Flashback - Under The Cherry Blossom Tree

Fiyero's heart pounded as he headed toward the coffee house in hopes that Elphaba would be there under the cherry blossom tree as planned. Seeing her at a distance, he felt his heart smile.

Elphaba sat on the bench with her hands folded, and stared at the stars.

"Hey!" he said. "Hi."

Elphaba smiled, her heart skipped a beat. "You're here. For a split second I thought you weren't going to show up at the last minute."

Fiyero reached for her. Gently pulling her up, he embraced her, and she held on to him tightly. "I couldn't wait for this day to come. We're actually here. Together," he said.

Elphaba gazed into his eyes. "Yes, we're finally here. Would you like to go inside for a cup of coffee?"

Fiyero shook his head. "I like it out here. It's quiet. There's no one here to listen to our conversation. Shall we sit?" He held her hand.

Elphaba looked down at their fingers laced together. They sat quietly for a couple of minutes until she broke the silence. "So, all of a sudden we're a loss for words."

"Maybe we've said it all in our letters," Fiyero said.

"What was that bright idea you had which you mentioned in your letter?"

"It's more of an invitation."

"An invitation to what?" Elphaba asked.

"It's a big house...way too big for me...and I was wondering, no, that's not right...I was hoping..."

"Yes! I'll move in with you...I mean into the house."

Fiyero looked surprised.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's not what you wanted to ask me?"

Fiyero smiled. "Yes. I just didn't think you'd agree to it so quickly. Can I ask you a question?"

Elphaba nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure I want to move into your house."

"No, not that. Are you sure about me?" He squeezed her hand.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't sure of you."

"We despised each other in the very beginning. I think more you than me."

"Only because you almost ran over me, Yero."

"Yero...I like that." He kissed her hand. "You weren't paying attention. You had your nose buried in your book. And it wasn't my fault. Blame it on my driver, Fae."

"Fae." Elphaba smiled. "Hope you fired him."

Fiyero laughed. "I can't believe you're here." He tucked strands of hair behind her ear. "I like your hair like this...flowing down instead of tied back."

"Thank you."

He gently caressed her face. "I've had many sleepless nights over you. Especially these last few months wondering what will happen after we leave school. I was already missing you. So that's when I started writing. I never imagined we'd have so much to say in those letters."

"I wasn't going to answer at first, but I thought if I didn't, I'd never see or hear from you anymore. We'd go our separate ways after we graduated, separate careers, separate lives. I could feel my heart break each time I saw you, and I didn't understand why."

"It's funny, isn't it? It's the heart that attracts and attaches itself to another heart...like a magnet. We don't get to pick whom to love, it picks for you." Fiyero moved in to kiss her, but stopped when a group of girls walked passed them.

Elphaba held her breath, then softly sighed as he moved away. "By the way, congratulations on your job. Architectural engineer...very impressive. I'm proud of you. I knew you had it in you."

"Thanks. It surprised my mom and dad, my sister, the servants. Okay, it surprised everyone. I didn't want my parents to support me for the rest of my life. I needed to do something for myself, and not have things handed down to me just because of my royal status. And I definitely don't want to be King one day. Not at all. Too much of a responsibility to rule our Kingdom."

"You might change your mind when the time comes." Elphaba held his hand. "I accepted the librarian position. It's not just a librarian, it's head librarian, and I start a week after graduation."

"Head librarian! That's great! Me, too! I start after we graduate! We can get settled into our house before we start our jobs."

"You mean, your house, Yero. I'll pay for room and board."

"No, you're not paying me anything. When I told you I found a place, I meant I bought the house."

"You bought the house?"

"What else would I spend my money on? I'm growing up. And I want to use it wisely...instead of partying, drinking." Fiyero laughed. "It's from my trust fund."

"Still, I can't live there for free. I can't. It wouldn't seem right. How about if I do all the laundry, all the cooking and cleaning."

"Fae, I can hire someone to do all of that. I didn't invite you to move in to be my housekeeper. You've done enough household chores all of your life growing up in Munchkinland. Let someone else do it for us."

"I wouldn't want anyone to do everything for me. How about if I do the cooking? Or I won't move in, and I'll find my own place. I do cook, you know. And a very good one at that. At least let me do dinner. And I can pack leftovers for lunch. That is...if you eat leftovers."

"I'd like that. You cooking for me. And sure I do, I eat leftovers. And you could teach me how to concoct a dish or two. My mom used to cook a lot when I was younger. But with her royal obligations as a Queen, she doesn't have the time anymore."

