Date night
Elphaba should have known Crope and Tibbett would get involved.
It was inevitable.
Because the moment they so much as heard about the apartment situation, they appeared like chaos-summoning demons ready to make things ten times worse.
And they found out fast.
It was Crope who brought it up first, crashing unceremoniously onto Glinda’s couch like he owned the place, kicking his feet up as if he planned to stay indefinitely.
“So,” he drawled, twirling a pen between his fingers. “Tell me why, exactly, my favorite disaster couple isn’t already living together?”
Tibbett, perched on the arm of the couch, tilted his head. “I thought this was a done deal.”
Elphaba sighed, setting down her book. “It’s not a done deal.”
Glinda, from where she sat far too comfortably beside Elphaba, waved a hand dismissively. “It should be.”
Elphaba arched a brow. “Should it?”
Glinda huffed, rolling onto her side to face her. “Yes. What is the point of you having your own dorm? It’s a waste of space, Elphie. A waste of potential.”
Tibbett grinned. “A waste of domestic bliss.”
Crope perked up. “Oh, I love that.”
Elphaba pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t need ‘domestic bliss.’ I need silence and a place where I can actually get work done without distraction.”
Glinda frowned, offended. “I am an excellent study partner.”
Elphaba stared at her.
Glinda huffed. “Fine. Maybe not, but I make up for it in—”
Crope gasped. “Cuddles?”
Glinda beamed. “Exactly.”
Tibbett snickered. “You are so down bad.”
Elphaba groaned.
Crope sighed dramatically. “I simply cannot believe that after all this time, you are still resisting.”
Tibbett nodded solemnly. “It’s honestly painful to watch.”
Elphaba rubbed her temple. “It’s not that simple.”
Glinda frowned, sitting up. “Yes, it is.”
Elphaba exhaled sharply, pushing a hand through her hair. “Glinda.”
Glinda crossed her arms. “Elphaba.”
Tibbett leaned toward Crope. “Oh, they’re fighting.”
Crope shook his head. “No, no. This is just their version of foreplay.”
Glinda smirked. “Oh, you have no idea.”
Elphaba choked.
Crope and Tibbett lost it.
Tibbett fanned himself. “Oz, I love her.”
Crope wiped away an imaginary tear. “So proud.”
Elphaba groaned, covering her face with her hands.
Glinda laughed, nudging her. “Elphie, love, I’m serious. Just move in.”
Elphaba dragged her hands down her face. “I can’t.”
Tibbett tilted his head. “Why not?”
Elphaba sighed. “Because my father is still paying for my dorm. If I suddenly stop living there, he’s going to know.”
Crope blinked. “Wait. That’s the reason?”
Elphaba frowned. “Yes?”
Crope and Tibbett exchanged glances.
Then—
Tibbett sighed. “That’s so boring.”
Crope leaned forward. “I was hoping for something dramatic.”
Tibbett nodded. “Like you were terrified of commitment.”
Crope grinned. “Or that Glinda had tragic sleep habits you couldn’t endure.”
Tibbett gasped. “Or that she snores!”
Glinda scoffed. “I do not snore.”
Elphaba side-eyed her.
Glinda gasped. “Elphie!”
Elphaba grinned. “You’re adorable when you do it, though.”
Glinda huffed, crossing her arms. “I hate you.”
Elphaba pressed a kiss to her cheek. “No, you don’t.”
Crope kicked his feet up. “Okay, but realistically, how do we solve the dorm problem?”
Tibbett twirled a pen between his fingers. “Fake an emergency?”
Crope snapped his fingers. “Yes! Flood her room.”
Glinda perked up. “Oh, I love that idea.”
Elphaba stared at all of them. “You people are deranged.”
Crope smirked. “We just want what’s best for you, darling.”
Elphaba rolled her eyes.
Glinda looped her arms around her. “You know it makes sense, Elphie.”
Elphaba sighed. “I’ll… think about it.”
Glinda beamed.
Crope and Tibbett grinned at each other.
“Oh,” Tibbett whispered to Crope. “She’s so moving in.”
Crope nodded sagely. “Oh, absolutely.”
Elphaba pretended not to hear them.
Glinda pretended not to smirk.
Glinda had never asked anyone on a date before.
Ever.
It simply… wasn’t done.
Men asked her out. She batted her lashes, played coy, and said yes—or no, depending on how useful they were. There was a rhythm to it, a formula, a certainty.
But now?
Now she had to do the asking.
And it was horrifying.
Because what if Elphaba said no?
Not that she would. They were already together. They were very much together. They… spent almost every night in the same bed, held hands under the table, kissed until they were breathless and grinning and completely undone.
But.
They had never actually talked about it.
Not really.
It had started with glances held too long, touches that lingered, teasing remarks neither of them were entirely joking about. It had never been discussed outright, never been labeled.
So, if Glinda asked her on a date… would that mean they were—
No. No. She was spiraling.
And she still hadn’t actually done the asking.
And now?
Now Crope and Tibbett had noticed.
They were lounging in Glinda’s apartment, watching her suffer.
And they were having the time of their lives.
“So,” Crope said, propping his chin in his hands, “you’re telling me you’ve been doing whatever it is you two do for months, sleeping with her, and yet—”
“You can’t ask her on a date?” Tibbett finished, delighted.
Glinda groaned into her hands. “I hate you both.”
