Work Text:
Elphaba was almost out of ideas of places to check for Fiyero.
He'd been in History that morning, tossing her his usual smile and "Morning Fae" before taking his seat next to her. Dr. Nikidik's review had been familiar enough to Elphaba that she spent most of class just listening, occasionally adding to the margins of her notes for later reference. Fiyero had been less focused than usual, switching between his own notes and a slim, dark blue notebook she'd never seen before. The best she could make out was dark swirling lines and a string of numbers before he noticed her watching and angled it away from her line of sight.
It hadn't hurt exactly. Elphaba was no stranger to holding things close to her chest until she was ready (or more likely, not) to voice her thoughts. But she'd begun to think that they'd grown close in the months since Fiyero had waltzed into Shiz, swaggering around in his "Dancing Through Life" mask, generally charming everyone into believing he was the brainless party prince. Elphaba had never really believed the mask, especially after meeting and getting to know Feldspur. The Horse was too grounded and spoke too highly of his prince (childhood antics aside) for the rumors to be true. But all the same, she could admit there had been a dip in her chest when he'd turned away from her. Lifetime of rejection and all that.
Once History let out, he'd thrown her a "See you at lunch" and disappeared before she could reply. She hadn't seen him since.
Lunch had come and gone with no sign of him. He hadn't been to their afternoon law class or the study group with their friends. She'd checked his dorm, her dorm, the quad, the cafeteria, the stables, and, in desperation, the library.
She was beginning to think he'd gone for a walk in the woods, maybe to the badminton court they'd built, and gotten lost or injured when she passed the clubs bulletinboard. The bright orange flyer caught her eye and she remembered Fiyero had mentioned joining the new metalworking club. She'd been surprised at his interest until he explained how he'd learned the basics from the castle blacksmith inbetween his many schools growing up.
Out of options, Elphaba quickly read the location listed on the flyer and headed off.
The path wasn't one that she'd ever used before. It wound past the stables until she could hear the roar of fire and bellows interspersed with the clang of metal on metal. She stepped into the clearing, and took in what she was seeing.
The building had clearly once been something else. Vines grew along cracks in the plaster and some sections of the wall were half crumbled to show the interior, though the roof looked solid. There were several large windows open to the elements and a set of wooden double doors that were currently flung wide and held open with large rocks.
As she stepped closer, the clanging grew louder and she felt a wave of heat hit her. The early evening had been pleasently cool but standing in the doorway of the forge felt like she'd traveled back to childhood summers in Munckinland where the sun had shown down on the tulip fields with an intensity that made her feel like she was baking.
The large fire was in the center of the room surrounded by equipment she didn't have names for. There was a bellows connected to a hole in the stone below the fire, though it was far larger than any she had ever seen before. Off to the side was a large bucket of what looked like oil, another of newspaper and a trough filled with water. And in the center of it all, at a large anvil, stood Fiyero.
His body was at an angle to her, hammer in one hand, tongs in the other as he quickly struck a glowing rod of metal. Sparks flew around the large black gloves he wore and Elphaba followed the line of his arm up, and oh...
His arms were bare and streaked with soot. The bulge of his biceps rolled and flexed with his hammering and Elphaba felt a swooping sensation low in her belly and was it suddenly hotter than it had been before? She jerked her eyes up to his face and noticed his brows creased in concentration. There were more streaks of soot as if he'd repeatedly pushed his hair out of his eyes. He had sweat beading along his hairline and down his jaw but he didn't seem to notice. Mesmerized, Elphaba swayed forward.
His eyes were intent on his project, focused in a way Elphaba rarely saw. The firelight reflected off of them, almost seeming to glow, as if he was willing the project into form with his mind as well as his hands. The thought of being the subject of that focus was more than Elphaba was prepared for so she promptly shoved it away.
Suddenly Fiyero turned to the bucket of oil and submerged the metal. Elphaba drew back as flames licked up from the surface, though they quickly died down. Pulling the now dark metal from the bucket, Fiyero turned and laid it back on the anvil, pulling off the thick gloves and setting them down along side the tools. He picked up a cloth and ran it over his hands and arms. Tossing it down, he reached towards the hem of his shirt and pulled it up to wipe at his face.
Elphaba couldn't process everything she was seeing. The newly exposed skin, the dark hair that gathered and ran down into the waistband of the thick canvas pants slung low on his hips. She absently noticed the hint of dark ink swirling on his skin but couldn't tell more than the vague impression of geometric patterns. She didn't even realize she'd begun moving until her hip collided with a workbench, knocking over several tools. The resounding clatter and movement made Elphaba flinch as Fiyero's eyes snapped open and landed on her, dropping his shirt.
"I...I'm sorry. I'll pick everything up." She stammered, off balance from the events of the last several minutes.
Fiyero's brow creased, and he held up a finger. Reaching up, he pulled something from his ears. They looked like bits of wax about the size of thimbles. "Elphaba, what are you doing here?"
"I came looking for you. You didn't show up for lunch or study group and no one had seen you since History."
