Amazing
Read on AO3
--
“I can’t believe I did that.”
“I can’t believe I did that!”
Elphaba and Glinda’s eyes met and both dissolved into giggles, clinging to one another as the train sped along.
All of a sudden, Glinda froze. “Oh my Oz, Elphie!” She gasped in horror.
“What?”
“I didn’t bring any clothes!”
Elphaba swallowed a smirk and ushered her into what was now their cabin. “Don’t worry.” She said, maintaining a somewhat straight face. “You can borrow some of mine.”
Glinda let out a dramatic wail and flopped onto the lounge. “Elphie!”
She smirked and leaned down to be closer to her friend’s face. “Problem?”
There was only pitiful whining for a long moment before Glinda’s perfect puppy eyes were pouting at her. That was enough to make her snicker, and cause Glinda’s pout to warp into a glare.
“You’re horrible.” She said. “I may throw myself from the train rather than spend another second in such awful company.”
“Mm-hm.” Elphaba hummed. “Then you won’t be having any of the snacks provided?”
Pause. “Of course not.”
“Oh, good.” Elphaba seized a small bowl of biscuits. “More for me.”
She’d barely eaten two before Glinda shot up and snapped one from the bowl. “Well, if you’re going to be like that.” She huffed.
Elphaba snickered, offering another. “Thank you.” She said. “For coming with me.”
That earned her a gentle slap to the shoulder. “Elphie. Thank you for inviting me. It’s the Emerald City!”
Elphaba smiled quietly, looking out the window at the countryside rushing past. “Yeah.”
Glinda leaned towards her, trying to catch her eye. “Are you so excited?”
Swallow. “Of course.”
Glinda’s eyes narrowed. Hmmm. “Okay,” She pushed herself as far forward as she could, practically sitting in her lap. “Spill it.”
Elphaba blinked at her, as if she’d forgotten she was there. “What?”
“Spill. It.” She punctuated each word with a poke. “You’re worried.”
“I’m not.” Elphaba muttered evasively.
“Elphaba Thropp, you,” Glinda gently poked the tip of her nose, “Are a terrible liar, and a horrible worry wart. So spill.”
She looked down, chewing her lip. “Madame Morrible said I-I’ll have to prove myself. I don’t know how- he’s the wizard. How could I possibly…” What could she do that the Wizard couldn’t do already? How could she face Nessa and everyone else, going back to Shiz in disgrace?
“Hey.” Glinda tipped her face up with her fingertips. “Listen to me. You’ll be great. You can do anything.”
Elphaba managed her best smile. “Right. Of course.”
Glinda raised a plucked eyebrow. Clearly that wasn’t enough. Fine. She wrapped her arms around the gangly witch, squeezing in a way that she hoped was comforting. “Elphie, you’re amazing. You’re the most amazingest person I’ve ever met. I’ll be with you the whole way.”
And didn’t that mean everything to her? Elphaba returned the hug ferociously, sighing into Glinda’s shoulder. “Thank you.” She mumbled.
Glinda shook her head, rubbing gentle circles on her back. “Thank you.” She said softly. “I’m so happy I get to be apart of this.” She smiled and drew away. “Hey. What should we do first? In the Emerald City.”
Elphaba blinked. “I- I hadn’t thought about that.”
“Gasp. Scandalous. Miss Elphaba, we have limited time in the city! We must prioritise.”
“Well, we should probably get you some clothes. Though from what I hear most of the boutiques are, well…”
“Green.” Glinda finished with a fond smile. “I’m sure I’ll manage. Green’s been growing on me.” She poked her roommate’s cheek. “Oh! We simply must get our nails done.”
Elphaba raised an eyebrow. “Really? That’s a priority?”
“Of course! You must look your best for the wizard, and besides, your hands are so important for your craft! You’ll hardly need to cast a thing if we can work some magic on those nails.” She tapped her own nails against Elphaba’s palm to emphasise her point but was surprised when she jumped and pulled her hand back, giving a scrunched-up grin.