Crope sighed wistfully. “I love this for you.”
Tibbett grinned. “It’s like watching a baby deer try to walk for the first time.”
Glinda huffed, pacing. “I just—how do I do it? What do I say?”
Crope grinned. “Oh, Elphie, take me now—”
Glinda hurled a pillow at him.
Tibbett snickered.
Crope caught the pillow, unbothered. “Just ask. She’s obsessed with you.”
Glinda pursed her lips. “She is not—”
“Oh, she is,” Tibbett said.
“She’s doomed,” Crope added.
Glinda sighed dramatically, flopping onto the couch. “Fine. Fine. I’ll do it.”
Tibbett beamed. “Go on then.”
Glinda stared.
Crope waved a hand. “She’s literally across campus. Call her. Text her. Summon her with your overwhelming neediness.”
Glinda whined into the cushion.
Crope grinned. “Do it, coward.”
Glinda growled, grabbing her phone, and furiously typed out a message before she could think too hard about it.
Glinda’s Terrible, Awful, No Good Text Message:
Glinda: Elphie, my dearest, the star of my sky and the breath in my lungs, would you do me the absolute honor of allowing me to take you on a date?
Glinda stared at it.
Then immediately screamed into the pillow.
Tibbett howled. “Oh Oz, that’s the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen.”
Crope clutched his heart. “No, actually, I love it. It’s so desperate.”
Glinda deleted it violently.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Then—
Take Two:
Glinda: Hey, want to go out later?
Better.
Simple.
Casual.
Effortless.
It would be fine.
Her phone buzzed almost instantly.
Elphaba: What do you mean?
Glinda scowled.
Glinda: What do you mean what do I mean? I mean GO OUT. A DATE. AN OUTING. A ROMANTIC EXCURSION, IF YOU WILL.
Crope choked on his drink. “Oz’s sake, Glinda, breathe.”
Her phone buzzed again.
Elphaba: Oh. Yeah, okay.
Glinda froze.
Crope and Tibbett leaned in.
Tibbett gasped. “Did she just—”
Crope clutched his chest. “So underwhelming.”
Glinda gawked.
Tibbett sighed. “Truly, the romance of the century.”
Crope shook his head. “At least pretend to be excited, Thropp.”
Glinda fumed, typing furiously.
Glinda: THAT’S IT? “OH. YEAH, OKAY”??
The response was immediate.
Elphaba: Glinda, I’d let you take me anywhere, you never ask before dragging me somewhere. I’d be honored.
Glinda lit up.
Crope and Tibbett cheered.
Tibbett flopped back. “She is doomed.”
Glinda grinned, triumphant. “I win.”
The bookstore café was warm, cozy, and exactly what Glinda had hoped for.
Soft golden lights lined the bookshelves, and the smell of fresh coffee and old paper filled the air.
Elphaba was sitting across from her, long fingers wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee, looking entirely too comfortable in this environment.
Glinda had done well.
“I take it you approve?” Glinda asked, smug.
Elphaba hummed, sipping her drink. “It’s tolerable.”
Glinda gasped. “Tolerable?!”
Elphaba smirked. “Fine, nice, enjoyable. Pick your favorite.”
Glinda pouted. “I work so hard to make things perfect for you.”
Elphaba tilted her head, considering. “You do, don’t you?”
Glinda blinked.
Then huffed. “Yes, obviously.”
Elphaba grinned, setting down her cup, leaning forward slightly. “Why?”
Glinda opened her mouth. Closed it.
Then flushed.
Elphaba chuckled, satisfied.
Glinda sniffed, grabbing her drink. “I hate you.”
Elphaba rested her chin in her hand, smirking. “No, you don’t.”
Glinda sighed. “No, I don’t.”
Elphaba grinned.
The date had ended hours ago.
They had walked back to campus together, the cold night air biting but not unbearable. Their hands had brushed more than once, lingering a little too long, neither pulling away nor lacing their fingers together outright. By the time they reached the dorms, they had stopped just outside Elphaba’s building, neither making a move to leave, standing close enough that their breath curled in the air between them.
Glinda had almost invited herself in.
Elphaba had almost asked her to stay.
Instead, they had exchanged one last look, a quiet, knowing thing, before turning away toward their respective rooms.
And now?
Now Glinda was wide awake, staring at the ceiling, her thoughts spiraling in every possible direction.
The night had been perfect.
Except for the part where it ended.
Her phone buzzed.
She nearly dropped it in her eagerness to grab it.
Elphaba: You’re awake.
Glinda grinned.
Glinda: And how would you know that?
Elphaba: Because if you weren’t, I wouldn’t be getting this text back.
Glinda rolled onto her side, smiling to herself.
She could call her.
Or—
Glinda: Do you want to come over?
The dots appeared immediately.
Then stopped.
Then started again.
Then stopped again.
Glinda giggled into her pillow.
Then—
Elphaba: Are you drunk?
Glinda: Elphie, it is a school night.
Elphaba: …That doesn’t answer the question.
Glinda: I’m NOT drunk. I just—
She hesitated.
Then—
Glinda: I don’t feel like being alone.
A pause.
Then—
Elphaba: I’ll be there in five.
Glinda smiled, flipping onto her stomach, burying her face in the pillow to suppress the giddy feeling blooming in her chest.
She hadn’t really expected her to say no.