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Elphaba came to a gentle landing on Glinda’s balcony.
Usually, she’d knock, but it was dark outside, so she didn’t have to make herself known immediately.
She spotted Glinda at once, sky-blue robe flitting behind her as she hurried from section to section of her suite. She was preparing for bed, Elphaba assumed, though Elphaba hardly understood what about going to sleep required so much preparation. She’d asked Glinda once, when they were at Shiz, and Glinda prattled on about how getting oneself ready for bed was just as, if not more, important than getting oneself ready for the day.
Elphaba smiled to herself at the memory and moved closer to the door.
Glinda was talking to herself, too, as she marched to and fro from the closet to the sofa to the console table. The Good Witch snatched up a piece of paper from her console table and brought it close to her face, as if she was having difficulty reading.
Elphaba’s secret smile dropped when Glinda’s narrowed eyes slipped from the piece of paper to the balcony doors. The Good Witch crossed her arms, and Elphaba halfway shrugged in a preemptive apology.
Since she’d been caught, she eased the door open and stepped inside.
Glinda was in front of her before she could turn around to slide it shut.
“You—”
“Hi, Glinda,” Elphaba greeted, and Glinda’s chastisement melted. She didn’t smile at Elphaba, but she put her hands on Elphaba’s shoulders and assessed her.
“You’re alright?” Glinda asked, and Elphaba nodded. Hummed.
“I’m alright.”
“Oh, good!” Glinda’s arms wrapped around her, and Elphaba exhaled. “Elphie, I’ve been worried.”
“You always are,” Elphaba said. She tried to be lighthearted, but her words came out a little jumbled and a little like she was on the edge of tears.
“I always am,” Glinda agreed with the solemnness reserved for final goodbyes.
But this wasn’t a goodbye, Elphaba didn’t think. They hadn’t had a goodbye in almost two years. Elphaba slipped her arms around Glinda’s waist.
“Are you hungry?” Glinda asked.
“Glinda? I’m…” Elphaba finally admitted to herself that she sounded like she was on the edge of tears because she was, and her admission was going to be what threw her over the edge. “I’m tired,” she husked, screwing her eyes shut to keep tears from falling so quickly. Glinda hummed and tightened her grip.
“You can rest tonight,” she said. “Tomorrow night, the night after that. Forever, if you wanted to. It’ll be hard but…” Glinda paused, but not for Elphaba to respond. They both knew she wasn’t going to. “I’m tired, too, Elphie. So, so tired.”
Elphaba had no promises to offer.
“I’m sorry,” Elphaba whispered, and Glinda released the hug at last to let out a sharp laugh.
“For what? Melting? For staying away for two years? For—for—” Her hands whipped through the air like she was swatting at an annoying bug.
“For leaving you.”
“Yes, well,” Glinda cleared her throat. “I’m sorry you had to leave me.” Her smile was tight, and she gestured to the sofa. “Sit, please. I assume you’re here on business,” Glinda said. Elphaba went over to the sofa and sat.
She did come back to Oz on business. “Glinda—”
“Before you begin, you should know, I am not sorry I started the campaign, and I will not be stopping, and no, I do not care that you asked me to promise not to clear your name, and I do not feel sorry about not upholding said promise.”
Elphaba blinked.
She had come back to Oz to tell Glinda to stop the campaign to clear her name. It was a foolish endeavor, and from what she heard, the Ozians were pretty resistant to it. She opened her mouth to say just that, but Glinda cut her off again.
“It takes time to change people’s minds! The Ozians trust me, and they love me, and I love you, so I can’t…” Glinda shook her head. “I can’t let them hate you anymore, and I can’t continue to miss you the way that I do, and I can’t leave Oz the way it was. You have to be able to come home. You have to, you have to.”
“I’m here now,” Elphaba said, and Glinda scoffed.
“Now is not forever! I want you home forever! Even if it’s not…” Glinda’s voice quieted. “Even if it’s not with me. I don’t want you out there. I don’t want to keep worrying.”
“What about what I want?” Elphaba asked. Glinda shook her head so quickly that the carefully placed ringlets framing her face trembled. That’s when Elphaba noticed Glinda was not getting ready for bed. She was getting ready to leave. Earrings glittered in her ears, and her face was fully made up except for lipstick. She wore a necklace so sparkly, Elphaba was sure that if she were flying on a sunny day, she’d be able to see it from the air.
It wasn’t a nightgown under her sheer robe, but a slip.
“Don’t you want what I want?” Glinda asked, tearing Elphaba’s attention away from the neckline of her slip.
“What’s that?”
“Elphaba Thropp living in Oz. Living… well, wherever you please in Oz,” Glinda said. Her eyes flickered over to the large clock on the wall, and she sucked in a breath. “I have a dinner and I must finish getting ready for it. You rest and I’ll bring you some food when I get back?” Glinda’s eyes only met Elphaba’s again when Elphaba said,
“That’d be nice.”
“Good. I’ll be back,” she said, but she didn’t budge. “Elphaba… you look… you look a lot better than you did the last time I saw you.”
“I feel a lot better.”
“But still tired?”
“Exhausted.”
“Wait right here,” Glinda said. She shot up off of the sofa and marched to the bedroom door. She swung it open, too wide to hide Elphaba should anyone have been outside, and yelled someone’s name.
“Is everything okay, your goodness?”
“Wonderful. I fear something of extraordinary importance has come up, however, and will not be able to make it to dinner. Please send my profoundest apologies.”
Glinda closed the door and leaned against it. Her head hit it with a dull thud, and she sighed.
“I wasn’t going to leave,” Elphaba offered, and Glinda laughed, a sound that threatened to bring more tears to Elphaba’s eyes.
