Brunch
It started with thunder.
A deep, distant rumble that barely registered at first, low enough that Elphaba might have ignored it. But then it came again, closer this time, rattling against the windows as rain began to patter against the glass in sheets.
Elphaba turned her head toward the wall. She knew Glinda was awake.
Even without seeing her, without hearing a sound, she knew.
Glinda wouldn’t come to her, though. Not this time. Not again.
So Elphaba sighed, shoved her blanket aside, and walked straight into Glinda’s room.
Glinda startled slightly, already curled up against the headboard, clutching her blanket tightly. She blinked in confusion as Elphaba wordlessly grabbed her wrist and pulled.
“Elph—”
“Come on,” Elphaba muttered, barely glancing back.
Glinda didn’t fight her. She barely even hesitated, her feet hitting the floor before she even processed what was happening. By the time she did, Elphaba was tugging her into her own room and onto the bed.
Elphaba slid in first, pulling the blanket up over both of them. “This is easier,” she muttered, voice already softer now that the hardest part was over.
Glinda swallowed, looking over at her. “You didn’t have to.”
Elphaba shifted onto her side, facing her fully. “I know.”
The storm picked up outside, wind rattling the window, rain slamming against the glass. Glinda curled further into the warmth of the bed, closer without meaning to.
Neither of them said anything after that. They just… existed there, together. And it was enough.
-
Elphaba was awake before Glinda, though just barely.
For a long time, she just laid there, blinking up at the ceiling, aware of nothing but the warm weight of Glinda’s body still tucked against her side. Their legs were tangled, Glinda’s arm draped loosely over Elphaba’s waist, her fingertips resting against bare skin where Elphaba’s hoodie had ridden up in the night.
She should move. She should wake her. She should—
Glinda sighed in her sleep and burrowed closer, pressing her face against Elphaba’s shoulder, her breath soft and warm against her collarbone.
Elphaba let out a slow, careful breath. Maybe five more minutes.
-
Glinda stirred sometime later, stretching with a soft hum before blinking up at Elphaba with sleep-heavy eyes and the laziest, most self-satisfied smile Elphaba had ever seen.
“Morning,” Glinda murmured, voice still thick with sleep.
Elphaba swallowed, suddenly aware of just how close they still were. “Morning.”
Glinda didn’t move away. Instead, she shifted slightly, her thigh brushing against Elphaba’s in a way that felt entirely intentional.
“You hog blankets,” Glinda teased, fingers idly tracing a light pattern against Elphaba’s side where her hoodie had pulled up.
Elphaba scoffed. “I hog—? You’re the one who latched onto me like a parasite all night.”
Glinda hummed. “Mmm. That does sound like me.”
Elphaba rolled her eyes, but her stomach flipped as Glinda’s fingers kept moving, feather-light against her skin, absentminded and dangerous.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
"Are we okay?" It was Glinda who asked, quietly.
"Yeah, uhm, we're okay."
Then, after a few beats, Glinda let out a soft laugh, her nose scrunching as if she’d just thought of something ridiculous. “You know, looking back, I should’ve realized this was going to happen.”
Elphaba turned her head slightly, raising a brow. “Oh?”
Glinda nodded sagely. “Mhm. So many signs.”
Elphaba smirked. “Like what?”
Glinda propped herself up on one elbow, her fingers still trailing mindless patterns over Elphaba’s waist. “Like how I used to get unreasonably angry when anyone else tried to talk to you.”
Elphaba gave her a look. "Used to? Are we pretending 3 days ago is in the distant past?"
Glinda winced. “Okay, first of all—rude. Second of all, I'm growing.”
Elphaba snorted. “That’s one way to put it.”
Glinda huffed, then tilted her head, her smile turning wicked. “What about you, Miss I’m-Not-Jealous?”
Elphaba blinked. “Excuse me?”
Glinda smirked. “Oh, please. I see the way you look whenever I flirt with someone.”
Elphaba scoffed, feigning disinterest. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Glinda narrowed her eyes, fingers pressing slightly firmer against Elphaba’s waist. “Mmhm. So, you weren’t jealous when I was dating Fiyero?”
