Chapter Text
Galinda Upland is many things. She is beautiful and she is intelligent and she is amazing at just- so many things, really. Just ask Elphaba. She'll tell you.
When Galinda had first seen the green-skinned girl, she hadn't had a word for the feelings that had clustered in her chest, hot and sparkling. She had assumed it was hate. Had assumed it was jealousy. Had let her friends confirm that was what she must be feeling and had made sure everyone else in school felt it too.
She had been wrong.
It is not often that Galinda Upland admits such things. But this time, it is the truth. She had been wrong.
The way her eyes had been drawn to Elphaba across hallways and dining halls and classrooms? The way every word Elphaba said had settled, prickly and sensitive under her skin? The way she couldn't stop staring at her hair and eyes and arms? The way she couldn't stop thinking about her at all times of the day? The way her heart raced raced raced whenever she had Elphaba's full attention?
That was not hate.
Galinda wasn't ready to admit what it really was, though. So she'd put even more effort into loathing her roommate, determined to just make it through the school year and then request a room transfer for next term. Surely, she could last that long.
But then-
Then-
Elphaba called her pretty. Elphaba Thropp had called her pretty.
Not just pretty, even. But the 'prettiest girl in school.'
Galinda had been utterly speechless, unable to even process the way the words had sent a rush of heat flooding through her chest and up to her cheeks, making her look like a complete fool, no doubt. She'd been so grateful for her friends, grateful for the excuse to turn it back around on Elphaba.
But she just kept doing it.
Galinda couldn't help the way she reacted. She didn't know whether she wanted to scream or cry at the tangled mess of emotions that filled her whenever Elphaba so much as looked her way, let alone when she complimented Galinda.
It- it was-
Galinda had told herself that Elphaba was just joking. Just teasing her. She couldn't possibly mean it. She couldn't possibly believe what she was saying.
Yet-
“I mean it,” Elphaba said. “I wouldn't lie to you.”
Oh.
Ohhh, it just wasn't fair!
How dare Elphaba make her feel that way! How dare Elphaba look at her with those clear green eyes and say she thought Galinda was beautiful.
It made Galinda a little weak in the knees, and she stopped even trying to fight the way her cheeks revealed just how pleased every shameless compliment made her. She was sure Elphaba hadn't realized just how much of an impact her simple words would have on Galinda, but goodness did every single statement hit Galinda like a shot to the heart.
Weak. Her heart was weak. And slowly, Galinda started to think that maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.
Her friends did not approve, but she didn't care. She didn't care. Because the only thing that Galinda really cared about those days, was the way Elphaba would smile and laugh and tell her that she thought Galinda wasn't just good, she was incredible.
The open flirting got Galinda her fair share of teasing and ribbing from the student body, but even they started to come around.
“It's actually adorable,” Milla said one day. “She probably didn't think she had any chance, Galinda. But it's so sweet! She really likes you!”
She did. That was the crazy part. Elphaba wasn't even subtle, didn't even attempt to hide it. She would drop compliments at lunch, during class, in the evenings when it was just the two of them. She would get this pleased little smile on her lips whenever she succeeded in making Galinda blush, and Galinda didn't even know if she was aware of it. She looked so proud of herself; her eyes lit up and glowing.
How could Galinda not fall in love?
They became friends first. They ate together, they studied together, they walked through Shiz's halls and Galinda pretended like the easy way Elphaba reached out to steady her when she stumbled didn't make her heart flutter in her chest.
“Aren't you going to ask?” her friends pestered. “Come on, she's practically writing you poems!”
She was, wasn't she? Elphaba came up with sillier and sillier ways to compliment Galinda every day. To the point where ShenShen took her aside one day, her grip hard on Galinda's elbow.
“Do you like her back or not?” she'd said simply. She'd wrinkled her nose, her own distaste for the green girl quite clear. “Because it's getting ridiculous, Galinda. Like buck up and do something or put the weirdo out of her misery. No one wants to have to listen to her all day.”
