This was written for a challenge, the prompt being a photo of an apple. It's one of those stories that took on a mind of its own and I actually quite like it. :) I don't own Tin Man or any of the characters.

THE STEM TRICK

"Mind if I join you?"

When Azkadellia looked up, the expression on her face brightened immediately, to which DG almost gave a sigh of relief. Her sister had been sitting there in the gardens, wearing a mask of indifference -- she was obviously deep in thought, and she'd been frowning just slightly. But now Azkadellia smiled, and she looked down at the stone bench, as if she were making sure there was room for her little sister.

"Of course not," she said.

DG plopped down, holding out one of the two apples she was holding. They were freshly picked, a shiny shade of red, and seeming to gleam in the bright sunlight -- DG had never seen apples as red as these on the Other Side. And despite the fact that it was probably mind over matter, DG had convinced herself that they even tasted better than the ones on the Other Side.

Azkadellia took the offered apple, but didn't look like she actually wanted to eat it. Instead she held it in both of her hands, cradling it in her lap as if it were something of extreme value. Her black fingernails contrasted harshly with the red.

"So...what's up?" DG asked, raising her eyebrows. "I've been looking everywhere for you, you know?"

"Just to give me an apple?" Azkadellia asked, smirking slightly and side-glancing DG.

"These apples are delicious in case you haven't noticed," said DG, mock-seriously.

Azkadellia, still smirking, lowered her gaze, and she turned the apple over in her hands. "I've just been thinking," she said.

She'd been doing a lot of that lately, DG had noticed, and DG had a feeling she knew what -- or in this case, who -- she'd been thinking about. It was almost completely obvious with the way Azkadellia would look at him, the unlikely Jeb Cain. DG should know that look, as she'd spent the better half of the past month or so looking at Wyatt like that. Plus it was just...girl's intuition, you could say.

Of course, it was different with Azkadellia than it was with her. Jeb was a stubborn thing, and even though most people had gotten over the fact that the witch had been inside of Azkadellia, therefore causing Az to bring darkness to the OZ, some still seemed to blame her personally for their troubles. And Jeb was one of them. He wasn't mean to Azkadellia, more so...cool towards her. He ignored her and only spoke to her when absolutely necessary. And he never looked at her.

It was a shame, DG thought.

"Thinking about what?" she asked, hoping she sounded more innocent than she was.

Azkadellia shrugged a small shoulder, blinking a few times as she sighed. "Things, Deej," she answered vaguely. She raised the apple to take a bite, and something hit DG's mind like a bag of bricks -- something she used to do when she was younger.

"Wait," she said, "You don't know the stem trick?"

Azkadellia's perfect brows arched, then furrowed. "The...stem trick?" she echoed.

"Sure," said DG, and she looked down at her apple. "You twist the stem and say the alphabet -- whatever letter your stem breaks off on, you name one of your secret crushes." She wiggled her eyebrows at Azkadellia, swelling with pride when her sister smiled.

"A game from the Other Side?" Azkadellia asked.

"Bingo," was DG's answer. "Watch." Holding the apple in one hand, she grabbed the stem between her thumb and forefinger, and she started to twist it. With every twist, she recited a letter of the alphabet, "A..." twist, "B..." twist, "C..." twist, "D... --" the stem broke off, and DG's brow furrowed.

"D," Azkadellia repeated, "Must be a tough one."

So maybe DG had been hoping it'd be a C -- she pursed her lips and said the first name that came to mind. "David Arquette," she said with a shrug.

"Who?"

DG side-glanced Azkadellia. "Other Side thing," she said. She held her hand out quickly, "Let me do yours," she said.

"I thought I was supposed to twist it," Azkadellia said.

That would ruin the plans, DG thought, shaking her head. "You've never done it before -- let me do it."

Still smiling, Azkadellia handed over her apple. "Sometimes I wonder if you've really grown up, baby sister," she said.

"Who wants to grow up anyway?" DG asked, quickly grabbing the stem. Only this time, she was more careful with her twists -- she may have cheated just a bit. "A..." twist, "B..." twist, "C..."

Azkadellia watched as though it were some sort of magic trick, as if she were genuinely interested, but she didn't notice when the stem broke off at H. DG held it there as it were still attached, and quickly finished up.

"I..." twist, "J... --" she held up the stem, pretending it'd just snapped. "J," she repeated. "Hmm..."

Azkadellia studied DG's face, before a sheepish smile came to her face. She looked down at her lap, shaking her head. "I'm not going to say it," she said. "You seem to already know..."

"Justin Timberlake?" DG asked, forgetting she was in the only place where Justin wasn't all over the news.

"Timberwhat?"

