Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Golden hour had settled softly over Shiz University, painting everything in honey and hush, as the autumn breeze wafted through the campus, inviting itself through open dorm windows. It carried the scent of crisp leaves and something warm. There sat Elphaba on her bed, reclined against the headboard, one leg tucked under the other, with a margin-scribbled book in one hand and a pen tapping on her knee in the other.   

Her tea, half-forgotten on the nightstand, had long gone lukewarm but still offered moral support. The room was quiet, peaceful, like it had agreed to help her focus for once.   

She was taking notes diligently, basking in the ambiance of the welcoming evening atmosphere until-   

ThumpThumpThump   

The pen froze mid-word as Elphaba turned her attention to the stomping that echoed from down the hall, familiar and theatrical. A beat later, the door creaked open, and in backed her roommate (and twinkly best friend) Glinda who was bidding someone goodbye on the other side. Her hand clutched the doorframe as if she were trying to keep something - or someone - out.   

“That was wonderful, just splendid,” a man’s voice reverberated through the hallway.   

Glinda nodded and let out a brilliantly musical “Mmhmm!” Elphaba’s eyebrows knit together slightly at Glinda’s uncharacteristic chipperness. She wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but something about Glinda’s posture made it impossible not to notice.   

“Have a fantastical rest of your night, Princess,” the voice added, singy songy enough to make Elphaba’s molars clench.   

“You too, Sir,” Glinda forcefully purred out, cooing in a voice that screamed ‘I’m gonna get so much shit for saying that.' Elphaba’s eyebrows raised now, intrigued, a small smirk spreading relentlessly across her face.   

The footsteps began to fade. Glinda turned, slammed the door shut behind her, and flung herself back against it like she’d barely escaped with her life. She let out a massive sigh, forehead tilting dramatically to the ceiling in pure exasperation. When she finally glanced over, she saw Elphaba watching her from over the top of her book and immediately scowled.   

“What?” Glinda snapped, jerking her neck in Elphaba’s direction, “Why are you looking at me like that?”   

Elphaba lifted her teacup slowly, eyes fixed on her. “Just wondering when you started calling people ‘Sir.’ ” She took a sip, then added, “It’s very… knightly of you.”

Glinda wobbled as she bent down awkwardly to unbuckle her heels, “Stoppp. It just came out,” she defended.   

Elphaba chuckled, deep and low. “Oh, it came out, all right. I think he ascended three social classes with that new title.”   

Glinda hooked her finger in the ankle strap of one heel as she flung it with exaggerated offense, using her left-handed strength. It hit the rug with a tragic little plop , miles from its intended target. Elphaba lowered her book to her lap.   

“You too, Sir...” Elphaba parroted.   

“Oh Elphie, please don’t-” 

But Glinda’s groan was cut short by Elphaba’s teasing interrogation.   

“Who in all of Oz were you just talking to anyways,” she asked, eyes glittering with curiosity.   

Glinda exhaled like she just finished a marathon in stilettos, her face reluctantly twisting.   

“The new transfer student… um, Fiyero.” Glinda said his name as if she couldn’t recall it correctly.   

Elphaba’s eyebrows made a slow, deliberate climb to the ceiling.   

“The prince? As in the Prince of Winkie Country?” Elphaba was politely thrilled - polite in that very Elphaba way that meant she was deeply entertained. Glinda just nodded, her shoulders collapsing in on themselves.   

“So then how was it?” Elphaba nudged, tone innocent but eyes locked on her like she already knew the answer and just wanted to hear her say it out loud.   

Glinda was silent for a moment, staring a hole into a random patch of the carpet as she replayed the entire night on a loop, not because the date had gone badly, but because it hadn’t. A technically fine date with a technically perfect gentleman somehow made her feel… nothing.   

Noticing the shift in Glinda’s expression, Elphaba softened. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” she offered gently.   

“It’s not that, it was… he was- just...” Glinda’s words tangled together. She made a face like she was chewing on a thesaurus and not finding anything worth keeping. Her night had been objectively lovely. But her heart? Still unmoved. The disconnect made her want to scream into a pillow. Or maybe throw one.   

Elphaba marked her spot in her book by slipping her pen in between the pages before setting it aside on the nightstand. Her brow creased as she turned fully toward Glinda, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. There was something about Glinda’s hesitation that tugged at her. This wasn’t like her - not the dramatic, confident, words-for-days girl she shared a room with.   

Glinda let out an awkward, breathy laugh and flapped a hand through the air like she was shooing the memory away. “He was just very boyish.”   

Elphaba squinted, “Yeah, I mean, he’s a… boy,” she posed as if asking a question.   

Glinda groaned and thunked her head against the door behind her. “No, I know, I just- ugh. He talked like a boy. He walked like a boy. And when he kissed me…” she trailed off, squinting her eyes in light discomfort. “It felt like I was kissing… a couch.”   

Elphaba blinked, trying to track. “A couch?”   

“A charming couch,” Glinda said quickly, already defensive as she made her way over and flopped beside her greenified best friend. “Like, the nicest couch. Fancy. Probably imported.”   

Elphaba bit the inside of her cheek, losing the battle with a smirk. “So you made out with a mid-century loveseat, got it.”   

Glinda swatted her arm. “Stop,” she whined, cheeks burning pink now. “This is serious!”   

“I am being serious,” Elphaba retorted.   

Glinda huffed and folded her arms, eyes flicking away. “It was awkward, he was being so gentle with me like I was some sort of porcelain doll. And he kept saying all these little lines, trying to be charming but-” she rolled her eyes in frustration, “I thought it would be different.”   

Her gaze dropped to Elphaba’s legs, watching the way they swung lightly off the edge of the bed. Her voice softened. “It felt… performative. Like I was playing a role. I knew every line, every cue, but none of it landed. Not where it was supposed to.”   

Then Elphaba spoke, voice quiet but steady. “If you already knew every line…” she glanced at Glinda, head tilted, “…maybe it wasn’t your story.”   

Glinda looked up, blinking like she hadn’t expected something so simple to knock the wind out of her.   

Elphaba kept going, softer now. “Sounds like you were just reading someone else’s part.”   

“That’s,” Glinda hesitated, “an annoyingly insightful perspective,” she admitted. Then after a beat, she commented to herself, “But then whose part was he reading?”   

“Well what was he saying?”   

Glinda placed a weightless hand on her Elphie’s thigh, purely for emphasis. “Oh my Oz, what didn’t he say? He kept flinging sweet nothings at me, compliments that were too rehearsed. Anything under the moon to sweep me off my feet.”   

Elphaba glanced down at Glinda’s dangling legs. “Well your feet aren’t on the ground right now,” she muttered, giving one a gentle poke.   

Glinda starfished onto the bed staring at the ceiling as if it might offer less quippy commentary.   

“Hmm, maybe-” she murmured, “maybe it wasn’t what he said but rather how he said it.” She glanced at Elphaba, a sparkle of suggestive innocence in her doe eyes.   

“Mmhm,” Elphaba said, already suspicious. “Why does this sound like a setup to make me flirt with you?”   

Glinda perked up instantly. “Elphie, that’s a great idea!”   

Elphaba fumbled. “That’s not- wait, no. That wasn’t a suggestion.”   

But Glinda was already leaning in, hands clasped dramatically over her heart. “Come on, I need to know what it was supposed to feel like.”   

Elphaba stared. “You want me to pretend to be Fiyero.”   

Glinda beamed, completely unbothered. “No. I want you to improve on Fiyero.”   

Elphaba sighed like she wasn’t already halfway convinced. “Fine. But if I’m doing this, I get your window seat in Potionomics. All next week. ”   

“Deal, Sir Elphaba,” Glinda chirped, already delighted with herself.   

She hovered her hand over Elphaba’s lap, palm up like a dainty offering. “Okay, now, you take my hand and say, ‘It’s lovely to see you, Princess.’ ”   

Elphaba wrinkled her nose. “I’m not saying that.”   

“You must say that,” Glinda insisted, wagging her hand in front of Elphaba’s chest like a threat, “for our research.”   

There was a long pause.   

Then Elphaba sighed and, with all the enthusiasm of reciting her own obituary, she took Glinda’s hand with a dead wrist and muttered flatly, “It’s nice to see you, Princess.”   

Glinda burst into laughter, yanking her hand back. “No, no! You sounded like you were reading it off a gravestone.” She reached for her again, playful but demanding. “Lower your voice. Say it with a little heat. ”   

Elphaba narrowed her eyes. “Sure,” she said, deadpan.   

She took the Gillikin girl’s hand again like it meant something, this time cradling it properly, thumb brushing gently across her knuckles. Her voice dropped, smooth and serious.   

“It’s nice to see you, Princess.”   

The air shifted, like the whole room leaned in.   

It was subtle, but unmistakable. Heat bloomed just beneath the surface of the sultry phrase. Glinda’s laugh caught in her throat, and suddenly, her fingers were a little too aware of the slow rhythm of Elphaba’s thumb still stroking her skin.   

Yet neither of them let go.   

“So?” she asked, voice a shade too casual. “Did I pass?”

Glinda blinked at their hands, her pulse tapping a rhythm she couldn’t quite ignore. “I mean…” she murmured, voice quieter now. “It was… better .”

“Better?” Elphaba echoed.   

“Better than all the jabbering he did while we were dancing-”  

“You went dancing?” Elphaba perked up like Glinda was hiding a secret.   

Glinda, now feeling some of the tension dissolve in Elphaba’s presence, tapped into a magnificent idea. She hopped off the bed with a little bounce and stood directly in front of Elphaba. She squared her shoulders, cleared her throat dramatically, and extended one hand with the most theatrical seriousness she could muster.   

“What are you-” Elphaba began but Glinda reached for her hand in the most “gentlemanly” manner, pulling her to her feet with flair. Elphaba stumbled slightly, caught off guard, but found her footing just in time to see a bigger smile hiding its full stretch on Glinda’s face before falling back into a false sense of seriousness.   

With their hands still joined, Glinda lowered herself into a grand royal bow. Her chest flattening forward, spine straight, one leg sweeping diagonally behind the other.   

“May I have this dance?” Glinda asked in a gravelly, husky tone that barely covered the sparkle in her eye.   

Elphaba let out a small, unintentional snort. She lifted her chin dramatically, slipping right into character.   

“Why Fiyero,” Elphaba drawled, “I would love nothing more,” her voice pitched into an exaggerated soprano, mocking Glinda’s poshest register.   

Glinda immediately broke character, shooting up from her bow with a gasp. “I didn’t say that,” she barked, eyes narrowing even as her smile betrayed her.   

Elphaba raised a brow. “No? I swear I heard it,” she teased, circling her free hand through the air. “You practically swooned into his arms.”   

“I did not swoon!” Glinda protested, scandalized.   

“Oh right, you auditioned,” Elphaba added helpfully.

Glinda pointed a stern finger. “I’m never telling you anything ever again.”   

“Oh, Princess, but you’ve already told me so much.”

Glinda yanked Elphaba’s hand again, a little too forcefully, and Elphaba stumbled forward, chest bumping straight into her. Glinda slapped her hand on the back of Elphaba’s waist, just a touch lower than appropriate, her grip more assertive than necessary. Borderline possessive.   

Elphaba laughed, breath hitching as their bodies crashed into each other. “Wow. Aggressive.”   

“Let me lead, Darling. I took private lessons from Oz’s best Glamorian Waltzers,” Glinda’s voice cracked as she tried to keep her voice deep, mocking Fiyero’s baritone, her smile only growing bit by ridiculous bit.   

“How prestigious,” Elphaba commented, her free arm stiff as a broomstick at her side.   

“No, put your arm like this- ugh, Elphie, just cooperate for once!”   

Glinda paused for a moment to grab Elphaba’s dangling wrists and redirect her hands to rest on her shoulders. As Glinda pulled Elphaba in by the hips again, firmer this time, sending a whisper of heat up both their spines, they began to sway. Or, shuffle with aspirations of grace.   

As Elphaba tried to follow along, Glinda was leading with two left feet. After an awkwardly wide stride, Glinda accidentally stepped on Elphaba’s bare foot, making her yelp and jerk her leg away. She tightened her grip on Glinda’s shoulders for balance, laughter tumbling out in helpless giggles as she bent slightly, leg pulled up in protest.   

“Ah, yeah stepping on your date’s feet is less prestigious,” Elphaba teased.   

“Oh Oz, sorry Elphie!! This is why we didn’t dance for very long,” Glinda laughed sheepishly. “However,” with a sudden flicker of confidence, she wrapped one arm around Elphaba’s waist, maneuvering her into a light dip, “dare I say you have better rhythm than him.” She winked, holding Elphaba just long enough for the air to thrum between them before pulling her upright again, closer than before.   

They fell back into a loose sway - the kind that barely counted as dancing but felt tender all the same. Elphaba let her hands settle a little more naturally on Glinda’s shoulders, not so stiff now, not so pretend.   

“This feels nice so far, aside from the stomping of feet, soooo…” Elphaba dragged, letting her sentence float like smoke between them, waiting for Glinda to elaborate when it all went to shit.   

As they kept swaying, Glinda pressed her lips together, eyes scanning Elphaba’s face like the words she needed were written there. Her smile dimmed into something quieter. More thoughtful.   

“I liked… the idea of it all, but-” Glinda took a deep breath.   

“But,” Elphaba repeated, her voice warm with patience and encouragement. Glinda laid her head on Elphaba’s shoulder as they danced in a light circle, nestling into the crook of her neck, her breath brushing against Elphaba’s collarbone.   

“It was romantical,” Glinda said softly, her voice curling at the edges. “And sweet, for the most part.”

Her arms shifted, pulling Elphaba closer. Not quite dancing now but holding. The kind of hug they slipped into on hard days. The kind that said, ‘I'm right here.'    

“But there were no sparks. Not even a flutter of butterflies. I just felt this numbness.”   

Glinda lifted her head to meet Elphaba’s understanding eyes.   

“Oh Elphie, I feel so rude saying that-” 

“No, no. It’s okay, my sweet,” Elphaba said gently, the words wrapping around her like a blanket. “It sounds like it was a wonderocious time, and I could tell he enjoyed himself. He enjoyed you. ”   

Elphaba reached up and cupped Glinda’s jaw, fingers warm and steady - a grounding touch. “But maybe he just wasn’t the right boy for you.”   

For some odd reason, that response landed sideways in Glinda's chest, as if Elphaba gave her a backhanded compliment. The feelings she’d only just quieted started creeping back in. Uncertainty. Frustration. That subtle itch of not knowing what’s missing.   

“It’s not your fault if you didn’t feel the same way he did, okay?” Elphaba took a gentle swipe at Glinda’s cheek with her thumb. Glinda’s breath barely hitched.   

That touch had always soothed her. Had always felt like home.   

But this time?   

It sent a flicker of adrenaline through her spine that she hadn’t expected. Not from her Elphie.   

That’s new.   

Glinda pressed her cheek just slightly deeper into her roommate’s palm, like she needed the contact to stay grounded. Or at least, that’s what she told herself. Her heart started to pound faster, each pulse a silent confession against Elphaba’s fingertips.   

Interesting.   

Elphaba was the first to pull away once she felt Glinda had registered her words entirely and accepted them as her own truth. It was so easy that way, how Glinda fell back to the emerald gal who could always ground her, not merely to coddle her or tell her what she wanted to hear, but rather what she needed to hear.   

Maybe that’s why she clung to her so tightly. Maybe it was Elphaba’s unshakable honesty, the way she never danced around things, the way she cut through the noise that surrounded Glinda everywhere else.   

They’d spent so much time gravitating into each other’s orbits that it felt like they skipped the warm-up entirely. Roommates, then best friends, then… this. The space between them now was charged. Familiar still but skewed.   

They just… fit.   

Opposites, sure. But not opposing.   

Like puzzle pieces.   

Like yin and yang.   

Like lovers.   

Hmm.   

…Or just really good friends. Best friends.   

“Yeah maybe you’re right,” Glinda said, her voice tilting back into its usual brightness as she gave Elphaba a light shove. She stumbled backward until the back of her knees bonked the mattress, landing with a little bounce.   

Glinda followed right after, scooting up beside her roommate. “But I have to show you what else he did at dinner!” Glinda chirped, toning up the energy.   

Elphaba just smirked, already bracing herself for whatever over-the-top reenactment Glinda had planned next.   

“He took me to Elio’s Edge and had a private booth reserved for us. At one point he did this weird thing with his fingers like...” Glinda took her own hand to try and replicate the weird gesture.   

Elphaba chuckled, “He was like, scratching at your hand?”   

“No, it was more like this-” Glinda contorted her hand again, one hand stacked on the other with one of her pinkies off to the side while her top hand wrapped around her lower one in something that looked like a mangle of digits.   

Elphaba looked at her helplessly, not understanding. “I’m lost.”   

Glinda huffed. “Okay. Here. Pretend I’m Fiyero. You’re me. It felt like this-“   

Glinda took Elphaba’s hand in hers, making Elphaba position her hand far up on her own thigh, higher than polite conversation usually allowed. She let her arm go limp like a ragdoll so that Glinda could adjust her like a prop in a play.   

“No, uh- here, put your hand-” Glinda said through a fit of chuckles, “Elphie, put your hand like this!”   

Elphaba, clearly enjoying the show and very aware of where her hand was suddenly resting, caught a flicker in Glinda’s smile. There was something different in her chocolate eyes now. 

A pause.   

Then she collected herself and slipped back into character like a curtain raising.   

“Your eyes are the most perfect color in all the universe.” Glinda said, lowering her voice once more to portray Fiyero’s sensual tone. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.”   

“He said that?” Elphaba asked, slightly flattered by the rehearsed compliment, despite herself.   

Glinda continued her performative flirtation as her right hand drifted down to meet Elphaba’s left in her lap. She slid her palm over the back of Elphaba’s, tan fingers blanketing long verdant ones, slowly threading them from above.   

On instinct, Elphaba parted her fingers wider, allowing Glinda’s more space to slot perfectly. Glinda’s thumb began to stroke softly along the top of Elphaba’s knuckle, slow and steady, like it was second nature.   

“Your hair is so pretty, like strands of gold that fell from the sun,” Glinda used her left hand to brush a small braid out of Elphaba’s face and tuck it behind her ear. Her fingers lingered, grazing warm skin, pausing a beat too long.   

Elphaba’s eyes stayed fixed on her, not blinking, not breathing too deep. Letting herself lean fully into the illusion. Pretending to be Glinda while the real Glinda kept performing.   

“Then he leaned in like this-” Glinda leaned closer, inch by slow inch, until her face hovered just in front of Elphaba’s. Her eyes widened the slightest bit as they fell to Elphaba’s lips, dark green and full, now slightly parted.   

This is different.   

Then, almost too casually, Glinda’s gaze rose again and she adjusted her trajectory. Her lips detoured to brush the edge of Elphaba’s cheek instead.   

“And he kissed me - mwah!”   

Glinda delivered a quick kiss on the side of Elphaba’s cheek, pecking a loud, exaggerated smooch on her skin, leaving a faint tattoo of her lip gloss behind.   

“Uhh, was it that wet too?” Elphaba giggled shyly as she wiped her cheek with the back of her free hand.

“No,” Glinda drawled, knocking Elphaba with her shoulder, “But then-” she gave Elphaba’s hand a light squeeze as she directed it, just slightly. Downward. Closer to the soft inner curve of her thigh, the fabric of her sleep pants rubbing beneath her palm.   

Elphaba’s smile faltered, her throat went dry. Something about Glinda’s touch started making her feel warm. Too warm. Almost hot.   

“I’ve imagined this moment so many times-” Glinda said, falling back into her princely facade, except her voice wasn’t as deep now. It trembled at the edges, feeling more real. Her left hand rose to cradle Elphaba’s jaw, holding her steady. Holding her close.

“I’ve thought about your lips-"  her gaze flicked to Elphaba’s lips again, then back up, seeing Elphaba already had her eyes trained on Glinda’s pink glossy one’s. Elphaba’s heart fluttered.   

What is this feeling?   

“About the shape of them-"  Glinda went on, almost breathless now. She should’ve stopped. She knew she should’ve stopped.   

But she didn’t want to.   

Not yet.   

Not when Elphaba was looking at her like that.   

Not when she wasn’t pulling away.   

Their fingers stayed tangled together, still resting in Elphaba’s lap, but Glinda’s grip had shifted - firmer now, like she needed something to anchor her.   

“The taste of them-"  Glinda leaned in closer. Elphaba did too.   

“What they would feel like against mine-" Glinda purred, her lips so close that Elphaba could feel her breath, warm and shaky, fluttering over her mouth.   

Their joined hands slid lower, gliding along Elphaba’s thigh until they came to rest in the space between her legs. Warm. Intentional. Unmistakable.

Was Glinda guiding them there?   

Or was Elphaba pulling her in?   

Neither girl could tell.   

But both were trembling now.   

And they really should’ve stopped.   

Because this wasn’t pretend anymore.   

This wasn’t the story of Glinda and Fiyero.   

This was something else.   

Something they didn’t have a name for yet.   

Something theirs.    

Elphaba couldn’t speak. Couldn’t think of a single excuse to pull back or play it off. And she didn’t want one.   

Her heart pounded, loud enough to echo in her ears, loud enough that maybe Glinda could hear it too.   

This wasn’t teasing.   

This wasn’t a joke.   

This wasn’t acting.   

“Can I kiss you?” Glinda whispered, her voice stripped of any princely performance. It was just hers now. Elphaba stared at her, stunned.   

“What did you say...” Elphaba whispered, her free hand gripping the bedsheets tight enough to wrinkle the fabric, like she needed something to hold onto.   

“I said…” Glinda trailed off, forgetting the story she was telling, all fantasy fading away. She leaned further, letting her lips touch Elphaba’s. Not quite kissing, just touching. Feeling.   

