AN. This was supposed be posted for Christmas. And then for New Year's. Belated Season's Greetings to everyone! I hope 2019 is full of wonderful things for you all. Also, I've been informed I received a few nominations for the 2018 Greg Awards. Thank you very much.

This "cut scene" follows on from the last, as requested by more than a few people!

Missing Scene Between Chapter 37 and Chapter 38: Homecoming

When Elphaba and Fiyero arrived from the Vinkus the next afternoon, Nessarose greeted them as though she hadn't seen them in years, as opposed to a little over a month.

"It was really odd not having you home," she confessed to her sister, when Elphaba laughingly pointed this out.

"It was odd not being home," Elphaba had to agree.

Footsteps approached and Annalie entered the room, beaming. "I thought I heard voices!" she exclaimed brightly.

"Hi, Ima," Elphaba greeted her, hugging her tightly.

"How was your trip? You made good time."

"Yeah, there wasn't much traffic," Fiyero replied.

Annalie smiled at him. "Tom's going to be thrillified you're here," she said.

"Me or Yero?" Elphaba asked.

"Fiyero," Annalie laughed.

Nessarose looked fairly disgruntled. "Remember what Ima and Papa promised him if he improved his English grade?" she asked her sister.

Elphaba's face grew wary. "Yes."

"He got an A."

Elphaba groaned and Fiyero looked at them cluelessly. "What? What was the promise?"

Tomaz ran into the living room then to tell them himself.

"Fiyero! Guess what I got?" he asked eagerly, completely ignoring Elphaba, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Hi, Tom," she said dryly, poking him lightly in the shoulder.

Tomaz didn't blink, just brushed away her hand impatiently. "Hi. Whatever. I got an art farm!"

"Really? That's cool. I used to keep earthworms as a kid," Fiyero said enthusiastically.

Elphaba stared at him blankly. "Why?"

Fiyero shrugged. "I thought they were cool? Why is an ant farm bad?"

"Because we don't want the farm to get broken and have ants all through the house," Nessa explained with a sigh.

"I'm not going to break it," Tomaz insisted. "Yero, come see. They've been building tunnels and everything."

Fiyero looked to Elphaba hopefully, who rolled her eyes.

"Go."

He flashed her a grin and followed Tomaz upstairs to his bedroom, while Elphaba turned to Annalie disgruntledly.

She merely laughed though. "Don't worry, Fabala. Ants only live for a few months and they're easy to care for, apparently. Tom's very interested in animals and science at the moment."

She took Elphaba by the arm and turned her towards the foyer.

"Come on. Come see your birthday present and get settled."

They picked up the luggage which had been left in the foyer and headed upstairs.

"Where's Papa?" Elphaba asked.

"A meeting at City Hall. He'll be back soon," Annalie reassured her.

She ushered Elphaba into her bedroom excitedly. "Happy birthday, sweetheart."

Elphaba put down her suitcases in a corner of the room, a smile toying on her lips as she surveyed the new bed and comforter.

"Thanks, Anna. It looks great."

"I thought having the lavender comforter would make the room seem brighter," Annalie explained. "You like purple, don't you?"

"Purple is fine," Elphaba reassured her. "Really, I love it. Thank you."

Annalie's shoulders eased somewhat and she hugged Elphaba again.

"It's so good to have you home, Fabala."

"It's good to be home," Elphaba replied. "The Vinkus was great, but I missed you all."

Annalie beamed. "We missed you too. Nikita's making your favourite for dinner."

"I just want to unpack a bit," Elphaba said. "We'll be down in a minute… if I can pry Fiyero away from the ant farm."

Annalie chuckled. "Ok."

She made to leave the room, but turned back at the doorway.

"Just so you know," she said slowly, making Elphaba pause in the middle of reaching for a suitcase.

"Your father only found out last night about the sleeping arrangements."

It took a moment before understanding dawned in Elphaba's eyes, along with a faint blush.

"Oh. Ok," she said.

She and Annalie had discussed it when planning the details of the visit in letters, but Elphaba hadn't thought to ask about her father.

"It went much better than I expected," Annalie reassured her.

Elphaba frowned. "Ok," she said again, not sure what exactly that meant.

Annalie chuckled again. "I'll leave you to unpack," she said and left the room.

Elphaba quickly hung up anything she'd packed that was in danger of creasing and cleared a draw for Fiyero's things, before she retreated back up the hall to Tomaz's room, where he and Fiyero were crouched before the ant farm.

"Why ants?" she announced her presence.