“But you will leave, won’t you? And how I’ll loathe myself if I gave up a few hours I could’ve spent with you at a boring dinner.” She smiled with the kind of gentleness only someone so weary could possess. “Let me take off my makeup.”
Glinda glided away, up the stairs, and Elphaba sighed when she heard the water running.
Elphaba bent over to take off her boots. She was going to leave eventually, but she’d stay for a night (or perhaps even a few). She’d stay until Glinda changed her mind or until Elphaba remembered she couldn’t sway Glinda no matter how hard she tried.
She stood to unfasten the buttons on her coat. Her fingers were still numb from the cold outside (and the flying), so it took her longer than it should, but once the last button was free, she shrugged it from her shoulders.
She’d have to ask Glinda where to hang it. For the time being, she draped it over the curved couch and wandered over to the console table under the mirror to see what Glinda had been looking at when she spotted Elphaba.
Elphaba spotted the piece of paper immediately—a letter.
From a suitor.
Glinda’s shoes clicked on the stairs. “Elphaba, really, have you eaten? Tell me the truth.”
“You were going on a date,” Elphaba said.
"Dinner," she answered. "Yes. I met someone at a gala in the Vinkus, of all places, and we've been seeing each other." Glinda came to a stop in front of Elphaba, wringing her hands together. “I… I was tired of being alone, and I can’t… hope forever or keep waiting without certainty.”
“What if I asked you to?” she asked. Glinda’s eyebrows drew together, and she twisted her lips to the side. Before the silence in the room had a chance to overtake them, Glinda exhaled a steady breath.
“Please don’t ask me to,” Glinda whispered.
Elphaba averted her eyes from Glinda’s face and let them wander around the room. “I haven’t eaten,” she said.
“I’ll call for some food, then. You go change into something comfortable. The closet is through there.” Glinda pointed, and Elphaba chuckled. She didn’t need any help finding the closet. It seemed to be the main feature of the suite’s lower level and was unmissable.
“Thank you.”
Elphaba wasn’t as surprised as she should’ve been to find the trunk from her tree hideaway in Glinda’s closet propping up a pair of tall white boots. She moved the boots off and knelt before the trunk.
There was no reason to be nervous about opening the trunk. It wasn’t as if anything inside could hurt her more than she’d already been hurt. But she hesitated with her hand over the clasp.
The last time she saw the trunk, she’d had so much hope. She’d imagined that on the day when Glinda fixed everything, she’d haul the trunk into Glinda’s suite and pull out its contents one by one to face halfhearted critique from Glinda.
And Glinda’d make vows, none of the marriage kind, but ones to procure Elphaba an entirely new wardrobe. A wardrobe fit for life not on the run.
But none of that had happened. Nessarose died, she learned that the Gale Force had tortured Fiyero to death, Glinda had wept as the Gale Force dragged her away from Elphaba at the site of Nessa’s death, and a witch hunt had started.
It wasn’t difficult for Elphaba to free herself from the grasp of two measly Gale Force guards, and she’d gone to Kiamo Ko where she accepted that she really had ruined everything and no amount of fighting could fix it. Glinda could fix it, though.
Elphaba believed with everything in her that Glinda could change everything in Oz, but Elphaba couldn’t be around if she was going to be successful.
She’d promised to return to Oz one day, swore on everything she loved—swore in the name of Glinda herself—but she hadn’t said when.
Over the past two years, she’d read extensively about the legislation being passed, and occasionally she’d see statements from the Good Witch.
And everything she saw from Oz only proved her right: it was easier for Glinda to change things because Elphaba wasn’t there saddling her with bad publicity. Glinda was good because Elphaba was wicked.
When Glinda suddenly changed her tune a few months prior and began trying to strip Elphaba of her wicked title, Elphaba was proven even more right. The Ozians didn’t understand what was wrong with their Good Witch. They didn’t know why she was flipping the narrative on its head.
Elphaba knew why, and she didn’t approve. She’d hoped the backlash would make Glinda stop, but she knew better than to expect it would. Glinda never quit anything once she set her mind to it, not until it succeeded, anyway. That kind of determination that made her such a great leader but such a stubborn friend.
“I took everything out of there,” Glinda said, startling Elphaba back into the present moment. “Most of it belonged in the garbage. Here.” Glinda held up a blush pink nightdress and offered a smile. In Glinda’s other hand was Elphaba’s gray knitted cardigan, the one Glinda had called pitiful years prior, and Elphaba smiled back.
“Thank you,” she muttered, pushing herself off of her knees to take the pieces from Glinda. Glinda left the closet without a word so Elphaba could change, and she did. She would’ve liked to shower first, but she was staying for a little while. A few days… maybe a week… and so she could shower in the morning.
Elphaba folded her pants and shirt and emerged from the closet in the least amount of clothing she’d worn in years. But she was warm thanks to the cardigan, the room, and Glinda’s silent offer to sit next to her on the sofa.
“I missed you,” Glinda said, pressing a steaming mug into Elphaba’s hands. “Mulled wine,” she explained. “Food will be up shortly.”
“Thank you,” Elphaba said for what felt like the millionth time. But if she said nothing but “thank you” to Glinda for the rest of her life, it still wouldn’t be enough times. “I missed you, too. A lot.”
“I’m quite missable,” Glinda joked without the slightest change in tone. “What have you been up to?”
“I found a group of Animals who’d gone south out of Oz. I’ve been helping to prepare them for the journey back. Make sure they have food, credentials, know who to talk to… things like that.”
“A noble cause for a dead witch,” Glinda said. Elphaba took a sip of the mulled wine and warmed even more. She put a little distance between herself and Glinda so that she could pull her legs up onto the cushion. “I would tell you what I’ve been up to, but you know, and that’s why you’re here.”
