oblivious

Elphaba startles awake when the door clicks shut. She's in bed, fighting sleep while trying to edit an assignment that's due the next day. The closing door wasn't loud, Glinda didn't throw it shut but still; Elphaba was somewhat a light sleeper.

She watches Glinda. She's angry. Elphaba can tell from the way she stomps her heels. Irritated, from the way her eyebrows are pinched. And... Talking to herself? Elphaba squints her eyes; yes, Glinda's lips are moving. Then, she pouts.

"Elphie," Oh, she's whiny as well. "I'm sorry,"

Elphaba frowns, shaking her head in confusion, "For what? You haven't done anything."

"I woke you up," She sits on her bed dejectedly. Whining.

Elphaba smiles, fondly rolling her eyes, gaze falling to Glinda's mouth, "You didn't. I was editing Nikdik's assignment."

Glinda doesn't say anything to that but she stops pouting at least. Elphaba's eyes finally move up from them.

Glinda sighs. Elphaba does as well. She gets up from her bed, leaving her paper down on her desk before walking over to sit next to Glinda over her pink blanket.

"What happened?"

"Fiyero was being mean to me."

Irritation rises inside herself at this. What is that fucking Winkie prince thinking, being mean to Glinda? Just who does he think he is?

Glinda chuckles. Elphaba looks at her, frowning.

"Not like that," Glinda says, amused, "Though I do love how protective you are of me, Elphie. Makes me feel warm,"

Elphaba feels her cheeks flush but she decides to concentrate on the one on Glinda's.

"What did he do?" Elphaba asks.

Glinda crosses her arms, eyebrows pinching together again, "He kept calling me oblivious. When Nessa asked why, he looked me straight in the eye, Elphie, and whispered in her ear,"

Elphaba's frown deepens, not really sure what the problem is, "Were you... jealous?"

"What? No! I wanted to know why, too,"

"Oh. Wait, so he called you oblivious, what, out of nowhere?"

Glinda sucks the side of her lower lip, nibbling it a bit. Elphaba's glad Glinda's looking straight ahead because her eyes zeroes in on the action and refuses to look away, "I guess? We were talking about relationships and when Boq described what he wanted out of one, I said what I wanted from mine,"

"And then he called you oblivious?"

"No. He said," Glinda straightens, putting on her best Fiyero impression, "Don't you already have that?"

Elphaba smiles at her, "Good one."

"Thanks," She tosses her hair, "I love doing him."

Elphaba's eyebrows rise along with the side of her mouth. She decides not to comment on Glinda's wording, "What did you say, then? About relationships, what you want out of one."

Glinda lays down on the mattress, legs dangling over the side, "Companionship. I want to come home to my husband and I want him to see me, to read me and know what I need. I want to know him so completely that I can do the same. I want him to tell me things he's never told anyone because he knows he can trust me; I want to tell him things because I know he's trustworthy," Glinda sighs dreamily, "I want to find him so beautiful that when I close my eyes, it's his shape that I see amidst the darkness and I want him to find me so pretty that he has to restrain himself from touching me; and I want him to fail,"

Elphaba smiles down at her, "That sounds marvellous, my sweet,"

Glinda looks away from the ceiling and turns to her, smiling as well, "Doesn't it?" She turns serious, frowning, "Then he said I already had that and I said I didn't because he couldn't read me that way and that it was one of the reasons why we broke up. Then he glared at me and called me oblivious,"

"Strange." Elphaba frowns, who could have he been talking about? "Have the two of you met someone in your little outings to Ozdust?"

"No! I would have told you so,"

"Right." Elphaba lays down next to her, on her side, and Glinda copies her position, "And Nessa didn't say anything?"

Glinda shakes her head, "She just laughed with him,"

Elphaba hums. They stay there for a few moments, quietly ruminating over who Fiyero is talking about until Glinda sighs and gets up from the bed.