Glinda grinned even wider. “Elphieee…”
“No.” Elphaba said, shrinking backwards, her hands help up imploringly. “Galinda.” She already felt the butterflies fluttering around her insides.
“Elphaba.” She said, enunciating every syllable. “What’s the matter?”
She curled further back; Glinda wasn’t stopping her advance. “You know!” The smile was irrepressible.
“I simply want to demonstrate all the benefits of having beautiful nails.” She wiggled her fingers, getting a squirm and a bitten off squeak from Elphaba, and her grin grew into a smirk. She loved making her friend let go and laugh.
Elphaba’s back hit the lounge. “Don’t!” She whined, curling up.
Glinda giggled. “See how they shimmer in the light?” She said, wiggling her fingers in the air in front of her. “See?” Elphaba seemed more focused on looking anywhere else. “Elphie, you’re not looking.”
Elphaba opened her eyes just in time to see those fluttery fingers wiggling right in front of her face, making her burst into nervous giggles and shoot her hand forwards to catch Glinda’s, even knowing that she had no chance of stopping her.
“Goodness, what has gotten into you?” Glinda tutted, the mischievous spark in her eye belying her wicked plan.
“You know what’s- waitwaitwait!” Those perfectly maintained nails had taken advantage of their position and wiggled teasingly against her palms, eliciting a series of more and more flustered noises. “Glinda!”
“Elphie!” She echoed in the same tone, one hand seizing Elphaba’s wrist so that she could continue to skitter her nails over her palm.
Elphaba let out a shriek and flopped onto her back, giggling frantically and tugging at her arm to no avail.
Glinda tutted. “Your hands are somewhat dry as well; I’ve told you to moisturise!”
“I did!” Elphaba giggled, her free hand batting at her friend. “Glinda come on!” She’d hardly known a moment’s rest since Glinda had discovered her ticklishness. It was… weird. Laughing this much. Feeling so giddy.
Glinda pressed a kiss to her hand. “Say you’re amazing.”
Elphaba snorted. “Y-you’re amazing!”
“Very clever.” She teased, one nail scratching lightly right at the centre of her palm in a way that seemed to drive Elphaba crazy. “Try again.”
She shook her head, trying to muffle her laughter into one of the cushions to no avail. Well. The cushions could be good for something.
Before Glinda could blink, she had been enthusiastically smacked in the face by a large pillow. She squeaked in surprise, releasing Elphaba’s arm and letting her get some much-needed air. She glared playfully and crawled closer, framing her prone form with her arms. “Miss Elphaba, that was very rude.”
Elphaba giggled, eyes locked on Glinda’s face, her arms tight around her sides.
Glinda’s besotted smile belied her terse words. Elphaba was adorable like this. “What shall we do about that?”
Elphaba swallowed. “Nothing?” She tried.
“Hmmmm. Nothing…” She mused, tapping her nails against the cushioning on either side of Elphaba, pretending to think.
The giddy feeling in her stomach was growing, as were her giggles, much as she tried to keep them in. “G-Glinda?”
“Shh, Elphie, I’m thinking.”
Was it worth it? “That’s worrying.”
Gasp.
Elphaba smirked. Definitely worth it.
Glinda glared playfully. “You are incorrigible.” She said, poking the tip of her nose before turning her fingers into claws. “Whatever will I do with you?”
“Nothing!” Elphaba tried again.
She didn’t like the mischievous smirk Glinda returned one bit. “Well, alright, if you say so.” She said smugly, only to raise her hands and float them in the air above Elphaba’s trapped form and oh no.
She shuddered, giddy laughter making her lungs tremble, torn between grabbing Glinda’s hands and guarding that particularly ticklish spot from her friend. “Naha- Glinda!”
“Say you’re amazing!” She sang, adding a little wiggle to her fingers. “I don’t know what you’re laughing about, I’m not even doing anything.”
