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Fiyero was happily tidying away books when he heard a yelp.
Then—
Cries.
“Daddy!”
Elphaba ran towards him, tears streaming as she sobbed.
“Hey, bug. What happened?” He asked, grabbing a chair to sit in and pulling his little into his lap.
“Gigi bited me!” She whined, holding out her arm.
Sure enough, an angry red bite was on her forearm.
Fiyero sighed, glancing at the other little, who was sat by the wall, scowling.
“Oh, sweetheart. Is it hurting?”
Elphaba nodded with a sniffle, nuzzling against his chest. Fiyero threaded his fingers through her hair, holding her a slight bit tighter.
Elphaba often regressed younger than Galinda, usually being between 2 and 3 in headspace. Whereas, Galinda was usually between 4 and 5 in headspace.
“Here, let’s give it a kiss better,” Fiyero offered, giving an exaggerated 'mwah.’ Elphaba hiccuped, clinging to him. “Fabala, can I set you down for a moment while I speak to your sister?”
Another nod, so Fiyero stood and settled her back onto the chair.
He walked over to where Galinda was currently fuming, crouching down to be at eye level with her.
“Princess?” He asked, tucking a blonde curl behind her ear. In response, the girl huffed, folding her arms.
“Why did you bite your sister, darling?”
“I got mad.” She refused to look him in the eye, keeping her gaze trained on the floor.
“What made you mad?”
“Elphie didn't want to play fairies with me.”
“Okay, I understand why that made you feel angry. But, she is your little sister. You know not to bite, since you are a big girl, after all. Would you like to sit in the reflection corner for a moment?”
Galinda whined, frantically shaking her head.
“Gigi, I think you should. Just for a short while,” he offered, picking her up and walking over to a corner of the room.
“Daddy, no! I wanna go down!”
Galinda threw herself onto the floor, harshly rubbing at her eyes. Fiyero could tell that she was becoming frustrated again, she hated being put in the reflection corner. So, he kissed her head, before returning to Elphaba.
She was still sad, pouting and wiping away stray tears.
Fiyero picked her up and bundled her into his arms, reaching for her pacifier.
“Would you like this?”
“Yes p'ease.”
“Well done for using your manners,” he popped it into her mouth, swaying her gently until her eyes began to droop. “You can sleep, I've got you.”
And, once her eyes slid shut, he stood and tucked her into bed, bringing the blankets up to her chin in the way she loved.
“Beary?” She whispered, reaching out.
“Beary is right here,” Fiyero smiled, pushing a pale brown stuffed bear into Elphaba’s arms. That calmed her, her breathing finally becoming even.
Then, he approached Galinda.
“Galinda, do you want to do some drawing with me?”
Galinda’s head spun, a small smile tugging at her lips. She reached her arms up, allowing Fiyero to hoist her up and hold her on his hip.
Together, they walked through the dorm, collecting paper and colored pencils. They sat on the floor beside the fireplace, Galinda happily forgetting about the earlier commotion.
“Daddy, I drew us.”
Galinda held up her paper, which had three little figures on it. A green one, a pink one, and a blue one.
“That is beautiful, Glin. How about you draw something for Elphie to apologize?”
Galinda nodded, instantly getting to work.
They had lost track of time, not noticing when the sun began lowering and the sky casting pink hues across Shiz.
Fiyero only snapped out of it when he heard a shuffle, turning to find Elphaba up right, rubbing her eyes. He stood, approaching her and lifting her into his arms.
“Would you like to join us? We are drawing pictures!”
Elphaba nodded with a sleepy smile, leaning against his shoulder.
“Elphie,” Galinda beamed. “I drew you a present, to say sorry for biting.”
Elphaba sat beside her with crossed legs, taking the picture and clutching it to her chest. “It’s okay. M’better now.”
Galinda nodded, nudging her colored pencils towards the green girl.
Fiyero grinned to himself, leaving the girls to continue with his cleaning, which he was initially doing.
