Work Text:
Nessarose could feel her hands slipping over her wheels as she rushed through the quad, fingertips numb from the cold.
Rain was falling nearly fast enough that one could have mistaken stepping outside for stepping into a shower, and Nessa was sure her backpack was already soaked, which included her textbooks.
She sighed, wishing she could bring her hands up into her sleeves to rid them of the nippy chill, but she needed to get back to her dorm room, and stopping in the middle of the rain wouldn’t do her much good at all.
Plus, she could hardly feel them anymore…
“Nessa!” someone called from under the canopy she was trying to reach, a voice she recognised immediately. “Need help?”
“Nope!” she called back, hoping her voice would travel despite the sound of water slamming into the pavement.
Galinda was standing just out of the rain's reach, water dripping from what used to be perfectly pinned locks, though they gave more the impression of wet hay now. It was clear she had been in the same predicament moments ago.
After what seemed like ages, although it couldn’t have been more than a couple of seconds, Nessa managed to get under the canopy, which led to the walkway she intended to go down.
“Goodness, you’re drenched," Galinda tisked, as if she wasn’t. She dropped her book bag and stepped closer, taking one of Nessa’s hands from her wheel and pressing it between her far warmer ones, which had been concealed in her coat. “And you’re going to get frostbite at this rate!”
“Galinda, what on earth are you doing down here?” Nessa asked, pulling her hand back. “You’re dorms are down the next hall.”
“Mmm, but I was waiting for you. I thought you could come to my dorm to study tonight! Your sister is out,” she paused, frowning. “She’s at that book place, and trust me, when she's there I don’t see her again for HOURS.”
“That doesn’t convince me.”
Galinda groaned, leaning down and pressing her nose close to Nessa’s. A strand of damp hair untucked itself from behind her ear and slid over Nessa’s cheek, but Galinda paid it no mind as she inched closer, dropping a soft kiss by the corner of her mouth. Teasing.
“I’m a little convinced. What kind of studying?” Nessa giggled, chasing another kiss before Galinda could lean away.
“Chemistry.”
“Oh?” Nessa cocked a brow, placing a freezing hand over Galinda’s cheek.
“No, actually, I’m going to fail my final. I do need to study.”
It wasn’t really a surprise, but Nessa rolled her eyes regardless. “Lead the way, I suppose.”
Galinda squealed, standing up and clapping her hands as she began down the path. She was talking about something else already, mouth moving at a million miles a minute, but Nessa was so distracted by everything else about her she hardly caught a word.
It was no secret Galinda was beautiful, but with the chill and rain, another part of her seemed to emerge. The reddened cheeks and ears that flushed her face. The curls springing from her head without a straightener for once, absolutely untamed. Nessa had to admire it, a side of her she didn’t often see.
“—and you’ll need a blanket,” Galinda announced, although Nessa didn’t catch the beginning.
“A blanket?”
“Yes! Goodness, I can see you shivering. Maybe a change of clothes too—I have a yellow dress that would do your complexion wonders.”
Nessa scoffed, stopping by the door as Galinda pulled out her keys and fumbled with the lock. She didn’t want to accept, but she wasn’t wrong. There was a chill, and her clothes were certainly drenched.
“You change, I’ll change.”
Galinda let out a delighted sound and bounced over to her dresser, fumbling around as Nessa set her things down near the foot of her bed. She leaned down and locked her wheelchair in place. Using her upper body strength, she pushed herself out and settled onto the sheets…or at least a small corner Glinda wouldn’t mind her getting wet.
“Frills or no frills?” Galinda questioned, popping her head out of the frenzy of dresses momentarily.
“Frills.”
Nodding, Galinda slid back, the hangers scraping against the bar a few times before she reemerged holding a fairly simple yellow gown, though it was certainly not lacking in the frill department.
“I was going to go fancier, but I also wanted it to be comfortable for you, you know?” Galinda said, placing it next to Nessa and starting to undress herself. “Plus, I have one similar in blue. We can match!”
Nessa nodded and started at her own clothes, wincing at the sensation of the wet fabric clinging to her skin. They changed around each other often enough that it wasn’t all that odd to see each other, although Nessa did find herself a little flustered every time she was asked to zip something up, and Galinda knew it.
“You can do it yourself,” Nessa said as Galinda began her usual pleading. “I did.”
“Just the bottom half,” Galinda begged, stepping closer and holding the top together.
Because she was weak, or perhaps Galinda was merely too tempting a person, Nessa groaned and leaned forward, dancing her fingers down Galinda’s cold and clammy back before she reached the zipper and pulled it up in a fluid motion. And damn Galinda, because once her hands were by her neck, hooking together the clasp where the zipper ended, she couldn’t resist, and when Galinda leaned into the touch—
She stopped herself, willing herself to almost lift her fingers. “We were going to study.”
“And if I say this is the test I was going to fail?”
Nessa laughed and looped an arm around her waist, pulling her to the bed. She nuzzled her nose against her neck, blowing aside damp hair. “You're ridiculous, at this rate you really will fail, you know that?”
“Our love?” Galinda pouted, pulling her further into bed until they were propped against the pillows.
Nessa rested her head on her chest, frowning up at her. “Not our love, darling, the Chemistry final.”
“If it means I get to be with you, I’ll take it,” Galinda hummed, pressing her fingers behind Nessa’s ear and starting a slow massage. Good tactic, really.
Honestly, Nessa hadn’t noticed how tired she was until that point, but her eyelids fluttered as the massage continued and the feeling of Galinda, nothing but her beloved Galinda, surrounded her.
The vanilla in her perfume, the steadiness in her breath, the dampness still clinging to her hair. Nessa reached up, curling a strand of gold around her finger.
“Fine, you win, pretty girl,” she mumbled, watching a smile spread across Galinda’s face.
“I always do.”
Nessa didn’t bother countering her, there was no winning. She only squeezed her tighter, hoping she would never have to let go.
And she wouldn’t.