Standing in front of Fiyero's door, two bags of steaming takeaway food in her hands and a backpack full of essential grocery items for his pantry, Glinda didn't quite know what to expect. Although she knew Fiyero better than any of her other friends, this situation was new. Never before had she done something to upset him so terribly. She'd certainly made mistakes in the past that had resulted in hurting or distressing him to various degrees; however, back in those days, they'd always been in it together, talking things through and reassuring each other every step of the way. She had to admit that often it had been her ideas that had ultimately — though entirely inadvertently — caused trouble, but Fiyero had frequently been an active participant, agreeing to her misguided suggestions out of his own free will.

While, viewed from certain angles, her failure to communicate could be considered less severe than the worst of her other blunders, she knew perfectly well that, for Fiyero at least, a total and seemingly inexplicable shut-out constituted betrayal of the highest order. She'd had her reasons, she might argue, but in hindsight, even she found it hard to explain what exactly had made her behave the way she had. All she would be able to offer if asked, was that she'd found it impossible to do otherwise. Needless to say, it was an altogether unsatisfying justification.

She was still standing in that same spot, pondering her options, when the door unexpectedly opened.

"Are you planning on eventually coming in?" Fiyero deadpanned.

His expression was still more serious than usual, but Glinda could tell that he was at least somewhat amused by the perplexed look in her face.

"I smelt the food," he explained, pointing at the slightly fogged up plastic bags. "Shouldn't you know by now that I lie in waiting for hours if I expect anyone to bring a decent meal to this bare man cave?"

Glinda hesitated for a moment, but if Fiyero was going for humour, so could she.

"This place," she declared as she brushed past him, "is not a 'man cave;' it's a desolate hole! Seriously, the only redeeming feature in here is your overly fancy laptop. You'd be better off if you packed it up and escaped to a cosy café with it."

"Except that I wouldn't even be able to pay for those overpriced beverages."

"The library then!"

"No privacy. And if I fall asleep, some asshole is almost guaranteed to steal my stuff, computer and all."

"Fine, you old recluse. Have it your way," Glinda sighed and put down the food. "Do you want to use plates?"

"Souvas? As I ordered?"

"Of course," she shrugged.

Approving, Fiyero bobbed his head.

"No need to waste time, energy and good detergent then. If we use the bags to catch the crumbs, we don't even need to wipe the table."

Although Fiyero was generous with his praise for the food, they talked little about anything else. Under normal circumstances Glinda would have had no reservations bending his ears with stories about her weekend with Elphaba. After all, he was the one who'd more or less set her up with the green woman, and so it was obviously also his duty to bear the consequences. It was hard for her to resist the urge, especially in lieu of a better topic. Still, being tone-deaf was generally not one of her flaws.

When their late lunch was finished and the table cleared of plastic bags and stray morsels, the now familiar feeling of dread returned to Glinda. Keenly aware of the inevitability of the impending confrontation, however, she was almost grateful that the big moment had finally arrived. Moreover, not knowing what to say at all was even more against her nature than was arguing or making big confessions.

They stood in pregnant silence in the kitchen. He was leaning against the counter, watching while she tried to cover her anxiety by busying herself with the groceries she'd brought along. Perhaps he was waiting for her to step up and start with an apology, but if that was the case, he'd have to wait for quite a while; she simply couldn't summon up the courage to broach the matter without being prompted.

After a few tense minutes, Fiyero unexpectedly left. Glinda closed the door of the cabinet in confusion, craning her neck to see what he was up to. He'd clearly been anticipating their confrontation as much as she had. As the wronged party without any blame whatsoever, why would he try to avoid it?

In the meantime, he'd turned on his console and connected a second controller.

"You ready to kick my ass again?" he asked, making an unenthusiastic gesture in the direction of the couch.

The idea of refusing occurred to her. They couldn't keep tiptoeing around the elephant in the room forever. Yet once again, she was too irresolute to follow her instinct. She crossed the room and accepted the controller he was holding out for her.