"I'm going to change into pyjamas,” She gets up, shaking her head, exasperated, I'm tired of thinking about this,"

"Yeah, I should probably go to sleep,"

"What about your paper? Shouldn't you finish editing?"

Elphaba feels her cheeks warm, "Oh, um." She pats down Glinda's bed, straightening the creases they created. She doesn't want to chance Glinda seeing her blush, "It's finished. I was just, revising,"

From where Glinda stands on the door frame of their shared bathroom, she cocks a hip and smirks at Elphaba, "Were you waiting up for me, Elphie?"

"No," Her answer is too quick and she knows Glinda knows she was in fact waiting for her to come back. Feigning exasperation, she sighs, "Good night, Glinda."

Glinda giggles, murmurs her farewell and steps inside the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Eventually, when Glinda comes out in her pink robe, Elphaba is still awake. Laid on her back and staring at the ceiling.

"What are you thinking about?" Glinda asks, one inch away from Elphaba, her elbows on the mattress.

Elphaba jumps a little, "Jesus, Glinda." One hand over her heart, "Who says I'm thinking? I'm just trying to sleep,"

"Mmhmm. Well, we have to close our eyes to do that, Elphie," Glinda raises an eyebrow.

Resigned, Elphaba sighs, "I was thinking about my answer,"

Glinda frowns.

"What I'd want in a relationship."

"Oh," She smiles and pats Elphaba's feet so she can kneel down where they were. Elphaba obliges, sitting up and crossing her legs under her, "Tell me,"

"I think I want the same as you." She feels herself smiling after a minute, "I'd want it to be a safe space. I'd want honesty, communication. Laughter, as well."

Glinda tilts her head, softly beaming at her, "That’s lovely, Elphie."

Elphaba lowers her head, smiling too.

Elphaba's mind runs away from her control; it substitutes the vaguely anonymous figure she had started imagining when describing the relationship she wanted, with a clearly formed Glinda Upland.

It's Glinda she imagines waking up beside. It's Glinda she wants to wash and dry dishes with. It's Glinda that Elphaba doesn't mind waiting for, feigning exasperation, when it takes Glinda two hours to get ready to go to the market. It’s Glinda who made Elphaba feel safe, enough for her to be honest, for her to feel comfortable while Glinda was honest herself. It’s with Glinda that she wants to talk things through with when miscommunication happens over something silly that was left unsaid. It’s with Glinda that Elphaba wants to laugh with.

It's Glinda that Elphaba wants. It has always been Glinda in one way or another — because Elphaba has been taking and will take whatever form of relationship that Glinda wants with her.

Friendship or something more, the imagining makes her chest and belly flutter. She shakes herself out of it, focuses back on the real world, comes back to the present and watches Glinda, who's wide eyed, settle back to the kneeling position in front of her.

Hesitantly, Elphaba does the sort of the same, legs crossing under her, though, and hands resting over where her ankles connect; sometimes, she'd found after years of their friendship and living with her unrequited romantic attraction for Glinda, Elphaba could soothe, or better restrain, herself from wanting to touch Glinda in any way shape or form by touching herself.

In more ways than simply laying her hands over her angle.

"Glinda?" Elphaba tries to shake her best friend out of her own stupor.

"Mmm?" She murmurs, still wide eyed and lips parted.

Glinda effectively traps Elphaba under her weight — the very inner part of her thighs rounding Elphaba's waist — in such a smooth but hesitant way that has Elphaba sliding one hand to the small of her back while the other seeks unclothed skin that she knows is there and it has Elphaba looking up, rather pathetically, she feels like, at Glinda, her neck having to bend back so she can catch her gaze. Once she finds naked skin, Elphaba shakily exhales.

There's so many questions in her mind. So many phrases and feelings. So many things that she can't distinguish from one another because all she feels is Glinda. Elphaba feels elated, never would she have thought this would happen to her; sure she was aware of her non-platonic feelings for her best friend but she just acknowledged it once and decided to live her life despite it because nobody had ever liked her back, friendship or not, so what was the point on dwelling on it too much? None.

