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The soft pink glow of Galinda’s lamp illuminated the girls’ dorm room as the sunlight outside was slowly replaced with darkness. Usually on their own side of the room, attending to their respective tasks, tonight, Elphaba and Galinda both flitted around Galinda’s side of the dorm while getting ready for bed.
Well, not bed — but layingdowninthebedwhilecuddlingandlisetningtoeachothertalkuntilwefallasleep time.
Since becoming best friends, this had been routine for the two. After finishing their homework and assignments on their own sides, Elphaba would slip over into Galinda’s side of the room so that they could do their hygiene routines, change into their nightclothes, tidy up a bit, and at last, settle comfortably onto Galinda’s bed.
Sometimes they’d talk about class and school, and more specifically, Dr.Dillamond’s assignments, since that had been the only class they shared. Sometimes they exchanged secrets, though they were starting to run out of things to tell the other recently. At other times, and very rarely so, they’d talk about relationships.
(Neither of the two were currently in a relationship, but it doesn’t hurt to entertain the idea right?)
Elphaba finished getting ready for bed first, of course, so she laid silently on her side of Galinda’s bed while she waited for her friend to finish up. As she laid there, she found herself watching as Galinda washed her face, brushed her teeth, and put lotion on.
Not in a weird creepy way though. No, of course not! But she just wanted to admire her best friend. Afterall, she did happen to be best friends with the most desired girl on campus.
After another two minutes, Galinda shut the light off in their shared bathroom and practically skipped over to her bed, throwing herself onto it with far too much aggression for Elphaba.
“You could’ve just laid down normally, y’know?”
“Hi Elphie!” Galinda ignored her friend’s slight irritation entirely as she tucked herself under soft pink sheets, joining Elphaba. She shuffled slightly as she put herself and Elphaba in their usual cuddling (while talking) position.
They cuddled one way when they were speaking to each other and in another when they slept, because why not?
Elphaba was laying on her back while Galinda was snuggled into her side with one arm and one leg draped over her body.
“Elphie, have I told you about my mother lately?” Elphaba snapped her head to meet Galinda’s eyes, worry and concern plastered on her face.
“No. Why? What’s wrong? Is she alright?”
Galinda met Elphaba’s gaze, trying not to laugh. She would never admit it, but Elphaba was quite the dramatic.
“Elphaba. She’s fine,” now, Galinda fully started to laugh, while Elphaba let go of a breath she didn’t know she was holding.
“I was just going to tell you that she is starting to grow… concerned… for a lack of better words.”
“Concerned about what? You’re okay aren’t you?”
“Well yes, I’m fine. But you see my mother is very adamant about me finding a husband while I’m here at school. She’s been blabbering about this since high school. I should've seen it coming.”
“Oh so she… still doesn’t know?”
Galinda looked away from Elphaba and nodded her head ‘no’ very gently, almost as if she were ashamed.
One night, when she and Elphaba were exchanging secrets, she slipped up and told her that she liked girls — and only girls. Well it hadn’t really been a slip up, had it? It was more so the effect of Galinda’s lack of a filter. She had been so afraid of how Elphaba may react, she had barely come to terms with and accepted herself! So how could she expect someone else to be accepting of something so scandalocious and unbecoming?
_______________
2 months ago
The two laid in Galinda’s bed at night — as they do — as they slowly began to run out of things to talk about. Who knew that Elphaba would have no more of her current readings to discuss, and that the socialite would run out of things to discuss at all!
“Elphie, I am SO bored. I guess we should just call it a night, hm?”
“That doesn’t sound all that bad, I was getting tired anyways.” Elphaba yawned as she reached over to turn the lamp that occupied Galinda’s nightstand off. As she pulled herself back towards her friend, she was struck with an idea. Well, it was Galinda’s idea really, but who cares!
“Galinda?”
“Hm?”
“We could do what you always suggest? Tell each other a secret that we’ve never told anyone before?”