Elphaba tensed. Betrayed by her own body.
Glinda grinned. “Oh my Oz. You were.”
Elphaba groaned, covering her face with a hand. “I wasn’t.”
Glinda giggled, delighted. “You totally were! That’s hilarious.”
Elphaba glared at her, but it had no weight behind it. “You were jealous too, you know.”
Glinda’s laugh faltered, her fingers stilling for a fraction of a second before she recovered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Elphaba smirked. “Oh, no? So you didn’t get irrationally pissy every time I so much as glanced at someone else, I'm imagining that?”
Glinda lifted her chin, clearly lying through her teeth. “Must be.”
Elphaba’s smirk widened. “Not even when I danced with that brunette at the party?”
Glinda’s expression twitched.
Elphaba laughed, triumphant. “There it is.”
Glinda scowled. “She was annoying.”
“She was perfectly nice.”
“She laughed too loud.”
Elphaba arched a brow. “Oh, sure. That’s why you sulked on Fiyeros lap all night.”
Glinda sniffed, looking anywhere but at Elphaba’s smug expression. “It wasn’t a good party anyway.”
Elphaba was fully grinning now, the lightness in her chest irreplaceable.
They fell into silence, but it wasn’t awkward. It was comfortable, their hands still resting lightly against each other.
Glinda sighed after a moment, tucking her face back against Elphaba’s shoulder, her breath warm against her collarbone.
“This is nice,” Glinda murmured.
Elphaba’s fingers brushed absently along Glinda’s spine. “Yeah,” she admitted, voice quieter. “It is.”
Neither of them moved to get up.
-
The morning had been warm and slow, full of soft teasing and barely-hidden smiles. But eventually, reality had set in.
It wasn’t until the knock on their door that Elphaba realized they had completely forgotten about brunch.
The boys were early.
Boq stood by the couch, arms crossed, looking entirely too suspicious for Elphaba’s liking. Crope and Tibbett flanked him, both wearing matching expressions of poorly concealed amusement.
And Fiyero? Fiyero looked smug.
Elphaba squinted at them. “Why are you all standing there like that?”
Boq raised a brow. “Like what?”
“Like you’re about to start interrogating me.”
Tibbett hummed. “Interesting choice of words.”
Elphaba scowled, stepping back to let them in. She barely had a second to breathe before Crope flopped dramatically onto the couch, glancing between her and Glinda’s empty room.
“So,” Crope drawled. “Did you two have a nice night?”
Elphaba narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
Boq snorted. “Because the last time we saw you two, Glinda was flirting with everything that moved, and you were acting like it didn’t bother you.”
Tibbett leaned forward, grinning. “And yet, this morning, Glinda is nowhere to be seen, you look suspiciously well-rested, and—”
“And you both came from the same hallway when we knocked,” Fiyero added, smirking.
Elphaba stiffened. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
Crope gasps, clutching his chest. “Elphaba Thropp, are you blushing?”
“Wait, wait,” Tibbett cut in. “Do you hear that? That’s the sound of Elphaba panicking.”
Boq shook his head, looking far too delighted. “This is the best day of my life.”
Elphaba groaned, rubbing her temples. “You’re all insufferable.”
“Maybe,” Fiyero said easily. “But you’re deflecting.”
Elphaba glared at him.
Then—before any of them could push further—the door to Glinda’s room swung open.
Glinda emerged, looking annoyingly perfect, as if she hadn’t just spent the night tangled up with Elphaba like it was the most natural thing in the world.
She blinked at the boys. “Oh. You’re here.”
Boq grinned. “We were just asking Elphaba how her night went.”
Glinda tilted her head, clearly catching on.
She smiled, slow and knowing. “Oh? And what did she say?”
Four pairs of eyes immediately turned back to Elphaba, waiting.
Elphaba sighed heavily. “I hate all of you, and we really need to see about looking that door.”
-
Brunch was already doomed before they even got to the restaurant.
Glinda, ever the picture of composed perfection, sat across from Elphaba, barely concealing her amusement. Boq and Tibbett had spent the entire walk over exchanging knowing looks, while Crope kept whispering something to Fiyero that had him grinning like a man who knew too much.
