Forest Life
After that first night where they had cried, talked and cuddled, Elphaba had shown her around the cottage. Glinda had been so focused on the green woman that she hadn’t spared a single glance at the place that was to be her new home.
It was massive on the inside. From the outside the cottage looked like all it contained was a single room with a kitchen. But the interior was more impressive than any mansion she had seen. There was an alchemy study with a herb garden. There was a library with so many books. There was an adorable kitchen. There was an attic with a big window that could be opened – Glinda assumed it was there for Elphaba's late night flights. There was a living area. Elphaba’s bedroom with a bed that looked far too big for one person. So much space with knick-knacks and various items cluttering it making it feel lived in. An orange glow from the sunlight makes it feel warm and cozy. It felt like a home. The kind of home you only heard about in stories.
Glinda absolutely loved it. The shy pride Elphaba displayed when Glinda told her made butterflies erupt in her stomach. Elphaba still having that effect on her was a marvel. A welcome one. She loved it. She loved her. The fact that she also loved her new home was just a bonus. She had no doubt she would be happy wherever Elphaba was.
***
Glinda had to relearn who she was outside of Glinda the Good, outside of the person she had grown to hate. She had to learn to accept the past. Accept what she had done. Accept who she was and learn to love that person again. It was not easy and Glinda felt as if she couldn’t take up space in the home. A constant voice in the back of her head telling her that she didn’t deserve to be there. It had been one especially teary night where Elphaba confessed that she had to do the same thing. Only she also had to learn to deal with her anger at the world for shunning her. At Glinda for shunning her. “We are both damaged, my sweet. But we can work to fix it.”
They quickly fell into a routine. Glinda discovering things about herself that she didn’t expect at all. Her cooking needed some work, but she was willing to learn. She realized that she liked to bake and was actually good at it. So she made it her mission to have fresh bread ready as much as possible. She also discovered that she liked sewing. She liked making clothes for them to wear. Clothes for when working in the garden. For lounging around the house and so on.
It was then that Elphaba had shown her some of the rooms she had been working on since Glinda arrived. A pink room with a lot of fabric and sewing equipment that made Glinda salivate. The room was a seamstress’ wet dream. She had also set up a big bathtub in the bathroom.
More and more things about her new home started clicking. The fabric room. The bathtub was perfect for someone who liked to soak. When Glinda asked why it was there considering Elphaba did have an aversion to water, she had simply said that the tub was ‘not meant for her’. There was even a makeup table in Elphaba’s bedroom. All things that the green woman herself didn’t bother with.
There were lots of small details in the house that didn’t exactly say ‘Elphaba’. They said ‘Glinda’.
It was then that Glinda realized that despite her never feeling right to take up space in their home, her presence was already there. Elphaba had decorated this house with her in mind. On the slim hope that they could share it one day. She had chosen a forest in Gillikin Country, Glinda’s native home, and built a home with her in mind.
It made Glinda feel like crying all over again. She did start crying all over again one evening when she had been sitting in this massive bathtub that was only there for her. If Elphaba wondered why she was later wrapped up in a tight hug and on the receiving end of kisses and whispered I love you’s, she never asked.
Glinda vowed then that she would spend the rest of her life trying to be worthy of it. Of her.
***
They had started with rebuilding the friendship they once had. The first few months were spent talking and getting to know one another all over again. They spoke of regrets. Of feelings that were kept hidden. One evening they had been lounging in the library. The sound of rain tapping against the window of the cottage. Candles bathing the room in a soft light and Elphaba warm against her. It was the perfect evening in many ways. Maybe that's what made Glinda speak. “At first I was denying them. My feelings, I mean. Blaming it on lingering effects of the rut or something. Then I blamed it on our 'friends with benefits' thing. But eventually I couldn’t deny it anymore and I had to admit to myself that I was feeling that way.” Glinda had said causing Elphaba to put down the book she had been reading. Her expression was curious, encouraging Glinda to continue. “But I couldn’t tell you. I literally couldn't. I wanted to. So badly. But it was like the words would not come out. I tried… several times… but I could not get the words out. And then… after… well, the words were locked away by then. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t get them out. Maybe if I had…” She trailed off. Lost in her thoughts of her inadequacy. If she had dared, would things be different?