So Elphaba feels like this is a dream actually.

Then, Glinda's hands leave her froat and settle on the sides of her face, warming her cheeks. Glinda is looking down at her so dreamily that it makes Elphaba question if it isn't actually a dream. Her blonde hair is clipped back by green clasps so it doesn't curtain around them but when Glinda starts leaning down, Elphaba's heart failing miserably to maintain its normal frequency, the ends of her hair tickle Elphaba's shoulder.

Whether from the confusing and unequivocally unbelievable situation and position they're in or from the featherweight stroke of the ends of Glinda's hair, Elphaba has the sudden urge to laugh. The sides of her lips rise and she feels a chuckle ready to bubble out of her, directly from her throat, but then Glinda is pressing her lips to Elphaba's left cheek and the chuckle dies out before it even forms completely.

Elphaba's eyes fall shut almost instinctively and it worsens everything. Glinda is everywhere — Elphaba can smell her white floral, citrus and lavender perfume, she feels Glinda's nose touching her cheek as well, feels the puff of air through her nostril, she feels Glinda's soft, supple and pink lips slightly tremble against her before they leave her cheek.

But Glinda doesn't go far, in fact, it seems like she doesn't move away at all, the tip of her nose still lingers, lightly skating Elphaba's cheek. With her eyes still closed, Elphaba can now feel Glinda's breath over her parted lips and it dizzies her to an unbelievably high degree. Because of that, and forgetting where her hands are, Elphaba tightens the grip she has on whatever they’d been resting on. Which, essentially, means the hand that was faintly pushing Glinda closer by her lower back, applies more pressure there and the other rakes her nails across Glinda's bare back.

Glinda hisses softly above her and Elphaba opens her eyes.

"I'm sorry—"

"Don't." Glinda murmurs, voice steady but low. They look at each other for a few quiet seconds and then something passes across Glinda's features, her eyebrows pulled together, "My lipstick. It's on your cheek,"

Elphaba smiles, feeling emboldened by the sudden remembrance of the verifiable facts that Glinda had been the one to initiate all of this and that Glinda had kissed her and that Glinda still hasn't left her lap, and that Glinda said not to apologise for making her rather seductively hiss. Elphaba slides both her hands slowly to Glinda's hips, squeezes once when they get there, "Well, you are wearing lipstick."

Glinda hums. Then she's lowering her head again. Only, this time, she angles it down and presses the lightest kiss to her jaw. She lingers longer there. And Elphaba sighs, guiltily, happily, feeling desperately needy for a real kiss.

Glinda does the same thing as before. She doesn't go far when lips leave cheek but this time she rests the side of her forehead against Elphaba's, her warm breath directly over Elphaba's ear. Elphaba has to hold back a moan when she hears the quiet, throaty hum that Glinda makes.

"Glinda—"

Elphaba was going to ask... something, anything, to make sense of what is happening here, if it is what Elphaba thinks it is but it seems that her speaking urged Glinda on to continue.

She slides her nose over Elphaba's face and presses a quick but still lingering kiss to the apple of her cheek, then one underneath it, one to the side and it goes like that, red-ish, pink lipstick staining Elphaba’s face until Glinda reaches the very corner of her lips. Then, she stops.

Elphaba opens her eyes and finds Glinda staring down at her.

"It never felt like this," Glinda whispers, "With Fiyero. With anyone before," It's almost as if she's talking to herself instead of Elphaba even though she's looking directly at her, "Can I try something?" Glinda asks after a few seconds but Elphaba doesn’t hear it, really. A handful ticks pass and suddenly she feels Glinda's tentative hands on the sides of her legs.

Elphaba is late. That’s what she feels like. She’s paying too much close attention to what she’s feeling, to where Glinda touches her instead of what Glinda’s saying or Elphaba’s surrounding. So, "Yes?" She confusedly asks when Glinda only stares at her.