Galinda had told her off for talking that way, but she ruminated on the girl's words for the next couple of days. She was right- Galinda needed to do something. She had let it go on for weeks by this point, too busy enjoying the way it made her feel to be so openly admired by someone who wasn't just in it for Galinda's popularity to even bother to wonder how it must feel for Elphaba.
She had put herself out there. The least Galinda could do was the same.
The compliments came almost frighteningly easily; she barely even had to think of them. They just rolled right off her tongue, natural and sincere. It was fascinating. Galinda had never seen Elphaba blush before, and the way her cheeks darkened into an even richer green in response to Galinda's statements was utterly entrancing.
She'd pulled out her colored pencils for the first time in months after seeing it. Emerald sketches filled the pages of her notebook, the vibrant color displayed in sweeps of silky fabric or blades of grass or startlingly clear irises framed by dark lashes. During the day, when she couldn't access her large library of colored pencils, she stained her fingers grey with graphite and charcoal, losing herself in the rhythm of drawing and looking up hours later to realize what she'd done.
On every page, stamped in every dress or flower or piece of a person, Elphaba sang out from her drawings. Galinda's entire notebook was a love letter to her mind's most favorite model. Elphaba's beauty was captured in the detailed curve and softness of a lotus's petals. Her intelligence was found in the crisp, bold lines of a stack of books and the sweeping curve of a curious pair of glasses. Her bravery shook from the mane of a great lion. Her strength flew on the wings of an eagle.
And everywhere, everything, was green.
Galinda had flipped the pages back and forth, watching as her typical depictions of colorful sunsets and bold outfits transitioned to a love story told in green and graphite. And she was suddenly, deeply, utterly, terrified.
Galinda really liked Elphaba. She really, truly did. But what if...what if Elphaba didn't like her quite as much? What if Galinda was just a conquest? Just Elphaba wondering if she could somehow succeed in getting the attention of the most popular girl in school? What if the novelty, the excitement, the enjoyment wore off as soon as Elphaba succeeded?
She kept that fear tucked in the back of her head, even as she giggled and snuggled in close and told Elphaba that she was amazing. They kept up a playful back and forth for several days, falling into a rhythm so naturally that it was impossible to believe it couldn't be right.
“You already banter like an old married couple,” her friends teased. They had seen it, too. And Galinda had stroked her fingers down the emerald edge of a lion's mane and told herself to be brave.
“I- I was thinking,” she'd asked, her heart pounding in her chest. “If you're not doing anything this weekend. That...maybe you'd like to go to dinner. Um. With me?”
The sheer relief and joy that had come when Elphaba immediately said yes nearly knocked Galinda over, leaving her breathless and gasping as she suppressed the urge to grin like a maniac. She didn't quite manage in the end, beaming as she bounded forward to hug her roommate.
She had a date. With Elphaba Thropp.
It was utterly surreal. Galinda picked her favorite restaurant in town and dressed to the nines, her hair and makeup flawless. Elphaba had put on her best outfit as well, and they made quite the stunning pair as they entered the city. Galinda doesn't even remember what she had to eat that night. Not a single thing about that meal had mattered more to her than the way Elphaba had let her lean into her side and declared that pink was her favorite color.
By the time the boat parade came to Shiz, Galinda felt she and Elphaba had fallen into something close to perfection. Elphaba was just as sweet, just as kind and complimentary and thoughtful, as a girlfriend as she was a friend or roommate. It was pretty incredible to see how far they'd come. Galinda tried hard not to think of the embarrassing days when she'd been too scared of her own reputation falling to realize how lucky she was that fate had sent her Elphaba Thropp.
“Here,” Elphaba had said. She'd shucked her black jacket off, pulling it around Galinda's shoulders. It made the blonde go all pink and cute, holding the edges of the jacket as she leaned into Elphaba's side.
“Thanks,” Galinda had whispered. She'd meant it. For everything.
Galinda had wanted to say more, had had the words on the tip of her tongue, a desire rising to tell Elphaba just how much she meant to Galinda while she was feeling the slightest bit of courage. But the excited shouts from her fellow students had broken the moment, and she let herself get distracted instead of focusing on the way her heart still pounded against her ribs.
One of these days, she would tell Elphaba what she really felt, she'd thought. Elphaba was the first to say something nice. The first to reach out. Galinda wanted to be the first to say that.
