Work Text:
Elphaba has tried everything. Earplugs, earmuffs, earplugs with earmuffs over them. Pillows, throw pillows, actually throwing pillows. Wrapping a blanket around her head, which did work, but she didn’t want to risk asphyxiation. Now, she lays in bed, in her unfortunately very shared dorm, and suffers.
Elphaba takes a deep breath in, lungs expanding to their fullest. She takes a deep breath out, deflating like a balloon. There's a shuffling, a clinking of bottles. She takes another breath in, another breath out. There’s a hum, mumbles of ohh my skin feels so soft and this is just so nice. In and out, she reminds herself, in and out. Then, she hears singing. It’s almost inhumanly high-pitched with lyrics bound to worm their way into her head, and Dammit All! Elphaba refuses to be subjected to this torture any longer than she already has.
She springs out of bed, pillows falling on the floor. “Must I remind you,” she hisses, “That you are not the only one in this room.” Turning to look at the overtly pink and sparkly part of the dorm, Elphaba finds her tormentor sitting in a plush chair.
To Galinda's credit, she looks genuinely surprised by Elphaba’s outburst. Surrounded by empty bottles, what look like different types of facemasks, and some other face flattening or stretching or de-wrinkling products, Galinda meets Elphaba's eyes with pursed lips. “Elphie,” she begins, “You know how important my beauty routine is.” She looks at her wrist, “Plus, it’s only been about thirty minutes.”
Elphaba stares at her. “You don’t even have a watch,” she says, incredulous. “You just looked at your wrist and made up a number.”
Galinda pouts, “That always works!” She sighs as if she is the most annoyed by this situation, saying, “Well, you're just going to have to live with it. My beautiful face cannot be compromised just because you need more sleep.”
“And my studies cannot be compromised just because you need,” Elphaba gestures to the mess on Galinda’s desk, “Whatever all that is.”
Galinda huffs, indignant as always. She turns her head to face her desk, then back to Elphaba, then back to the desk. Her eyes go very, very wide and a large toothed smile forms on her face. This does not bode well.
Elphaba tries to hide under the covers, pulling a blanket over her head. Galinda slides over to her, angelic in her movements. She sits on the bed, all perfect and pretty and blonde. Elphaba can smell her perfume now, from being this close, something flowery. It makes her head spin.
“I have an idea,” Galinda exclaims, “Why don’t you and I make a beauty routine for you to follow?” She nods to herself, “Yes, what a brilliant plan.” Pulling the blanket off of Elphaba, she grabs the other girl's wrists, hauling her up.
“Wait,” Elphaba cries out, “I don’t want–” but it's too late, Galinda has already made up her mind. She places Elphaba gingerly in the chair she was just sitting in and puts her hands on green shoulders. Elphaba sighs, exasperated. “There’s no need for this. I’ve already had one makeover today.”
“You see, Elphie, that's the great thing about makeovers,” she boops Elphaba’s nose with her finger, “You can have multiple.” Galinda spins on her heels, hair flipping over her shoulder. She's giggling up a storm as she walks over to her cabinet, presumably full of more beautifying products.
And. Okay. Maybe this won't be so bad.
Galinda comes back from searching, bringing back with her a large container of something.
Okay, it might be a little bad.
Elphaba must make a face because Galinda rolls her eyes. “It’s not going to hurt you,” she insists, opening the container with a soft click. Dainty fingers dip into it, emerging out of the depths with a dark substance covering manicured nails. “Okay, first things first, we start with a clay mask.” Setting the container down on the desk, she leans forward, fingers edging closer towards Elphaba.
Elphaba reels back so fast she almost falls out of the chair. She's caught by Galinda's free hand, wrapped around the back of her neck. It feels warm and soft and is causing many feelings that she really shouldn’t be having about the most popular girl in school.
“Now who's the one being ridiculous,” Galinda tuts, as if it isn't still her, insisting on giving her a makeover in the middle of the night. “Stop being silly and let me do this for you.” Her hand moves from behind Elphaba’s head to the side of her neck, her thumb resting below the green woman’s jaw.
Galinda gently tilts Elphaba’s head up, eyes laser-focused on the task at hand. Elphaba goes very still as Galinda touches her, spreading the clay mask across her face. It's so silent Elphaba can hear her heartbeat, thumping rapidly against her chest.
Before Galinda, nobody ever wanted to touch her, not really. Her nanny, Dulcibear, would hug her and hold her hand, but that was different. Her father wouldn't touch her unless absolutely necessary, and even then it was feather-light. Her sister, maybe, if she needed reassurance or encouragement.
Galinda, however? Touches Elphaba like it's the easiest thing in the world. She interlinks her arm with Elphaba's own, skipping down the halls. She hugs Elphaba after their sorcerer's seminars, giddy with excitement. She brushes Elphaba’s hair, fingering untangling knots. It's casual, their touches. They don't feel unnatural or forced like Elphaba is used to. Galinda touches her unafraid, like it doesn't matter what she looks like, what they look like together. Most of all though, Galinda touches her and it seems like she enjoys touching her. It's weird and unprecedented, and Elphaba can't deny she doesn't enjoy Galinda’s touch too.
There's a giggle, “See? I told you it felt nice!” Galinda smiles, blindingly bright. “You even closed your eyes for a second there.”
Elphaba blinks. “Oh,” she responds and is grateful for the clay that is covering her cheeks. “I must've…” She tried to come up with some excuse, but her tongue feels heavy. “Dozed off?”
Galinda's eyes soften, “Oh geez,” she sighs, “My beauty routine really has taken a toll on you, huh?” She wipes the excess clay on a tissue, throwing it away. “Okay, I concede, I will shorten it,” she raises a hand, “But it will be hard. It may take me a bit for me to adjust.”
Galinda sounds so grave, so serious, that, despite herself, Elphaba laughs. She tries to stop it, which only makes it turn into a snort. This causes her to instinctively bring her hand to her mouth, coming in contact with something sticky and cold.
“Oh, don't laugh at me!” Galinda cries, “And now you’ve gone and ruined my hard work!” She stomps her foot but that only causes Elphaba to laugh harder. In the back of her mind, Elphaba realizes this might be the hardest she's laughed in about forever. She looks up and finds that Galinda is laughing too. It's bubbly and light and warm. They're both laughing together now, in sync. She catches herself in the mirror, her face covered in pale gray. For a second, it tricks Elphaba into believing what Galinda said about her being beautiful might be true.
Galinda wipes a tear from her eye, “What was gotten into you today, Elphie?” She picks up the container once again. “Now we have to start all over,” she flips her hair over her shoulder, “Not that I’m complaining though.”
“Only if I get to do it to you next,” Elphaba says, shaking her head.
“Now that's the easiest thing you've ever made me agree to, Miss Elphaba.” She hands the other woman the container, “Now get started already!”
Okay, she admits, it wasn’t bad at all.