Chapter Text
It’d been years since Glinda worried about her wife’s whereabouts, and it’d been years since Elphaba missed dinner. But the sun had long set, Elphaba had missed dinner, and Glinda was worried.
She tried not to show it, but with each passing clock tick, her worry threatened to bubble out of control. Her babies were already off-kilter without the presence of their mother, and the last thing they needed was Glinda giving in to her anxieties.
Aida’s antsiness had been climbing right alongside Glinda’s. She’d been crying on and off for hours, having not had a single drop of milk since Elphaba left. The girl wasn’t starving. Glinda was well-practiced at making baby mush, but she wasn’t full, and she wasn’t pleased to have missed out on nursing time with her Mama.
Glinda had tried to give the girl a bottle, but each time, Aida tossed the bottle across the room with magic.
The most recent attempt was accompanied by wailing so loud a headache prickled at Glinda’s temples. She dropped onto the couch, Aida in her arms, and tried to soothe her.
“Hush, dearest,” Glinda murmured into her hair, tapping her back the way she liked.
“Momsie?” Zorina began, crawling up onto the sofa next to Glinda. “Why does Aidee throw her bottle?”
Aida’s wailing had finally settled enough for Glinda to risk moving her tapping hand to trace her thumb over Zorina’s jawline.
“She wants Mama,” Glinda answered. Zorina’s face crumpled, and she sniffled.
“Me too,” she said in a quivering voice. “Where’s Mama?”
Glinda hummed and offered the best smile she could considering the circumstances.
“Oh,” Glinda breathed, catching Zorina’s earlobe between her thumb and pointer finger. Aida finally rested her head on Glinda’s chest, and Glinda booped Zorina’s nose. She couldn’t take anymore tears, because of her headache, yes, but also because if sweet Zorina cried, Glinda might cry, too. “Maybe Mama is fighting an evil dragon. I think she’ll win because she’s a clever witch, don’t you?” The suggestion was exciting enough to stave off Zorina’s tears.
“A dragon? A fire-breathing dragon?”
“Yes,” Glinda agreed. “An evil, scary, fire-breathing dragon named Horrible Morrible.”
Zorina giggled. “Horr’ble Morr’ble.”
“Horrible Morrible,” Glinda repeated. “Hor-ri-ble Morr-ib-le.”
“Horrible Morrible!”
“That’s it, darlingest!” Glinda poked her little green nose again, delighted by the bright smile that’d overtaken Zorina’s face. “So you see, Mama has to make sure Horrible Morrible can’t hurt anyone else before she gets home.”
“Mama’s a hero?”
“Absolutely. The most heroic hero Oz ever did see,” Glinda said. And though Glinda believed Elphaba was Oz’s hero, Elphaba was also her wife and the mother of her children… and Oz was still Oz despite how much progress had been made. Elphaba could take care of herself and protect herself, but… despite her years with Glinda, she didn’t always come up with damage-free solutions when problems arose. Glinda didn’t hold it against her wife. Not everyone possessed such perfect problem-solving skills as Glinda did.
So, even though Elphaba was Oz’s hero, Oz didn’t always understand that, and Elphaba didn’t always know how to handle misunderstandings with grace.
And now Elphaba had missed dinner, and it was past bedtime. Aida hiccuped against her, and Glinda sighed because her hiccups meant a sad cry was coming, and there was nothing she could do to stop Aida’s sad cry.
Glinda went back to tapping Aida’s back, and Zorina got to her knees so she could put her face directly in her baby sister’s.
“Aidee, Mama's gonna save Oz from Horrible Morrible.” Her words brought no comfort to little Aida, whose hiccups had turned into the most devastating series of sniffles ever.
Glinda pulled Aida off of her shoulder so she could cradle the baby and look in her face.
“My baby,” Glinda said. “I know you miss Mama, I know…”
It was Aida’s first time ever without Elphaba close by since she was born. Her sweet green face was scrunched in utter betrayal at being left for so long—for so long with someone who did not produce milk from anywhere nicer than a bottle.
Glinda glanced at the clock… Oz…
If Larena weren’t with Elphaba, Glinda would have sent out a search team as soon as the sun set.
Glinda reached for Aida’s pacifier and tried to push it into the baby’s mouth, but she rejected it. She was obviously just as stubborn as her missing mother.
The door opened before Glinda could think of another solution, and Zorina shot off of the couch and ran to the entryway. Glinda took a little longer to get up because she had to readjust her crying baby.
“That’s Mama now, dearest. Oh, please don’t cry,” she muttered against Aida's forehead.
“Mama!” Zorina’s voice rang through the house. “Did you beat Horrible Morrible?”
“Hi, my Zoey. Where’s Momsie?” Elphaba asked, and though Glinda eased at the sound of her wife’s voice, Aida decided to make her cries louder.