***
Elphaba finding her notebooks had been...it had been decidedly more terrifying than Galinda would've expected.
Galinda had looked up just in time to see Elphaba shift some papers on her desk, and she felt her heart drop to her stomach as she realized what was about to be revealed.
“Don’t touch that!” she'd cried, leaping across the room to try and shove Elphaba away. But it was too late; Elphaba was already gaping down at the secret that had been displayed.
Galinda's heart didn't settle back into her chest for nearly an hour after Elphaba had dropped the issue. She's not sure why it scared her so much, just that, in the moment, she'd realized she wasn't quite ready for Elphaba to see. To know how much Galinda had thought of her, had watched and admired her every single day.
Would Elphaba be freaked out? Creeped out? Would she think Galinda was desperate? Or pathetic? Would she feel like it was weird?
Oh, what was she thinking. Of course, it was weird! Galinda's notebooks were filled to the brim with drawing after drawing of Elphaba.
Galinda hadn't worked up the courage to say the words yet, but the idea of them was written into every line of emerald ink that flowed across those pages. The moment had to be special. It had to be meaningful. And Galinda was-
She was just-
She was not ready.
So she waited, hoping Elphaba would forget about the whole thing. She felt her anxiety spike when the green girl took her aside after class, sure that she was about to demand that Galinda tell her what she had been hiding.
Elphaba didn't say that.
She said something much much worse.
“What are you saying?” Galinda's voice cracked with every word. “That you- that you thought this was all just a game? That you didn't mean it?”
As she'd watched Elphaba freeze, her face giving everything away, something in Galinda had snapped, her chest caving in and collapsing, leaving her aching and unable to breathe.
She'd choked on a sob, blinking tears from her eyes that she was too angry to want to let fall. There was a burning sensation under her skin, a desire to run and run and never return, filling her and shaking her apart. She could barely stand to look at Elphaba, an awful mix of humiliation and shame and anger and hurt clouding her vision.
“I thought you liked me,” Galinda had whispered. I thought I loved you.
When she'd finally run, she'd felt as though she may have left her heart trampled in the dust behind her.
***
Galinda did her very best to avoid Elphaba in the days following.
That night, she had snuck over to Milla's and begged her friend not to ask any questions. She hadn't wanted to tell her friends the truth of what happened. Of how easily Galinda had been played.
When she returned to the dorm, she'd tried tried tried not to pay any attention to Elphaba. But the girl made it so difficult!
She'd won. Her stupid little game was over. She'd succeeded.
But she'd still been so determinedly cruel to Galinda, still showering her with compliments that she had to have known just twisted the knife deeper. Each compliment had been like a stab to the heart- the soft, tender parts of it that had almost been ready, almost been brave, now shriveled and torn.
“Will you just stop it already!” she'd finally yelled, confronting the girl about her cruel, wicked tactics.
She'd expected to walk out of there in tears.
What happened instead was much much better.
***
The conversation goes even better the second time around. It's lengthy, there's less tears involved, and Galinda feels something settle in her bones, a relief sinking through her skin now that she knows, for sure this time, that she and Elphaba are on the same page.
In the end, though, surprisingly little changes about their everyday life. They go back to the way things were before Elphaba fumbled her way through the world's worst explanation. The green girl tries her best to make it up to Galinda just a few days later, approaching her on Friday morning with a nervous grin.
“I was thinking,” she starts, taking Galinda's hands in her own and giving her a tiny wink. “That maybe you'd like to go to dinner. With me.”
Galinda doesn't think she's ever smiled so hard before.
As the days slide past, she works back up the courage that she'd almost had the first time around. She decides to start small- or, maybe not so small.
“I have something to show you,” she says, voice full of nerves. She's got one of her notebooks hugged to her chest, and she can see the way Elphaba's eyes light up even though the other girl does her the favor of pretending restraint.
“Only if you're ready,” Elphaba replies, and that, if anything, solidifies Galinda's resolve.
The awed gasp that leaves Elphaba's mouth when Galinda opens to the first page sends sparks of pleased warmth through Galinda's body. She almost shivers in delight, in the way that Elphaba's been knocked speechless as she wordlessly flips the pages.
