"Alright, Ambrose, we need you to start counting backwards from one-hundred for us, okay?"
The head-case nodded a little, squeezing the hand of the man sitting beside his operation table. "C-Cain, I'm scared," he whispered, glancing over at the Tin Man.
Cain nodded, squeezing his hand tighter. He still wasn't sure why Glitch wanted him in the room while he got his brain replaced. He wasn't as calloused and cold-hearted as he was when he and Glitch had first met, so the least he could do was be there for his friend when he needed him.
Friend. The word alone made a small smile want to make its way onto his face.
"I'll be here when you wake up, Ambrose, okay?"
Glitch looked at him another moment, a twinge of fear still lingering in his tired brown eyes, but when he saw Cain smile –a full smile, and a genuine one at that-, that twinge of fear disappeared, and Glitch smiled back, giving the Tin Man's hand another tight squeeze.
"You ready, Ambrose?"
Glitch nodded again, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "One-hundred….ninety-nine…ninety-eight…ninety seven…."
XxX
Glitch sighed and leaned back against the wagon, flinching in the snow and trying not to remember the sick feeling he felt in the pit of his stomach when he saw the Tin Man laying face-down against the ice and covered in snow. He was more than glad when he discovered shortly after finding him that Cain was still alive.
Something inside Glitch had changed since he met Cain. Or maybe it was something that had been there all along, and the poor head-case just couldn't remember what it was. Glitch absentmindedly reached up, running a few fingers along the closed zipper on the top of his head, and let out a sad sigh.
He had already made a bed for Cain. He was probably still asleep in it, too. Glitch needed to get out of the cold and into the wagon where there was a small fire keeping it warm, but there was something he wanted to tell Cain.
Sighing sadly and accepting the fact that whatever he wanted to say was long forgotten, Glitch opened the door and entered the wagon.
XxX
Cain rose from his seat halfway through the surgery. Normally, he could stomach such a sight without a problem. But seeing Glitch, Ambrose, lying on that table out cold, completely vulnerable and dead to the world, something inside Cain just couldn't continue watching.
"Could someone call me when the surgery's over?" he asked. A couple of the people operating on Glitch nodded, and without another word, Cain left the room, putting his hat back on his head on the way out.
That was strange. Why did he suddenly care so much?
XxX
Glitch smirked down at the Tin Man after a long discussion, watching him as his mouth fell open and he began to breathe heavily. His arm slid down, and drained of his energy, Cain fell asleep.
"You know, Cain," he said quietly, crawling up to lay between Cain and the wall of the wagon. He lay on his side, propping his head in his hand and looking down at the Tin Man's face. "A lot of people really go for the guys…with the macho exterior." Glitch used his free hand to slide it down over Cain's hard chest, through his white shirt, still smiling at him a little. He reached up to stroke the side of Cain's face, feeling his cold cheeks and rough stubble, his smile fading. He lowered his voice to almost a whisper and spoke again. "It's just too bad we don't know how to say what we feel." He looked down at Cain's feet, then at the fire. "Or…we do know what to say, but…sometimes we forget. We can't remember all the words we want to come out of our mouth." Glitch sighed sadly, stroking his thumb over Cain's face. "It's not like we can help it or anything, I mean…" Glitch lowered his voice again, making it just barely a whisper. "…I'm not the one that took half my brain out."
Glitch lowered his hand to lay it gently against Cain's good shoulder, sitting up enough to hold himself over the other man. He looked over his sleeping face, smiling. He actually looked gentle for once. Every time Glitch saw that face, it was looking determined, or angry, or just flat out rugged. And it sure as hell didn't take a full brain to know what a turn-on that was for the man with only half of one. Drawing in a small breath, Glitch leaned down, placing his lips over Cain's, kissing him gently. It was all he had wanted to do for awhile. It was just a shame that now, as he was doing it, all the affection was only on one end.
Pulling back slightly, Glitch sighed sadly and looked at Cain's face before laying his head on his arm, wrapping his arm around Cain's side. He knew he'd have to get up before Cain woke up; if he didn't he'd probably get a painful fist in his face. Smiling a little at the mere thought, Glitch closed his eyes and continued to lay there, just happy to be against Cain and his warmth, and imagining the day he would be able to remember and say all the things he wanted to say to the Tin Man.
XxX
"Wyatt Cain?"
Cain looked up quickly, and took his hat off without even thinking about it. His eyes met those of one of the women that had been in on the surgery.
"The surgery's over, Mr. Cain. You can go see your friend now."
Cain nodded, holding his hat to his chest, and went back into the operating room. Laying on the bed, asleep and peaceful, was Ambrose. Cain closed the door quietly and went over to his friend's bedside, pulling up a chair and looking him over.
"I bet you're excited to finally have your…memories back and everything," Cain said, looking down and fiddling with his worn hat. Ambrose, of course, said nothing, because he was still unconscious. Cain somehow felt better that way, knowing that the former head-case couldn't hear him, because now it was so much easier to say what he wanted. "I sure hope you remember me when you wake up. I was kinda worrying about that while I was…waiting for your surgery to be over. Hopefully the rest of your brain won't cancel out old memories or something."
Cain sighed and shook his head. He sounded like a complete idiot. All the words coming out of his mouth sounded so much better before they became words, when they were still just little ideas floating around in his head. He didn't even know what he was trying to say, but every time he looked at the pale skin and dark lips of Ambrose, something inside him felt lighter. He felt like he had the strength to move mountains. He was so tough and strong on the outside, always giving off a tough front, but finding the words he wanted to say and finding out what all these new and powerful feelings were inside him was so much tougher.
Finding the strength to let his guard down, Cain reached over and took Ambrose's hand, stroking the back gently with his thumb and looking at him. He was so afraid that someone would walk in and ask questions. He needed the strength to let his guard down…the strength to let his emotions show, and let people see that he wasn't just stone cold and heartless. Especially Ambrose.
Why Ambrose, of all people? How come Ambrose made him feel this way, and not DG? How come Ambrose made him feel like he could conquer the world?
How come Ambrose made him feel the best he'd felt since Adora died?
Cain just couldn't help but look Ambrose him and smile a little. His hair was still as crazy as ever, sticking out in strange curls on both sides of his head. Stitches were now in place of the zipper he was so used to seeing. His skin was pale, as usual, and his lips were strangely dark, and strangely tempting. His mouth was curled into the smallest of smiles, but he slept ever-so
peacefully.
"Ambrose, I…I have something to tell you," Cain said quietly. "Something you want to know." Cain gently lifted the hand he was holding, Ambrose's hand, and placed it against his own chest, over his heart. He smiled down at the other man's sleeping face, whispering to him. "I-I do have a heart."
Looking at the former head-case another moment, Cain squeezed his hand and stood up, leaned over Ambrose, and got a closer look at him. Smiling slightly and more sure of himself than he'd ever been before, Cain leaned down, placing his lips over Ambrose's, kissing him gently. It was what he had wanted to do for awhile. It was just a shame that now, as he was doing it, all the affection was only on one end. He pulled back a little and looked at Ambrose as his face twitched.
Turning his head slightly, Ambrose finally opened his eyes slightly, turning to look at Cain. "C-Cain?"
Laughing a little, Cain smiled. It was the same genuine smile he had before Ambrose fell asleep. He was so happy to see those eyes, that face, that man lying there beside him.
"Good morning, sweetheart."