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Fiyero Tigelaar was perfectly happy.
The weather was perfect.
He was passing all his classes.
He was meeting his beautiful girlfriend for dinner after classes today.
He'd gotten a letter from his parents confirming that she was more than welcome to spend the summer with them in the Vinkus.
All in all it was shaping up to be an excellent day, a perfect start to the weekend.
He was going over his plans for date night tomorrow night when Boq waved him down.
"Hey man."
"Hey, how's Elphaba?"
Fiyero's Elphaba-radar perked up at the concern in Boq's tone. "What do you mean 'how's Elphaba?' She was fine at lunch and when I met her with coffee this morning."
Boq winced. "Oh well, I um, thought you'd heard."
Fiyero's tone sharpened. "Heard what exactly?"
"Well, um, you know how I have Life Sciences with her?"
"Yes….."
"We were doing some experiments today and, I mean, I'm sure she's fine, it didn't even really hit her that much and—"
"BOQ!" His mouth clamped shut at Fiyero's bark.
Fiyero blew air out of his nose and spoke through clenched teeth. "What happened to Elphaba?"
"Well I'm surprised no one's told you. I mean it only happened an hour ago. And they didn't mean to do it—"
"Boq!" Fiyero's tone had sharpened to degree Boq had rarely heard.
"There was a small explosion and Elphaba got caught in the blast zone." The Munchkin's words rushed out all once.
"What?!"
"Crope and Tibbett were messing around and accidentally bumped the lab bench. The chemicals dumped into the trash can next to Elphaba's bench and kind of went 'boom'?" The longer Boq talked the angrier Fiyero looked until the last words came out as a question.
"Where is she?" Fiyero surged forward until his nose was inches from Boq's.
"She said she was headed to her room after the nurse cleared her."
Fiyero spun on his heel and took off toward the girl's dorms.
"I'm sure she's fine, Fiyero! Elphaba is good at taking care of herself."
Fiyero growled under his breath. "She shouldn't have to!"
As he stormed across campus, he wasn't sure what his face was doing but people were taking one look at him and flinching away.
Oh well, he didn't need anyone getting in his way. He had a girlfriend to check on.
"Fiyero!"
Waving a hand but not slowing down, he acknowledged Galinda's call. He was almost to the courtyard of Elphaba's dorm.
Throwing open the door, he took the stairs two at a time, making it up to the fourth floor in record time.
He pounded on the door, too keyed up to be polite.
He heard the sound of a chair scrapping. "Tibbett! I don't want to hear it again. I know it was an accident, that doesn't change that you and Crope shouldn't have been—"
The door flew open and her words died.
"What happened?" He growled, eyes scanning her up and down and noticing bandages on her hands and arms as well as small circular burns along one cheek and the side of her neck.
He stepped inside and gently turned her head to get a better look. She winced with the movement and his eyes blazed.
"I'm going to kill them." He started to turn but stopped when her hand touched his cheek.
She smiled softly. "Yero, my hero." She stepped into him, resting her forehead along his collarbone, careful not to press her injuries against him. His arms wound gently around her and the tension in his shoulders relaxed a bit now that he could see and hold her.
"I will be alright." She soothed. "There was a small reaction in Life Sciences today but most of it was stopped by my clothing."
"Elphaba, you've got burns all along your face and arms! Don't act like that's nothing!"
Her thumb smoothed along his cheek. "I'm not, I promise. But the spots on my arms are very small. My sleeves stopped most of the spray. The spots on my face are the worst of it."
He pulled back so he could look at her face again. "You're absolutely sure?"
"Yes, I came up here because Madam Morrible taught us how to make a healing salve a few weeks ago and I needed the ingredients." She held up a tube. "The nurse gave me this. I just need to add the herbs and say a spell. Help me?"
"You know I can't do magic."
"You don't need to, I just need help with the pestle. I can't put enough pressure right now to grind the plants."