“With Aidee. Aidee keeps throwing her bottle! Mama, why are you wet?”
Wet?
Glinda, who’d been on her way to the front door to pull Zorina away from Elphaba to give her wife room to come fully into the house, quickened her pace.
She rounded the corner and, sure enough, Elphaba was soaked from head to toe.
“My darling,” Glinda breathed.
Aida reached for Elphaba, who half-smiled, half-winced, and took her from Glinda’s arms. Elphaba kissed Aida and made quick work of lifting her shirt. Aida latched immediately, Zorina kept talking about fire-breathing dragons, and Glinda just stared. “ZoZo,” Glinda began, “can you go find which story you want me to read tonight?”
“How many, Momsie?”
“As many as you want.” She smiled at Zorina, who bounded off in the direction of the playroom, where some of the books were. Once Zorina disappeared, Glinda's smile dropped, and she turned her attention back to Elphaba. “Elphie…”
“Sorry I’m late,” Elphaba said. She was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to take off her wet shirt with her one free hand.
“What happened?”
“It was just some stupid…” Elphaba huffed when she couldn’t get the shirt over her head.
Glinda waved her hand to dry everything off and helped Elphaba pull off her shirt, leaving Elphaba in just a nursing bra and pants in front of the door.
“They wanted to see if I would melt,” Elphaba said.
“Preposterous,” Glinda huffed.
“I know, but I’m fine.”
“Well, I’m not.”
“It’s okay, my sweet. No one got hurt, and your mother already made a big fuss.”
Glinda crossed her arms and focused on trying to ease some of the tightness in her chest. If Elphaba wasn’t going to cry, she couldn’t either.
Zorina ran back into the atrium with four books clutched to her chest.
“Can Mama read?” Zorina asked.
“How about Mama tucks you in?” Glinda suggested, never tearing her eyes away from Elphaba. Elphaba smiled down at Zorina and adjusted the girl's bonnet with her free hand so it wasn't slipping down over her forehead.
“How about you stay with Mama and Momsie tonight,” Elphaba said.
“Sleepover!” Zorina squeed. Glinda took the books from Zorina.
“Well!" Glinda released a sharp sigh. "Let’s go upstairs, shall we?”
Glinda read two books to Zorina before the girl fell asleep in their large bed. Elphaba had placed Aida onto the bed after nursing, and satisfied, Aida fell asleep, too. But after that, Elphaba had disappeared into the bathroom to shower and…
Well, she’d been in there for long enough that Glinda had the feeling Elphaba was delaying their conversation.
Glinda slipped out of Zorina’s grip and settled her little body under the covers. She kissed her cheek and muttered an "I love you” before heading to the bathroom to check on Elphaba.
Elphaba was sitting at Glinda’s vanity, cradling her head in her hands.
“Darling?”
Elphaba looked up and offered a weak smile. “Zo’s asleep?”
“She is.” Glinda took tentative steps towards her wife. “Baby… please talk to me.”
“There’s not much to talk about. I was on the way to the carriage with your mom after the event, and someone thought it’d be funny to dump a bucket of water on me.”
Finally close enough to touch her wife, Glinda caressed her face.
“But why are you so late?”
“I… we tried to wait them out for a little while. No such luck. When we tried to get to the carriage the second time—”
“It happened twice?” Glinda asked.
“Yes, but it’s harmless—”
“It certainly isn’t harmless! It delayed you in getting home, it interrupted your kids’ schedules, and…" And it'd worried Glinda. "Elphie, you shouldn’t have to endure such cruelty.”
“It’s a small price to pay for being alive. At least they aren’t trying to kill me.”
“No, they’re only mocking killing you.”
“If I got upset about every little thing…” Elphaba covered Glinda’s hand with her own.
“Fine.” Glinda closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll take Aida to her crib—”
“Let her stay here tonight. With us and Zo. In case…”
In case something else happened. In case it wasn’t harmless.
“Elphaba—”
Elphaba stood up and kissed Glinda’s cheek. “Glinda, I’m tired.”
“Elphaba Thropp. You were attacked. Someone tried to kill you—”
“Water can’t melt me.”
Glinda scoffed, but Elphaba was saved from receiving a scolding by Zorina, who came into the bathroom and wrapped her arms around Glinda’s leg.
“Momsie, you only read two books.”
Glinda lifted the almost-three-year-old and straightened her little gold bonnet. It'd slipped down again and was threatening to cover her eyes.
“Momsie has to take a shower,” Glinda said. “But you go cuddle with Mama.”
Zorina nodded and reached over for Elphaba, who took her gladly.
“Mama? Are you a little sad?” Zorina asked, and Elphaba smiled.
“A little.”
“Do you want a kiss to make you better?” Zorina pressed her palm against Elphaba's cheek.
