DG sat on the end of Cain's bed, a pair of delicate heels dangled from the edge of the bed. There were certain rules in the house that could be moved around. Her sleeping with Cain was a prime example of one that could be fibbed a smidge. However, dinner with the parents could not be avoided. That was one thing from her childhood she remembered quite vividly. It didn't matter if she was held up all day in bed with the chicken pox; she was still expected to eat dinner that evening with her family. Not only that, but dress was anything but casual.
She finished up with her wedding planning extravaganza and set out to help Cain prepare for the evening's festivities. He wasn't there when she arrived, so she made herself at home. Cain had run into the room with such frenzy that she hardly knew it was him at first. He ran over and kissed her forehead. "I know I'm late. I just need to get into the shower quickly."
DG watched in amusement as Cain ran around the room, throwing his clothes off as he went. She laughed as he kicked a shoe off, nearly knocking over a priceless lamp. He gave her an embarrassed look and headed into the bathroom. She listened to his feet as they padded across the tiled floor, over towards the tub and shower.
She looked around his room. It was quite clean considering the fact that he spent very little time here. The only time he ever had to be in his room was for sleeping and even that was very limited lately. Clothes were piled on chairs and on top of dressers, pulled out by Cain as he dressed that morning. She pulled over a shirt that he had thrown onto the bed as he stripped for the shower. It was still warm from his body, smelling of his aftershave and soap.
She could tell he still hadn't adapted to live in the palace. He still felt like one of the people on the palace payroll, not quite used to being a guest. He wasn't used to having a maid make his bed and do his clothing and found it strange that he didn't have to do a thing himself. She looked over at the letter lying beside her, the seal broken due to her intrigue. How could she bring it up? In what manner would it be appropriate? What if she was just overreacting?
"You know there are a million things I'd rather deal with than this dinner." DG looked up from her thoughts as Cain's bathroom door flew open. She watched as he emerged from the steam, wrapping a burgundy towel around his waist. DG couldn't help but stare as the beads of water trickled down his chest, disappearing beneath the trim of the towel.
"DG are you listening to me?" Cain wiped his face with a spare towel. DG looked into his eyes and shook her head.
"You lost me after 'You know'." She looked him up and down, despite herself. Cain walked from the doorway to his bed. She knew this was going to be harder than she thought. Damn tiny towel, it was even worse than the tight pants and hat. She was a strong willed woman, but even now she knew this wouldn't be an easy task. Cain looked over at her, only one thing on his mind.
She looked just like she had at the club the night she found the Mystic Man. He wanted her then in there, in that little black dress and her hair done up. He couldn't have her then, but he certainly could have her now. He listened to her giggle as his hand traveled up her leg. She stopped laughing as his knee parted her legs and he stepped forward between the two legs. He now meant business. He leaned over and covered her lips with his and pulled her closer to him. They didn't have to be down for at least half an hour. He'd been out working all day and all he wanted was to be with the woman he loved, making love.
"Who are Jacob and Nora?" Cain stopped mid kiss and pulled away slightly. DG propped herself up with her elbows and looked over at Cain with her head cocked. The strap to her dress slipped down off her shoulder but Cain dared not reach out and fix it.
"Who?" Cain asked. "I don't think I know a Jacob or a Nora." His pursed together as he leaned closer to DG. "Where were we?" DG reached out and covered his mouth with her hand and pushed his face away.
"I think you know exactly what I mean." She pushed him away and reached over and snatched up the letter. "Ring any bells." Cain took the letter and with a groan, upset this was intruding on his quality time with DG. He grunted as he sat up on the bed, fixing his towel around his waist. DG sat a few feet away watching closely as he read her the words.
"Dear Princess," He started in a mocking tone. "We thoroughly enjoyed meeting your fiancé the other day. You are quite a lucky young woman to be marrying such a wonderful man." He pulled the letter away and set it in his lap. He ran a hand through his wet hair. "Really, I don't know what you're getting so worked up about, you get a dozen letters like this a day." DG reached over and slapped his arm. "Ow, what was that for."
"Wyatt Cain!" She yelled. "Don't lie to me." She reached over and pulled the letter out of his lap, causing him to jump. "We are looking forward to you two coming to our home for your honeymoon. It is an enormous honor to have you." She stopped and looked over at him. "Had I known you wanted to be so involved in our wedding plans I would have let you do something. But inviting yourself to some random place with two random strangers is crossing a line." Cain groaned and stood up from the bed, obviously happy time was over. Time to get ready for the dinner from hell. "Are you walking away from this?" She asked, pulling herself over to the edge of the bed.
"Well obviously I am. You see my feet are walking and I'm just obeying the command." DG's mouth dropped. Cain nodded and pointed to his mouth. "Yes, this is sarcasm, I learned it from you." DG wanted to scream as she hopped off the bed and stood there as she watched him slip his towel off. She was too mad at him to ogle him as he stood there naked in his bedroom, frantically searching for his undergarments.
