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Galinda Upland had never had much trouble sleeping. Whenever thoughts threatened to creep up which would disturb her peace of mind, she stuffed them quickly into a pretty pink box in the back of her head, and placed it on a shelf lined with similar pretty pink boxes, and continued living her perfect, charmed, pretty, pink life.
Tonight, this was proving exceptionally difficult.
Memories of the day before came like waves, foaming and crashing into her, the peculiar and inexplicable tide making her feel as though she, along with her pretty pink boxes, were about to drown.
Why, oh why, couldn't she stop thinking about the stupid kiss?
Galinda turned in bed and listened to the steady, deep breaths coming from the woman across the room. Sound asleep, it would seem. Indeed, Elphaba had been sleeping already when Galinda returned to their room from her evening stroll with Fiyero. Quite early for Elphie – she usually sat with her books late into the night, the light from her solitary bedside lamp and the rustle of turning pages making for a pleasant ambience for Galinda to fall asleep to. Today, however, she felt strangely relieved to find her roommate in her bed. Yes, conversation felt wholly unnecessary. No need, especially, to mention anything at all about their previous interaction, Galinda thought resolutely, and surely the strange headache she's been suffering since would be gone by morning.
If only morning would come! Tomorrow, and with it normalcy, routine, and a mind blissfully free of racing, unbidden thoughts. Galinda tossed onto her other side, trying extremely hard to focus on sleeping – an activity altogether unproductive towards actual sleep.
It all started in the late afternoon, after classes had concluded for the day, and Galinda was getting ready for her date with her handsome, perfect boyfriend, which he invited her on oh-so-romantically after just a few carefully placed hints. Galinda picked out the perfect, rosy lipstick from the well-curated array on her vanity, while Elphaba sat on her bed, reading a book that was probably full of dull information she already knew.
Galinda's eye caught the focused, freckled face in the corner of her mirror. As if of its own accord, her hand floated towards a lipstick tube, the shade of which was entirely too intense for her complexion. She didn't even know why she'd bought it.
“Red would quite suit you, Elphie,” the words left her mouth before her mind knew it fully. So generous – to share her advice and cosmetics, without a second thought.
Elphaba's head snapped up in surprise, her eyes meeting Galinda's in the mirror.
“Oh I…I don't think so,” Elphaba mumbled, looking to the side and smiling in that way which was somewhere between bemused and bashful. Galinda felt the soft tickle of satisfaction that she always did when Elphie dropped her near constant appearance of calm eloquence. A remnant of their past rivalry, perhaps.
“And why not, Elphie?” she demanded, “I know about these things. You must let me work on you, remember?” Galinda whirled around in her chair to accentuate the statement with a stern look.
Elphaba rolled her eyes, though her face showed no real annoyance.
“It's a bit…strong, Galinda,” she said, sounding vaguely amused, “I doubt it would work with my…face.”
Her green face. That is why it'd work so well, of course. The contrast would bring out her full lips spectacularly, which they so deserved, and with some dark eyeshadow, the green of her eyes would be all the more striking. Galinda stood up, determined to carry out her plan.
“Oh Elphie, just for me? It's not like you leave this room anyways. I'll be the only one to see you.”
Elphaba's eyebrows were pushed together in doubt, but the corner of her mouth raised and Galinda knew that her demands would be yielded to, as always. She bounced forward and leapt on the bed with a squeal, straddling Elphaba's lap. The other girl looked like a deer in headlights.
“I–”
“Oh, don't tell me you won't let me apply it for you. I'm obviously the expert here!”
Rolling her eyes theatrically at Elphaba's hesitance, Galinda leaned forward and took her chin in her left hand. It was very kind of her to help her friend like this of course, but sadly necessary, as there was no way that Elphie would know how to apply makeup properly. Smart as she was, Elphaba was woefully uneducated in matters of importance to daily life.
Their faces were so close together now that Galinda could count each freckle under Elphaba's eyes, which were wide open and looking at her with something akin to fear that she couldn't quite place. Her cheeks seemed a shade darker than usual, and her lips were slightly parted. Galinda became extremely aware, suddenly, of the proximity of their bodies, and how every inch of her skin that touched Elphaba seemed to burn. Up close, she smelled pleasantly of grass, which Galinda could perhaps think funny, were it not for the warmth pooling tensely in her abdomen.
She blinked through the sensation, folding it up quickly and placing it in a pretty pink box on her mind's shelf. Focused intently on the lipstick in her hand, she brought it to Elphaba's lips, and ignored how the air tickled her hand when Elphie exhaled, or how she could feel the shape of the legs and hips between her thighs. The lipstick left a dark red trail on the full, green lips, behind which Galinda could see a peek of pink tongue. Her heart seemed to be beating in her ears now, and the room seemed strangely empty of air, despite the open window. The warmth in her–
“All done now,” Galinda exclaimed, erasing her train of thought as though it were chalk on a classroom blackboard.
Elphaba blinked a few times and inhaled sharply, as though she too had experienced a momentary scarcity of air. She looked at Galinda, her brow furrowing as doubt returned to her face.