From her new position, Elphaba was looking straight at Glinda, but Glinda was looking decidedly at the second cup of what Elphaba assumed was mulled wine on the coffee table. The crystal cup had flowers etched into it and sat on a coaster that resembled a pocket-sized cloud.
“Galinda,” Elphaba said. Glinda shook her head the slightest bit and then faced Elphaba. “It’s dangerous, and I don’t want anything happening to you.”
“Right.” Glinda pulled her already-closed robe closed even more. “Everything is happening to me, and what good is a life that’s happening to me? I want a life where I make something happen, and where I do what I want to do. Elphaba, I’ll clear your name even if it kills me because what good is my life with you… not safe?”
Elphaba took another sip of her drink, and Glinda sighed, soft hand resting on Elphaba’s exposed knee.
“Elphie, can’t you see? Before the campaign to clear your name, I was just… dying. Each day, closer towards an inevitable death. But now, well, death is still at the end, but now I’m living. And if it kills me, which it won’t, but if it does kill me, at least I’ll die having lived.”
Elphaba put down her drink on a cloud coaster. “I don’t want you to die.”
“I didn’t want you to die. But sometimes, in order to live, we must. Surely you understand. Or, in my case, we must risk it happening sooner than we’d like.” Glinda squeezed her knee. “I’m not going to die, though. I’m very well guarded, and nobody is violent. They just don’t understand. I aim to make them understand.”
“But why?”
“It’s the right thing to do,” Glinda said. “And I want you to come back to Oz.”
Elphaba took Glinda’s hand, and though she tried to make her face stern so Glinda would take her seriously, it remained soft. “I’ve lost so many people I care about. I can’t lose you, too.”
Glinda glanced down at their joined hands and back to Elphaba’s face.
“You don’t have me, Elphaba.” A knock on the door made Glinda break eye contact. “The food!” she gasped in that playful way of hers, reminding Elphaba how young Glinda was.
How young they both were.
“Don’t move,” Glinda instructed. Elphaba felt it prudent to move, as the door had a perfect view of where she sat on the sofa and she didn’t want to be seen. Glinda flung the door open before Elphaba could move, but the only thing on the other side was a cart. She backed it into the suite and closed the door with her hip. “Dinner!” Glinda sang. Elphaba heard the lock click in place, but she did not see Glinda touch the lock.
“How did—”
“It’s pasta! I know how you are, and you prefer your sad vegetable medleys, but I’m afraid this is as vegan as I could do on such short time,” Glinda prattled as she moved the cart closer to where they were sitting. “Isn’t the kitchen so fast?” Glinda giggled. “I must confess, we had this last night. They merely had to warm it up, but it should still be delicious!”
The circular ottoman slid over from the edge of the sofa and came to a halt in front of Elphaba. Again, without Glinda touching a thing.
“You have magic,” Elphaba breathed. Excitement bubbled in her chest, and she would have jumped up and pulled Glinda into a hug, but Glinda had a tray with the steaming bowl of pasta in her hands.
“Things aren’t so easy for me anymore,” she answered with a cheerless smile.
The urge to grab Glinda dissipated, and Elphaba eyed the steam rolling from the bowl as Glinda set it down on the ottoman.
“Congratulations, Glinda,” Elphaba said. “I know how much it means to you.”
“You know what’s funny,” Glinda began, handing Elphaba a fork. “I’d much rather not have it if it meant I could go back to the way things were.” She sat, drew her legs up onto the sofa, and placed the tray between them. Glinda pointed to the bowl with her fork. “Eat up.”
“You’re not the only one who’s sad about everything,” Elphaba said. It’d come out harsher than she intended, more honest than she intended, but Glinda didn’t even wince.
“I know. And that’s the thing. If none of this had happened, we’d both be happy to some extent. Instead, neither of us are happy to any extent. I have magic, but at what cost? And you have left your mark on Oz, changed it for the better, not that anyone will ever know, and at what cost?” She reached over to brush a braid behind Elphaba’s shoulder. “But, Elphaba, I’m glad to see you. I’m so happy that you’re here, and I hope you’re happy to see me, too.”
“The happiest.”
Some luster returned to Glinda’s little smile, and Elphaba could breathe again.
The smell of dinner filled her nostrils, and Elphaba finally turned her attention from Glinda to the bowl of pasta. It was some sort of long pasta—linguine if Elphaba had to guess—coated in a thin white sauce.
Elphaba, if she hadn't been traveling all day, would have asked what the sauce was. But she had been traveling all day, and her stomach growled at the smell of the pasta, so she didn't bother asking anything before diving in.
She twirled the pasta around her fork and brought it to her mouth under Glinda’s watchful eye. Elphaba didn’t know why Glinda was so invested in her liking the pasta. It was lovely and warm, and Elphaba hummed to express as much to Glinda. Glinda’s nose scrunched, seemingly pleased Elphaba enjoyed her first bite, and she brought her own fork to her mouth.
“What do the Animals need?” Glinda asked.
“What do you mean?”
“The ones you’ve been helping get back to Oz. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes, actually,” Elphaba said, covering her mouth with her hand. “If it was easier for them to get adequate transportation—they’re from all over, and getting back can be costly, especially for those with entire families. They don’t want to leave anyone behind.” She went for another bite and noticed Glinda was looking at her peculiarly.
The Good Witch had her elbow on the back of the chair and held her tilted head in her hand.
“What?” Elphaba asked, suddenly self-conscious.
“Nothing.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m being a good listener,” Glinda said. “Easier transportation. Got it. The brick road doesn’t go down that far, nor does the train have tracks deep in Quadling. To expand so suddenly would be too costly and might interrupt the reintegration process, so it’d do more harm in the short run. Maybe I’ll send a slew of carriages once a month? Paid for by the palace. Oh, but I’m sure there are Animals at many borders trying to get in… what would you do?”
