Who: Elphaba and Luthien What: Valentine’s day Where: Their house When: Feb 14th Rating: PG Status: Complete when posted
Elphaba had planned for the quintessential Valentine’s Day dinner. Huan was standing watch over baby Mae who was fed, changed, bathed and (thankfully) asleep. Using her magic, she’d prepared a mushroom stroganoff for while sorting Mae out and now, with dinner ready and waiting for Luthien to come through the front door, she was lighting candles all around the room.
It had been a long day, and Luthien’s throat was a little sore from singing as much as she had. It wasn’t too common, but she’d really gotten into it. Despite that, she was happy to be home and celebrate a nice private Valentine’s Day with her beloved. She opened the door and looked around, a loving smile growing on her face. “Well, isn’t this lovely?”
Elphaba looked up at the beautiful voice and beamed at her wife. “You think so? Not too...over the top?” she asked, always unsure about herself, straightening and gesturing to all the candles.
“Nay, it’s perfect.” Luthien had been dreaming again lately, though she hadn’t said so. It made her speech old fashioned if she didn’t catch herself, and she was a little too emotional to catch herself just then. She took Elphaba’s hands and squeezed them. “It’s not over the top. I love it.”
Elphaba grinned and breathed a sigh of relief as Luthien took her hands. Squeezing her hands back she leaned forward and kissed Luthien on the lips. She then gently directed her to a chair at the dinner table before heading back to the kitchen. “I’m so glad, now sit yourself down and I’ll bring dinner to the table. Huan is looking after baby Mae and Dior is at a friend’s house for now, so we have some time just for us,” she smiled, returning to the table with the pot of stroganoff.
“So you banished the children,” Luthien replied, taking a seat. Huan was both “child” and “babysitter” in this scenario, and just about any scenario. She did love the hound so.
“Are we having dessert too?” Luthien folded her hands across the table and fixed Elphaba with a teasing smile.
“I didn’t banish them, I...delegated my maternal responsibilities temporarily,” Elphaba grinned as she came back to the table with the pot of rice. “Mae is asleep so really all Huan is doing is staying by her crib and sleeping himself,” she reasoned as she sat next to her wife. “As for dessert, I guess it depends what you’re in the mood for: strawberries and cream or melted chocolate,” she winked suggestively.
“Banished.”
Luthien grinned, reaching across the table to take Elphaba’s hand and squeeze it. “Both sound divine. Whichever lets us retire together.” Oh, she’d check in on Mae and Huan first after dinner, but she was looking forward to curling up with her wife on the couch. Share the warmth of their bodies and stroke her fingers through her hair. Luthien wanted to make Elphaba feel like she was the center of the universe.
Elphaba sighed dramatically. “They’re not banished, they’re just not here,” she grinned, picking up Luthien’s hand and pressing her lips to the back of it. “So how has your day been?” she asked, replacing Luthien’s hand on the table before serving out their dinner.
When Elphaba got romantic like this, it made Luthien’s pulse spike. She took the opportunity to caress her cheek before her hand was placed back down, and then reached for her fork. “It was fun. My throat is a little sore, I might have overdone it just a little.”
There was no damage though, and with her nature she’d be fine in an hour. She wasn’t too worried. “I’ve been thinking on what to do for my next album.”
“Well then, I’ll have to make sure you don’t strain your voice too much tonight,” Elphaba grinned at Luthien over the rim of her wine glass and winked, blushing profusely as she did. They’d been married for a while now, but she still found it exciting to flirt with her wife. Elphaba cleared her throat and tried to carry on with normal conversation. “Have you had any inspiration then? Were you thinking of a theme or something?” she asked, not entirely sure how an artist’s mind worked for these sorts of things.
“You can strain my voice a little bit,” Luthien promised, her eyes twinkling. “I do quite enjoy it when you make me sing. Almost as much as I enjoy making you sing.”
She sipped her drink, then set the glass down. “Hope. I think my theme should be hope, that there is light in the darkness.”
Elphaba let out a chuckle at their flirting over her wine glass. She’d never considered herself particularly good at flirting, but whatever she managed to accomplish with Luthien seemed to be successful so she wasn’t too concerned. “That’s nice,” she smiled at her wife, before frowning. “Why hope? Do you feel...lacking in it?” she asked curiously but quietly.
“Times are dangerous. A lot of people could use hope. And money I make I can donate to charities.” Luthien had a few in mind. “But if I can contribute by reminding people that there is always light on the other side, then perhaps that is what I shall do.”
Elphaba smiled at Luthien, falling just a little bit more in love with her, if that were at all possible. “That’s a really lovely idea,” she told her. “I think there are people crying out in the world right now to be heard that don’t feel like they have a voice. That nothing they say or do matters. I do,” she admitted, casting her eyes down to her dinner. “I know that nothing huge is probably going to happen, but I worry about how people will treat us, just for...loving one another. It’s horrible,” she sighed sadly.
Luthien nudged Elphaba’s foot with her toe, then reached over to caress her chin. Her father had forbidden that she love a mortal, and she’d defied it. She was not about to let anyone forbid her love a woman either. “It is. But we’ll fight through it.”
“I know,” Elphaba smiled at her and leaned forward to kiss her. “I love you and no-one is going to tell me that that’s wrong,” she said certainly. “And if they try to, we’ll just have to move to the UK or something,” she joked.
“I’d rather fight here,” Luthien said, winking. “Even if we have to be grossly touchy feely in public.” As if that were somehow a terrible curse they must bear.
Elphaba grinned brightly. “I think I can cope with some public displays of affection with my beautiful wife,” she told her, leaning forward and kissing her again, sliding a hand to cup the back of her neck as she did.