Elphaba’s lips parted instinctively, breath catching, welcoming Glinda in further. It felt natural. Inevitable. Like her body had been waiting for its cue.   

Glinda closed her eyes, and Elphaba did the same.   

The hand at the back of Elphaba’s neck tightened gently, thumb pressing at the hinge of her jaw, guiding her to tilt her head just slightly.   

Glinda pushed forward the last inch and closed the space between them. She took Elphaba’s lips into her own. It was so slow and gentle. Elphaba could feel herself falling forward before she could stop.   

Glinda’s lips were impossibly soft and plump. The faint smear of her lip gloss dragged against Elphaba’s lower lip, leaving behind the sweet taste of strawberry peach.   

Elphaba inhaled sharply through her nose, heart thundering like it was trying to climb out of her chest. She had never - never - felt anything like this.

A tiny whimper slipped from her lips before she could stop it, humming against Glinda’s mouth. The sound was barely audible, feeling so much from so little, a sharp type of spark zinged all the way to the tip of her tongue, making it twitch forward.   

She wanted to deepen the kiss.   

To taste more.   

She wanted more.   

But she didn’t. She held still, lips parted, hovering right on the edge of need.   

Not when her best friend hadn’t exactly said what this was. Hadn’t explained if this was real, or just a line from the scene they’d slipped too deep into.   

But they were losing the plot real quick.   

Instead, Elphaba lifted her free hand and rested it on Glinda’s knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. Half grounding. Half warning.   

But instead of retreating, she shifted, leaning into the contact. Her leg edged open slightly, just enough to let Elphaba’s hand slide higher, skimming up the slope of her thigh until it met the hem of her dress.

Elphaba’s breath stuttered.   

When the kiss broke, neither of them moved. Not their hands, not their foreheads. They stayed exactly as they were, like someone had painted them in that position, brushstrokes still wet. Caught between breath and heartbeat, lips tingling.   

There was no discomfort.   

No reservations.   

Just an open, tender stillness.   

Glinda looked at Elphaba’s lips for a third time, a warm feeling washing over her in places they shouldn’t had. The kind that made her thighs press closer. The kind that made her fingers tighten just slightly between Elphaba’s legs, where her hand still rested. Warm. Present. A pressure that neither of them seemed ready to lift.

Elphaba swallowed, barely above a whisper. “Glinda-”   

But Glinda tilted her head, a small smirk curling at the edge of her flushed lips. “Who’s Glinda?” she murmured, trying to sound suave, but her voice cracked just enough to betray her nerves. Her heart was racing. She knew it. Elphaba probably knew it too.   

“I’m Fiyero, remember?”   

Her hand slid deeper, her fingertips tracing the inside of Elphaba’s thigh, still clothed but so dangerously close to where she was already pulsing with heat. It wasn’t aggressive. It was playful. A dare.   

“Unless,” Glinda added, her voice a feather-soft hum, “you want me to stop.”   

Elphaba didn’t answer right away. Her eyes darted from Glinda’s lips to her hand and back again - searching, calculating, aching.   

She should’ve said yes.   

She could’ve said yes.   

But instead-   

“No,” she breathed.   

That was all Glinda needed.   

Her left hand cupped Elphaba’s jaw again, thumb grazing her cheekbone, guiding her gently as she leaned in - this time slower, more intentional. Like they’d been waiting for this moment without ever admitting it. The kiss was deeper, exhaling into each other's mouths like they’d been holding their breath for weeks. Their mouths moved together, hungry and explorative.   

The hand on Elphaba’s thigh tugged lightly, coaxing a polite command:   

Open for me.   

Elphaba’s legs parted.   

Just enough.   

Then, in one fluid motion - like it was all part of the act - Glinda flattened her palm against Elphaba’s chest and gently guided her down onto the bed, swinging her leg over to straddle her best friend's thigh. Their chests pressed together, Glinda feeling the defined shape of Elphaba’s breasts under her thin sleep tank, firm and rising with every sharp breath.   

Elphaba’s hands found their way to rest lightly on the sides of Glinda's thighs, just below where the fabric of her dress had ridden up, cascading over her own stomach. Neither of them said anything as their hips aligned like magnets, their bodies doing all the talking now.   

Glinda adjusted herself, nudging her knee higher, settling against Elphaba just enough to press down into her. Elphaba exhaled sharply, her back arching just slightly against the pressure.   

Glinda’s pupils dilated as she swore she felt the heat between her roommate's legs spread, feeling the faintest throb against her thigh.   

In response to her own growing ache, she just barely rocked her hips forward - it wasn’t an accident. Elphaba gasped, too quiet to stop herself, gripping onto Glinda’s thighs tighter. Glinda’s breath hitched in response. Her mind couldn’t help but wonder if this is what her best friend looked like while getting properly fuc-   

Elphaba surged up desperately to pull Glinda down into a needy kiss. As Glinda fell deeper into it, her chest fell flush against Elphaba’s. Every gentle grind sent their breasts brushing, lifting with every drag, every inhale, every push of hips meeting hips.   

Another roll.   

A slow grind.   

Then another as Glinda flexed her thigh.   

Elphaba whimpered, a little louder now, vibrating against Glinda’s lips. Her hands slid higher under Glinda’s dress, fingertips vanishing into the warmth above her thighs.   

Glinda subtly pressed her ass further out on every stroke of her body, inviting her best friend’s fingers to touch more of her.   

To go deeper.   

Every gasp, every drag of friction spurred the two witches on. Elphaba spread her legs wider, hips grinding harder into the pressure of Glinda’s thigh - hot, slick, insistent. Her clit throbbed against the unrelenting press of it, each grind pushing her closer to something she couldn’t name, only chase.   

Glinda kissed her again, urgent now, as her hands gripped Elphaba’s toned shoulders, tethering her. With every pass of her thrumming velvet against her best friend’s thigh, Glinda could feel a wetness smearing against her own skin, threatening to ruin her panties. 

Their mouths met over and over, the line between performance and desire fully obliterated. Their bodies melted into each other, drawing moans from their throats, thrusting more friction into their movements until-   

Knock knock knock!!!   

The sound sliced through the intimate silence, so ordinarily aggressive, loud enough to almost ring in their ears. Elphaba’s eyes shot open, Glinda’s breath jumped.   

Both girls froze, legs still tangled, aching still present. The blush on both their faces spread undeniably and noticeably so.   

“Glinda,” a familiar voice came through, “are you still awake?”   

Glinda’s eyes widened. “Oh fuck, Fiyero!”   

They let another moment of silence linger between them, Elphaba blinking at her like she had been yanked from a dream.   

“So,” Elphaba whispered, voice raw, “are we still awake?”   

“Umm, coming!” Glinda spoke out, her voice cracking through her attempted welcoming tone.   

Glinda peeled herself off her roommate and scurried over to the door, flattening her dress as she went. She felt the faintest line of dampness on her thigh where Elphaba had been grinding into her seconds ago. Where her best friend had soaked onto her with nothing but pressure and need.   

She shivered.   

Elphaba let go of a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. She sat up slowly, knees pressed together, thighs twitching, eyes locked on the floor like she was trying to become part of it.   

Glinda unlocked the door and opened it, halting it to a sharp stop when she came face to face with the unwelcomed culprit.   

“Hey Princess,” Fiyero boomed from the hallway.   

Elphaba’s eyes shot to Glinda in the doorway who was practically jolting her neck out the door. A strange stinging feeling hit her in the chest at the sound of the pathetic nickname.   

“I seemed to have forgotten my scarf here and need it for my venture to the Ozdust.”   

Glinda just stared at him, clearly flustered.   

Fiyero cocked his head, lightly suspicious. “May I come in...?”   

“No!” Glinda blurted, “I mean, I’ll get it. Just-wait here.” It was Glinda’s turn to let out a labored breath, mentally cursing at the timing of this fucking Prince.   

As Glinda stumbled to her side of the room, she started rummaging through all her belongings, trying to remember where this boy left his Oz-damned scarf.   

“You let him in here earlier?” Elphaba hissed under her breath.   

“Just for like five seconds, he said he was cold!” Glinda rebutted, matching Elphaba’s hiss. 

“It’s literally seventy degrees.” Elphaba bit back exasperated, her tone more so reserved for the waiting prince.   

Glinda shot her a look that said, ‘if you don’t shut the fuck up, Oz help me!’   

As Glinda searched, the door creaked wider on its own, gliding open like the world was just dying to expose them.   

Elphaba didn’t move.   

Not until the soft thud of the door hitting the wall forced her eyes up.   

As their eyes met, he gave her a little finger wiggle wave to say hello. It made her stomach churn. She crossed her legs in attempts to slyly hide the small wet spot that seeped into the crotch of her pajama pants.   

She nodded politely, and reached for her forgotten book on the nightstand, busying her eyes to look anywhere but the two other people in the room. She flipped it open, eyes locking on the page like it held the secrets to the universe.   

It was upside down.   

She did not care.   

If she focused hard enough, maybe she’d forget the way Glinda had just been pressed against her. Or the fact that her body still throbbed from being left at the edge like that.   

“Here it is!” Glinda sang out in more relief than was necessary. She stumbled to the door like a drunk sorority girl, a death grip on the scarf. She shoved it into Fiyero’s chest, her hands back on the doorframe like she might physically shove the conversation into the hallway.   

“Thank you, you know you should join me one of these-” Fiyero invited.   

“Yeahhhh, oh yes,” Glinda spit out. “Just not tonight.”   

There was a beat of silence that was heavy with an awkwardness Fiyero didn’t pick up on.   

“As you wish,” Fiyero bid adieu, his smile widened, like Glinda hadn’t just slammed the door in his plans.   

When the door clicked shut again, Glinda locked it and lightly banged her head against it. Elphaba watched her from her bed, still unmoving, almost frightened. Her body tense, lips parted like she might say something - anything - but every word felt like it’d crack the air wide open.   

“I’m in so m…” Glinda muffled against the door.   

“What?” Elphaba asked cautiously, like the answer might sting her.   

Glinda tilted her head slightly, still pressed against the door, giving her a side glance. Her lashes fluttered as her eyes met Elphaba’s, a little crooked in her guilt and still flushed from everything that hadn’t quite settled between them.   

“I’m in so much trouble.” Glinda released a small, much needed nervous laugh. Elphaba’s shoulders untensed at the little sound.   

“We can be in trouble together then,” Elphaba said, soft and steady, her voice catching gently in the quiet. Not a joke. Not a rescue.   

When Glinda turned her head a little more, she saw how Elphaba was clutching the edge of the mattress with both hands, knuckles going white in the tight grip.   

Glinda gave her an endearing upside-down smile. Once again, Elphaba had somehow said the exact right thing. Like her roommate had reached into her chest and held her heart without ever asking for permission.   

Because maybe she wanted to be in trouble with her.

Especially if this meant they were falling into it together.   

This time, Elphaba walked over to Glinda who was still pressed against the door, her back to the room. Elphaba approached her like she was approaching a wounded dragon, wanting to just scoop up her best friend and take all this tension away from her.   

Although it might not have been the most natural thing to do, Elphaba slid her hands around Glinda’s waist, sliding across silk-soft fabric to anchor her in place. She pressed in from behind, her body fitting against Glinda’s, snug and tight. Her hands trembled where they rested just below Glinda’s ribs, holding her still.   

Elphaba dipped her chin and rested it lightly on Glinda’s little shoulder, her breath brushing over golden curls.   

“You know,” she murmured, voice gentle with warmth and tease, “you’re really good at playing Fiyero…”   

The words settled on Glinda’s skin like an ember.   

“I was charmed,” Elphaba added, just barely above a whisper.   

Glinda gasped, half-scandalized, half-blushing, “Elphie, you can’t say that when he just left!” She turned around to face her, her face still downturned with an anxious look.   

“I’m just saying,” she shrugged, eyes flickering over Glinda’s features, “the last fifteen minutes proved something useful for your research,” she retorted. Despite the heavy feelings revolving around the situation, Glinda let a smile crack onto her lips. “Your Potionomics seat is all mine now!”   

Elphaba swooped in and twirled Glinda in a loving hug. “Besides, we were just pretending, so there’s nothing to worry about.” Elphaba’s tone was incredibly innocent.   

Nothing…?   

Another twinge of pain hit Glinda like a subtle gunshot. Why did that statement rub her the wrong way? It was pretend after all. Goofing around, sharing intimate details with the one girl she felt she could trust her entire world with. But her body still buzzed everywhere it had been pressed into Elphaba’s.   

“Right,” Glinda echoed, forcing the same practiced smile she’d worn all evening for Fiyero. It didn’t feel right, agreeing with a statement that didn’t match the ache unraveling throughout her system. Still, if Elphaba wasn’t making it a big deal… then maybe Glinda wouldn’t either.   

Or at least, she’d try.   

Elphaba gave her a wink, all effortless ease and gentle reassurance, like nothing had changed between them. Like the world hadn’t just tilted sideways. She gave Glinda one last squeeze before drifting back to her bed, curling into her book like it was just another evening. Like her hands hadn’t been inches away from setting the world on fire.   

Glinda stood there for a beat, toes glued to the floor, her back still warm from Elphaba’s hold. She silently moved to her side of the room and tasked herself to slip into her own pajamas.   

She turned slightly, lifting her shirt over her head, revealing a soft pink push-up bra - one Elphaba had seen many times before.   

Elphaba’s eyes flicked up, just for a second, and then refused to flick away as she watched her best friend undress. That delicate rose-colored lace that covered her chest suddenly looked… louder. More intentional. Her fingers twitched against the spine of her book.   

There it was again.   

That low drumming throb resumed its rhythm in a place that it shouldn’t.   

Elphaba had seen Glinda naked multiple times as they were always changing in front of each other, all the while sharing comments and conversing over anything and everything mundane. So why was there this sudden feeling panting through her body?   

She tried to tell herself she was imagining it. Just catching leftover sparks from the kiss, from the closeness. From the game they’d been playing.   

But her eyes lingered.   

And her chest got tight, nipples peaking hard at the thought of Glinda’s own nipples behind that bra.   

The book in her lap might as well have been blank.   

Well fuck.  

Elphaba directed her eyes back to her book, tilting her head just low enough to block Glinda’s body from her peripheral.   

She shouldn’t be feeling this.   

Not for her best friend.   

Not like this.   

She felt her own innocent smile start to fade as she briefly reflected on her emotions. All that was left now was a quiet confusion and the ache of trying to hold something down.   

But they couldn’t deny that this role-playing game may have been the start of something. Something troublesome. Something dangerous. Something neither wanted to name, and yet neither one would admit that they wanted to do it again.   

The rest of the night passed in a hush, the air soft but taut with tension. Both girls studied on their respective sides of the room. Pages flipped, pens scribbled, and every few minutes, eyes would lift to sneak a glance. A silent check in:   

Are we still okay?   

And the answer stayed the same, hidden behind half-smiles and lowered lashes. They didn’t speak of it again that night.   

Instead, they slipped into a new kind of performance.   

No more princes.   

No more pretend kisses.   

Just two girls, now playing the role of pretending it didn’t mean anything at all.

Chapter Text

The nighttime was dead silent, save for the natural creeks of the dorm room. Glinda shifted in her sleep, feeling a familiar, warm body underneath her. She cracked her eyes open to see she was sprawled across Elphaba. Her cheek rested on a green chest that housed a steady comforting heartbeat.  

One of Elphaba’s hands lay heavy and protective on the small of her back, the other curled loosely around her elbow. One of Glinda’s legs was hiked up over the taller girl’s thighs, their bodies molding like they were always meant to fit that way, as if every curve and angle had been carved to match. 

They often found themselves in this shape after long days that demanded a balance of energy. When Glinda felt depleted, and her brightness dulled, Elphaba would fill in the missing glow, giving back that energy with every breath, every gentle touch. 

They balanced each other. Always had. Always would. 

It never felt strange to be so intertwined, so impossibly close. Glinda needed contact. Physical touch wasn’t just a love language, it was a physiological need - on the way to class, during lunch, at night when the world felt too loud. And Elphaba was always there to catch her reaching hand, to steady her, to offer that grounding weight. It was more than comfortable with limbs tangled, heat radiating, lips resting against collarbones and the crook of necks. It was platonic after all. 

But when had Elphaba come into her bed? 

Glinda’s breath stuttered softly as she realized how high Elphaba’s tank top had ridden up in the night, the sliver of warm verdant skin now pressed flush beneath her palm. Her fingers curled instinctively, nails grazing ever so lightly. 

Elphaba’s breathing shifted, her chest rising a little faster, sleep still clouded her eyes, lashes fluttering as she blinked into the darkness. 

“Hello, my sweet.” Elphaba rasped, her voice half-wrapped in dreams, tightening her hold on her best friend. Glinda just stared at her, “Are you are right?”   

“I... I was just having trouble sleeping, I guess.” Glinda blinked through her dreamlike haze, but it must have read differently across her face because Elphaba inhaled deeply and shifted to get a better look of her face in the moonlit room. Her eyebrows knitted together as she saw the crease of confusion in Glinda’s expression.  

“Well, that just won’t do, will it?” Elphaba murmured, her tone a strange velvety mix of teasing and tenderness. 

Glinda’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected response. There was an unfamiliar glint in Elphaba’s eyes - eyes that held an impossibly rich jade color that Glinda had never seen before, not even in all the lushest parts of Oz. 

Glinda watched her as Elphaba started to sit up.  

“I know you’ve been so stressed lately,” Elphaba said softly, leaning forward, bracing one hand beside Glinda’s head as her other hand trailed lightly up to her collarbone. 

“Just so pent up…” her fingers dragged along the delicate hollow of Glinda’s throat, tracing lightly, reverently. 

“All that pressure…” Elphaba’s hand pressed gently to her chest now, fingers splayed, feeling the thunder of Glinda’s heartbeat beneath her palm. 

She shifted again, climbing on top of her, straddling Glinda’s hips, framing her best friend beneath her. Elphaba leaned down, her breath hot against the shell of Glinda’s ear. 

“Want me to help you drift back to sleep?”  

Glinda’s lips parted, but no sound came out. Her whole body felt soft and heavy, feeling like she had lost all control of her limbs. That familiar, dangerous warmth was already blooming low in her belly, spiraling down between her legs, throbbing out a rhythm she didn’t want to admit. 

She just nodded, too sleepy, too hazy, too lost in the feeling to form words. 

Elphaba’s hand slid lower, tracing over the side of Glinda’s ribs, thumb brushing the edge of her stomach. 

Glinda’s throat bobbed with a hard swallow. She trusted Elphaba, more than anyone, more than anything, but suddenly she wasn’t so sure where those hands were going, or if she could stop them. 

And maybe… she didn’t want to. 

“That’s it, just let me take care of you.” 

Then, without warning, Elphaba’s lips closed around her earlobe, sucking it into her mouth with a wet, languid pull. Glinda’s back arched sharply, a thin gasp slipping past her lips. 

Elphaba’s hand continued its slow descent, hovering now over the soft swell of Glinda’s breast. Glinda felt her breath stutter, chest rising to meet that hand before it even landed. 

“I can make you feel good,” she whispered, and finally let her palm drop, cupping Glinda’s breast firmly. Her fingers flexed hard, claiming, the sudden squeeze making Glinda’s eyes fly open. 

Elphaba rolled her hips down at the same moment, dragging her pelvis bone up against Glinda’s clit in a slow, devastating grind. The pressure was deep and direct, her movement unhurried but heavy enough to punch a helpless moan from Glinda’s throat. 

It was too much and not enough all at once. 

Elphaba’s mouth curved into a dark, wicked smile. 

“Open up for me.” 

Glinda’s legs parted without a thought, her body moving on instinct. Elphaba positioned herself perfectly into the space between, that wolfish grin still curled at the edges of her lips. 

“You look so pretty all spread out for me,” Elphaba purred. 

Her fingers slipped down, hooking into the sides of Glinda’s dainty thong. For a split second, Glinda thought she would tug it off. 

But instead, Elphaba pulled it upward - sharp, purposeful, forcing the fabric to bite into Glinda’s hips and wedge deep between her folds. 

Glinda’s hips jolted upward at the sudden tension, the thin fabric dragging hard against her drumming center. A choked, breathless moan broke from her lips as her hands flew to grab the sheets, trying to ground herself against the searing sensation. 

Elphaba let out a quiet, amused laugh, her eyes dark with something primal as she gave another harsh pull. 

Glinda’s thighs jerked, her head tipping back helplessly, another moan bubbling out as the fabric dragged tighter. The thin center of her thong darkened rapidly, a deep, glossy patch blooming as her arousal seeped through. 

Elphaba’s gaze dropped to the stain, her tongue darting out to wet her lips, eyes gleaming. 

“You’re just so worked up, huh?” Elphaba whispered, her breath brushing hot and feather-light across Glinda’s burning, shuddering skin. 

Glinda could only nod, her hands twisted into the pillow behind her head, knuckles white. 

Elphaba tugged the fabric harder, the thong sliding deeper between Glinda’s pulsing slit, slipping between her ass cheeks and dragging mercilessly over her swollen clit. 

Glinda let out a strangled, stuttering gasp as her hips bucked into the pressure, unable to stop chasing it. 

Elphaba began to tug in a rhythmic, pulsing motion, practically flossing the thong through Glinda’s aching cunt, each drag drawing another shaky moan. 

Then Elphaba leaned down, her lips hovering over the stretched, drench fabric now molded to her best friend’s mound. 

In one devastatingly slow motion, she flattened her tongue and licked a long stripe up from Glinda’s flooded entrance to her throbbing bundle of nerves. 

Glinda let out a strangled whimper, her back arching off the bed. 

“That’s it… let it out,” Elphaba encouraged, her voice dark and tender all at once. 

