A Strange Exhilaration
When Glinda woke up, the first thing she noticed was Elphaba’s arm draped over her. The second thing she noticed was how that made her feel like she couldn’t breathe. Stop it. It doesn’t mean anything. But she definitely wasn’t going to move, so she closed her eyes and pretended to still be asleep.
When Elphaba woke up, the first thing she noticed was Glinda’s hair right in front of her face. She breathed in the smell she had been missing for so long, ever since they would fall asleep like this at Shiz. Oz, I’ve missed her. I wish I could tell her… but I can’t. It would ruin everything. Elphaba shifted just slightly closer, smiling as she pretended to still be asleep.
This continued for quite some time. Finally, Glinda broke the silence. “Elphie?’
“Yes, my sweet?”
Glinda couldn’t think straight with Elphaba so close to her (did she ever think straight though?). Stop it, Glinda. Breathe. “Umm, I’m hungry,” she said, giggling. “Should we get up?”
“5 more minutes,” Elphaba groaned, pulling Glinda closer.
Glinda didn’t object.
---
Eventually, they got up and headed to Glinda’s kitchen. “I don’t have much here,” Glinda said. “Normally the palace staff kind of handles that.”
“I can figure something out,” said Elphaba, already rummaging through cabinets.
“I want to help.”
Elphaba snorted. “And let you burn the place down? Nice try. You can make tea though.”
Glinda laughed and began to make the tea, but she couldn’t stop stealing glances at Elphaba.
When Elphaba had finished cooking, they sat down at the table. Seeing Elphaba sitting across from her, as if this was just a typical morning, made Glinda’s head spin a bit. If this was how every morning from now on was, that would be positively fantastical.
“…Glinda? Hello?”
“What?” said Glinda, cheeks flushing pink, shaking her head slightly to bring herself back to the present.
“I asked what are we going to do from here,” said Elphaba, smirking as if she could read Glinda’s thoughts. “I’m supposed to be dead, remember?”
Right. Glinda’s heart sank. She just got Elphie back. She couldn’t leave again. Glinda felt herself tearing up as she stared intensely at her lap, blinking faster and faster. “Please don’t go,” she choked out. “I can’t-”
She looked up to see Elphaba reaching for her hand, her green eyes filling with tears too. “I don’t want to. But I don’t see how I can stay. If someone found out-”
“Then I’ll come with you.” Glinda was almost shocked at how quickly she was willingly to walk away from it all for Elphaba. Then again, she had been regretting not getting on that broom every second of every day for years now.
Elphaba’s smile was brighter than Glinda had ever seen it. But just as fast as it appeared, it vanished again. “You can’t,” Elphaba said solemnly. “Oz needs you too much.”
“I need you,” Glinda said. She instantly regretted the words. Not because they weren’t true, but because they gave too much away.
Elphaba sighed. “I just don’t see a way.”
Tears started falling, hot and fast. “Elphie, please,” Glinda whispered as she furiously wiped her eyes. “I don’t care what we have to do. I can’t lose you again. I can’t.”
Elphaba moved around the table to hug Glinda. “Is this really what you want?”
“Yes,” Glinda said. You have no idea.
“Ok then. We’ll figure it out.”
Glinda smiled. As long as Elphie was here, she’d be ok.