"Elphie," Her eyes are pleading and voice low, "I think I know who he was talking about,"

She lays her hands over Glinda's, eyebrows pulled together, "Who?"

Glinda gulps, a sign that she's nervous. Elphaba tries very hard not to hope but she’s starting to have a feeling that she knows what Fiyero was on about, as well.

"Can I try something?" She murmurs again.

Elphaba nods, trusts her completely.

Elphaba is thrumming with desire to feel Glinda's lips upon her own and when Glinda presses another lipstick stained kiss to one corner of her lips and then the other, Elphaba is positively lightheaded with the need.

Closed eyes, she's completely lost on the feel of Glinda's lips on her face, and when they finally, finally touch Elphaba's, she loses all control of her self. She whimpers at how good it feels, at how real it feels.

It's nothing much, just a peck, really, but it does make Elphaba's heart skip a beat. Glinda's lips are soft but textured and she sucks Elphaba's a little making her belly pleasantly twist and swirl with warmth. And although it is merely a peck, lips resting upon lips, the way Glinda gently slides her own lips over Elphaba's makes her mind go blank, only able to feel. Glinda backs an inch away. Elphaba opens her eyes and finds Glinda's — the something that passed Glinda's face before, that Elphaba can now recognise as wondering, turns into certainty and Glinda leans down, kissing Elphaba again.

This time, the kiss is more than a peck, it's more than lips gliding against each other — this time, Glinda kisses Elphaba like Elphaba has been dreaming of since what feels like forever. Glinda's hand, still bracketing her face, lightly guides Elphaba to angle her head to one side while Glinda goes the opposite and then Elphaba is a goner.

Glinda's tongue slowly running over Elphaba's lips and then her own tongue and inside her mouth and Glinda nibbles Elphaba's lower lip before sucking on it, sighing contently and sliding her thumbs back and forth on Elphaba's cheeks.

But Elphaba’s mind, of course, interrupts, "Galinda—"

But Galinda whines at the loss of contact when she separates their lips.

"Elphie—" She murmurs. Kisses Elphaba again, open mouthed, licking inside messily, "Don't you dare—" Another messy, needy, heady kiss, "Stop. Pl—"

Elphaba hears the pleading, the begging, and feels it in the way Glinda slides up then down on Elphaba's lap, and it's enough to quell any of her doubts. She darts forward with intent, tugging Glinda down, meeting her lips with a determination that has her hands gripping Glinda's waist as her chest meets Glinda's. She lowers her down to lay over her hips, reversing their position.

The unanticipated pause makes some more sense come back to Elphaba and she stops kissing Glinda but can't make herself stop pinning her hips with her own.

"Wait. Glinda," Elphaba says but her voice fails. She clears her throat.

"What?" Glinda whispers, her hands don't drop down from Elphaba's waist but they do stop pulling her down against herself, "What?" She says, voice firmer.

"Should we stop?" She asks. She doesn't actually want to but she feels it's necessary for some reason to ask it.

Glinda studies Elphaba, seemingly thinking. Then she sighs and says, "Yeah, okay."

Which isn't an answer to her question at all and it leaves Elphaba even more confused than before even though it is a sort of answer.

They don't see each other until Shiz is bathed in darkness the next day. When Glinda gets to the room, it seems both her and Elphaba had had a long, bad day because they don't acknowledge each other. Glinda enters already dreaming of a lukewarm shower, depositing her books on her dresser and automatically opening a drawer to gather underwear and another to get her pyjamas and then raising her arms to get her robe out of the hanger hung up on the door of the bathroom. She does so without sparing a look to anywhere that isn't towards her destination: the shower.

