Chapter Text
Sometimes, Elphaba is grateful for her green skin–it means people very rarely notice her status as an Omega. In fact, they tend to assume she’s an Alpha, at first, due to her strong-willed nature; at the distinct lack of Alpha pheromones when she loses her temper, though, people come to assume she is just an unusually emotional Beta.
No one has ever actually guessed Omega, though, and Elphaba would prefer to keep it that way. The rarity of her status would only lend her more unwanted attention than what her verdigris already supplies, she’s sure.
The bustling Shiz docks threaten to overwhelm Elphaba’s senses as she disembarks their little boat. As expected, she can’t even fully take in the sights of the marvelous Shiz University grounds before the entire crowd is staring at and surrounding her.
What follows is definitely not her finest moment.
First, it’s that uppity, blonde Alpha girl who acts as if she’s Saint Glinda, herself. The audacity she has to first presume her skin color is a problem and then offer a solution she does not yet even possess the ability to perform.
It should have been fine, because Elphaba is not enrolled and therefore should not have to encounter the girl again. But, of course, her father forces her to follow after Nessarose as if she were a toddler on a playdate. Then, that infuriating Miss Coddle –
Well. After all the chaos stalls, Elphaba is thoroughly humbled and humiliated. But Madame Morrible looks at her… differently. Kindly.
“Who here,” Madame Morrible calls out to the crowd of students, “would volunteer to share–”
That annoying Alpha girl trips next to them, popping up like a daisy with her hand in the air. “Madame Morrible!”
“Oh, thank you dear! That is very good of you.”
What?
“...What?” the blonde girl echoes Elphaba’s internal narration.
Madame Morrible turns back to her. “Miss…?” she says, looking at her expectantly.
“Elphaba,” she rushes to answer.
“Elphaba.” Madame Morrible repeats with a smile before waving between her and the Alpha girl. “You can room with Miss Galinda.”
Oh, no. Room with an Alpha? Especially one this obnoxious?
“Wait–what? I–” she splutters out as the Alpha girl–Galinda , apparently, because of course the god complex was contracted via her birth certificate–gasps incredulously beside her.
But Madame Morrible has moved on, shooing the other students away and asking her to come along. Perhaps she’ll be able to bring up the… complexities of the situation in a more private setting.
***
She is not able to bring up the complexities of her situation because Madame Morrible starts talking about working with The Wizard, and Elphaba admittedly loses herself in the fantasy of it all for a bit. Surely, she’ll have a chance to talk to Miss Coddle about changing rooms soon.
***
(Except, she does get the chance, but Miss Coddle is useless. She speaks over her, brushes her off, half-hears her. Elphaba can’t get a word out about her status and the problems that might arise because of it before the Head Shizstress ushers her out of her office.
She’s stuck.)
***
The next few weeks are exhaustingly irritating. Life is a 24/7 argument with Galinda; if they’re not fighting over the last seat in class, they’re rearranging each other’s things in increasingly inconvenient ways or blatantly hurling insults at each other. Nessarose is constantly checking in on her, asking if she’s truly okay rooming with an Alpha with whom she doesn’t get along.
If Elphaba’s being honest, though, she’s kind of gotten used to all the pranks and bickering; it’s kind of routine, at this point. Would she prefer some peace and quiet? Sure, but it hasn’t been the complete end of the world like she’d originally thought it would be.
Thankfully, due to her weekly suppressant pills, Galinda still hasn’t noticed that Elphaba is actually an Omega. That would definitely change things. Who knows what cruelty the Gillikinese heiress would unleash if she were to find out? And surely, once Galinda knew, the whole of Shiz would know, too.
Elphaba is nearly religious with taking her suppressants because of this, terrified of the consequences if she were to go into heat. When she has three weeks’ worth left, she writes to her father to ask for the extra supply from her home bedroom; since Omegas are so rare, she stocks up on the medicine, but she obviously hadn’t expected to be staying at Shiz for long when she’d packed.
A week goes by, then two, with no response or package from her father. Elphaba only has one pill left, so she’s getting nervous. She goes over her options, though there aren’t that many: she could ask around to see if there were any other Omegas on campus, though that’s pretty unlikely, and no one will help because everyone hates her; she could ask Miss Coddle if there’s a nurse’s stash of suppressants on campus, though she would have to disclose her Omega status in that case; or, riskiest of all, she could just wait it out until the extra suppressants come in.