“Galinda,” she breathes. “This is...it's beyond incredible.” Elphaba turns her head, her eyes wide and shining. “You're incredible.”
Even after all this time, the words never fail to make Galinda blush. She beams up at the taller girl, the nerves and pleasure twisting in her gut until she can't help the way she wiggles in place. She rocks forward to hug Elphaba, winding her arms around her.
“You mean it?” she can't help but double-check.
“I always mean it.”
Galinda tucks her head down into the curve of Elphaba's neck, sure that the other girl can feel how hot her cheeks are. Elphaba is still looking at the drawings, and Galinda doesn't know if she's realized yet. She peeks out when she senses Elphaba freeze, and she feels her heart skip a beat when she sees the distinct curve of a pair of glasses framing clear green eyes.
“Oh,” Elphaba whispers.
Oh? Oh??
What does that mean?!
Galinda squeaks, turning so her back is to Elphaba's chest. One of Elphaba's hands stops her before she can instinctively slam the notebook shut.
“No, wait,” Elphaba says. “I didn't mean it in a bad way.”
“I'm sorry,” Galinda whispers. “I should've asked if you were okay with me drawing you.”
“I'm glad you didn't,” Elphaba replies. She cringes, Galinda able to feel her twitch even without looking at her face. “I mean- I would've loved to know about these. But Galinda...they're amazing. You don't have anything to apologize for. Ever. I'd never be mad about something like this.”
“Really? It doesn't make you uncomfortable?”
“Uncomfortable? No, not at all. If anything, I'm flattered.”
Elphaba turns Galinda back around so they can look at each other. She smiles, leaning down to press a quick kiss to Galinda's furrowed brow. “I love them,” she promises.
Galinda breathes a tiny sigh of relief, feeling the panic vanish as a different sort of flutter takes over in her gut. “I couldn't help it,” she explains. She switches her voice to something just on the edge of teasing. “You were just so beautiful.”
It does the trick, Elphaba breaking out into a wide and toothy grin. Galinda feels herself melt at the look, and her fingers itch for a pencil, something that makes her giggle to herself.
“What?” Elphaba asks.
“Nothing. Just- you're proving my point.” Galinda reaches out and pokes the sides of Elphaba's cheeks with her pointer fingers, grinning now herself.
Elphaba rolls her eyes and turns her head to kiss one of Galinda's palms. “You're ridiculous,” she says.
“No, you're ridiculous!” Galinda pokes at Elphaba's nose this time, giggling madly.
Growling playfully, Elphaba spins her around, trapping Galinda's hands in both of her own and leaning forward to hook her chin over Galinda's shoulder, effectively pinning her in place. Both their bodies shake with laughter, and Galinda leans back until Elphaba is forced to practically hold her up. The taller girl nips at her ear, and Galinda squeals in something very close to utter delight.
“Ridiculous,” Elphaba says again, endlessly fond. She lets go with one hand to flip the notebook to another page, this one a spread of various doodles, parts and pieces of a person who is unmistakably Elphaba herself.
“These really are incredible, though,” Elphaba sighs. “I wish I could draw like this.”
“You do?”
Elphaba nods down at the pictures, her chin knocking against Galinda's shoulder. “Seeing these...it's almost like I get to see myself through your eyes. You're the first person who has ever thought I was beautiful.” She sighs and runs a finger gently down the curve of a cheek. “You're the first person who ever made me believe I was beautiful.”
Galinda feels her heart soar, her knees going weak at the praise. She's not even sure Elphaba realizes how much those words specifically mean. There are compliments, sure, but then there are truths.
“If I could draw like this,” Elphaba continues, entirely unaware of the effect she's having on the girl in her arms. “Then maybe I could attempt to capture even a sliver of the beauty that I see in you.”
Oh, Oz damn her! How does she always manage to say such wonderful awful things!
“You can't just say things like that!” Galinda whines. Heat rushes through her, pooling in more than just her cheeks.
“Why not? It's true.”
