Chapter 19

AN

Thank you Detective Marx, Wickedly Hope Pancake, Elphaba'sGirl, lightningprince, LittleMissDelirious, RosePetal33, vikunwildflowerqueen and myLittleElphie for your reviews.

Detective Marx, pitchfork! *gasp* No wonder Fiyero is not coming out *hides*

Wickedly Hope Pancake, she tried, but she can't (despite not believing in OTP).

Elphaba's Girl, oh no. Nick and Galinda? Just a trivia, the original name for that OC is actually Fabian (and he was supposed to a nice boy when he was young and so Elphaba used his name when she was pretending to be a guy) but then I thought that it makes the whole story more… yucky? And so I use Nick (Nick Chopper, the original name of the Tinman in LFB's book) instead. So imagine, Nick and Galinda equals Nick Chopper and Galinda equals Tinman and Galinda equals musical Boq and Galinda. Eeeeks!

Lightningprince, VinkunWildflowerqueen, Rosepetal33 AN for you at the bottom

LittleMissDelirious, how's this? 3 updates in 8 days. FYI, I didn't know that they didn't show that part in the finale (the person in my house who hogs the TV remote never switch to HBO for some strange reasons). I thought I saw some photos in google. Time for you to watch GoT all season reruns :P Or update Brainful (I would like that). And no, I was not thinking of Av, I was thinking of Pip (though no name was mentioned, so you can imagine that it is Av LOL).

MyLittleElphie, LOL the first thing that came into mind was Elphie approaching Nick. "Hey, I need a temporary boyfriend to fix my broken heart. Can you kiss me?"

For those who like craft work, check out MyLittleElphie's avatar. She made some absolutely adorable Wicked felt minatures! I tried to do the same with a deep orange version of the 'Popular' dress, but, oh well, I suppose my result can be considered as cute if one likes the idea of FrankenGalinda (URL in my profile).

This is a pretty short chapter.

Steam the milk by pouring it into a saucepan. Whisk it slowly over a small flame. As the milk begins to froth, whisk faster. Do not let the milk boil over — boiling will ruin the froth and destroy the flavor.Set it aside once the milk has achieved a frothy consistency

The new term started. Summer was still in the air and the sales of cold drinks soared, especially after a day of studying.

Nessa looked at her new classmates with interest, wondering who would need Elphaba's assistance in their studies. Lurline knew how much Elphaba needed to be distracted. She had learnt her lesson though – no more boys.

Nick was assigned another project and had to run between the two sites. He still came to Green Café often, but the new project was taking up a lot of his time.

Galinda came back with a new wardrobe and gushed non-stop about her new boyfriend. She now spent her day in the café writing love letters on pink, perfumed paper and daydreaming about the next holiday when they could meet again.

Boq and Milla radiated happiness when they are reunited when school started. They decided to take turns to go to each other's home during the holidays so that they did not have to be separated again during the holidays.

"Elphie!" Galinda ran into the café one fine day barefooted, her fingers holding onto her shoes by their straps. She hopped in front of the counter where the green girl was and tried to balance on one leg as she put on her stiletto on the other foot. "Elphie, you won't believe this!"

"What happened? Do you have a persistent suitor who is pursuing you literally?" Elphaba asked, an indulgent smile on her face.

"Sweet Lurline, Elphie. Trust you to say that. It's Fifi. I saw him at the administrative building. He's back."

She ran, leaving the café unmanned.

She ran all the way across the campus to the administrative building, the faces of the students during dismissal time a blur as she sped past them. A few students starred at her but she did not take note. She zig zagged through the crowd, narrowing missing some of them.

She was running so fast she was out of breath by the time the administrative building loomed before her. Her legs almost gave way at the last minute and she leaned against a pillar as she tried to catch her breath.

And then she saw him.

He was walking down the steps of the administrative building, twirling an envelope with his fingers. He wore a simple brown shirt with dark colour pants that had seen better days. The swell on his eye was long gone. His hair was longer, the ends curling around his neck and he looked thinner. The wind blew and he absentmindedly ran his fingers through his hair. She noticed a little scar across his knuckles.

The sight of him brought a pang to her heart. She missed him. And then she remembered.

Oz, what was she doing here? What was she doing running across the campus just to see a boy who was already married, who was no longer hers. What would Sarima say when she realised that someone yearned for her husband every day? The big sister whom she had looked up to when she was worried about her impending marriage to the prince?

She shrank behind the pillar.

Maybe he would not have noticed her if she had kept still. But she did not, and she bumped into a student when she tried to hide from him. She apologised profusely to the student, embarrassed and then he was there when the student moved away, right in front of her with a grin on his face.

"Fae," he called her name, putting so much emotion in that one simple word.

She just stood there. What should she say? Congratulations? Welcome back?

She took a step back.

He noticed her hesitation and lifted his hand so that she could see his fingers. There was no ring.