“How do I look?” she said, in a tone that made it sound like a joke, as if perhaps she did not dare to phrase it as a genuine question.
“Quite striking, Miss Elphaba,” Galinda proclaimed with some theatrical flair. She meant it – Elphie's features were elegant, and once you got used to the greenness, as Galinda had done, the way her face's gentle curves and edges folded into one another was quite captivating. The dark red lips made her look sharper, more mature, and with her hair undone, the way the braids and curls fell onto her shoulders in a black cascade made her look rather wild.
Admiring her work, Galinda once again opened her mouth before her mind quite considered the words.
“Every boy is going to want to kiss you now.”
Were she not green, Elphaba's cheeks would probably match the colour of her lips.
How could that not be Galinda's first thought? It was quite unavoidable, with Elphie's mouth so starkly contrasted against the rest of her face. That is why one wears lipstick, after all – to get kissed by handsome boys. Not that Elphaba would pay any mind to some boy. She was far too busy with other things, and if she were spending time with anyone, Galinda would know, surely. But she certainly could if she wanted to, looking like this.
Galinda expected a dismissive response to her sudden statement, but instead Elphaba turned her face away, eyes darting to the side.
“What, Elphie? It's true! I may have made you the most scandalociously pretty girl in Shiz.” Althought the words were typical Galinda-like hyperbole, the sincerity of the sentiment felt palpable; dangerous somehow, as if it could swallow them whole if left hanging in the air. Galinda was suddenly very aware of the fact that she was still sitting on Elphie's lap, their faces and bodies so close she could see every unnamable shade of green in the other girl's eyes. “After me, of course,” she added, sweetly.
Elphaba chuckled softly at the addition, a sound which nobody else ever got to hear, or so Galinda hoped.
“Galinda, I don't think I'm…I wouldn't know the first thing about…I mean, I've never even…”
Well, of course she wouldn't have. What a sad thought! She probably wouldn't even know what to do when the moment came. And there were so many details and nuances crucial to kissing a boy – how to tilt your head just right, and when to close your eyes. Pucker your lips, but not too much. Make sure you've figured out ahead of time where your hands are going to go, for which there are several options; and when his mouth inevitably opens, part your lips and let your tongues touch – this was the worst part, but it got easier with time, and frequently could be avoided altogether if you just pulled back with a coy smile at the right moment.
Yes, Elphaba would certainly need help. She was fortunate to have a friend like Galinda, who so loved helping others.
“No need to worry, Elphie,” Galinda began magnanimously, “I'll show you."
“…What?”
“I will show you how it's done! So that you're ready.”
“Is that…Are you sure?”
Elphaba looked bewildered. Galinda gave her a kind and generous smile.
“Of course! Friends do these things for one another.”
Some friends surely must, she was fairly certain. She had seen girls kiss each other, in jokes and dares, but the thought of doing the same had always filled her stomach with a sort of panicked fluttering.
She placed both hands on Elphaba's face, the lipstick she had been holding forgotten on the bedspread. Green eyes met hers, then flicked down, and up again. Galinda, who felt rather dizzy – probably due to the strange lack of air which plagued their dorm this evening – forgot completely about tilting her head just right, and instead drifted slowly towards the dark red lips around which the universe seemed to rotate.
She closed her eyes just as their lips touched.
There had never been anything like it.
There never would be anything like it again.
Electricity coursed through her body; she felt it as far as her fingers, which threaded through dark braids as if of their own accord. Something like a ball of sunlight seemed to make home in her chest, and her heartbeat was so loud it drowned out every single thought.
Without thinking, but instead following the orders of some wild creature which seemed to take hold of her body, she parted her lips slightly; Elphaba did the same, obediently. As their tongues touched, tentatively, then with more confidence, Galinda felt a heady rush. A feeling of heat travelled down her body, into her stomach, and finally between her legs. Her body pushed into Elphaba's, who had to prop herself up on the bed with one hand, while the other hovered shyly around Galinda's hip. A small sound escaped Elphie's throat, and Galinda felt the vibrations of it, making her dizzy with hunger.
If every inch of their skin were touching, it wouldn't be enough. She felt as though she was tasting food for the first time after a lifetime of starvation; like waking up from the longest dream and like dreaming all the same. There was no pretty pink box in all the world big enough to hold all this.
They parted for air, and reality came down on her like a guillotine.
Her date. Galinda was going to be late for her date. With Fiyero. Tigelaar. Winkie Country. Perfect. Waiting down by the dormitories, so they could stroll in the setting sun and kiss by the water, where she was going to pop one leg up in the air, and it would be the picture of romance. And he was quite unlikely to smell like fresh grass, and his lips were not going to taste like plum and sweet electric shock, but instead like a heavy dull ache that settles in the pit of your stomach.
She bounded off of the bed, trying not to look at Elphaba, who remained sitting, dumbstruck.
“Oh, look at the time! I really must be going,” Galinda recited, and without waiting for an answer, she grabbed her coat and swept out into the corridor, her mind struggling desperately to collect itself.
She closed the door behind her with impressive speed, and as she turned, she caught her reflection in a cabinet window – and realised to her horror that her mouth was covered, unmistakeably messily, in red lipstick.