"Do you want to choose the stage?"

She shook her head.

"I'll leave it up to you where you want to die," she said distractedly. "It makes no difference to me."

It was all part of their usual banter, but it was perfectly evident that their taunts were lacking their normal spunk.

They chose their characters and the fight began. She won the first round with ease, but Fiyero quickly managed to even out the score. After a short third round, he won the game. Somehow, he didn't seem very satisfied with his victory.

"You don't have to let me win, you know?"

"Believe me, I wasn't trying to," she replied through grinding teeth.

"Okay. Score for me then. Let's go again."

Glinda went on to lose every single one of the subsequent bouts. After his sixth win, Fiyero chucked the controller in the corner of the couch.

"This is obviously not working," he groaned in frustration.

Gently, Glinda set aside her own controller.

"No, I guess it's not," she agreed, quietly.

Her seemingly calm demeanour was not an accurate reflection of her inner turmoil. She cast Fiyero a brief glance, then looked away again. Feeling restless, she would have very much preferred to stand or even pace the room, yet she feared that doing so would merely serve to escalate her anxiety. As an alternative outlet, her hand resorted to excessively scratching the fabric of her shirt, which was a habit she was willing to tolerate for now. It was only through the sudden faint taste of blood in her mouth, that she realised that she'd also subconsciously been biting the inside of her cheek. Exhaling noisily, she threw herself back against the backrest, her hands flying up to cover her face.

The next thing she noticed was Fiyero's hand on her shoulder, his thumb caressing gingerly.

"You don't have to apologise," he finally said. "Just tell me what happened. If anything remains unclear to me, I'll let you know."

She slowly dragged her hands down her face, sat up and crossed them in front of her chest to keep them from fiddling. Thankful for his empathy, she nodded, though it took a while for her to bring herself to actually speak.

"You know what I was most worried about before coming here today?"

She paused to look at him and he calmly held her gaze. The kind expression in his eyes comforted her, but she soon realised that that was all he would offer for the time being. Listening intently, he seemed too eager for her to continue to venture any guesses, yet also too considerate to urge her on. So she continued, speaking slowly and willing herself to keep up her eye contact as consistently as she could manage.

"Well, I was worried that I'd tell you my story and that it wouldn't be extraordinary enough for you. I mean, you have been through so much that, to someone like you, my situation might appear rather trivial. You could easily say that my experience wasn't bad enough to warrant all the childish drama and theatrics."

"I don't think I'd ever say anything remotely like that," he couldn't help but interrupt, and she replied with a small smile.

"I know, but coming up with worst case scenarios is kind of my thing, right? Besides, considering what happened with your family and how bravely you've been navigating your own crisis, one can't help but observe that many other problems pale in comparison. And maybe I really am simply a spoiled, ditzy blonde that encountered a minor bump in the road and is now making a huge fuss because she didn't get her way."

Shaking his head, Fiyero drew back a little to raise both of his hands.

"Okay, stop. I get it. You were stressing that I might discount whatever caused you all this misery and that I'd continue being angry with you. Come on Glin, does that really sound like me?"

Without waiting for an answer, he scootched closer again and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Alright. Now try to let go of all this self-deprecating crap. You're pretty amazingly clever for a blonde and not half as spoilt as most of the other upper class Gillikinese girls I've met. And I shouldn't even have to tell you that, because deep down, you know it, too. Let's just skip to the point where you start telling me what actually happened, yes?"

At last, she told him about her run-in with Korrell and the subsequent aftermath, including as many details as she was able to remember. She was glad that he refrained from interjecting further, obviously saving his questions for later. After she was finished, his free hand reached out to cover hers.

"I'm sorry this dickhead caused you so much grief. And I'm sorry I wasn't there to punch his ugly face."

Laughing softly, she replied, "No, I'm absolutely glad you weren't there to punch his face. I know you're quite tough and all, but that dude definitely looked like he spent more time working out than you do these days."