“I’m sorry?” Elphaba asked around a mouthful of food. Glinda giggled.
“Don’t be sorry,” she said, as if she didn’t know Elphaba was asking her to repeat herself and not actually apologizing. “I want to know, if you were me, how would you do this? How would you fix the transportation problem?”
“Um…” A noodle unceremoniously fell from her mouth, hit her chin, and fell back into the bowl she hovered over. Elphaba sheepishly lifted her head. “Do you have a napkin?”
Glinda hummed and tipped Elphaba’s chin up. She swiped her thumb over the pasta sauce.
“You’re hungry,” Glinda said, releasing Elphaba. “Eat, and you can share your ideas when you’re finished.”
“I just haven’t eaten today,” Elphaba said, to explain the indecent way she’d been eating. “But I do eat.”
“I never said you didn’t,” Glinda said, licking the sauce from her thumb. Elphaba coughed. “Careful not to choke.” Glinda stabbed her fork into the shared bowl and stopped leaning on her hand. “It’s a white wine sauce,” she explained. She blew on the pasta and then took her second bite of the night (Elphaba had passed two bites long ago). “The question is not whether you eat,” Glinda continued as if she hadn’t changed the subject, “but whether you have proper clothes. The last time… well, you remember that horrendible shirt.”
Elphaba rolled her eyes. She dropped her fork in the bowl, and more sauce splattered on her face.
“It was an undergarment, and I wore it under my garment,” Elphaba countered. She used her palm to wipe some of the splatter on her cheek and craned her neck to see if there were napkins on the cart.
One floated over to her, courtesy of Glinda’s magic, and Elphaba grabbed it from the air and wiped her face.
“You have good control of your magic.”
“Mm, I’ve been practicing.”
“Can you read the Grimmerie?”
“Not unless it wants me to,” Glinda explained, and because Elphaba had met the Grimmerie, she knew exactly what Glinda meant. That old book was finicky and had a magical mind of its own. “It’s demanding, too. Sometimes, it’ll open up to a page on its own and won’t budge until I figure out what it wants. I suppose after years of being in your possession, some of your stubbornness rubbed off on it.”
“Sounds more like your demandingness and inability to fulfill the simple requests asked of you,” Elphaba said. “Like not clearing my name.”
“Sweet Lurline,” Glinda grumbled. “I’m not arguing with you about this today. You can try tomorrow, but I have a feeling I’ll still be set on clearing your name then, too.”
“You’re doing all of this so I can come back to Oz, but what if I don’t want to? Why should I want to come back to a place that doesn’t want me?”
“I want you, Elphaba Thropp!”
Elphaba crossed her arms. “I’ll try again tomorrow.”
“So you won’t sneak off before sunrise, then?”
“Why would I do that?”
Glinda hummed. Shrugged. “You seem like the type to leave me cold and alone in bed.”
Despite herself, Elphaba smirked. “I’m staying,” she declared. For a week, probably. Maybe a week and a half… she’d feel it out.
“You’re staying?” Glinda waved her hand, and the bowl and tray disappeared from the sofa and reappeared on the cart. She lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Elphaba’s neck.
“Yes, my sweet. Until we come to some sort of agreement,” she said. Glinda laughed and kissed her ear.
“That’ll never happen,” Glinda murmured. “Which means you’re staying forever.”
“Not exactly.” Elphaba straightened her legs over the other cushions so Glinda could comfortably be so close. Glinda kissed down the curve of Elphaba’s cheek and over to her lips. “Glinda—”
“Don’t spoil the mood by being a grump,” Glinda said before joining their lips. Elphaba melted into the curve of the sofa, welcoming Glinda’s bodyweight on top of her. “You’ve gotten better at this.”
“Kissing?”
“Mhm. Have you been practicing?”
Elphaba shook her head as Glinda kissed a path down her neck. “Dreaming,” she answered.
“Of me?” Glinda didn’t really want an answer, so Elphaba didn’t give one. Glinda sat back with a giggle and tossed her hair to one side. She shrugged off her sheer robe. “You’re pretty,” she remarked.
“Thank you.”
Glinda laughed through her nose and leaned forward. Her tongue landed on Elphaba’s chin and dragged up to the corner of her mouth, leaving a wet trail behind.
“You missed some with the napkin,” Glinda whispered.
Elphaba’s body lit up. She had considered that upon her return, she might be able to solicit a kiss or two from Glinda, but she imagined Glinda would be so upset that nothing else would happen. However, with the way Glinda was prodding Elphaba’s mouth open with her tongue and rubbing her hands up and down Elphaba’s sides, Elphaba was going to get something she hadn’t dared dream of having again.
“How flexible are you, Miss Elphaba?” Glinda asked. She waited for no response and draped Elphaba’s leg on the back of the sofa before Elphaba’s mind could pull away from the tingly way the kisses made her feel to process Glinda’s question. One hand caressed Elphaba’s face, and the other brushed against the base of Elphaba’s underwear.
“You don’t have to,” Elphaba breathed. Glinda was hurt that it’d taken Elphaba so long to come back to Oz, and she’d been hurt the last (and first) time they had sex thanks to Elphaba being away and ruining her wedding. Elphaba didn’t want it to turn into a pattern—having sex with hurt feelings. “If you don’t want to.”
“You’re terrible at listening. I want to. Let me take advantage of you being here.”
Elphaba nodded, and then Glinda was everywhere.
She palmed Elphaba’s breast with one hand while the other ground against her underwear, and she sucked a spot on Elphaba’s neck.
Elphaba didn’t know which sensation to focus on: her nipples, stiff against the soft fabric of the nightgown, Glinda's teeth and tongue on her neck, or the hand rubbing between her legs.
