Chapter 2
"Elphie…" Galinda whined, bringing both hands up to her face, rubbing her nose fiercely back and forth against both of her palms. "Hhh'hh… HH'HhHhh!… hh'hpsxhiew!" The blonde ducked down and caught the stuffy sneeze against her bicep rather than aiming directly for her hands before letting out an exhausted sigh. Elphaba tightened her hold around the younger girl's waist, pulling her closer to lean flush against her body in the bed.
Galinda was definitely coming down with a cold, that much was clear. And seemingly for the first time, ever, based on how she was behaving. Elphaba was amused. The blonde was… fussy. That was the only way to describe it.
Elphaba leaned down to press a kiss to Galinda's cheek. "Bless you, my sweet." They were snuggled together in Galinda's bed, having finished Madame Morrible's assignment quickly and begging off dinner when they noticed Galinda's symptoms began progressing. Elphaba was partially reclined against the mountain of pillows against the headboard with Galinda resting between her legs, lying against her chest.
It had taken more convincing on her part than she expected to get the blonde to relax in bed with her, but when Galinda was finally faced with incessant sniffles, endless tickles, and increasing pressure in her sinuses, even she could no longer deny that she was getting sick.
"I'm sorry you're not feeling well," Elphie whispered against her temple, pressing her lips there momentarily for a kiss.
Galinda sniffled, reveling in the attention and affection she was receiving from Elphie. Not that Elphaba wasn't already affectionate and overly attentive to her, but something about Galinda not feeling well had the other girl practically glued to her, holding her, and making sure she had absolutely everything she needed. Galinda was in heaven.
She shifted and turned her body a tiny bit to the left, nuzzling her nose against Elphaba's emerald neck. "It's so tickly…"Galinda whined against her shoulder. She brought her cardigan-covered hands back to her face as her breath hitched. Elphaba wrapped her arms around her and held her as she hitched her way to her next sneeze. “Hh’hhiiihhh…hh’hhii…h’hPTschieww!” She sneezed breathlessly into her hands, shaking Elphaba's body slightly as she was still laying against her torso, her forehead resting against the side of her neck.
"Sorry, Elphie." Galinda sniffled, realizing she was basically sneezing on her.
Elphaba slid a hand to the blonde's neck and gently began massaging. She felt the younger girl melt even closer against her, sniffles growing muffled as she buried her face deeper in the crook of Elphaba's neck. "Bless you, it's alright,"Elphaba murmured against the blonde curls.
"I can't stop sneezing," Galinda whined, sounding near tears, making Elphaba smile sadly. Poor thing. She didn't know what to do with herself.
"You don't say," Elphaba quipped back, laughing out loud when Galinda lifted herself abruptly to give her an appalled look. Her red nose and watery eyes stood out starkly against her pale complexion.
"You mean thing!" Galinda exclaimed, voice growing hoarse but still able to hit her trademark shriek at the tale end of the last word. "I'm suffering, Elphaba!" The blonde tried to maintain her pout as she glared at Elphaba, but the pure adoration and mirth in Elphaba's eyes broke her resolve. She huffed, feeling the corner of her mouth lift in a smile, and she settled back down against Elphaba's chest. As strong emerald arms wrapped around her once more, she sighed happily.
"I could get used to this," she mumbled, snaking her arms around the older girl's torso as they reclined together against all the pillows. The gentle rise and fall of Elphaba's chest and the feeling of those long nails scratching along her scalp and back, while her body felt out of sorts and a little overstimulated, was intoxicating.
Each time her breath caught in her chest, signaling the arrival of yet another sneeze, Elphaba would wrap her arms around her just a little tighter, holding her while she struggled with the uncomfortable sensation. She would not pull away or loosen her hold until Galinda sneezed and the tickle dissipated, providing some relief to the sick girl.
Elphaba frowned, looking down at the blonde curiously. "Get used to this? Have I not been giving you enough attention lately?" She asked her, mostly joking, but she couldn't help the little twinge of worry that maybe she'd been missing something or neglecting the younger girl somehow.
Galinda smirked and snuggled impossibly closer, squeezing her slightly. "Not like this,” she sniffled, feeling yet another tickle blooming and spreading across her sinuses, making her eyes prickle with new tears. Turning her head inward, she nudged her nose against Elphaba's collarbone to keep the tickle at bay.
"What do you mean?" Elphaba wondered aloud, running her left hand down Galinda's arm where it lay wrapped around her.
Galinda shrugged, sniffling consistently now. "You're being especially snuggly with me," she said, smiling. "I like it."