There was silence, until “Elphaba,” Galinda enunciated with a strict tone in her voice. Elphaba wasn’t sure what she had said or did wrong, but for a second, she thought that maybe she should’ve listened to Galinda and just let the two of them gradually drift into sleep. It was late, afterall.
“You’re a genius!”
Elphaba exhaled with relief, and gave a small laugh after realizing her best friend wasn;t upset or angry with her.
“Alright I suggested it, so you go first!”
“I am, be patient Elphie! A girl has to think y’know.”
“Of course."
Galinda tapped her chin as if in a deep state of thought and ponderance. After deciding on a secret to tell the older girl, a look of fear shortly occupied her face. Thankfully, due to Elphaba eliminating the only source of light that was remaining in the dorm just a few moments ago, Elphaba wasn't able to see the state of uncertainty that Galinda was in.
“Okay, I’ve truly never told anyone this before, and I’m really scared to tell you.”
“Galinda, c’mon, you know I’m the last person who would ever judge anyone for anything.”
“You’re right I suppose.” Galinda shifted a little closer to Elphaba. Despite the nervousness that oozed from her, being that she was moments away from revealing one of the deepest truths about herself, Elphaba was still the person she found comfort in. As silly as it may be, in Galinda’s eyes, the contact with Elphaba would be what helps her spit this out quicker.
“Okay, my secret is… thatIlikegirls.” Galinda rushed out her confession as quickly as possible, squealed, and swiftly turned around so that she wasn’t facing Elphaba.
If she hadn’t turned around, and if the lights were still on, she’d see the look of amusement that was plastered on Elphaba’s face. It almost looked as though she was laughing at her.
“Could you turn around please?”
“Mm mm!” Elphaba sighed. Was Galinda really about to throw a fit over her own secret right now?
“Turn around, Galinda.”
Galinda slowly turned around, afraid of what may come of Elphaba’s reaction to the news. After moving with no urgency whatsoever, she finally turns around to fully meet Elphaba again.
“Elphie, are you disgusted by me now? It’s okay and i understand if you ar-”
“Galinda, relax please!” Elphaba was full on laughing now. “Now, my secret will be… that I like girls too — and boys. I like girls and boys.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
________________
That night, Galinda and Elphaba bonded over their shared secret that nobody but them had known. Sure, they were just as clingy throughout the day and around their friends, but their dorm allowed for a different type of connection. They were both similar in a way that they couldn’t yet share with anybody else, which brought them impossibly closer.
“It’s okay if you don’t feel ready to tell your parents. I don’t think I’ll ever get around to telling my father.”
“I want to dropkick him.”
“As much as I’d appreciate that, please, please, do not dropkick the governor.” At this, laughter from the two girls began to fill the room, with Galinda’s quickly being interrupted with a big yawn.
“Do you want to sleep now? Are you tired?” Elphaba was always attentive to her friend’s needs and behaviors, and maybe a lot more than she should’ve been.
All Galinda did was give a slight nod, another indicator that she was growing sleepier by the minute.
Elphaba reached over to turn the lamp off, she was always the one who had turned it off at night, being as she was much closer to the lamp. Settling back onto the bed, she started to move and turn her back towards the blonde, finally ending up on her side. Out of habit, Galinda quickly scooted in closer behind her to wrap her arms around her.
This is how they slept every single night. On occasion, they would switch positions and Elphaba would be the one holding Galinda. But tonight, everything went as usual.
“Goodnight, Elphie.”
“Goodnight.”
-
-
-
Elphaba hadn’t yet fallen asleep, and neither did Galinda. Since they had said their ‘Goodnight’s,’ there had been a lot on Elphaba’s mind.
“Galinda? Are you still awake?”
“I am.”
“I couldn’t sleep, and I started thinking. This may be strange to say but I really enjoy being this close to you and you holding me and me holding you, but I can’t help but to wonder…”
At this, the younger of the two started to gently rub one of Elphaba’s hands, having a feeling that something was bothering her. “You can’t help but to wonder what Elphie?”