The decision was made for her when her clit jumped and her walls clenched in desperation at each press of Glinda’s hand.
When her hips started to grind in rhythm with Glinda’s movements, Glinda released her neck.
“Do you want me to—”
“Yes,” Elphaba answered before Glinda could get the question out. Whatever Glinda was going to do, Elphaba wanted her to do it.
Glinda stopped rubbing, and Elphaba squirmed. Glinda's fingers tickled as they danced across her center to hook under the side of her panties. She pulled them to the side and immediately felt around, spreading Elphaba's wetness from her entrance up to her clit.
She exhaled as soon as Glinda's fingers slipped inside of her. If she were capable of being embarrassed about her reactions to Glinda's touch, she would've flushed at the way her walls fluttered around them and at the way she whimpered.
Glinda curled her fingers, and Elphaba's eyes rolled to the back of her head.
"You like that," Glinda observed, starting up a slow pumping. "You liked that last time, too."
"You remember last time?"
"How could I ever forget the worst day of my life?" she asked. Even if the question wasn’t rhetorical, Elphaba couldn't have answered, because Glinda reoccupied her lips with her own.
With each thrust of her hand, Glinda curled her fingers. Elphaba wove her hand into Glinda's thick hair and used the other to cradle her face.
The Good Witch added a third finger, eliciting another pathetic whimper.
Without warning, Glinda's hand stilled. She'd been hovering until then, but gently lowered most of her upper body on top of Elphaba. Elphaba's hands left Glinda's head and settled on the small of her back.
"Gonna fuck you…" Glinda mumbled, and the pumping started up again. This time, Glinda's hips moved in time with her fingers. With each thrust of Glinda's hips, her palm pressed down against Elphaba's clit.
Elphaba pulled her leg off the back of the couch and wrapped it around Glinda's waist. It restricted Glinda's movements some, but Glinda made up for it by using more force.
Elphaba's mouth slackened, which meant she couldn't kiss back anymore, but that didn't seem to stop Glinda from licking into her mouth.
Everything in Elphaba's lower belly began to coil, and she turned her head. Without access to Elphaba’s lips, Glinda immediately moved her attention to a spot behind her ear.
"Galinda," Elphaba breathed.
"Are you gonna come, Elphie?" Glinda nipped at Elphaba's ear lobe, and Elphaba's toes curled. "Go ahead, babygirl," Glinda whispered. "Let me make you come."
Elphaba stiffened, nails digging into the silky slip covering Glinda's back. Her hips pressed upwards, but since Glinda was on top of her, they had nowhere to go.
Trapped under Glinda, Elphaba had nowhere to go, but there was no place she would go—no place she'd rather be.
Her walls tightened around Glinda's fingers, and she pulled Glinda down so there was only the fabric of the slip and nightgown between them. She couldn't hear what Glinda mumbled over the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, and the yelp that escaped her own mouth sounded distant.
It was over all too soon, and Glinda slipped her fingers out and slid them through Elphaba's folds. She pinched Elphaba's twitching clit again, putting firm pressure onto it until Elphaba felt like maybe she would orgasm again.
"Ga-Galinda. Glinda…"
Glinda released her clit. "Sorry," she murmured, and Elphaba didn't know how to say she wasn't asking for Glinda to stop. There was no non-desperate way to ask Glinda to keep touching her, whether or not it ended in an orgasm.
"Glinda…" Elphaba said, but Glinda didn't re-initiate contact. Instead, Glinda lifted her hips and moved her hand from between them. She kissed her jawline and shrugged Elphaba's hands from her shoulders. "Galinda." Elphaba wished she had other words to say, but her mouth had lost the ability to speak anything other than Glinda's name.
Glinda sat up and sat back so she was kneeling between Elphaba's legs, chest rising and falling with each breath she took.
"Yes, Elphie?" Glinda prompted. She looked down and touched a darkened spot on her slip, right where she’d been pressed up against Elphaba. “Oz. Maybe we should clean up.”
Any desire Elphaba had to be touched got overshadowed by a wave of shame.
Elphaba tried to draw her legs together, but Glinda stopped her, placing her hands at the top of Elphaba's thighs to keep them open.
Again, Elphaba wished she could manage to speak another word other than Glinda's name, but she couldn't. When she opened her mouth, the only thing that came out was, "Galinda."
Glinda smiled, guided Elphaba's leg to drape on the back of the sofa again, scooted backwards, and bowed. She slid one hand under Elphaba's thigh, and the other came to rest on her lower stomach.
The slick warmth of Glinda's tongue slipped up and down, dipping into her entrance on every descent, and on every ascent, circling her clit.
Elphaba propped herself up to take off her cardigan because the comfortable warmth from before was now too warm. She tried to do so quickly and without interrupting Glinda.
But nothing would've interrupted Glinda, it seemed. Her eyes were closed, and she'd started absentmindedly rubbing the outside of Elphaba's thigh. Elphaba briefly wondered whether the Good Witch would purr if she rubbed her head. Glinda stretched her legs out so she was lying on her stomach, and kicked her feet in the air, hooking them together at the heels. She hummed, and it was enough like a purr that Elphaba giggled.
Glinda lifted her eyes, and Elphaba could read the question about why she was laughing in them, but Glinda didn’t verbalize the question because she was busy moving her tongue up and down.
Free from the cardigan, Elphaba fell back onto the cushions and let Glinda work her magic.
Elphaba truly had not come back to Oz for sex. She'd come to see Glinda and make her displeasure about the campaign known. She hadn't known if Glinda would be happy to see her after so long, and Elphaba couldn't blame her if she hadn't been.
But Glinda had welcomed Elphaba in, canceled her date, and was now between Elphaba's legs.
Glinda tapped her tongue against Elphaba's clit three times, and then giggled to herself.
