Raincheck

As dawn broke across Shiz, casting rays of pink and bronze along the university campus, the songbirds began their morning anthem in sync with frogs dipping in and out of waterways and dragonflies buzzing along hedges and through vines. Chirping and whistling, creating a blend of notes that, when paired alongside the tinkling ring of wind chimes, gave an air of something new beginning. 

Elphaba's eyes fluttered open as she slowly began to wake, grimacing as the discomfort in her face and a new pain between her shoulder blades woke with her. Her body ached in a way she hadn't felt in years, and she couldn't help but worry about whether or not she'd be making it to her classes tomorrow.

Oh, please. As if Galinda would let her go to class even if she was markedly better. 

She rolled onto her back, careful not to disturb Galinda, who was still peacefully asleep beside her. It was hard for Elphaba to put words to what she was feeling. Her thoughts were sluggish, and her mind was disoriented from the complete dismantling of her carefully crafted walls—walls that had stood tall and strong for years.

Walls that Galinda launched herself clear over and tore down from the other side.

Or had she? Elphaba covered her eyes. Considering how last night unfolded… it seemed more like Elphaba had picked Galinda up unwillingly and threw her over the wall to land square in the middle of her mess. How mortifying. 

"What do I do now…" she exhaled, words barely audible, meant only for herself. She had fallen asleep in Galinda's lap last night after spending hours fluctuating between crippling panic - someone knew - and…

…shame. Elphaba couldn't help it, and she said as much when Galinda gently pressed her on it last night. She felt shame. She felt…humiliated. Galinda looked just as horrified hearing Elphaba say this as she did when her dream - Elphaba's memories - came crashing down on top of her. 

~~~

"Humiliated? Elphie…why?" Galinda had whispered, leaning slightly to keep Elphaba's head in her lap but angled so that she was looking more directly into her eyes. 

The older girl tried averting her eyes but felt Galinda's fingers brush against her cheek, gently encouraging her to meet her's once more. All she saw reflected at her was love. "Why?"

"Because…" Elphaba started, her voice torn to shreds after the emotional day. "I've worked so hard… to be seen a certain way. Confident." She swallowed carefully, wincing against what felt like knives scraping down her throat. "Worthy." She limply lifted and dropped her hand to emphasize her point. "You know, despite all of the… green…"

Elphaba turned onto her side, breaking eye contact with Galinda but snuggling closer to her. She pressed her face against the blonde's stomach to hide, taking a deep breath.

"But this… sort of dismantles that," Her voice grew thick as tears threatened to overwhelm her - again. "Because now you know. You know. How..." She bit back a sob. "How worthless I felt. How worthless I was to them." Elphaba's chest caught on another withheld sob. She began to cough, trying again to pull away and get out of Galinda's lap, but the blonde wouldn't allow it. She lifted Elphaba's shoulders slightly to help her breathe better but held her tightly against her chest. Elphaba eventually caught her breath, tears now shining in her eyes as she looked up at Galinda. 

 "And there's no going back to you not knowing." 

Galinda's eyes glistened with unshed tears as she watched Elphaba press her forehead against her stomach once more. A tear escaped and rolled down toward the bridge of her nose. She caught the tear with her thumb and continued running her fingers along emerald freckles, through soft braids, across fevered skin…

"Elphaba, I still see the confident, stubborn, brilliant you that I always have," she said emphatically, but being mindful to keep her voice soft and loving. "You are worthy. You have always been worthy," she whispered, running the backs of her fingers down a soft, emerald cheek. 

~~~

Elphaba slipped out of the bed on unsteady legs and stood, leaning on the nightstand to steady herself as she felt the world tilt oddly. Careful. A cough began brewing deeply in her chest. She kept her breathing shallow and even, hoping to make it into the bathroom - at least before she started coughing - and avoid waking the sleeping blonde behind her. 