She pressed her lips over Glinda’s clit through the thong, sucking it into her mouth and working it in slow, rhythmic pulses. 

Glinda’s fingers clawed harder into the pillow, her head thrashing. 

“Fuck, Elphie!” 

At the slightest graze of Elphaba’s teeth over her sensitive knot of pleasure, Glinda slapped a hand over her mouth, muffling another loud cry. 

Elphaba paused just long enough to hook her fingers under the waistband, sliding the soaked thong down, a shining string of slick following its trail. 

“Oh baby… you’re so wet,” Elphaba breathed, voice thick with awe and hunger. 

Glinda gasped at the words, her hips twitching desperately, her core throbbing so intensely she thought she might explode just from the air. 

“You made such a mess,” Elphaba teased softly, watching as Glinda lifted her hips again, her body pleading for more, for anything. 

“Will you let me clean you up?” 

Glinda nodded frantically, too far gone to form words, her entire body humming with want. 

Elphaba pressed a soft, teasing kiss right to that needy nub, sending a shockwave up Glinda’s spine. Then she dipped her tongue lower, tasting her at last, dragging a slow, indulgent lick through her folds. 

Glinda’s eyes rolled back, her hips jolting higher, breath breaking into ragged shreds. 

Then, suddenly two fingers plunged deep inside her, curling just right, pressing into that spongy sweet spot with perfect precision. 

Glinda let out a sharp, guttural scream, her hands shooting down, tangling into Elphaba’s hair to hold her right there, exactly there- 

Except- 

Her fingers tangled into short, coarse hair. 

Confused, Glinda’s eyes snapped open. 

It wasn’t her roommate below her anymore. 

It was Fiyero. His hand splayed firm and possessive over her stomach, his chin glossy with her evident pleasure as he looked up at her, lips curling into a lazy, satisfied grin. 

“I’ve got you, Princess,” he murmured, voice low and sugary-sweet. 

Before she could react, his tongue dipped back down, dragging another hot, greedy swipe through her dripping velvet. 

Glinda’s head flew back, a fractured cry tearing out of her throat, her hips bucking helplessly into his mouth. 

🫧✨🫧✨🫧 

Glinda gasped so hard she choked on her own breath, flinging upright, sheets twisting around her legs like vines. She found herself alone in her bed.  

No Elphaba.  

No Fiyero.  

Just her.  

The room was bathed in moonlight, soft and silver, and she saw the outline of Elphaba’s body in her own bed across the room. Glinda looked down at the spot where her roommate and date had been eating her out - there was a glistening wetness smeared between her thighs, still warm, still pulsing. 

A wet dream.  

“Shit…” Glinda let out a defeated whisper, voice thin and frayed. 

She was in so much trouble. 

It wasn’t natural. It wasn’t normal. It wasn’t supposed to happen with her best friend. And yet… it had. And it felt so real she could almost taste Elphaba’s breath on her neck. 

As if drawn by some sixth sense, Elphaba stirred, rolling over to face her now distraught roommate. Her sharp eyes squinted into the dark, focusing on Glinda’s silhouette - chest heaving, arms braced tight against the mattress. 

“Glinda?” Elphaba whispered, her voice thick with sleep and gentle concern. 

No. Please, no.  

Glinda’s head snapped toward her, her hair falling around her face in messy waves. She didn’t speak. Couldn’t. Her lips parted uselessly, caught somewhere between confession and cry. She felt naked. Exposed. Like Elphaba could see every thrumming, shame-soaked thought stamped across her skin. 

“Glinda,” Elphaba said again, a little louder now, voice edging toward worry. “What’s wrong, my sweet?” 

Oh, she was so sweet.  

Glinda’s throat worked around a sound she didn’t dare let out. Her hands gripped the sheets so tight her knuckles paled, heart pounding in her ears, her core still throbbing traitorously beneath her. 

She cursed at herself silently. Her flustered state was giving everything away. She squeezed her thighs together instinctively, grimacing as she felt the slick, humiliating wetness pool against her panties, warm and damning. 

Elphaba shifted. She tossed her covers back and padded across the room, her silhouette cutting through the moonlight. Her eyes squinted as she tried to read Glinda’s face in the dark. 

Glinda looked up, wide-eyed, her breath stalled halfway up her chest. The whites of Elphaba’s eyes flickered in the shadows, mirroring Glinda’s startled gaze. 

“I just…” Glinda’s voice faltered. 

Elphaba waited patiently for her to finish her sentence, her arm extending to find the edge of the mattress to move closer. 

When Glinda didn’t speak, her voice cracking on the edge of something close to tears, Elphaba made the decision for her. She lifted the covers and slipped in beside her, her body radiating warmth as she settled close. 

“Bad dream?” Elphaba asked gently. 

No, it was so fucking good.  

“Yeah,” Glinda squeaked, “Nightmare.”  

She shifted awkwardly, trying to make space for Elphaba to slip into the bed without letting the molten evidence of her dream spill out onto the sheets. She could feel it, seeping right through her shorts, sticky and hot against her skin. 

Elphaba started to reach for the lamp on the nightstand, her fingers brushing the switch- 

“No!” Glinda blurted, her hand snapping up to grab Elphaba’s wrist, a little too hard, a little too desperate. 

Elphaba froze, startled, her olive eyes wide in the moonlit dark. 

“No… it’s okay,” Glinda breathed out, softer now, her fingers loosening but still clinging. “Leave the light off.” 

Usually, when Glinda had nightmares, Elphaba would turn on the light, casting a safe pink glow across the room so that the line of scary dreamland and reality could split apart, grounding her. But this time, Glinda needed the dark. Needed it like a blanket, like a shield. 

It was the only thing keeping her from falling apart completely. 

Elphaba hesitated, studying her in the dark, the lines of worry creasing her brow. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” she offered gently. 

“No,” Glinda snapped out too quick and sharp. She didn’t mean to sound rude but this little secret of hers felt so loud, as if Elphaba already knew and was confronting her about it now. 

Elphaba’s eyes softened. “It’s okay,” she murmured, “you don’t have to.”  

She laid back, opening her arms in that familiar position, waiting for Glinda to climb into her, to rest her head on her chest, leg thrown over her waist, to let Elphaba’s warmth swallow her whole. 

But Glinda hesitated. 

“Let me hold you,” Elphaba urged softly, her voice unintentionally husky in the hush of the room. 

“Actually…” Glinda’s voice wavered as she turned, slowly, carefully. Her back now to Elphaba. “Can you… come over here?” 

She curled on her side, tucking her knees in slightly, too ashamed to face her. Too terrified Elphaba would feel the wet heat at the front of her shorts if she laid across her the usual way. 

Elphaba didn’t question it. She simply adjusted, sliding in close behind her, her arms folding gently around Glinda’s waist. Her chest pressed warmly into Glinda’s back, her breath a soft, steady rhythm at her neck. 

Glinda squeezed her eyes shut, her lip trembling. The strong, comforting hold only made her pulse harder, the memory of her dream throbbing between her legs like a dirty secret. 

Elphaba rested her forehead against the back of Glinda’s head, inhaling deeply. 

Glinda should’ve told her to go back to her own bed. Told her she was fine. 

But she wasn’t fine. 

Elphaba’s arm slid around her waist, snug and secure. She nestled her hand between Glinda’s breasts, flattening her palm just below her collarbone - a spot so intimate Glinda swore she felt every molecule of her best friend’s touch. 

She prayed Elphaba couldn’t feel her heartbeat - wild and frantic like a hummingbird caught in a jar. But she reasoned with herself: if Elphaba really believed it was a nightmare, she’d think the racing pulse was fear, not arousal... or whatever it was. She wouldn’t question it. 

Little did she know… 

That heartbeat was the echo of a dream so filthy it still clung to her skin. A dream where Elphaba’s mouth was between her legs, her voice low and dirty, her tongue coaxing out every whimper, every shameless plea Glinda didn’t even know she had in her. 

Even in the dream, her body had betrayed her. She had wanted it. Wanted more. Craved it in a way that left her quivering now, under Elphaba’s unsuspecting hold. 

She couldn’t tell her. She couldn’t even imagine forming the words to her best friend. Not after everything. Not after the lines they’d already blurred. 

And yet… 

It wasn’t enough. 

That was the most terrifying part. 

She knew that deep down she would never feel that with Fiyero, or anyone else truly. That kind of electric hunger. That kind of devastating closeness. 

Glinda let out a choppy exhale as Elphaba’s arm hugged her closer. She thought about shifting her hips back, pressing herself fully into Elphaba’s warmth, but panic seized her. She had no idea how bad the wetness was, how obvious it would be. 

So instead, she clung to where Elphaba’s hand clung to her chest, squeezing it like a lifeline. 

A bead of sweat slipped down her temple. Her entire system felt like lightning had struck every nerve. Eventually, she began to drift, her eyelids sinking heavy, exhausted by the emotional storm ripping through her. 

Elphaba’s thumb stroked up and down gently along her chest, not in a teasing way, not to start something sexual. Just a steady, calming rhythm, comforting. 

It felt natural. Familiar. 

Unfortunately for her though, every sweep of Elphaba’s thumb sent a fresh jolt through Glinda’s core, making her squirm faintly until finally her body surrendered to sleep. 

🫧✨🫧✨🫧 

When the morning came, the night felt too short lived. Glinda peaked her eyes open to find herself still laying on her side. In a bittersweet moment, she reached her arm behind her to find that Elphaba was no longer there. The sheets were neatly pulled up around her shoulders, tucked in gently like someone had tried to protect her from the morning chill. Her heart dropped.  

She wished Elphaba was still there, warm and solid behind her, anchoring her with every slow breath. But maybe it was better this way. Maybe it was good Elphaba had slipped away before Glinda’s tangled emotions could tangle them both up even worse. 

A dark thought curled around her chest like a serpent: what if Elphaba had woken up and realized what had happened - what she’d really been dreaming about - and decided to leave? What if she wanted to switch rooms, leaving her to a private suite all by herself. Of course, that was her desired wish since the beginning of Freshman year.  

But now? The idea of an empty room, the ghost of Elphaba lingering in the corners, the spirit of her best friend - that terrified her more than any nightmare.  

These emotions weren’t getting any easier to deal with.  

Guilt started to swirl under her ribs as she realized she woke up her perfectly content best friend from her sleep in the middle of the night all because she had a filthy dream about her. A dream she wanted more than she’d ever admit out loud. She felt dirty, desperate... curious. 

With a soft groan, she rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. She could still feel the echo of Elphaba’s hand on her chest, like a phantom warmth that refused to fade. 

She wanted her back. 

Oz, she wanted her to crawl back into bed and hold her again. 

As she laid in the silence of their room, something caught her eye on the nightstand - a little folded note tucked under the lamp. Her stomach flipped as she snatched it up, her fingers a little shaky. 

Good morning, my sweet ♡  

Glinda’s breath hitched. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting a stupid, giddy smile threatening to crack across her face like glass. She continued, admiring Elphaba’s sharply slanted handwriting. 

I hope you slept well. I’ll wart away every nightmare you ever have! Find me during Potionomics class, I have something I want to give you ;)

Her pulse jumped. 

Something she wanted to give her? 

Her chest tightened, a warmth unfurling low in her belly. Too fast. Too bright. She pressed the note to her chest for a moment, as if it might steady her heartbeat, replacing the aching absence where her best friend’s hand had once been. 

She finally dragged herself up to get ready. As she stripped out of her clothes, her fingers paused at the wet panties clinging to her skin like stale heat, heavy with the memory of the night. 

A hot wave of embarrassment shot up her spine. She debated just throwing them away - burning them, even - rather than risk Elphaba seeing them in the hamper. 

They had always shared everything. But this? 

This wasn’t best friend territory anymore. 

Not even close. 

With little room in her mind for anything else, Glinda dressed herself for the day and practically floated to Potionomics class on autopilot. 

The second she stepped inside, her eyes locked onto Elphaba perched in the window seat, her window seat, just as they’d agreed. 

Glinda could feel her heart soar with a fresh river of heat at the mere sight of the green girl among all the other students.  

That wasn’t the only thing feeling sore.  

Glinda straightened her spine, summoning that perfect, untouchable sparkle she wore like a crown. Except today, it was more of a costume. Pretending had always been her game, and now she was pretending she was okay and not totally falling over her best friend who was the main character in her filthy fantasy. She smiled wide and approached her unsuspecting roommate and all the other students. 

Being Shiz’s golden girl meant everyone watched her - every giggle, every hair toss, every shift in her expression. And if last night told her anything, the fact that Elphaba could sense her mannerisms were off kilter even in their pitch-black dorm room, that meant anyone could have picked up on it if she was being weird now. 

It was a tightrope walk. And she wasn’t sure how much longer she could balance. 

She stopped in front of Elphaba’s desk, pausing when her friend gave her a small, expectant look and gently nudged her shoulder as a silent thank you for the seat. 

“This seat is so warm in the sun,” Elphaba murmured, eyes flicking out the window, then returning to her with a soft, crooked smile. 

Then she leaned in, her lips close enough that Glinda caught the faintest scent of tea on her breath, and she lowered her voice as if to tell a secret that was only meant for her.  

“Did you get my note?” 

Glinda’s breath snagged in her throat at the sudden proximity of her roommate. Her shoulders locked tight. She prayed no one noticed her knees nearly buckling at the closeness. 

“I- I did, it was very sweet...” she stammered lightly, her cheeks flushing in betrayal, “the note alone was already a wonderful surprise.” 

Elphaba grinned wider.  

“Speaking of surprises…” Elphaba teased, letting her words trail off as she leaned down. 

Glinda’s eyes followed her every move - every reach of her arm as it snaked around her waist, every inch of closed space, as if Elphaba was trying to push her into the desk. 

Her chest brushed Glinda’s ribs, close enough that Glinda thought her pulse might jump straight into Elphaba’s body. Glinda’s nerves rumbled, unable to look away from the forest-green eyes so close to hers. 

Elphaba finally straightened, presenting a small box between her palms. Glinda’s eyes lit up with immediate delight, her nerves momentarily eclipsed by curiosity. 

“Oh!” she gasped. “What’s this?” She gave the box a gentle shake, trying to guess. 

Elphaba was faster, her hand shooting out to lightly but firmly wrap around Glinda’s wrist. 

“Careful there,” Elphaba warned, her tone playful but her grip deliberate. 

Glinda froze, her eyes falling to Elphaba’s long fingers wrapped around her delicate wrist. Her stomach flipped. She slowly raised her gaze to meet Elphaba’s again when she finally let go, her wrist tingling in the absence of that contact. Swallowing her nerves, she gave a wobbly smile, turning her attention back to the gift. 

Inside the small box sat a tiny glass bottle, shimmering with a swirling purple liquid that glinted like starlight. Glinda tilted her head, squinting, her curiosity blooming. 

Elphaba just watched her, smiling patiently. Waiting. 

“Oh, Elphie,” Glinda cooed with a performative lilt, “It’s… it’s wonderful! It’s so…” 

Elphaba giggled, shaking her head. “You have no idea what it is, do you?” 

Glinda let out a dramatically defeated sigh, her awkward smile crumpling. 

Elphaba leaned in, her voice low and conspiratorial. “It’s called Lucidification.” 

Glinda blinked. “It sounds like a drug.” 

“It is!” 

Her eyes went wide, her whole body snapping straight as her voice dropped to a whisper. She darted her eyes around the class like Elphaba had just handed her a live bomb. 

“Elphaba Thropp,” she hissed, “are you trying to drug me-” 

“No!” Elphaba burst into laughter, the sound bright and genuine. “Not like that. It’s for nightmares. Whenever you have another bad dream, you can take a sip of this. It lets you control the dream, so you don’t just sit there scared in your bed or fall back into it when you go back to sleep. You can steer it wherever you want. Total control.” 

Oh, that’s so dangerous.  

Glinda’s mouth fell open slightly, her gaze dropping to the tiny vial in her hands. Something so little could be so powerful.  

Hmm, that sounds familiar.  

Her mind started racing faster than she could catch up with. Total control over her dreams… But what if it wasn’t a nightmare? What if she used it for… something else? For relief. For pleasure. For freedom. 

Elphaba would never know. 

She snapped herself out of it, blinking rapidly. 

“Thank you, Elphie,” she breathed, her voice softer now, sincere. “That’s very thoughtful of you. And thank you… for last night.” 

Elphaba’s eyes softened immediately. She thought Glinda meant the comforting cuddles. Little did she know she was also partially being thanked for the dream that had left Glinda aching and dripping in her sheets – not that she would ever dare to tell her that part explicitly.  

Elphaba winked at her and it melted her heart in the best and worst way. 

Class began. Elphaba slid into Glinda’s window seat with casual ownership, and Glinda took the desk right in front of her. But the whole class, Glinda couldn’t keep still. Her leg bounced restlessly under the desk, pen tapping against her notebook like she was sending a secret Morse code. 

Elphaba noticed. Of course she did. She leaned forward, her palm landing lightly on Glinda’s shoulder, thumb brushing up and down almost absentmindedly. But the angle sent her thumb sliding along the delicate nape of Glinda’s neck. 

A tiny touch. Meant to soothe. Meant to say ‘it’s okay, breathe.’ 

But Glinda nearly shattered under it. She tensed, her whole body lighting up like a struck match. 

And from behind her, Elphaba watched her best friend’s shiver - completely oblivious to the wildfire she had just stoked to life. 

She wondered if Elphaba knew what she was doing to her. Every little touch, every glance, every stray drop of attention pouring straight into Glinda’s bloodstream, flooding her head until she couldn’t think of anything else. 

Glinda took a deep breath, trying to ground herself. She just let her feel the touch of her best friend’s hand on her skin - not the heat, not the sparking trail it left, just the simple contact. Just her skin, focusing on her fingertips. 

But Oz, that wasn’t helping either. 

When Elphaba finally leaned back into her seat, Glinda let out a shaky sigh, whether from relief or the sting of losing her warmth, she couldn’t tell. 

The rest of class dragged on in a thick, foggy haze, the thought that Elphaba was sitting behind her, probably watching her the whole time. She knew she was acting weird, stiff, like a tin man. She didn’t dare move too much, terrified at the risk that Elphaba might reach out again. 

When the bell finally rang, Glinda shot up, her hands fumbling over her books. She didn’t dare look back, her heart thundering too close to her ears. In the commotion of nerves and shaky hands, the little purple vial slipped from her books, clinking softly as it hit the floor. 

Just as she was about to step away, she felt a sudden tug at her waist as Elphaba’s fist curled tight into the fabric of her dress, yanking her back like a hook. 

“Oh, wait,” Elphaba teased lightly, “Can’t forget your drugs!” 

Glinda barely registered the joke. Her eyes were locked on Elphaba’s hand fisting her dress, knuckles white, grip firm. Too firm. Almost… possessive. 

Elphaba noticed her frozen stare, her own eyes flicking down to her fist, and she released her quickly, her expression shifting into a quick, awkward apology. 

Before she could speak, Glinda forced a platonic, too-sunny smile, words tumbling out, “Can’t forget that. Yeah.” 

Her voice wobbled. 

Elphaba’s eyes softened, searching her face like she was flipping through pages of a book she couldn’t read. 

“I’ll see you tonight, yeah?” Elphaba’s voice was casual, but there was a softness there, a hopefulness. Like a boy at the end of a first date, standing in the doorway, waiting for the yes. 

Glinda’s heart twisted, guilt and longing strangling her all at once. She felt horrible leaving her best friend in the dark, terrified of what would happen if she actually laid out her truth in front of her. Glinda simply nodded. 

They went their separate ways, drifting through the rest of their day like ghosts. 

When Glinda returned to their dorm later, her heels clacked sharply into the quiet room. She stopped dead in the doorway. 

Elphaba was bent down, rummaging for something on the floor. And she was dressed in only a tight, snug bra and the tiniest shorts Glinda had ever seen her respectable roommate wear. Shorts that looked suspiciously like they came straight out of Glinda’s closet. 

Glinda’s smile immediately dropped at the sight, like she was hypnotized, her muscles drooping like she had been sedated.  

This was so bad. 

But she looked so fucking good. 

Elphaba’s evergreen skin seemed to glow under the low light, every angle of her body cut sharp and strong, her back a perfect map of gentle slopes and sudden cliffs. Every movement shifted the lines of her muscles, the curves of her hips, the tight, teasing peek of her abs.  

Glinda’s throat dried instantly. She forced her gaze away, whipping her eyes to her side of the room like if she didn’t, she’d end up crawling across the floor and tearing those shorts off with her teeth. 

“Hey,” Elphaba called over her shoulder, casual as if she hadn’t just broken every rule of Glinda’s self-control, “How were the rest of your classes?” 

Glinda stood frozen, staring blankly at the wall like it might offer a divine intervention. She gathered herself as best she could to engage in the all-too-familiar yet damningly bland small talk with her best friend like they were strangers. 

She forced a laugh, too high-pitched. “They were swell!” Her voice cracked embarrassingly. She cleared her throat, cheeks flushing. “How were yours?” 

Glinda turned her head to peer over her shoulder, fixing her eyes on the balcony doors, seeing Elphaba from her peripheral. The greenified girl stood, turning to face her fully, her sharp, defined lines on full display. Her eyes flicked down Glinda’s body briefly, then back up to her eyes, like she was appraising her. She cocked her hip slightly, her head tilted like she was trying to catch Glinda’s gaze with a net. 

“Can I ask you something?” Elphaba asked, quieter this time, her voice low and direct. 

Glinda’s breath caught somewhere between her lungs and her tongue. Oh Oz. She was caught. This was it. Her secret, their friendship - all of it was about to be dragged out into the center of the room, naked and exposed. 

Her pulse rumbled in her ears. She felt heat crawling up her neck, prickling across her skin, a bead of sweat forming at her hairline. Glinda stayed silent for a beat too long, no words finding their way out. 