Oz, Elphaba loved her.
Elphaba closed her eyes and reveled in each swipe of Glinda's tongue. She would have liked more direct and consistent attention on her clit, but it appeared Glinda was more worried about her own enjoyment than Elphaba's, and Elphaba couldn't fault her for that.
Glinda moved her hand from where it pressed against Elphaba's thigh and nestled it under Elphaba's bottom. She broke contact with Elphaba's center and pressed wet kisses to her inner thighs as she used her hands to angle Elphaba's hips upwards just a bit.
"'s that alright?" Glinda asked with a hum.
"Yeah."
Her tongue slid through once more, and she moved her hand down from where it rested on Elphaba's lower stomach until her thumb landed on Elphaba's clit.
Elphaba lifted her hips a fraction higher when Glinda's thumb started swiping across her clit, hoping to get more pressure.
And then Glinda's tongue slipped inside of her.
It didn't take much of the tongue darting in and out for Elphaba to feel the telltale tingling of her limbs. Her toes and fingertips buzzed with euphoria, and the muscles in her belly and thighs tensed. There was no controlling her actions, and her hips pressed further up, granting Glinda's tongue the opportunity to go even deeper inside of her.
Elphaba dug her fingers into the upholstery of the cushion under her, pressed herself ever further into Glinda, and welcomed her second orgasm with the appropriate amount of desperation required of such situations.
"Don't stop, don't stop," she chanted. "Galinda—yes!"
Glinda continued until Elphaba vibrated with pleasure, and until Elphaba could feel her muscles begging to be released. But, Elphaba still wanted it to last a little longer—to last as long as it could.
The lights in the room flickered, and Glinda laughed against her, thumb still moving and tongue still darting.
Elphaba gasped, and her leg on the back of the couch fell and draped across Glinda's back.
"Oh," Elphaba rasped.
When her body slackened, Glinda slowed to a stop. The flat of her tongue lapped the length of her sex several times before she pulled away completely, kissing both of Elphaba's thighs.
Glinda sat up and licked her lips.
It took a clock tick or two before she could, but Elphaba sat, too, closed her legs, and took in the Good Witch's flushed profile.
“You’re perfect,” Elphaba said. Glinda pressed her hands against her face.
“You’re sweaty,” she breathed. “I’ll get you something fresh to sleep in. Do you want to take a shower?”
“You don’t…” Elphaba eased closer to Glinda. “…what about you?”
“What about me?” Glinda asked.
“Glinda…”
“If you’re not leaving, there’s always the morning.”
Elphaba shrank back. The last time they had sex, Glinda refused reciprocation as well. Maybe Glinda didn’t want Elphaba in that particular way.
“But I—”
“Let me get you a fresh nightgown.”
Before she knew it, Glinda had disappeared into the closet, leaving Elphaba to think of all the reasons she didn’t deserve to have Glinda in any sense of the word. To have Elphaba was one thing, but perhaps letting Elphaba have her was a bridge too far. After all, earlier Glinda had stated that Elphaba didn’t have her.
But when Glinda returned with a fresh nightgown, she kissed the corner of Elphaba’s mouth, so Elphaba tried to tell herself not to overthink it.
Glinda ushered Elphaba to the bathroom upstairs and left her with a towel, a washcloth, and instructions on which soaps were merely for decoration.
Elphaba turned on the water, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, and she didn’t want to let whatever it was fester. Best to clearly state the expectations so Elphaba would know where the boundaries were when they were being intimate.
She opened the bathroom door and made it two steps to the bed before her brain understood the scene before her.
Glinda was silhouetted sitting on the edge of the bed, back arched and leaning back on one hand. Her other hand, Elphaba had to guess, was between her legs.
Anger and bitter rejection washed over Elphaba, and she opened her mouth to say—well, she didn’t know what, but Glinda whimpered.
“Elphaba,” she rasped. So… Glinda did want Elphaba to have her?
Elphaba exhaled the anger, but the rejection still lingered.
“Why won’t you—” Elphaba paused to start again. “I can do that for you,” she said into the darkness. Glinda gasped and hopped off the bed so she could face Elphaba.
“Oh, um… Elphie, you don’t have to.”
"But I…" She fussed with the sleeve of her cardigan. "I want to—um… I'd like to touch you?"
Glinda nodded. Elphaba could barely make out the shy smile on her face, but it was there, which meant Glinda did want reciprocation. She’d just rejected it for some reason.
The silence threatened to become awkward, but Elphaba felt Glinda's magic brush by her and the shower shut off.
Her magic was so precise.
Everything Glinda did was precise.
Glinda gestured to the bed, and Elphaba obliged, crossing to the bed and climbing on top of it.
“Galinda,” Elphaba started, grasping Glinda’s hand.
“Yes?”
“You don’t have to agree. I can go shower while you finish, and—”
“I want you to touch me, I do,” she said. Elphaba waited for the “but” that sounded like it was coming, but Glinda sighed instead.
"Why did you… downstairs, when I offered, you…"
"Just… didn't want to bother you."
Elphaba almost laughed. "Bother me? Why would it be a bother?"
Glinda turned away from her, and she hung her head. "I am a little embarrassified you caught me."
"Don't be embarrassed, and don't feel like it's a bother." Elphaba moved to settle behind Glinda. She brushed Glinda's hair to the side and kissed the nape of her neck. "I love you," she muttered, slipping her arms around Glinda's waist. "And I know what I'm doing this time."
Glinda bristled. "Sleeping with women down there out of Oz?"
"Touching myself," Elphaba answered honestly. "When I remembered how I felt being touched by you. Missing you."
Glinda eased against her, and Elphaba slid one hand from Glinda's waist to between her legs. She pressed on a thigh to get Glinda to open her legs, and once she did, Elphaba set to work.