"Sometimes it's all a matter of the right kind of motivation," said Fiyero, wiggling his eyebrows, making her giggle even more.

He gave her hand a squeeze, then stopped short. Frowning slightly, he ran his thumb over her fingers before lifting her hand to have a closer look.

"What happened to your ring?" he finally asked.

Glinda herself was quite baffled at how she could have failed to mention this particular element of her story.

"It's in my drawer," she answered slowly. "Somewhere between my socks. After what happened, I didn't have the confidence to wear it. Don't think I could have handled another asshole raining on my parade."

He nodded gravely.

"Fair enough. What a strange coincidence that he out of all people knew what the ring meant."

"You should be happy," she joked mirthlessly. "Looks like we aces are no longer as invisible as you thought."

"No more than a fluke," he dismissed. "But admittedly, a particularly unfortunate one."

After clearing this most crucial part of their reconciliation efforts, they fell into an easy silence. For Glinda at least, the resulting relief manifested itself in a surprisingly palpable way. Although she felt a little exhausted, she felt also refreshed and invigorated. Never before had she believed that the good old phrase 'as though a weight had been lifted' could be taken so literally. It was mostly her head that seemed lighter, no longer hurting from the building pressure and no longer weighing down on her shoulders. It was the most curious sensation. It was true that she had not yet received any clear confirmation from Fiyero that the rift between them was at all mended. She also sensed that there was more he needed her to explain. But those were minor worries in comparison. In her heart, she knew that they would be okay and that was all she needed for now.

Glinda honestly had no idea how Fiyero could stand not leaving his apartment for several days in a row. It usually took her no longer than a couple of hours to go virtually stir crazy. There was something about this place she simply couldn't abide, and today she was most certainly not going to put up with it.

She managed to convince him to come out with her for dinner — only under the condition that she'd foot the bill, of course. It was a necessary sacrifice and easily justified. After all, she'd be able to save her sanity and further improve their relationship at the same time. Luckily, her budget had been less strained this week, with Elphaba providing most of the food and entertainment throughout the past few days. Splurging a little more on Fiyero was undoubtedly the best way to prevent her finances from getting too comfortable.

They contemplated rounding out the evening with a brief trip to the nearby bar. The suggestion had been Glinda's, even though she wasn't particularly keen on crowds at the moment. At least, she reasoned, it would keep them away from that dreaded apartment for a little while longer.

Fiyero had a better idea.

"How about we get a couple of beers from the bottle shop over there?"

"And take them home?" she asked sceptically. "No amount of alcohol could ever be sufficient to make your little hole any more appealing."

"But we could take a stroll through the park," he countered.

There was indeed a nice, biggish park, no more than a block or two away. It had once been the very heart of the district and bordered on an ancient unionistic cemetery, which, under different circumstances, might have bothered her. This once, however, she agreed eagerly.

"What are you going to get?" Fiyero wondered as they skimmed through the store's wares.

"I actually don't feel like beer," she hummed thoughtfully. "I'd like some wine, but it doesn't taste right straight from the bottle."

"Maybe some kind of girly alcopop?"

He jokingly grabbed the first pink can he could find and shoved it right into her face.

Fixing him with a playfully indignant glare, she grabbed the drink from him and stormed off towards the register.

"Are you not even going to check what it is?" he called after her, to no avail.

They opened their drinks right outside the shop. After a few sips, Fiyero released a content sigh; Glinda suddenly coughed.

"This stuff is quite strong," she rasped out.

"Let me see."

Grabbing the can from her, Fiyero used the light of his phone to better read.

"This is high proof stuff," he laughed.

"How high?" she demanded, a little put out at the possibility that her drink might turn out too much for a leisurely stroll through the park.

"Oh, not that bad. About twice as much as that raspberry flavoured vodka blend you sometimes drink."

"Hmm," she huffed, reclaiming her can. "I'll survive."