Technically, there’s not a guarantee that she’ll go into heat as soon as she stops taking the suppressants, so there’s a chance that she could have some leeway before her resupply comes in. But… that chance is extremely small. For the safest option, she’ll have to talk to Miss Coddle and pray to Whoever that the Head Shizstress isn’t inclined to share students’ medical information.
***
”Does the university have a stock of suppressants?” Elphaba asks straightforwardly after entering Miss Coddle’s office.
The Shizstress’s eyebrows shoot sky high. “Oh! Why, yes, Miss Elphaba, we do,” she stands and starts walking over to a locked cabinet, “although, I’m not sure if they’ll be as good as the ones you’re used to; I hadn’t even realized you’re an Alpha!”
Elphaba shakes her head, though Miss Coddle isn’t looking at her. “I’m not an Alpha,” she says coolly. “I’m an Omega.” Her heart skips at the admission. She’s glad she shut the door when she walked in so no passersby might hear.
Miss Coddle freezes, key hovering just beside the lock. She turns, and her face is pale with the same expression she’d had when she’d first met Elphaba. “An O-Omega?” she squeaks.
”Indeed.”
Miss Coddle looks frazzled as she moves away from the still-closed cabinet. “Well—you see—we usually restock during the summer break, but we didn’t know we would have any Omegas on campus this year; it’s usually disclosed in the application, you see. Your situation was just so… unique that we must have missed that little… tidbit.”
Elphaba’s heart races nervously. “Are you saying you don’t have any Omega suppressants?”
The Shizstress winces. “I’m afraid so, dearie. You can always, er, try in town? Although…” She doesn’t finish her sentence, but Elphaba knows what she was going to say.
The chances of any medical practice having Omega suppressants on-hand is extremely low. This is why Elphaba stocks up whenever she can find or order some.
She feels like she’s going to be sick.
”I’m—I’m sure it’ll be alright, Miss Elphaba,” Miss Coddle rambles on. “Worst-case scenario, I’m sure Miss Galinda is a perfectly respectable Alpha, what with her upbringing and all—a right gentlelady, I’m sure.”
Elphaba feels her cheeks heat up at the insinuation. “I beg your pardon ,” she snaps at the older woman. She doesn’t give her a chance to apologize before she storms out of the office.
She huffs and stomps all the way back to her room. How dare Miss Coddle, a school official , imply that she should have sex with her roommate just to get through her heat. This is why she doesn’t want anyone to know she’s an Omega; everyone assumes they are all just sex-crazed and mindless, especially during their heat. She doesn’t want to lose her virginity to a stupid Alpha she doesn’t even like, no matter how respectable that Alpha might be, just to end the biological inconvenience that is her heat.
Although… Elphaba has to admit that Galinda is very pretty. Attractive, even, especially when she would get riled up and emit those faint, suppressant-dulled Alpha pheromones that would always irk Elphaba even more.
Elphaba stops just outside the doors to the dorm room. She does not need to be entertaining this train of thought. The idea is preposterous, ludicrous.
( Galinda would never want you, anyway , a voice says in the back of her mind.)
Refocusing, Elphaba realizes that both plan A and B to obtain her suppressants have failed, now. She’ll have to skip class tomorrow to go into town while the sun’s out as a last-ditch effort to find some. And if she can’t, well… she’ll have to take things one day at a time.
She enters the bedroom to see Galinda is there, ridding herself of her pressed hair and makeup for the evening.
A thought occurs to Elphaba: should she warn Galinda? It would mean disclosing her status, obviously, but it’s looking like that might end up happening regardless. It would probably be the polite thing to do, as roommates, right?
Elphaba must have been staring as she thought, because Galinda is now glaring at her in the mirror with a scoff. “I know I’m beautiful,” she says airily, “but that doesn’t mean I want to feel your mean little eyes on me.”
That snaps Elphaba out of her thoughtful daze. Well. That pretty much makes the decision for her.
Elphaba turns away with a roll of her eyes and decidedly does not confide in or warn Galinda of what might be to come. It’s not a guarantee to happen, anyways.