Galinda groans, spinning around and bringing a hand up to drag Elphaba down for a kiss. She nips at her bottom lip reproachfully before finally letting go.
Galinda takes a deep breath, settling her racing heart just a tad as she looks from the drawings back up the face they represent. “Thank you,” she finally says, a breathy whisper that feels heavier than it should.
A slow smile spreads across Elphaba's face, growing and growing and making her eyes sparkle as she breaks into laughter that has her bending nearly in half. Galinda blinks, startled and unsure, trying to figure out why the girl reacted so powerfully.
“What? What did I say?!”
Elphaba can barely speak through the laughter, tears pooling in her eyes as she stutters and tries to say something that sounds only like broken syllables. She raises a hand, closing her eyes and drawing in a huge breath, holding it, and releasing it. She does it again. And a third time.
Galinda jigs anxiously, replaying her last words in her head. “What did I say?” she repeats.
Elphaba shakes her head, eyes still closed, then she abruptly reaches out and yanks Galinda into another kiss. This time, Elphaba leads, and the two don't come up for air for several long seconds. Galinda feels her anxiety melt away, and a more lighthearted curiosity rises to take its place.
“What did I say?” she whispers one last time.
Elphaba grins against her lips. “You're welcome,” she answers instead.
“What?”
Elphaba opens her eyes and meets Galinda's, the emerald orbs sparkling with humor and mischief. “You're welcome.”
“I don't unders-”
Galinda pauses. Frowns. Narrows her eyes.
Elphaba breaks out laughing again at her expression as Galinda comes to a slow realization. “I've said thank you before!” she cries.
Her girlfriend shakes her head, still laughing.
“Elphaba Thropp! You stop that this instant!” Galinda slams one foot on the ground, crossing her arms with a huff.
Internally, she replays the last several weeks of her life, trying desperately to come up with a time she's thanked Elphaba for the sweet compliments she always gives her. Surely...surely she has! Right??
Oh Oz, she thinks. Maybe she really hasn't!
Galinda huffs and pouts and tries to come up with something else to say before finally admitting defeat. She lets herself fall forward until her forehead lands on Elphaba's chest. “I'm sorry,” she grumbles.
“For what?”
“You know what.”
“Hm. You may need to remind me.”
Blushing for an entirely different reason now, Galinda whines long and low. “Elphieeee.”
“Yes, my sweet?”
Galinda shuffles closer, her words even more muffled. “Thank you.”
“What was that? I couldn't quite hear you.”
Galinda headbutts Elphaba gently, then rocks back and glares up at her. “I said: Thank you.”
“Oh. Well, then, you're very welcome.” Elphaba grins mischievously. “What are you thanking me for?”
Galinda glares harder. “You're enjoying this, aren't you?”
“Enjoying what?”
“This! Have you just been waiting for me to finally say it?”
“Say what?”
“ELPHABA.”
Elphaba laughs once more and leans down to peck Galinda on her pouting lips. “I'm just teasing,” she says.
Galinda gives in instantly, unable to hide the way her pout turns into a smile. “I mean it,” she says, parroting back Elphaba's own words.
“Mean what?” Elphaba says, but this time, Galinda doesn't protest.
“Thank you, Elphie,” she says.
The sheer sincerity in her words seems to silence the taller girl. Galinda takes the opportunity to take Elphaba's hands in her own, pressing a kiss to the back of both knuckles. In that moment, before any more jokes or teasing or laughter can break it, Galinda gathers her courage, takes a breath, and finally says what she's been trying to for weeks.
“I love you, Elphaba Thropp.”
Three words. Short. Simple. Nothing to them, really. But the way they make Elphaba's whole face shine is worth more than all the popularity in the world. Galinda would give up everything, everyone else, if only she got to spend the rest of her life being looked at the way she is right now.
“I love you, too, Galinda Upland.” Elphaba squeezes both of Galinda's hands. “I mean it.”
Galinda is sure she's as red as a rose, but she doesn't care in the slightest. There are no words to describe the way she feels right now, and she's sure she wouldn't be able to capture the look on Elphaba's face no matter how many hours she spent trying.
That's the thing about the game of love. Who said there couldn't be two winners?