Slowly, she turned more to face Elphaba fully, bracing for the worst. But Elphaba didn’t look angry or suspicious, nor were her eyes sharp with accusation. She just looked curious. Gentle. Almost sorrowful. 

Glinda raised an eyebrow, silently inviting her question. 

“What did you dream about last night?” 

The floor seemed to drop out beneath Glinda. 

Of all questions, that was the worst. She might as well blurted ‘did you enjoy my tongue last night?’  

She swallowed, her gaze darting everywhere but Elphaba’s face. She couldn’t even hold eye contact as her mind replayed every explicitly filthy detail she had been trying to bury since sunrise. She opened her mouth, then closed it again like it was all too much to explain. She didn’t know where to start. Didn’t know how much to say or if she should be honest at all. 

Elphaba watched her, brow furrowed in gentle concern. 

“You know you can tell me anything,” she offered softly. 

It wasn’t like her to pry. But this new version of Glinda - this shaken, uncharacteristic, secret-keeping Glinda drove Elphaba a little insane. It felt like she was losing her best friend piece by piece to some hidden battle she couldn’t see. 

Glinda held her gaze for a moment longer, searching. But she knew she wasn’t ready to risk everything. So she went halfway. 

“It was about… a boy.” 

Elphaba’s eyes widened a fraction. 

“A boy? Was it Fiyero?” She asked quietly, almost like she was scared of the answer. 

Yes.  

“No,” Glinda said, voice thin and trembling. “It wasn’t him. I… I didn’t recognize him.” 

Elphaba’s eyes searched hers, like she was trying to solve a riddle written behind her pupils. 

“Did he hurt you?” she pressed, voice sharp with protective urgency, as if an actual altercation had occurred. She said it so earnestly like she might hunt down a true monster hiding in Glinda’s mind. 

Glinda let out a small, shaky laugh, despite her racing pulse.  

“No, Elphie. He didn’t hurt me.” She hesitated, her breath stuttering. “He was just… unexpectedly there.” 

She hesitated, fingers twisting into the edge of her sleeve. 

“On top of me,” she added in a hushed, scandalocious whisper, like the words themselves might combust if spoken too loudly. 

Elphaba squinted, trying to piece together this phantom boy, all the puzzle pieces twisting in her mind. 

“What… was he doing to you?” she asked, her voice lower now, cautious, hungry for details she was hesitant to confirm. 

Their eyes locked, unblinking. As if Elphaba was trying to see the dream for herself through Glinda’s eyes. 

“He was… being kind of… rough.” 

It was too vague, intentionally so. Almost like she wanted to bait Elphaba, to see just how far she’d chase the question. 

Elphaba’s eyes darkened, brows pulling in tight. 

“And it scared you,” Elphaba stated almost to punctuate the fact to herself. 

“It was a nightmare, Elphie.” She paused, letting her gaze drop to Elphaba’s lips for a split second too long. “I didn’t necessarily enjoy it.” 

“Necessarily?” Elphaba echoed, confused but leaning closer. 

Glinda let a small, dangerous smirk curl at the edge of her lips. She drew in a deep breath. 

“Not until you made it better.” 

The words hit the air like a thunderclap, silent but echoing in every corner of the room. 

Elphaba’s throat bobbed with a hard swallowed. All she knew - all she thought she knew - was that holding her best friend after her dreams always made it better. But the weight in Glinda’s voice hinted at something more. Something her mind wouldn’t dare finish, but her body had already started to understand. 

Aside from that hidden fact, her best friend’s suggestive response made the air in the room shift familiarly again. The quiet between them vibrated, heavy and crackling, a playful dare hidden in the seams. 

“Of course,” she managed, forcing lightness into her tone. “And… don’t forget that Lucidification potion. It’ll help next time.” 

Oh, it’ll help alright.   

Elphaba turned away abruptly, finally setting down the thing she had been clutching onto her bed. She busied herself with shuffling papers, a futile attempt to escape the flush crawling up her neck. 

Glinda watched her, a ghostly smirk dancing across her lips. Maybe she could push Elphaba further than she realized. The thought twisted deliciously in her chest.  

What would that do to her? What would that awaken in her? 

Glinda’s heart fluttered at the idea. 

Risky. 

Irresistible. 

🫧✨🫧✨🫧 

An hour or so had slipped by in soft, brittle silence. The kind that buzzed around them like an electric fence. They had both fallen into their nightly rhythm: Glinda at her desk, doodling instead of studying; Elphaba on her bed, buried in her thick textbook, her pen tapping absently against the pages. 

Most nights, Glinda would be off giggling through the halls, dancing at the Ozdust, beaming around like moonlight in heels. But tonight? She stayed in. Close. As if her orbit had shifted permanently to revolve around the emerald sun sitting across from her. 

As Glinda was scribbling mindlessly on the margins of her notebook, studying for her Herbology class had long exhausted her efforts. She tapped her pen against her lip, her brown eyes heavy with mischief and restless longing. She was tired of pretending. Tired of trying to bury the gnawing ache that had been chewing at her from the inside out since that dream. Since that kiss.  

She wanted to feed the flame. 

To watch it leap. 

“Elphie… I’m sorry,” Glinda blurted out, her voice slicing through the thick hush like a blade. 

Elphaba flinched, startled by the sudden confession, her head shooting up. Her eyes snapped to Glinda’s, wide and searching, pen frozen mid-air. 

“Sorry for what?” Elphaba asked, her voice a cautious curious, afraid of what might come next. 

Glinda turned fully in her chair now, her knees knocking into the edge of her desk, leaning forward. Her hair fell over her shoulders in gentle waves, catching the pink glow of the lantern light. 

“I wasn’t being completely honest before… about the dream,” she said, her voice thinner now, but holding a dangerous edge. 

Elphaba’s brows shot up, her lips parting. Glinda licked her lips slowly, like she was preparing for battle. Or a feast. 

“That’s okay, my sweet.” 

Glinda’s stomach flipped so violently she thought she might be sick. 

“I shouldn’t have asked so many questions if you didn’t want to tell me about it,” Elphaba continued, her voice calm and impossibly gentle. But there was something under it, some sprinkle of a passive edge, almost like a dare. Like she was baiting Glinda to prove her wrong. 

Interesting choice of words. Interesting tone. 

And it worked.  

“It wasn’t a nightmare.” Glinda’s eyes didn’t waver. They held Elphaba’s with a fierce, smoldering seriousness that seemed to crackle in the air between them. 

“Oh?” Elphaba’s head tilted, her voice slipping into curiosity - soft, patient, but alert. 

Glinda shook her head slowly. She rose from her chair, the thin silk of her nightgown sliding around her thighs like water. The same nightgown from her dream. The same one that had been bunched in Fiyero’s fists… or rather, in someone else’s. 

She took a step forward, letting the moonlight spill over her, shimmering in her hair, catching every tiny tremor in her frame. 

“It was… a different kind of dream.” 

She let the words hang there, tasting sweeter and sharper than any potion in Elphaba’s arsenal. 

Elphaba’s eyes narrowed, her brows tugging in, but she didn’t back away. If anything, she leaned forward, her lips parting like she was about to breathe a question but forgot how to speak. As best friends, sharing everything with each other meant sparing no detail, so it was very natural, almost automatic, for Elphaba to ask as many questions as her glittery roommate would allow. 

“What… kind of dream?” Her voice cracked on the last word, her careful composure fraying at the edges. 

Glinda’s jaw clenched for a moment, her throat working, like she was swallowing something electric. 

Then she let it spill out. 

“A wet dream.” 

Elphaba’s breath caught, so sharp, so raw, that Glinda saw her chest seize beneath the thin band of her bra. The one she hadn’t bothered to cover that night. 

A heavy silence pressed between them, so thick you could cut it with a knife. Glinda let it sit, savoring it for another clock tick before she dared to speak again. 

“I was telling the truth when I said I didn’t like it, though.” 

She took another step forward, her bare feet whispering against the cold floor. Elphaba shifted, just slightly, her knees bending, a tiny squirm that betrayed everything she wasn’t saying. 

Almost without realizing it, Elphaba’s hand slid across her bed, pushing her textbook aside. Making space. An invitation unspoken but so loud that Glinda almost felt it vibrate through her bones. 

A fresh, empty bed. A stage set. 

Elphaba tilted her head, her dark eyes bright and sharp beneath the moonlight. “Well…” she asked, her voice a low, almost syrupy tease. “What didn’t you like?” 

It was so innocent. Too innocent. The kind of innocence so carefully performed it turned razor-sharp. A move in their dangerous little dance. A game that they slipped into like a second skin. Slow at first, then suddenly so fast it knocked the air from your lungs.  

Glinda felt her pulse pound at the base of her throat. 

“His hands.” The words dropped like a stone into the quiet. Glinda inched closer, her hips rolling forward in a sway she couldn’t hide, couldn’t stop. A tense hush fell over them, their breathing loud and uneven. 

Then, like a sudden pivot in a waltz, Glinda stepped back a half-pace, her eyes glittering with mischief - an escape hatch from the confession that almost burst free. 

She tipped her chin up dramatically, draping herself in invisible royal airs. She swept into an exaggerated bow low with a flourish that was way too smooth for comfort. 

“Take my hand, Milady,” she boomed, dropping her voice into a deep, velvety register. 

Elphaba scoffed, the tension shivering off her shoulders like rain. 

“Milady now? What happened to Princess?” she teased, her eyebrow arching high. 

Glinda clicked her tongue, tossing her hair over her shoulder. 

“Princess is far too delicate for me. Tonight, you’re Milady. And I… I am Prince Thalio.” 

Elphaba snorted, nearly doubling over. 

“Prince Thalio? That sounds completely made up.” 

Glinda shrugged with mock grace, that dangerous, playful glimmer returning to her eyes. 

“Well… he was just in my dream. So, yes. Probably made up.” 

Their laughter crackled in the room like a fireplace - but beneath it, something deeper thrummed. Without hesitation this time, Elphaba hopped off the bed, sliding right up to her best friend, her body buzzing like a live wire, chin high, shoulders back, poised tall and straight. 

Well.  

Glinda’s hands landed on Elphaba’s sides - not quite her waist, not quite her chest, fingers brushing just under her breasts, as if she was going to grope her from the side. Elphaba’s breath hitched, a tiny, startled giggle spilling out as the touch tickled her ribs and sent heat straight to her center. 

“Interesting placement,” she teased, as if it was Glinda’s personal preference to put her hands there. 

Glinda smirked, her thumbs grazing the soft curve below Elphaba’s chest like she was memorizing her shape. 

“Your figure makes this dress look like it was sewn straight from a dream,” she purred in that rich, royal voice. 

Elphaba looked down at her simple bra and black pajama shorts, scoffing lightly. 

“Black does seem to be my color,” she replied, her voice a bit shakier than she meant it to be. 

But Glinda wasn’t looking at her pajamas. Her eyes had dropped, locked onto Elphaba’s chest, to those perfect, soft curves pushing into the thin fabric, the way they rose and fell with every ragged breath. It took every shred of willpower not to reach out and slide her palms up, to cup and worship every inch of that soft, yielding skin. She stared so long that her mouth parted, her own breath stuttering. Even Elphaba could feel her nipples tighten under the gaze. For a second, it looked like she might actually moan, her chest subtly arching forward as if silently begging for Glinda’s touch. 

“It so is,” Glinda finally breathed out, her voice hushed and reverent. 

Elphaba licked her lips, her hands twitching at her sides like she didn’t know what to do with them. 

“A silhouette so perfect... it beckons my touch more than any royal decree ever could,” Glinda continued, her tone dropping deeper, slipping further into her role. 

Slowly, almost cruelly, she dragged her hands down Elphaba’s ribs, mapping every dip and curve, sliding over her narrow waist, her hips, until they landed firmly on Elphaba’s ass. 

Elphaba let out a surprised noise as Glinda squeezed hard - so hard that Elphaba rose up on her toes, her chest crashing into Glinda’s, nipples brushing so sharply it sent a violent shiver up her spine. On instinct, her arms shot up around Glinda’s neck, one wrapping all the way over her shoulder, the other curling to fist a handful of her golden hair. 

Their noses bumped, breaths mingling, both of them staring at each other’s lips like they were the last drops of water in the desert. 

Glinda loosened her grip just slightly, then pushed her hips forward, making Elphaba slide down, their fronts dragging together, friction sparking off every nerve ending. 

“You said you didn’t like this?” Elphaba panted, suspicious, eyes dark and wide. 

“Not necessarily,” Glinda confessed, her voice almost a moan, almost a plea. Those words held so much more weight than she let on because it wasn’t that she hated the touch. She hated that it didn’t come from the right person the first time. But this? This was perfect. 

Elphaba swallowed, her fingers tightening in Glinda’s hair. 

“Show me what happened next,” she demanded, voice husky and daring, dark pine eyes radiating with recklessness and want. 

The line of pretending was paper thin. 

Glinda surged forward, crashing their lips together. It wasn’t gentle. It was all teeth and tongue, a devouring kiss that tasted like melted chocolate and desperation. The butterflies, the sparks, the adrenaline overtaking them. Elphaba moaned hard, loud enough to echo in the quiet room, her body arching up into Glinda’s. 

Then Glinda’s hands slid down to the backs of Elphaba’s thighs, tapping them firmly in a silent command. Elphaba understood instantly, jumping up, her legs wrapping around Glinda’s waist like she belonged there. 

Glinda kissed her again, deeper, grinning into her mouth, her fingers digging into her thighs possessively. She carried her across the room like she weighed nothing, her feet stumbling only from the fire coursing through her veins. 

At the bed, Glinda let go just enough to drop Elphaba onto the mattress, her body bouncing lightly, braids splayed around her flushed face. 

Elphaba looked up at her, lips slightly swollen and parted, eyes wide and dark, like she was ready for something more dangerous. 

Elphaba’s hands lay flat against the mattress, fingers flexing like she was one breath away from grabbing Glinda and flipping her over. But just as she began to push up, Glinda’s palms landed firmly on her thighs, pinning her down. 

“No,” Glinda ordered, her voice raw and edged with something new, something electric. “Stay just like that.” 

A glint sparked in Elphaba’s dark eyes - a mixture of impatience, obedience, and that unspoken submissive hunger pooling low in her stomach. 

Glinda let her gaze roam, slow and indulgent, devouring every inch of her - the look of her roommate, all laid out for her. Just as she’d asked. 

“He went too fast in the dream,” Glinda murmured, stepping forward. “This is what he would do if he took his time. The way I’d want it.” 

Elphaba’s playful smile melted into something sharper. Her breath stuttered, chest rising and falling like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to hold it or let it go. 

“Show me,” Elphaba rasped, voice husky and tight. “Show me how you want it.” 

That single sentence sent a searing jolt through Glinda, sending a river of heat downward. 

Slowly - excruciatingly slow - she pushed Elphaba’s knees apart, spreading her wide. The smallest lift of Elphaba’s hips revealed her need, a subtle glisten catching the dim light. 

“You look so pretty spread out for me,” Glinda breathed, stealing the line straight from her own dream. 

Elphaba’s breath hitched hard, her fingers curling into the sheets. They both knew it wasn’t a prince. It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t pretend anymore. But as long as they didn’t say it, they could keep playing. 

Glinda stepped in, her knees pressing into the mattress, her hands sliding up Elphaba’s thighs like she was savoring each new inch. She gripped her hips, yanking her forward so sharply her ass nearly slipped off the edge of the bed. 

Their thighs bracketed each other, heat flooding every point of contact. Even through their loose sleep shorts, the friction was devastating. 

Glinda leaned down, hovering over her, breath ghosting across her lips. Then, without warning, she rolled her hips forward - hard - as her weight grinded right against Elphaba’s wet channel. 

Elphaba choked on a moan, her legs instinctively locking around Glinda’s waist, trying to pull her harder against her. 

“So good for me,” Glinda purred, voice dripping in approval. 

Another slow, brutal roll of her hips. 

Elphaba’s head snapped back into the pillow, her throat arching, mouth dropping open on a ragged, broken wail. Her nails clawed at Glinda’s back desperately, dragging up the fabric of her sleep shirt, bunching it higher and higher until her bare skin met her touch. 

Glinda gasped softly into her ear at the feel of Elphaba’s nails scraping up her spine, a wicked shiver ripping through her whole body. She rocked forward again, pressing even deeper, pelvis grinding hard enough to feel Elphaba’s slick heat right on her mound through the thin barriers left between them. 

“So wet already,” Glinda murmured, voice thick with a dominant appetite. Elphaba bucked beneath her, sinking deeper into the bedsheets, her eyes glazed and wide. 

Elphaba’s body shuddered below, her heels digging into Glinda’s back as if she was trying to pull her impossibly deeper. 

Glinda leaned in close, right up against Elphaba’s ear, her breath scorching hot. 

“Can’t you feel how hard I am for you?” she growled. 

Elphaba’s breath shattered. 

“Oh fuck,” she whimpered, the words torn straight from her throat. 

Without warning, Glinda rolled her hips and slammed them forward, harder this time, sharp enough to send a shockwave of pleasure up Elphaba’s body. The spark against her clit lit her up like a live wire, her whole body jolting in response. 

Their sounds filled the room, all broken gasps and breathy, hot sighs, each one a confession deflowered. 

Glinda pulled away just enough to slip out of her sleep top, her pink lacy bra exposed underneath.  

Glinda seized her best friend’s mouth, swallowing her gasp with a brutal, claiming kiss. Her hands shot up to catch Elphaba’s wrists, pinning them above her head, their fingers threading together, the sheets bunching under their tangled grip. Their bare stomachs slid against each other, fervent and charged, as Glinda felt the tremors in Elphaba’s legs as they shook, her thighs clenching and unclenching, desperate for more friction, more weight, more of her. 

She tore her lips away and attacked Elphaba’s neck, sucking hard enough to leave little echoes of her all along her skin. Not too hard. Just enough to mark her territory in mouth-watering bites. 

Elphaba wrapped her legs around Glinda’s waist like a vice, as if trying to pull Glinda impossibly closer, to feel her inside in a way that wasn’t even physically possible. She bucked against Glinda’s grinding, chasing that phantom pressure, that imagined fullness, that stretch that burned so deep it might split her open. 

Glinda felt it too - the illusion between them, thick and firm, burying herself into Elphaba’s desperate, tight sanctuary. Each thrust felt like she was truly sinking into her, hitting that sweet spot over and over, each slam sharper, each drag rougher. 

Elphaba’s moans pitched higher, ragged and breathy, the sound twisting around Glinda’s core like barbed wire. 

She dragged her lips up, her breath hot and shaky against Elphaba’s ear. 

“You feel it, don’t you?” Glinda panted, voice heavy with unhinged pleasure and power. 

Elphaba sobbed out a choked “Yes,” her hips jerking up helplessly, grinding against that phantom shape that wasn’t there but felt so devastatingly real. 

And Glinda’s hips answered, crashing down again, shoving her own pulse deep into that imagined space. 

Her chest dragged over Elphaba’s with every deep grind, the friction pulling a strangled whine from her throat. Glinda’s breasts pressed up, the thin barrier of her pink bra sliding lower and lower with each desperate rut. 

The smooth, lush swell of Elphaba’s chest beneath her felt like velvet under her ribs, so plush, so vulnerable. 

Glinda gasped, the strap of her bra slipping further off her shoulder, threatening to spill her breasts right onto Elphaba’s heaving chest. 

The thought alone sent a molten throb between her legs. 

She pushed down harder, her nipples diamond-stiff under the lace, catching on Elphaba’s bra, dragging mercilessly every time she slammed her hips. 

Their lips crashed together again and again, breathless and feral. Too messy, too desperate to be mistaken for anything but the truth.

This was them. 

Entirely them - raw, wild, flesh catching and sliding, vibrating under the weight of something too big to name, too loud to hide. 

“Shit, you like it rough,” Elphaba growled, her voice ragged, hips stuttering beneath Glinda’s weight. 

“Too rough?” Glinda asked, pausing just enough to search her face, breathless and wide-eyed. 

Elphaba froze for a second, confusion flickering across her features. Then she swallowed, a hint of heat still clinging to her words. 

“Not for me.” 

The second the words left her mouth, realization struck them both like cold water. It wasn’t about the game anymore. It was Elphaba’s preference. Her actual desire slipping out, raw and unguarded. 

Glinda blinked, the facade of her “Prince Thalion act” crumbling in an instant. A startled, almost embarrassed giggle bubbled out of her. She collapsed forward, burying her face in Elphaba’s neck as she laughed. 

“You’re supposed to be me, remember?” she mumbled against her skin, voice muffled and trembling with that fragile mix of delight and terror. She brought their pretending back to the surface just in time to avoid some real-life feelings that Elphaba might’ve been admitting to. It was selfish, manipulative, but also a safeguard. 

Elphaba looked down at her helplessly, mortified and soft all at once. She let out a small, shaky huff of a laugh, trying to surface back to the game.

Their hips stayed pressed, Glinda’s warmth heavy and grounding above her, her fingers twitching against Elphaba’s pinned wrists. 

Finally, Glinda lifted her head, eyes bright but hesitant, her lips curling into a crooked grin. 

“You really don’t mind it rough…? You, the ever-dignified Elphaba Thropp?” 

Elphaba let out a shaky scoff, trying to hide the way her thighs twitched around Glinda’s hips. 

“Dignified doesn’t mean fragile,” she snapped lightly, almost a challenge, her husky tone betraying her own unraveling. 

Glinda blinked - then her grin widened slow and wicked. Her hips gave one last shaky push forward. 

“Well, that’s unfortunate.” 

Elphaba’s brow furrowed, breath stuttering. 

“Unfortunate?” 