"Why are you being an ass?" She said sternly. Cain grabbed a pair of boxer briefs lying on a chair arm and pulled them over his body. He turned and looked at DG as he reached for an undershirt.
"Why are you being so pissy?" He walked over towards the bathroom, stretched the undershirt over his muscles. DG let out a little huff and followed him over to the bathroom.
"Pissy? Because of this!" She shook the paper in the air. Cain rolled his eyes and turned back into the bathroom. Were they seriously having a fight over a letter congratulating them on their marriage? He pulled out his toothbrush and reached for the tooth paste. He shut the cabinet and looked dead into DG's face. "How come you didn't tell me about them?"
"Because it's not important DG." Cain said honestly. "They are just a nice couple I met a few weeks ago when I bought your ring." He fibbed the part about lying and popped his toothbrush in his mouth.
"Well they sound like they know you quite well. Hell, they practically see you as a son." She looked over at him, her eyes filled with hurt. She watched him as he feverishly brushed his teeth and she thought he'd brush his gums right off. He spat into the sink harshly and turned toward DG. She handed him a wash rag and he cleaned the excess paste from his mouth.
"I swear that was the first time I ever met them. I just happened to remind them of their son."
"Who's their son?" DG asked as Cain pushed past her. He hunted around the room for a clean pair of pants. DG stood in the doorway, her arms crossed tightly at her chest. "Who is it?" She asked again. Cain spun around in a way that made DG jump a little.
"I don't know!" he yelled. He didn't mean to yell at her, but she was getting frustrating. This is part of the reason he didn't want to bring it up. The whole situation seemed odd and he didn't want to bring up any drama until he knew more about it. Until he knew more about the happy old couple that lived in the old house waaaaaay back in the woods. He closed his eyes tightly and opened them slowly. DG looked over at him with a sad look.
"I'm going to head down." She looked down at her hands, willing herself to make it through the rest of the day in one piece.
"DG wait." Cain stepped forward and took her hands in his. DG stopped and looked up at him.
"So are you going to be a quiet flower around your mother tonight?" Cain asked as he
DG threw her hands in the air.
"Why does everyone think I'm so passive around my mother?"
"Well, because you kind of are." DG stomped her foot on the carpet, she'd show him passive.
"So tell us about yourself Mr. Cain." Ahamo said. He could tell something wasn't quite right with the pair as they walked into the dining room that evening. Cain and DG had always been a little rough around the edges when it came to proper etiquette, but when Cain nearly pushed DG into the table as he pushed her chair in and DG smashed Cain's toe "accidentally" he knew something was off. DG looked carefully over at Cain, dreading this entire evening. Cain looked up at his future father in law and took a deep breath.
"Personal or professional?" DG asked. Cain looked over at DG and shook his head. The last thing he needed was for her to get into it with her parents. The queen dabbed the corner of her mouth daintily.
"I imagine professional would be a lot easier for you to manage." She smiled over at the man. Cain knew she was just trying to be polite. She'd never had a member of the royal staff actually sit down with her at her formal dining room. So he understood the great lengths that had been stretched for this evening to be arranged. He tried to make the best out of the situation. He placed an elbow on the table and leaned a little forward, toward his host.
"Well, ma'am," He began. The queen gave him a steady glance towards his elbow and he quickly placed it in his lap. "I was with the Outer Zone police task force for a few years and then was promoted to the special task force unit a few years after that. However, as you know, times became hard around the entire kingdom and I am no longer what you call a Tin Man." He looked awkwardly from mother to father, hoping the silence wouldn't be this awful the entire night.
"So I hear you have a son who is training to be a Tin Man?"
"Wow, professional to personal in less than 5 minutes. That has to be a record." DG raised her water glass in the air. Her mother looked over at her daughter in an exasperated way.
"DG what is your problem tonight?" DG looked over at Cain as he reached down for his roll. So much for support from him.
"I just don't get why we're having this dinner, that's all." She held up her napkin to her nose and blew into it. Cain kept his eyes down at his roll and prayed to whatever god he could think of that could get him out of this awful situation. "I mean we both know you don't really like the idea of Cain and I, but you are happily going along with it because you love me so much." She placed a hand over her heart.
"DG we just want to make you happy. I don't know what we can do to make this any easier on you." Her mother said, carefully treading on eggshells.
"Stop treating me like I'm 5. Listen, you picked the best people, or robots, to raise me. That part is already done. I'm grown and a woman now." Cain watched the faces of DG's parents and understood immediately what they were going through. He'd missed out on raising Jeb. He never got to see him become the man he'd grown to be and it killed him to know that. He suddenly understood the struggle of what they were going through, having to give their baby girl away to a rough and tumble ex-Tin Man.
"DG." He said softly, trying to pull her back in. She looked over at him, her eyes beyond angry.