“From you, my ZoZo, always,” Elphaba answered with a chuckle. Zorina giggled sleepily and stretched up in Elphaba's arms to kiss her. “I love you lots and lots.”
“And lots and lots,” Zorina finished, speech slurred with sleep.
Glinda turned away from the two when she felt a tear slide down her cheek. The past few months had been hard for Elphaba. Her post-partum with Aida was different than with Zorina, and she'd just started coming back to life. It was the first time since having Aida nine months ago that she had ventured out without Glinda.
And for her to have been attacked… Oh.
Glinda wouldn’t change anything about Elphaba. She adored her skin color, but she wished it wasn’t such an obvious indicator of her identity.
“Baby?” Elphaba muttered, fingertips ghosting Glinda’s arm.
“I can tell you don’t want to talk about it, Elphaba, but it bothers me. I’m upset.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. You know what happened, and that’s all there is to say.”
“We should talk about how you feel about it!” Glinda whipped her head around, ready to fuss until she caught sight of Zorina dozing. She smiled to herself—Zorina wouldn’t have made it through another book if she fell asleep within a few clock ticks of coming into the bathroom.
“The only thing I feel right now is exhaustion. I just want to go to sleep and…” Elphaba sighed. “If I feel different in the morning, we’ll talk.”
Glinda made a noise halfway between a humph and a hum of agreement. Elphaba fixed her with one of those half-smiles, and Glinda nodded.
“Fine, Elphaba. But you’re not allowed to be mad at me when I ask how you are.”
“Deal.”
“Give me a kiss,” Glinda demanded, pursing her pouty lips. She hadn’t had a proper kiss from Elphaba in hours. Elphaba chuckled and complied, pressing her soft lips against Glinda’s, Zorina tucked safely between them. “Elphie? I love you so much.”
“Yeah. I love you, too.”
Glinda welcomed a second kiss from her wife and then watched her leave the bathroom. As soon as the door closed behind Elphaba and Zorina, Glinda sank down onto the edge of the tub and rubbed her temples.
“Baby,” Elphaba called from the other side of the door. “Please don’t stay in here too long.”
And though Glinda had already started crying, and she knew her voice would betray her, she said, “I won’t.”
Glinda did stay in the bathroom for too long, but Elphaba didn’t scold her when she reemerged. She just looked at Glinda softly and patted the small sliver of bed Zorina and Aida afforded them.
Glinda climbed into bed and wrapped herself around her wife. She felt Elphaba relax against her, and she sighed. Elphaba wasn't okay, and though she was absolutely going to make Elphaba talk about it at some point, right then, she was content with holding her.
Glinda was less despondent after a night of sleep. It was fitful sleep since Zorina liked to kick, but there was nothing better than having all of her girls within reach.
In the morning, Elphaba was… well, she was still Elphaba, which meant she absolutely was going to be upset with Glinda when she asked how she was feeling.
Even though Elphaba usually took mornings with the girls, Glinda insisted her wife sleep in while she got Zorina and Aida ready for the day. She was just about to figure out what to fix for breakfast when the front door opened.
“Lolly!” Zorina squealed as soon as Larena appeared. She leapt into her grandmother’s arms, and Aida babbled excitedly from her high chair, face sticky with banana.
“Good morning, Little Lady Upland,” Larena said, booping Zorina on the nose. “How’s Elphaba?” she asked Glinda.
“I don’t know,” Glinda sighed. “Shaken.”
“Your father is bringing cinnamon rolls from Mona’s Bakery. I’ll make breakfast and handle this one.” Larena nodded towards Zorina. “You go be with Elphaba and bring back Littler Lady Upland when she’s fed… and less sticky.”
So, she lifted Aida, whose banana-covered hand gripped the strap of Glinda’s nightgown, and marched upstairs. Glinda stopped by the nursery to wipe her face and make sure she was fresh for Elphaba.
Elphaba was sitting up in the bed, and she startled when Glinda entered, but she recovered quickly enough.
“I have a fresh baby for you. She does have banana breath, though.”
Aida and Elphaba reached out for each other at the same time, and Glinda didn’t know whether to roll her eyes or smile. They were both very much tied to the nursing schedule. Glinda didn’t know if Elphaba would be able to give it up to start work like she thought she would.
Elphaba tucked her face into Aida’s neck. “My Aidee baby,” she said between kisses. Aida’s open mouth landed on Elphaba’s cheek. “Oz, you do have banana breath.”
Aida giggled in response.
“My mom is here. She said they’ll take care of breakfast for us, and take care of the girls.”
“They don’t have to do that. I’m fine.”
“Elphie, this is what family is for. And you’re not fine,” Glinda said. Elphaba clenched her jaw. “Please, Elphie?”
Elphaba settled Aida at her breast and nodded. “Don’t let them take my babies anywhere, though.”