Her hand clasped on her face, she sped to the nearest bathroom and bent over by the sink, rubbing off the incriminating marks with a wild fervor. It did not do to look a mess at her date, not at all. Her romantic date with Prince Fiyero, the handsomest and most perfect guy in school. He will kiss her while the setting sun reflects in the water, and it will be perfect. And everyone will see their perfection, and adore them for it. Everything was going to be fine. Everything was fine. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened; she had helped a friend, and that was all. She looked in the mirror, and the reflection looking back at her was quite perfect.
Back in the present, under the heavy, quiet blanket of nighttime, Galinda pressed her face into the soft satin pillow and tried, once again, to will her mind and body into submission. But darkness had a way of making feelings float up to the surface, like buried treasures after a long rain.
Instead of allowing her to drift off into blissful oblivion, her body seemed only to become more awake; a restlessness coursed through her veins as though her blood were infused with it. Her mind unhelpfully supplied a vivid memory of the sensation of Elphaba's tongue pushing on hers, the taste of it, their heavy breath shared. A damning heat spread through her, pooling so annoyingly in her abdomen, and trickling downwards into the place she was trying to ignore most desperately.
She flipped onto her back and, resigned to the freedom this strange night gave to her body, Galinda closed her eyes and allowed her hand to travel down the length of her torso, past her hips, and under the short, silky nightdress.
She had done it before of course. Not often, more out of curiosity than desire; she knew that one day a prince would come, who will ravage her in endless nights of passion and romance – all the stories she'd read through her youth seemed to agree on that. She tried sometimes to imagine how it would feel, tried to picture herself in the positions assumed by the sighing heroine, and the man who would hold her in his great, strong arms. But it was hard to maintain her focus, and try as she might, she could never picture the dashing hero's face. The only times she had ever climaxed were when she was thinking of nothing at all.
She had certainly never done it with someone else in the room. The sleeping body at the other end of the suite seemed at once miles away and terrifyingly close. Strangely, it made Galinda's heart quicken all the more.
Her fingers pressed on the front of her pink, silky panties.
Oh, Oz.
She could feel how wet she was even through the material. The throbbing in her clit was now impossible to ignore, and the feeling of pressure caused her to inhale sharply through her mouth and roll her head back into the pillow.
She traced her middle finger over her underwear, savoring the pleasant ache of need. She remembered the way it felt to be sitting on top of Elphaba, their bodies close, touching; she pushed her hips towards friction, just as she had wanted to back in that moment. The wetness was soaking through the silk, her pussy desperate for contact, for lips, red lips, for the instinctive tongue behind them. Galinda's own hand would have to do; she pushed her fingers under the panties' lacy edge and between the slick, swollen folds. A moan nearly escaped her lips, but she clasped her other hand over her mouth in a bid for control over the body which was no longer acting on her orders. Waves of pleasure flowed through her as she ran quick circles over the needy bundle of nerves.
Then, suddenly, she felt a pang of hot, red shame. Her conscious mind struggled in a last, desperate attempt to keep her where she was meant to be, and she tried, momentarily, to think of Fiyero, to imagine his face over hers. To think of his eyes – what was the colour of his eyes? She couldn't recall; Elphaba's eyes were green, green as deep, dark forests and holding as many secrets, hiding all that was going on in her incredible, beautiful head.
That head with its long black hair which looked so pretty, so right, splayed on a pillow; oh, how it would feel to be above her, to–
Galinda pushed two fingers inside herself and arched her back involuntarily.
She thrust a few times, her breath hitching to the rhythm. The tension in her stomach was building, great waves of need splashing against a once-peaceful shore. The inside of her felt warm, soft, and snug against her fingers. What would Elphaba feel like? The thought was so brazen, so terribly, horrifyingly honest, it felt like she was pushed violently off the precipice she had walked with such care, off into some deep unknown sea.
Her fingers dripping wet, she rubbed her clit again with a new kind of desperation, the thoughts in her head no longer constrained but running like wild horses.
Her lips. Her tongue. Her skin, green, soft, smooth. Her eyes, looking up, begging. Back arched, legs tense, Galinda's hands and mouth on her – arms pressed against the bed – a sound, caught in her throat–
The orgasm hit Galinda like a great tide, pleasure ripping through her body wave after wave. Despite the hand still clasped over her mouth, the moan she let out was definitely audible, but she could not think to care.
Her breaths still deep and fast, she looked up at the ceiling as the last shivers of pleasure ran through her body. As she came down slowly to Earth, her heart still beating so loudly it could surely be heard across Shiz, reality fell back into place with a gentle cruelty. The pretty pink boxes of her mind lay scattered. Things would need to be put back into place, rearranged. But for now, the quiet of night still enveloped her, and morning seemed so far away. Her heart felt at the same time full and broken, but she did not have it in her to examine the feeling, and with a single, inexplicable tear running down her cheek, Galinda finally closed her eyes to sleep.
Across the room, in her own bed, Elphaba Thropp was trying extremely hard to keep her breathing completely soundless.