DISCLAIMER: Don't own DG, don't own Cain. Don't own Tin Man, ain't that a shame.

A/N: For animegus farmus, who titled the story. And for you, fellow Cain-lovers.

Once upon a time there was a princess who was a bit of a tomboy. Her bodyguard was a paranoid, gun-happy, stoic kind of guy, but he was a good man at heart.

As time went on, the princess noticed her bodyguard had a thing for walls...or at least leaning against them. He was always keeping his back or shoulder near one, if not directly on it. When he was feeling especially nervous about the princess' safety, he required her to do the same. ("All the better to keep you from being shot, Princess," he would growl, even though the young woman might feel like she was a better target for a firing squad that way. But her bodyguard was a quickdraw and one of the best crack shots in the land. He was also really serious and very good at his job and the princess hadn't been hit yet, so she trusted him.)

"Hey, Deege."

DG's pen scratched across the parchment as she jerked, leaving a thick line attesting to her startled state. Quickly she glanced at the marred paper before shoving it in the top drawer of her desk as she whirled around to face the source of the sound.

"Geeze, Cain. Give me a heart attack, why don't ya?"

Wyatt Cain: blond, stoic and completely unrepentant in his approach to the youngest princess in the Outer Zone, leaned in the doorway of her of personal apartments smirked. "Sorry, kid."

Oh, he so was not. DG narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you want?"

Cain huffed. "Gone for nearly two weeks and this is the welcome I get?" he teased.

Despite herself, DG's lips quirked up as she stood from her desk. It didn't take long for it to turn to a grin as she approached him. "Welcome back, Tin Man," she said, drawing her arms around his waist.

Cain wrapped his own arms around her shoulders for a brief squeeze before pulling back to take her in, a small smile on his face. "Well, you're all in one piece." He made a show of glancing around the room. "And the place is still standing..."

DG stepped out of his embrace, mock glaring at him. "Very funny," she deadpanned, giving him a swat. "If that's how you're gonna be..."

"How's the O.Z. treatin' ya?" Cain asked genuinely.

She shrugged. "Oh, you know..."

Three annuals after the fall of the Witch and the end of the Eclipse and the O.Z. was finally starting to get its feet under it. It had been hard, tiring and messy work to get through to the citizens, round up the Longcoats and start fixing all the wrongs that had been wrought in the Sorceress' name. DG had never given much thought to being a princess-had never had interest in it really, as a child-but she'd been amazed at how unDisney like the position really was. It seemed like one never ending meeting after another. The amount of Red Tape to cut through to do anything was staggering.

In between the meetings and holding court with her mother and her sister, DG had begun to reacquaint herself with her birth family. Az struggled daily with her demons the Possession had brought, but sometimes she was slowly able to laugh with her sister as she recounted some of the adventures they had gone on as girls. They spent much of their free time together, sharing the joy of reuniting. Lavender and Ahamo were also relearning their daughters as well as each other. Frankly, the sappiness between her parents nearly made DG gag when she caught them at it, which made her sister snicker.

It was good she had her birth parents and her older sibling, as finally, only cycles (and now saying things like cycles and annuals-okay, mostly cycles-came as naturally as breathing, even if she still referred to them as months and years in her head) after the four Heroes had split up to get on with their own lives. Raw had left first, to take Kalm to find the Viewers, vowing to visit. Cain stayed only little longer but eventually went to join his son. Glitch had chosen to remain himself, Ambrose was too stuffy he claimed, but he still visited his brain from time to time and it seemed to help him as he returned to his position as Adviser to the Queen. DG was sorry to see the first friends and honestly the first family she had in the O.Z. leave, but she understood and they were entitled to seek out what was there for them after the Witch had been melted.

So it surprised and delighted her when Cain returned after five cycles to say that he was living in Central City. Since then, he was a companion she was always happy to have, even if he wasn't always there.

Cain had been instrumental in re-establishing the Tin Men in Central City and several stations of police around the Zone. He refused to take a position as Head of the Academy, but agreed to be an instructor. He was apparently very good at what he did and was an exacting kind of teacher, if the grumblings of some of the recruits DG happened to overhear could be believed. DG didn't doubt it. She sorta wanted to see him in his instructor mode, but only enrollment recruits were allowed inside the Academy and DG was really too busy most of the time anyways.

"How's Jeb?"

Cain had gone to visit his son who had settled in the house DG and Glitch had originally found the Tin Man. Much work had gone into rebuilding the homestead and it looked as nice if not nicer than it had before Zero and his goons had come for the Cains.

"He's doing good. He's got that dark haired doctor staying with him right now. Keeps him out of trouble."

DG knew the medic he mentioned. She'd met the woman after the fall of the Witch, when she returned with Jeb's cell to their base in the forest. She was an older woman with a no-nonsense approach, though she did have a sly sense of humor DG appreciated. She especially liked it when the woman smacked Cain who was shifting too much under her hands when she was inspecting his bullet wound.

"You're always worried about everyone else getting into trouble, but I think Cain, that you're the one who gets into it more than we do," DG teased.

Cain only shook his head.

She was glad she could tease him like this. Of everyone, the man deserved to smile more. She liked his smile. She liked a whole lot more than that really, but she wasn't going to hold her breath for anything.