It’ll be fine.
***
It starts off small, two weeks later.
At this point, Elphaba has sent two more letters to her father, still with no response. She’s also placed an order with two nearby pharmacies, in case one of them is able to get the shipment in sooner, and checks in with them daily to constant responses in the negative.
It starts off small, with Galinda giving her strange looks, curious looks–not glares like usual, but more… confused. When Elphaba notices, she raises an eyebrow or rolls her eyes before bringing her attention back to the task at hand. She tries her hardest to avoid Galinda as much as possible, so even their arguing has decreased.
But within a couple days, it’s not just Galinda giving her those looks. Elphaba starts noticing random Alphas scrunching up their noses when she walks by, as if they have to sneeze. It progresses until Nessa corners her after class.
“Elphaba, what is going on?” At her look of confusion, Nessa continues, “Did you switch suppressants or something, because whatever you’re using now is not working.” Elphaba’s heart drops to a pit in her stomach. “Even I can smell you, and I’m not the first Beta to have noticed. I’ve deflected when people asked me about it, because I know you want to keep your status a secret but…”
“I’m out of suppressants,” Elphaba admits quietly. “It’s been over two weeks since my last dose. I’ve written to father about my extra supply, but–”
“Oh, Elphaba,” Nessarose interrupts solemnly, “Father is away at a conference, he won’t be home for weeks. Dulcibear most likely put your letters on his desk for him to read when he returns.”
Of course her father left on a trip without telling her. Why would she, his eldest daughter and an Omega in a faraway place, need to know something like that?
Nessarose is still talking. “Perhaps you could write to Dulcibear, herself? You know she wouldn’t open Father’s mail. Though, if your heat is already starting, it’ll probably be too late–”
“My heat isn’t starting,” Elpaha cuts her off, snapping more than she’d meant to. At Nessarose’s stunned expression, she takes a breath and forces her voice to be calm and even. “My heat isn’t starting. It’s just my pheromones becoming active again, that’s all. I’ll write to Dulcibear.” Truly, some part of Elphaba knows she’s being a fool in denial, especially at Nessa’s dubious expression.
“Elphaba… your roommate is an Alpha .”
“I’m aware.”
Nessa’s mouth quirks to the side in agitation. “And you aren’t worried? I know you’ve heard the stories of Alphas losing control around an Omega in heat. And you know that none of the Alphas here have probably ever even met an Omega before, much less been around one in heat.”
Elphaba’s frown deepens. She’s been different all her life, due to her greenness, but being an Omega makes her life so much more difficult than her skin color does. “I’m not going to just hide myself away. Nobody would touch me, anyway; everyone hates me, here.”
“I don’t think that’s going to matter,” Nessa says gravely. Elphaba shakes her head and looks away, but her sister keeps talking. “I don’t think this is really a choice you have , Elphaba. Please, just… promise me you’ll do your best to keep safe?
Elphaba reluctantly looks back down to meet her sister’s gaze, a bit of guilt rising in her throat. Nessa only worries for her, and though Elphaba loathes to admit it, she has a right and reason to. After a long moment, she finally nods her agreement. Nessa gives her a soft smile that doesn’t match the worry still in her eyes before she leaves Elphaba be.
Unease settles in Elphaba’s stomach as she ponders her sister’s warning. Is that really the only choice she has, to hide herself away until this passes? Untreated heats can last upwards of a week, and with this being Elphaba’s first in so long, it’s truly unpredictable how difficult it will be.
She shakes her head before making the walk back to her dorm room. She’ll write to Dulcibear, she’ll take things one day at a time, and it will be alright.
***
Except, the cramps start that night.
Elphaba is curled up in bed with a book, and, as per usual, Galinda is seated at her vanity, fussing over her hair in the mirror–not like Elphaba is paying any attention, of course.
But that’s the thing, too: over the past couple of days, Elphaba has noticed that she’s become increasingly aware of Galinda’s presence, when she’s near. She can… feel her, sense her there, even from across the room when she would normally be ignoring her existence.