Elphaba, for her part, was very seriously considering throwing herself into traffic.
As soon as they sat down, Boq leaned forward, elbows on the table, eyes sharp.
“So, Elphie,” he started, voice far too innocent. “Sleep well?”
Tibbett snickered behind his menu.
Elphaba slowly set down her fork, fixing Boq with a look so withering it could have peeled paint off the walls. “Boq, if you value your ability to breathe through your nose, I highly recommend rethinking your life choices in the next five seconds.”
“Oh, but why would we do that?” Crope sighed dreamily, dramatically setting his chin on his hand. “This is the most interesting thing to happen all semester.”
Glinda, infuriatingly, took a sip of her mimosa and said absolutely nothing.
Fiyero, who had been quiet up until now, finally spoke, smirking over the rim of his coffee. “You know, Elphie, you don’t have to tell us what happened.” He took a slow sip, letting the moment hang. “Your face is doing all the talking for you.”
Boq howled with laughter.
Elphaba groaned, slumping against the table. “You people are like vultures circling a meal that isn’t even dead yet.”
Glinda finally took pity, delicately setting her glass down. “Honestly, boys, if you’re going to tease, you could at least be clever about it.”
Boq smirked. “Oh, you want us to be clever? Alright. How about this—never have I ever… spent the night with a green-skinned scholar and lived to tell the tale.”
Glinda’s eyebrow twitched.
Elphaba, deadpan, reached for her drink. “This is my villain origin story.”
Crope cackled.
The teasing went on like that for a while—light, relentless, utterly insufferable.
By the time the food arrived, Elphaba had resigned herself to her fate. She kept her head down, chewing furiously on a piece of toast while the boys continued their obnoxious, drawn-out analysis of The Situation.
Glinda, meanwhile, was having the time of her life.
Elphaba finally, finally turned to her, voice flat with exasperation. “Are you going to say anything at all?”
Glinda smiled sweetly. “What? I think it’s lovely how invested they are in your sleep quality.”
Tibbett nearly choked on his drink.
Elphaba closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
“Okay. You know what? Let’s just get everything out in the open, shall we?” Elphaba leaned forward, setting her elbows on the table. “Yes, Glinda spent the night in my room. No, I did not seduce her with my devastating charm and breathtaking allure, though, obviously, it’s an ever-present risk. No, I did not carry her over the threshold like a tragic heroine in a period drama. Yes, I fully expect all of you to shut up about it within the next five minutes or I will be forced to start sharing deeply personal and entirely fabricated rumors about your own lives.”
Silence.
Then—
Boq blinked. “Okay, but did you—”
Elphaba stabbed a piece of fruit with such force that Boq audibly gulped.
“Right. I’m done. I’m so done,” Elphaba declared, tossing her napkin onto the table. “You’re all officially the worst, and I hate every single one of you.”
Glinda leaned in, way too pleased. “Even me?”
Elphaba gave her a long, suffering stare. “Especially you.”
Glinda beamed.
-
Brunch had been an ordeal—but just when Elphaba thought she might survive it, the universe decided to humble her.
They were just about to leave, standing near the front of the restaurant, when a sharp, familiar voice cut through the air.
“Oh, well isn’t this a quaint little gathering.”
Elphaba didn’t even need to turn around. The gleefully condescending tone was unmistakable.
Pfannee.
Shenshen trailed beside her, looking equally delighted, eyes immediately flickering over the group like she was sizing up a battlefield.
Glinda tensed beside Elphaba.
“Well,” Pfannee continued, smirking as she tilted her head. “This is… unexpected. I thought you’d be spending your weekends at real brunches, Glinda, not slumming it with…” Her gaze flicked to Elphaba, dripping with amusement.“This green weirdo and the pride parade.”
Elphaba exhaled slowly through her nose.
Boq rolled his eyes. “Pfannee, is there a single day where you don’t find a way to be absolutely insufferable?”
Pfannee gave a mock gasp. “Boq, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were being rude.”
Tibbett muttered under his breath, “We can only dream.”
Pfannee ignored him, turning back to Glinda, expression sharpening. “You’ve been so hard to find lately, Glinda. It’s almost like you’ve been… hiding.”