Elphaba’s arms stuttered. “Stop!”
Glinda slowed her wriggling fingers but didn’t move her hands. “But I’m doing nothing. You want me to stop doing nothing?”
“Nonononono, Glinda!”
She huffed. “Well, I’m getting such mixed messages, good thing I have two hands!” One hand darted forward, quickly worming past meagre defences to scratch at her ribs and draw out that stuttering cackly laugh that Glinda found so endearing.
“There, is that better?”
Elphaba squirmed and kicked, smiling as bright as the sun. “I hahate you!”
“Well I. Like. You. A whole bunch.” She emphasised each word with squeezes that had Elphaba shrieking. “And I think you’re amazing.”
Elphaba gave up on fighting her off, instead squeezing her eyes shut to hide from those teasy nails and Glinda’s wide smile. She tried to roll into the back of the lounge to hide her face, but doing so only caused Glinda to target her stomach next, turning her laughter so giddy and childish that she thought she’d melt.
Glinda’s soft gasp got her attention, as did her suddenly ceased attack. “Oh.” She breathed.
Elphaba swallowed, trying to catch her breath. “What?”
“Elphie, look!”
She opened her eyes and immediately saw what Glinda was talking about. The air was full of floating sprites of soft, twinkling light. Something about them felt familiar. Like the warm, buzzy feeling in her belly that Glinda had caused with her mischievous attack had become external.
It was beautiful. Elphaba shrank back all the same. “I-I’m sorry- ACK, Glinda!”
She had started pinching at her sides again. “Take that back.” She commanded over confused giggles. “Right now. You’re amazing and wonderful and you do not apologise for it.”
Elphaba hiccupped. “Okay, okahay! I take it back!”
“Good.” Glinda glanced around the room out of the corner of her eye and noted the motes hadn’t faded. She grinned and wiggled her fingers in the air. “Aaaand you’re amazing?”
“Glinda!” Her face burned.
Then Glinda’s face was right in front of hers and she felt like she was on fire. “Are you blushing?”
Oh no. “N-no?”
She beamed. “Oh my Oz, you are! Elphie you turn the most wonderful emerald, do you know that?”
“Stop…” Elphaba whined, trying to squirm away from her gaze.
Glinda giggled. “You are so cute.”
The next thing Elphaba knew she’d seized her hat and pulled it over her face. Of course, it only made Glinda coo more. “Cuuute!”
Elphaba shoved her with her free hand, groaning incoherently.
She swiped one nail down her palm. “How about I just tickle you for the wizard? You don’t even need the sparkly lights, that smile is magic enough.”
Elphaba barked a laugh and snatched her hand back, continuing to cling to her hat to keep her flushed face hidden.
Glinda pinched at her sides gently, enough to make her jump and laugh, and watched the motes of light sparkle and spin in reaction to Elphaba’s emotions. It was easy to see how shattering glass was caused by her anger and frustration. This felt different. Happy. No, giddy.
Adorable.
Elphaba let out a hiccup and the lights jumped in time with it. “Okay!” She gasped, one hand shoving at Glinda. “You win!”
Obligingly, Glinda stopped, but she didn’t move off of her. After a few moments, those brown eyes peeked out at her from the edge of the hat. She grinned down at her. “Aaaand?”
And? Oh. Elphaba laughed under her breath. “Alright, alright, I’m amazing.”
The smile Glinda gave in response was dazzling. “You so are.” She said warmly.
Elphaba felt like her heart might just explode. Not for the first time, she thanked Oz for her hat. Not that it did a thing to protect her when Glinda leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, making her face burn still hotter, and sweet Oz, she couldn’t die mere days before meeting the wizard, she simply couldn’t.
Glinda was looking down at her, seemingly ignorant to the effect she was having, smiling sweetly. “I mean it, Elphie.” She said gently, pulling away. “You are. They’re going to love you.”
Looking into her sparkling blue eyes, Elphaba found herself believing her.
If only for this moment.
