Green Eyed Monster
I wrote this in the span of about 2 hours and I have to be up in like... 5. So, please forgive any mistakes, I'll be editing it some time later. Umm... Tin Man characters aren't mine, original is. I'll have a chapter of Someone To Save You up tomorrow, probably. Enjoy!
The pain in his eyes at losing his second chance at love before it had even really begun was more than evident for everyone to see.
His ice blue eyes had just begun to thaw, as had his iron heart, when she came along and ruined everything. Her name was Bella, and she and Ambrose had apparently once been engaged and she'd returned to pick up where they left off. Cain despised her with every fiber of his being.
Bella was hardly his biggest fan either. She was far too happy for his taste. Not like his Glitch, who had that startling ability to gracefully dispatch four longcoats in a matter of seconds. Glitch, while he had his serious side when self-preservation was a necessity, also had a child-like innocence that enabled people to take advantage of him. Bella was just… unnerving. No, she was simply a nuisance who complained a lot when things didn't go her way.
That's not to say everyone disliked her, though. Bella had the Queen on her side. DG, Azkadellia, and Ahamo were not getting involved. The younger princess had declared them all 'Switzerland,' whatever that meant.
So, Cain was left to win the man he loved back by himself.
After several days of plotting and planning, an opportunity presented itself while he was on his way to visit the inventor in his lab one evening after dinner. He overheard Bella speaking with one of the maids. "He keeps asking me to dance, and I keep telling him no. Ugh… I hate dancing. "
Finally, Cain had something! If there was one thing has parents had thought him, it was that 'It is the duty of a gentleman to know how to ride, to shoot, to fence, to box, to swim, to row and to dance.'" And, while he might have been a bit out of practice in some of those areas, dancing was not one of them. Adora had loved to dance, especially in the early days of their marriage before work as a tin man caught up to him. He remembered staying up with an infant Jeb at night, moving around the room with her. The music would always put the baby to sleep.
And, fortunately for him, the Winter Ball was the next evening.
"Hey, Glitch." He smiled, slipping into the lab as he often did.
The ex-head case glanced up, smiling at the use of the nickname. Hardly anyone got away with actually calling him Glitch anymore. Cain was one of the lucky few. "Yes, Cain?"
He leaned over the other man, trying to decipher the chicken scratch handwriting taking up most of the page Glitch had been scribbling on so animatedly. "Just wondering if you'll be attending to the event tomorrow."
"What?" He looked up, his chocolate brown eyes meeting Cain's. "Oh, yes, of course. Why?"
Cain smirked as he moved back towards the door. "Oh, no reason."
The next day seemed to both drag on forever and go by far too quickly. The staff was hustling and bustling about all day trying to get all of the preparations completed. Even those attending the Ball were preoccupied with speeches, toasts, and outfits. So, Cain did not expect to see his Glitch around the Palace until then.
Even through most of the grand ball, his friend was mysteriously absent. As was Bella, for that matter. Finally, Cain had had enough, and went in search of the unaccounted for parties. After all, it was very hard to woo someone who was not present to be wooed. He was pretty sure that courting someone actually required their attendance in the matter.
After searching the hallways near the ballroom, the grounds near the garden that Ambrose loved, the man's bedchambers, he finally resorted to the lab, which was exactly where he found Ambrose and Bella.
"Why do you keep bringing up dancing?" She demanded. "I've told you I hate it. It's a pointless activity and I don't understand why you love it so much."
"Because…" Glitch started, looking decidedly displeased with the insult. However, someone else stepped into the room and finished the sentence for him.
"It's all about rhythm, and rhythm, as I've been told, comes directly from the soul. Isn't that right, Glitch?" Cain grinned, as he recalled that particular conversation for himself.
The other man now looked entirely too pleased with himself. "Exactly."
Bella was not amused. "Great. Then you dance with him." Glitch looked hopefully at Cain at the idea.
"I do believe," He offered a hand to Glitch, that the other eagerly accepted. "That I will." Cain nodded toward the door. "Shall we, then?"
With a smile, the two of them left the lab, Bella following a few feet behind, no doubt to see the spectacle the two of them would be if they went through with it.
By the time they entered the grand ballroom the last song was just ending. They stepped out onto the sparsely crowded dance floor still hand in hand.
"I lead, you follow?" Glitch inquired, a smirk still playing on his features.
Cain grinned and nodded in reply just as the next song began. It was a slower number, a rumba, which, much to Cain's delight, was a dance of passion, as Glitch had once told him. It involved a lot of close, rather intimate contact and a bit of knowledge of the way your dance partner moved. And, while he'd never danced with Ambrose before, he certainly wasn't averse to learning anything about the way he moved.
They spun about on the dance floor, which had cleared as they'd begun, and the other man twisted and twirled him expertly as the song progressed, the two of them rarely ever more than an arms length apart.
At one point in the song, an interlude where words were absent and just the soft tones of a violin were present, the two of them closed the distance between them, dancing closer than they had for most of the song. With barely a second's hesitation, the tin man pressed his lips to the other man's, who responded with equal enthusiasm. Their coordination suffered a bit after that.
When the song came to an end, all too soon in both men's minds, they were met with a chorus of applause, apparently they'd put on quite a show. Bella looked to be positively fuming, and it was a wonder that her fiery glare had not yet killed anyone.
"Why, Cain, you dance superbly! You never told me…" Glitch was still grinning like crazy, his hand still clutching the others. "Perhaps we'll dance again later, too?"
"Sounds good." He agreed, reluctantly releasing the other man when he went to speak with his fiancée. He watched the two of them curiously, and found himself swiftly approaching when he watched Bella slap his Glitch.
"Ow!" The man yelped in surprise, raising a hand to cover the red mark quickly forming on his face. "What was that for?"
Cain reached them before she could do it again, angling himself partially between the two. "Hey now, what's the problem here?" His hand landed on Glitch's shoulder.
Bella still looked rather predatory in nature, but no longer threatened to attack. She turned away, mumbling under her breath. "I knew I should have listened to what the Princess said…" Came one they could actually make out. "…warned me about the two of you… hah! Dancing…" Before Cain could ask her what in the world she was going on about, she was gone.
"You okay?" A voice asked from behind them.
"Rather confused, and my face stings, but, yes." Glitch answered, turning to face the two Princesses. "May I ask what you told her about Cain and myself?"
DG bit her lip. "I may have possibly mentioned that the two of you might have been quite interested in each other. Maybe. I might also have misinformed her about how well Ambrose could actually dance."
"You… " Cain resisted the urge to hug her. " What about 'being Switzerville' or whatever you said?"
"Switzerland is hardly any fun compared to watching the two of you dance around each other." She gestured toward the dance floor. "Dancing together was certainly a nice change."
Glitch did hug her. "Thanks, DG."
"You're very welcome. Both of you." She smiled at Cain, and he gave in, offering her a hug as well. "
"Now," Cain pulled away, reaching for Glitch's hand once more. "You'll have to excuse me, Princesses. I owe someone another dance."