And Elphaba doesn't say anything either. When Glinda comes out of the shower, it's then that she sees Elphaba's hunched figure on the desk on her side of the room. Glinda startles a little, in fact, because she hadn't expected her to be there because she didn't say anything and Glinda didn't see her there. Regardless of the uptick of her heart when she saw someone she didn't see there, Glinda's heart also squeezes on intself because it's Elphaba. Whom she kissed yesterday. Whom she had sort of a make out session with. Elphaba who Glinda now knows how she tastes; and likes it.

She clears her throat and walks to her bed. Extracting the extra pillows in carious pink shades, she then pulls the blanket down to get inside the bed, when she's sat, back resting on two big ones, she glances at Elphaba. She hasn't moved a muscle.

"Good night, Elphie," Glinda says. She frowns when Elphaba turns towards her. She doesn't startle like she did yesterday, she turns slowly and delicately twists the hand she had been resting her cheek on so it's more comfortable to use it as support while her gaze is on Glinda.

"Hi," She says, "I didn't hear you come in, sorry."

Glinda straightens on her bed, "Are you okay?"

"Why?" Elphaba tilts her head and she tangles her own fingers together, pressing them between her thighs. Glinda's eyes follow the movement closely.

"You seem... Out of it,"

Elphaba sighs and gets up from her desk. Silently, Glinda watches as Elphaba closes her book, and gathers her notebook on top of it before walking over to turn off the lamp on her night table. Glinda doesn't say anything because this is curious behaviour and it only serves to further her concern over her roommate. So she watches Elphaba cross the room in a slow stride, pushing her sleeves down with her fingers and then crossing her arms in front of her, shoulders hunching up, then she's at the other side of Glinda's bed — the left one, the one close to the window, the side that Glinda doesn't really like sleeping in — taking out extra pillows and pushing down the blanket so she can get inside.

She lays down on her side and pulls the blanket up to her chin and closes her eyes. She sniffs once she stops moving and it makes Glinda blink back. She realises Elphaba's glasses are still perched on her nose and she tuts.

"Elphie, your glasses." She reaches out and gently plucks them out of her face, biting off a little smile when Elphaba partially lifts the side of her face laid on the mattress to allow for its leg to slide off behind her ear and another when she adjusts back to her previous position, then exhales deeply. Too adorable, Glinda thinks. She folds the glasses and turns around to leave them on her bedside table. After turning back, Glinda copies her position. It's only when she's found a comfortable position herself, face close to Elphaba's, that her roommate answers her.

"I've been here since second period." Her voice is scratchy, Glinda notices, "Boq snitched to Dillamond that I wasn't feeling well so he sent me to the infirmary. I told Ms Hearty I was fine but she insisted I took the day off." Glinda takes a while to process the information because Elphaba looks entirely too kissable, "I think she thought I'd go back to class because she escorted me here,"

Once she does tell herself to stop imagining Elphaba's green lips on hers, Glinda chuckles, watching Elphaba now with her hands under her head, "She did good because you would've,"

Elphaba groans, "I swear I was fine but now I'm—" Elphaba visibly shudders in front of her and Glinda's instinctively reaching for her.

Underneath the blanket, Glinda's hand finds the curve of Elphaba's neck. She gasps when it settles there.

"Elphaba Thropp!"

She opens one eye to look at Glinda, "What?"

"You are burning up," She can't help the way it comes out accusatory because of course Elphaba wouldn't want to miss class because she was sick. "Did you take any medicine? Did Ms Hearty give you any? Did you even eat? Oh Oz, Elphie, did you drink water at all?"

Glinda's up by the time she asks the last question. She hurries around the room gathering everything Elphaba would need: a glass of water, the meds and prescription in Ms Hearty's handwriting that was on the end of Elphaba's bed, Elphaba's pyjamas and a cold, damp little towel. Once she settles everything on the night table on the side of the bed Elphaba's in, she sits on the edge of the mattress. Elphaba's laying on her back now, eyes open.

"You should change to pyjamas, Elphie," She pats her hips over the blanket, "It'll be more comfortable." Then she gets up, gently peeling the blanket off Elphaba and laying her folded white pyjamas on her chest.