"What Cain? I'm just being more assertive, something everybody says I'm apparently lacking." She pushed her chair away from the table. Her mother moved to stand up but DG stopped her. "Really, I'm not feeling well and a rich dinner filled with awkward questions and even more awkward silence is not going to make my headache go away." Her mother sat down, defeated. DG turned from the table and walked away towards the hallway towards her room.
Cain looked down at his plate as DG pulled away from the table.
"Thank you for the, uh, roll. It was very good." He muttered. The queen nodded and Ahamo smiled at the man. "Have a good night."
"You too." Ahamo looked over at Cain as he scooted his chair out from under him. Even though the evening turned out to be a disaster, it still shaped up in Ahamo's eyes. He wanted to see just who this Cain was and even though DG called the evening short, he still was able to make out a fine main in Cain. It certainly was something he could work with.
"What was that all about?" Cain whispered as he caught up with DG further down the hall. DG turned to face him, her eyes rimmed with tears. She willed herself not to cry and the tears clung to her eyelashes, trying not to fall.
"You wanted me to be less passive." She whispered harshly as she made her way back to her room.
"Less passive, yes. A complete bitch? Not really!" Cain grabbed her arm and yanked her towards him. "What in the hell has gotten into you?" He looked into her eyes and immediately felt awful. She looked so tired, so worn out. He'd forgotten in all this hoopla that she'd been sick. What she really needed was to be in bed, but she'd been pulled, once again, into the whirl wind of wedding junk. DG looked up at him, ready to fall down at any moment. She was tired of acting so strong. She was tired of trying to hold back, but people said she was passive. She was tired of being more out spoken and then called a bitch. She couldn't do this much longer without completely falling apart at the seams. "I'm sorry." Cain said as he pulled her into his arms. She fell into them, welcoming the comfort. He picked her up, feeling just how tired she really was. He didn't think he'd ever feel her this tired before. He brought her into her room and helped her change out of her clothes into more comfortable pajamas. Cain kicked off his heavy boots and got into bed with DG.
DG lay curled up in Cain's arms, her face twisted up as another round of sneezes filled the air. Cain felt her entire body tense as the onslaught approached and then it relaxed in a heap after wards. DG let out an exasperated sigh and curled up closer to him. He listened as she sniffled and handed her a new handkerchief.
"You need to get some sleep. It's been a long day for you." Cain said as he kissed the top of her head. DG shook her tired head and held back a yawn. "You want to talk about earlier?" He whispered into her ear. DG shook her head.
"DG I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jacob and Nora. I shouldn't have kept if from you." DG remained silent. "It's just that if you knew the truth. . ." He quietly tapered off. DG pulled her head up and looked over at him.
"If I knew the truth what?" She asked, her tired eyes filling with concern. Cain took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"If you knew the truth," He paused. "You would think less of me." He looked down at her and shrugged. DG shook her head wildly. She pulled away and up into a sitting position. She took Cain's somber face in her hands and turned his face to hers.
"I would never think less of you." She said firmly. "Don't ever think that." She demanded. She softened her hands on his face and looked down at her lap. Cain took her hands in his and brought them down.
"What?" It was his turn to be concerned. DG shrugged.
"There's just this entire past about you that I know nothing about and bit by bit I'm learning it. It's like there's this part of you I don't know about and I feel like I'm missing out. We're getting married soon and we're fighting over stupid things." She looked away, embarrassed she was even bringing it up. Cain reached up and held her chin in between his thumb and pointer and nudged her face back to look at his.
"My past is. . ." he looked up, trying to find the right words. "It's complicated. It's not something I'm proud of and it's something I try not to remember. There are bits that are worth sharing, but others are just too much to even think about. Trust me when I say that you are not missing out on anything. I've told you all you need to know, all you should know and I'm sorry if you think you don't know enough."
"I couldn't afford to buy your ring." He said softly. DG's eyes grew wide as she looked over at him. "Jacob made me promise that if he gave me the ring, I'd come back with you for our honeymoon." DG shook her head.
"What?"
"I'm no prince. I can't even afford a new coat or a new hat even. I'm literally at the mercy of your parents. What I can give you is nothing worthy of a princess and I just wanted you to have one think that maybe a princess would have. Hell, even Adora had a ring, for whatever that means."
DG curled up into his arms, her eyes droopy and sad. She'd been a drama queen and blown up for no reason. She was physically and emotionally drained and she felt even worse now. "Wyatt, I don't need anything from you. I don't need to be impressed." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking in his scent. She would never forget the scent of him. Even when he went off for an assignment, she still could smell him. She felt his arms pull her closer inwards. "Everything I need is right here."
"I should go." Cain whispered. DG nodded slowly.
"Just stay with me until I'm asleep. Then you can go." DG said sadly. Cain nodded and closed his eyes. This was the worst part of the entire day, having to say good night and leave her alone in her large bed. He knew it was one of the safest places she could be right now, but part of him knew that without him there, anything could happen to her and he'd be too far away to even hear her. He counted down the day silently to himself until the wedding and then he would never have to leave her side again.
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