Glinda laughed, but it was stiff. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Oh, but I’m never ridiculous,” Pfannee drawled. “I mean, I’ve heard the rumors, but I didn’t think you’d actually be—”
“Pfannee,” Glinda cut in a little too quickly. “Let’s not do this.”
Pfannee’s eyes sparkled with interest. “Oh, but what’s the fun in that?”
Elphaba, sensing imminent disaster, had just opened her mouth to say something scathing when Pfannee took another step closer.
“Well,” Pfannee continued, gaze sliding lazily between them. “I suppose it makes sense. You always did have… eclectic taste, Glinda.”
Shenshen snickered. “Oh, remember the Milla situation, must’ve been try after all.”
Glinda wanted to disappear, her entire body locked up.
Elphaba’s eyes snapped to her. "The Milla situation?"
Glinda ignored her, ignoring everything, really, laughing a little too high, a little too falsely. “You and your stories. Honestly, you two will believe anything.”
And just like that—
Something in the air shifted.
She had panicked.
She had done the only thing she knew how to do—laugh it off, play it down, keep the peace. She wasn’t ready for a confrontation, she wasn’t ready for questions, she wasn’t ready for the judgment.
But Elphaba was.
Pfannee beamed. “Oh, I do so love a scandal.”
Elphaba’s jaw clenched.
Fiyero, ever the peacemaker, clapped his hands together. “Welp! This has been horrific. Shall we?”
Boq all but dragged Crope and Tibbett away.
Glinda moved too, but Elphaba stayed still, just for a second longer.
Pfannee tilted her head. “Leaving already? I was just getting interested.”
Elphaba gave her a razor-sharp smile. “Try not to think too hard, Pfannee. You might hurt yourself.”
Then she turned, walking out before she could say something truly regrettable.
-
The walk back to campus was quiet, but not cold.
Elphaba wasn’t angry.
Glinda kept stealing glances at her, expecting a sharp remark, some kind of passive-aggressive jab. But it never came.
Instead, Elphaba was thoughtful. Careful.
And when they finally reached their dorm, when the boys split off and it was just the two of them, Elphaba spoke first.
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
Glinda blinked, thrown by the softness in her voice. “I—”
Elphaba leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms. “I know what you were doing, Glinda. You were protecting yourself. That’s not something you have to apologize for.”
Glinda swallowed. “I wasn’t—” She stopped. Because she had been. And Elphaba saw right through it.
Elphaba exhaled slowly, gaze flickering away for just a second before she continued, voice lower, measured. “I didn’t get that choice.”
Glinda frowned. “What do you mean?”
Elphaba hesitated. Then—
“My sister outed me.”
Glinda’s breath caught.
Elphaba huffed a quiet, humorless laugh. “I was sixteen. She overheard me talking to Nanny about—” She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. The next day, my father knew. And then my father hated me even more.”
Glinda felt something in her stomach sink. “Elphie…”
“I just mean…” Elphaba rubbed the back of her neck, eyes fixed somewhere on the floor. “I know how hard it is. I know what it’s like to have someone take that moment away from you.” She finally met Glinda’s eyes, and there was no anger there—only understanding. “I don’t ever want that for you.”
Glinda didn’t know what to say.
She had spent the last twenty minutes feeling awful about what happened at brunch.She had another chance to defend Elphaba against Pfannee and she hadn't. She had assumed Elphaba was mad, that she was hurt. And maybe she had been, for a second.
But mostly… she just understood.
And somehow, that made Glinda feel even worse.
Elphaba offered a small, lopsided smile. “So, if you need to keep pretending for a while longer, that’s okay. I won’t hold it against you.”
Glinda opened her mouth, then closed it.
She didn’t want to keep pretending.
But she didn’t know how to stop.
So, she just nodded. “…Thank you.”
Elphaba shrugged. “Don’t mention it.”
She turned toward her room, pausing briefly in the doorway. “You gonna be okay?”
Glinda let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Yeah. I think so.”
Elphaba gave her one last, lingering look before disappearing into her room.
And Glinda just stood there, heart pounding, feeling more seen than she ever had in her entire life.