“They’re my babies, too, you know,” she teased, leaning down to kiss Elphaba’s forehead.
“How could I ever forget?”
“They won’t take them off the property, but I think it’d be good for us to have the house to ourselves so we can talk.”
Elphaba absentmindedly stroked the back of Aida’s hand and she studied Glinda for a long moment. No agreement came from her lips, but that meant no disagreement came from her lips either.
“Come downstairs for breakfast when you’re done,” Glinda said. She flashed a bright smile that left no room for argument and then left to pack a day bag for the girls.
Elphaba had made it downstairs before Glinda, which wasn’t surprising because her wife had been ravenous for over a year at this point. Growing and feeding a baby apparently took a lot of food.
“Good morning, dearest,” Victor greeted from his seat at the table.
“Pop got cimamum rolls!” Zorina pointed to the bag on the counter, and Glinda smiled.
“Cin-na-mon,” she corrected, but Zorina had already stopped listening to her.
“You’re just in time, darling. I just finished yours.” Larena dropped a plate with a steaming open-faced omelette on top of a pancake onto the table next to Elphaba. “Tell Momsie what you wanted for breakfast,” Larena prompted.
“Sca’yon pancakes!” Zorina leaned forward in her booster seat, mouth wide, and without looking up from her plate, Elphaba held out a triangle of omelette sandwiched between the scallion pancake near Zorina’s waiting mouth.
“Yes, scallion pancakes,” Larena said. Glinda kissed the top of Aida’s curls. She had a mess of food on the highchair—wedges of avocado, scrambled eggs, and some sort of chutney—and Glinda wrinkled her nose at the sight of it.
Zorina swallowed her bite and reached for Elphaba’s cup, which Elphaba passed over without a fuss.
“Zo, don’t you have your own food and water?” Glinda asked as she sat.
“Mhm,” Elphaba answered for their daughter. Zorina leaned across the table again.
“Momsie, I want to taste,” Zorina said.
“My food is the same as Mama’s,” Glinda said. “And it’s too hot for you right now. Sit down, darlingest, I don’t want you to fall.”
“A little wittle taste?” Zorina begged. She reached out her hand towards Glinda’s food, and Elphaba held up another triangle of egg-pancake sandwich. Elphaba looked up from her plate and at Zorina. Her face didn’t harden, but she tilted her head to the side ever so slightly.
“Zo, put your bottom in the chair,” Elphaba said. As soon as Zorina obeyed, Elphaba handed her the food.
Zorina grinned triumphantly at the food in her hands before dragging it through the chutney smeared around her plate.
Elphaba took her water back from Zorina, lifted it to her mouth, and then put it back down.
“Oz, Zo, your little mouth got something in my water,” she grumbled, drinking from Glinda’s glass instead.
Glinda grimaced. Sometimes, watching her girls eat made her stomach turn.
Glinda was still getting used to how messy every single task with kids ended up being. When Zorina first started finger foods, Elphaba had to stop Glinda from giving her a bath after every meal.
“They caught the people who did it,” Victor said.
“Oh, good,” Glinda and Larena answered at the same time. Elphaba merely took another long drink from Glinda’s cup.
“Elphaba, you have to decide whether you want to report it.”
“Well, of course she does!” Glinda scoffed. The last bit of Elphaba’s fold-over hovered in front of her lips. “Right, Elphie?” Glinda prompted. Elphaba shook her head. “But—”
“Mama, can I have another bite?” Zorina asked.
“Elphaba, you can’t let them just get away with doing that to you,” Glinda said.
Elphaba handed her last bit of food to Zorina and glanced at Glinda. “I’m not letting them get away with anything,” Elphaba said.
“Elphie…” Glinda sighed at the curl of her wife’s fingers. “There are measures in place for justice—”
“No.”
“But—”
“Glinda, no. I don’t want to drag it out.” Elphaba pushed her chair back and stood. “It happened. Twice. And I’d like to leave it in yesterday.”
Zorina reached for the backwash cup, but her chutney-covered fingers made it slip. Elphaba suspended it just above the table with magic.
“Careful, Zo,” she said. “Thank you for breakfast.”
Glinda watched her wife disappear and sighed. Zorina reached for the floating glass, but Glinda moved it away with magic and slid Zorina’s sippy cup over to the girl instead.
“Drink from your cup, darlingest,” Glinda said. Glinda wasn’t very hungry anymore, but she knew better than to chase after Elphaba immediately.
“Can I have a cimamum roll, Lolly?” Zorina asked, and Glinda chuckled at the speed with which Larena fulfilled the request. In the span of a clock tick, Zorina had her empty plate taken away from her and replaced with half a cinnamon roll. “Thank you!”
Glinda finally took her first bite of food, averting her gaze from Zorina, who found it prudent to start licking icing off the top of the pastry in a rather disgustifying manner.