"Because they're really cool," Tomaz replied. "Hey, Fabala. Did you know that ants can lift 20 times its own body weight? And they don't have ears- they feel vibrations in the ground through their feet."

"I didn't know that, no," Elphaba shook her head. "But what's the point of keeping them as pets? What do they do?"

"Nothing, really," Tomaz admitted. "They just dig tunnels and stuff. But Ima and Papa won't let me get a dog."

"So, naturally ants are the second choice," Fiyero grinned at her.

"Naturally," Elphaba chuckled.

"He has a lot of books on insects," Fiyero told her in an undertone as they left Tomaz with his ants and returned to Elphaba's bedroom.

Elphaba nodded. "He studied them at school last year and really got into them, I guess. That's when he asked for the ant farm. Papa said he could have one if he improved his English grade. I suppose it could be worse," she said thoughtfully. "I think there was a brief window when he wanted a pet spider. Thank Oz Papa shut that down quickly," she shuddered slightly.

Fiyero bit back a laugh, knowing how much she hated spiders.

"Ants are definitely a better pet than a spider," he agreed, grabbing one of his suitcases to unpack.

Elphaba directed him to the drawer she'd cleared for him and then settled herself on the window seat.

"Just so you know," she said after a moment, borrowing Annalie's phrasing. "Papa only just found out exactly where you're sleeping."

Fiyero caught onto her meaning much quicker than she had.

"So he knows that…"

"Anna didn't specify, but I'm assuming he knows, yes," Elphaba nodded.

Fiyero paused. "Well, your dad likes me, right?"

"Probably a little less now," Elphaba teased him with a small grin.

Fiyero looked at her warily. "Funny, Fae."

She shrugged. "He was going to find out sometime. It's like when I got my first period… it's a natural part of life, but there's just some conversations you don't want to have with your father, as a daughter."

She had been very grateful for Annalie when that particular day had come.

"I'll take your word on that."

"Would you want to talk to your mom about sex?" she asked Fiyero pointedly, who grimaced.

"Not particularly, no. Not that it's a conversation I want to have with my dad, either."

When Frex returned home from his meeting, they were gathered in the living room, while Tomaz recited more "Ant Fun Facts" to his sisters, who were "not displaying the appropriate amount of enthusiasm" (Annalie's words, said laughingly) for his ant farm.

Fiyero was slightly wary as he watched Elphaba greet her father, wondering what to expect. Annalie had treated him no differently, but he knew very well by now how protective Frex was of his daughters.

"Hello, Fiyero," Frex greeted him, offering a hand to shake.

Fiyero thought he detected a slight stiffness in his tone but couldn't be certain.

"Hello, sir," Fiyero replied politely as he shook his hand.

"You're just in time for dinner," Annalie told her husband. "Nikita's about to serve."

"Good," Frex replied, a little tiredly. "Shall we move into the dining room, then?"

Dinner in the Thropp household was never particularly boisterous, but compared to Fiyero's own family dinners, it was especially loud. Everyone's excitement at having Elphaba home was palpable, as everyone recounted their summers to her and asked her a thousand questions about her time in the Vinkus.

Fortunately, Fiyero was able to answer a lot of those, and give Elphaba a chance to actually eat her meal. By the end of dessert, Elphaba was actually feeling a little overwhelmed from being the centre of her family's focus.

After dinner, when Frex retreated to his study and Annalie sat to write to her parents, Tomaz suggested to his sisters and Fiyero that they play a board game. Fiyero and Nessa agreed, but Elphaba declined in favour of watching. The long carriage journey was starting to catch up with her, and she didn't think she had the capacity to focus on a game right now. She settled herself on the couch next to Fiyero as the others set up the game around the coffee table.

"I'm going to bed," she announced eventually, uncurling herself from the couch.

Tomaz glanced at the clock. "It's only nine-thirty."

"I'm exhausted," Elphaba confessed. "It was a long trip."

"I've almost won," Fiyero reassured her. "I'll be up soon."

"You have not," Tomaz immediately protested.

Nessa intervened swiftly, handing Tomaz the dice.

"The game's not over yet. Tom, have your turn."

Elphaba shook her head faintly as she headed for the doorway. "Goodnight."

"Night, Fabala," Nessa and Tomaz chorused.

Elphaba was almost asleep by the time Fiyero entered the room once the game had finished (he had won in the end, he assured her. A sleepy murmur was all the congratulotions he got from his girlfriend). She faintly registered the dip of the mattress beside her as he climbed into bed, and that was all she knew until morning.