Life outside of Oz was much less stressful than life on the run inside of Oz. Elphaba had a small home she shared with her old nanny. After melting, finding Dulcibear was one of the first things she did.
Dulcibear had no plans of coming back to Oz, for she had no job after Nessa relieved her of her duties at Colwen Grounds, and she was "much too old to look for one when I have everything I need right here."
She'd been against Elphaba returning to see Glinda, but let it go after Elphaba promised not to do anything drastic or “wicked witchy.”
Elphaba spent her days caring for Dulcibear and helping to organize paths back to Oz. It was a less stressful existence, and that meant she had a lot of time to think about everything and everyone she'd lost.
It made for long, sad nights.
And when she allowed herself to remember Glinda, it was only reasonable that she remembered their last night together.
With Glinda's memory guiding her, occasionally (and probably far more often than she'd like to admit), Elphaba let her fingers wander.
"I like to start slow. Find your jewel," the memory would whisper, and that's what Elphaba would do.
She'd remember to untense, and she'd remember the way Glinda held her hand.
She'd hear Glinda's "I love you" float around her. Elphaba wasn't pathetic enough to say "I love you" back to a memory, so she stayed silent each time she did it. Not a word, certainly not a name, passed through her lips.
But at the moment, she didn't have to remember Glinda because Glinda was in her arms.
She found Glinda's "jewel" and circled it.
"I love you," Elphaba breathed. Glinda grabbed Elphaba’s other hand and clasped it between both of hers, then pressed their joined hands against her chest.
"Love you back," Glinda mumbled, arching slightly. Elphaba took that as a sign to get into a more accessible position before things got too far. She stopped rubbing, and Glinda huffed. "Don't love you back anymore," she grumbled.
Elphaba smiled to herself. Oz, how she'd missed her silly Glinda. And though she wasn't leaving for a week and a half, probably (maybe two weeks), she was already dreading leaving her again.
Despite her initial grumbling, the Good Witch gave no further protest as Elphaba scooted back to lean against the pillows. She pulled Glinda with her.
From the new angle, she'd be able to rub Glinda's clit and finger her at the same time, a move that always maximized Elphaba's pleasure. She wasn't quite confident she could please Glinda with her mouth, as she hadn't been able to practice that, but there was time. She wasn't leaving yet.
It was a bit awkward for her wrist, and she had to make Glinda's torso twist a little bit to the side, but she returned her finger to Glinda's clit and let the ones on her other hand feel around Glinda's entrance.
She swirled the tips of her fingers around the slickness, and Glinda sighed. Elphaba was torn between licking her fingers and slipping them inside of Glinda. Her decision was made easy once she felt Glinda clenching, body asking to be filled.
She pressed them in gently and wiggled them.
It was so desperately warm and soft inside of Glinda. Elphaba let herself acclimate to the new sensation for a clock tick, but it was a clock tick too long for Glinda, who threw her head back onto Elphaba's shoulder.
"Fuck me," Glinda said.
Elphaba had inadvertently stopped rubbing Glinda's clit, a reality she became privy to when Glinda took over.
That was fine. It'd make it easier to focus on fingering her.
"Elphie," Glinda whined. "Fuck me."
Elphaba pulled her fingers out to the tips and then sank them back inside. She did this slowly a few times until she found enough confidence to increase the speed of the thrusts.
Soft noises came from the back of Glinda's throat, and she sighed every now and then. Her free hand found Elphaba's neck.
Elphaba could tell the Good Witch was getting close by the way she lifted her hips to meet each thrust from Elphaba's hand.
“Ooh, Elphie," she squeaked. "Close… So… oh.” All hip rolling ceased, and Elphaba expected to feel Glinda's walls pulsing around her fingers and witness her body tense and tremble in her arms.
None of those things happened.
Elphaba stopped pumping out of confusion, and Glinda ceased rubbing her clit. She turned in Elphaba's arms and pressed a kiss to her lips, as if that was that.
"I love you, Elphie," Glinda said.
Elphaba frowned into the kisses because whatever had just happened was not what was supposed to happen. Rather, nothing had happened and something was supposed to.
And Glinda obviously did not want to talk about it.
"Can we turn on the lights?" Elphaba asked. They came on without so much as a flick of Glinda's wrist. "Galinda?"
"Hm?" Glinda was peppering kisses on Elphaba's neck now.
"Can I touch you again?" The kisses stalled, and Elphaba rubbed her hands down Glinda's back.
"Elphie—"
"Look at me, honey."
"Elphaba—"
"Look at me. Look," Elphaba breathed. "Look at me, please."
Glinda pulled away so she could make eye contact with Elphaba. In the light, Elphaba could see all the worry in the knot of her brow, the desperation in the flush of her cheeks, and the embarrassment in the way she pursed her lips to the side.
"Pretty," Elphaba breathed, and the knot between her eyebrows eased. If Glinda didn't want to talk about it, Elphaba wouldn't make her.
"I love you," Elphaba said. She leaned forward to kiss Glinda's chin. She pulled back and caught Glinda's gaze again. “I want to touch you again, if you’ll let me.”
"If you want to…" Glinda caught her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded.
Elphaba had no idea why one person needed so many pillows, but the sheer number of them would come in handy. She piled three on top of each other next to her thigh without compromising the ones providing back support.
Glinda had moved from between her legs and was looking on with curiosity, but she didn't speak.
When everything was situated, Elphaba drew her legs together and patted the pile of pillows. "Lay here."
Glinda complied, situating her butt on Elphaba's lap.
"Good," Elphaba said once Glinda settled, slip bunched around her hips. She had already spread her legs.
Elphaba again started with the clit. She kept her arm wrapped around Glinda's back and she bent down to kiss her nose.