It’s due to the pondering of these new sensations that Elphaba realizes she’s been reading the same page for about ten minutes now. She sighs and shifts to get more comfortable, when a low pulse throbs deep in her lower abdomen. Elphaba freezes, a hand shooting to her stomach reflexively, but the feeling is gone as soon as it had appeared.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Galinda move, but when she turns to look at her, the blonde quickly averts her gaze. Elphaba narrows her eyes suspiciously, but (attempts to) go back to her book.
A few minutes later, it happens again. It’s less of a pulsing, this time, and more of an ache that starts slight and grows until Elphaba can feel it in her lower back. She tries not to move too much, lest she draw attention, but she can’t quite hold back the wince that shows on her face.
“...Elphaba,” comes Galinda’s voice hesitantly from across the room. Elphaba’s eyes shoot open–she hadn’t even realized she’d been squeezing them shut–and quickly find the blonde’s own in that stupid pink mirror. “Are you… okay?”
Galinda seems puzzled, herself, as to why she’s even asking. Elphaba can’t say she’s any less confused.
“I’m fine,” she says flatly, turning back to her book and trying to ignore the steadily-growing ache in her abdomen.
“...Elphaba, I have a really weird, strong feeling that you’re not okay .”
“Why do you care?” Elphaba’s voice cuts through the room as her book snaps shut.
Brown doe eyes stare back at her, directly now instead of in the reflection. “I don’t know,” Galinda says, confusion still apparent in her tone. “Well, I know we don’t get along,” she amends, “but that doesn’t mean I want you to be in pain.”
“Who says I’m in pain?” Elphaba can see, can feel Galinda trying to soften her edges, but she refuses to let it happen and keeps her voice sharp. She doesn’t want things to be different; she wants Galinda to keep hating her and ignoring her and leave her to get through this apparent heat in peace.
“I–well–” Galinda looks truly bewildered. “I don’t know,” she settles on repeating. She blinks, eyes falling away from Elphaba’s. “Just… forget I said anything.”
“Gladly.”
Something unpleasant, almost akin to sadness, briefly passes over Galinda’s face before she turns back around and resumes her nighttime routine.
The cramps only get worse, and trying to hide them makes Elphaba restless and feverish. She tries a multitude of different laying positions, even moves to sit at her desk for a bit, but the ache in her core has quickly become too distracting. She can feel frustration bubbling up inside her and decides to go to the balcony in an attempt to cool down.
Elphaba opens the glass doors and pauses as the cold night air hits her. She stands there for a moment, holding the doors apart and closing her eyes while the wind blows past her and into the room. She half-expects to hear Galinda complain about the chilly breeze, but no such comment comes.
The air does help calm her whole-body flush a bit, but it does not dissipate her cramps. With a resigned sigh, Elphaba shuts the balcony doors and turns to move back to her bed.
She stops walking right away when she notices Galinda. The blonde girl is staring at her with pupils so wide that her brown eyes look black. There’s a light flush on her cheeks–and her chest, as Elphaba’s eyes dart down to notice–and she’s clutching her fluffy pink comforter. Elphaba almost takes a step back in apprehension.
“Elphaba,” Galinda says, almost choking as if her throat is dry, “you’re an Omega?”
Elphaba’s heart thuds harshly against her sternum. “What?” she says, more breathily than she’d like.
“That’s what’s wrong,” Galinda continues more assuredly. “You’re an Omega. And you’re in–in heat .”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Elphaba snaps instinctively, heart clenching at the falseness of her speech.
Galinda’s eyebrows furrow and eyes narrow. When she speaks this time, her voice has a strange new sound to it–it’s not bass necessarily, but a certain tone that comes through which makes Elphaba’s skin raise in goosebumps.
“Don’t lie to me.”
Oh, sweet Oz. Elphaba’s thighs squeeze together as she feels her underwear become slick.
Galinda had used her Alpha voice, and Elphaba’s body responded .
This infuriates Elphaba. It’s considered manipulative and highly rude for an Alpha to use that tone in public, with anyone other than their mated pair. She clenches her hands into fists and, despite the unfortunate predicament between her thighs, is about to launch into a tirade on etiquette and Omega awareness when she sees Galinda recoil and shake her head.