Fiyero's eyes ficked over her shoulder to the outside, where the sun was beginning to sink towards the horizon. "What time is it?"
"Dinner's in an hour."
Fiyero swore under his breath. "I lost track of time. I didn't mean to be here this long but I got an idea for a project and couldn't wait to start."
"What are you making?" Elphaba glanced behind him at the metal resting on the anvil but Fiyero quickly side stepped to block her view. If he wasn't already flushed from the heat and exertion, Elphaba would have sworn he was blushing.
"Nothing much. Just tinkering with an idea." Fiyero's fingers were tapping against his leg as he spoke and Elphaba realized he was lying. Whatever he was working on mattered a great deal to him.
"Alright.... Well, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay" Elphaba gave him one last searching look before turning to pick up the tools she had knocked over. Fiyero darted forward to gently take them out of her hands.
"Don't worry about those. I'll get them." Fiyero seemed oddly twitchy, like his skin didn't quite sit correctly on his frame. It was a stark difference to the ease she had seen when she first walked into the forge.
Elphaba dropped her hands back to her sides. "See you at dinner?"
"I'll be there, though I may be a bit late. I have to clean up a bit first." He guestured to himself and Elphaba's eyes followed, taking in the full force of him. He had more soot on him than she'd realized, along his neck as well as his face and a smear on his shirt like he'd wiped his hand there without thinking. Elphaba could now see how the light, sleeveless shirt clung to him where the sweat had soaked through. She absently wondered why he hadn't just taken it off, like the day he and Boq had been clearing fallen trees for the badminton court. The memory of seeing him without a shirt often came back to her at the most inopportune times, such as in class or late at night when she was trying to sleep.
"......Fae!" Elphaba blinked, realizing she'd been caught staring at his chest. Her eyes snapped up to his as she felt heat rise in her cheeks. Fiyero had a cheeky grin on his face and he cocked his head to the right much like he had the night he and Feldspur almost ran her over. "See anything you like?"
The flirtatous tone was more than Elphaba could handle.
She spun towards the door, calling "See you at dinner!" over her shoulder as she marched outside and back towards the main part of campus.
~~~~~~~
A week later, as Elphaba stepped out into the hall, her foot bumped a small box wrapped in brown paper and twine. Picking it up, she noticed her name printed in small neat letters. It wasn't any handwriting she recognized but she brought it to her desk and cautiously pulled the ends of the twine to undo the knot.
When nothing jumped or exploded out at her, she pulled the paper away and lifted the flap. Inside was a length of blue cloth with gold embroidery she recognized from Fiyero's Vinkun clothing. Well that answered who the package was from.
She'd barely been able to meet his eye since their interaction at the forge but he'd simply continued his steady presence in her life, asking about her day, stealing her notes, and generally worming his way into her thoughts. Though now there were some intense visuals accompanying them.
Unwrapping the fabric, she took in the 3 hair sticks nestled inside. Immediately, her mind flashed back to the glowing metal Fiyero had been hammering. He'd made her hair sticks.
Elphaba blinked. He'd made her hair sticks.
She had worn one to class weeks ago when she'd stayed late at the library the night before and couldn't summon the energy to braid her hair the next morning. He'd noticed, told her it looked good and never mentioned it again.
She picked up one, stunned by the care and detail that had obviously gone into it. The stick twisted around itself and was topped by a poppy. He'd remembered her favorite flower.
Setting it back in the box she pulled out the other two. Though less detailed, they were still beautiful. One had a loop at the top that reminded her of the trees in the Great Gillikin Forest and the other had smaller pieces of metal twined in a braid.
Elphaba sat back in her desk chair, stunned. Fiyero not only had taken the time to make these for her, he'd added details that proved there was more to him than his playboy persona. He paid attention to her and the things she liked. She couldn't remember a time she'd gotten such a meaningful gift. Certianly not growing up and, while she loved the hat that Galinda had given her for the OzDust, not since coming to Shiz.
Suddenly, a loud chime broke the silence. Elphaba jumped up, realizing she should have already left for class. Before she could over think it, she pulled the small pins from her hair and gathered it into a bun, weaving the poppy hair stick into place. She scooped up her bag and rushed out the door, hoping she wouldn't be late.
~~~~~~~
She made it with 5 minutes to spare, sliding into her seat just as Dr. Nikidik was rolling a projector into the room. As she pulled her notebook from her bag, she noticed there was no sign of Fiyero. She glanced at the clock. 3 minutes to go now.
Catching movement in the doorway, she turned her head and saw Fiyero. He was walking almost reluctantly, eyes downcast. He looked like he wanted to be in History even less than usual.
As she watched, he took a deep breath as if bracing himself and looked up. Their eyes caught and Elphaba was surprised to see shyness behind his. Then his eyes moved up to her hair and his stride caught.
He stared for one heartbeat, two, then all of the tension drained out of him and his lips curved in an achingly soft smile.
Reaching up to run a finger along the edge of the metal poppy petal, Elphaba let herself smile back at him.