DG shook her head, "Nevermind," she said. "It's Jeb, isn't it?"

Azkadellia chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully for a moment, before looking back up at DG. "How long have you known?" she asked.

DG shrugged her shoulders, grinning, "Forever."

Azkadellia shook her head, and without waiting for it to be offered back, she reclaimed her apple. She bit into it quickly, and she chewed slowly, lost in thought.

"Have you tried talking to him?" DG asked.

Azkadellia's eyes rolled slightly. "Not only would it never work out between us, DG, for more reasons than one," she said, "But what exactly would I say?"

DG pushed her lips out and thought a bit. "Come here often?" she suggested.

One of Azkadellia's eyes arched now, and she side-glanced DG as if her little sister was sprouting a second head.

"It was just an idea," DG said.

Azkadellia heaved a little sigh, then put on a falsely cheery tone, "'Hi Jeb, I ruined your life. Because of me, you don't know your father and your mother died way before her time. Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?'"

DG's shoulders slumped slightly, and she shrugged awkwardly, "That...could work," she said slowly.

"Deej," said Azkadellia, very slowly now, in an almost sad tone, "I appreciate you wanting to help me. And you know I love you. But some things...are just never going to happen. The witch may be gone, but she's cursed me, tarnished my reputation."

"So you're telling me you're going to be alone for the rest of your life?" DG asked, rolling her eyes. When Azkadellia didn't answer, she frowned deeply, "You really mean to?"

"It's easier that way," Azkadellia answered. "Who would want to court me now anyway?"

"Plenty of people," DG said earnestly, turning on the bench to face her sister better. "Az, you can't just...give up on living."

Azkadellia stared at the ground, she stared hard, and finally she sighed. She glanced at DG, and said in a soft tone, "Thanks for the apple, DG."

Without waiting for a response, Azkadellia got up and walked briskly from the gardens, leaving DG on the stone bench, which suddenly felt colder than it had a few moments ago. DG looked down at her apple, biting the inside of her cheek and wondering if she'd made a mistake -- it'd went from being normal girls to angst-ridden bunnies.

After another few minutes of concentration, DG hopped up, a new idea running through her head.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"There you are."

Jeb's eyebrows shot up at DG's words, and he turned to her, expression one of puzzlement. DG stopped in front of him, throwing a quick glance around to make sure they were alone -- this caused Jeb to look around warily, still visibly confused.

"You were looking for me?" he asked, uncertainly.

"You're a hard one to find," complained DG.

Now arching a brow, Jeb's head cocked slightly. "Princess," he said, the word sounding strange from him, as if he wasn't used to addressing someone like so, "Can I ask what this is all about?"

So maybe it was a bit weird -- and completely random -- as DG and Jeb didn't spend too much time together. DG was beginning to realize that maybe she should have thought this through a little better, but she had a habit of acting on impulse, just slightly. She grabbed Jeb's arm lightly, starting to pull him down the corridor.

"What what's all about?" she asked, "Let's walk."

Though Jeb looked at her like she was mental, he said nothing. They were both quiet for a moment or two, the sound of Jeb's boots against the marble floor seeming to amplify in the silence. DG's brow furrowed a bit as she tried to think of the right way to word what was on her mind.

She was having trouble.

"Do you have any idea how blind you are?" she blurted out.

He looked surprised, but also offended. "What?"

"There's this girl," DG said, "She's really great, and she likes you, and you're so completely clueless!" She quickly shut herself up, knowing she could ramble if she let herself go.

Jeb's eyes widened, and he stopped walking again, staring at DG. For a second she thought he was a genius and already knew what she was talking about.

"Princess," the word still sounded foreign from his lips, "I'm sorry if I ever made it seem -- I don't feel the same way." He'd started to sweat, and his words came out quickly, "I mean, I like you right well and all --"

She heaved a great sigh. "Not me, you putz!" she exclaimed. "Ugh, men." She turned and continued walking, and sure enough, Jeb fell into step beside her, his brow still furrowed.

"So I'm supposed to know who it is then?" he asked.

"It's not rocket science," DG said.

There was a long silence. So long, that if Jeb's boots still didn't echo, she might have thought he'd disappeared. Finally, he spoke again.

"It's your sister," a statement, not a question.

DG glanced at him, half-scared of his reaction, but his expression gave nothing away. He just seemed to be lost in thought.

"Isn't it?" he asked her.

"You honestly haven't seen the way she looks at you?" DG asked.

She saw that light in Jeb's eyes that appeared; men and their damn egos. "She looks at me in a way?" he asked.