Glinda laughed, eyes dancing as she hovered over her, the tension still electric and dangerous. 

“Because Prince Thalion would’ve lasted, what… two minutes? Maybe less.” 

Elphaba stared, stunned, offended on behalf of the fictional prince - then burst into a half-choked laugh, the sharpness of it cracking the tension. 

For a second, it was just them again. Giggling, breathless, pressed together. 

Then, slowly, the laughter softened. Glinda’s forehead came to rest against Elphaba’s chest and her knee hooked over the older girl’s thighs. Her chest rose and fell in sync with the girl beneath her. They stayed like that for a moment - caught between laughter and the echo of something heavier, deeper, pulsing beneath their skin. 

Finally, Glinda shifted enough to bury her nose into the crook of Elphaba’s neck, her breath fanning across sensitive skin. 

“You’re… really warm,” she mumbled sleepily, almost like a confession. 

Elphaba’s heart thudded so loud she was sure Glinda could hear it echoing between them. 

“Yeah,” she managed to say, a small smile flickering across her lips, “you’re not so cold yourself.” 

A small giggle buzzed against Elphaba’s neck. Glinda started tracing light lines down the green skin, absent and dreamy. She pressed even closer, her body curling slightly inward, like she needed to hide in Elphaba’s warmth. 

Elphaba felt her own breath catch again at the contact, that stubborn throb still humming deep inside her. Her hands hovered awkwardly for a second before settling at Glinda’s waist, fingers splaying across soft skin, gentle yet quaking. 

“We should… sleep, probably,” Glinda murmured, her words catching at the edges. 

“Probably,” Elphaba parroted, her voice so quiet it might have been a thought rather than a word.  

But neither of them moved. 

She took a good look at the familiar position they lay in – Glinda on top, her head resting on a green chest, and her leg thrown across. It was the same position they always landed in after Glinda’s nightmares. Elphaba’s heart warmed at the thought and maybe at the unspoken permission to stay like this, to hold her a little longer. 

“No nightmares tonight, right?” Elphaba whispered. 

“No nightmares,” Glinda promised, barely more than a ghost’s breath across Elphaba’s collarbone.  

Glinda’s thumb kept stroking a small circle on Elphaba’s arm. Elphaba’s fingers curled reflexively at her waist, every now and then tightening just a little. Their legs stayed tangled, the shadow of all that friction lingering like a supernatural touch. 

Every shift brought a subtle spark - an accidental nudge of a knee, a soft drag of fabric across still-aching skin. It made their breaths hitch, but neither pulled away. 

That was it. 

No final kiss. No grand gesture. Just that gentle closeness, charged and soft and terrifyingly real. 

Slowly, breaths evened out. Fingers stilled. 

They stayed like that until sleep finally came, just two girls, tangled in each other, burning and safe all at once. 

Chapter Text

The morning felt like any other except there was a new current humming softly in the stillness of the room. The first splice of sunlight splayed across the bed, so gorgeous it could make poets jealous. The sheets were tangled, the gentle breeze was polite, and all disturbances excused themselves. Elphaba cracked her eyes open, feeling a warm, beloved weight pressed against her. Her best friend's face was nestled beneath her chin, her cheek soft and perfectly smushed against Elphaba’s collarbone, each gentle exhale drifting over her skin like a secret love letter written in breath. 

It was beautifully tragic, to hold so much feeling and still not speak it aloud. To keep stepping into this dangerous dance, pretending it was only a game. Elphaba knew. And that terrified her. Knowing their game was merely an excuse, a carefully crafted illusion they both clung to. Yet when Glinda initiated it, Elphaba always welcomed it without hesitation.  

The thoughts unraveled her from the inside out. Elphaba couldn't help but feel the slightest pang that maybe she was also being experimented on, willingly so by her own choice too, unsure of how Glinda truly felt. What her actual intentions were.

Glinda shifted a little, her hand unconsciously tightening around Elphaba's shoulder - a lucid grounding touch. It snapped her back to the girl it had always been about. The golden girl. The only girl. And deeper down, their friendship, their connection - she thought of the two of them as a pair, as a couple…

A couple.  

As if Elphaba’s chest was a phonograph tuned directly into her fluctuating thoughts, Glinda gave another mindless squeeze to Elphaba’s shoulder. 

Elphaba tilted her head slightly, angling down to catch a better look at the sun-haloed angel slowly waking beneath her. Her hands shifted instinctively at Glinda’s lower back, steadying her, as though she might slide off and disappear if she didn’t hold tight enough. 

Glinda blinked through her sleepy lashes and stared directly into Elphaba’s waiting emerald eyes. She blinked slow like a cat, as if to say, ‘I love you’. Or just I really really like you. She inhaled deeply, taking in all of Elphaba’s natural woodsy scent that mingled with the morning crisp. A small, sleepy smile bloomed on her lips, fragile as new petals. 

Elphaba fell victim to offering an effortless smile back, shallow crow's feet crinkling at the corners of her eyes. Glinda’s chocolate-brown eyes didn’t usually captivate her, but now, it was like they were kissed by the morning glow, melting into a color that was otherworldly. It felt like she was seeing them - seeing her - for the very first time.

“No nightmares,” Elphaba rasped, continuing their late-night conversation without missing a beat. 

Glinda only shook her head, wordlessly confirming it wasn’t just the position they were tangled in, it was Elphaba herself who let her sleep so deeply that no wizard in all of Oz could ever wake her. 

Elphaba dipped her thumb right into the waistband of Glinda’s sleep shorts, giving one reverent swipe back and forth - just once - more so rubbing the fabric of the elastic rather than Glinda’s skin. But all of it was lost in translation as the smoke of the previous night enveloped them in the serene dawn.  

The skin-on-skin contact felt like a fireplace wrapped in a warm blanket - cozy and impossibly soft. They lay like that for a moment more, Glinda feeling Elphaba’s heartbeat drum against her ear, Elphaba feeling Glinda’s fingertips dance lazily in the same spot on her shoulder. 

Eventually, the morning wore thin and beckoned their attendance. Glinda took another deep drag of Elphaba’s intoxicating aroma. She pressed her hand against the older girl’s bare side for balance as she began to push herself up, but the moment her fingers sank into that sensitive curve, the steady grip betrayed her, twisting into an accidental tickle that electrocuted Elphaba’s whole body. 

A strangled, guttural gasp burst from Elphaba’s throat, splitting into a shriek that merged into wild, helpless laughter. Her back arched off the bed as if she might levitate to escape it.  

“Eeeughhhh-!” Elphaba’s voice cracked, her limbs flailing in a useless attempt to squirm away. 

Glinda looked at her wide eyed, “Sorry, Elphie!” Her voice a whisper scream, breaking into her own giggle as she peeled herself off her writhing roommate. Elphaba laid there, faux defeated, memorizing the warmth that lingered on her body from her best friend’s touch.  

Glinda sauntered off toward the bathroom with a smirk, satisfied at the flow of the relaxed morning. Elphaba felt it too - though the routine was all too familiar, there was something different. A spark of excitement and anticipation, like a child waking up on the morning of a long-awaited field trip. 

From the bed, Elphaba’s gaze followed the pink witch’s retreating figure. Through the doorway, partially obscured by the wall, she caught fleeting glimpses of Glinda’s sculpted back shifting with each movement, her pink lace bra hugging her like a second skin, the delicate straps biting ever so slightly into her shoulders. The plush swell of Glinda’s ass that pressed generously against her sleep pants, so soft-looking it almost begged to be palmed, worshipped. 

Elphaba felt a sharp, molten twist deep in her core. She had to resist the urge to lick her lips just looking at the bubbly plump of her best friend’s posterior, squeezing her eyes shut and rolling on her side. 

But the image stayed. Vivid. 

In time, Elphaba rose from the warmth of the bed and began shuffling through her wardrobe, a sea of black garments laid out like face-down playing cards. Between the rustle of hangers, her eyes kept drifting. Glinda stood at the vanity, applying her makeup, running a brush through her shimmering blonde curls, adjusting tiny details only she would notice. It was so mundane. So ordinary. And yet, every flick of her wrist sent Elphaba’s heart fluttering. Like she had a hold of something. Something real. Something... hers. 

“Hey Elphie,” Glinda called over her shoulder, bright and unbothered, “can you zip me up?” 

“Of course, my sweet,” Elphaba responded, the words rolling off her tongue automatically. But when she turned her attention to her roommate, her heart bounced like a trampoline. Her breath snagged as she saw Glinda standing there across the room, in that familiar pink number, but the entire back was undone, leaving her almost completely, devastatingly bare from nape to waist. 

The delicate light pink fabric clung to her in all the right ways, lace patterns tracing every curve of her bodice, the waist nipped in so precisely, the sheer sleeves curled over her shoulders, graceful and teasing all at once. A dress that was almost as fitting enough for Elphaba despite the color.  

It was nothing she was unfamiliar with. There had been multiple mornings where Elphaba helped Glinda zip her dresses up all the way where her own hands couldn’t reach. But this time, the air felt thicker, the lace more intimate, like a private invitation.  

Elphaba swallowed hard as she came closer, padding right behind Glinda as she always had. Glinda lifted her hair, her head slightly tilted like an offering. Elphaba lay one hand respectfully upon her hip bone, keeping her in place, while her other gripped the zipper. As she stabilized her shaky fingers, she pulled the zipper up, letting her thumb nail lead the way up the map of Glinda’s spine.  

Elphaba took note of every little freckle dotted on her skin like constellations, her thumb dragging a little slower when it met the hem of Glinda’s bra, bumping over the little metal clips, and further up her back towards the curve of her neck. She then took both her hands and unnecessarily smoothed out the fabric that was already as straight as an arrow at Glinda’s hips. 

“There,” Elphaba said, her voice a calming whisp.  

Her hands lingered a moment longer as her fingers pressed lightly into Glinda’s hips, admiring the way the dress hugged her figure so perfectly from behind. The same dress she had seen two or three times before. It felt like she was seeing it through brand new eyes. Eyes that noticed every delicate slope, every breath-catching dip and curve that had always been there, waiting to be seen. 

“Thank you, Elphie,” Glinda murmured. 

Elphaba exhaled a choppy breath, and Glinda must have felt that breath ghost across her bare skin, the way she gave the tiniest shiver in response. 

“You’re welcome... Milady,” Elphaba drawled, her voice a low ripple. 

Glinda’s eyes widened slightly at the name, heat surging under her cheeks as all the memories of that royal title poured back in. Elphaba didn’t seem like one to play the part (literally), but maybe she was feeling more comfortable, bold enough to step into a certain role for herself. Just to keep the game alive. Or maybe it wasn’t a game. Maybe it was just Elphaba. Just her.  

Glinda turned to face her best friend, delivering a simple nod and a much-too-obvious flirty smirk. Yet there was still something so comforting about it. Something so... home.  

She gathered her books for the day and slipped away from their dorm room as Elphaba occupied the bathroom for herself. The two girls had differing classes on that day, so their schedules only aligned once. Elphaba was feeling all kinds of butterflies by the time she got dressed, scarfed down a quick breakfast she barely tasted, and just about skipped to Ozianology class.  

Part of her spent no more than three minutes hyper analyzing her emotions, picking them apart like poppy petals. Dissecting how she felt, interrogating herself on if she should even feel those feelings. But no matter how many petals she pulled, she felt the tiniest bit of relief that she never fumbled upon the emotion of regret or discomfort or anything remotely close to that. And maybe that was what startled her the most - how easy it all felt. How natural. But with all the other feelings outweighing them, she reasoned that there had to be a reason for that.  

When she stepped into the classroom, all the diligent students had arrived early, mingling at their desks and in the center of the lecture hall in small huddles - the rest filed in at a timely manner. Elphaba’s eyes scanned the room as if looking for a lost item. Her strides faltered slightly, acting like she couldn’t take another step until her eyes landed right on her best friend.  

And that’s when she saw her. 

Except she wasn’t alone. 

She was clinging to Fiyero, practically hanging over him like a tassel on his royal uniform suit. One hand was pressed against the middle of his chest while her other hand lay gently on his shoulder – the exact same spot she had claimed on Elphaba’s body that very morning. 

A lump formed in Elphaba’s throat as her smile dropped.  

Fiyero was beaming, leaning close, his hand spread on Glinda’s lower back, far too low to be appropriate for a classroom setting, skimming a place Glinda once called uncomfortable. Elphaba instantly squinted her eyes at the spectacle, her chest feeling like someone knocked the wind out of her.  

And even more bittersweet, Glinda was smiling, as if soaking up pure sunlight. Beaming right with him. As if he probably told the cheesiest joke about royal “affairs” of some sort. Those lovely, dark oaky eyes that shined with genuine enjoyment. Nothing like the first night she performatively bid him adieu. 

What the actual fuck could he possibly be saying to her?  

And just when Elphaba thought she could collect herself, he leaned down and kissed a peck to her cheek.  

The verdant witch’s neck spiked with heat, her heart dragged underwater by a weighted rock, her lip curling up in an uncontrolled disgust. She was feeling something so intense that it made her body feel physically ill, realistically injured. She was feeling jealousy.  

The most loathsome, pathetic feeling to embody, and yet her envy-hued complexion might as well have been screaming it out loud for the whole class to see - a perfect outer representation of her inner turmoil.  

For what? 

Glinda didn’t belong to her. She didn’t belong to Fiyero either, but that was beside the point right then. Elphaba felt this unwavering heat unfurl in her body, but a kind that wrapped around her nerves like chains. Suddenly, her relaxing morning didn’t feel so satisfactory anymore. And deep down, she felt foolish for feeling that way in the first place.  

Elphaba slipped into her seat in the back, trying to fold herself small. Meanwhile, down in the front row, Glinda and Fiyero sat side by side, their shoulders nearly welding together. The proximity of the two made Elphaba’s jaw clench. All throughout class, Fiyero was stealing little looks and leaning back with his hand stretched across the back of her chair. The moments she thought belonged to her - the glances, the gentle touches, the warmth - now sat on open display for the whole fucking room to watch. 

Elphaba didn’t realize how violently her feelings had rooted themselves until she glanced down at her notes. A single, dark ink blot bled through the page, a small black lake swallowing her carefully inked letters. The words she’d written were practically engraved, grooves deep enough to pierce through to the next sheet. 

She tried to listen to the lecture, but every time she when to look over at the board, her eyes struck Fiyero and Glinda like lightning first.  

“Alright students,” the professor announced, cutting through her fog, “you will need to choose a partner for this next project. He paused, his eyes gleaming over the tops of his tiny, swirled glasses. “And that means no working alone - yes, even you, Miss Elphaba.” 

A ripple of laughter echoed through the room, but Elphaba? She barely registered it, offering the professor a tight nod and a hollow curve of her lips that only barely qualified as a smile. 

As the professor rambled on about expectations and deadlines, Glinda’s gaze darted to her from the front row. She giggled along with the others at the complimentary jab, her brows leaping up as if to say, ‘Did you hear that? Partners!’ 

But Elphaba couldn’t hold her gaze for more than a second, seeing that Fiyero was leaning over in his chair already, whispering something in Glinda’s ear. Probably making arrangements so that they could be partners for the project. 

Elphaba’s heart lagged in her chest, her throat dry as chalk dust as she accepted the uncertain conclusion that she’d have to pick someone else. She started scanning the room, ticking through Ozian students like a deck of mismatched cards, silently judging their potential contribution ability to any class assignment. But then her eyes landed on a certain girl. 

Brella. 

She had that deep, rich brown skin that glowed like polished mahogany in the sun, contrasted by long, coil-tight curls of dark orange hair that spilled to her shoulders like wild, defiant flames. Her eyes shone a pale, ghostly green, and a scar sliced through one eyebrow, nearly taking it off entirely - a detail that made her look perpetually fierce and a little untamed. Elphaba had noticed her before a time or two, she always had her sleeves rolled up and her shirt untucked, her school tie loose. She was quite the opposite of Glinda with her tomboyish nature, but she’d also always been attentive and reserved. And maybe that’s what Elphaba needed.  

Maybe it wouldn’t have been a good idea to be study buddies with Glinda anyways. Not with the type of distraction that would cause, with everything going on – even if Elphaba wanted nothing more than to do all the work and let Glinda take the credit, like she always had. 

When the bell chimed, Elphaba snatched her books into her arms so fast the papers nearly spilled. She didn’t even see Glinda turning to approach her, her mouth half open to call her name. She just moved on impulse, all the emotions springing in front of her, leading her right into an approach she wasn’t so sure about, but her feet were moving without resistance at that point. Elphaba weaved through clusters of laughing, pairing students. Glinda watched, frozen, her steps faltering. 

“Hey,” she managed, her voice coming out softer than she meant. “Brella, right?” 

Brella glanced up from stuffing a notebook into her bag, those pale green eyes locking onto Elphaba with a flash of surprise, and maybe interest. 

A small, crooked smile curved the cool girl’s lips, her scar twitching slightly.  

“Yeah, hi Elphaba! What’s up?” 

“Would you want to be my partner for the project?” Elphaba asked, her voice shaky as if she was scared of the answer. And maybe she was. Because what if Brella said no and then she’d have no choice but to partner up with the girl she was currently ghost fucking? Or what if Brella said yes and she’d be forced to spend hours away from Glinda, from her warmth, her scent, her gravity? Or what if she didn’t say anything at all and she’d hav- 

“Sure!” Brella said with a perk to her voice, cutting through Elphaba’s uncurated train of thought. She offered the green girl a friendly smile as she slung her satchel over her shoulder, her curls bouncing as she tugged them free from the strap. “When do you want to meet?” 

Elphaba hesitated, her attention a mile away as she realized her probably-better-off predicament. She didn’t necessarily want to bring Brella into their room, but she also didn’t want to be away from Glinda. She almost wanted to keep an eye on her and Fiyero for this project, but she knew she wasn’t in control of that.  

Glinda could be with Fiyero. Or be partners. Be whatever the fuck in all of Oz they wanted to be. But Elphaba would be lying if she admitted those feelings of disappointment and jealousy weren’t getting the best of her now. How can someone want to avoid their best friend - their... crush - while also not losing sight of them? 

She let a pang of annoyance wash through her, just enough time for Brella to open her mouth again like she was about to offer a place and time herself. But before she could say anything, Elphaba blurted, “The courtyard. At the tick of 3pm.” 

“Sounds zibby, Green Gal,” Brella responded coolly, slipping into that effortless Munchkinland slang. “See ya then.” She gave Elphaba one platonic wink to confirm their plans, and then she was on her way, swimming into the crowd, leaving Elphaba standing there with her pulse ricocheting in her throat. 

When Elphaba turned around, she caught a glimpse of Glinda standing among the tide of students, an expression a kaleidoscope of confusion, betrayal, and hopefulness. Just like Elphaba, Glinda had no clue what was actually said. But the result became pretty evident when Elphaba’s eyes darted in Brella’s direction, then slid back to Glinda - it was silent enough to echo between them: 

I chose my partner. And it wasn’t you.  

As Elphaba made her way out of the class with a cracked heart, a partially regretful decision, and a subtle downtrodden expression, Glinda watched her leave. She was statued in place, looking side to side at every student, like a lost puppy who got abandoned by their owner on the highway.  

Little did her sage roommate know, Glinda hadn’t chosen a partner yet.  

Just then, a little curly haired Munchkin boy the same height as her leaned on his heels to invade her peripheral.  

“Uh, hi Glinda!” He put his hand on his chest, “Boq. Would-do you want to be partners?” 

“Oh, hi… um,” Glinda flinched slightly, her eyes darting toward the door just in time to see the last sliver of green skin slipping behind the handle and vanishing. Glinda took a sharp drag with reluctance entering her lungs as she responded. “Yeah, sure... why not!” Glinda forced a peppy tone so as to attempt to put all her attention on the jumpy Munchkin. 

Boq beamed, oblivious, and launched into a bubbling stream of ideas about potential study spots, calling them “study dates” with all the subtlety of a flying house. Glinda nodded and chirped her politely bland “mhm’s” and “uh huh’s” every now and then, her brain was a whirlpool that swallowed every word before it could anchor. 

Glinda’s teeth sank into the inside of her cheek as she watched the empty doorway, replaying the tiny gestures, the thousand silent conversations they always had with a glance. 

Why hadn’t Elphaba waited? Why hadn’t she even asked? They’d always paired up. Every time. She just couldn’t understand it. 

Well... Glinda could think of one reason.  

But still, it was unlike them to not chat about it like they always did after class. Elphaba was already on the move and Glinda couldn’t reach her in time. And now she was paired up with a... stranger? Someone she hardly knew. Did Elphaba really want to branch out that desperately? Just to avoid Glinda? Or to try and make new friends? There was nothing wrong with that, but why was... 

Glinda was getting carried away. It was a school project. That’s it.  

🫧✨🫧✨🫧 

Later that afternoon, Glinda and Boq trickled out of the library together. Boq chattered nonstop, guiding her from shelf to shelf like a toddler showing off his favorite playground. He gestured so big it looked like he might take flight, describing their presentation’s structure in obsessive detail. Her mindless head bobs seemed to be satisfactory enough – the fact that Glinda even accepted his offer to be partners in the first place made him feel like a king.  

Or a prince. 

They made their way down the master staircase in the Council Quarters that led right into the courtyard. Patches of luscious green grass freckled the area with an abundant amount of stone benches and ornate towering pillars. Ozian swirls were carved into every corner and crevice, the architecture divine for any small-minded munchkin. But to Glinda, it was simply standard.  

Her hand slid against the cold stone railing as Boq kept rambling about the three main points of their crafted hypothesis when she saw it. 

Elphaba. 

Sitting with Brella on one of the small stone benches. There was hardly enough room for the both of them, Brella was leaning back a little, her hand draped over the edge of the bench, daringly close to Elphaba’s ass. And Elphaba? She was bent over laughing, gravitating into Brella’s orbit, one hand resting carelessly on the zippy girl’s thigh, flexing with every hearty giggle. 

