This Peaceful Shore
Tin Man, Cain/Glitch, PG-13, 2,056 words
It's been a difficult assignment, he'll give it that much.
o9o9o
Three years.
Cain's been away for three years. It's not that he hasn't been doing good things -- useful things -- while in Her Majesty's service, it's just that his thoughts are always somewhere else, somewhere closer to the palace and the man who lives there, whispering solemn advice into the Queen's ear. The man who said nothing when Cain left, except for the part where his eyes said everything.
Goodbye. Don't go. Be safe. I'll miss you. Please ... just ... stay. Goodbye.
What has he been doing all this time away from him? Cain barely remembers. Chasing down renegade longcoats, that must have been part of it, along with convincing Resistance fighters they didn't need to resist anymore. All of it so much harder done than said and it's suddenly three years spent trying to piece together a shattered kingdom back together, one heart at a time.
It's been a difficult assignment, he'll give it that much.
There have been offers along the way, offers to replace his lover made by some very adamant people but Cain was never tempted, not even close. There's only one man in Cain's heart, living comfortably beside the part Adora owns eternally and he's spent a lot of time brusquely explaining his soul simply has no room left in it for anyone else.
What's he's no longer sure of -- what he's terrified of -- is that this lover, the man he's been dreaming of, hurting for, might no longer feel the same.
Three years have passed and the time apart is now over. The Queen has requested Cain's return, he's accepted and very soon he'll see the person he's thought of every morning upon waking, the one he sees every time he closes his eyes.
He has absolutely no idea what he's going to say to him.
"Hey, there, Glitch. What's up?"
Yeah, that'll go over great. Just great.
o9o9o
Three years.
It's just like Cain to think he can waltz back into his old life, as easy as you please. The letter announcing his return was a shock, like a cold bucket of water over the head, especially considering it was the only letter sent in, oh, who knows?
Three years, maybe?
It would be nice to think he's forgotten Cain's voice, his eyes or rare smile. On the other hand, it's not like he's been pining, oh no. He's been a very busy man, rebuilding the court of his beloved Queen, one chess move at a time. Dragging back the old advisors was a year-long endeavor all its own, convincing the ones that weren't dead or maimed to return had taken a certain kind of patient negotiation, a diplomatic sort of finesse.
All right, a night of hard boozing and pointing to his zipper and telling them he wouldn't be there himself if it weren't okay now was what usually did the trick. In the end, he worked his ass off getting back as much of the Queen's surviving brain trust as possible and did a damned good job of it too.
Eventually, Glitch got his own brain back. He'd argued against its immediate reinstatement -- the zipper was a powerful sign of trust to outsiders -- but the Queen insisted, tears in her lavender eyes.
He doesn't remember the operation. All he recalls is the sudden rush of oh he experienced when he woke up, as well as the repair done by DG and Azkadellia on the scar left by the removed zipper. Eyes closed, holding hands tightly, they magically knit him back together as neatly as a scarf and Azkadellia's weeping was so profound when it was done, he wanted to cry himself.
It's just one of the things he wishes Cain had been there for.
Now he's on his way back, no doubt wearing that silly hat and ragged holster and Glitch swears Cain's name softly under his breath with every step through the palace halls, trying very hard to regret that last night spent together where they both said with their bodies the things their voices refused to admit.
The regret doesn't materialize and Glitch holds his head in his hands, unconsciously tugging at a zipper that is no longer there.
It's been three years and finally, Cain is coming back.
Great suns above.
o9o9o
Cain isn't one for pomp and circumstance and his royal escort back to the palace is a nuisance more than anything. There are silk-clad riders, blaring horns of triumph and he feels both under dressed and stupid, annoyed that he'd planned on shaving when he reached his room.
The hills blur by between courtiers bouncing clumsily on their horses. Cain thinks he'd rather be surrounded by a cadre of hostile longcoats -- at least they knew how to ride -- and the palace finally comes into view, rising like a fairy tale above the lake.
Six figures stand on the great stairs. Cain squints to make them out, ah, there's Raw, tall and well-groomed, smiling toothily at him. Three royal ladies are beside him and Cain thinks he can just make out DG squirming in her heavy gown, standing next to her father who is waving heartily to Cain in a very commoner sort of way.
There's another gentleman on the stairs, dressed like a prince, gold brocades and black boots shining. Cain blinks, trying to imagine who that might be and it takes a few seconds for his brain to process that there's only one person it could be. By that time their eyes have met and ...
o9o9o
He looks older, even at a distance.
He's unshaven and his clothes aren't exactly fresh. He seems vaguely annoyed, as usual. Everything about Cain is the same, if slightly more worn and Glitch ...
Glitch doesn't remember ever being more in love.
Too bad he's sure Cain doesn't - can't - feel the same way any longer.
o9o9o
Cain knew it was stupid to expect Glitch to look the same as he did the day they parted. He knew he shouldn't miss the tattered coat that Glitch had tried so valiantly to repair before it disappeared all together one morning, the Queen just happening to have a new one at the ready.
He certainly shouldn't miss that hell's cursed zipper, the symbol of so much pain.