Night was falling quickly around them. Fortunately, the area was well equipped with bright streetlights and also otherwise generally considered one of the safer parts of the city. Given these favourable conditions, it was hardly surprising that they were not the only pair at the park. The mild weather might also have played a part in luring a larger number of couples out of their dwellings. For a fleeting moment, Glinda wondered whether any of those people mistook her and Fiyero for romantic partners. How often would friends go out in twos like this, for a walk under the stars? If things had been different, she and the dashing prince would surely have made the most magnificent couple. She quickly pushed the unproductive thought aside.

"Oh, by the way: Crope and Tibbett send their regards," she informed Fiyero. Her roommates had been one of the last things on her mind that day and she'd almost forgotten to convey the message; not that they'd have ever been any the wiser if she really had. "And they insist that you simply must come over to our place next time."

He definitely wasn't keen on that.

"Do I have to?" he moaned. "I know you're very fond of them, but they are just too..."

He didn't quite know how to express himself without being too severe on them, but she easily finished the sentence for him.

"Too much for you. Well, I understand that, but I'm not exactly sure how to break this to them in a gentle way. That being said, they are my friends, not yours. You have no obligations towards them."

"They will bug you about it forever though, won't they?"

"Yes, probably," she shrugged. "And they think you're hot, so they regard it as extremely unfair that I always go to your place and they never get to see and drool over you."

"The perfect reason why I shouldn't go," he pointed out. Then he cocked his head. "What do you mean you always come to my place? I've hardly seen you recently."

"Well, you know how they are," she told him, abashed and cheeks blushing. "If I told them as much about Elphaba as I told you, I'd never hear the end of it. And only imagine they also knew how often I see her these days... I mean, they know now that I'm not so easily paired up with anyone, but that's hardly going to deter them. At the very least they'll do their upmost to try."

"Exactly how much have you been seeing her?" he asked, his expression rather stern.

The tone of his voice was not angry, but still rather tense — enough to make her nervous.

"Since I stopped telling you about it?" she asked sheepishly. "Only three times. The first occasion was the day before all this shit went down with Mr Jerk. Just a little get-together with her friends and stuff. I just hadn't had the time to tell you yet. The third time was an entire weekend though," she added rather meekly.

He made a vaguely grumpy sounding noise and nodded. Although he didn't immediately reply, anyone could have guessed that he was upset. When they came to a fork in the path, her instinct naturally was to choose the brighter trail to the right, which led along the outline of the grounds, from one entrance to the next and all those that followed. But Fiyero was eager to distance himself from the other park-goers and firmly grabbed her by the elbow to guide her in the opposite direction, towards a more softly lit and therefore less frequented area.

They came to a small duck pond. As far as she could tell, there were no other people around, only a few dozing waterfowl. He moved to sit down on a park bench, chucking his empty beer bottle into a bin on the way. Following him hesitantly, she tried to make out his mood, but it was too dark for her to read his face. She did not sit down. Instead, she stood before him, both hands clutching her still half-full can. He didn't have to strain too much to look up; not only was she particularly petite, he was also unusually tall (although not necessarily for Vinkun standards).

"Look," he began, then paused again, scratching his neck. "I'm glad for you. I truly am. Remember what I said back then? It would be good for you to have more friends who are in the know. And it is. It's fucking great! I haven't met her, but that Elphaba gal seems to be bloody awesome."

He did not immediately go on after this, and Glinda began to anxiously shift from one leg to the other. Did he expect her to comment on that? She rather had the feeling that he wasn't finished yet, but the uncertain silence continued to stretch between them for longer and longer. Impatient to move past this most awkward moment, she opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, he finally pick up where he had left off.

"It just hurts, you know? To feel so completely replaced. I thought we could maybe share our friendly duties of looking after you and keeping you safe and happy. I didn't think that another pal would mean another rival."

"It's not like that at all!" Glinda immediately blurted out. If Fiyero was in pain over