“No, I’m–” Galinda speaks again, voice back in its normal timbre. She clears her throat. “I’m sorry. That was inappropriate. Please forgive me.” She looks truly apologetic, from what Elphaba can tell, which lowers her hackles a small bit. “But.. frankly, that’s exactly what I mean. Just now, you stood in the wind, and I could smell you so clearly . My body wouldn’t be reacting like this if you weren’t in heat.”
Her body? Elphaba feels her head tilt questioningly. It’s only then that she notices one of Galinda’s pink pillows is being held tightly in her lap.
Oh . She feels her ears burn.
Galinda notices Elphaba’s glance and flushes deeper. “I’m not–I won’t do anything, you know…”
That, for some reason, sends a pang of rejection shooting through Elphaba’s heart. It must show on her face, because Galinda continues hurriedly.
“Not–not because of you! Just, I know you wouldn’t want to, and I don’t want you to worry that I would–would f-force myself on you, or something.” Galinda sinks down into her bed a bit, a shadow briefly passing over her face. “I’m not–I’m not that kind of Alpha.”
Okay. Something has clearly happened with Galinda in the past to have her talking like this, but Elphaba isn’t about to pry. She has to wrap her head around the fact that Galinda had almost complimented her, just now.
Frankly, she has to wrap her head around this whole new side to Galinda she’s seeing. She’s never known the Gillikinesian to be afraid of or nervous about anything, and yet here she is, hunched over in her mountain of softness with her hands fidgeting atop that specifically-placed pillow. Certainly the opposite of what Nessarose had tried to warn her about. Maybe Miss Coddle had been right in that Galinda was truly a gentlelady.
Elphaba decides to give a bit. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It was… a non-issue until I ran out of my suppressants.”
Galinda looks up at that, pale eyebrows drawn together delicately. “Why can’t you just get some from Miss Coddle?”
Elphaba nearly laughs at that. “I was unexpected, therefore there are no Omega suppressants on campus. Or in town, for that matter,” she tacks on before Galinda can suggest it. “I’ve placed orders, but it seems they’re backlogged, and I’ve written to my father, but he’s apparently been away on a business trip and hasn’t gotten my letters. I wrote a letter today to Dul–our nanny, so hopefully she’ll be able to ship me my extras. Until then, I’m… left to deal with this.”
Galinda sits up straighter and tilts her head. (Elphaba can’t help but compare her to a wolf pup at the sight.) “What’s your plan?” she asks.
Elphaba stills, reminded of her conversation with Nessa. “My plan is to not let my status define nor inconvenience me.”
Galinda’s brows furrow together again. “So… you just want to go about business as usual?”
“Precisely.”
“Elphie– oh , can I call you ‘Elphie’?” Galinda says with a little clap that contrasts against her previously-serious tone. Elphaba doesn’t particularly like its perkiness, and this is the first actual conversation the two of them have ever had, so she’s not sure how she feels about receiving a nickname just yet. Before she can say anything, however, Galinda keeps talking. “ Oh , yes, I’m going to call you that! Anyways, Elphie, I… I have no right to tell you what to do, but I do wish you would reconsider that.”
Oh, dear Oz. She can’t keep from rolling her eyes. Everyone is seemingly determined to treat her like she’s fragile, as if the entire student body doesn’t simultaneously loathe and fear her.
“Most Alphas can’t be trusted–I would know,” Galinda continues, “and… I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
That makes Elphaba’s ire stutter in its step once more. There’s something about how it took Galinda discovering her Omega status for her to start treating her decently that fans the flames of anger within Elphaba, but it’s hard to keep that fire stoked when the heiress keeps showing such genuine concern and care. Annoying though this is, her heart is in the right place.
“I’ll be fine,” she says, trying her best to curb her sharpness. “I appreciate your concern.” She tries to be firm with her decision without being harsh.
Galinda seems to resign herself to the fact that she will not convince Elphaba to change her mind, at least not tonight. She gives a small sigh and a nod. “Alright, Elphie.” Ugh, that nickname. Elphaba ignores the skip of her heartbeat. “But at least promise me that, if anyone gives you trouble, you’ll tell me?”
How noble. What would Galinda even do, should that situation arise? Wanting for this conversation to be over, Elphaba nods her agreement and resumes the walk back to her bed. “Though, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” She climbs under her sheets and picks her book back up.
It’ll be fine.