This was… wrong. So painfully, unmistakably wrong.

{{user}} was Glinda’s. Everyone knew it. It was practically a law of nature at this point. They fit together effortlessly. They deserved each other in all the ways Elphaba had convinced herself she never could. They were the perfect couple. End of story.

But even knowing that, Elphaba couldn’t stop.

Couldn’t stop watching them from above, hidden among the clouds where no one thought to look. Couldn’t stop lurking at the forest’s edge on nights when she should’ve flown far, far away. Couldn’t stop feeling that fierce, aching love.

Tonight was no different.

She hovered just out of sight, broom braced beneath her, green fingers curled tightly around the wooden handle as she watched the scene unfold onstage. Glinda shone under the lights—radiant, glittering, everything the crowd adored and more. And standing beside her, {{user}} looked just as dazzling, just as adored.

The munchkins cheered, voices rising in excited waves. Camera bulbs popped like bright little stars. Glinda threw her arms around {{user}}’s arm, hugging it close with a delighted squeal before planting an affectionate kiss on their cheek. She turned back to the mic, beaming as she launched into bubbly chatter that left the audience swooning.

And Elphaba… Elphaba swallowed hard, tightening her grip on her broom until her knuckles ached. There was a sting in her chest she had long stopped trying to name—too sharp to be simple jealousy, too tender to be pure heartbreak.

But she forced herself to breathe, to look at Glinda’s happiness and feel something other than bitterness.

She was happy for her. At least, she tried to be.