Untitled, Fic: Wicked [bookverse]
It was one of the rare occasions wherein Elphaba was both home (if he so chose to label their hidden cache as such) and attentive. Usually, this merited two things: sex, and sleep, both of which rendered Elphaba inattentive and so ended the rare occasion. But for once they were both fully clothed and on good terms, which Fiyero decided was very rare indeed.
"Hand me that pot, would you?" Elphaba was tending to a rather attractive bunch of unshucked corn, her hands nearly blending in with the darkened tips and harmonizing with the lighter ends. "Oh, do stop staring and be useful, Fiyero."
He grinned charmingly and gave her the pot promptly, smile widening when she scowled at him. He reasoned then it was better than her blank look, which chilled him and meant that something was truly amiss. Today, it seemed, she was in a pleasant mood. "What?"
"Do you remember Shiz?" He asked suddenly, a bout of nostalgia hitting him square in the stomach. He reached over her to take up a project of his own, brushing his hands over her thin forearms as he did, and noting that the colours did not mix as nicely as he would have wished.
"Of course I do, don't be daft," she said idly, although the lack of a frown hinting at something other than annoyance. "What in the world made you think of it?"
"This ear of corn ," Fiyero answered. And really, it had. He hadn't realized it at the time, but the combination of lush green and ripened gold made him think of someone he couldn't recall ever mentioning to Elphaba. "Fae, do you remember Glinda?"
His eyes widened the slightest bit at her reaction. If he hadn't known her for years- truly known her- he wouldn't have caught it, but as it was, the way she faltered was obvious enough. Her breath had caught, eyelids fluttered. Fiyero was piqued.
"Well?"
"Well what?" She returned, shrugging nonchalantly and picking up another ear. "I remember her. One cannot room with another and forget her easily, especially a girl such as Glinda. She was difficult."
"Difficult, you say?" Fiyero asked slyly, smiling to himself as he stripped the corn of its leafage and exposed the silken strands just underneath. "Well, I dated her, which gave me plenty of time to be exposed to her difficulties, and I found her quite endearing."
"Hmph."
Fiyero looked over at Elphaba, his previous curiosity pale in comparison to what he was feeling now. His pride swelled, however ridiculous that felt, and he practically crowed his accusation.
"Why, Fae," he said, pulling Elphaba away from her current task by the shoulders. "I do believe you're jealous."
"Jealous?" She snorted incredulously, furrowing her brow at him in an unsuccessful attempt to intimidate him. "Why, dear Fiyero, would I be jealous of you?" A moment was held between them as they both realized her mistake. Dark grayish lips dropped oh-so-slightly open and she blinked, clearly not familiar with possessing the lower hand. Fiyero stared.
"I didn't think you would be," he murmured. He let his hands slowly drop from their grasp and he ran a hand through his thick, unruly hair. "Oz, Fae, there were rumors, sure, but none of us ever-"
"That's all they were." Elphaba looked away before turning back to her task. Fiyero didn't notice the slight trembling of her hands as they resumed the steady pull-twist motion of shucking. "Don't be a fool."
"Did you love her?"
"Fiyero," she snapped, throwing down the ear of corn and giving him the first real glare that he'd seen in a while. He remained unmoved, standing quietly in front of her as her dark eyes flicked over him. Eventually her stance relaxed until she was simply there, looking more exhausted than he liked. "Fiyero."
"Fae," he answered, moving towards her to hug her thin frame and place a kiss on her responsive lips. She wouldn't linger, as usual when she was thinking, and he let her go. Sometimes it was better not to ask when it came to her. She would come back to him when she was ready.