Glinda nearly missed a step, her heel scraping against the polished stone like sandpaper catching.  

“Woah!” Boq squeaked, “Careful there!” His little voice jumped an octave as he snatched her wrist to steady her. “Are you alright?” 

Fucking no.  

“Yes, thank you Bic,” Glinda falsely cooed.  

“It- it’s Boq! And you know, these steps were actually crafted using grains from Emerald City’s very own manufac-“ 

Glinda couldn’t care less, not even a crumb of shit to give. Her blood boiled as she turned her attention back to Elphaba and Brella, her head rapidly switching between the steps and the two girls. These feelings started to become too much for her to bear. Just when she thought the day couldn’t get worse, Elphaba leaned in close to her project partner’s ear and whispered something. Something that made Brella burst out laughing, leaning into Elphaba’s neck, practically giving her a hickey already. 

What the actual fuck could she possibly be saying to her?  

Glinda’s jaw tightened as she yanked Boq’s arm, steering them sharply toward the outer edge of the courtyard. She dragged him beneath the columns, the heavy shade wrapping around them like a cloak. Anything to block out the sight. Anything to cool the wild flame enveloping her body. 

Boq kept babbling, words bouncing around uselessly in her ears like marbles in a tin. Meanwhile, Glinda’s vision stayed pinned on those two figures across the yard, even as she forced her body further away. 

She knew this reaction was messy. Wrong. But it was unstoppable now, pounding through her veins with a venomous attendance she hated to crave. 

She would swallow those feelings all day, simmer in them until later that night when she’d finally see Elphaba again. 

And even that idea scared her. It was strange, how the morning had felt like a soft dream, yet the afternoon cracked open like a dropped glass. The tension felt pliable, something you could twist between your fingers, something breakable if you pushed too hard. It felt like a distant memory that they weren’t sure they would ever get back. Though at the same time, maybe they were both overreacting, over feeling. 

Maybe. 

The afternoon faded into early evening by the time Glinda returned to their shared dorm room. A buzzing energy danced under her skin at the prospect of seeing Elphaba after what felt like an eternity of self-torment. But she straightened her shoulders, took a deep breath that burned all the way down, and forced a bright resolve into her veins. She made a quick decision – if Elphaba wasn’t going to act weird, neither would she. 

That sounded… familiar (again).  

Glinda strode into their room, only to be stopped dead in her tracks, stumbling the slightest bit at the unexpected guest – Brella was sitting on the floor across from Elphaba in front of the fireplace. They had books opened and notes scattered as Brella sat with one leg propped up, her arm on her knee, leaning back. Elphaba sat cross legged leaning over their notes, hair falling forward as she scribbled something down.  

They were giggling as Glinda made herself known, both looking up at the pink witch when she entered. Brella seemed to be catching her breath from laughing while Glinda’s was slowly deflating from her body. 

A hush settled, thick and heavy. None of them spoke at first, just three pairs of eyes flicking back and forth, locked in a silent stand-off. Brella was the first to break it. She gave a small, friendly huff, nodding once like she’d caught a signal no one else heard. She began to shuffle their scattered papers together, stacking them neatly before sliding them into her satchel.  

“Hi Glinda,” Elphaba said calmly, her tone colored with an unfamiliar coolness, as if Glinda were a distant classmate and not the girl who had been curled into her arms just that morning. “This is Brella… we’re working on our project. She was just-“

“Leaving,” Brella completed Elphaba’s sentence. She gave Elphaba an understanding nod, feeling the tension stir a little between the two roommates. She buckled her satchel, grabbed her blue uniform jacket and stood to face Glinda. 

The Gillikin gal didn’t take her eyes off Brella the whole time, it’s almost as if she had flicked her eyes to Elphaba, the suave girl would have somehow stay for longer.  

“Oh, no need to rush. You can keep experimenting,” Glinda said with a bit of a passive friendly bite. Only then did her eyes snap to her greenified roommate who was still sitting on the floor, observing the entire interaction from below.  

Elphaba’s fingers curled against the carpet, her gaze rooted on Glinda, a thousand words trapped behind her lips. 

“I think we got all we needed for our research so far,” Brella said, her tone unmatchingly kind. She gave Elphaba another quick nod from over her shoulder, a silent ‘good work today’ that somehow felt too intimate. 

“I’ve got a meeting with Chennie after this anyway,” she added, already sliding her arm into her jacket. 

Glinda’s gaze never left her - a pointed, unblinking stare that might as well have been a dagger. 

“See you tomorrow, Brella!” Elphaba said in a tone all too chipper. Glinda felt her heart spike as if Elphaba just insulted her. 

The tomboy paused at the doorway, turning back just enough to catch Glinda’s icy glare. She smiled genuine and clueless - or maybe not - and said, “It was nice to finally meet you, Belinda!” 

Glinda’s eyes widened, stunned - genuinely insulted for the first time all day - and she couldn’t find the words to correct her.  

Then she dipped out, the door clicking shut behind her like the final punctuation mark in a nasty argument neither girl had started out loud. 

A tiny giggle escaped from Elphaba’s lips at the slip-up, light and airy, but it landed like a slap across Glinda’s face. 

Elphaba finally stood, stretching her spine tall to meet Glinda’s stare head-on. But the energy around her felt… unsettlingly cozy, as if she didn’t sense the silent firestorm burning right in front of her. 

“Sorry, Glinda…” Elphaba started softly, voice careful, “I told her your name and I guess she misheard. I figured you wouldn’t mind if I invited her over so we could get ahead on the project.” 

Glinda’s jaw clicked tight, her nails curling into her palms at her sides.  

“Yeah,” Glinda said bluntly.  

Elphaba squinted at her uncharacteristically short response.  

“Yeah… um,” Elphaba stumbled, trying to smooth the jagged air between them. “We got pretty far actually, so I don’t think she’ll need to come over again.” 

She offered it like a peace treaty, but Glinda’s stiff posture and clipped nod said otherwise.  

“Don’t even worry about it, sounds like you and Umbrella are great partners for this project,” Glinda bit out, not even attempting to hide her passive aggressive tone.  

Elphaba’s eyes narrowed instantly, her jaw twitching. “Brella,” she corrected flatly, voice low and steady, like a warning drum.  

“Ohhh right I must have misheard it.” Glinda swatted her hand in the air to dismiss the “confusion” as she walked to her vanity to touch up her untouched makeup. “Such a unique name, you know? Very… weather-themed. I bet Madame Morrible just adores her.” Every word was dripping in harsh sarcasm. 

Elphaba felt more offended herself than on behalf of her new project partner. Glinda was being much too hostile and quippy for comfort. It made Elphaba wonder if the two girls had a previous altercation at some point. Maybe bad blood with a lost friendship.  

“Right…” Elphaba dragged, her heart feeling a slump rather than a jump, “Well, how’s your project going?”  

“It’s going fantastical!” Glinda squeaked, her hands fussing with her hair like she might rip it out. “Bic is really excited to have us present on the fundamental issues caused by the Ozian Constalution-“ 

“Bic?” Elphaba questioned, “You mean Boq, the munchkin boy?” Elphaba asked, her voice raising an octave in exasperated confusion.  

Glinda snapped to Elphaba’s eyes in the mirror of the vanity, her face stone-set. 

“Yeah, Boq. Him.” Glinda’s eyebrows threaded together in genuine confusion at Elphaba’s sudden tone shift. 

“What about Fiyero?” Elphaba asked a little too quickly, slowly matching Glinda’s previously passive inflection. 

“What about Fiyero?” Glinda parroted, still not following Elphaba’s interrogation. 

“I thought you and him were partners…” Elphaba drowned out, suddenly piecing all the parts together, an overwhelming feeling of guilt trickling into her veins. 

“Oh Oz, no!” Glinda almost yelped, “School projects are far beneath him. He said he can opt out of most of them since they ‘interfere with royal duties,’ or some nonsense like that.”  

She almost sounded like herself for a moment, rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of it. But under it all, something darker pooled in her voice.  

Elphaba just stood there, her mind glitching between relief and a new, deeper ache that pulsed in her gut. 

Elphaba’s heart dropped lower than the floor, feeling a burning crawl up her neck, her hands instinctually balling into little fists as she attempted to contain her frustration that was now more so directed at herself than anyone else. She opened her mouth then closed it again, feeling too troubled to explain her own misunderstanding with this whole project partner fiasco.  

It was her fault. All of it. She had jumped to conclusions, and now she was left standing in the wreckage she had built herself.  

“Besides,” Glinda continued, finally spinning in her vanity chair to face Elphaba head-on, “Boq is very intelligent and doesn’t waste time giggling around the topic. He takes this all very seriously.”  

Elphaba felt a twinge of offense for herself now, taking Glinda’s projections as personal attacks on all the times they had worked on projects in the past. She felt a sudden burst to defend herself. 

“Well, Brella and I have made extensive progress on our own topic, so I’m very satisfied.” 

“I’m sure you are, Elphaba.” Glinda’s words came out low and venomous, her eyes narrowing as she stared her down. 

“Okay, what is your problem, Glinda?” Elphaba scoffed.  

“I don’t have a problem! I’m just thinking about all the hard work we’ve done so far. You have your partner, I have mine. If you’ve made progress, that’s great. It seems like Brella really likes your effort,” Glinda shot back, nearly shouting. 

“She’s just trying to craft a quality presentation with me. It’s just a project,” Elphaba retorted. 

“Yeah, just a project,” Glinda echoed sharply.  

That line hit Elphaba like a yellow brick to the skull. As if everything she had been wondering and worrying about had just slapped her in the face. As if that singular word had become her new nickname.  

Was she really just a project to Glinda? Did it all really mean nothing? All the pretending, all the playing, all the… touching. Condensed to an experiment? 

The air between them sizzled with words unspoken. 

Glinda could see the wheels turning in Elphaba’s head, the way her stare zeroed in as her jaw clenched, but she stood her ground in defiance.  

“And speaking of Fiyero, I’m going on a second date with him, so I’ll be seeing him later anyways.” Glinda informed, adding a sprinkle of defensive excitement – a sweetness that stung like salt in a wound. 

“He… asked you already?” Elphaba questioned hesitantly. 

“Oh, he doesn’t know yet,” Glinda perked out. She turned her attention back to the vanity where she added yet another layer of lip gloss to her already drowning lips. She kept her focus on her own face in the mirror, but in the faint reflection behind her, she watched every flicker of Elphaba’s reaction. Every micro-flinch. Every silent, shattered heartbeat.  

She stood there, still as a scarecrow, before straightening her shoulders and composing herself. Her throat bobbed with a challenging swallow as she tried to dust off her next words as best as she could. 

“Well I’m sure he’ll enjoy your company,” Elphaba said so softly it almost disappeared into the walls. Her tone was one of defeat now. She made her way to collect her own notebooks that were still on the floor by the fireplace. “And try not to stomp on his feet this time,” Elphaba added. As much as the line should have been a comic relief, Glinda knew all the heavy context packed into every syllable.  

Elphaba felt like their friendship - no, they - had been stomped on. And it was her own fault, but she didn’t have the energy to explain all of that. Glinda was operating on a short fuse anyways with her snippy comments, if they continued talking now, it would only get worse. 

The green girl worked her ass off to master the art of concealment, caging her emotions – especially anger – to protect everyone around her. So that she wouldn’t scorch everything she loved. When her emotions became clear as mud, her magic would spiral unpredictably, in a way that was too vengeful for Elphaba to reel back. So instead, she had to draw a line at some point to conceal that uncontrollable possibility.  

She never wanted to hurt Glinda, her best friend. Her crush admittedly. But maybe she already had… and it was too far gone to stop it now because Glinda was fighting back. She would rather vanish than risk that. She would rather let Glinda go than hurt her more. 

As Elphaba gathered her studious inventory, she made her way to the door and took one last look at the sun-kissed girl, eyes soft but pained. Without saying another word, she left. 

Glinda so desperately wanted to call out, to ask where Elphaba was going so late at night. The question clawed at her throat, begging to be spoken. But she was still feeling petty as shit. Words had been thrown like darts, feelings left bleeding, context abandoned in the shadows of the room. She knew Elphaba didn’t owe her an explanation for anything. 

Yet underneath all her sharp retorts and stiff posture, a fierce protectiveness still pulsed through her. It always did. Elphaba was her best friend. Her… something. And even if they were fighting, Glinda didn’t stop caring - not for a second. 

So seriously, where could she be going so late at night?  

To be alone and brood under moonlight? To find Brella? To be with anyone that wasn’t her? 

Glinda’s mind spiraled, her heart trying to keep up with every ugly, jealous possibility. She already regretted bringing up Fiyero… even if Elphaba was the one who started that thread. Now, the puzzle pieces began to click together in her mind - a big, messy mosaic of misunderstandings and assumptions, all jagged and painful. 

She let out a shaky breath. After all that, she realized she didn’t really want to be there when Elphaba got back. Not in that state. So, she might as well show up at Fiyero’s door for that impromptu second date. He’d drop anything - not that he was truly working on homework to begin with - and take her out again without a second thought. 

She grabbed her coat and straightened her dress, each movement mechanical, like she was just trying to keep her mind busy enough to stop it from caving in on itself. 

🫧✨🫧✨🫧 

Just as she assumed, Fiyero was pleasantly surprised at Glinda’s unexpected arrival, instantly agreeing to join her for a night of drinks and warm, easy proximity. Although she had been the one to ask him this time, he ended up taking her to a River Row. 

They made their way to the east dock of Shiz, where a tiny vessel sat bobbing on the water, reserved exclusively for the Prince. 

He held Glinda’s hand as he helped her onto the little rowboat. She politely positioned herself on the bench across from a plank of wood that had two clips bracketing each side of the boat for the oars. Fiyero settled opposite her, taking both oars in his hands and began to row out towards the current that rushed past Shiz, fluttering in a lapping rhythm towards Emerald City.  

He was giddy the whole time his laughter echoing off the water, his eyes crinkling with boyish joy. But Glinda’s mind drifted away on every ripple of the river. 

All she could think about was Elphaba. Just her. Only her. 

As breathtaking as the view was - the blurred, electric glow of Emerald City rising behind Fiyero, crowning his swoopy brown hair and impossibly tender smile - she felt a sting of guilt rising in her throat. 

She couldn’t be fully present with him. Or even with herself. Every thought, every flick of moonlight on the water, every soft whoosh of wind whispered Elphaba’s name across her skin. 

Fiyero piped up finally, “The city is quite a truffle,” he commented, “have you ever been?”  

Glinda barely heard his voice among the voluptuous haze of her thoughts. She just stared at the way the water bumped against the wooden vessel, waving in and then gently splashing out, endless ripples coming and coming.  

Once his question finally filtered through, she gave a delayed blink, “No… I’ve always wanted to go. Maybe study under the Wizard someday… but practicing magic is different than just learning about it. Elphaba is actually really great at…” she trailed off, her voice slipping away like a lost feather. 

Fiyero studied her face, catching the faraway glaze in her eyes before her face went completely limp, lacking any type of readable expression. 

“Great at…” Fiyero tried to assist her in her thought process.  

He was so patient.  

Glinda gave the slightest shake of her head, her thoughts running like wild horses - magic, Elphaba, magic again, or maybe it was Elphaba again, or always. She was shuffling through a thousand explanations all at once. She cleared her throat, trying to find her voice, but with no luck.  

Fiyero waited. 

He just watched her, noting how she only stared at the water, her eyes chasing the ripples instead of his gaze. 

“She’s very intelligent.” Fiyero offered as if trying to patch the silence, “A little off-putting but still good.” 

Good? More than good…  

She finally lifted her eyes to meet his attentive stare. 

“She’s just reserved,” Glinda said defensively, almost instinctively.  

The Prince bit the inside of his cheek, studying her face as if he were reading a map to someplace he no longer recognized. He rowed a few more strokes, turning the boat subtly, until Glinda noticed the Emerald City lights beginning to shift behind her, the horizon slowly rearranging itself. 

“What are you-” 

“Glinda,” he interrupted, his voice firmer but still warm, the gentle kind of firmness that felt more like a comfort than a correction. 

“I’ve had the most glorificent time with you tonight. And I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else to share this moment with.” He paused, eyes drifting down to the oar, tracing an invisible line. 

“But…” he took a breath, steadying himself, “I think… I want to be with someone who wants to be with me right now. In this moment.” 

His words were gentle and genuine, no sharp edge to them. The unexpectedly reasonable statement made Glinda wince, her heart sinking just a little. He had a point though. Why waste a romantic River Row on a Gillikin girl who kept glancing over her shoulder at a girl back at Shiz? Someone who wasn’t even there… yet filled every corner of her mind. 

It wasn’t a rejection. It was an understanding. And that, somehow, hurt more. 

She knew he wasn’t being cruel. In fact, it almost felt like he was translating a confession she hadn’t yet found the courage to say herself. Words that had been simmering under her tongue all night. 

She looked at him with those wide, shimmering doe eyes, the city lights painting soft emerald glows across his face. And yet… all she could think about was Elphaba. 

She took a deep breath, leaned forward and placed her hand on his knee. She studied his eyes for a moment, switching back and forth, searching for any signs of resentment or disappointment.  

“I’m sorry, Fiyero. This really is splendiferous, and you are so so good to me.” Her voice was barely above the hush of the water lapping against the boat. She rubbed her thumb up and down on his knee, trying to punctuate the truth behind her words. So much was said in that little touch, so much that didn’t need to be said. It was more than obvious, as Glinda was usually always the one to be rambling all throughout the date.  

“I know,” Fiyero responded, “that’s what makes me so nice.” He winked and gave her a handsome smile, then took her hand in his and pressed a tender kiss to her knuckles. 

Fiyero was perfect, Glinda was perfect, but it just happened to be the wrong person at the right time. And Fiyero felt it too, he knew deep down that Glinda was yearning for someone else. Or at least had her pretty little head occupied more than normal. More than Fiyero could ever imagine. 

He took ahold of the oars again as he puffed his chest out and began rowing back towards Shiz. There were no hard feelings - the air even felt lighter, as if a silent truth had finally been allowed to exhale. But Glinda still felt a little weighed down from her spat with Elphaba. As much as she was still feeling down, she couldn’t help but feel a hot gush push through to her center at the idea of seeing her tonight. She squeezed her legs a little tighter, hoping Fiyero didn’t notice as he focused on rowing.  

Glinda huffed through her nose quietly, thinking how ridiculous it all was – the power Elphaba held over her even when she was mad. Or jealous. Or just feeling things so intensely it confused her.  

But one thing was crystal clear in that moonlit moment: 

She wanted her. 

Glinda wanted Elphaba. 

Glinda’s breathing intensified a little at the thought, her desperation growing paddle by paddle, lapping within her. Would Elphaba want her back? Would she even be back by the time Glinda returned? The thoughts swirled within her like water and oil, impossible to fuse, yet both alive and thrashing in her chest, switching between hopeful and terrified. But maybe that was the most exhilarating part: knowing she was going to do something about it anyway. Stepping right into the unknown, a true act of braverism. 

No more pretending, no more demonstrations. Just her.  

She wanted to offer all of herself to her best friend, and by Oz, if that wasn’t the most thrillifying idea she ever had, she didn’t know what was.  

By the end of the boat ride, Fiyero helped Glinda off the boat, pulled her into one last embrace, slipped in a little Princess joke of course, and let her go back to her dorm. When Glinda left his sightline, she was practically sprinting in her heels. At one point, she crashed against a lamp post, gasping, bending to yank her shoes off like the inconvenience they were, and continued running barefoot across the campus of Shiz. Every blade of grass, every cold stone underfoot added to the voltage in her veins, like she was breaking out of her own skin and racing straight toward freedom. It made her giddy, it made her heart fly as fast as her feet could take her.  

Her heart nearly jumped out of her throat when she made eye contact with their room door, her entire body drumming with an anxious pulse. It felt like that breathless moment before stepping on stage, that razor-sharp line where you can’t tell if the quake inside was terror or sheer wild excitement. But it didn’t matter. All that mattered were the next few steps she had to take to face the truth, praying to all the Wizards in Oz that Elphaba would be there waiting on the other side.  

Her breath rattled in her chest, her hair clinging to her face in sweat-soaked wisps. She felt like she’d sprinted a marathon (which she basically did). She couldn’t even think straight, she never could. Not with Elphaba. Her roommate, her crush, her reason for the aching desire pumping between her legs.  

She lunged forward, white knuckling the door handle so hard her fingers went numb. It swung so hard that it hit the wall and started to bounce back at her when she entered the room. She slammed it behind her, looking around the room like a hungry animal, breathing in the familiar earthy scent, stopping when her eyes pinpointed their target. 

Elphaba. 

She was standing right at the edge of her bed, still dressed in her crisp school uniform despite the late hour, and clutching her chest as if she saw a ghost. She was startled from the banging door, eyes wide in Glinda’s direction, her stare dropping down to the heels in her hands, then back at her again.  

“Shit, Glinda!” Elphaba yelled, still startled by the intrusive entrance that sliced through the previously peaceful night.  

Glinda just stood there, eyes locked on Elphaba like she was trying to make sure she wasn’t a mirage. She felt another molten rush of heat flood downward at the simple sound of her name from Elphaba’s perfect mouth. Those perfect emerald lips. 

Elphaba just held the silence, every muscle tight, her gaze sweeping over Glinda in her wild, feverish state. But she noticed something new in Glinda’s eyes, something sharp and sensual. Her breathing hitched to short shallow breaths. She felt it. That thunderous, coiled tension that made her want to run and stay exactly where she was all at once. 

“How was your date...?” Elphaba asked, already certain of the answer.  