Elphaba doesn't whine but there is a reluctance in the way she kicks off the blanket and the way she gets up from the bed. It makes Glinda feel a ripple of warmth underneath her chest, something she's felt increasingly ever since they started to be friends after the Ozdust years ago. This time, that fondness feels intensified. The strong intensity has her reaching for Elphaba's hand before she gets to their bathroom. It has her softly chuckling at the way Elphaba stops, her hip cocking as she turns around and head tilts questioningly towards Glinda. It has her bringing their joined hands up to her lips, pressing a tender kiss to soft, hot green skin. Smiling softly when Elphaba's lips rise with the action, she brings their hands down, gently settling it back beside Elphaba's side and then she's inside the bathroom and Glinda turns around to read Ms Hearty's instructions.

When Elphaba comes back, Glinda is settled on her side of the bed, body twisted towards Elphaba's.

"Comfier, isn't it?" She asks.

Elphaba doesn't respond, rolling her eyes fondly at Glinda before taking her medicine and drinking water.

Once Elphaba's back to her curled up position in the bed next to Glinda, closed eyes, she murmurs, "Thank you, Glinda,"

Glinda slips inside the blanket after turning off her bedside lamp. She watches Elphaba for a few moments.

The love she has for this person is a little bit scary. She loves everything about her. She's in the middle of running her eyes all over green skin — the slope of her nose, the shape of her lips, the different colours and shades of green, her braids, the way they fall over her shoulder — when one eye pops open.

"Are you going to watch me all night? Afraid I'll die from a little cold, Miss Glinda?"

Glinda frowns. "Don't joke about that, Elphaba." Another eye pops open.

"Sorry,"

Glinda inhales deeply and leans forward, their foreheads almost touching. She puts and arm over Elphaba's waist, runs her fingers across her back over her white pyjama dress. Glinda sighs, then, and closes her eyes.

They're silent for a moment. Glinda's content to just be there, though; it soothes the stress and anxiety from the long day she's had. She listens to Elphaba's breathing, concentrates on the way Elphaba's chest rise and fall, something she can feel from their close proximity, and lets herself feel happy by the way she caresses Elphaba's back.

She opens her eyes to see if everything's okay, if Elphaba's fallen asleep but finds opened, glossy eyes instead. A smile blooms slowly on her lips as they look at each other. Glinda can't stop the way her eyes fall to lips, though; too accustomed to doing so, even before they had kissed yesterday.

"Glinda..." Elphaba murmurs.

Glinda is surprised, to say the least, at the way Elphaba's eyes seem to be able to express so much when she wants them to; Glinda's surprised that she can recognise the change at all, the sentiment it transmits, how well she's able to read it.

She settles her hand on the curve of Elphaba's neck and sways forward, closing her eyes. She lightly presses her lips over Elphaba's, delighting in the feel of it and the way the simple touch erupts a flooding pleasant heat all over her body. She relishes in the way Elphaba melts into her.

Sliding her hand up Elphaba's neck to her cheek, Glinda slides her thumb over it. Separating their lips but not straying far, Glinda kisses the place her thumb just caressed.

Settling back to her previous position, Glinda mumurs over her lips, "Go to sleep, Elphie," And watches Elphaba's eyes close contendly.

They don't talk about the day before yesterday or yesterday. There's something charged between them — not that it never had before, Glinda knows now it was always there just never spoken — something that is increased by the way friendship barriers were crossed a couple of days ago.

That something looks like this:

After she wakes up — both of their arms around each other in the position they went to sleep in — and gets out of bed to get ready for her classes, first period she has an exam which is one of the reasons why she doesn't stay glued to Elphaba's side through this, she skips steps to her morning routine, hurries through some just so she has time to sit by Elphaba's hip and lower herself until her lips find her cheek.

