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It was a warm and sunny Saturday morning at Shiz. Finals would be coming up soon, and as a way to de-stress and spend some quality time together before departing for the summer, the group decided to have a picnic. Well, really, Galinda decided to have a picnic. As her boyfriend, Fiyero fully backed the idea, as did Elphaba. At that point, Boq and Nessa agreed easily. So, they had a picnic.
The poppy fields were especially gorgeous around this time of year. As soon as they got there, Galinda took off running, Elphaba in tow. The two girls ran and spun around, laughing and twirling amongst the colorful flowers, as Boq happily pushed Nessa in her chair, and Fiyero watched the whole scene. It was a lovely afternoon, and everyone was happy. Things were light, colorful, and joyous. Oh, how he would miss these days. How they all would.
Eventually, they found a spot to stop. Boq and Nessa sat close together, Fiyero sprawled out on the ground, and Elphaba settled nearby, their little group forming a semicircle. Galinda plopped down immediately next to Elphaba, barely sparing a glance towards Fiyero.
Fiyero knew that Elphaba and Galinda were close. Closer than close, even. He’d heard that female friendships could be very intense, and he did have a sister. But this seemed different somehow. See, Galinda simply adored Elphaba. Sometimes, he would try to talk to her, and all she could do was ramble on about the green girl. Galinda spent more time with Elphaba than she did with him. Which was fair, they were roommates after all, but Fiyero was supposed to be her boyfriend, and most days, she seemed more drawn to Elphaba than she was to him. Yes, she’d held his hand for a minute as they walked to the field, when Elphaba took a turn pushing Nessa’s chair, but she spent almost triple that amount of time with her arm interlinked with Elphaba’s, hands intertwined.
Now, Fiyero quite liked Elphaba as well. She was interesting and smart, and Fiyero did feel a certain tug towards her. But Galinda was cute, pretty, and popular, the two of them were just perfect together. Or they should be, at least on the surface. But then there was Elphaba.
Elphaba, who Galinda looked at with sparkling eyes and a wide, genuine smile, an expression Fiyero never received from her. There was a level of intimacy between the two of them, a powerful bond. In group settings, the two girls gravitated towards each other, always touching, always giggling about something or another. Like right now, Galinda helped Elphaba with her hat and smiled at her lovingly, and Fiyero wondered how he could ever hope to find some sort of place in between whatever those two girls had. Not that he needed to get between them necessarily, but when they were all together, Fiyero was just an afterthought.
“Elphie, I brought boysenberry tarts, I know they’re your favorite!” Galinda said, beginning to unpack the picnic basket and pass things around.
“Oh, Galinda, did you go all the way to that bakery in town to get these?” Elphaba asked, looking at the box.
Galinda blushed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “It really wasn’t that far,” she said shyly.
“Well, thank you, you didn’t need to do all of that,” Elphaba replied softly, looking at Galinda with a gentle smile and kindness in her eyes.
Galinda leaned over and whispered something in Elphaba’s ear, and Elphaba smiled. It looked and felt like such a special moment between them, tension and electricity circling them. Fiyero wasn’t sure he should even be sitting near them; they were so wrapped up in each other. He felt like he was intruding just by watching them.
Boq and Nessa began chatting and eating happily, and Fiyero tried to join in, but he couldn’t ignore the twist in his gut as he watched Elphaba and Galinda.
For most of the afternoon, the whole group chatted happily, complaining about classes, gossiping about their peers, and reminiscing on old memories, enjoying the nature and the fresh air.
Galinda was telling a story about the first time she attempted to sneak out of the house as a teenager, and how it resulted in her spraining her wrist falling out of a tree. Everyone was fully engrossed in the story. Galinda just had that effect on people. As he watched her talk, Fiyero really did feel a fondness for her. Then he glanced over at Elphaba. She was watching Galinda with the most rapt attention, leaning towards her, soaking in every last word.
Galinda was sweet and had a charming way about her that people couldn’t help but fall for. Everyone looked at her with open adoration. Boq was certainly doing it, Fiyero was sure he himself was guilty of it sometimes as well. Elphaba was simply one more person under Galinda’s spell.
But then of course, Galinda adored Elphaba just the same. It was clear from the way that they looked at each other and interacted, Elphaba and Galinda truly valued and cared for each other. There were strong feelings there, but the nature of those feelings, Fiyero didn’t know. He wasn’t sure if either of them were fully aware, either. Whatever it was, it was something, and he was simply bearing witness to it.
Soon enough, the sun began to set, and things were winding down. Galinda’s arm was once again threaded through Elphaba’s, and she rested her head on the other girl’s shoulder. Elphaba leaned into the touch immediately, automatically. They both seemed so content and at peace.
Fiyero knew then that it wouldn’t matter what he did; neither girl would ever be able to love him as much as they loved each other.