Elphaba's priorities for the remainder of their summer vacation was to ensure she had plenty of time with her family and friends, namely Ottah and his family. Although she had loved seeing the Vinkus, and meeting more of Fiyero's friends and extended family, she had missed home. And, like her parents, she was very conscious of the fact that she only had one more year at Shiz. She and Fiyero had yet to make plans for post-graduation, but she knew at some point, Munchkinland would no longer be her home. She didn't want Hallam and Arvid to forget her, as silly as that might sound. She already only got to see them in the brief windows she was home from school, and they grew and changed so quickly.

It was the night of their second full day in Munchkinland. Elphaba sat cross-legged on the bed in her nightgown, braiding her hair for sleep as Fiyero got ready for bed. Galinda would arrive the next day, and while Elphaba was eager to see her (second best) friend, Fiyero had other ideas.

They'd been at Ottah and Melia's for dinner, and a fishing trip had been proposed. Elphaba had objected to it being 'boys only' and Fiyero's first thought was "what would it take Galinda Upland to go fishing?"

"Galinda's not coming to visit so you can torture her," Elphaba reminded him now, smiling faintly.

Fiyero snorted. "No, she's coming to visit because I'm visiting, and you, Nessa and Boq already live here and she doesn't want to be left out."

Elphaba shrugged. "Still."

He grinned at her. "Come on, Fae. You're saying you wouldn't pay good money to see Galinda bait a worm on a hook?"

Elphaba bit the inside of her cheek to stop her smile from spreading.

"I'd pay good money to see Galinda catch a bigger fish than you," she retorted.

Fiyero scoffed. "I can't see Galinda even touching a fish."

Elphaba shrugged, tying off her braid. "I think Glin could surprise you."

He looked at her sceptically.

"Alright," he said after a pause. "Let's make a bet. We'll suggest the fishing trip to Galinda when she gets here. If she goes, baits a hook and touches a fish, you win."

Elphaba raised her eyebrows slightly in interest. "And what exactly will I win?"

Fiyero laughed. "First date of the school year," he proposed. "Winner decides, loser pays."

Elphaba considered it and nodded. "Deal."

Fiyero leaned down to kiss her to seal the deal, slipping his hands into her hair, therefore ruining her braid. But instead of deepening the kiss as she expected, he pulled away and resumed getting ready for bed.

Elphaba's eyebrows rose again, higher this time. "Um…"

"Your parents are right down the hall," Fiyero gestured, tossing his dirty clothes in her hamper and collapsing onto the bed.

"My parents are downstairs, actually," Elphaba replied.

Fiyero rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean, Fae."

Elphaba frowned. "My parents sleep down the hall… so you can't kiss me?"

"I can kiss you," Fiyero clarified. "But we can't have sex."

Elphaba stared at him blankly. "Is that why you're sleeping practically on the edge of the mattress since we've been here?"

Fiyero shrugged, a little sheepishly. "Your parents are right down the hall," he repeated. "So is your brother."

Elphaba cocked her head slightly. "It didn't bother you in the Vinkus," she pointed out.

"My parents were several halls away, not a few walls!" Fiyero defended himself, gesturing again.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "So, you're just not going to touch me while we're here?"

Fiyero reached over and poked her gently on the arm, making her smile.

"Cute, Tiggular," she said dryly.

She crawled over to her side of the bed and slid under the sheets.

"You're being ridiculous, you know," she said through a stifled yawn, nestling her head on the pillow as she rolled over to face him.

"I know," Fiyero admitted.

He turned off the lamp and the room was plunged into darkness. He reached out through the dark for Elphaba's hand and loosely linked their fingers together.

"Night, Fae. Love you."

She made a quiet sound that might have been either a snort or a giggle.

"Ridiculous," she muttered and rolled over onto her other side, but kept their fingers entwined.

Perhaps not entirely consciously, Fiyero had been avoiding being alone with Elphaba's father since they'd arrived. It had worked well for the first two days.

But on the third day, Galinda arrived while Annalie was helping Nessarose with her daily exercises on her legs, and after greeting them all brightly, Galinda quickly whisked Elphaba away to the guest room while she unpacked. Which just happened to leave Fiyero alone with Frex, and they both knew he had nowhere else to go.

Frex seated himself in his favourite armchair with a small sigh. Fiyero suppressed the urge to do the same as he silently perched on the edge of the couch.

"Are you looking forward to going back to school?" Frex asked him finally.