“It took me a long time to figure out what it all meant. I'm not exactly well-versed in the ways of affection or those types of feelings. I knew that I enjoyed being around you and being with you. But I didn't know what to call it." She trailed off, lost in thought. The sounds of rain filling the silence. Glinda began running her fingers through Elphie's hair, lightly scratching at her scalp and smiling when she purred in response. "I didn't know what to call that thing between us, but I didn't want to stop."
"Me neither." Since reuniting touches had been restricted to simple caresses and kissing. Trying to rebuild before getting physical. They talked about their time at Shiz. About their time after their fallout. And everything in between. Glinda had confessed that she hadn’t shifted since the last time she had been with Elphaba. Nor had she taken any other lover. She didn’t want to. Luckily her husband had no interest in her beyond what the status being married to her would bring him. For that she was grateful. She wasn’t sure how she would react if he tried anything. She had only married him to keep up appearances after all.
Her not being with anyone else but Elphaba had left the green woman stunned. And looking more than a little guilty. She confessed that she had tried to move on with Fiyero. He had openly stated that he loved her and wanted her. The very thing Glinda never did. But the entire time they had been together, Elphaba had felt guilty. She had felt like she was betraying her own heart and like she was using him. It would not be long before the relationship with Fiyero ended and she went to see Glinda. To take and receive the only thing that Glinda seemed willing to offer.
The revelation did not surprise her. Glinda had suspected that Fiyero would attempt to be there for Elphaba. She had suspected his interest back at Shiz already. But he had always been respectful as long as Glinda was there. She couldn’t fault him for loving Elphaba. She knew all too well how strong the pull of her could be. And he had been there for her when Glinda wasn’t. "It was Fiyero that made me realize my own feelings. I realized that I did not feel the way he described. Not about him. I cared about him. Still do. But it wasn't anything like he would say to me. It was not him for me." Elphaba looked at her as she said it. Her eyes telling her all she needed to know. Glinda had told her she loved her several times since they were reunited. She had the opposite problem now. Now that the words were free, she couldn't stop saying them. Elphaba hadn't said the words yet. But she didn't have to. Glinda knew. And it wasn't like she could judge anyone for struggling to tell someone she loved them. She was almost two decades ahead of Elphaba in that regard.
Elphaba faking her death had been Fiyero's idea and Glinda learned that Elphaba had been preparing for it for a long time. Long before Dorothy even showed up in Oz. She was looking for the perfect out and the girl had provided it when she appeared. Nessa’s death and Glinda’s interference had almost messed it up. She had been grieving for Nessa and was angry with Glinda for what she did. “I didn’t care about the slippers because of their magic. They had none. But they were the last thing I had of Nessa.”
“And I took them.” It made Glinda feel awful all over again. A fact that Elphaba noticed and tried to steer her away from. She had then told her that she had planned for the exact moment she would ‘die’.
Kiamo Ko was never her home. It was just the place she chose as a decoy. Fiyero had offered it as a home but she never felt right there. This cottage, this forest, was where Elphaba planned to remain. She told her of her plans for after her ‘death’. What she had been planning to do. And what she had hoped. "I needed to die so that I could live. Fiyero's idea felt like the perfect solution. For me to go away." Fiyero had understood that he was not part of those plans. He had hoped that he would be, but understood that he wasn’t. But he still wanted to help her. And they did succeed after all.
After Elphaba’s death and Dorothy exposing the Wizard. Glinda had made damn sure that all of Oz knew the truth about him, using all the evidence she had gathered over the years. The Wizard had become known as the fraud he was. Most people in Oz would sooner sneer his name than celebrate it. She had aided their plan without even realizing it.
Elphaba was another matter entirely. No matter what, the people of Oz would not believe that she was anything but wicked. Leaving Glinda no choice but to play along. Faking smiles and happiness while she felt like dying inside. The only solace she had was, to her shock, Fiyero. Now transformed back to his human form, he had sought her out. They had formed a friendship of sorts and she had spoken with him several times in those three years after Elphaba’s ‘death’. They had bonded over their shared love for Elphaba. Though it would occasionally become a strained conversation. Fiyero had once bitterly stated that only one of them had that love returned. At the time she assumed he meant himself. Now she realized that he meant her, not him. But she didn’t catch it over her own heartache at the time.
