Shelter From the Storm

Elphaba tapped her foot nervously as she hugged herself, backing as far up into the bus station as possible. She hadn't meant to get caught out here in the rain, but still it had happened, and now she was, essentially, stranded halfway across campus with no rescue in sight. The bus wasn't due back for quite a while and the downpour was so violent that she didn't even dare to try and make a run for the nearby chemistry building to take shelter from the storm and try to find a ride home. It was just too risky. Even if the run would've taken less than the minute, the water would've seared her to the bone. She recoiled just thinking about the pain of being caught out in a rainstorm. So with nothing else to do except wait it out, Elphaba continued to huddle in that tiny old bus station, shaking both from fear and the cold.

25 minutes later, Elphaba could see something pink moving swiftly through the downpour. She realized that it was her roommate, Galinda, and she longed to call out to the girl and beg for help, but she was certain that Galinda would not hear her over the torrential rains. And doubtless, Galinda would be running inside, away from the cold and wet outdoors, so she wouldn't be headed in Elphaba's direction anyway. Elphaba watched her jealously as she, huddled safely under a giant umbrella, continued to sprint along the campus, trying to take shelter from the storm.

"What I wouldn't give to be her right now!" the green girl sighed longingly, still shivering and trying to shield herself from the rain. But then it suddenly occurred to her that instead of getting smaller, Galinda's figure was getting larger. That would've only been possible if...

"Is she coming towards me?" Elphaba breathed in amazement and hope. There was no other explanation as to why Galinda would be running into a rainstorm instead of out of it. But Elphaba didn't dare try to take a closer look lest she accidently open herself up to the rainfall. So instead, she continued to wait in the corner of the bus station... hoping... and her hopes were answered. Galinda got bigger and bigger and bigger, then, Elphaba finally heard her shouting, shouting her name.

"Elphie! Hey! Elphie!" and Elphaba silently thanked whatever god did or did not exist that it had sent Galinda to her.

"Elphie! There you are! Thank Oz!" the little blond panted as she stopped inches before entering the bus station herself. She was dry, but her umbrella was soaked, and she didn't want to risk hurting Elphaba by trying to squeeze into the terminal after her. So she stayed in its doorway, blocking the rain to shield Elphaba, protecting her from the storm.

"I was so worried!" she continued.

"Worried?" Elphaba echoed.

"Yeah! When it started pouring and you never came home or called..." Galinda trailed off, blue eyes searching Elphaba's green figure fretfully. It was then that Elphaba felt a dark blush spreading across her face. It never once occurred to her that Galinda might've been thinking and fretting about her. It never once occurred to her that Galinda might've noticed her absence, understood what it meant, and tried to come looking for her. She had thought for sure it was only dumb luck that had brought the two of them together, but as Galinda explained, Elphaba began to realize otherwise.

"I know you have that really severe allergy to water, so when you never came back from class and it started pouring I was certain that you might've just gotten stuck in one of the camps buildings or something. But then you never called so I got worried so I decided to come out and get you myself, since you didn't seem to be able to come home yourself," she said breathlessly, clearly having worked hard to find Elphaba throw the violent tempest surrounding the campus. Elphaba felt her heart pounding louder than the thunder and her face burned brighter than lightning. She hadn't been this touched in a long time. Not only had Galinda remembered Elphaba's strange weakness, but she had taken it at face value and not assumed it was some sort of sarcastic joke from the green girl. And what's more, she kept that nugget of information in her mind, as proven by the fact that she'd decided to come out looking for Elphaba when the green girl failed to make it home safely after the rain started.

"Thank you, Galinda," Elphaba murmured softly, tone unusually tender as she gazed upon her hero with undisguised affection. It was a rare thing for her to do, but Galinda was one of the only people to ever see that side of Elphaba frequently, so she only gave the green girl an adorable little giggle, face spreading into a beautiful and happy smile.

"My pleasure, Elphie!" she cried over the rain. "I'm just glad to know you're safe!"

"I am now," the green girl replied meaningfully, then she dared to reach out and squeeze Galinda's hand. For a moment, Galinda looked worried, in case there was some water on her hands after all that would burn Elphaba, but Elphaba was not afraid anymore, especially not of Galinda, so she continued to reach out for Galinda's hand bravely, squeezing it in gratitude once it was in her own.

For a moment, the two witches could only gaze fondly at one another, blushing slightly, but not from embarrassment. Instead, it was pure, unadulterated loving. Then Galinda finally stood up taller.

"Shall I escort you back to your dorm, my lady?" she asked playfully, offering an arm to the green girl.

"While it's still raining?!" Elphaba wilted, fear returning to her as she looked over Galinda's shoulders. It was a waterfall out there.

"I brought a spare coat," Galinda replied, then she unzipped her own to reveal a second and a third coat underneath the first.

"Wow, you really came prepared," Elphaba laughed, both amused and touched by just how far Galinda had gone to look out for her.

"Anything for my Elphie," Galinda replied, words running a similar track as Elphaba's thoughts as she helped the green girl put on her two extra layers. Once Elphaba was all bundled up then, not an inch of green showing, Galinda took her arm again and led her on out.

For a second, Elphaba reflexively flinched. The rain suddenly got louder as it began to hit Galinda's large umbrella instead of the glass ceiling of the bus station. But Galinda only tightened her grip on Elphaba's hand reassuringly and Elphaba squeezed back, silently promising the little blond that she was ok. With both parties reassured, then, Galinda began to walk on again, shielding Elphaba as best she could and sheltering her from the storm as they walked back to their dorm room together, huddled up hand in hand under one umbrella.

"My hero," Elphaba managed to whisper to her once they were finally back inside the safety and dryness of the dorm room.

"Anything for my Elphie," Galinda repeated fondly, then as soon as she dried off enough, she went over to kiss Elphaba's cheek tenderly, reassuringly. The electricity that burned on Elphaba's cheek after that kiss was far stronger than the electricity that crackled in the sky outside. The two then spent the rest of the evening inside, watching the monsoon pass, curled up together in one bed, just relaxing in silence as they sheltered each other from the storm. This was the one and only time Elphaba ever liked a rainstorm, because it always meant that Galinda would be sure to follow, and anywhere she went was paradise for the green girl.

AN: Inspired off the DeviantArt pic "Don't Melt" by Insaneular.

Here's a link to it: insaneular/art/Gelphie-Don-t-Melt-187196860