DG had never been prone to crushes, perhaps because of her tomboyish nature, but there was just something about Wyatt Cain that made a girl's head turn. And really what wasn't to like? He was alpha-male without being overbearing, he was caring and supportive with his friends and family, he was honest and when he chose to be, he was incredibly charming. It didn't hurt that he was incredibly easy on the eyes. Adora had been a lucky, lucky woman to have a man like that.

"So what brings you to our humble little abode?"

"Requisitions," Cain replied. "We're needing more practice dummies down at the Academy among other things. Thought I'd see how you were doin' while I was here."

DG tilted her head. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but I thought that was someone else's job getting the materials?"

Cain's eyebrows rose in surprise though he seemed a little pleased at her observation. "Technically, you're right; it's not my station to do that, but I know one of the men down in the barracks that can make the acquisition a little quicker and a lot smoother."

"Ah, networking."

Cain made an affirmative noise in his throat.

"Well, in that case, can you stay for lunch? Glitch should be joining us since Mother hasn't let him back to his workshop since last week?"

The Tin Man's jaw twitched. "He blow something up again?"

"Worse. He flooded his lab. We're still trying to work that one out," the princess replied, seeing her companion's expression. She linked her arm through one of his and steered him towards the hall. "Come on, you can help me practice being escorted."

He rolled his eyes. "Were you even going to give me a chance to say 'no'?"

"Like you wouldn't've said so already, if you meant it," she countered.

"Sometimes I think I let you get away with too much, Kid."

"Nah," DG responded happily. "You let me get away with just enough."

The paper sat in her desk for two more weeks, as DG went on with her princess-y duties and ever continuing education lessons.

When she came across it again in search of her favourite pen, she stared at it for a long minute. She'd never been one for stories, at least not writing them, but since she'd recognized Cain's inclination for walls, she couldn't help but picture herself in between the two. What prompted her to write out that little fantasy, she wasn't sure. There was something kinda naughty about it, but cathartic to get it out of her mind...well, at least off her chest.

Sighing, she picked up her pen.

As time went on the princess couldn't help but notice how attractive her bodyguard was. Tall, blond and built like a linebacker with the most gorgeous blue eyes known to man. He also had a killer ass.

She scratched that last sentence out. True as it was, it looked tacky on paper. Actually, DG noted, it all seemed kinda silly anyways. She skipped to the good part.

Finally, having enough of all the sexual tension, the Tin Man pressed the princess against the wall and kissed her.

"If only," DG sighed. "Oops!" She scribbled out Tin Man and wrote bodyguard over it. Like it wasn't exceedingly obvious who the story was about anyways. Rolling her eyes at herself she stuffed it back in the drawer and went on with her real paperwork.

Days went by, weeks turned into a cycle. Raw returned with Kalm in tow. The older Viewer reported happily that they had found a small pack of his kind near Kiamo Ko. Raw had tried to place Kalm with them, but the boy had refused to leave his side-he went where Raw did.

She giggled at the stubborn tilt of the younger male's chin and welcomed Raw to fatherhood. "Maybe you can ask Cain for some pointers," she offered with a grin.

She sent a note with a messenger to invite him to dinner with friends in between regaling Raw with her work with the children's home she was patronizing. They grabbed Glitch as he was coming out of a meeting with the Consort and DG led them to her sitting room where they spent the afternoon catching up.

Luckily Cain was free and within a short amount of time, the staff had arranged a lovely set-up for supper for five.

It was late. The dishes had been cleared away, a fire had been started in her grate, Kalm was drawing quietly (he had a surprising talent, despite the fact that he claimed never to have drawn before) and DG had convinced her friends to play poker. Cain had already folded for the round, and it so it was left to the other three.

DG felt a tiny tap on her arm and looked to see Kalm staring up at her.

"More paper?" he requested.

"Sure, Kalm, just a second. I've got some in my desk." She glanced around the table. "Actually…Cain, d'ya mind grabbing some for Kalm? It's in the top drawer in my desk."

"Sure," he replied as he rose and strode to the desk.

Glitch laid a pair of Queens, Raw put down a Full House and DG took them all with a Flush. Pleased, she rounded up the cards and shuffled.

Wyatt pulled the top drawer open, intent on grabbing paper for the younger Viewer, shoving past the used parchment DG had already written on. He grabbed a few blank sheets before spotting the writing on one of the papers on top.

'Once upon a time….tomboy princess….paranoid bodyguard…tall, blond…blue eyes…'

He hadn't meant at all to pry, but the writing drew him in. Quickly and almost guiltily, re-scanned the paper to get a better comprehension of the contents.

DG had apparently written a story….about them? About being pinned to a wall….

DG's voice broke through his reverie. "Alright, last hand. Cain, you in?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm in." He quickly snatched some extra sheafs, closing the drawer. " Here, Fuzzy." He handed Kalm the paper and rejoined them at the table.

As DG dealt she glanced up...and thought she saw Wyatt smirk, but when she looked at him fully, his face was the same stoic one she was used to.

The night drew on and finally hey said goodnight as Raw, Glitch and Kalm made their way to their own rooms and it was just DG and Cain left.

"I'm glad you could make it," she told him as they stood in front of her door.

"Me too," he agreed. "It was very...informative."

"Informative? Cain, I think you've been spending too much time the-!" Suddenly, Dorothy Gale found herself pushed against the wall by one Wyatt Cain, who was looking at her in a manner she had never seen before.

"Walls, huh?" he whispered.

But DG had absolutely no time to formulate a response because the words had barely left his mouth before his lips came down on her and Oh God, he was kissing her!

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