She’d go talk to Elphaba once she was done eating, and she’d even take her a cinnamon roll to sweeten her up a bit.
“Elphaba,” Glinda called to announce her entrance into the bedroom. Elphaba was sitting on the bed again, with a notebook on her lap and a pencil worrying between her lips. “I brought you a cinnamon roll.”
Elphaba put the notebook and pencil on the bedside table and smiled at Glinda.
“Thank you. I’ll eat it in a little bit.”
Glinda came further into the room and closed the door behind her. Her parents were getting the girls ready to go on a walk, and they’d probably end up at the pool if Zorina had anything to say about it.
She put the plate on the bedside table next to the notebook and then climbed into her wife’s lap to press their foreheads together.
“Baby, I’m fine,” Elphaba said preemptively.
“Baby, you’re not,” Glinda countered. “I know you. Be honest with me.”
“I don’t know what to say…” Their noses brushed. “I think about Zo and Aidee. They’re green. I mean, you can’t always tell, but everyone will know who their mother is.”
“Exactly," Glinda agreed. "Nobody would dare lay a hand on Glinda Upland’s babies.”
“Be serious.”
“I am being serious. Terribly so.” Glinda went for a chaste kiss.
“I don’t want them to be picked on because of their skin or because of who I am. When Zorina goes to school… Oz, I’ve already been so worried about it and then this happened. What if the other kids are mean to her? I… I don’t regret having children; they are my everything, but I know what it feels like to be… and I know you say you can handle it, that you’ll protect us, but Galinda…”
“I know.”
“I’m not afraid for me.”
“Don't be afraid at all, Elphie. Whatever happens, we will handle together. As a family. You, me, my parents, and I’m sure Aida won’t let bullying stand. She might not be able to talk, but she’s very protective of her ZoZo. Oh, not to mention Milla and Oren. Plus, Ollie and Sulien are at the same school. I have no doubt they’ll jump in should something happen.” At the sight of her wife’s smile, Glinda wrapped her in a hug. “It might be hard for you to believe, but you have a lot of people and Animals that would go to war for our girls, just like you would go to war for them.”
Elphaba closed her eyes. “Most people actually become cowards when it’s time to fight.”
“How can I help you feel better?”
“Just kiss me.”
“That’s it?”
“Mhm, please?”
“With pleasure.”
Her wife didn’t verbally ask for intimacy as often as Glinda, so it always made Glinda a little giddy when she did. Such trust from Elphaba was difficult to earn, but somewhere along the way, Glinda had earned it.
And kissing Elphaba was one of Glinda’s favorite activities—few activities could be better.
Glinda slipped her arms around Elphaba’s back and pressed closer, muttering, “I love you,” against her lips.
“No funny business,” Elphaba mumbled when one of Glinda’s hands slipped under her shirt. The kisses turned toothy at Glinda’s grin.
“But I love funny business. I miss funny business.”
“I know, but your parents are still downstairs, and Zo seems to have a sense for funny business.” On cue, the door opened with a burst of magic that Glinda tempered just in time to keep the door on the hinges.
“Mama!” Zorina sniffled. “Aidee got yucky boogers on my lovie and…” She dragged herself further into the room. “…and Lolly said she has to wash it but… and… magic…” The rest of her complaint got lost in a fresh wave of tears. Glinda had to bury her face in Elphaba’s neck so Zorina wouldn’t see her chuckle.
“If it’s just a little boogers—” Elphaba began.
“It’s all the boogers from Aidee’s booger nose!”
Elphaba pinched Glinda’s thigh. “Go help your child.”
Glinda did groan, she did. “What about our funny business?”
“Momsie, it’s not funny!” Zorina shouted, punctuating her fit with a little stomp. Elphaba sat up and fixed Zorina with a firm look.
“Zorina Upland, how do we talk to others in this house?”
Zorina’s lip poked out and quivered. The pressure built for two clock ticks before the wail erupted from her mouth. Zorina loathed correction. She fell to her knees and then splayed out on the ground, snot-covered fairy in a vice grip.
The fairy was actually a Glinda the Good doll Elphaba had given the girl as a joke. Unfortunately, Zorina had refused to part with it, and Glinda tried to take it in stride even though it was most embarrassing to be out and about with her daughter clutching a little Glinda toy. Elphaba merely found it funny, and apparently she found Zorina’s fit mostly funny, too, because she exhaled a noise of amusement and moved out from under Glinda.
Elphaba got out of bed and knelt next to Zorina on the floor. Her nails scratched their daughter's scalp, and then she bent to kiss her cheek.
Glinda couldn’t hear what Elphaba was saying, but Zorina quieted and sat up. She threw herself into her Elphaba's arms.