His jaw tightened at the reminder of her injuries. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to it. He tried to relax at her touch.
"Why didn't you tell me? Why did I have to hear it from Boq of all people?" He pressed his cheek to her uninjured one as he spoke, needing the reassurance his skin on hers always gave him.
"Did Galinda not find you? I sent her to tell you as soon as I got back to our room."
Fiyero hummed. "I heard her calling across the quad but I didn't stop to talk. I was already on my way over to you." He felt his hurt being soothed away with her words. She hadn't kept him in the dark on purpose.
"You're here now. That's the important thing." She pressed one more kiss to his jaw before pulling away and walking to her desk.
She grabbed a jar labeled Jewelweed in her neat script. Taking out 2 leaves she added them to the mortar, holding out the pestle to him. "Just grind them until everything is combined into a paste."
He stepped forward and started grinding, putting more strength behind his motions from the residual anger slowly ebbing out of him as he worked.
Elphaba returned to his side with a glass bowl and a small spatula. The cream the nurse had given her was already inside. She peered over his shoulder. "That's good. Will you grab the book "Modern Magical Cures and Tonics" off my nightstand please?"
When he brought the book back to her, she was slowly mixing the paste into the bowl, turning it a light mint color. He laid the book down where she pointed and she flipped to a bookmark about 2/3rds of the way through. She studied the words for a few moments, muttering to herself and flexing her fingers.
"Okay, it's ready." She set down the spatula and hovered both hands over the bowl. Closing her eyes, she began to speak.
Fiyero watched in wonder, as he always did when he saw Elphaba use her magic. The words flowed lyrically, like she was a second away from singing, the contents of the bowl glowing slightly. It flared brightly once, before settling back to the mint green of before.
She sagged forward against her desk, bracing her hands, eyes slowly opening. "Now we see if it worked."
"Of course it worked, Fae. You're amazing."
She began picking at the bandages on her hands. He covered them with his own. "Let me? Please?"
She held her hands out in response. Gently, he pulled off the bandages.
Her hands weren't as bad as he'd feared. She had spots along the backs and a few on her palms.
Her arms were better with a closer look too. The spots were smaller and there were significantly fewer of them compared to her hands.
He pressed a kiss to a burn-free spot on her wrist. Elphaba pulled the bowl closer and he dipped his fingers in, slowly applying the salve over her injuries. The magic flickered as it came across burned skin, sinking in and leaving behind a pleasant scent.
Elphaba's shoulders relaxed as the salve worked. "Better?"
She nodded. "It wasn't terrible before but that's definishly better."
Finished with her arms, Fiyero turned his attention to her cheek. The burns started just below her left eye and traveled down her jaw onto her neck stopping at her collarbone where her shirt must have covered.
These spots were bigger and more painful looking. "Fae." He breathed.
"I'll be alright. Keep going."
Keeping his touch as light as he could, he kept applying the salve, pausing if she so much as twitched.
Finally it was done.
Fiyero sank down into Elphaba's desk chair and pulled her onto his lap, her right shoulder against him. She curled into him, closing her eyes and letting the salve work its magic.
"I'm still going to yell at them."
Elphaba chuckled. "I don't know that it will do any good. I yelled at them plenty when it happened. They're more scared of me than of you."
"As they should be."
"Yero?"
"Hmm?"
"I just….thank you."
"Of course. What exactly are you thanking me for?"
"For caring. And treating my injuries. I can't remember the last time someone did that for me."
Fiyero's arms tightened around her. It never sat well with him, when she'd reference all the ways her family had failed her. But she didn't need his anger right then. She needed his support.
Forcing himself to relax, he bumped his nose into her cheek, making her smile. "Get used to it Elphaba Thropp. I love you. You'll never have to treat your own wounds ever again."
Elphaba laid her uninjured cheek on his shoulder and pressed a kiss to his throat. "I love you too Fiyero Tigelaar."
He pulled her closer and together they sat, watching the light fade out the balcony doors.