Elphaba stroked his face. "Just making sure I'm not dreaming."

He kissed her palm. "It's not a dream. I'm actually here."

Her heart tingled. She couldn't believe that the Crown Prince wanted her as much as she wanted him.

"We could start moving your things into the house right away. I've got some of my stuffs in there already."

"We've got two months."

"Just making sure you won't change your mind," Fiyero said.

"I won't," Elphaba said. "I have no intention of changing my mind."

"You'll love it there. There's also a huge back yard. You could plant flowers if you want to. Besides the three bedrooms I mentioned to you in my letter, there's two bathrooms. One is in the master bedroom. The house is fully furnished. My mom helped me with it. But you could add anything you want in there since it'll be your home, too. I'm sure you have a lot of books. Hey! I'll build you a bookcase. I'll make the other room your library."

"Thank you. It's very kind of you. I'd like that very much." Elphaba crinkled her eyebrows. "But didn't you want that extra room to be your study?"

"Yes, I'll still have my study." Fiyero had hoped that they would be sharing the same bedroom. "And you'll have your library."

"Oh, I see. My library will be in my bedroom," she said.

At that moment, he knew that he wanted her to be his wife...to be his princess. She seemed so innocent. Anyone else would have guessed what he'd been hinting at. Three bedrooms. Master bedroom for them, and the other two would be his study, and her library. "You'll have the master bedroom. It's larger than the other two."

"No, it's not right for me to take the larger room. I'll be satisfied with any of the other rooms. Thank you."

"We can talk about it later...which rooms we'll sleep in. I'm just happy that I'll get to come home to you every night."

"It'll be a nice feeling to go home, and knowing that it's not just to an empty house." She shivered in the cool breeze.

"Cold?" Fiyero rubbed her arms for warmth, and gently pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. "Is this better? Warm enough?"

"Yes," she said in a whispered voice. She leaned against his shoulder, relishing his warmth.

He embraced her tenderly, kissing the top of her head. "I have a gift for you. It's just a little something."

She pulled away from him. "For me?"

Fiyero reached into his shirt pocket, pulling out a golden heart shaped locket necklace with rose etchings. "It belonged to my grandmother. A family heirloom. And I want you to have it. She had given it to me a few years ago, and said to give it to that special someone in my life."

Elphaba delicately traced her fingers over the etched roses. "It's very beautiful."

Fiyero opened the empty locket. "We must take a picture of ourselves to put in here." He fastened the necklace around her neck. It hung above her breasts. "My grandfather gave this to my grandmother. And it's perfect on you as it did when she wore this. It was made for royalty."

Elphaba looked down at it, and smiled at him. "Thank you very much." She gently pressed the locket against her chest. "It's close to my heart."

"Fae?"

"Yes, Yero?"

Fiyero cupped his hands on her face. "I love you." Leaning down, he brushed her lips softly with his. The gentle kiss breathed life into her. It seemed to have lasted forever. There was so much passion built up in that single moment.

Elphaba slightly pushed him away, just enough to catch her breath. She stared into his eyes. "I love you back."

Fiyero reached forward, his hands encircled her waist. With his eyes locked on Elphaba's, he drew her close. She snaked her arms around his neck. He wanted her as he'd never craved for anyone like her before. She would be his future bride, his future princess.

Elphaba kissed him, a passionate touch on his lips, then nestled her head under his chin, resting her cheek against his chest.

Fiyero held on to her possessively never wanting to release her from his hold. "I do love you. And I'm sorry that it took me this long to tell you so. I'll hang on to you forever."

"I feel safe in your arms. I love you with each beat of my heart."

He placed his palm over her heart. "I feel it beating."

"And I hear the thumping in yours."

They sat quietly sharing warm embraces rocking back and forth. Elphaba cooed in his arms as Fiyero ran his fingers through her long dark hair. "Beautiful," he said.

Feeling alive for the very first time, she had longed to be held...dreamt of this...to be cherished.

"It's still early," Fiyero said. "I have my car. I"ll give you a tour of our house."

Elphaba raised her head to him. "I'd like that very much."

He lowered his head, and captured her lips in a slow gentle kiss. Her fingers caressed his face.

"Come on," Fiyero whispered. "Let's go home." He stood up, holding out his hand. "Come on."

"Yes, home," Elphaba said, reaching out to him. " With you."

They walked arm in arm down the pathway toward their future to build a life together.

The End

A/N: To the members of Fanfiction, thank you very much for reading, reviewing, following, and favoring this story. Greatly appreciated.

Much love,

Anna