"I am actually," Fiyero admitted. "It should be a good year."

Frex's gaze flickered towards the doorway for a moment. "And after graduation?"

Fiyero stared at him blankly. "Sir?"

"Do you have any plans yet?" Frex clarified.

Fiyero gave a half- nod, half-shrug kind of gesture. "Sort of. A year of military service- Vinkun royal tradition," he explained. "And my dad's talking about setting up some internships in different sectors, to help me understand what's involved."

Actually, tradition only required six months of military service, but Fiyero had decided to complete a year.

"I want to prove to the people that I take this seriously," he'd explained to Elphaba when they had discussed it during their time in the Vinkus. "That I'm not just doing it because I have to."

Elphaba couldn't deny she'd been extremely proud of him for that reasoning.

Frex merely nodded in response to Fiyero's answer, looking thoughtful.

"I imagine you wouldn't want to take on any extra responsibilities during that time," he mused.

It took Fiyero a moment to realise what he was getting at.

"Elphaba and I are in no rush to marry, Governor," he reassured him. "We both agree on that."

Frex's shoulders eased slightly, but Fiyero still noticed.

The doorbell rang, but Frex made no move to answer it. As the distant sound of Nikita's footsteps crossing the foyer filled the silence in the room, Fiyero felt the urge to speak again.

"And besides," he added quietly. "I promise that when the time comes, you'll know about it."

Frex looked at him once more. Before he could say anything, Nikita entered the room.

"Excuse me, Governor, but the mayor is here to see you."

"Thank you, Nikita," Frex said, rising to his feet.

As she left the room, he looked to Fiyero and smiled.

"Call me Frexspar, Fiyero," he said and then went to meet the mayor.

Left alone in the living room, Fiyero bounded to his feet and hurried upstairs, tapping on the door of the guest room before pushing it open.

Elphaba was half lying across the foot of the bed as Galinda unpacked her things. The first words Fiyero caught upon entering the room was Elphaba's exasperated comment of, "Galinda, I don't think it matters if you're not an autumn person or not."

"It should," Galinda insisted.

"What did I miss?" Fiyero asked, sitting on the armchair in the corner of the room.

Elphaba looked mildly relieved to see him.

"Nothing much," she said. "Where were you?"

"Talking to your dad," Fiyero shrugged. "But then the mayor stopped by."

Galinda's eyes narrowed faintly. "Why do you look so smug?"

He scoffed. "I don't."

Elphaba studied his face. "You kind of do," she agreed with Galinda. "What exactly did you and Papa talk about?"

Ok, maybe Fiyero did feel a little smug.

"He told me to call him 'Frexspar'," he told her.

Elphaba's eyebrows raised only slightly and then she smiled. "I guess he still likes you after all," she teased him.

Fiyero laughed.

When Galinda had finally finished unpacked and went to freshen up before dinner, Elphaba slipped downstairs to her father's study. She couldn't hear any voices from within, so she assumed the mayor had finished his business.

Frex was standing by the bookshelves when Elphaba let herself into the room and crossed the room to hug him tightly. Neither spoke.

"You'll have to forgive me, darling," Frex said finally, his throat tight as he held her. "If I sometimes still have trouble with accepting that you're grown. I am trying."

Elphaba smiled, tears pricking at her eyes. "I know, Papa."

She pulled away and Frex smiled at her. "Perhaps," he said slowly. "Perhaps Fiyero could join us for lunch this week? Just this once."

She beamed at him. It didn't need to be mentioned how significant the invitation was.

"Just this once," she agreed and kissed his cheek swiftly before leaving the room as quickly as she'd come.

When they all sat down for dinner that evening, Elphaba's eyes were still alight, and the conversation around the table swelled even more as the girls and Fiyero chattered away among themselves. Annalie naturally noticed Elphaba's mood and shot a questioning look down the table to her husband.

Frex shook his head faintly, signalling he'd fill her in later. Annalie nodded and turned to Galinda.

"Is there anything you wanted to see or do while you're visiting?"

Galinda shook her head almost immediately. "Not at all. I'm completely open to suggestions."

As if he'd been waiting for his cue, Fiyero straightened in his seat and flashed a grin at Galinda.

"Hey, Glin. Are you going to come fishing with us?"

Galinda stared at him blankly from across the table. "Why in Oz's name would I do that?"

AN. Update on the UtEoT sequel: It has a title- Life's Epochs: Hopes, Fears and Tears. It's also not quite so "mini" anymore.

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