"I didn't," he simply said.

And the next thing she knew she had somehow crossed that short distance between the two of them and wrapped her arms so tightly around him that she nearly pulled him down. She buried her face onto the crook of his neck and felt his arms wrapped around her. He smelled of sweat and dust and being on the road for so long and he was much thinner. He smelt nothing like the Fiyero she used to remember and then he kissed her and he was Fiyero, her Fiyero again. She kissed him back, hard, and then kissed him again until they were both out of breath. Elphaba leaned against him, and then stepped away, wanting to see his face.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he apologised.

"But how – "

"They locked me up, and then I ran away when they released me on the wedding day," he explained.

"That's irresponsible," the rational part of her replied immediately.

He looked at her in mock surprise.

"I can go back if you want me to," he teased her lightly. She grabbed his hand and shook her head, unable to trust herself to speak. And then she remembered.

"Sarima?" She thought of the child bride with her dream of being a princess.

"I told her. I told her on the way back about us, that I'm in love with you. It took her a while to accept it though, but she understands."

He looked at her, his hand gently touching her face.

"I miss you so much," he told her and he kissed her again. And then he chortled when he remembered something.

"Your training helps, you know," he told her.

"My training?"

"I ran away with nothing but my wedding suit. I worked at cafes and inns along the way to earn money for the travelling expenses. I am now an expert in washing dishes and serving customers," he said proudly.

Elphaba could not help but laughed.

"With my work experience, I demand to be paid for working in Green Café," he joked as he waved the envelope in his hand. "I've just done a check. Madame Morrible actually made my parents paid the full fees for my studies as one of the conditions to enrol me. But I will need to work for my daily expenses."

"You're in luck. My previous helper ran away so I've got an opening in my café," she teased him, unable to stop the smile from appearing on her face. "I need someone to wash the dishes and serve the customers. If you are good enough, I will teach you how to cook. And this job comes with free food and lodging."

She saw the twinkling in his eyes as he smiled at her job offer. "I'll take it," he said as he pulled her close and kissed her deeply.

"Let's start again," he suggested as he hugged her close to him. "And this time, we will not keep anything from each other. No more hidden secrets, no more lies. We'll tell each other everything – our deepest thoughts, our darkest secrets, our greatest wishes. I'll start first. My father has a temper. He will definitely come to Shiz and make things difficult for you once he finds out that I'm back. But we'll go through this together, won't we?"

She nodded furiously, her arms still tight around his neck.

"Don't leave me again, Yero," she whispered her first wish against his skin.

"Is that a marriage proposal, Boss?"

Elphaba blushed.

Epilogue

"Come here," Fiyero pulled her to the high stool next to the counter.

The counter top was bare except for a cup partially filled with thick espresso and a stainless steel jug of milk.

"Watch this, and don't blink," he raised a finger in front of her as if he was going to perform magic.

"And don't touch me," he added with utmost seriousness.

She rolled her eyes, but placed her hands on her lap and waited.

Fiyero cradled the cup slightly tilted with one hand while he lifted the jug with the pointed pout with the other. He pursed his lip in concentration as he slowly tilted the jug to pour a tiny stream of milk into the coffee, starting from high to low as he shook the jug slightly from side to side with the slight movements of his wrist. The milk sank to the bottom of the espresso before coming up to the surface, the milky-white foam blossoming into an almost circular shape on the surface of the beverage. At the last moment, Fiyero shifted his hand and cut the stream of milk through the circle, drawing in the milk at the top of the circle and forming a tail at the bottom before he stopped the flow.

"There," he said as he gently placed the cup onto Elphaba's hands. There it was, an almost perfect heart shape nested within the brown of the espresso.

"Is this why we are always running low on coffee and why you have been walking around like a zombie?" she asked, amused.

Fiyero shrugged. "Someone has to drink all the failed attempts."

She looked at the cup in her hand, at the message in the cup.

"It's beautiful," she told him.

He beamed. "And it tastes great too," he told her.

Elphaba lifted the cup to her lips and took a sip. She could taste it – the espresso, the milk and his love for her.

She placed the cup on the counter, and Fiyero moved in and kissed his wife.

AN

Lightningprince, vinkunwildflowerqueen - not a very original ending, but I hope you still like it :)

Rosepetal33 – yeah, happy ending! :)

Reviews are still very welcome, and loved :)

I still have not really decided which story to work on for my next fic. So my next multi-chap will most probably not appear till year end or maybe even 2015 (I am a very slow writer). It will most probably have some sorcery in it though. Take care in the meantime, and keep the Fiyeraba flame alive =)

~~~ The End ~~~

~~~ Prince Cafe , a Wicked fanfiction ~~~

~~~ drafted : 9th May 2013 – 17th August 2013 ~~~

~~~ published : 23rd September 2013 – 22nd June 2014 ~~~