Me and BOQ
It had been a couple of weeks, and Glinda and Elphaba had settled into a routine. Every morning, Glinda forced Elphaba out of bed at dawn to eat breakfast with her before Glinda had to get to work. It had taken some convincing to make sure the palace staff completely stopped coming to her room, but after that was taken care of, Glinda was living the life she had dreamed of, with Elphie. Her whole world had been flipped upside down with Elphaba’s return, but Oz was none the wiser and there was always more work to be done. It had been a particularly exhausting few days, full of aggressive debates in Council meetings. Glinda had come home the night before so tired and with such a raging headache that she and Elphaba had immediately gone to bed, forgetting to set Glinda’s sparkly pink alarm.
They slept through the incessant knocking at the apartment door, and the even louder knocking on the bedroom, but woke up with a start when they heard a scream. The first thing Glinda noticed was Elphaba, of course, pressed close to her. The second thing she noticed was the metallic glint of the person standing next to her bed.
“BOQ? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” Glinda screamed, jumping out of bed and hurriedly throwing the blankets over Elphaba.
“….I can still see her,” said Boq, dazed. “Why is she here?”
“That’s absolutifully none of your business,” huffed Glinda. “Why are you in my room?”
“I knocked, you didn’t answer, I let myself in. You gave me the key a while ago when I had to drop stuff off here. The wrap up of the debates on the new legislation is today, and you’re already late. The Council is going to be furious. But never mind that. Why is Elphaba here?”
Elphaba finally peaked her head out from under the pile of blankets. “Elphaba?” she asked. “What happened to ‘Wicked Witch?’”
Boq smiled. “Glinda told me everything. You did what you had to do. How could I call you wicked for that? Sorry I tried to kill you, by the way.”
Elphaba was speechless for a moment. “I’m sorry too. For…” she gestured lamely at the metal clanking every time he moved.
“Better than the alternative,” Boq said with another smile, this one more forced.
Glinda cleared her throat. “Okay, well, Boq, could you go down and tell the council I’ll be there in 10 minutes?”
Boq looked at her, mouth hanging open. “You really think I’m just letting this whole Elphaba-in-your-bed thing go?”
Glinda’s face flushed. “Of course not. But we have to get to that Council meeting. We’ll deal with this later.”
“Okayyyy,” said Boq, turning to leave. “Sure you only need 10 minutes?” He giggled and smirked at Glinda, who blushed even more than before.
“Yes, Boq,” she said sternly. If he doesn’t stop insinuationing things in front of Elphie, I’m going to melt him down into a can and crush it.
Elphaba was still in the bed, piled under all the blankets, looking as confused as ever.
Glinda wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed next to her. The stress of the impending meeting coupled with the stress of someone, even someone as trustworthy as Boq, knowing that Elphaba was here was overwhelming. What if someone else found out? What if the Council found out? What if Elphie gets scared and decides to leave? I can’t just drop everything, Oz would implode. Glinda’s vision began to blur and she felt her heart racing.
“Glinda? Glinda?”
Glinda could hear the concern in Elphaba’s voice, but she sounded so far away. All Glinda could focus on was the way her hands were shaking. She looked down at them, then saw green ones wrap around hers. She sighed. She could breathe easier now.
“Hey, it’s okay,” said Elphaba, lifting Glinda’s chin so she was looking in her eyes.
Those gorgeous green eyes. They always had a way of making Glinda feel safe at Shiz, and apparently 5 years of separation had only made that more effective.
“Are you okay, my sweet?” Elphaba asked, nervously searching Glinda’s face.
“… yeah, I think so,” whispered Glinda. “I just panicked. I trust Boq, but the idea of anyone knowing you’re here scares me. If something happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.” She felt the shaking begin to start again. She barely survived the first time Elphaba “died,” and that hadn’t even been real. If it happened for real…
“Nothing’s going to happen,” said Elphaba, pulling Glinda into a hug and running her fingers through those golden curls. “I promise. I won’t leave you again. It’s going to be okay.”
Glinda sighed. Elphaba was right. They would figure it out. Together. The greatest team there’s ever been, she thought with a smile. She held onto Elphaba for another second, then slowly pulled away. “I have to get ready.”
“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Elphaba was clearly worried about Glinda. She hadn’t seen the panic attacks in a long time.
“Yes,” Glinda smiled. “As long as you’re still up here when I get back.”