“Zo, how do we talk in this house?” Elphaba repeated the question that triggered the hysterics. Zorina was calmer but still a hiccuping mess. She wiped her face on Elphaba’s shirt.
“With kindness.”
“Should we apologize to Momsie?”
“Yes,” she peeped, and then peeked her head around Elphaba’s shoulder. Glinda smiled from the bed and held out her arms. Zorina was in them before Elphaba could even stand. “Sorry, Momsie.”
“Thank you, my ZoZo.” Glinda kissed her cheek. It was warm from the emotional explosion. “I love you lots and lots.”
“Momsie…” Zorina leaned back and held up the stuffed toy, now covered with snot from both of her children. “Can you clean lovie with magic?”
The bed shifted when Elphaba got back in it, and Glinda nodded, kissing Zorina’s forehead. Glinda held her hand palm up and, after Zorina took her hand, spoke a short incantation. She didn't need to speak the incantation, but she liked for Zorina to see, hear, and feel her do magic whenever the opportunity presented itself. All strange substances on the fairy disappeared.
“Thank you, Momsie,” Zorina sniffled.
Elphaba’s strong arms reached out and pulled Zorina into her lap. Elphaba scratched her nails in circles on Zorina’s back until her breathing evened.
“ZoZo!” Larena called, and shortly after she appeared in the doorway. “ZoZo, are you ready to go?”
“Yes!” Zorina started to scramble off of Elphaba’s lap, but Glinda caught her.
“Momsie wants a kiss,” Glinda said, bending over to press her lips onto Zorina’s cheek. “Mmm-uah!”
Any lingering sniffles were quickly replaced by Zorina's giggles.
“Bye ZoZo,” Elphaba said. She pressed a less dramatic kiss to Zorina’s forehead and guided her off the bed. “Have fun.”
“We’ll be back in a couple of hours,” Larena said. When Larena closed the door behind her and Zorina, Elphaba fell into Glinda’s lap and looked up at her.
“I can’t believe you want one more when Zorina is at least three by herself.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatical,” Glinda said. She twirled the ends of Elphaba's hair around her finger. “My darling?”
“Hm?”
“I hate to bring it to your attention, but we both have snot on our shirts.”
“Then clean it off with magic, Momsie,” Elphaba teased. Glinda licked her lips. It really had been too long since they did any funny business. For show, she muttered the same incantation from before, but she changed the words slightly so that when she was finished, Elphaba's shirt and Glinda's nightgown had disappeared completely. Elphaba gasped.
“Glinda, I said no funny business!” she scolded, as if she wasn’t just flirting by asking Glinda to clean off their shirts. Glinda knew that Elphaba’s flirting was absolutely a distractification from talking about what she was feeling and thinking about the incident, but Glinda was not above falling for such a ploy. But she wasn’t dropping the matter either. She’d bring it up again later, but for now…
Glinda’s eyes trailed from Elphaba’s face, down the curve of her neck, and settled on her chest. She hummed and looked back up to catch the gleam in Elphaba’s green eyes.
“Elphaba, there is absolutely nothing funny about what I plan to do to you.”
“Glinda, I want to talk to you,” Elphaba said. Glinda was thankful for any distractification from the thick report of the bridge collapse in Quadling. She hadn’t told Elphaba yet, but she’d probably need to visit the site since she was still the Throne Minister. Only for a few more months, thank Oz.
“Is this a kind of talk over tea, or shall we go for a walk, or—”
“Come to the library?” Elphaba was dry, drier than usual. It was her slow months. Her sad months. She slept more and smiled less, she read more and wrote less, she thought more and rested less.
Glinda nodded and followed her wife down the hall to the library. Elphaba gestured to the chaise lounge, and Glinda sat.
“Glinda?”
“Elphie.”
Elphaba turned away from Glinda and faced the window. “What if… I think…” She faced Glinda, hands wringing. “I’ve been thinking.”
“Mhm.”
“Could we have a baby?”
Shock delayed Glinda’s grin by only a few clock ticks. “Are you serious, Elphaba?” she asked. Elphaba nodded and fiddled with the edge of her shawl.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“You said.” Glinda’s grin widened at the sight of the slightest upturned corner of Elphaba’s mouth.
“I never thought it’d be possible for me to have kids. I didn’t think anybody would want me… carnally… because I’m green. Even if someone did want me, it seemed so selfish to potentially bring a green child into the world knowing how I’d been treated. And my life kind of took an unexpected turn when I…”
“When you flew off the handle and leapt through a window with your stupid broom, yes. I recall.”
“Don’t be so dramatical.”
“Is that not exactly what happened?”
Elphaba hummed. “Anyway, when I came back, I especially couldn’t imagine having a child and them needing to lie about me because I presented to the world as Fae, and I hated the thought of anyone growing up with the Wicked Witch of the West as a mother… but… I’ve been thinking.”
