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“No one mourns the wicked...”
The words still echoed in Glinda’s ear as she shot up in bed, the silk sheets feeling cold and almost airy under her hands. If she’d had to describe it, she was too comfortable, and it did nothing to calm her racing heart as she looked around the room, her eyes adjusting to the darkness.
She was looking for something, anything, to tell her that she wasn’t alone. That this room, this entire apartment, was being shared with another being. A living being. Her heart was racing in her chest, the empty feeling she’d felt in her dream still painfully present. She hated these dreams, the ones where she got everything she’d thought she’d always wanted, but at a cost she’d never been willing to pay. The ones where she was always surrounded by adoring masses, but never felt more alone.
The ones where everyone claimed she won, but where instead she lost everyone she’d ever cared about: Boq, and Nessarose, and Fiyero, but especially....
“Elphie?” She whispered, looking to her side and trying to assess if her girlfriend was still here. Her side of the bed looked unslept in, but this wasn’t unusual per se; Elphaba had always had trouble sleeping, and Glinda was an expert blanket hogger. But after the dream she’d just had, the absence of warmth unnerved her.
“Elphaba?” She tried again, a little louder this time, but still she was met with no response. Properly worried now, Glinda climbed out of bed and wrapped a blanket around herself, before tiptoeing out of the room. The house was quiet, almost eerily so, and the feeling of unease Glinda had been experiencing since she woke up only grew as a result. Because what if she was wrong? What if her dream hadn’t been just a dream, but a memory? What if Elphaba was really gone?
“Oh, Elphie.”
The green woman didn’t reply, a soft snore escaping her lips instead. Glinda herself had to suppress a giggle at the sight of her girlfriend asleep on the couch, her glasses almost falling off her nose, papers covering her like a blanket. She did always try to tell Elphaba she worked too hard, but getting her to listen was a near impossible task. She’d always find some other letter to reply to, some other meeting to prepare for, some other book to read. This sometimes aggravated Glinda, as it wasn’t uncommon for her girlfriend to lose track of time and be late for dates as a result.
Right now, however, she just found it adorable.
Careful not to make too much noise, Glinda snuck towards her girlfriend’s sleeping form, carefully taking the glasses off her nose and placing them on the coffee table instead. She then moved all of the papers covering Elphaba, and a few that had fallen to the floor, and placed them next to the glasses in a neat pile. Finally, she removed the blanket she had draped over her shoulders for warmth, and covered Elphaba with it instead.
“Mrph, Glin?” Her girlfriend mumbled sleepily as Glinda tucked in some of the corners, but the blonde just shushed her.
“Go back to sleep, Elphie.”
“Mmm, can’t sleep on the couch.” The green woman yawned, making moves to stretch and get up, but Glinda quickly stopped her, making her lie back down again.
“Yes you can. You know you won’t be able to sleep again for an hour if you move, and you have that meeting with the Quadling delegation, little miss Junior Grand Vizier.” That title did always make Glinda glow with pride. Elphaba had achieved so much since they graduated from Shiz, and it still felt surreal how they had both managed to get their own respective work placements at the Emerald Palace during their final years at the university. With Elphaba working on policy, and Glinda handling the public relations aspect, the two had made a good team, and The Wizard himself had chosen to offer them permanent positions after graduation.
Elphaba was still unsure as to how they had gotten so lucky, but Glinda had decided not to question it too much, and just let herself be happy. And after some prodding from Glinda, Elphaba had agreed to that as well.
She’d been unhappy long enough; there was no harm in letting herself feel joy for once.
Speaking of her girlfriend, Elphaba seemed to have agreed with Glinda, pulling the blanket a little tighter around her, clearly still on the verge of sleep. “Thank you, my sweet.”
“Goodnight, Elphie.” Glinda smiled, kissing the green woman’s forehead fondly. Even as her girlfriend just mumbled something inaudible in response, Glinda decided to sit on their floor for a little while, now alone with her thoughts again. Part of her wondered if the dream!her had ever missed something like this, if she’d ever thought about what could have been. If she’d ever imagined a life like hers, in which things weren’t so complicated.
In which she hadn’t lost, but won.
Looking at Elphaba, Glinda decided that even if she had, it wouldn’t have come close to the real thing. There was only one Elphie, and she was hers. And Glinda Upland would gladly give up any number of adoring crowds to keep it that way. Because no matter what the masses said, this was her happily ever after.
… Though she did quickly get up and go back to their shared bed when the Happily Ever After started snoring again. Hey; no one said happiness was easy.