Elphaba released a heavy sigh, afraid of sounding insane to her best friend. “What if one day you have a girlfriend and we have to sleep in separate beds again and stop cuddling so much? Because surely she wouldn’t be comfortable with… this.”
Galinda scooted in closer, and tried to hold Elphaba tighter, even though neither one of those things were possible to achieve. She was already as close as it gets!
“Elphie I-... I guess I’ve never really thought about anything like that, but I guess you’re right. But we don’t have to worry about that for now! I’m not even out.”
For a moment, Elphaba took this into consideration, and she almost let the conversation go so that they could both head to sleep, but there was something still bothering her on the matter.
“But I really really enjoy this Galinda, I mean you’re the only person besides Nessa who isn’t afraid to touch me, and I can’t bear the thought of losing you or what we have. You’re my best friend.”
“Of course you would be jealous of a hypothetical relationship.” Galinda snickered.
“Galinda I’m serious.”
“Okay okay! I’m sorry, I’ll be serious too. Elphaba, no matter who comes into my life and no matter who comes into your life, we will always have each other. No matter what happens, you will always be very dear and important to me, and you would know that if you let your stubborn brain see how much I care for you!”
Elphaba shook her head while Galinda was still speaking. “No, no, no, you’re not understanding. Galinda, if you have a girlfriend, we won’t be able to lay like this,” Elphaba reached back to briefly touch Galinda’s leg to put emphasis on her statement. “It would be undeniably strange for us to share a bed and lay this closely every single night, and I don’t want to have to get rid of that.”
“So what I’m hearing is that you want me all to yourself?” Galinda couldn’t remove the smugness from her tone if she tried. (Not like she was going to try anyways.)
“Well when you say it like th-”
“Elphie, can you turn around for a second?” Galinda removed her arm and the tight grip that she held on her friend, giving her room to turn.
“For what?”
“Just turn around!”
When Elphaba finally turned around to meet Galinda, they were only inches — centimeters even — apart. For a moment, they just sat in silence, until finally, Galinda spoke up.
“Elphie, I want to try something okay?” Galinda raised her right hand to place it softly on the left side of Elphaba’s face. Had Elphaba had any romantic experience, she’d know where this was headed. But unfortunately, she didn’t, and she was also incredibly oblivious. She had no clue where this was going.
Elphaba only nodded, not sure of what Galinda was wanting to try, but giving her permission to do so anyways.
Already only being a breath apart, there wasn’t much of a gap to close. In a matter of seconds, Galinda slowly leaned forward and pressed her lips to Elphaba’s. Both of the girls’ eyes immediately fluttered shut upon initial contact as they took in the moment.
Galinda was the first to both pull away and speak.
“Elphie was that- was that okay? If it wasn’t-”
And to Galinda’s surprise, Elphaba surged forward, interrupting her speech, to plant another deeper, and more lingering kiss on Galinda’s lips. Galinda melted into the contact once again and let her hand go from cradling Elphaba’s face to playing with a few of her thin braids that fell over her shoulder.
The two finally pulled away after a couple of moments, both with seemingly little to no words to give at the moment. Elphaba, nervous and uncertain, was the first to break the silence.
“So… does this mean-”
Galinda’s alarmingly loud yawn cut her off.
“Elphie, I say this with much kindness, but let us please discuss this in the morning. I am unfathomably exhausted as of now.” Elphaba smiled that big smile that reaches her eyes and every inch of her face.
“Okay, goodnight.” Elphaba started to turn around so they could fall back into the position they typically slept in until a pale hand stopped her.
“Wait, one more!” Galinda leaned over to her friend — friend? Well they were certainly going to be more than that now… but that’s a discussion for the morning time! — and gave her a quick peck on the lips before allowing her to turn over again.
“Yay! Okay, goodnight now Elphie!” For someone so exhausted, Galinda sure seemed to display a lot of energy at this time of night. Elphaba curled back into Galinda’s arms as they reverted back to their earlier cuddling position. After settling, she sighed with content.
“Goodnight, my sweet.”