Glinda stared at her, hardly registering the question, all she could see was Elphaba. Her outline glowed in the soft dorm light, every sharp line and delicate curve calling her closer. Her pulse was rushing, her head was reeling, her face was flushing. It was all too much and not enough. It was desire and hunger and everything she didn’t care to hold back any longer.  

“He wasn’t you.” 

Chapter Text

Glinda let her heels crash to the wood floor, the sound ricocheting through the room like a warning shot. Her eyes locked onto Elphaba, and the pull was magnetic, like an unmovable force. Without hesitation, she surged towards her emerald best friend, a predator in her own right. Elphaba’s eyes widened at her advance, already instinctually holding her arms in front of her to catch her charging roommate.  

Glinda went straight for her deep green lips, clinging one hand to the smooth curve of the taller girl’s waist while her other hand got lost in her braids, thumb pressing strongly at her jaw. With a breathless urgency, she pulled Elphaba's lips into her own, her tongue darting between them with an open-mouthed fervor. Glinda’s teeth grazed the plushness of Elphaba’s bottom lip, tugging it softly between them, as if to mark her, tasting the moment for everything it was. 

Elphaba gripped her right back, fingers flexing tight at Glinda’s waist, pulling her close, already drunk on the kiss and the natural smell of Glinda’s lightly sweaty scent. With a roughness that made Glinda’s pulse quicken, she shoved her hips into Elphaba’s, her fingers working turbulently at the buttons of Elphaba’s school jacket, pulling and tearing at it like the garment itself had offended her. As Glinda leaned into her deeper, she felt Elphaba pull back slightly, her hands coming to the front of Glinda’s stomach, as if trying to brace both of them from falling backwards in a tumble of desire.  

The school jacket got caught around Elphaba’s elbows, the sleeves jamming in wrinkles halfway down her arms, leaving her movements restricted. 

“Wait-” Elphaba panted between kisses, but Glinda continued, already lost on her own desperation as she gripped the collar of Elphaba’s jacket that was stuck at the middle of her back. She tugged at it hard with blind frustration, struggling helplessly to get it all the way off her body. She wanted to rip it away - she wanted Elphaba out of her jacket, out of her skirt, out of excuses. 

“Please-” Glinda barked. Her own desire turned primal, fighting to free Elphaba from the barrier of her clothing, craving her skin, her scent, her heat.  

“Elphaba, off- please!” Glinda pleaded, a whimper crawling out her throat that matched the frantic pace of her hands as she yanked at the jacket again with no success. Her chest pressed against Elphaba’s so tightly, she could feel the rapid thrum of Elphaba’s heartbeat matching her own. 

The taller girl took a half-step back, making Glinda stumble forward into her, her hands flying to Elphaba’s shoulders to steady herself.  

“Glinda,” Elphaba let out, her voice raspy. There was a vulnerability in her tone that mirrored Glinda’s own frenzied energy, but the way she kept retreating pulled the air from Glinda’s lungs. She searched the pink witch’s wide eyes, seeing a slight glistening pool at her waterline. Her breath came in uneven gasps, but she held onto Glinda’s sides, her thumbs pushed in right at her ribs below her fluttering chest.  

“Wh-what is this?” Elphaba asked, her voice cracking like a branch underfoot. Glinda swallowed thickly, snipering into Elphaba’s searching olive eyes, a hint of concern and maybe fear mingling together in emotions too tangled. 

What is this?  

A friendship? 

A situationship? 

A relationship? 

A fucking mess. 

Glinda knew Elphaba was referring to her sudden outburst, but the question felt so relevant to every suggestive comment, every bluntly obvious act of passion, every flame of jealousy and every loathsome instance of avoidance. The feelings were so overwhelming in the most... some type of way - she couldn’t even begin to think of words to describe it all.  

In a heated rush of exhaustion, Glinda dropped to her knees - the sharp thud echoing in the room. She slid her hands beneath Elphaba’s jacket that was still bunched halfway down her torso, stubborn like the walls they’d both built. Glinda’s fingers curled around her hips, gripping tightly as she looked up at her, a slow exhale leaving her chest, letting all the yearning expose itself in a moment of total surrender. She looked up, meeting Elphaba’s gaze.  

The older girl stood above her, eyes still wide with something that reflected Glinda’s distress. Yet there was softness, an unspoken desire to understand, a need to reach out through the mess, but she was also at a loss for any words to say. 

Glinda let her forehead fall forward, bumping right into Elphaba’s warm stomach, just above the hem of her skirt. She pressed in hard, her hands tightening relentlessly around her hips, terrified that she might disappear if she ever let go. Elphaba just stayed rooted in the ground, seeing her best friend on her knees - a stance so vulnerable she felt like Glinda was praying to her right there on their dorm floor. Her hands hovered just over Glinda’s shoulders, unsure if she should touch her. She longed to thread her fingers into those golden curls that cascaded down Glinda’s back, to pull her close, but something in the moment statued her, uncertain and undone by the sight of her best friend so broken, so fully at her mercy. 

“Please, my sweet,” Elphaba breathed, the words barely a hush, but the weight of them tangible in the air. It was a plea, one that reversed their roles, one that belonged to Glinda, but she didn’t care. “Can you look at me...?” 

The moment dragged on as Glinda hesitated, her face still buried in Elphaba’s stomach. She could feel Glinda’s fingers trembling around her sides, her grip tense, borderline terrified. After a long beat, Glinda leaned forward, pressing a slow, lingering kiss to Elphaba’s stomach through her neatly tucked blouse. The touch was almost reverent, a fleeting caress that made Elphaba shiver. It lingered, spreading warmth through her body like the gentle glow of candlelight flickering against the darkness of the night. Elphaba’s heart twisted painfully, watching Glinda’s tear-streaked face, her red-rimmed eyes that bore the weight of everything left to be said.  

“What...” Elphaba began, but she didn’t know where to start. There were a thousand questions that could fall from her lips, but they all felt too much all at once. Her brows furrowed as she hunted through Glinda’s face for answers, unsure if she’d get them aloud. 

“Elphie,” Glinda choked out, “I’m so sorry-” she attempted between chopped sobs. She pounded her forehead back into Elphaba’s stomach to muffle her cries. Elphaba’s breath hitched at the impact, her hands flying up instinctively to cradle Glinda’s head, those perfect curls twisting around her fingertips now. Elphaba let her hide for a moment longer, giving her space to unravel. Then, slowly, she lightly tightened her grip around the halo of the younger girl’s hair, pulling her head back ever so slightly to force Glinda to look up at her. The pressure was gentle but firm, a subtle command to meet her eyes. Glinda moaned faintly, the sound wisping away involuntarily as she pushed her chest closer into Elphaba’s thighs, wordlessly begging for more, for anything. 

“Sorry for w-” Elphaba started, but Glinda jumped the gun to get out her next sentence.  

“I don’t want to pretend anymore,” Glinda cried out, her words fractured with emotion. “I never meant to hurt you, to use you...” Glinda’s tears fell with every tight blink, her vision smudging as she looked up at her best friend. “I was so fucking stupid for toying with you-” 

“No!” Elphaba barked.  

The words tore through her, so much so that she tightened her grip on Glinda’s hair, her fingers grabbing the strands possessively. The rawness of it made Glinda’s breath stall, another moan slipping out as the sting of Elphaba’s hold reverberated through her body. 

“Don’t you dare talk about yourself that way.” Elphaba’s tone was harsher than she meant, fueled by the conflict within her, a mixture of frustration and pain. Because deep down, she knew that she had been just as fucking stupid for avoiding feelings that were so oz-damned obvious. And she didn’t have the courage to be straightforward about any of it.  

Elphaba moved her other hand to cradle the side of Glinda’s tear-soaked jaw. She swiped one tear away, smearing it against her cheek, letting it slide into her hairline. Her expression was impossibly kind as she gazed at Glinda, her heart aching at the apology she wasn’t sure she deserved. 

“I only ever wanted you...” Glinda’s voice crumbled like dried flower petals. She tilted her head to kiss Elphaba’s palm, her lips brushing the smoothness of her skin, tasting the salt of her own tears that had spilled and stained Elphaba’s hand. Elphaba’s own eyes began to burn, the rawness of the moment tugging at her, threatening to break her resolve.  

Seeing Glinda so open and so unguarded was both heartbreaking and beautiful. Elphaba’s thumb began to rub gently back and forth on Glinda’s cheek, each stroke compassionate, as if trying to erase every trace of pain, of self-doubt. Her gaze held Glinda’s crystal brown eyes which glistened like dark whiskey in the moonlight. The moment stretched on, suspended in time, as if the entire world held its breath, waiting for something to give.  

Glinda let the storm rage inside her, the chaos of her own feelings crashing down around her like a fragile paper raft caught in a hurricane. What if they let the masks fall away and nothing was left but the reality of it all - the wreckage of wanting more but being terrified of what it would mean. Of what it might cost. 

“I want you...” Glinda claimed a little more boldly then, as if trying to prove to her greenified best friend - and herself - how real the sincerity of that statement was. She needed Elphaba to hear it, to let it seep into her bones, to know that it wasn’t just something fleeting. 

“Then have me,” Elphaba drawled out, her voice cracking but so transparent. The truth hung between them now, thick and undeniable. She wanted it just as much as Glinda did. And those three words just confirmed everything that they had been dancing around the whole time, more than she had ever allowed herself to admit. 

Without breaking eye contact, Elphaba straightened her arms behind her and started to shimmy her school jacket the rest of the way, her movements deliberate. It was a tease, an invitation - like she was shedding every layer of herself that stood in the way of what they both craved. She shifted her hips forward slightly, pressing up against Glinda’s heaving chest, her navel brushing against the chin of the girl kneeling before her. Her eyes fell half-lidded as she made a little show of letting the article of clothing drop to the floor, pooling at her feet, around Glinda’s knees. Her hands resumed their placement on Glinda’s cheeks now, looking at her with a respectfulness that felt almost sacred, like Glinda was something more than a best friend, something irreplaceable. 

Glinda shifted as she started to stand up. But Elphaba put one of her hands on Glinda’s shoulders firmly stopping her in her ascent. Her eyes widened at the unexpected halt, staring attentively at Elphaba.  

“Stay.” Elphaba’s voice was low but direct, the authority in it tempered by the affection that followed. Glinda’s breath faltered, her lips parting, her heart fluttering in her chest as she sank back to her knees, the coolness of the hardwood floor pressing into her trembling legs. 

That single word said everything all at once. Stay down. Stay with me. Stay in this moment where the past and the future blur, where the only thing that matters is the now. 

Glinda surrendered completely to her viridescent gal, her body a portrait of devotion. Glinda stared up at her with those wide doe eyes, so deceivingly innocent. Her breathing deepened with each soft inhale, her breasts pressing against Elphaba’s thighs, their rhythm syncing with the anticipation of the next command. 

Elphaba drank in the sight of her - Glinda on her knees, pliant and obedient, a vision of perfect submission - sending a gush of heated desire to Elphaba’s entrance. She could feel a throbbing intensify, rhythmically drumming through her body, pulsing so sensitively just below where Glinda’s chin was resting.  

Elphaba brought her hand up from Glinda’s shoulder and began slowly tracing it along her jawline, each fingertip drawing a trail of fire across Glinda’s skin. Her thumb leading the way, her fingers dipping to the sensitive flesh of her throat, her pulse quickening at the softness she found there, the rhythm of her own breath faltering as the touch deepened. She dragged them up, swiping over Glinda’s chin, then higher, skimming just below the border of her lower lip. With a featherlight touch, she rubbed a gentle route with the pad of her thumb at the corner of Glinda’s mouth, savoring the tension they built. 

“I know we said it was just pretend at first...” Elphaba whispered. 

Glinda watched her reverently, parting her lips, slowly opening her mouth more and more the closer that Elphaba’s thumb got. 

“But it felt so real to me,” Elphaba confessed, “every single time.”  

Elphaba’s breathing got noticeably deeper as she dragged her thumb along the plumpness of Glinda’s lower lip, pushing with the slightest bit of pressure. Glinda slowly loosened her jaw as she opened her mouth wider, welcoming Elphaba in.  

Elphaba’s thumb slipped inside, sliding past Glinda’s lips, brushing over her teeth. Her fingers flexed around the bottom of her jaw as she pressed down gently on Glinda’s eager tongue. The warmth and the wetness made Elphaba’s breath catch. Glinda leaned her head forward an inch, taking more of Elphaba’s thumb inside her before closing her lips around the digit. Her tongue came up to meet Elphaba, sensually swirling it around the tip and the length of it. Elphaba bit her lip at the intimate sensation, the visual, the... idea.  

“You look so pretty like this...” Elphaba coaxed, her voice heavy with the intensity of the moment, her own restraint trembling at the edges.  

Glinda gave a little enticing suck, her tongue slicking over Elphaba’s thumb with her warm saliva. She couldn’t stop herself from spreading her knees just a little more, subtly rutting down, her body instinctively chasing a friction that wasn’t there. The fabric of her panties began to cling to her mound, the slightest shift of pressure teasing her. 

Elphaba noticed and pressed her thumb further into Glinda’s mouth, the wetness building as she slowly rocked her hand back and forth. Glinda’s tongue swirled obediently, the mild suction sending a ripple of lust through Elphaba, her eyes darkening at the submission she saw in Glinda’s eyes. 

Glinda’s knees began to ache, but she didn’t care, she wanted Elphaba to use her however she wanted. Even if it meant kneeling all night. Worshiping. Serving. 

Elphaba stepped back, lowering herself to Glinda’s eye level, her fingers trailing down to grasp the side of Glinda’s jaw. She removed her thumb from Glinda’s mouth with an intentional slowness, a string of glistening spit following the path of her digit. Her tongue slithered out to lick up the wet trail at the corner of Glinda’s mouth, gliding it over Glinda’s lips, savoring the flowery taste that lingered there. 

Then, she leaned in, pressing a whispering kiss to Glinda’s lips. Glinda moaned into the kiss, her body shivering with longing for more, feeling all the heat she was desperate to receive from her roommate.  

“Help me undress,” Elphaba commanded into Glinda’s mouth.  

Glinda’s eyes widened at the request. She stayed on her knees, feeling a weakness more from the intimate instruction than the pain that was stinging through her legs.  

Elphaba stood tall once more, stepping closer until her body was flush against Glinda’s, subtly rolling her hips forward into her roommate’s face, chasing a needy friction of her own. She began to unbutton her blouse, starting at her collar while Glinda’s hands eagerly moved upward, tugging at the tight fabric of Elphaba’s shirt, releasing it from the confines of her skirt. Glinda licked her lips, her hands fisting into the shirt, brushing over Elphaba’s hands once or twice. 

Elphaba’s eyes softened impossibly, endearment mixed with raw desire as she watched Glinda obey, surrendering herself to the rhythm Elphaba set. There was something intoxicating about the way Glinda’s body responded, entranced by her every demand. As Elphaba’s hands worked down her blouse, Glinda followed her lead, unbuttoning from the bottom, the shirt pulling open more and more with every shared motion, revealing more of Elphaba’s emerald skin. 

Glinda could feel the heat radiate from Elphaba’s stomach, that familiar woodsy scent filling her heightened senses, making her blink slowly and take a deep drag of her through her nose. Once the green girl’s shirt was separated, displaying the valley of her bare torso save for her bra, Glinda leaned in again. Placing her hands on Elphaba’s bare waist, she pressed her fingers in harder, leaning in and kissing her stomach.  

Elphaba groaned, her stomach muscles tensing against Glinda’s lush lips, her breath catching as the connection deepened. She shrugged her blouse off, leaving her in just her bra and her skirt.  

As Glinda kissed the spot just above Elphaba’s hipbone, her hands slid around the back of Elphaba’s skirt, fingers searching for the zipper, the moment heavy with the promise of what was to come. Elphaba’s gaze never wavered, her eyes locked onto Glinda’s every move. 

Glinda’s fingers gripped the zipper that ran along the curve of Elphaba’s ass, pulling it down patiently. She pressed her chest further into Elphaba’s thighs, holding the skirt up with the weight of her body as the zipper slid lower, inch by inch, revealing the warm skin beneath. When the skirt finally loosened, Glinda’s fingers hooked into the waistband, pulling it down with equal care, kissing a trail along the exposed skin as it fell further. A kiss on the dip of Elphaba’s hip, another on the silvery streaks of her stretch marks, one more on her inner thigh, and finally just above her knee. 

Elphaba’s lips quirked upward in the smallest of smiles, the quiet admiration in Glinda’s kisses sent a vibration of warmth through her. Each kiss felt like a loving declaration, a worshipful gesture that made her heart race. When the skirt finally dropped to the floor, Glinda dragged her lips against the length of Elphaba’s naked thigh, her breath warm against the sensitive skin, the heat of her exhales sending a tremor through Elphaba’s body. 

Glinda’s hands slid back up, gliding along the backs of Elphaba’s thighs, bumping over the curve of her ass before landing at the swell. She squeezed gently, holding her in place. The soft fullness of it made Glinda rut down again, so needy. 

As Glinda’s face traveled back to Elphaba’s core, she paused to place a gentle kiss against the edge of Elphaba’s panties, inhaling deeply, smelling her arousal so profoundly. 

"Fuck, Elphie... You smell so good ..." Glinda breathed out, her voice dark with need as she claimed Elphaba’s skin with her words. 

Elphaba’s groan hummed through her chest at the compliment, her fingers threading into Glinda’s hair to keep her there. When Glinda looked lower, she noticed the dark, wet spot at the bottom of her roommate’s panties. The sight made Glinda gasp, and her eyes fluttered closed as she pressed another kiss to the center of Elphaba’s panties, just above her mound. 

Glinda rolled her hips down again, the pulsing ache between her thighs mirroring the desire building in her chest. She felt her own walls tighten around nothing, a yearning need surging within her. 

Glinda gave Elphaba’s ass another squeeze, drawing her hands closer together, her fingers sneaking beneath the boundary of the undergarment, kneading the soft flesh with a deep, sensual touch. As her hands trailed upwards, she took the edge of the fabric with her, making it tighten ever so slightly against Elphaba’s mound. The crease of her folds became more defined beneath it. Glinda’s fingers slid to the sides of Elphaba’s hips, still trapped under the rim, her thumbs pinching the edges, before she began to slide the panties down. But then, two strong hands seized her wrists, pausing her movement. 

Glinda looked up, meeting Elphaba’s intense stare. Elphaba’s grip was firm, unyielding, and she shook her head slowly. 

“Be patient,” Elphaba ordered. 

The tension in Glinda’s chest tightened, and her fingers faltered, loosening around Elphaba’s bottoms but not letting go completely. The heat trickling low in her stomach was becoming more than she could take, the ache in her knees making her more impatient, but she held on, prepared for the release only Elphaba could give. 

When Elphaba finally released her hands, Glinda straightened, standing to face her best friend, eye-to-eye. The connection between them felt electric, a magnetic pull that neither could resist.  

In a sudden surge, Elphaba kissed Glinda deeply, her mouth urgent, her body pressing into Glinda’s so forcefully that Glinda stumbled backward. Elphaba’s arm wrapped around her waist, steadying them both as she guided them backward toward the edge of the bed. When the bump of the mattress hit Glinda’s knees, she almost collapsed completely onto it, but Elphaba stopped her with a swift, possessive hold, ensuring Glinda remained at her mercy. 

Elphaba broke the kiss, her hands moving quickly to grab Glinda’s shoulders with firm control, turning her around effortlessly. She pressed her palm against the center of Glinda’s back, pushing down with a force that made Glinda bend over the mattress, her hair spilling over her shoulders, cascading on either side of her face. Glinda’s breasts pressed deeply into the mattress as her hands braced against the sides, her breath quickening.  

Elphaba closed the space between them, the front of her thighs rubbing against the back of Glinda’s, the friction sending waves of stimulation through both of them. She leaned down, adding more pressure with her hand on Glinda’s back, holding her in place, bent over before her. The fabric of Glinda’s dress bunched against Elphaba’s core, the sensation teasing her most sensitive place, driving her wild. 

Her hands moved to Glinda’s hips, pulling her harder into her, the soft lace of her bra brushing against Glinda’s back as she leaned even closer, pressing into the space just below her shoulder blades. 

Elphaba’s mouth found the back of Glinda’s shoulder, her kiss rough and greedy, her teeth lightly biting before her tongue soothed the spot. She rolled her hips up, pressing firmly against Glinda. The moan that slipped from Glinda’s lips was enough to make Elphaba’s pulse spike, feeling Glinda’s body respond as her submissive best friend ground her ass back harder into her. 

Elphaba’s hand slid back to the center of Glinda’s body, fumbling for the zipper of her dainty pink dress. With a swift, forceful tug, the edges began to give, the cool air hitting Glinda’s back and making her shiver, goosebumps rising in an instant. The zipper stalled just above her posterior, and Elphaba slipped her hands inside the dress, gripping the bare skin of Glinda’s ribs, pulling her closer as she ground into her again. The friction of their bodies, the way Glinda’s body moved in response, made Elphaba’s clit throb against her own soaked panties, the sensation overwhelming her, making her feel an urgent need she couldn't ignore. 

She couldn’t help but roll her mound up the length of Glinda’s ass hard. Each movement was a ravenous pursuit of pleasure, slipping deeper into the drowning sensation of her own slick arousal, trapped beneath the barrier of her underwear. Glinda's breath shuddered, a strained moan escaped her lips as Elphaba’s fingers found purchase against her sides, nails digging in, grazing slowly over the ridges of her ribs. 

Elphaba’s hands found the edges of the parted back of the dress and started tearing away the dress from Glinda’s figure, pulling it off her shoulders. Glinda arched slightly, helping Elphaba free her from the silken prison. The dress tore away as Elphaba dragged it down Glinda’s legs, letting it spill to the ground, leaving Glinda exposed in her undergarments.  