When the bathroom door clicked shut, Elphaba stumbled to sit on the toilet, quickly pulling the hem of her sweater up to muffle a coughing fit. Her chest was rattling, and even she was beginning to worry about her temperature. Her illness seemed to be escalating very differently than Fiyero's or anyone else she'd observed falling victim to the bug taking over the campus. Everyone else seemed to succumb to a standard - messy - cold. She didn't even think Fiyero had a fever at any point. 

Elphaba sighed, rubbing her chest to soothe the pain she felt flaring. She'd had pneumonia twice before in her life and was quickly starting to recognize the early symptoms. She needed to get a handle on this now. Her eyes landed on the claw-foot tub. Dulcibear put her in the tub the first time she developed the condition, and she remembered that helped—the heat, the steam. Okay, she could do this. Elphaba stood and quickly grew dizzy, reaching out to grasp at the sink to stay upright. 

"Okay, maybe not," she muttered, slowly moving toward the bathroom door to return to the bedroom. If Elphaba could even get into the bath without cracking her head open, she wasn't sure she should due to how high she believed her temperature to be, given her unsteadiness. She needed Galinda. 

Elphaba carefully made her way back across the bedroom to the bed where Galinda was still sleeping. She sat heavily on her side of the bed, trying not to worry about how short of breath she was or how heavy her chest was beginning to feel. "Galinda," she wheezed slightly, reaching out to touch the blonde's arm. 

After a beat, Galinda stirred, mumbling a bit into her pillow before rolling onto her back. She turned her head toward Elphaba's voice and slowly opened her eyes. "Morning, Elphie," Galinda said, voice slightly hoarse from sleep, a small smile already appearing. She reached for the older girl’s hand and laced their fingers together. "Why are you up? It's so early…" she trailed off, taking note of the early morning sun streaming through their windows and balcony door. 

Elphaba squeezed her hand. "I know. I'm sorry to wake you…" she whispered, hoping to preserve her voice, keeping her breath shallow and even to prevent another coughing fit. "But I think I need your help." She flinched when Galinda shot up, her worry cutting through any residual exhaustion. 

"What's wrong?" Galinda asked anxiously, scooting closer to where Elphaba sat and reaching a hand up to cup her cheek. "Oh, you're on fire, sweets…" the blonde said, concern deeply coloring her tone and making Elphaba's heart hurt. She squeezed Galinda's hand reassuringly. 

"I know, I -" A cough suddenly stole her breath, forcing Elphaba to double over, pulling her sweater over her face. Galinda reached forward to steady her. Thankfully, it did not last long. "Sorry, I just-" another cough quickly overwhelmed her. Well, never mind, then. 

Galinda could hardly contain herself. "Elphaba, that does not sound good," she said, alarmed by the rattle she had begun hearing as the other girl fought to settle and catch her breath. To her dismay, Elphaba nodded in response.

"I know -" Elphaba slowly breathed in, mindful of the tightness in her chest. "My chest is starting to feel a little tight. It's happened before…" she paused to take another slow, deep breath. "The bath helps. I was trying… but I got dizzy. I shouldn't…alone." 

A flurry of emotions ran across Galinda's face. Her expression mainly reflected her concern for the older girl at that moment - a bit of fear creeping in at how disjointed Elphaba’s last sentence had come out while she navigated her strained breathing. But, her eyes lit up warmly when the significance of her request landed.

"Thank you for asking for help, Elphie," she said, dimple appearing for just a moment before Galinda suddenly frowned. "But we should try to lower your temperature before putting you in a steaming bath." Galinda chewed her bottom lip a moment, eyes moving around while she organized her thoughts. 

Finally, the blonde nodded. "Alright, I'm going to run down to the infirmary and ask for a tonic to help with your fever. And I’ll see if they can recommend anything for your cough." She stood from the bed and held Elphaba's face in her hands, worrying her lip again over the poor girl's elevated temperature, thumbs brushing over her freckles. "I'll also see to breakfast, okay?”

Galinda pulled away after pressing a long kiss to an emerald forehead and encouraging her to get back into bed until she returned. In her typical fashion, Galinda whirled around the suite, getting ready, and in mere magical minutes, the girl had washed up, gotten dressed, and was prepared to leave. She stopped at the bed first to triple-check that Elphaba was tightly tucked in and that her fever hadn't risen dramatically since her last check minutes before. 