With a sigh, DG nodded. "She's been pining for you ever since she became her old self again," she answered. "She thinks no one's noticed, but I'm her sister for Pete's sake."

Jeb fell silent again, and then an eyebrow quirked again as he side-glanced her, half-suspicious. "You're not...making this up...?"

"Why would I?" DG asked. "I want my sister to be happy, and I think this could be the first step." She then quickly added, "If you wanted to give it a try."

"You'd like me to?"

DG paused, then nodded with a small sigh. "Very much so," she answered. "But only if you're willing -- I don't want you to hurt her or anything. Do it just because I said so, no way."

Jeb was thoughtful. "I always thought she disliked me," he said.

DG's eyes widened. "What?" she asked. "Why would she not like you?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Just the impression I got from her," he answered.

"She's afraid you hate her," said DG.

Jeb's head snapped towards her. "What?" he asked.

DG nodded slowly. "Afraid you blame her for what happened," said DG, "When there was darkness."

Jeb lowered his gaze, but he didn't say anything. There was another long while of the both of them being silent, and after what felt like an eternity, he stopped, turning to DG.

"I want to speak with her," he said.

DG was sure she was dreaming -- her plans never worked out this good. "Really?" she asked.

He nodded, but said nothing. DG didn't know whether or not she should be worried. His expression was unreadable, but she wasn't getting a bad feeling; she felt like this was one of the things she could trust her instincts on. He glanced at her when she was silent.

"Don't worry," he said, sounding rather dry, "I'm not going to be mean to her or anything." He straightened his jacket some, squaring his shoulders, and he added, "I'm a better man than you give me credit for."

DG realized his words were true, that she hadn't spent any time at all to try and get to actually know Jeb Cain. And she'd already wrongly pegged him as some kind of jerk. She nodded, giving a small smile.

"I'm sorry," she said genuinely, "I just...worry about her."

"I'd think bad of you if you didn't," Jeb was always so blunt and honest. He inclined his head slightly, "No offense, Princess."

DG couldn't help but grin. "None taken," she said. A small silence reminded her of the reason she'd sought Jeb out in the first place. "So you really want to talk to her?"

Jeb let out a little sigh, "Yes," he said.

DG thought quickly. "Tell you what," she said, "Go to the gardens and wait -- I'll send her to you."

Jeb raised his eyebrows, as if questioning her, and she nodded. He turned and started on his way, and DG found that she just couldn't keep her mouth shut.

"You're her apple stem, you know."

He glanced over his shoulder at her, brow furrowed in a quizical expression. "...What?"

DG almost flushed, swatting at the air with both of her hands. "It's a girl thing," she said, "Go wait in the gardens."

Looking like he was going to continue to ask her about it, but deciding against it, Jeb turned and continued away. DG watched him for a moment or two, then quickly hurried off to compose her note to Azkadellia.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hunching over slightly, DG walked through the bushes along the wall, careful to keep as quiet as she could. She clutched one of those abnormally sweet apples in a hand as she made her way to Jeb and Azkadellia's rendezvous spot -- in case she wanted a snack or in case she needed to beat Jeb's head in with it, of course. When she heard voices, she stopped quickly. Eagerly, she pushed aside some greenery, and she peered out from her hiding spot.

Azkadellia and Jeb were standing about three feet from each other, and the sight was nearly picture perfect. Azkadellia had her hands folded in front of her, and her gaze was downcast, cheeks tinged pink just slightly. Jeb's shoulders were no longer squared as DG'd last seen him, and he was scratching awkwardly at the back of his head, looking very much like he was but ten-years-old.

DG bit her tongue so as not to 'aww' out loud.

She could barely hear what they were saying, but when Jeb spoke next, his voice was just loud enough for her to make out his words.

"Want to take a walk?" he asked, offering an arm.

Azkadellia paused briefly, then looked directly towards where DG was hiding -- a pain had shot up DG's leg from the way she was standing, but she dare not move to make herself more comfortable, especially since Az was already suspicious of her spying. A smile then graced Azkadellia's features, and she nodded, returning her gaze to Jeb. He straightened slightly as she linked her arm with his, and the two of them started casually away.

DG waited until they were gone, and she climbed out of the bushes, grinning and about to burst with happiness. She gave a little sigh, reaching down to rub at her calf, and she watched the way her sister and Jeb had disappeared for a moment or two. Mindlessly, she began to twist her apple's stem, part of her wishing she could follow Azkadellia.

She almost gasped as the stem broke off on the letter C, and she glanced down at it as if in amazement. Her smile widened some, and she turned to leave the gardens, feeling giddy as a school girl. She dropped the stem, and as she all but skipped down the path, she was too busy whistling a happy tune to even eat the apple.