Glinda giggled, and Elphaba wrapped her arms around herself.
“The people in Frottica are kind enough to me and you… you’ve done a lot for me. I won't lie. I am still unsure about the possibility of a green child. Not everyone is fine with green skin.”
“Not everyone is fine with the shade of my hair,” Glinda said, and Elphaba took a deep breath.
“None of my excuses hold any merit anymore. And so I’ve been—”
“Thinking, yes.”
“Right,” Elphaba said. Glinda held out her hand. Elphaba eyed it emotionlessly for a moment before taking it, and Glinda pulled her to sit down next to her. “I’ve been thinking. Now that I know it could be possible for me to have kids with someone who loves me, and Oz is… better, and the Wicked Witch of the West is… my name isn’t quite cleared. I know a lot of people are still suspicious of me and want me to go on trial… but… it’s not dangerous for me to go in public, and I don’t have to hide. And now that everything is so different, I’ve finally been able to think about whether I ever even wanted kids, and I think I did. I think I do. I’m not sure I’ll be a good parent. I didn’t have great role models, but I haven’t had great role models for anything I’ve done.” Elphaba met Glinda’s eyes. “I think I want them.”
Glinda squeezed her hand. “Yeah?”
“But Galinda…” Elphaba looked away from her again. “Do you think I'll ruin them?”
“How would you do that? It’d take a ruined parent to ruin a child, and you’re not ruined.”
Elphaba pulled her hand out of Glinda’s grip and got up. She walked over to the little cart she kept by the window and picked a book off the top. The pages of the book were yellowed and fraying, and a pencil stuck out of the pages.
“I know we could adopt or find a donor, but we’re both witches, so I went looking to see if there were any accounts of magical conception. I found this book.” Elphaba sat and opened the book in her lap to the page with the pencil sticking out of it. “There are a few different spells, varying in difficulty, but the advice is to just go with this one…” She used the pencil to point to a circled section. “If the witch is skilled enough in body-related magic. I think you’re skilled enough—I know you are—so I wouldn’t want to try the other spells and potions.”
“Let me see,” Glinda said, pulling the book into her own lap.
“We’ll talk through the details like who’ll carry the baby, and when to start trying, but—”
“Wait a clock tick, Elphie… you're already ready to talk about those decisions?”
“Yes. I’ve been thinking,” she said. Glinda rolled her eyes. “And don’t you want to have a baby?”
“I do, but I’m happy with you, and I don't want you to feel like you have to—”
“I know," she interrupted. "I don’t feel pressured by you at all. Just… take a look at the spell and see if it’s something you’d be interested in. I don’t want to pressure you either.”
“Oh, Elphie. Don’t be silly. You know I want anything and everything I can have with you, from magic sex to babies to magic sex that makes babies!” At that, Glinda read the circled text. The paragraph described the technicalities of a spell created to aid two women in conceiving. It was very explain-y, and the bulk of the information was utterly unnecessary.
All Glinda cared about was the incantation itself and what the spell did.
“Oh!” Glinda looked up from the book, and her eyes darted to Elphaba. “Are you quite sure you understand what this spell does, Elphie?”
“I am. It—”
“It will take away my lady parts, Elphaba.”
“Temporarily.” The tip of her green fingernail pointed to the words temporary anatomical replacement in the book. “And you don’t have to be the one to do it. Like I said, we should talk about who carries and when to start trying.”
“You and now.”
“What?”
“You will carry the baby, and we will start trying now.”
“Now-now?”
“Does ‘now’ ever mean anything else?” Glinda closed the book and, at the sight of the overwhelm in Elphaba’s wide eyes, she giggled. “I jest, darling. It's exciting you already did all the research, and I think we should use the spell if it's recommended, but not right now. But that doesn't mean we can't practice without the spell.”
“I don’t think we need practice.”
“Of course we do! We’ve never made a baby before, and it is imperative we get it right, don’t you think?” Glinda smirked. She enjoyed knocking Elphaba off-kilter just as much as Elphaba enjoyed being stubborn.
“No.”
“You’ll wish we did practice when I have to leave you tonight.”
“Where are you going?”
“Tonight I'll go to the city because, unfortunately, I must take a trip to Quadling in the morning.”
“To the collapsed bridge?”
“Yes. Oh, I simply do not understand why it takes Quadling so long to appropriately put their funding to use!" she complained even though she very much did know why. Quadling's leadership was not the most impressive, and they rarely took any advice given from the city. “Anyhow, will you miss me?”
Elphaba did not answer verbally. She drew her legs up onto the chaise, leaned over, and wrapped her arms around Glinda’s middle. Glinda shifted so she’d be able to hold her more comfortably, and Elphaba rested her head in the crook of Glinda’s neck.
“You can come with me,” Glinda offered. Elphaba hummed.
