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For such a fleeting kiss, it sure weighed on his mind.

Cycles passed, and he didn't so much get a glimpse of the youngest Princess, just heard snippets of conversation by those who'd had the privilege he had to deny himself.

Though he hadn't seen her, they exchanged the occasional letter. Not often, not enough to satisfy him.

He kept her updated on the progress he, Jeb and their band of men were making in tracking down the remaining Longcoats, hoping she could read between the lines and understand that every Longcoat caught was a step closer to him being able to return to her side.

In exchange, DG kept him informed of the comings and goings at the Royal Residence in Central City. Raw had left briefly to return Kalm to their tribe but had returned to become Royal Viewer to the family, a title that finally won him the respect of his people. Glitch was still Glitch, despite the operation to restore his brain being considered a success. DG had confided in one of the rare letters that gave him a glimpse into her thoughts that while she was pleased to have the intellect of Lord Ambrose in her mother's advisor, she was relieved the part of his persona that made him their much-loved friend remained.

He learned from Jeb, through members of the Royal Guard he kept in touch with, that Princess Azkadellia was healing, but it was a slow process. Though DG mentioned her sister regularly, she didn't tell him what hadn't gone unnoticed by their guards, which was that the elder Princess relied heavily on her little sister.

She rarely wrote about herself at all, about what she was spending her days on and who with, which both frustrated and concerned him. She also never asked him to return to her, not directly, but she made references sometimes, to places she'd have to show him and people she'd have to introduce him to when he came home. He clung to the hope that that meant her feelings for him hadn't changed during their self-imposed separation.

Her latest letter brought news of the tour she was embarking on with her mother's reluctant blessing. Azkadellia would be staying with their parents, deemed too vulnerable to travel with her sister, but Princess DG, accompanied by Lord Ambrose and Master Raw, would tour the Realm and meet the people of the OZ.

It didn't sit well with him; he tended to side more with Queen Lavender that the Zone wasn't yet safe enough for her to wander around it. Sure, she'd have a guard with her – Jeb had been consulted via letters from the Consort and had hand-picked four of his best men to travel with her.

But it wasn't enough. Not even grilling his son on each of the four men in turn was enough.

"Be honest, Father, would you be content with anyone?" Jeb asked one night, the two of them sitting around the campfire as they shared the night watch. There was a note of teasing in his son's voice; they'd gotten closer on their travels throughout the country and were fast establishing a new and comfortable 'normal'.

"If you're asking if there's anyone I'd trust with the Princess's protection, then I'd say I could count those I do on one hand." Cain met Jeb's amused glance with a serious stare. "The Headcase is good in a fight if it comes to one; I've no doubt he'd protect her with his dyin' breath. Raw, too. People tend to discount him as a Healer but forget he's got sharp claws."

"And then there's you, obviously," Jeb shrugged a shoulder. "So that's three."

"I'd add you to the list, Son," Cain told him with the slight inclination of his head. "But after that, that's when I start to come up short."

Jeb ducked his head to try and hide a pleased grin at being included in the exclusive list. "You know you could always go back to Central City. If you left at first light, you'd make it before the Princess leaves the palace for her first visit."

It was tempting, but Cain resisted it. He glanced down at his hands and studied the tarnished ring he still wore. There was something else, one last thing he had to do before he could go back to DG and declare himself ready for whatever came next between them.

"Mother would understand," Jeb said softly, following his father's gaze as Cain slowly turned the ring, causing it to catch the light of the fire. They'd spoken quite a lot about Adora in their time on the road, both of them needing to. Jeb had explained some of the light he and his mother had had after his father's incarceration, reassuring his father he didn't blame him for what had happened. Cain, in turn, had done his best to assuage Jeb's own guilt at being unable to save his mother. "She wouldn't want you to put your life on hold, to deny yourself something that might make you happy. Sure, she wouldn't in a million annuals imagine you'd move on with the Princess, but I don't think anyone could've seen that coming, except maybe the Mystic Man."

It was said with a smirk, which helped ease the discomfort Cain felt. They'd discussed that, too, Cain's intentions towards DG, but were careful to do so when no one else in their camp was awake to hear it. Jeb, surprisingly to Cain, had been the one to reason that his father had spent annuals mourning Adora so no one could accuse him of moving on too quickly. As for the age difference, Jeb struggled a little with that until he realised something Cain himself hadn't: his father hadn't aged more than a few cycles while he'd been in the Suit, and it seemed it was taking time for his body to get used to the usual ageing process now he was out of it.

"Was she happy?" Cain asked quietly, subconsciously twisting the ring again. "You've been careful to avoid sayin' if she moved on."

Jeb faltered and cleared his throat. It was his turn to stare into the fire, though Cain suspected it was the past his son saw rather than the flames. "There was a man, the leader of one of the Resistance cells. He got us to the cabin, stayed with us there. I think... I know she was happy with him. He'd asked her to marry him, and she'd said yes. She told me he'd never replace you as my father because I admit I was a bit of a brat about it at first. I never called him Dad because he wasn't. He couldn't be." He swallowed a lump in his throat and clasped his hands in front of him. "Just after they got married, he left for a few days to meet with some members of his cell and share intel. That's when Zero came. I blamed him for Mother's death for a time, because I was convinced if he hadn't left, she'd still be alive."

"He's the one who got you out of the Suit," Cain guessed, earning a nod from his son. "What happened to him?"

"Longcoat's killed him. It was a raid gone wrong. When he died, I assumed command of the cell he operated, and from there, we kept merging with other cells we met up with, and I ended leading the majority of the Resistance." There was a note of pride his voice, pride Cain shared. "So if it's guilt keeping you from following your heart, or me..."

"It's not. Not entirely," Cain corrected himself. "It's complicated, Son. Everything happened so quickly. The time wasn't right for anything else to happen. DG's a Princess. She doesn't know this world or didn't at any rate. She needs time to find her place in it; then she can decide if there's room next to her for me."

"So that was your reason for leaving her, to give her space. I'm guessing you didn't say that to her, though, so what reason did you give?"

"I didn't. She told me I had to leave; it was her decision, not mine. She didn't want me to stay and feel trapped." His lips curled up ruefully, remembering the conversation, remembering his reluctant understanding of the point she was trying to make.

"But you don't see it that way. I mean, you wouldn't have considered yourself as being trapped." Jeb's brow furrowed. "Would you?"

"No, but I get what she was meaning. She wanted me to have my freedom, to try going back to my old life to make sure we weren't clingin' to each other just for the ease of it. And she was right in a way. I've got to put the past behind me if I'm gonna have any chance at sharing her future."

"Is that why the route we're taking goes past the cabin?" Jeb asked quietly. "So you can make your peace and say goodbye?"

Cain nodded, for a moment unable to speak past the lump in his throat. "I'll never forget her, Jeb. I'll never not love your mother in some way."

"I know. And I know it's your past hurts you need to let go of, the ghosts you need to lay to rest. Just as I know – or hope I know – that I'm not included in that. Unless having a son near enough the same age as the Princess you plan on courting would cramp your style." He chuckled softly at the sharp look his father shot him. "Just kidding, Dad. So that's the plan, then. We got to the cabin, and then we arrange to join Princess DG on her travels."

The thought made him feel lighter, but Cain knew hope was a dangerous thing. Too many times, it could prove to be false.

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