She was sure that he knew exactly where Glinda had gone. She wasn’t sure that he knew the exact location of the cottage, but he wasn’t dumb. He knew. She was sure of it.
She wished him well.
***
It wouldn’t be until several months later that she and Elphaba began testing the waters of a closer relationship. It had been slow. Glinda had learned to resist the shift – using potions that would help. She didn’t desire anyone else and she saw no need to be ‘Alpha’ anymore. But with Elphaba back and their ever healing relationship, she suddenly found herself wishing for nothing else. But like her mind, her body took a long time to heal.
She had been content with taking care of Elphaba. In any way she could. The green woman had insisted that it wasn’t necessary, but Glinda had insisted that it was. She loved taking care of her. She didn't want the green woman to have any doubts about her feelings. Never again. She had missed those slight sounds Elphaba would make. And she was quickly growing addicted to the way Elphaba would look at her. That same soft look that she used to see back at Shiz. Only now, Glinda knew what it was. Elphaba had reassured her that she only wanted Glinda. Just the way she is. "You are like a dream come true for me. I will tell you that everyday until you start believing it."
"Only if I get to tell you the same."
It took some time. But when she awoke one morning with an uncomfortable presence between her legs, she realized that the last barrier had lowered. The hand resting on her thigh told her that it had been noticed. The warm lips that began kissing her neck told her that Elphaba knew she was awake. And it wasn't long before all of her was.
That ended up being the night where Elphaba had said the words ‘I love you’. Glinda already knew, she had seen it in everything around them. Everything Elphaba did. Even in some of the things she said. But it was nice to hear the declaration. The actual words themselves. Even nicer given how they were uttered. Whispered in her ear in a moment of passion. Glinda knew why she had held back - because of her. Because of Glinda's own demons. Of how she had come to view herself in the years since their fallout and especially in the years since she believed Elphie had died. Even though she knew that Elphaba loved her, she needed to be fully ready to be receptive to the words. It only made her love the green woman more.
They had bit each other not long after that. Crossing that final line. Committing to each other fully. Glinda had spent the days after becoming deliriously happy every single time she spotted the mating mark on her shoulder. Even more so when she spotted the one she had left close to Elphaba's neck. The green woman had teased her about it, but she couldn't quite hide the fact that she felt much the same way. Often finding reasons to kiss that very spot on Glinda's shoulder.
From there they were able to settle into their lives more comfortably. Glinda now taking up more space in the home and running around like a whirlwind with each new idea she had for either something to bake or something to make in her sewing room.
She had also taken an interest in alchemy, much to Elphaba’s delight, and they would spend hours trying to figure out potions or tending to the gardens.
***
Glinda also quickly realized that the forest was not only safe for her, it was protective of her. The magic that made it such a danger to everyone else was the same one that made her feel safe as she moved around it. She often headed out into the forest to collect whatever they needed. Be it for alchemy or just for dinner.
She had also learned that the forest was home to both animals and Animals. She had befriended an Owl who would often come by and chat with her at the cottage. It had even offered to travel into the city to collect the Grimmerie from where Glinda had hidden it. On one condition: Elphaba had to cook her something yummy. Glinda had agreed without a second thought. So did Elphaba once Glinda presented the book to her. She also learned that while the cottage was enchanted, it had been truly constructed.
A few of the Animals had aided Elphaba in building it. A Bear that often came by to chat with Elphaba. And a Wolf that was friendly enough, but he liked teasing the Alpha a bit too much for her liking. Though Elphaba had explained that it was because he was protective. She was friends with many of the Animals in the forest. She cared about them and they cared about her. From that point on, Glinda had started teasing the Wolf back and they had fallen into a friendship. Though he had been merciless with his teasing of both of them once he noticed the mating bites.
They soon fell into a new tradition where the Animals that lived in the forest became regular guests in their home. Many evenings were spent eating nice dinners and playing cards, talking and just having fun. Glinda was awful at the card games though, so she spent most of her time sitting behind Elphaba and cheering her on.
Life was good.