Elphaba’s breath caught at the sight - the faint pink stain on the center of Glinda’s panties that painted her mound with slickness. Her own core gushed wet at the view, gripping Glinda’s hips once again and rutting right against the wet spot. Elphaba’s thrust became more powerful, as if she was ploughing into her roommate, positioning her hips upward so that her own wetness was smearing against Glinda’s. The friction of their own pleasures rubbing against each other made Glinda grip the bedsheets while Elphaba gripped Glinda rougher against her.  

Heavy breathing filled the room, their labored breaths a rhythm of longing, a breathy symphony of shared desire. 

The pressure built, and with each powerful snap of Elphaba’s hips, Glinda’s body was sent forward, her cheek brushing the sheets as her body undulated in rhythm. The friction between them ignited every nerve in Glinda’s body, each thrust sending a spark straight to her clit. She clawed at the sheets, a useless anchor as Elphaba pulled her tighter, her body moving like a force of nature, unrelenting and hungry. 

After a particularly harsh thrust, Elphaba kept her center smashed against Glinda’s ass as she bent down again, her hands trailing up Glinda’s sides. She immediately cupped Glinda’s breasts through the thin barrier of her bra, feeling them swell against her palms, more plump and responsive in this position. Elphaba squeezed generously, her fingers rubbing upward and pushing them together, her touch circling, teasing, sending sparky butterflies through both of them.  

She felt Glinda’s hardened nipples straining against the delicate fabric, getting tighter with every circling motion. 

As Glinda pushed her chest into Elphaba’s touch, a breathless sigh escaped her lips, Elphaba’s mouth found the delicate skin just above the clasp of Glinda’s bra. She pressed a soft kiss there, the warmth of her breath sending shivers through Glinda’s back. 

Then, with a growing craving, Elphaba kissed lower, her lips hovering just over the dainty undergarment. She opened her mouth, her lips capturing the back of Glinda’s bra, teeth clamping the material, pulling it tighter against Glinda’s aching breasts with her mouth. Glinda’s back arched, her chest pushing deeper into Elphaba's hands, grinding them in between the mattress and her chest. 

In a moment of true primal behavior, Elphaba tugged the bra’s band upward, then released it with a sharp flick . The snap against Glinda’s back was a shocking burst of sensation, the sting mixing with the cavernous ache of desire. 

“Fuck,” Glinda breathed, the burn from the snap only amplifying her stimulation. 

“Did that feel good?” Elphaba taunted, her hands groping harder at Glinda’s breasts, pushing them together with intensity. 

 “Yes... pl-please... again-” Glinda begged, her hips rolling back into Elphaba’s soaked front. The slightest lift of her ass made Elphaba’s panties rub upward. Glinda could feel Elphaba’s arousal smudging against her backside, her panties getting progressively more wet. 

Elphaba leaned down once more, her teeth capturing the band of Glinda’s bra, pulling it higher this time, letting it snap against Glinda’s soft skin with a sharp, almost painful force. The sound of it echoed, and a pornographic whimper spilled from Glinda’s lips, her fingers gripping the sheets so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her legs began to tremble, the weight of her desire pushing her deeper into Elphaba’s hands, still holding her chest with possessive strength. 

Just then, as though to claim her fully, Elphaba pulled back as she lifted Glinda’s hips and flipping her onto her back with fluid dominance. Glinda gasped, her chest heaving in surprise, a sharp yelp escaping her lips at the intensity of the motion. 

As Glinda dragged herself backwards on the bed, settling against the pillows, she propped herself up on her elbows. Elphaba’s gaze swept over her whole body, starving and appreciative. She felt as though she was truly seeing Glinda, seeing her laid bare in this most vulnerable yet powerful moment - offering herself completely, to be adored, to be claimed, to be worshipped. 

Elphaba’s eyes traveled over her best friend’s form, snagging at the spot just beneath her bra where the visible red marks of her possessive grip still lingered, stretching vivid and tender. She should’ve felt a pang of guilt, but instead, her heart thundered in her chest, a fresh wave of heat thrumming within her velvet. 

Her breath grew heavy, taking in the erotic sight of her best friend, stretched out and waiting for her. Glinda’s wetness was undeniable, a telltale sign of her need, her pupils dilated and her eyes darkened with want. 

Glinda’s arm extended out, a silent invitation for Elphaba to come closer. She reached for Elphaba like a damsel in distress, as if she needed her to save her - or perhaps just to help clean up the mess she had made. 

Elphaba crawled slowly between Glinda’s legs, as if approaching a sleeping siren, her movements drawn-out. She laced her fingers into Glinda’s outstretched hand, pinning it above her curls, her thumb caringly grazing over Glinda’s knuckle, the touch soft yet assertive. She leaned down, capturing Glinda’s lips once more, the kiss slow and deep, a holy exchange that felt like she could drown in the taste for days. 

Glinda arched her back, pushing up into Elphaba’s body, feeling the heat of her roommate pressing her back into the mattress. Elphaba gave a long, extensive drag of her hips against Glinda’s, the slow grind of their bodies sending shockwaves through them both. The delicious friction between them was intoxicating, every inch of Glinda’s core sliding against Elphaba’s. 

“This-” Glinda purred in between kisses, “this is all I wanted.” 

Elphaba kissed her again, her lips reassuring Glinda that she felt the same. 

“Me too,” Elphaba breathed, “but now I want more.” 

Elphaba’s free hand snaked behind Glinda’s back, her fingers grazing the center of her bra band. She tugged at it, the clips sounding out quiet clanks as her fingers fidgeted with the metal, working to undo it. 

“If you’ll let me...” Elphaba murmured, the shyness in her tone a sharp contrast to her assertive touch. Glinda arched her back again, offering herself up, helping Elphaba’s fingers with an eagerness that matched her own. 

“Yes, please!” Glinda found Elphaba’s lips again, sucking at her lower lip, “ Oz, fucking please.” 

Elphaba smiled against Glinda’s mouth as her fingers twisted the straps of her bra, the clips snapping free with a satisfying sound, the material loosening against Glinda’s flushed chest. 

In one fluid motion, Elphaba hooked her arm around Glinda’s waist, rolling them both over so that Glinda was straddling her stomach, their chests still pressed flush against each other. Elphaba sat up, her hands immediately landing on Glinda’s ass, pulling her closer, letting her rub down against the length of her toned stomach and right into her lap. Elphaba felt a streak of Glinda’s slick drag along her abs, breathing heavy, pushing her front deeper into Glinda’s torso. 

Glinda leaned back slightly, her arms falling limply to her sides as the straps of her bra slipped lower on her shoulders. Elphaba watched, her heart pounding, as Glinda shimmied the straps down to her wrists, discarding the bra with a swift movement, leaving it to join the heap of forgotten clothes. Elphaba’s breath stilled as she took in the sight of Glinda’s exposed breasts, so close to her face. Glinda’s stiff nipples skimmed Elphaba’s collarbone, sending spikes of pleasure through her, stoking the bonfire between them. 

“You’re so pretty, so beautiful...” Elphaba drawled, the words falling from her lips like a gentle caress. 

Glinda giggled against her mouth, her hands sliding around the back of Elphaba’s neck, fingers threading through her dark braids. 

“You already said that,” Glinda teased, her hips rolling deeper into Elphaba’s lap, her smile wicked and full of promise. 

But Elphaba seized Glinda’s rutting hips, stilling them with a firm, purposeful grip. She paused for a moment, her gaze locking with Glinda’s. She studied the playful glint in her eyes, the teasing spark that felt so different from the intense, burning desire she carried inside her. 

“No,” Elphaba’s fingers tightened around Glinda’s hips, “I need you to know that.” 

Glinda’s breath shook, her playful expression faltering for just a beat as she took in the sincerity of Elphaba’s words. 

“You need to know it. Coming from me,” Elphaba added, her lips grazing the tender skin of Glinda’s neck in a kiss so gentle it was more like the memory of a touch than an actual kiss. “You are so fucking gorgeous, Glinda.” 

Glinda’s breath hitched in her throat, and for a fleeting moment, she wondered if she could ever truly comprehend how much those words meant coming from Elphaba - her best friend, the one who had always been there for her. 

“Elphie...” Glinda whispered, her voice soothing and devout. She waited, breathless, as Elphaba dragged her lips slowly along the curve of her pulse point. 

“Elphie,” Glinda repeated as she pulled away just enough to take Elphaba’s face gently in her hands. She looked into her forest-green eyes and let herself get lost in them, finding the depth of the emotion they held. “You don’t need to prove anything to me.” 

Elphaba simply stared at her, her heart pounding in her chest as she listened intently to every word. 

“You have been the best thing I’ve ever experienced,” Glinda continued, her voice trembling with honesty as she brushed her thumbs across Elphaba’s warm, flushed cheeks. “And I should have just experienced you as myself, the first time, instead of pretending.” 

The vulnerability in Glinda’s words made her break eye contact first, and Elphaba’s grip on her hips loosened. Her thumbs began mimicking Glinda’s soft circles against her skin as she shook her head at the confession, her heart aching with a bittersweet delicacy. 

“I didn’t think you were pretending...” Elphaba replied, her voice almost hesitant. “I don’t think you ever were.” 

All the memories flooded back to Elphaba, the echo of her own advice from that first night. 

“If you already knew every line, maybe it wasn’t your story. Sounds like you were just reading someone else’s part.”  

No one could be pretending when it felt that natural, that intense, that real. And maybe Glinda didn’t believe it until that very moment. Or at least, she couldn’t find the courage to admit it the way Elphaba had just done for her. It was almost as if Glinda needed someone else to give her permission to confess feelings that terrified her. But in the end, it had to be Glinda who truly admitted it. No one else could do it for her. 

Though she had been reading the part of a “prince,” Elphaba could feel every inch of Glinda in that role. It wasn’t an act, it couldn’t have been. Not in Elphaba’s eyes.  

Elphaba understood her completely, and she could sense the doubt clouding Glinda’s mind even as she held her close. She knew her best friend so well that every flicker of emotion was as clear to her as words on a page. Leaning in, she pressed a chaste kiss to the valley of skin between Glinda’s breasts. 

“I do,” Elphaba declared, her voice sunken but certain. 

Glinda’s brow furrowed slightly in confusion. 

“What?” she asked vulnerably. 

“I forgive you, I do,” Elphaba replied, pulling her into a tight embrace. She felt Glinda’s heartbeat pounding against her ear, each thrum a testament to the emotions she couldn’t quite voice. Elphaba knew what her best friend wanted to say, even without words. Glinda had buried herself six feet in guilt, pushing the question of forgiveness so far away that she couldn’t even bear to ask it aloud, as if she hadn’t earned the right to seek redemption, as if she wasn’t deserving. But that’s why Elphaba was her soulmate - her other half in mind and spirit. 

“Oh, my Elphie...” Glinda whispered, the words barely audible but filled with everything she couldn’t express. She held Elphaba tightly, as though it were their last night together. But it was only the beginning - the start of something new, something intimidating, something that felt so undeniably right. Sure, it was messy in the beginning, but the two of them were mending their mistakes, working in tandem to create something that could withstand any complication, any doubt. 

“I want you to have all of me,” Glinda proclaimed, each breath shaky but filled with sincerity. “All of me. I- I want… to be yours.” 

Elphaba’s lips curled into the most genuine upside-down smile, a tenderness that only Glinda could inspire. 

“My sweet,” Elphaba began, pulling her down on top of her again, tugging a dangling curl behind her ear, “You’ve always been mine. Just in a different way.” 

Glinda looked at Elphaba, her expression flooding with desire and pure admiration. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then paused, unsure of the weight in her next words. 

“Can it be in this way now?” Glinda asked timidly, her fingers flexing over the muscles of Elphaba’s muscular shoulders.  

A soft giggle escaped Elphaba, the sound light and filled with affection. Her hands slipped down to Glinda’s bubbly behind, pulling her forward, guiding her closer, deeper. She lifted her head, her lips brushing against Glinda’s as she leaned back, taking Glinda with her. 

“I would love nothing more,” Elphaba uttered across her lips. 

Glinda released a tiny laugh, a breathy, huffed exhale of relief - a breath she didn’t even completely know she was holding. It was as if a weight had lifted, her body flooded with an immeasurable sense of release. So much reassurance washed over her at the confirmation, the openness between them. There was a spark in the air, a fresh current of energy. The question had been answered, the decision made, final and certain. 

She sank deeper into Elphaba, her smile radiant, and Elphaba could feel it, smiling right back. 

Elphaba took a deep breath, inhaling all that Glinda was giving her, letting it settle in her chest. Glinda’s hands found her stomach, her fingertips tracing the tightening muscles, feeling the abs harden with each breath Elphaba took. One of Glinda’s hands drifted lower, wedging between their bodies, her fingers curling over Elphaba’s mound, cupping her securely. 

Elphaba moaned into the kiss, her hips lifting to meet the touch. It made her grip Glinda’s ass even tighter, pulling her closer. Lost in the heat of the moment, Elphaba’s hand rose as high as she could stretch it, and in one swift motion, she smacked it down against Glinda’s ass cheek. Elphaba’s pupils dilated as the sound cracked through the room, the sharpness of it heightening the intensity. 

Glinda gasped, a surprised whimper escaping her lips, her eyes flying open at the suddenness of it.  

In an instant, Glinda’s hunger took over, and she went full feral on Elphaba’s lower lip, tugging it between her teeth, pulling down enough to sting a little. Elphaba’s body responded immediately, releasing an insatiable groan into the air. Glinda’s eyes widened, her pupils darkening at the sensual sound.  

“Do that again,” Glinda commanded.  

She dove back in, her tongue forcefully pushing past Glinda’s lips, crashing into hers with an urgency that left them both breathless. Their tongues slid against each other, moving in a frantic rhythm. Elphaba’s groan vibrated directly into Glinda’s mouth, loud and guttural. In response, Elphaba lifted her hand once again, her movements predatory. 

Smack!  

Her hand landed firmly on Glinda’s plump, sensitive ass, the sharp sound of the slap reverberating through the room. Elphaba could feel the heat of her handprint forming on Glinda’s skin, marking her, claiming her. The intensity of the moment made Elphaba snap, and she reached for Glinda’s hand, guiding it between her legs, urging her fingers to find her waistband.  

“Off, now,” Elphaba demanded, mirroring Glinda’s words from earlier, her impatience surfacing now. 

Glinda rolled off the green girl and hastily help her tear her soaked panties down, the fabric catching briefly. The rush of her action and skim of her nails left a path of shallow scratch marks on Elphaba’s jade legs. Glinda paused for a moment, her gaze fixed on the dark curls nestled above Elphaba’s glistening entrance. She stared, mesmerized, watching the subtle twitch of Elphaba’s body, her pussy clenching around nothing. A fresh bead of slickness slid down her slit, dripping slowly onto the sheets beneath her. 

Elphaba noticed the way Glinda’s eyes lingered, and a flush crept up her cheeks. She shifted her hip ever so slightly, her velvet catching the dim pink light, glistening under Glinda’s gaze. 

“Like what you see?” Elphaba whispered, her voice low and taunting.  

Glinda whimpered in response, her body moving instinctively, rutting herself against the sheets beside Elphaba, leaving a faint stain behind. Her hands flew to the waistband of her own panties, attempting to rip them off in a wild rush. But before she could fully discard them, Elphaba shot up, grabbing her wrists with a firm grip, holding her in place. 

Glinda stared at her, the feral glint in her eyes undeniable.  

“Keep them on. Please,” she pleaded. 

Glinda’s breath quivered as she groaned back, falling into Elphaba’s kiss, straddling her once more, slamming down with desperate intensity. She ground her puffy folds against Elphaba, all swollen and aching, the front of her panties slick and smearing against the older girl’s pleasure. The pressure against her nub sent a shock of heat straight through her, making her gasp aloud. 

Elphaba’s grip tightened on Glinda’s hip, nails sinking sharp, leaving crescent-shaped marks on her soft skin. Her other hand slid between them, deft fingers hooking into the edge of Glinda’s panties, pulling them aside. The touch of their skin against skin made them both gasp with overwhelming euphoria as their warmth and wetness mixed, flooding Glinda’s entrance, dripping down onto Elphaba’s folds, coating their fronts entirely. 

Glinda’s hands splayed flat on Elphaba’s chest, her nails grazing over the definition of her body, feeling the rhythm of their heat. Elphaba’s hips lifted to meet her, rubbing her slippery folds against Glinda’s mound, and at that precise angle, a lightning-like sensation sparked through them, powerful and overwhelming.  

“Oh, sweet Oz,” Glinda gasped, “Right there!” 

Elphaba pushed with aggression, guiding Glinda’s hips down with urgent force. Their clits clung together with every thrust. Glinda could feel herself getting more and more wet, the friction drowning quickly. Her gaze dropped, eyes tracing the sight of Elphaba’s fingers holding her panties aside, the contrast of pale skin rubbing against verdant, their shared arousal glistening like fresh dew on their bodies. 

“Look at me, my sweet,” Elphaba murmured, her voice a delightful mandate amid the storm of their movements. 

Glinda’s eyes fluttered up to meet hers, pupils wide and dark with want. Her hips moved faster, slipping and sliding against Elphaba, the rhythm punishing, every thrust igniting a deeper ache. Glinda’s body jolted every time her clit snapped against Elphaba's. Their moans intertwined, rising higher and more breathless, a song of raw, burning need. 

Glinda’s hand shoved beneath Elphaba’s bra, fingers curling around her breast, finding the stone peak of her nipple under her palm. Elphaba gasped, the sudden pressure making her breath catch as her sensitive flesh was gripped tight. 

“Shit, you’re so hard,” Glinda coaxed against her best friend's lips. Elphaba whimpered, her hands pulling Glinda closer, their swollen bodies grinding, each movement sparking with an electric intensity. 

“So fucking wet... I can feel you dripping into me,” Elphaba heaved, her hips rocking rough. 

Glinda’s rhythm became frantic, her movements sloppy as her need took over. 

“Please, El-Elphie… I want- I can’t…” Glinda rasped, gasping for air as her hips jerked uncontrollably. 

“Yes, you can,” Elphaba breathed, thrusting deeper, “Take what I give you… like a good girl,” she ordered. Glinda’s grip on her breast tightened, making Elphaba’s breath stutter in pleasure-pain. Their bodies hummed together in the tension of explicit exhilaration. 

“C-Come with me- ahh... together,” Elphaba pleaded, her legs trembling as her core began to tighten, her body winding up for the release. 

“Elphieeee,” Glinda choked out, her breath broken. “I’m- I'm so close!!” 

Elphaba’s hips stuttered, her body convulsing, every muscle spasming with the overwhelming sensation. Glinda’s body went rigid, a cry of pure ecstasy muffled against Elphaba’s lips as she came undone. Her forehead landed gently against Elphaba’s, their breaths mingling in the aftermath, both trembling from the intensity. 

Glinda’s eyes studied Elphaba’s face as her climax chased closely behind, her lashes fluttering shut, a silent cry painting her features with raw vulnerability. Glinda could’ve come again right there, just from the visual. Elphaba continued rutting herself up, her body twitching with every aftershock, every sensitive nerve, every instant of their clits finding each other once more. 

Glinda leaned down, kissing Elphaba gently, feeling the rapid beat of her chest beneath her hand, her heart a steady drum in the silence that followed. 

She repositioned herself, her forehead finding the crook of Elphaba’s neck, her curls damp against her cheek. The warmth of their shared skin enveloped them as she let her hand rest against Elphaba’s neck, feeling the pulse pumping hard beneath her fingertips. Glinda pressed a kiss to her skin, her lips lingering as she murmured against her. 

“Thank you,” she hummed, her voice barely audible. The words held so much weight - thank you for forgiveness, for being vulnerable, for acceptance. For giving as much as she did, for not running away this time. 

Elphaba’s hand crawled through Glinda’s hair, tender fingers guiding her to meet her gaze. She kissed her slowly, deeply, the kind of kiss that sealed promises, that reassured them both. 

“We got through the hardest part,” Elphaba sighed, her voice soft but sure. Glinda let out a quiet giggle, the sincerity of Elphaba’s words washing over her. “Now we can just be us.” 

“Like this?” Glinda asked, her voice laced with playful curiosity and sincerity. 

“Exactly like this,” Elphaba affirmed. 

Her hands slid down to Glinda’s panties, finally peeling them off her before discarding them carelessly. She leaned up, swiftly pulling off her own bra and tossing it aside, joining the forgotten garments. When she returned to Glinda’s side, she gathered her in her arms, pulling her close, skin to skin. 

Glinda’s head rested on Elphaba’s chest, her leg thrown gently over her waist. Her body twitched slightly, still responsive from the earlier rush, feeling her engorged clit aching as her legs stayed parted. Elphaba could feel the groan escape from her lips, the subtle tremor in her body. 

“Sensitive?” Elphaba asked, her hands sliding to Glinda’s lower back, tracing featherlight shapes over her smooth skin. 

Glinda nodded softly, too spent to find her voice. Instead, she ran her thumb slowly over Elphaba’s cheek, her eyelids fluttering shut, lost in the moment, but still focused on that delicate movement. 

“You did so good for me,” Elphaba murmured. Glinda’s breath caught, and she huffed against Elphaba’s neck, the intimacy of the moment settling deeper in her chest. 

“You’re so warm,” Elphaba whispered, feeling the steady rise and fall of Glinda’s breath beneath her. Glinda inhaled deeply, her thumb slowing in response. 

“Sleep now, my sweet,” Elphaba continued. “You’re safe with me.” The words were a lullaby, coaxing her into the safety of rest. No nightmares, just them, together. The night stretched on, uninterrupted, wrapped in the warmth of their shared peace.