Disclaimer: I do not own Tin Man.
A/N: Total fluff, I apologize. It just wanted to come out, I swear. Reviews, comments, etc. welcome. Cheers.
"I'm perfectly capable of riding a horse on my own, thank you," DG said.
They were moving at a leisurely trot, Cain with one arm wrapped firmly around DG's waist and the other hand holding the reigns.
Cain clicked his tongue to urge the horse on. The sound vibrated pleasantly in DG's ear. "I know full well what you're capable of. That's not the point of this exercise."
"Then what is the point?" She attempted to crane her neck to look at him, but could only catch a hint of the smile on his lips out of the corner of her eye.
Cain pressed their bodies together and rested his chin on her right shoulder, his head cocked slightly to the side so his hat wouldn't be knocked off in the process. "That would be telling. Nearly there now, Princess."
"I told you to drop the formalities."
"And I told you to trust me." He lifted his head off her shoulder. DG immediately missed the contact.
"Oh, come on, Wyatt. This is a ruse to get me out and about looking for a consort. Did Mother put you up to this?" He did not respond. "Mother and Father?"
Cain smiled behind her but remained mum.
The horse crested the hill. "Get off," Cain said. DG managed to dismount without falling or needing Cain to help her. "Tell me, does this look like someplace you'd go to find a royal consort?"
"Well, no." She finally looked at their destination closely. DG had paid little attention on the way, enjoying the contact of her Tin Man too much. They were looking over Finaqua. She had not done that since she was a child.
"Good," Cain said. He'd dismounted and tied the horse to a nearby tree.
"What are you on about?"
"Shut up, DG," Cain said easily, standing shoulder to shoulder with her looking over the lake and the grounds.
She realized the Tin Man had reached his arm around her shoulders and placed something circular within her field of vision. He was showing her what was hers, what had been in front of her for some time.
"Wyatt," DG said and turned to him.
He turned and looked her in the eye. "Do you trust me?"
"I do,' she said.
He smiled, pulled her close, and sealed the declaration in the only sensible way: with a mostly guaranteed "happily ever after."
The End