"I believe it's more accurate to say that you're being especially snuggly with me," Elphaba said in return, rubbing the blonde's back, feeling her breath catch as she tried to fight another sneeze.
Galinda shook her head against her chest. "No, Elphie. You are being especially sweet to me right now." A teasing smile spread across her face, and she lifted her head to meet Elphaba's eyes. "You can't keep your hands to yourself."
Elphaba felt herself begin to blush. "I'm not following…" she really wasn't, but she could recognize that this was another instance of Galinda seeing something she was missing. The last time this happened was when Madame Morrible had applauded one of her earlier levitation efforts, clapping and exclaiming, "Good girl!" Galinda was elated to discover just how far Elphaba's blush went down her body after they left the seminar that day.
The blonde sniffled again, breath beginning to hitch lightly. "Hh.. hh'hh…" she unwrapped one arm from around the older girl and scrubbed harshly at her nose. Elphaba tsked, snatching her hand away. "Stop, Galinda - that's too rough."
Galinda's breath hitched wildly as she fought to pull her hand back. "Hhehh…Elphie, wait…hhh’hh-ptschiii! Ptschiiew!" She sneezed suddenly, swiveling as best she could to avoid sneezing openly on Elphaba, but only managed to duck her head between them. Her forehead pressed against Elphaba's shoulder, meaning Galinda ended up sneezing directly against her, making Elphaba laugh.
"Bless you, sweetness," she offered, still laughing as she listened to Galinda alternate between whining, sniffling, and embarrassed groaning.
"Elphie…" she whined, bringing her sleeve up and gently wiping her nose. Unfortunately, this encouraged another squeaky sneeze to sneak up on her, quickly zapping the remaining playful energy she had from moments earlier. She sighed and collapsed against Elphaba, holding her arm close to her chest, her fist resting under her chin. "This is quite enough," she grumbled, closing her eyes, sniffling half-heartedly.
Elphaba hummed her agreement, resuming her back-rubbing duties and running her nails along Galinda's spine.
"Anyway, as I was saying," Galinda mumbled against her, picking up where she left off. Elphaba felt her face heat up rapidly. "You like this. You like me like this right now. Needy, whiny, and…" she paused, turning once more to nuzzle against Elphaba's breast. "…sniffly."
The tension that took over Elphaba's body was almost painful - a mix of embarrassment and an overwhelming instinct to get up and run away, combined with a deep ache that ultimately confirmed what Galinda was saying. Was she supposed to say something? Do something?
Another hitching breath, another quiet whine, followed by…"hh'mmpp-chieww!"…a half-stifled sneeze against her, accompanied by a whiny sniffle. "Bless you," Elphaba whispered, relaxing as Galinda pressed more of her body against her.
"Thank you, Elphie," Galinda whispered, squeezing her tightly.
They lay there together for a few quiet minutes, Galinda’s nose calming down at last and Elphaba’s mind spinning in lazy circles as she considered Galinda’s latest observation of her. She did find herself enjoying Galinda like this. Of course, she didn’t like that the poor girl was under the weather and not feeling well, but…
She liked the desperation Galinda was experiencing.
She liked the innocent helplessness of it all.
Galinda wasn’t in any danger or seriously at risk in any way. She was simply… being teased—relentlessly—by her own body. She was frustrated and whining and…
Oh. Elphaba needed to stop this line of thinking. Now was not the time. She felt her thighs clench involuntarily and could have kicked herself—she knew Galinda would notice that.
…and she did. The blonde’s hand froze from where it had been tracing mindless little patterns along Elphaba’s collarbone. She tilted her head to catch Elphaba’s eye, arching an eyebrow. “Figuring some things out, are we?” She practically drawled, the corner of her mouth lifting in a smirk, her voice coming through so stuffy and bothered it made Elphaba’s thighs clench again.
“I…maybe,” Elphaba replied, weakly. “I’m not ready to talk about it, though.”
Galinda’s expression softened considerably. “That’s okay. You don’t have to.” She gave Elphaba a sweet smile this time, eyes crinkling and dimple popping out. She laid her head back down on Elphaba’s shoulder, pressing the cold tip of her nose to the older girl’s neck, making her shiver slightly. “I’m so sleepy,” she mumbled.
Elphaba nodded and pulled their blanket up higher, tucking it around Galinda’s shoulders. “Sleep,” she whispered, letting herself get lost in the comforting feeling of the blonde’s warm body growing heavy against her as she began to drift. Elphaba knew she wouldn’t sleep long but she wanted Galinda to get as much rest as possible. She cracked a smile. They had some things to discuss.