He wants to miss his stuttering charm, but for some reason that's still there, lurking beneath the fancy outfit and perfectly-coiffed black hair. They're sitting side-by-side at the Queen's formal 'welcome back' dinner and Glitch is stumbling over every other word, refusing to meet Cain's eyes.
He looks like Ambrose, he's still Glitch to the core and Cain's heart refuses to leave his throat.
It's torture of the cruelest kind. "It's good to see you," Cain finally whispers, during a lull in the endless speeches.
"Pass the peas," Glitch squeaks in return, eyes huge. "Please?"
There's little opportunity to reply with "I missed you" to that, so Cain doesn't. He simply passes the peas.
Around him the conversation turns into a meaningless buzz. Cain nods and smiles at what seems appropriate moments and the end of the meal doesn't come nearly soon enough. Both he and Glitch rise at the same time, both their chairs toppling back in their haste and Glitch laughs nervously when Cain catches them, one in each hand.
There are farewells taken, with Glitch holding his hand out to Cain as if to shake good-night, but Cain has brought something back from the far reaches of the kingdom, something he wants Glitch to have.
He can leave him after that if he must, but not before. "Stop by for a drink," he says, catching Glitch by the arm. "A night cap."
Glitch eyes him warily. "Stop by? Your room?"
"Yeah, wherever that is now," Cain says, smiling and silently praying that Glitch agrees. Please.
There's a fortuitous interruption from the Queen. "Oh, yes, you need to be shown to your room. We've done a little redecorating and the bedroom you used to have is now the music room. Your new suite is much bigger and I hope, nicer. You'll be a dear and walk him to it, Ambrose, won't you?"
"Of course," Glitch replies automatically. He still look suspicious but ushers Cain toward the great staircase anyway. "After you."
o9o9o
Cain's new room isn't simply nicer, it's the grandest in the palace after the Queen's.
Glitch should know, as he designed it himself, a distraction in the second year after Cain's parting. He tried to have it reflect Cain's personality, warm and woodsy, with strong iron accents but somehow bits of himself got mixed up in the process and there's a huge bookshelf in one corner along with a magnificent writing desk, two things Glitch isn't sure Cain ever would own or want to own.
He'd somehow believed that Cain would magically appear on the day it was finished, but he didn't, so Glitch didn't return to the room again.
Until tonight.
"Wow," Cain says after Glitch lights the oil lamps. He runs a finger over the desk, made of the finest Finaquan wood. "This is incredible."
Glitch shrugs uncomfortably. He's never had much of a head for compliments even ones the giver didn't know they were bestowing. "If that's all ..."
"No, that's not all." Cain's been on the road for three years, being ambushed and berated, swung and shot at but he's never been more frightened than he is right now. A lot depends on this moment, for what's left of his heart. He pulls his rucksack off his shoulder -- he hasn't put it down since his arrival, not even during dinner -- and lays it on the floor at Glitch's feet. "I know it's been a long time, longer than expected."
Frowning, Glitch nods. "A very long time."
"Felt like forever. I know how hard it's been and that I shouldn't expect much, but ..." Cain picks up the sack and digs through it. It takes a moment or two, but he pulls out something round. It's carefully wrapped in a bit of red cloth, tied with a cord of green silk and he hands it to Glitch who stares at it silently.
It's a clumsy wrapping job, Cain knows that much, but he's not that good with gifts. The desire for perfection is there and he hopes that Glitch sees it and even if he throws it back in his face, Glitch should know how Cain feels.
After all this time, it's the very least he deserves.
Cain inhales deeply before continuing. "I just wanted you to know that there wasn't a day that passed I didn't think of you Of us and when I saw this ..." He bites his lip before continuing. "I realized I missed you. There are no words for how much."
Glitch's eyes are watering and when he pulls on the cord, the wrapping falls away revealing ...
o9o9o
An apple.
A juicy, red, beautiful apple. Glitch is sure he hasn't seen the like in, forever, really. It's exactly the right thing, something he's dreamed of besides Cain and to have both of them here, to have Cain give him this one thing no one else would think of getting ...
Glitch carefully folds the cloth back around his precious gift. "I once told you to have a heart, didn't I?"
Cain, who's been turning pale and flushed by turns, nods. "You did."
"How stupid of me." Glitch looks up at him shyly, unable to stop the smile from creeping over his face, the warm tears from sliding down his cheeks. "Because you have the greatest heart of anyone I've ever known."
There's more magic in the kiss that follows than anything the sorceresses, mystic men and wizards of any world could dream of conjuring up.
o9o9o
Cain had a home once, a peaceful shore in times of trouble.
It was taken away from him during a dark storm, casting him adrift on a sea he never thought he could retrieve himself from. He's been away again, sailing on a different kind of ocean but he's reached land at last, back to a loving heart once more.
To know that shore twice in one's life, Cain thinks, his mouth against Glitch's, is more than any man could dream of asking for.
o9o9o
reviews are always appreciated. thanks for reading!
A/N: I know "years" are expressed in this universe as "annuals" but for purposes of the prose, I kept it 'years'. Thanks in advance for your understanding. :D