Brushing a few loose braids behind her ear, Galinda leaned forward to be level with Elphaba's eyes. "Is there anything else I can get you while I'm out?" She asked softly, dimple popping out as her lips spread into a sweet smile.

Elphaba raised a hand to her chest to rub it subconsciously as the ache began to spread. "I don’t believe so..." She cracked a smile. "Hurry back?" 

Galinda's delighted giggle momentarily made Elphaba forget about her discomfort, and she lightly chuckled in response. The blonde leaned forward to press a series of kisses across her freckles, making her blush fiercely, before pulling back and twirling over to the door. "I'll be back soon, sweetness."She paused, leaning against the door handle momentarily and staring at Elphaba. A blush began to spread across her cheeks, and she glanced at her a bit shyly. "I do love you, Elphie."

Elphaba felt her heart crumble to pieces and land in a pile of glitter. Oh. She couldn't help it. She felt a smile begin to stretch almost painfully wide across her face. Oh. Galinda winked and pulled the doors open, not bothering to wait for Elphaba's verbal reply as her smile already gave her answer. I love you, too. 

~~~

"Galinda?"

Galinda was startled to hear her name so close to her ear and turned quickly, plastering on a smile to greet whomever she had clearly been ignoring moments before. When Fiyero came into view, she let her smile drop to something resembling an annoyed pout. "Oh, hello, Fiyero."

Fiyero's eyes widened comically at that. "Goodness, are you really that upset with me still?" He let a slow smile spread across his face as Galinda rolled her eyes in response. 

"No, no. Well, yes. But no, I'm not upset." She waved dismissively at him, clearing her throat softly. Turning back to the buffet to finish preparing two bowls of oatmeal, fruit salad, and buttered toast to bring back upstairs for her and Elphaba, she said, "I was simply distracted and didn't realize it was you at first." 

She glanced back at him, quickly assessing his pallor and mood. "You seem like you're feeling well. Are you fully recovered?" At his wink and nod, Galinda let a small smile appear, dimple briefly making an appearance. "Good! I'm happy to hear that. How is Boq?" she said politely, picking up her tray to step back and let Fiyero make his selections. 

Fiyero sighed. "He's miserable but coping. How is Elphaba?" The two left the buffet line and moved toward the entrance - Galinda intent on returning to Elphaba and Fiyero planning to make his way to Boq's room to beg - no, no demand - to be let in as he had been turned away the day prior. 

"She's not doing well at all, I'm afraid," Galinda replied, looking up at Fiyero as they both stopped in the hallway, needing to part directions. "Her fever has gotten worse, and she's developing the most horrendible cough. Her chest is bothering her too, so I picked up a tonic at the infirmary for her." Galinda tilted her head to draw Fiyero's attention to the small cloth bag that hung from her right wrist. "They gave me these yellow capsules and a special tea to make for her, too. They said it's supposed to help with…pneumonia?" Galinda repeated the unfamiliar word carefully. 

Fiyero nodded. “We call that Winter Fever in The Vinkus. I've dealt with it once - it was quite painful," Fiyero recounted, worrying Galinda a bit more than she was before, which was not his intention. Her face fell, and her brows furrowed slightly as she glanced away from him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" he trailed off, realizing she wasn’t upset and instead recognizing what was about to happen. He moved his tray to one hand quickly while reaching out with his other to steady Galinda's. 

Galinda had turned her head completely to the right, facing away from the tray as best she could, and silently stifled a sneeze. 

"Blessings, love." Fiyero kept his hand on the tray to steady her. Galinda's breath hitched twice more before head bobbed toward her shoulder and stifled two more sneezes entirely into silence. "Bless you again.” He tilted his head to catch her eye. “You do realize this is just the beginning, right?" 

Galinda straightened and cleared her throat. "I have no idea what you're talking about." 

~