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It was a hot, dry day when Elphaba first saw her there, gussied up to the nines in her frilly pink dress and floppy sun hat, laughing with some boy Elphaba’d seen in passing on her travels. She was pretty, Elphaba thought, and rich. Surely she was, to have such shiny necklaces resting around her neck.
Elphaba had been sitting at the bar of the town’s saloon, chipping some of the wood splinters from her mug as she watched the blonde laugh and talk loudly across the way, just out of earshot to clearly hear the words on her - yeah, you guessed it - pink lips.
Eventually, fueled by the day’s heat and maybe just a bit of liquid courage, she finally stood and wandered over, looming tall over the rest of the barfolk. The blonde quieted as she approached, one hand hanging onto the boy’s arm as she sauntered closer.
“What’s your name, sweetheart?” Elphaba asked, holding a hand out in greeting.
The girl eyed her hand, then blinked up - and up - at her face. “Galinda. Galinda Upland.” She said with a nod, though she didn’t accept the handshake.
Elphaba’s lips curled up slightly with an amused smile as she dropped her hand back to her side. “Well, miss Galinda, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She drawled.
- - - - -
That had been months ago, by now. After her first attempts to swindle the blonde went awry - how was Elphaba supposed to guess how perceptive a frilly gal could be? - their paths kept crossing time and time again.
Galinda, Elphaba learned, was far more cunning than she ever could have guessed during their first meeting. She could thieve like the best of them, and talk her way out of anything. She didn’t even need to pack any heat to get out of a tough spot, which felt just unfair to Elphaba.
“Is Galinda your real name, darlin’?” Elphaba asked one night after their paths crossed again, leaning her elbows against the fencepost her horse Grimmarie were tied to.
“A lady never lies.” Galinda flashed her that same charming smile that made just about every man’s head spin. Elphaba just chuckled and shook her head with a grin.
“Saw your name, a while back. Missing posters.” She brought up casually, politely ignoring the way the woman at her side tensed as she spoke. “Your family’s lookin’ for you. Offering a pretty price for your pretty face.”
“You think I’m pretty, miss Elphaba?” Galinda deflected. Elphaba laughed.
“That I do, sweetheart. That I do.” She hummed, and this time she didn’t pretend not to notice the way Galinda’s cheeks warmed. “What did you do, to make your folks so worried?”
Galinda fussed with the base of her skirts - a different dress than her first, Elphaba had no idea where she got all of them or where she kept them - before sighing deep. “They wanted me to marry.” She admitted quietly.
“Don’t like being tied down, sugar?” Elphaba smirked playfully.
“No, not that. Well, not exactly.” Galinda muttered, the quick glance cast in Elphaba’s direction enough to help the gears click into place.
“Ah, I think I get it.” Elphaba nodded her understanding. Galinda looked at her with silent curiosity. “So you wanted an out, and made yourself scarce ‘round home?”
Galinda nodded. “My father’s a sheriff. Can’t stay in one place too long.”
Elphaba hummed. That would explain how they kept bumping into each other. “How do you get around so much? Don’t think I’ve seen you with a ride.” She said, patting Grimmarie’s muzzle.
“You think pretty smiles and soft-spoken words only work on locals?” Galinda scoffed, smiling. “Miss Elphaba, you truly underestimate me.”
“So you just tag along with anyone willin’ to give you a ride?” Elphaba looked at her with surprise.
Galinda shifted on her feet uneasily at her stare. “I’m real clever. I can take care of myself just fine, have for a while now.”
Elphaba’s gaze softened a bit. “Never said you couldn’t, darlin’. Just sayin’ you should be more careful, is all.”
Galinda let out a breath real slow. “I know.” she muttered.
Elphaba clicked her teeth as her horse whinnied in response. “This here’s Grimmerie.” She said, guiding the horse’s face closer in the other woman’s direction.
Galinda tensed for a moment before reaching out to pat her snout as Grimmarie chuffed and leaned closer. Galinda laughed, a breathless little noise. “Hey, girl.” She cooed softly.
Elphaba smiled before turning to look at the horse head-on. “This is Galinda, Grimmerie. She’s gonna be ridin’ with us for a little while.” She said, smile widening at Galinda’s gasp.
“Oh, miss Elphaba, I couldn’t.” She said, recoiling her hand like touching hot iron.
“Come on now, you’ll hurt Grimmerie’s feelin’s. She was looking forward to having such a beautiful rider.” Elphaba smarmed.
“She already has one of those.” Galinda countered.
Elphaba laughed hard, grinning wide. “Miss G’linda, you’re sure interestin’, you know that?” She gasped between chuckles.
Galinda flushed again, and Elphaba felt her cheeks sting for the first time in a long while.
