand dropped to the ground as his fingers numbed with shock.
“What?” he refused to hear what he was being told.
Glinda stood before him, her usually bouncy hair was flattened by the rain and her dress had been reduced to what looked more like rags than riches. She was upset, even though he knew she was trying not to show it, the Glinda he knew would never allow herself to stand out in the wet long enough to look like a drowned rat.
“She…” Glinda paused, looking at the ground, “…she had an argument with the Wizard and she ran off and now she’s gone…”
He was in shock. Elphaba had wanted nothing more than to meet the Wizard since he had met her. Not that she had ever mentioned it to him personally, but every time someone had mentioned the Wizard he had seen that look in her eyes - the look of hope.
“We should get inside, it’s not safe to talk out here,” Glinda grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the train platform, back towards their school.
He shook her off.
“I don’t want to go back there, I want to find Elphaba,” he spoke quietly, turning around to face her slowly. “We need to go back to the Emerald city, we need to find her.”
“Fiyero, she’s not there!” Glinda said, and now he couldn’t tell if it was tears or rain pouring down her cheeks. “We’re not going to find her.”
“I am.”
Glinda grabbed his hand and pulled it and this time he let her drag him back towards the school. He was going to find Elphaba, no matter what lengths he had to go to, he would find her.
That night when he finally managed to get the entire story out of Glinda, when he had tucked her into his bed for the night, he took rest on his couch. It was only when he was entirely sure Glinda was asleep that he let himself think about how he really felt, as though she were able to read his mind.
And as he pulled over a blanket to attempt to sleep he let a single tear roll down his face.
He missed her, and more than that, he feared for her life.
v.
“I’m proud of you son!”
Fiyero barely heard his father’s words as he stepped off the podium, and they only registered as he was slapped on the shoulder by him. He nodded thanks but said nothing, he barely spoke these days, he rarely found the need to. No one wanted to hear what he really had to say, they were all happy believing in this wicked witch who had taken over Oz and was slowly getting ready to kill everyone.
People never understood anything and he hated them for it.
Ignoring the loud cheers of the audience who had just listened to the announcement that he was to be Captain of the Guard, he stormed out the back, needing fresh air.
He looked to the sky as he leaned back against the wall of the auditorium.
“Where are you, Elphaba?” he whispered.
He wanted her to be there, by his side, in what should have been his proudest moment. But what hurt the most was knowing that if it weren’t for her disappearance then he would more than likely not be who he was today. He would never have bothered to study, to pass with decent grades, to enter the Guard, and never would he have become Captain of the Guard in so little time.
He was sure Glinda’s status throughout the community also had a lot to do with his promotion. It was to be announced officially to all of Oz the day after, tonight was a private function only, one the Wizard had organised personally.
“Fiyero?”
For a moment he tried to pretend the female voice calling him from the other side of the door was Elphaba’s but he knew better. He stayed silent, waiting for Glinda to pass by the other side of the door. A part of him wanted to run, to just leave the Emerald City and everything he had achieved and find her - but he knew the best way to achieve that was to be in a position that could save her if she were ever to be caught.
But he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold on. Because as strange as it seemed, with each day she was missing his heart grew heavier, smiling became more difficult and looking into the face of the woman who loved him hurt as he realised he was only staying with her because she was the only other person who understood his loss.
vi.
“I wish Elphaba could be here,” Glinda whispered as she leaned against his shoulder.
He fought the urge to let go, to stop dancing, but this was an official event and he could hardly let go of his new fiancé so suddenly.
“Me too,” he whispered in response, but he knew she didn’t understand how much he wished that were true, and how different things would be if it were.
He felt trapped, alone in a relationship with the only person who simultaneously understood everything about him and nothing about him. He wanted to hate her but he couldn’t, she was the closest thing he had to a friend left in this world and if she wanted marriage he would marry her.
“Fiyero, what’s wrong?” she leaned back and looked him in the eye.
“Nothing,” he responded, probably too quickly. “Everything’s just fine…”
What could he say? He was still angry about other people’s stupidity? He had always admitted to everyone that he was far from the most intelligent person on the planet, but he knew better than to believe stupid rumours and lies about someone he didn’t even know.
“Are you still mad I didn’t tell you about the engagement party?” she seemed hurt.
“No…it’s not that,” his voice softened as he spoke, and he wished the whole situation wasn’t so sad.
Glinda hadn’t done anything wrong, she couldn’t know how he felt or how much this was all eating him up inside, and he couldn’t tell her because then he would loose the only link he had to Elphaba and the only person he had left he could really talk to at all.
“I’m just mad at all those people, at everything the said about Elphaba…none of it is true and she should be here, with us, not out there living….” he paused. “Who even knows where she’s living…she doesn’t deserve any of this.”
Right at that moment he spotted two of the guards run from the ballroom in the direction of the Wizard.
“I’ll be back…” he muttered, turning and running after them, grabbing his weapon on the way out.
A flash of green greeted him as he reached the other guards.
It was her.
And immediately the heaviness rose from his heart. She was alive, and she looked OK and this was the moment he had been waiting for, the reason he had studied and trained to become Captain of the Guard.
“Fiyero…” she spoke his name and suddenly he knew.
This was the right thing to do.