There were no more incidents after that for days, until Elphaba wanted Fiyero’s attention.
It was almost lunchtime, them and their friendgroup were walking to the lunch hall.
When they arrived, Fiyero grabbed two plates, remembering that Galinda liked to do it herself—she’s a big girl, of course. But, Elphaba looked at the whole food selection with utter disgust on her face, saying no to every option.
Fiyero could tell she was hungry, it showed in her pout and furrowed eyebrows.
“Okay, how about you try some eggs? You like those.”
Elphaba hummed, glaring at them. “No eggs.”
“Well, what are you going to eat, honey?”
She turned to see Galinda’s plate, which was filled with sandwiches and fruit. Then, she huffed.
“I don’ want it.”
“Elphaba, you need to eat.”
The girl took a long inhale, and Fiyero knew what was coming. She was about to have a meltdown.
“All right. No lunch. Come along,” he ushered his littles over to the table, sitting between the girls.
Elphaba put her arms on the table, burying her face in them. Every now and again, she would peer up, staring at the way Fiyero and Galinda were chatting, before hiding again.
Then, she heard something.
“Well done for finishing your plate, Gigi. Aren’t you amazing!”
Galinda lit up with pride, bouncing in her seat. “Thank you! I tried so much.”
“I can tell, Princess. Would you like to go and pick out a dessert?”
Galinda didn’t need to be asked twice, already sprinting away with her plate.
Elphaba frowned, trying to burrow further, her face now smushed on the table. She tried to let it go, it wasn’t that big of a deal…
Until she saw the slice of cake on Galinda’s plate, topped with frosting and pink sprinkles.
The blonde had barely even sat down before Elphaba had pounced and shoved it from her hands. It splattered all over the floor.
Galinda gasped, tears forming in her eyes.
“Elphaba Thropp!”
She flinched at the tone, spinning to find Fiyero, red with anger.
He turned to Galinda, softening slightly. “Darling, why don’t you go pick out another piece and we can take it home.”
She nodded as her lip trembled, slowly walking away.
“Elphaba, you are in a lot of trouble.”
“Don’t care,” she mumbled, crossing her arms.
Fiyero stood, grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder, making sure Galinda was behind him, before stomping away.
When they arrived to the dorm, Galinda was cradling her cake, rushing over to her desk to eat it.
Fiyero set Elphaba down and pushed her into the reflection corner, rubbing his temples.
“You are staying here until you apologize.”
Elphaba stuck her tongue out in response, making Fiyero groan and walk away. He sat beside Galinda, tucking loose curls behind her ear.
“Are you okay, love? I know that upset you.”
Galinda smiled, “I am okay. She just made me feel bad for a moment.”
Fiyero exhaled, kissing her forehead.
———
Elphaba had yet to apologize.
It had been two hours.
And she had stayed in the corner the whole time, uncaring.
Then—
She heard Fiyero and Galinda once more.
Galinda had done a puzzle, and Fiyero was showering her in praise.
Elphaba glanced over her shoulder, sniffling. And, before she could stop it, she burst into tears.
“Fabala, what is the matter?”
But, Elphaba didn’t reply, just harshly scrubbing at her eyes and cheeks. Fiyero bent over, scooping her up and rocking her.
“You’re fine. I’m right here.”
“Daddy,” she stuttered out, hiccuping.
“Shhh, little one,” he moved to offer her a pacifier, which she took immediately.
She calmed down quickly, nuzzling into him.
“What’s going on, sweet girl?”
“I’m sad.”
“Why are you sad?”
Elphaba shrugged. Honestly, she wasn’t sure, she just wanted cuddles.
“That’s all right,” he pressed a kiss to her cheek, then waved Galinda over. “Let’s all take a nap together.”
The girls happily agreed, settling into bed with their plushies and snuggling into Fiyero’s side.
When he came to Shiz, he hadn’t expected to become a caregiver to a little. Let alone two littles. But now, he wouldn’t change it for the world. It meant everything to him to care for these girls.