- - - - -
Galinda made for great company during travels, arms snug around Elphaba’s waist to stay secure on the horse when she sat odd thanks to her dresses, talking enough for both of them to fill the silence as they moved between towns. Galinda would sweet-talk the locals, and Elphaba would take the things they didn’t really need before splitting.
“For me?” Galinda asked after a particularly successful spree, eyeing the emerald necklace held up in front of her.
“Sure is, sugar. You don’t want it?” Elphaba smirked, swaying it a little like those hypnotists she saw in traveling shows do.
Galinda snatched it so quick Elphaba burst out laughing as she finished tying the bags to Grimmarie’s sides, full of loot. “Miss Elphaba, it’s beautiful. Must be worth a lot.”
“Exactly.” Elphaba hummed, turning back as her breath hitched in her throat at the sight of Galinda, hair held up with one hand while the other fashioned the necklace in place around her neck.
“Pink goes good with green.” Galinda said as she glanced down at the emerald resting just over the pink fabric of her dress.
“Pink goes well with green, miss G’linda.” Elphaba corrected, snickering when Galinda shot her a glare without any heat.
“It’s perfect. I love it.” Galinda said, resting a hand over it.
“Glad to hear it.” Elphaba smiled and nodded, swinging onto Grimmerie’s back and offering a hand to help Galinda up as well.
Galinda swung on, wrapping her arms tighter than usual, her cheek pressing between Elphaba’s shoulders on her back. “Thank you, Elphie.” She whispered into the wind, and Elphaba’s heart ached in a way she’d never felt before. She couldn’t remember the last time someone held her so tight.
She smiled to herself, nudging Grimmerie to move. Galinda kept holding her till they reached the next town.
- - - - -
The fight was bad, worse than Elphaba had done in years. Her head throbbed like a galloping horse as she stumbled, clutching her side. She slumped against the side of a wide tree to catch her breath, hearing the locals commotion vaguely in her ringing ears.
“Elphie!” Galinda’s voice cut through the noise, her blonde hair fussed and frilly dress ripped along the skirts like she’d run right through a dead bush. She ran right over, delicate hands cradling her cheeks as Elphaba blinked at her. Elphaba barely even registered the blood splattered against her rosy cheeks and staining her pink dress dark like wine, or the way she’d dropped Elphaba’s pistol as she kneeled at her side. “Are you with me, Elphie?”
Elphaba chuckled weakly, the sound leaving her like a wheeze. “Takes a lot more than this to knock me down, miss G’linda.” She said, her words drawled and slurring together.
Galinda’s shoulders heaved in a dry sob as she surged forward and– oh.
And then she was kissing Elphaba.
Elphaba kissed back weakly, lips clumsy from lack of practice and surely chapped from the dry desert air, but Galinda didn’t seem to mind.
Elphaba slumped against her, a dazed grin on her lips. Her eyes fluttered shut, barely feeling the way Galinda shook at her shoulders as she slipped into dreaming.
- - - - -
When Elphaba woke, she was leaned against a fallen, hollow log, a crackling fire closeby. She sat up with a groan, reaching down to find her shirt gone but her side bandaged where the bullet had hit her.
“You’re awake.” Galinda sounded so relieved it made Elphaba’s heart trot faster than a race horse, the memory of her kiss still fresh in Elphaba’s mind even though hours or even days must have passed since that moment.
“What happened?” She asked as she sat up, taking the offered shirt from Galinda, still damp from being washed but less red-stained.
“You lost a lot of blood. I was scared you wouldn’t wake.” Galinda said, looking down at her lap. Elphaba could see the tears welling in her eyes. “I thought I’d lose you back there.”
Elphaba moved toward her, grunting each time she crawled closer until Galinda caught her under her arms just as Elphaba’s lips crashed into hers, messy and hard. “I’m here. You saved me.” She whispered.
Galinda held her tightly, arms wrapping just above Elphaba’s wrapped wound and not seeming to mind the warm, wet shirt clinging to Elphaba’s torso. “I told you I could take care of myself just fine.” She muttered, sniffling.
Elphaba chuckled, running a hand over Galinda’s messy blonde hair, still matted slightly as her fingers gently worked to untangle it back to its pretty state. “You took care of me just fine, too.” She added.
Galinda let out a breathless little laugh, shoulders shaking slightly with laughter and tears. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
“I hope you’ll keep doin’ that. Long as you feel like stickin’ around.” Elphaba offered softly.
Galinda was quiet for a moment before Elphaba felt her nod against her shoulder. “I’d like that a lot, miss Elphaba.”
Elphaba grinned, hugging her back so tight it hurt. She didn’t care.