“No, I’ll stay here.” Elphaba had left Frottica all of four times since they came back to Oz. Two of the times she went to the Emerald City and stayed in the palace until it was time to go back home; once they went to Mount Runcible together for a week with no chickens and no work; and once for their honeymoon.
Glinda didn’t want to rush Elphaba’s reintegration process, especially considering her history with Oz and how it had hated her… maybe still hated her…
And, she reasoned whenever Elphaba rejected another trip, there were plenty of people in Oz who never left their hometowns. Admittedly, it was difficult for Glinda to accept this reasoning because she didn’t think it was healthy for Elphaba to be stuck in Frottica. Especially not at a time like this when Elphaba was so very sad.
Glinda didn't worry as much about her staying home in the summer months when her parents were back in Pertha Hills, but other than that, especially in the autumn, she didn’t like that Elphaba didn’t go anywhere.
“I’ll miss you,” Glinda said.
“You say that every time you have to leave.”
“It’s true every time I have to leave! You’re the light of my life and the air I breathe and the reason my heart beats.”
“Galinda.”
“Too much?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s true! I can hardly sleep apart from you! I lay in bed, tossing and turning. Moaning and groaning. And I say, ‘Oh, I miss my Elphie.’” Between “tossing” and “turning,” Elphaba’s amusement had soured into irritation, but Glinda pressed on. “I’ll have to imagine your strong arms wrapped around me to get even a clock tick of sleep, and even then! I will miss the feel of your beating heart—”
“I get it,” Elphaba said, and Glinda sighed.
She hadn’t managed to convince her wife to leave Frottica this time, but she’d try again when she invariably had to visit another Ozian country.
“How long will you be gone?” Elphaba asked.
“A few days. Four?” Glinda shook her head. “Elphie, please come. You can stay on the train. I’d love to have you with me.”
"What would I do on the train?" Elphaba asked, and even though Elphaba wasn't looking at her to be able to appreciate it, Glinda rolled her eyes.
"The same thing you do here."
"Take care of my chickens? I doubt they'd enjoy being on a train."
"Then it's a good thing it was never an option for them to come," Glinda said.
"But if I came with you, I would have to bring Pergola. I can't leave her here alone."
"Pergola will be perfectly happy with Aven. That's why we hired him. To take care of the animals."
"But Pergola isn't an outside animal like the chickens," Elphaba protested.
"I can't bring a pig with me to Quadling."
"She's not a pig, she's our pig."
Glinda huffed. "Pergola wouldn't enjoy herself. You know she doesn't leave the sunroom unless it's to go to the library." She combed her fingers through Elphaba's long hair. Elphaba didn't leave the sunroom unless it was to go to the library, either. Well, she did venture into more rooms than Pergola, and she did leave the house frequently. But it was only to go to town and back, which might as well have been going from room to room inside the house. So… if it'd take Pergola to get Elphaba on a train… "You can bring her," Glinda grumbled.
Elphaba's soft lips brushed against the side of her neck.
"It'll be good practice," Elphaba said.
"Practice for what?"
Elphaba lifted her head, and Glinda faced her. She gestured to the spellbook in Glinda's lap. "Traveling with a little sorcerer."
"Oh, Elphie!" Glinda's eyes lit up at the jolt of excitement that hit her at the reminder of how their conversation had begun, talking about having a baby. "Do you really think our baby will be a sorcerer?"
"The chances are high."
"Well, even if they aren't, they'll be positively magical."
Elphaba chuckled. "Yes," she agreed. "And I will go with you to Quadling, but I was teasing about bringing Pergola along. I think she'd get grumpy from being away from home for so long."
"Oh, good. I don't want our first time trying the baby-making spell to be with a pig in the room."
"We are not trying it for the first time on the train, and I refuse for our baby to have a chance of being conceived in Quadling." Elphaba rolled her eyes.
"What about the Emerald City?" Glinda asked, mostly to see her wife's eyes narrow.
"We still need to talk about who is going to carry the baby and—"
"I thought we settled this. You," she said because Glinda… well, Glinda had always wanted children. Three, to be exact. And in the past when she'd thought of those three children, she'd accepted that it'd likely fall on her to carry them… it wasn't like Fiyero could.
But Glinda wasn't married to a man. She was married to a woman—a witch. And when she thought about potentially maybe having babies with Elphaba…
"You," Glinda repeated. "Yes. You'll carry."
"Why?"
"I couldn't possibly ruin my body!" Glinda gestured to herself, and Elphaba frowned, narrowed eyes flickering over Glinda's torso.
"Right." Elphaba took the spellbook out of Glinda's lap and pointed to the door. "You can go back to your study now," she said. Glinda giggled and kissed her cheek before standing up.
"Pack a bag, darling. I'm going to write to Milla. We should probably leave for the city tonight."