"Pretty, pretty," Elphaba complimented again, and Glinda smiled.
"Thank you," she said. "I think you're rather pretty, too."
Elphaba hummed, stopped her movement on the clit, and let her fingers slide up and down through Glinda's folds. This would be an easier position to finger her in, but Elphaba wanted to vary the sensations for Glinda before she started, to relax her.
Some of the tension in Glinda's back eased, and her eyes fluttered closed.
Her breath hitched when Elphaba finally slipped her fingers in.
"Do you want to rub your clit?" Elphaba asked. "Pardon me. Your 'jewel?'"
Glinda giggled but shook her head. "No. This is nice."
Elphaba focused on keeping an easy pace—not too fast, not too frantic, not too hard. Glinda moaned.
"Tell me when you're close," Elphaba said. She figured she'd feel it, but she wanted to be certain.
"Elph—"
"Tell me when you're about to come," Elphaba repeated. Glinda put her hands over her face in response.
She began to move her hips in time with Elphaba's pumps, whimpering now and then and letting out praise muffled by her palms.
It was tricky, but Elphaba tried to at least brush against Glinda's clit each time she sank back into her.
The first sign of Glinda's building orgasm was her butt clenching in Elphaba's lap. Elphaba smirked.
Glinda pulled one hand away from her face to grip Elphaba's leg, and she rolled her hips with more fervor.
"Close," Glinda whispered.
"You are?"
"Yeah… yeah, Oz, I'm so close. Elphie! I—" Each word became slightly more shrill, and not out of pleasure. The difference was detectable only to someone who had watched Glinda spiral into a panic before.
“Sweetness,” Elphaba said, steadily moving her fingers in and out. "Look at me."
"Elphie, I'm close," Glinda said.
"My sweet…" Elphaba did not have to repeat her request because Glinda dropped the remaining hand from her face and opened her eyes. Elphaba would've liked to become transfixed on how beautiful the woman was, how pretty her eyes were, but she was on a mission. "Good."
Glinda took a deep breath, and her eyes fluttered closed again.
"You're doing well," Elphaba said. "Baby, please open your eyes."
Glinda wrinkled her nose, but she obeyed, and wide brown eyes blinked up at her desperately.
"I love you, Galinda," Elphaba said. Glinda seized, legs trembling. Her walls fluttered around Elphaba's fingers, and if Elphaba dared look away from Glinda's face, she was sure she'd see her clit pulsing, too.
"Oh, Elphie!" Glinda cried. She lifted off of the pillows and wrapped her arms around Elphaba's torso, pressing her cheek onto Elphaba's chest. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Now that she was sitting, she could better ride Elphaba's fingers.
Since she could no longer see Glinda's face, Elphaba let her gaze wander down, and she marveled at Glinda slipping on and off of her shiny fingers.
Glinda clamped her legs together in the sudden way she did everything when the orgasm was over, effectively trapping Elphaba's hand. She didn't move until her walls had stopped spasming and her clit had stopped jumping.
When the aftershocks had subsided, Glinda released Elphaba's hand and fell back onto the pillows. She blinked up at Elphaba in wonder.
Elphaba still had access, and she made use of it, ghosting her fingers through Glinda's folds, spreading the cum around. Her clit twitched sporadically, but the touching was not working her back up. She was cooling down.
"Thank you for letting me touch you again," Elphaba said, so Glinda wouldn't have to say anything at all to reference her non-orgasm from earlier. "I love you so much."
Glinda breathed a laugh. "I love you so much back, my Elphie."
Elphaba stayed for as long as she could. Two and a half weeks.
She was unable to convince Glinda to stop the campaign to clear her name, and she was unable to convince Glinda not to fake having a head cold just to stay in the room for a week.
“I’m not leaving yet,” Elphaba’d said, and Glinda’d smiled in that pretty way of hers, shrugged, and said,
“I know, but I don’t want to leave you yet.”
Elphaba had decided she’d leave while Glinda was at work, and Glinda had agreed to the plan rather unenthusiastically.
But she still had a few hours before she would have to leave, so they lingered in bed.
“Elphie, maybe you could write,” Glinda said. “We can find a courier, one you trust, until…” And they’d both waited until their last morning together to discuss whether or not Elphaba would come back to Oz (and for how long, and how publicly, and, and, and). But now it was the last morning, and it was finally time. “You’ll be coming back, won’t you?”
Elphaba glanced at the woman playing with her fingers. Of course she’d come back. She’d have to see Glinda again. But… she didn’t know how plausible it was for her to come back frequently. It was a dangerous trip, and the Wicked Witch, though dead, was still frightening. If someone saw her, she could be killed for real this time.
“I will,” Elphaba promised.
“Not two years again, though, right? Do you know how long before…”
“I don’t know,” she said, wishing she could give Glinda a better answer. “Galinda, I know I have no right to ask this but—”
“Elphaba, please don’t.”
If Elphaba could push down her selfishness, she would’ve listened to Glinda’s plea. But her selfishness had merged with her jealousy, creating the kind of desperate audacity that didn’t listen.
So she didn’t listen to Glinda’s plea.
“Wait for me?” Elphaba whispered her request.
“Elphaba…”
“Please? I will come back. I swear,” Elphaba said. And she meant it. She’d be back at some point for Glinda, and though it wasn’t right for her to ask, she didn’t want Glinda to be with anyone else when she returned. “I swear to you,” Elphaba said. “And that should be better than swearing to Lurline or the unnamed god.”
Glinda dropped her hand and tried to sit up in bed, but Elphaba snaked an arm over her torso and kept her from leaving their bubble. “I’ll wait, Miss Elphaba,” Glinda breathed, nuzzling into Elphaba’s kiss of thanks.
“And I’ll come back,” Elphaba promised.
And she would.