"Hi," Glinda whispers, "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes, Glinda." Elphaba smiles at her, "We've gone through this already. I'll be fine,"

Glinda bites her lips. In four years, this is the first time Elphaba gets sick. Forgive a girl for worrying about her best friend being alone — a best friend that is knowingly adamant in not asking for help, nor accepting it when someone offers without any prompt — while she has a fever.

Elphaba's hand darts out to the curve of Glinda's neck and suddenly she's being lowered by the pressure put there. Elphaba pecks her lips once, "Don't worry, my sweet, I promise it's fine." Twice.

The action leaves Glinda wide eyed, staring down at her as Elphaba pulls the blanket back up, and goes back to sleep.

"You're going to be late for your test, Glinda," Elphaba says after a while. It springs her into action. She darts forward and kisses Elphaba's forehead.

"Don't forget to take your meds,"

Elphaba hums and wishes her good luck.

And also like this:

Glinda comes back later in the day eventually and when she opens the door, eyes look towards her bed immediately, searching for the lump undearneath blankets but finds none and no one. Just then, the door to the bathroom opens and Elphaba is closing the door behind her.

She smiles a little weakly, "How was it?"

Glinda frowns, "You're not better?"

Elphaba rolls her eyes and immediately winces, a hand going up to her eyelids, "It doesn't work like that, Glinda," Her tone is playful despite the obvious pain she's in.

"What do you feel?" Glinda asks as she walks inside the room, hanging her purse, "Do you need something for your head?"

Elphaba shakes her head, "I'm fine," She walks to Glinda's bed and gets inside.

Glinda frowns and stomps her heel, "You're not fine, Elphie. Just let me help you,"

"I am letting you help me," Elphaba protests, "You've been great."

Glinda pouts, "Well, let me help more, then," She crosses her arms.

Elphaba chuckles and Glinda would playfully push her by the shoulder for it if she wasn't sick, "Are you finished for the day or are you heading out?"

"No, I'm done."

"Okay. Do you," Elphaba pauses. Glinda walks closer, sits on the bed watching her, "Would you want to stay here with me?"

"Oh, Elphie," Glinda laments.

"It's fine," She shakes her head, adjusting herself on the mattress, "It was just an idea,"

"No, I do. I really do, it's just," Glinda bites her lips, "You're worrying me; shouldn't we head to Ms Hearty for a check-up?"

Elphaba frowns, "But... I'm getting better."

Glinda tilts her head, "Are you?" And even though she's worried about her, Glinda can't help but be amused by her antics, "You didn't have a headache yesterday and now you do. And..."

Glinda wonders if she should say it. Because... It may not be the reason. The reason may be the fact that this is the result of the lines they crossed.

But Glinda has to know.

"What?" Elphaba murmurs.

Glinda leans closer, "You're... Acting like me," She reaches out for her cheek, caressing the skin there softly.

"What do you mean?" Elphaba frowns.

"You're clingy,"

"I am not." She objects, affronted ans offended.

Glinda chuckles, "Not usually, no," She relents, "I just don't know if it's because you're bordering madness from a fever or if it's because we've ki—" Glinda stops herself.

Elphaba flushes a darker green, "I'm feeling better from the fever, I'm not even as cold or as shivery as yesterday,"

Glinda bites her lips. "If you feel yourself getting worse, will you tell me?" She asks, "Promise to tell me."

"Of course," Elphaba says. She goes to roll her eyes when Glinda raises an eyebrow at her but stops, seemingly remembering it caused her pain before, "I promise."

They're in that same old position, laid on their sides, hugging each other, faces close but not quite touching. They talk, voices low. Glinda tells her about her test. Elphaba tells her about the dreams she's had, weirdly intensified by her fever. But they still don't talk about Those Two Days.

Sometimes it seems like Elphaba will but then she doesn't. Sometimes Glinda feels like there's a perfect breach for her to say something about it but then she doesn't. So neither of them do. And it's fine, Glinda tries to tell herself, it is fine.